Toiling Midgets

With origins in seminal SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA punk acts the Sleepers and Bad Trend, Toiling Midgets was among the 1st West Coast punk bands to test out dub and post-punk elements, sounding similar to their L.A. contemporaries the Weapon Golf club. In 1980, Toiling Midgets was founded by guitarist Craig Grey, who had lately parted methods with Negative Tendency. Negative Tendency was the 1st SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA punk music group, whose other users (Steve DePace and can Shatter) continued to form another seminal Western Coast punk music group, Flipper, using the Sleepers’ Ricky Williams. Another Sleepers member, drummer Tim Mooney, was roped in by Grey for his personal new music group, who curved out Toiling Midgets’ lineup with guitarist Paul Hood and bassist Johnathan Henrickson. Toiling Midgets started as an instrumental four-piece seeking to move beyond the confines of punk; discovering darker, even more atmospheric (though believe it or not forceful) place. When Ricky Williams was kicked from Flipper, for famously becoming “too strange,” he became a member of Toiling Midgets as their vocalist, getting a restless energy towards the music group. Starting up with maker Tom Mallon (who proceed to produce information by American Music Membership, Chris Isaak, and Thin Light Rope; and discovered Grifter Information), the music group documented their debut record, Ocean of Unrest, released by Tough Trade in 1982 (reissued by Cargo in 1994). A year or two of gigging implemented, however the band’s proclivity toward self-destruction avoided anything beyond a little, underground following. With the discharge of 1985’s Deadbeats on little indie Thermidor, Williams and Henrickson acquired left the music group. During the remaining ’80s, there is limited activity in the Toiling Midgets, although in 1992 the rest of the members recorded Kid with Tag Eitzel on vocals, who at that time was going for a break from his music group American Music Membership. Again made by Mallon, Kid benefited in the relatively visible of Eitzel, and premiered by Matador within the U.S. and Hut/Virgin within the U.K. By the finish of the entire year, nevertheless, the music group received term that Ricky Williams got passed away because of a respiratory disease, and Eitzel came back to AMC, getting drummer Tim Mooney with him.