Biography

Formed in Lansing, MI in 1982, the Crucifucks were a punk rock band led by frontman and lyricist Doc Corbin Dart. One of the most intensely cynical groups to arise during the Reagan era, the Crucifucks' brand of establishment hating rhetoric would score them a deal with fellow anti-establishment figure Jello Biafra and his label, Alternative Tentacles. Their debut, a self-titled affair, was released in 1985. Featuring Dart on vocals, Gus Varner on guitar, Marc H. on bass, and future Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley hitting the skins, Crucifucks featured some of the more volatile political punk rock of the time, including the tracks "Hinckley Had a Vision" and "Cops for Fertilizer." The follow-up, 1987's Wisconsin, showed some development musically, but would be the last new Crucifucks record for nearly a decade. In the meantime, Dart recorded two solo records, 1990s Patricia for Alternative Tentacles, and a cassette-only self-release titled Black Tuesday in 1991. 1992 would see Alternative Tentacles release a CD compilation of the Crucifucks' first two LPs, under the title Our Will Be Done. The collection would cause a furor four years later when a Philadelphia police organization discovered that the band and the label had used a staged, public relations photo of a slain police officer. The photo, an attempt at garnering wage concessions from the Philadelphia city government, and featured on the back cover of the CD, would land the Crucifucks and Alternative Tentacles in court for copyright violation. Some sources reported that the band and label lost the case, while others have reported that the suit was dismissed. Either way, the band -- Doc Corbin Dart, more correctly -- was re-energized by the affair, and released their third full-length, L.D. Eye in 1996. The album featured the -- at the time, anyway -- core of the Crucifucks, Dart and drummer Steve Merchant, alongside bassist Dave Breher and guitarist Nat Warren. 1998 saw the band re-form to play the Alternative Tentacles 20th anniversary celebration at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. ~ Christopher M. True, Rovi