Wipers (band) - WikiHQ

Wipers were an American punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1977 by guitarist and vocalist Greg Sage, along with drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. Initially starting as a straight punk band, on their early releases Better off Dead, Is This Real? and Alien Boy, the band would later pivot to more Post-punk influenced stylings on their second and third albums, Youth of America, and Over the Edge.

The group's tight song structure and use of heavy distortion were hailed as extremely influential by numerous critics and musicians. In particular, Nirvana's lead singer, Kurt Cobain acknowledged that they had heavily influenced him, while J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. cited Sage's guitar work as influential for him. They are also considered to be the first Pacific Northwest punk band, and are today hailed as seminal for the scene.

History

thumb|right|upright|Vocalist and guitarist Greg Sage in 1992.

Origins

Sage's intense interest in music began with cutting records at home as an adolescent, when his father brought home a Disc cutting lathe from work.

Inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Sage soon picked up the guitar; further, in 1969, at age 17, he played on an eponymous album by professional wrestler Beauregarde. Sage thought that the mystique built from the lack of playing traditional rock 'n' roll would make people listen to their recordings much deeper with only their imagination to go by. He thought it would be easy to avoid press, shows, pictures and interviews. He looked at music as art rather than entertainment; he thought music was personal to the listener rather than a commodity.

Wipers' first single, "Better Off Dead", was released in 1978 on Sage's own Trap Records. Sage wanted to make his own recordings and manufacture and run his own label without outside financing. In 1979, Sage approached several Portland punk bands (including Neo Boys, Sado-Nation and Stiphnoyds) and asked them to record singles for his new Trap label. However, he would eventually decide to record for Park Avenue Records, hoping to gain greater exposure this way.

The Wipers first album, Is This Real?, was issued in January 1980 on Park Avenue Records, a label that the band hoped would gain them wider distribution. It was originally recorded on a 4-track in the band's rehearsal studio, but the label insisted that the band use a professional studio. The album was, according to Sage, not well received in the United States at the time of its release, though it did fare better in Europe.

The next album, Over the Edge, issued in 1983 by Trap via Brain Eater Records, was the first Wipers record to gain significant modern rock airplay.

Signing to Enigma's Restless Records division, Wipers released 1986's Land of the Lost, featuring the song "Let Me Know", used in the film River's Edge. It was followed by Follow Blind (1987) and The Circle (1988). All three records were recorded in Sage's studio 421 Sound.

In 1989, drummer Travis McNabb joined Wipers for a tour, during which Sage announced that the band was ending due to music business frustrations and the loss of their studio space. Sage then relocated to Phoenix, Arizona,

Plouf operated a vintage goods/Zeno Records store in Portland, named Zeno Oddities, which closed sometime between 2009 and 2010.[source?]

McNabb formed the Beggars, and went on to work as a session and tour drummer for artists including Vigilantes of Love, Billy Pilgrim, Shawn Mullins, Indigo Girls, Brendan Benson, Howie Day, Dar Williams, Mandi Perkins, Big & Rich and Gavin DeGraw. McNabb was a member of Better Than Ezra from 1996 to 2009. In 2007, he joined bluegrass/country music act Sugarland.

Davidson (who had previously recorded with the Sage-produced Rancid Vat in 1985) played bass on The Jesus and Mary Chain's 1993 EP Sound of Speed.

Influence and legacy

Sage later remarked on their initial reception: "We weren't even really a punk band. See, we were even farther out in left field than the punk movement because we didn't even wish to be classified, and that was kind of a new territory. ... When we put out Is This Real? ... it definitely did not fit in; none of our records did. Then nine, ten years later people are saying: 'Yeah, it's the punk classic of the '80s'".

In 1992, tribute album Eight Songs for Greg Sage and the Wipers was released by Tim/Kerr as a box set of four colored 7" records, featuring Wipers songs performed by Nirvana, Hole, Napalm Beach, M99, Dharma Bums, Crackerbash, Poison Idea, and the Whirlees. The expanded CD release, retitled Fourteen Songs for Greg Sage and the Wipers, also included covers by Hazel, Calamity Jane, Saliva Tree, Honey, Nation of Ulysses, and Thurston Moore and Keith Nealy.

Nirvana was also influenced by Wipers. Similarities can be heard between lines of Wipers' song "Potential Suicide" and Nirvana's track "Breed". Wipers gained significant exposure as a result of Nirvana's 1992 covers of two songs from Is This Real? ("D-7" on the EP Hormoaning, and "Return of the Rat" on the Eight Songs compilation. "D-7" was also released as a B-side on the UK CD single release of "Lithium" and played as part of Nirvana's 1992 live show that was later released as Live At Reading). Kurt Cobain's list of his top 50 albums, probably written in 1993, included the first three Wipers' albums. His wife, Courtney Love, whose band Hole covered "Over the Edge" both on recording and frequently at live performances, was also influenced by the band. Other bands that have cited Wipers as an influence include Mudhoney, Cloud Nothings, Hot Snakes, and Metz.

Members

Final lineup

Greg Sage – vocals, guitar (1977–1989, 1993–1999) bass (1993–1999, only in the studio)
Steve Plouf – drums (1985–1988, 1993–1999)

Former members

Sam Henry – drums (1977–1980) (died 2022)
Dave Koupal – bass (1977–1981)
Brad Naish – drums (1981–1985)
Brad Davidson – bass (1981–1987)
Travis McNabb – drums (1989, former touring member)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Is This Real? (1980, Park Avenue Records)
Youth of America (1981, Park Avenue Records)
Over the Edge (1983, Brain Eater Records) (licensed under agreement with Trap Records)
Land of the Lost (1986, Restless Records)
Follow Blind (1987, Restless Records)
The Circle (1988, Restless Records)
Silver Sail (1993, Tim/Kerr)
The Herd (1996, Tim/Kerr)
Power in One (1999, Zeno Records)

Live albums

Wipers Tour 84 (1984, Trap Records)

EPs

Alien Boy (1980, Park Avenue Records)

Singles

"Better Off Dead" (1978, Trap Records)
"Romeo" (1982, Trap Records)
"Silver Sail" (1993, Tim/Kerr)
"The Herd" (1996, Tim/Kerr)
"Insane" (1996, Tim/Kerr)

Compilation albums

The Best of Wipers and Greg Sage (1990, Restless Records)
Complete Rarities '78–'90 (2001, Objects Of Rarity)
Wipers Box Set (2001, Zeno Records)
Out Takes (2010, Jackpot Records)

Compilation appearances

"Same Old Thing" on 10-29-79 (1980, Trap Records)
"My Vengeance" and "The Story" on Trap Sampler (1981, Trap Records)
"Nothin' to Prove (Live)" on Sub Pop 9 (1983, Sub Pop) and Sub Pop 100 (1986, Sub Pop)
"Let Me Know" on River's Edge (1987, Enigma Records)
"Return of the Rat" on Hype! The Motion Picture Soundtrack (1996, Sub Pop)