King Missile is an American avant-garde art rock band best known for its 1992 humorous single "Detachable Penis". Vocalist John S. Hall has fronted several disparate incarnations of the group since founding it in 1986.
History
King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)
In 1985, writer John S. Hall began presenting his work at open mic poetry readings. After three shows, Hall became a "featured" poet at the Backfence, a performance venue in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. In 1986, feeling that "20 minutes of me reading poetry would be totally boring", Hall asked his guitarist friend Dogbowl (Stephen Tunney) to augment his performances with original music.
Another lineup change occurred before the recording of King Missile's major-label debut, as Dansiger left the band and was replaced on drums by Hypnolovewheel member David Ramirez. The subsequent album, The Way to Salvation, was released on April 16, 1991, and reached No. 2 on the CMJ charts. Atlantic released videos for "Detachable Penis" and the subsequent singles "(Why Are We) Trapped?" and "Martin Scorsese", but neither follow-up single achieved the chart success of "Detachable Penis." According to Hall, the band realized that its hit song had drawn in many casual fans who didn't care about the rest of the group's material; thus, the band began to play the song "early in the set, so that the people who didn't like us could leave, and we could play for the people who cared. That worked out well. People did leave."
King Missile III
After the collapse of the second incarnation of King Missile, Hall decided to attend law school. and after graduation co-founded Heraty Hall, a firm specializing in entertainment law.
Band members
King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)
1986-1988
- John S. Hall – lead vocals (1986-1988)
- Stephen Tunney (Dogbowl) – guitar, backing vocals (1986-1988)
- Alex DeLaszlo – bass guitar, woodwinds, backing vocals (1986-1987)
- R.B. Korbet – drums, vocals (1986-1987)
- George O'Malley – percussion, shouting (1986-1987)
- Charles Curtis – cello (1988)
- Steve Dansiger – drums, percussion (1988)
King Missile
1989-1994
- John S. Hall – lead vocals, occasional percussion (1989-1994), woodwinds (1990)
- Steve Dansiger – drums, percussion (1989-1991)
- Dave Rick – guitar, backing vocals (1989-1994)
- Chris Xefos – bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals (1989-1994), woodwinds (1990)
- David Ramirez – drums, percussion (1991-1992)
- Roger Murdock - drums, percussion, keyboard, guitar (1992-1994)
King Missile III
1998-2004
- John S. Hall – lead vocals (1998-2004), percussion (2004)
- Charles Curtis – cello, guitar, backing vocals (1998)
- Jane Scarpantoni – cello, synthesizer (1998, 2004)
- Bradford Reed – pencilina, drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals (1998-2004), guitar (2004)
- Sasha Forte – violin, viola, bass guitar, backing vocals (1998-2004), keyboards (2003-2004)
King Missile IV/You, Me and This Fuckin’ Guy
2014-2020
- John S. Hall – lead vocals (2014-2020)
- Azalia Snail – omnichord, percussion, backing vocals (2014-2020)
- Dan West – bass guitar, guitar, effects, backing vocals (2014-2020)
Timeline
Studio discography
King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Album
!Record label
!Release year
|-
| style="width:200px;"|Fluting on the Hump
| style="width:150px;"|Shimmy Disc
| style="width:100px;"|1987
|-
|They
|Shimmy Disc
|1988
|}
King Missile
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Album
!Record label
!Release year
|-
| style="width:200px;"|Mystical Shit
| style="width:150px;"|Shimmy Disc
| style="width:100px;"|1990
|-
|The Way to Salvation
|Atlantic Records
|1991
|-
|Happy 14½ (EP)
|Atlantic
|1992
|-
|Happy Hour
|Atlantic
|1992
|-
|King Missile
|Atlantic
|1994
|}
Compilation and soundtrack contributions
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Track
!Album
!Record label
!Release year
|-
| style="width:225px;"|"Doubleback Alley" (Rutles cover)
| style="width:250px;"|Rutles Highway Revisited
| style="width:150px;"|Shimmy Disc
| style="width:100px;"|1990
|-
|"We Can Work It Out" (Beatles cover)
|Downtown Does the Beatles: Live at the Knitting Factory
|Knitting Factory Works
|1992
|-
|"Get Up" (R.E.M. cover)
|Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M.
|Staple Gun Records
|1992
|-
|"Our Jungle"
|Surf Ninjas: Original Soundtrack Album
|Atlantic
|1993
|-
|"Still the One" (Orleans cover)
|20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Mega Smash Hit Explosions!
|Pravda Records
|1994
|}
King Missile III
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Album
!Record label
!Release year
|-
| style="width:225px;"|Failure
| style="width:150px;"|Shimmy Disc
| style="width:100px;"|1998
|-
|The Psychopathology of Everyday Life
|Instinct Records
|2003
|-
|Royal Lunch
|Important Records
|2004
|}
King Missile IV/You, Me, and This Fuckin' Guy
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Album
!Record label
!Release year
|-
| style="width:225px;"|This Fuckin' Guy (EP)
| style="width:150px;"|Dromedary Records
| style="width:100px;"|2015
|-
|Garden Variety Fuckers (album)
|Powertool Records
|2020
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Year
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Album
|-
! scope="col" style="font-size:85%"| US<br />Alt.<br />
! scope="col" style="font-size:85%"| AUS<br />
! scope="col" style="font-size:85%"| NZ<br />