LP, coloured vinyl, , screen printed jacket with tip on photograph, full colour insert, edition of 105 numbered copies, 2022

Open Mike Knight were an Oakland band who split the difference between two kinds of Bay Area musics – the super nihilistic, bratty punk of Peechees/Tourettes/Gr’ups and the terse, sharpened postpunk of Erase Errata or the Lies. Their songs were distinguished by brittle guitar, liquid basslines, insistent drumming, and a world-devouring vocalist. The unapologetic, unambiguous force of this music is a lot to take in, with blush- and stutter-worthy song titles like “Fist Me” and “Anal Sex Month” and “Squeezin’ It.” But don’t mistake this candor for an open diary: they were more confrontational than confessional, and more antagonistic than confrontational. Two decades after their dissolution, the unified squall, emphatic jolt, and reckless momentum of Open Mike Knight’s music remains both forceful and unpredictable.

“Open Mike Knight” presents the band’s 2001 demo in its entirety, newly remastered from the original tape by Fred Thomas. Guitarist Heather Anderson also played in The Blast Rocks!!! and currently is a member of Corpsekisser. Prior to Open Mike Knight, drummer Jenny Parkin Penoyar played in Las Tigras and later went on to play in JEM and Hunter Becomes the Hunted. Open Mike Knight was the first and last band for singer Nel Adams and bassist Chesa Osborn. Nel continues to perform with circus collectives and is a co-founder of the avant-garde fashion/performance collective Chikoko.

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