The Bloodhound Gang

The Bloodhound Gang

The year was 1993 and Will “Fresh Prince” Smith had busted the Philadelphia music scene wide open. Almost as white as Will himself, a posse of suburban homeboys came along called the Bloodhound Gang. Unable to crack the threshold of single digit ticket sales required to get booked at anything remotely resembling a club, the original Bloodhound Gang rocked the “extra room” at Evil Jared Hasselhoff’s house every other weekend for Schlitz, Marlboros, and a chance to hand out their first demo tape, the appropriately titled “Just Another Demo.” That lasted until one evening when the first floor caved into the basement.

In search of a new stomping ground, the Bloodhound Gang began performing every month at C.B.G.B.s in New York City. When asked about their tenure at the legendary venue, Jimmy Pop was quoted as saying, “I’ve seen cavemen with better clubs.” The three fans from those days will remember a band lineup far different from the one associated with the Bloodhound Gang around the world today. While most will recognize Jimmy Pop, whose dirty mind has gained him worldwide notoriety, the names of other Bloodhound Gang members may not be so familiar. Blue, Bubba K. Love, Byron, Daddy Long Legs, Foof, Lazy I, M.S.G., Piddly B, Skip O’Pot2Mus, Slave One, Tard-E-Tard, and White Steve all passed through the ranks of the Bloodhound Gang in those early years of turbulence. Though they never tasted the sweet nectar of that most tempting of fruits known as success, these early members laid the foundation and then rocked it; spreading their gospel of fuck all throughout the United States of America.

With the release of their second demo tape, the appropriately titled “Hitler’s Handicapped Helpers” in April of 1994, the Bloodhound Gang landed themselves a record deal with Cheese Factory Records. By November of that year, they had released their first E.P., the appropriately titled “Dingleberry Haze,” on Cheese Factory Records. Though it sold well over a hundred copies, success still managed to evade the group.

However, they pressed on, eventually inking a record deal with Columbia Records in March of 1995 and putting out their first full-length album, the appropriately titled “Use Your Fingers.” Hopeful that their years of effort were finally on the brink of paying off, the Bloodhound Gang, which at that point consisted of Jimmy Pop, Daddy Long Legs, M.S.G., Skip O’Pot2Mus, and Lüpüs Thünder, hit the road once again in the United States of America. Disgruntled by a confused promotional campaign on the part of Columbia Records that resulted in paltry album sales and developing a growing interest in things not typically associated with the Bloodhound Gang such as money, Daddy Long Legs and M.S.G. left to formulate their own assault on the music world in the form of Wolfpac. Determined to persevere on their tour of the United States of America, Jimmy Pop, Skip O’Pot2Mus, and Lüpüs Thünder scrambled to reform the band. To fill out some of the empty space on stage the Bloodhound Gang recruited Evil Jared Hasselhoff, the unemployed bass player from Skip O’Pot2Mus’ former band, and Tard-E-Tard, a clerk from the local convenience store.

Once word got out that a band with a legitimate retard was playing, ticket sales began to pick up, but it did little to get albums off the shelves and by the time the tour was over, so was the Bloodhound Gang’s record deal with Columbia Records. Distressed that he might have to resort to eating garbage, Skip O’Pot2Mus left to pursue the life of financial stability afforded by a career in the insurance industry.

With a December tour of France quickly approaching and a desire to further explore the utilization of live instrumentation that was experimented with on “Use Your Fingers,” Lüpüs Thünder, a death metal nerd at heart, discovered that playing simple bar chords on the guitar behind a white guy rapping was even easier than playing Slayer covers. Evil Jared Hasselhoff, who had first met Jimmy Pop while attending Temple University, revealed that he could not only play extremely simple bass lines, but that his party favor of eating live mice was, in those days before “Survivor,” something of a novelty when performed on stage. The undersized Spanky G, another former member of Vaginal Bloodphart, was brought on board to play the drums. To replace Tard-E-Tard, D.J. Q-Ball, who belies his suburban middle class upbringing by having a full mastery of Ebonics, stepped up to the turntables.

In March of 1996, a Bloodhound Gang consisting of Jimmy Pop, Lüpüs Thünder, Evil Jared Hasselhoff, D.J. Q-Ball, and Spanky G headed into the studio to record a full-length album on Cheese Factory Records, which by then was going by the less stupid name of Republic Records. After three months of chain-smoking, binge-drinking, and girl-swapping, the appropriately titled “One Fierce Beer Coaster” was ready to be released. That summer, the Bloodhound Gang embarked on yet another tour of the United States of America. Word spread quicker than Ricky Martin’s legs in a hot dog factory that the Bloodhound Gang was kicking ass and by October, “One Fierce Beer Coaster” was re-released on Geffen Records.

