Guttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1989 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour. They are infamous for their outrageous lyrics and behavior which are deliberately explicit, offensive and intended to shock, though usually in a humorous and sarcastic manner. This behavior has sometimes resulted in high-profile problems for the band, such as being banned from performing in Canada for eighteen months and leaving the 2004 Warped Tour amidst controversy over their political views and attitudes towards other performers.

Band history

Formation

The members of Guttermouth began playing music in various parts of Orange County, California in the early 1980s. Singer Mark Adkins performed in the La Habra punk rock band Republic in 1982 with guitarist and classmate Scott Sheldon. Adkins has remained the sole permanent member of Guttermouth over all its iterations; some of the songs written by Sheldon and Adkins at this time would later be used in Guttermouth and would remain in their live set throughout their career. Republic broke up in 1984 and the two moved on to other projects: Sheldon played in a band with drummer James Nunn while Adkins tried various other musical projects, including one with Nunn. Adkins joined guitarists Eric "Derek" Davis and Barry Burnham, bassist Paul "Fang" Denis, and drummer Tim Baulch in their band Critical Noise. Baulch suggested the name Guttermouth for the new lineup, and this early incarnation of the band played shows, parties and skateboard demo's during 1988 until Davis relocated to nearby Huntington Beach in 1989, effectively dissolving the group. About a year later Adkins and Nunn also moved there. Adkins approached Burnham and Baulch about starting the band back up but the two declined. Adkins and Davis recruited Sheldon to replace Burnham and Nunn to replace Baulch. They also recruited an early fan of the band, bassist Clint Weinrich to join them. This solidified the "original" lineup of the band with Mark Adkins on vocals, Scott Sheldon and Eric Davis on guitars, Clint Weinrich on bass and James Nunn on drums, a lineup which would remain consistent over the next six years and two albums.

Lineup change

The following year found the band returning home to California and experiencing a lineup change. Clint Weinrich married in the spring of 1995, and to fill in for him on a European tour the band recruited Steve "Stever" Rapp, a college friend of Nunn's who was playing in a band called The Grabbers. Things worked out well with Rapp on this tour and he soon became the band's permanent bass player. The following year they released Live From the Pharmacy, a recording of a live show from 1994 that also included four new songs engineered by Vandals guitarist Warren Fitzgerald and liner notes written by Nunn recounting the band's history. In 1998 Guttermouth was banned from performing in Canada for one year on charges of public indecency after Adkins exposed himself onstage in Saskatoon. According to Adkins: "oh, I was guilty [...] What I would do is grab two young girls out of the audience and I would have them hold up this sheet in front of me, and Jamie, the drummer at the time, would say this magical incantation, if you will, and I would be standing there stark naked." Combined with a drunk driving charge from the United States, the incident led Adkins to be arrested on immigration charges, detained for five days, and then deported, though Guttermouth would return to Canada a few years later. After obtaining a full pardon from the Canadian judicial system, no record remains on file.

Rapp left the band in 1999, at which point Nunn moved from drums to bass and new drummer William "Ty" Smith was brought in. The musical direction shifted to territory the band had not hitherto explored, and the resulting album Gusto was substantially different from their previous efforts, with a slower speed and more melody and pop influence. Though the band's irreverent sense of humor remained intact, the music was much less characteristically "punk" than anything the band had played before. Response to the album was mixed, and the band members would later look back on it as something of a failed experiment. In 2003 Weinrich again rejoined the band for a series of shows including a performance at the House of Blues in Anaheim which was filmed and released by Kung Fu Records as a live concert CD and DVD package. The show's closing performance of "Perfect World" was removed from the DVD release of the show because a minor could be seen drinking alcohol on stage with the band. However, on the packaging of the DVD itself it is said that it was edited due to a frenzied crowd that damaged equipment, although the audio portion was preserved on the CD.

