The Christian Underground Encyclopedia

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====== Blenderhead ======

Punk Rock/Emo\\
Seattle, Washington, USA

Blenderhead was a punk rock band signed to [[Tooth & Nail Records]]. They released three full-length albums from 1992 to 2001.

In 1992, Bill Power (formerly of [[Point Blank]], [[Ashes to Ashes (Washington)]], and [[Gloria]]) met Matt Johnson and Ed Carrigan at a Louis Palaou crusade. These three were the only "punk-looking people" at the event, so they decided to start talking to each other. Johnson and Carrigan were in a funk-punk band at the time called [[Don’t Know]]. 

Power eventually recruited Johnson on drums to start Blenderhead. Brian Gray (who had played in [[Mortal]] and [[Rocks in Pink Cement]]) moved to Seattle and joined the band on bass guitar. Bili Repenning joined on guitar. Blenderhead booked their first show at a hall and then got [[The Crucified]] to come up and play as the headliner. Brandon Ebel and his brother were both at that show. This line-up recorded one song called "Invasion of the Brainsnatchers" for the //ACM Journal: 3rd Anniversary Compilation// in 1992. A local radio show played this song, with the DJs referring to the band as "The Blenderheds." This became an ongoing joke with the band - their debut CD even opened with a recording of this dialogue.

After a couple more shows, Gray quit and formed [[The Blamed]]. Repenning also quit the band as well at some point. Blenderhead was able to convince Ed Carrigan to join on bass and Eben Haase to join on guitar. Carrigan and Haase were also members of [[Don’t Know]]. Some of the band lived at a place called "House-O-Funk," which was a group house that also had house shows. In 1993, this line-up of the the band recorded their debut EP for [[Morphine Records]].

Power stayed in touch with Ebel and even sent him a copy of the [[Fearless Donkey]] //Songs From The Rain Factory Volume 1// compilation CD when Ebel was working at [[Frontline Records]]. When Ebel started [[Tooth & Nail Records]], 
he contacted Power about putting Blenderhead on a compilation he was working on called //Helpless Amongst Friends//. [[Wish for Eden]] and [[Focused]] went on a west coast tour after releasing their [[Tooth & Nail Records]] debut albums. Power promoted the shows for that tour in Seattle, putting Blenderhead on the bill. One of the shows was at the House-O-Funk attend by Ebel, who was in town to visit his family (around Christmas time). After the show, Ebel offered Power a record deal for Blenderhead. At somepoint before 1994, Paul Henry of [[Don't Know]] also joined the band on bass, leaving Power to focus solely on vocals.

While the band was recording their first album for [[Tooth & Nail Records]], Power convinced Ebel to let him run the label's mail order from Seattle. Power worked at [[Tooth & Nail Records]] from 1993-2003. Right before the band went in to record their first album, Power became very sick and could barely record his vocals. Some of the vocal takes had to be re-recorded during the mixing stage. Power says that a lot of the aggression of the vocals for the first album was because his voice was extra harsh from being sick.

Their debut full-length album, //Prime Candidate for Burnout//, was released in 1994. Also released in 1994 was a 7-inch record called //Live at the Blue Tile Lounge//, comprised of two songs from the album, a couple of extra songs from the recording sessions, and different versions of two other songs. After the release of the album, the band did a West Coast tour.

Ebel decided he wanted to move back to the northwest to be near his family, so Power helped him find office space in Seattle. At the end of the Blenderhead West Coast tour, Johnson and Power helped Ebel move himself and the [[Tooth & Nail Records]] label from California to Seattle. Power was promoted to Operations Manager for the label, and his wife at the time was hired to do accounting.

Blenderhead's second album for Tooth & Nail reflected their changing music tastes and songwriting style. Power stated that wanted to experiment more with volume and melody while getting away from straight ahead punk / hardcore styles. While Power hated the production on their 1995 release //Muchacho Vivo//, he was proud of the songs they wrote. The band also recorded a song called "Bugtooth" for the [[Flying Tart Records]] 7-inch //4 Songs About Motorcycles// in 1995. This song saw different band members playing different instruments.