The album was a success and the Bloodhound Gang soon left their Pennsylvania homes on their first real tour of the United States of America and Canada. Three months later, the Bloodhound Gang teamed up with Skoal to promote their chewing tobacco throughout the United States of America and Canada by way of the R.O.A.R. festival tour. Three more months and thirty more shows later, it became apparent that a bunch of drooling rednecks from South Carolina know as much about concert promotion as they do about dental floss. Although few people actually attended the R.O.A.R. shows, the band did get to chew a fair amount of free Skoal.

Following their stint as shills for the tobacco industry, the Bloodhound Gang headed to Europe. Maybe it was the Italian wine, the German beer, or the Dutch heroin, but the Old World crowds embraced the Bloodhound Gang. After several months in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, the Bloodhound Gang then came through Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. In October, it was time to go back to Europe and bring more rock to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Then it was back to the free refills of the United States of America with a tour that ended just in time for the band to spend New Year’s Eve far away from one another.

After seeing the many exotic locales the world had to offer, the Bloodhound Gang decided to leave Pennsylvania to make their next record. After debating over locations in London, Miami, Rio De Janeiro, Sydney, and Tokyo, the band finally settled on a studio located in the middle of an industrial park in the Chatsworth section of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. After a year of exchanging S.T.D.s with porn stars, the appropriately titled “Hooray For Boobies” was ready to be released.

Unfortunately for the Bloodhound Gang and for his fans around the globe, Spanky G decided that, since he had accomplished all of his career goals with one world tour, there was no need to do any more. With much emotional outpouring from the rest of the band, he left to pursue his new dream of living in his parents’ basement.

The Bloodhound Gang was left with a space to fill on stage. A month of open auditions narrowed the field down to three talented young finalists. After several hours of The Magnum P.I. Trivia Championship, The Great Hot Dog Eating Challenge, and The-One-Hundred-Push-Ups-In-One-Hundred-Seconds-Competition, Willie The New Guy was the only finalist who didn’t tell the band to go fuck themselves. The fact that Willie The New Guy had a really cool rock n’ roll problem was an unexpected bonus.

After a few weeks of preparations and a warm up show in Las Vegas that included some amazing debauchery, the Bloodhound Gang headed off to Europe in June of 1999. The band spent the whole sweltering summer playing everywhere from two-hundred-and-fifty seat clubs to two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand capacity festivals throughout Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In September, the Bloodhound Gang returned to the grassy knolls of capitalism to do a fall tour of the United States of America and Canada that stretched from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Unable to resist the easy money that can only be had in countries where fans don’t fully grasp the English language, the Bloodhound Gang returned to Europe in October and further rocked Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In December, it was back to the United States of America for one show in Indianapolis, Christmas break, and a much-needed “poison hiatus.”

For reasons still unknown, the popularity of the Bloodhound Gang continued to increase in Europe and, with an invasion the likes of which hadn’t been seen since 1944, the Bloodhound Gang once again returned in January, spending the next three months playing to sold out arenas in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Starting in April of 2000, they returned to the twenty-four hour convenience of the United States of America for a two month tour, with a few shows in Canada, before returning yet again to Europe in June for three months of European festivals throughout Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

October saw the Bloodhound Gang’s first foray into the lucrative market of South America, where they played to literally dozens of confused Latin Americans in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela. Amidst cancelled shows, dismal ticket sales, and a contaminated water supply, the Bloodhound Gang decided that the lucrative market of South America was best left to Latin artists like Christina Aguilera.