The band's next album Eat Your Face, released jointly through Epitaph and Volcom Entertainment in 2004, was hailed as a return to form. Founding guitarist Eric Davis had left the band and been replaced by Donald "Don" Horne, while former Slick Shoes bassist Kevin Clark filled the vacant bass position.

Warped Tour controversy

In the summer of 2004, Guttermouth embarked on the Vans Warped Tour, playing on the Volcom side stage. In keeping with their reputation for outrageous and offensive behavior, Adkins would often openly insult other acts from onstage, declaring that bands such as Simple Plan and My Chemical Romance cared more about their fashionable clothing and popularity than about the quality of their music. The band members also mocked what they saw as an uninformed political display of many bands on the tour by selling T-shirts and displaying banners that jokingly proclaimed support for President George W. Bush (many of the bands and media booths supported an anti-Republican stance in the months leading up to the 2004 presidential election). After several weeks on the tour Guttermouth was "politely" asked to leave, fueling rumors that other performers had petitioned to have them ejected. Although Weinrich remains a member of the band, Clark has since rejoined the group and handles most of the touring. In June 2008, Farrell announced that Sheldon had left the band to focus on his family, having recently had a fourth child. The band's official Myspace profile lists Sheldon's replacement as Dave Luckett, with Donald Horne being replaced by Hunter Munich. In December 2008, Adkins announced that the band had returned to Hopeless Records, one of their first record labels, in celebration of their 20th Anniversary, and that Guttermouth is working on a new album. A further line-up change occurred in 2009, when Munich was replaced by Brandon Zinkil.

After a hiatus and further controversy on a 2013 tour, singer Adkins moved to Mexico and reformed the band in 2015.

Guttermouth with Bird Attack Records and Rude Records released Got it Made, a six-song EP, on July 15, 2016. The band followed up with another studio EP titled New Car Smell in 2017, along with a live recording titled The Whole Enchilada. In 2017 the band added noted bassist Taylor "Becky" Beckemeyer from Somersworth New Hampshire, son of Dan and Leslie. Those two releases were also under the Bird Attack Records and Rude Records labels.

Band members

Current

  • Mark Adkins – vocals (1989–present)
  • Justin Van Wesbroak – bass (2009–2015, 2017–2018), drums (2015–2017), guitars (2018–present)
  • Matt Wills – guitars (2010–present)
  • Ray Ramirez – bass (2025–present)
  • AJ Condosta – drums (2017–present)

Former

  • Eric "Derek" Davis – guitars (1989–2004)
  • Scott Sheldon – guitars, keyboards (1989–2008)
  • Clint "Cliff" Weinrich – bass (1989–1995, 2002–2004)
  • James Nunn (aka Captain/Admiral James T. Nunn) – drums (1989–1999), bass (1999–2001)
  • Steve "Stever" Rapp – bass (1995–1999)
  • William Tyler "Ty" Smith (credited as T. Bradford on Gorgeous) – drums (1999–2005)
  • Donald "Don" Horne – guitars (2004–2008)
  • Ryan Farrell – drums (2005–2011)
  • Dave Luckett – guitars (2008–2013)
  • Kevin Clark – bass (2004–2009, 2015–2017)
  • Hunter Munich – guitars (2008–2009)
  • Brandon Zinkil – guitars (2009–2010)
  • Alex Flamsteed – drums (2011–2015)
  • Geoff Armstrong – guitars (2013–2018)
  • Taylor Beckmeyer - bass (2017-2025)

Touring

  • Chad Billhook – bass (2013–2014)
  • Adam the Woo (Williams) – bass (2014)

Timeline

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Discography

;Studio albums

  • Full Length LP (1991)
  • Friendly People (1994)
  • Teri Yakimoto (1996)
  • Musical Monkey (1997)
  • Gorgeous (1999)
  • Covered with Ants (2001)
  • Gusto (2002)
  • Eat Your Face (2004)
  • Shave the Planet (2006)

References

  • Official Facebook