At some point after their second album, Haase was fired by Power and Carigan left as well. This basically led to Blenderhead breaking up. A third album called //The Pauli Exclusion Principle// had been included in a Tooth & Nail catalog as an upcoming release, but that album was never recorded. In 1996, [[Morphine Records]] released a compilation ep that contained their first song, their first ep, a left over song from the //Prime Candidate// sessions, and the song for the //4 Songs About Motorcycles// 7-inch.

In 2000, a new Blenderhead song called "Twinkie Insanity Verdict" was released on //Songs from the Penalty Box Volume 4// compilation by [[Tooth & Nail Records]]). Power and Johnson wanted to record another album, so they talked Carrigan into joining them again. They found Tyler P. Vander Ploeg to join them on guitar and recorded //Figureheads on the Forefront of Pop Culture.// This album was released in 2001 on [[Tooth & Nail Records]]. The lyrics reflected the recent painful divorce Power had been through. All of the music that had been intended for //The Pauli Exclusion Principle// was recorded for this album. The band also reunited for Guitarist Tyler Vander Ploeg's 40th birthday in March 2016.

===== Discography =====

| 1993 | [[https://christiantapeunderground.wordpress.com/2020/10/31/blenderhead-demo/|Blenderhead]] | [[Morphine Records]] |
| 1994 | Prime Candidate for Burnout | [[Tooth & Nail Records]] |
| 1994 | Live at the Blue Tile Lounge | [[Tooth & Nail Records]] |
| 1996 | Muchacho Vivo | [[Tooth & Nail Records]] |
| 1997 | EP | [[Morphine Records]] |
| 2001 | Figureheads On The Forefront Of Pop Culture | [[Tooth & Nail Records]] |

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==== Blenderhead ====

1993 [[Morphine Records]] (MOR002)

Bill Power - Vocals, bass\\
Eben Haase - Guitar\\
Ed Carrigan - Guitar\\
Matt Johnson - Drums

  - Let Down
  - Jack's a Dull Boy
  - Soapbox
  - Dear John

------

==== Prime Candidate For Burnout ====

1994 [[Tooth & Nail Records]] ‎(TND1010)

Bill Power - Sings\\
Eben Haase - Guitar\\
Ed Carrigan - Guitars\\
Paul Henry - Bass\\
Matt Johnson - Drums

Produced by [[Aaron Sprinkle]]

  - Escape Reason 	
  - Cesspool 	
  - Power Trip 	
  - Bottle Breaker 	
  - Let Down 	
  - Alcohol House 	
  - Purgatory 	
  - Internalize 	
  - Spare Change 	
  - Soapbox 	
  - National Drug 	
  - Choice

------

==== Live at the Blue Tile Lounge ====

1994 [[Tooth & Nail Records]] (TNV 2)

Bill Power - Vocals\\
Eben Haase - Guitar\\
Ed Carrigan - Guitar\\
Paul Henry - Bass\\
Matt Johnson - Drums

Produced by [[Aaron Sprinkle]]

  - Spare Change
  - Bottle Breaker
  - Jack's a Dull Boy
  - Brainsnatchers (Lounge Mix)
  - Soapbox (Polka Version)
  - Dear John

------

==== Muchacho Vivo ====

1995 [[Tooth & Nail Records]] ‎(TND1031)

William Richard Power III - Vocals, bass\\
Eben Joel Haase - Vocals, guitar\\
Edward James Carrigan III - Guitar\\
Paul Nicholas Henry - Bass\\
Matthew Edwin Johnson - Drums

