Throwing Muses

Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses: David Narcizo, Kristin Hersh, Bernard Georges - San Francisco, 2014
Background information
Origin	Newport, Rhode Island, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, post-punk
Years active	1981–1991, 1992–1997, 2003–present
Labels	4AD, Sire, Warner Bros.
Associated acts	50 Foot Wave, Lakuna, Belly, The Breeders
Website	throwingmuses.com
Members	Kristin Hersh David Narcizo Bernard Georges
Past members	Tanya Donelly Leslie Langston Fred Abong Elaine Adamedes Becca Blumen

Throwing Muses is an alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh, and Tanya Donelly, who both wrote the group's songs. Throwing Muses are known for performing music with shifting tempos, creative chord progressions, unorthodox song structures, and surreal lyrics. The group was set apart from other contemporary acts by Hersh's stark, candid writing style; Donelly's pop stylings and vocal harmonies; and David Narcizo's unusual drumming techniques eschewing use of cymbals. Hersh's hallucinatory, febrile songs occasionally touched on the subject of mental illness, more often drawing portraits of characters from daily life or addressing relationships.

Throwing Muses were formed in 1983 by Kristin Hersh and her stepsister Tanya Donelly, who were both attending Rogers High School. They initially called themselves "Kristin Hersh and the Muses", in which band they were accompanied by bass player Elaine Adamedes and drummer Becca Blumen who were later replaced by Leslie Langston and David Narcizo, respectively. Narcizo did not originally know how to play the drums but when Hersh told him that Becca Blumen had left the band and he could join, Narcizo said on the subject "I had never played a drum kit before – all I'd played was marching drums and concert drums. We found somebody whose kit we could borrow, but it arrived without cymbals. I learned to play on it without cymbals which then became my trademark early on." They released their debut self-titled EP in 1984 on their own Blowing Fuses label. In 1985 they released a set of demos, later known as The Doghouse Cassette, garnering a number-one college radio hit, "Sinkhole" and extensive coverage in the local music press. Demo producer Gary Smith of Fort Apache Studios led them to sign with 4AD, where they became the label's first American band. Kristin recalls, "I signed with them because [owner] Ivo [Watts-Russell] was funny and goofy, and that was about it." In 1986 they released their self-titled debut album produced by Gil Norton. Hersh has written the memoir Rat Girl about the year the band moved to Boston, was signed, and recorded their first album.