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Artist
Suburban Lawns
12+ albums
new wavepost-punk80sPost punkobscure 80s
about
Suburban Lawns was an American post-punk band formed in Long Beach, California in 1978 by CalArts students William "Vex Billingsgate" Ranson and Sue "Su Tissue" McLane. They later recruited Richard "Frankie Ennui" Whitney, Charles "Chuck Roast" Rodriguez, and John "John Gleur" McBurney. After forming in 1978, Suburban Lawns released their debut single, "Gidget Goes to Hell", in 1979 on their own Suburban Industrial label. The song gained the band notoriety when its Jonathan Demme-directed music video was shown on Saturday Night Live.[1] The band was part of the LA punk scene at the time, alongside bands such as X,[2] Saccharine Trust and Fear.[3][4] Their musical performances included creative costumes with Su Tissue delivering, according to Ennui a "full mind blowing impact".[5] Though music journalists found her performances confusing, that she "looked so bored and uncomfortable standing on stage with all of these boys that looked like they were having so much fun".[6] Their sole album, Suburban Lawns, produced and engineered by EJ Emmons and Troy Mathisen, was released in 1981 on I.R.S. Records, featuring new wave radio favorite "Janitor" (previously released as a single in 1980).[7] It has been said that the lyrics of "Janitor" were derived from a real-life conversation between Sue "Su Tissue" McLane and friend Brian Smith. According to Smith, the two were conversing in a loud room when they first met: She asked me what I did for a living. I said "I'm a janitor," and
