Tirez Tirez
| Tirez Tirez | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Genres | New wave, minimalism |
| Years active | 1978–1988 |
| Labels |
Object Music Aura Records Les Disques Du Crépuscule Sire Records IRS Records |
| Associated acts | Mikel Rouse Broken Consort Tuxedomoon |
| Website | Mikel Rouse's Website |
| Past members |
Mikel Rouse Rob Shepperson Jeff Burk James Bergman Philip Johnston Blaine L. Reininger Bill Tesar Rave Tesar Mark Lampariello |
Tirez Tirez was an American rock band led by composer/performer Mikel Rouse, the band's only constant member. The group was active from 1978 through 1988, and had a new wave/art rock sensibility that was strongly influenced by minimalism.
Tirez Tirez was founded by Missouri native Mikel Rouse, and gave its first performance as the opening act for the rock band Talking Heads at a 1978 concert in Kansas City, Missouri. The band's initial line-up was Rouse (vocals/guitar), Rob Shepperson (drums) and Jeff Burk (bass).
Tirez Tirez issued two very rare self-released LPs in their earliest days: No Double Bagging Necessary (1978) and Rush & Dissonance (1979). All three members of the group subsequently moved to New York City in 1979, and self-released their debut single ("Scattered"/"Scenery") in November of that year.
The band's third album (1980's Etudes) was recorded in New York City, but it did not initially see a US release, and was at first only picked up for distribution by the tiny British independent label Object Music. The LP went on to sell a very respectable 2,000 copies in the UK, and US indie Aura Records later issued in the album in the US in late 1981. Aura also issued "Razorblades", a single taken from the album.
Bassist Burk left Tirez Tirez in 1982, and was replaced by James Bergman. Philip Johnston (keyboards/woodwinds) was also added to the group at about the same time. This line-up (Rouse/Shepperson/Bergman/Johnston) recorded 1983's Story Of The Year, which was released only in Europe via Belgian label Les Disques Du Crépuscule.
Although he had left Tirez Tirez, original band member Burk would continue to contribute finished artwork to future Tirez Tirez album and single releases after his 1982 departure; the same would be true of original drummer Shepperson after his departure in early 1984.
In 1984, Rouse would begin recording more minimalist work with his instrumental "chamber orchestra" Broken Consort. From this point forward, Tirez Tirez and Broken Consort often featured identical memberships, although each group had a distinctly different repertoire. For the first album credited to "Mikel Rouse Broken Consort" (1984's Jade Tiger) the band line up of Rouse/Shepperson/Bergman/Johnston was exactly the same as that of Tirez Tirez's Story Of The Year.
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