Produced by Stuart Hallerman

  - Haven (3:04)
  - Tow Truck (2:52)
  - Vacancy (2:03)
  - Chicane Cardigan Smile (2:17)
  - Shake This (3:33)
  - The Sad World of Me (4:11)
  - Trees (2:50)
  - Disengaged (3:03)
  - U.S.A. for Matthew (3:07)
  - Queen of the Day (2:18)
  - La Grieta (4:24)
  - Five Minute Cousin (2:24)
  - Breaking Skin (2:39)
  - Once in a Lifetime (3:27)
  - The Castle (4:05)

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==== EP ====

1996 [[Morphine Records]] (MR1002)

This is a collection of songs including our first single, first demo, a bonus track that never made it onto "Prime Candidate For Burnout" and a single we did for a 7". These all appear for the first time ever on CD, courtesy of Brandon Ebel and Tooth & Nail Records. 

Bill Power - Vocals on tracks 1-6, bass on tracks 2-5, 7\\
Eben Haase - Guitar on tracks 2-7\\
Ed Carrigan - Vocals on track 7, guitar on tracks 2-7\\
Matt Johnson - Drums

Bili Repenning - Guitar on track 1\\
Bryan Gray - Bass on track 1\\
Jessica Ferguson - Vocals on tracks 1, 5\\
Chris Estey - Vocals on track 6

  - Invasion of the Brainsnatchers (3:43)
  - Let Down (demo version) (3:10)
  - Jack's a Dull Boy (demo version) (3:10)
  - Soapbox (demo version) (4:42)
  - Dear John (demo version) (0:15)
  - Swingtime (2:42)
  - Bugtooth (4:06)

------

==== Figureheads on the Forefront of Pop Culture ====

2001 [[Tooth & Nail Records]] (TND1190)

Bill R. Power - Vocals, bass\\
Edward J. Carrigan - Guitar\\
Tyler P. Vander Ploeg - Guitar\\
Matthew E. Johnson - Drums

  - I Gave Her My Heart, She Gave Me a Pen (3:13)
  - Theology and Algebra (1:27)
  - Transatlantic Solo Flight (2:45)
  - Versatilve Solutions for Modern Living (5:30)
  - You Know Who You Are (2:11)
  - Emerald City Indie Queen (4:21)
  - Monotone (Instrumental) (4:15)
  - Fort Lewis Gun Club Youth Day (2:57)
  - The Divine Minus Outside the Brackets (2:49)
  - Kick the Map in the River (2:57)
  - Vivaladel (4:15)
  - Crown Hill Hardware (3:05)

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==== Compilation Appearances =====

//**ACM Journal: 3rd Anniversary Compilation**// (1992)\\
14) Invasion of the Brainsnatchers (4:03)

Billy Blender (Power) - Vocals\\
Bili Repenning - Guitar\\
Bryan Gray - Bass\\
Matt Johnson - Drums\\
Jessica Ferguson - Scream

//**4 Songs About Motorcycles**// (1995 [[Flying Tart Records]])\\
01) Bugtooth (4:01)

Ed Carrigan - Lead vocals, guitar\\
Matt Johnson - Guitar, BGV\\
Bill Power - Bass, BGV\\
Eben Haase - Drums, guitar

//**Songs from the Penalty Box Volume 4**// (2000 [[Tooth & Nail Records]])\\
16) Twinkie Insanity Verdict (1:46)

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===== Links =====

  * [[http://billypower.com/|Billy Power]]
  * [[https://www.therealmattjohnson.com/|Matt Johnson]]
  * [[http://www.indievisionmusic.com/2014/01/19/fast-fwd-what-theyre-up-2-now-bill-power-of-blenderhead/ |Fast FWD – What They’re Up 2 Now: Bill Power of Blenderhead]]
  * [[http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/Blenderhead/Muchacho_Vivo/14279/|Crossrhythms Review of "Muchacho Vivo"]]
  * [[http://www.tollbooth.org/2001/reviews/blenderhead.html|Phantom Tollbooth Review of "Figureheads on the Forefront of Pop Culture"]]
  * [[https://ink19.com/2001/03/magazine/music-reviews/blenderhead|Ink19 Review of "Figureheads on the Forefront of Pop Culture"]]