Those Bastard Souls

An independent rock band formed in 1995 as a solo side project by David Shouse of The Grifters. The name, somewhat of a nod to These Immortal Souls, was one that David Shouse coined as a replacement for A Band Called Bud, the original name of the Grifters. Shouse liked the name and held onto it, imagining a rotating roster of transient "bastard musicians" that would comprise a musical project that he might lead sometime in the future.

While recording the Grifters' first album for Sub Pop, Ain't My Lookout, Shouse was approached by someone from Darla Records with some DAT tapes and told that they would put out a solo album for him if he were interested. While the recording of "Ain't My Lookout" was pleasurable, Shouse, the eldest Grifter by almost a decade, was finding himself increasingly frustrated with the lyrics that he wrote for that band; finding them too abstract and not personal enough for where he found himself personally. Under the Those Bastard Souls moniker he felt that he had a place for his more direct, personal material.

1996's Twentieth Century Chemical was recorded with his friends at Easley McCain Recording, Doug Easley, Davis McCain and engineer Stuart Sikes. Grifters drummer Stanley Gallimore also contributed on some tracks, including a 'sequel' to the Grifters song "Subterranean Death Ride Blues", titled "Subterranean Death Ride Blues, Pt.2" The album's liner notes are cryptic and minimalist: no personnel is given; along with Easley McCain, five European studios are listed; and David Shouse is credited under the pseudonym "Will David".

Those Bastard Souls were offered the opening slot for Sebadoh's 1997 tour and Shouse and Red Red Meat's Matt Fields pulled together a band composed of Trenchmouth drummer and future Saturday Night Live star Fred Armisen, and longtime friends Joan Wasser of The Dambuilders, Steven Golub, and The Flaming Lips' multi-instrumentalist and drummer, Steven Drozd.

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