SMOOCH is a American rock group formed in Boston in 1970 by Pucker Uppenheimer, Jack Zucchini, Alan Myers (who later ran away to join Devo before SMOOCH was even signed to a record label), and Stuart Banana.
With their make-up and costumes, they took on the personae of comic book-style characters: The Cosmicman (Uppenheimer), The Angel (Zucchini), The Earthchild or Earth Chap (Myers, later some guy named Bob Uppenheimer (no relation to Pucker)), and The Werewolf (Banana).
They rose to prominence in the early-to-mid 1970s with their elaborate live performances, which featured water breathing, blood-snorting, quadruple-neck guitars, shooting fireworks, smoking drum kits, and rockets. The band has gone through several lineup changes, with Uppenheimer and Zucchini the only remaining original members.
Not to be confused with a less popular imitation band.
Any information on this band is gladly accepted. note
Principal members (Founding members in bold, current members in italic):
- Pucker Uppenheimer - vocals, rhythm guitar (1970-present)
- Jack Zucchini - vocals, bass guitar (1970-present)
- Chris Zingarelli - lead guitar, vocals (2002-present)
- Napa O'Reilly - drums, vocals (2013-present)
- Alan Myers - drums, vocals (1970-1971, died 2013)
- Bob Uppenheimer - drums, vocals (1971-1991, died 2009)
- Stuart Banana - lead guitar, vocals (1970-2000)
Studio Discography:
- SMOOCH (1971)
- Colder Than Heaven (1971)
- Clothed to Destroy (1972)
- Eradicator (1973)
- Pop and Blow Up (1974)
- Pucker Uppenheimer (1975)
- Jack Zucchini (1975)
- Bob Uppenheimer (1975)
- Stuart Banana (1975)
- Empire (1976)
- Unclothed (1978)
- Tunes from "The Youngest" (1980)
- Monsters of the Evening (1981)
- Slurp It Down (1982)
- Humanization (1983)
- The Inmates Run The Asylum (1984)
- Boring Days (1985)
- Cold in the Shower (1986)
- Return (1991)
- Amusement Park of Minds: The Last Grog (1996)
- Crazy Fair (1999)
- Hyperspeed Explosion (2008)
- Mutant (2011)
"SO LET'S POP N BOP ALL DAY, AND TROPE EVERY NIGHT!":
- All Drummers Are Animals: Alan Myers wasn't. But gee whiz, Bob and Napa were/are.
- Broken Base: Especially after their Friendly Rivalry with Dethklok turned into a full blown feud after Upperheimer remarked in an interview with Gathering Moss magazine "At least, nobody dies at our shows, well not intentionally...anyway, but still!", it escalated further when a chance confrontation Zingarelli had with Dethklok bassist Murderface in a Los Angeles parking garage turned into a dragout fight, making headlines around the world and landing lengthy hospital stays for both men.
- The documentary "We Love SMOOCH (But Does SMOOCH Love Us)?", shows this in action, including the infamous incident at "SMOOCHfest '93" where Zucchini and Upperheimer made a surprise appearance and proceeded to order the convention (which they said was illegal, because they didn't have their permission to put it on) shut down and the organizers (who were lifelong diehard fans!) arrested.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Basically all of their pre-SMOOCH demos are this.
- Compare the free jazz version of "Car" to its hard rock version from their debut album.
- Any suggestion that Jack Zucchini played the organ is the product of a highly deranged imagination.
- The Movie: Filmation's SMOOCH At The Haunted Funland, hailed by many fans as So Bad, It's Good and a cult classic. There's also the mid-1980s direct-to-video release SMOOCH Uncovered.
- Retroactive Recognition: Any suggestion that Alan Myers played in this band before Devo, like the suggestion of Jack playing an organ, is the product of a highly deranged imagination.
- Screwed by the Network: They were dropped by their label Motown Records after "Monsters of the Evening", and jumped ship to EMI.
- We Used to Be Friends: Both Uppenheimers had a falling out in the early 90s which lead to Bob quitting, not to mention Bob's death received little attention from the press and public and his family has demanded the band pay royalties to them (which they haven't!)
