MX-80: Biography

• Overview
• Discography
• Biography
• Related Artists

• Videos
• Photos
• Groups/Boards
• Fan Sites

• Gizmos
• Henry Kaiser

• Frank Zappa
• Captain Beefheart

• Viza-Noir
• Unwound
• Dymaxion
• Battles
• Ministry

• Bruce Anderson
• Gizzards
• O-Type

Genre:

Rock Music

Decades Active:

1970's|1980's|1990's|2000's

Cultural Impact

Low

Ratings Guide

An arty hard rock band with an affinity for Beefheart/Zappa-style weirdness, MX-80 Sound was formed in Bloomington, Indiana in the mid-'70s by guitarist Bruce Anderson, bassist Dale Sophiea, and drummer Jeff Armour; this trio was joined in late 1975 by vocalist Rich Stim and additional drummer Dave Mahoney. A local single and an EP called Big Hits (1976) got the group a contract with Island Records, but their 1977 debut, Hard Attack, was released only in Britain. A move to San Francisco caused Armour to leave the band, but their left-of-center approach soon caught the attention of the Residents-run Ralph Records, which released Out of the Tunnel (1980) and Crowd Control (1981). MX-80 Sound then faded from sight; Stim entered law school, but the remaining members continued to record together under various guises. Anderson and Sophiea spearheaded side projects called O-Type and the Gizzards; Sophiea also produced Anderson's solo LPs of Robert Fripp-influenced guitar experimentation, and Anderson also briefly appeared with Henry Kaiser. The band returned in 1987 as MX-80 with Existential Lover, for which Stim returned and new drummer Marc Weinstein joined the fold. In 1990, the band issued the all-instrumental Das Love Boat, and in the following years, its two Ralph albums and its earlier recordings were combined on two respective reissues.

- Steve Huey, All Music Guide