Speck

Biography

BIOGRAPHY (short)

SPECK was formed in 1996, to put shitloaded moods into short songs. The current formation exists since 1998. Speck played many locations throughout Europe and are known for outstanding brutal funny things. Toured with "hip" bands such as D.R.I. and the Locust, supported Murphy`s Law, Garlic Boys and not so "hip" ones. In 2006: Released their 7th recording, the "FURIA E.P" on ATREE IN A FIELD RECORDS. Speck used to release the satirical SPECK-O-POLITAN magazine, the worlds smallest 40-page-fanzine.
SPECK is LARS the flesh inker on the main mic / MARLON the booker on bass, mic and analogue footgrinder / MICHI the social assistant on guitar and mic / NIELS the ecologist and water flow expert on drums.

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BIOGRAPHY (XXL)

SPECK was formed one day in August 1996. Starting as a two man project back then, we (Fipä and Niels, the remnants of former bands) established the formula to put AGGRESSIVE SHITLOADED MOODS IN TO SHORT SONGS and recorded the essence on a 4-track-tapemachine. While listening to the tunes we had just recorded, we would eventually chew on a little snack consisting of bread, cheese and ... "speck" (swiss word for bacon, pronounced "shpek"). We decided to name the project Speck, because it had that supreme short sound to it - at least if one compared it to "broot" or "chääs". We released the stuff. After the `96 DEMOTAPE spread itself, there was a surprisingly good feedback (mostly due to an alltime hip hop smash hit glorifying drug abuse called SCHIIBE IM CHESSEL). We formed a band in early 1997, in order to perform the shit live. Lars and Marlon were recruited for shouting and playing bass, respectively. Soon the rest of us started to sabotage Marlon`s other band, so he could practice more often with us. He hated us for this. Anyway, practicing these days meant heavy partying, so he stayed with Speck and the other band broke up. At our first gig, at the elsie elf squat in Basel, where we played two bad sets and freaked out, we were asked to record some tracks for the MAIKA vinyl compilation, which we did. Around that time, we were thrown out of the old basement, enlarged our collection of `70ies SCHLAGER and TAHITIAN folklore LPs and toured through squats, bars and youthclubs. We did things on stage like tuning the guitar for half an hour and then play for ten minutes. However, in the middle of a swiss-tour, guitarist Fipä left the band due to exhaustment and alcoohol problems. After the pain of a half a year`s pause and strange encounters with all kinds of sixstringers, we were happy when finally Michi took over as guitarist in summer 1998, he also had contributed to one of the songs on the `96 demo. In may 1999, the content of the vinyl-only-album MAYBE MY TATTOOS ARE THE REASON SHE LEFT ME was recorded and mixed within 48 hours. The beauty of it was that it featured a unique interactive cover artwork. Despite the fact that tons of people were buying our Tshirts at gigs (20 times as much as LP`s), we decided to keep playing a little music instead of switching totally to the clothing industry yet. We started releasing the SPECK-ZINE in april 2000; a free 40 page magazine of peculiar size (a size given by the premise to produce one 40 page magazine out of one DIN A4 sheet) featuring interviews, cartoons, strange lifeguides, rumors, cooking advices, exclusive dirty pictures, seducing prosa, upcoming gigs and no ads. Every half a year there has been a further issue and an increasing number of copies of the SPECK-O-POLITAN. However, since 2004 we use invisible print on invisible paper exclusively - hence the rumour that we've stopped our mag-business. For gigs outside of walking distance from our homes, Speck once declared DIRTY HARRY, an old black van completely equipped with a little bedroom and a fast-drive Voodoo temple, as their new home. You should have been on a ride with us these days - ain't nothing like it ! (in early 2004 this van went up in flames). For our DRIVE-BY-GIGS (3-minute guerilla sets upon unexpecting audiences), other vans were used. In 2001, a live-cut of a concert was released on CD (SPECK LIVE AT B-SCENE). In August 2001 we surprised Basel's harbour police with threehundred spectators climbing around freight containers to watch our SPONTANEOUS OPEN-AIR session with our pals from FLIMMER and SCRUCIALISTS. We toured through Austria, Germany and Poland in Oktober 2001, setting the score for non-stop-driving with a 21 hour drive between two gigs, and the score for wasting time with the guys from the border with 4 hours. In early 2002 we released the SUPERDISCOUNT BOOTLEG 2001, featuring 27 tracks in 17 minutes, recorded at our basement. ATREE IN A FIELD RECORDS (ATIAF) was started in early 2002 by Marlon, to release stuff like Speck, Marlon's singer-songwriter project COMBINEHARVESTER, the experimental Speck side-project SCHORF, Niels' jazzy ROOTSPROVISIONAH project and an awful lot more. In September 2002, Speck recorded the songs for the mini album HONEST WORDS AND BROKEN KNUCKLES, which was released on ATIAF a year later (due to accumulation of bad luck and other difficult circumstances). The CD single EN ESTE TREN NO HAY SALIDA / NIGHTTRAIN TO LAMAMINI, featuring a Speck tune, as well as a brutal Latino Version and a XL-dub remix by Niels, was released on ATIAF in June 2003 under the name SYSTEMATIC PROVOCATIONS EXPAND CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE. In 2003, we also contributed to the international vinyl compilation THE 7 INCH STUNT RECORD, VOL.1 on ATIAF and to the Fear Of God - tribute compilation CONTROLLED BY FEAR, on Mexican label Goatsucker Records. We toured through Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Belgium, England and France in September/October 2003 and there were also one or two significant additions to our collection of Tahitian folklore LP's. During a really big open-air performance in our home town, we deliberately left the stage AFTER the drumset left it, because - as it seemed at that time - you get ignored if you are politely adressing your concernes to the event manager about having to play on a wrecky rental drum set. Since then it is rumored that Speck made big money and always smash their instruments on stage. Speaking of rumors, we also get cited as inventors of the most peculiar things you'll find in our hometown: e.g. the HARASSENLAUF, the FCB or the BASLER FASNACHT. However, for about one year we continued to play shows with basically the same 30 songs, until we had a nervous breakdown and couldn't hear them anymore. So in spring 2005 we cancelled all shows and stopped doing concerts. We then got busy writing new songs, recording, travelling to such far away islands as Tahiti, touring as musicians for other bands, etc. So now watch out for spring 2006: The "FURIA E.P." is on its way, gallopping in a madly wound path through hidden explosives in the direction of the listener - and so are our upcoming live-appearances!