Artist description Janis Figure is tough to pigeonhole. Think machine gun guitars and muscle cars. Picture Dick Dale and Jon Spencer jamming on stage. Think early Zeppelin blues being covered by the Stooges. Stir a cocktail of '70's rock, '80's punk, and '60's surf, and you'll be close to the Janis Figure sound. It's refreshingly original, and satisfyingly dated. It's vintage and it's brand new.

Music Style Rock, Punk, Surf, Psychobilly

Musical Influences Misfits, Stooges, Kyuss, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Similar Artists Misfits, Stooges, Kyuss, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Artist History Billy Bisson, former frontman of the Libido Boys, and Chris Coyne have been writing music together for five years. Dave Feirn and Chachi Laufenberg completed the picture two years ago. The foursome have been inseparable ever since. In 1997, they released a limited 3 CD EP demo series entitled "Three Pack Tight Pack." The band released the full-length CD "Transformer" in June of 98.

Group Members Billy Bisson - Vocals. Chris Coyne - Bass. Dave Feirn - Guitar. Chachi Laufenberg - Drums.

Instruments Vocals. Guitar. Bass. Drums.

Albums Transformer

Press Reviews "Considering the confines of the music business' straightjacket as we enter the millennium, it's always refreshing to hear bands with the courage to help rock and roll further evolve. On the aptly titled Transformer, Janis Figure takes rock to the outer limits with a twist of the hip, a shot of punk's driving recklessness, and the verve of imagination.The Minneapolis band's sound erupts from a driving rhythm section, electric guitar with the flavor of late-'50s surf music icons such as Dick Dale and reverberating vocals that float somewhere between Jim Morrison and Elvis. The band's songs explore rebelliousness, poke fun at cowboys and rednecks and celebrate the sheer pleasure of rock and roll.In "Skindipper," vocalist Billy Bisson spews thick vocals over a fast driving beat, distorted guitar chords and melodious noise. In "Smooth Joey," a driving number with surf guitar, Bissons voice brings The King to mind as they echo alongside clean guitar and the crashing of cymbals sharply keeping time.Celebrating the power of the scream, "Yhat" begins with distorted guitar riffs which move into fast, Dead Kennedys' style roughhousing. Light effects on both the guitar and bass emphasize that there is a lot happening in the instrumentation of this tune. In the chorus, the shrill Yhat! is chanted embellished nicely with a load of effects.The voice and instruments stop silent at the end of each scream, which creates a forceful dynamic.In the "Mechanical Bull'" a powerful tune that takes a stab at urban cowboy types, lowthundering guitar notes create the feel of a rowdy saloon hosting a bar brawl. Listeners can definitely hear Janis Figure's punk rock influences in "Big Kid," a rocking number in which fast guitar notes accent each vocal line with sounds reminiscent of X and Husker Du.For music that is supercharged, listeners can't go wrong with Janis Figure's Transformer. With cool guitar noises, driving rhythms, attitude and creative force, the band twists and shapes rock and roll clearly beyond the limits of it's evolutionary boundaries."Pitch Weekly K.C. MO

Location Minneapolis, MN - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).