After retreating north, the Bloodhound Gang once again hit the road in the United States of America and Canada to finish up over a year and a half of touring. By the time they finally returned to their respective homes, the band had racked up sales of five million albums. To date, they have played over five hundred live performances throughout Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Venezuela with such notable acts as 3 Doors Down, 7 Mary Three, 311, A, A Perfect Circle, A-Ha, A-Teens, Absolute Beginner, AC/DC, Afghan Whigs, Aerosmith, Alice Deejay, All, All Saints, Leah Andreone, Apocalyptica, Artificial Joy Club, Ash, Bad Religion, Beatsteaks, Beck, Lou Bega, Ben Folds Five, Better Than Ezra, Black Eyed Peas, Blink 182, Blondie, Bloodphart, Blur, Blümchen, Bomfunk M.C.’s, Bon Jovi, Tracy Bonham, Brandy, Ian Brown, Buck Cherry, Buck O’ Nine, Bullyrag, Bush, Mel C, Cake, Catatonia, Catherine Wheel, Caviar, Chemical Brothers, Chumbawamba, George Clinton And The P-Funk All-Stars, Cowboy Mouth, Crash Test Dummies, Creed, Cypress Hill, Danzig, Deftones, Descendents, Devo, Dinosaur Jr., Dogstar, Donots, Dynamite Hack, Echt, Eels, Eiffel 65, Entombed, Eve 6, Everclear, Everlast, The Exploited, F.A.B., Faithless, Faith No More, Fantastische Vier, Far, Fenix TX, Ferris M.C., Filter, Fischmob, Flaming Lips, Fu Manchu, Fuel, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, G. Love And Special Sauce, Garbage, Godsmack, Goldfinger, Gravity Kills, Macy Gray, Guano Apes, Gus Gus, G.W.A.R., Geri Halliwell, H.I.M., Hippos, Don Ho, Idlewild, Enrique Iglesias, Insane Clown Posse, Isabelle’s Gift, Jackyl, Jewel, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, Tom Jones, Montell Jordan, K’s Choice, Keilerkopf, Kelly Family, Kittie, Korn, L7, Lagwagon, Lamb, Lemon Babies, Lemonheads, Limp Bizkit, Local H, Lordz Of Brooklyn, Long Beach Dub All Stars, Loona, Marilyn Manson, Mansun, Ricky Martin, Matchbox 20, Mazzy Star, Metallica, Methods Of Mayhem, Midtown, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Millencolin, Ministry, Moby, Moloko, Molotov, Alanis Morissette, Mucky Pup, MxPx, Naughty By Nature, Nerf Herder, Nine Inch Nails, Nixons, NOFX, N’Sync, Oasis, Offspring, Outkast, Papa Roach, Pennywise, Pet Shop Boys, Pharcyde, Phunk Junkeez, Poe, Iggy Pop, Presidents of the United States of America, Prodigy, Puzzle Gut, Queens Of The Stone Age, Rage Against The Machine, Rammstein, Republica, Redman, Lou Reed, Reef, Reel Big Fish, Reverend Horton Heat, Rollins Band, S Club 7, Samiam, Save Ferris, Scooter, Sebadoh, Semisonic, Sepultura, Sevendust, Showoff, Sick Of It All, Skee-Lo, Slipknot, Smashmouth, Sneaker Pimps, Jill Sobule, Social Distortion, Sonique, Sponge, Staind, Static X, Stabbing Westward, Stone Temple Pilots, Joe Strummer, Sugar Ray, Suicidal Tendencies, that DOG, The The, Third Eye Blind, The Toasters, Tonic, Die Toten Hosen, Toto, Tree, Tricky, Tina Turner, The Urge, Venga Boys, Vertical Horizon, Veruca Salt, Violent Femmes, Wallflowers, Weezer, Weston, Wilco, and Why Store.

In 2001, the Bloodhound Gang began recording songs that were written during rehearsals in Indianapolis, London, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Philadelphia. They plan on releasing a soon-to-be appropriately titled record in 2004, that will be followed by a two year tour. In the summer of 2003, the band released their first full length documentary, “One Fierce Beer Run,” and plan on releasing the follow-up, “Hooray For Groupies,” some time in 2004. Besides giving the audience disturbing insight into the filthy minds of band members, both D.V.D.s also include uncensored versions of the band’s music videos.

Unlike most bands, the Bloodhound Gang develops the treatments for their music videos themselves. Their writing talents have led to such cinematic masterpieces as “Along Comes Mary,” “The Bad Touch,” “The Ballad Of Chasey Lain,” “Boom,” “Fire Water Burn,” “I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks,” “The Inevitable Return Of The Great White Dope,” “Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny,” “Mama Say,” “Mope,” “Why’s Everybody Always Pickin’ On Me?,” “Your Only Friends Are Make Believe,” and “Yummy Down On This.”

This year also brought the relaunch of www.bloodhoundgang.com, which was started by Lüpüs Thünder back in 1995. The internet-based Bloodhound Gang Cyber Hate Club was created to complement the mail-based Bloodhound Gang Hate Club, both of which are basically fronts to unload shoddy merchandise. Currently, www.bloodhoundgang.com receives over two million hits per month.


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