{"product_id":"mr-epp-ridiculing-the-apocalypse","title":"Mr. Epp - Ridiculing The Apocalypse","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first band of \u003cstrong\u003eMark Arm\u003c\/strong\u003e — Before \u003cstrong\u003eGreen River\u003c\/strong\u003e, before \u003cstrong\u003eMudhoney\u003c\/strong\u003e!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore grunge was a genre, it was an insult Mark Arm wrote about his own band: \u003cem\u003e“Pure grunge! Pure noise! Pure shit!”\u003c\/em\u003e That band was \u003cstrong\u003eMr. Epp \u0026amp; The Calculations\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConceived in a math class at Bellevue Christian High School in 1978 as a completely imaginary group, \u003cstrong\u003eMr. Epp \u003c\/strong\u003eeventually became one of the strangest, most confrontational and deliberately antagonistic acts in Seattle’s early underground. It was Mark Arm’s first band. \u003cstrong\u003eSteve Turner\u003c\/strong\u003e joined during its final phase; Arm and Turner would soon form Green River and later reunite in Mudhoney.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut \u003cem\u003eRidiculing the Apocalypse\u003c\/em\u003e is far more than a piece of Seattle prehistory. This is not polite archaeology for completists. It is the sound of suburban teenagers turning musical ineptitude into an aesthetic weapon: serrated, collapsing guitars, hardcore velocity, lurching post-punk rhythms, industrial abrasion, free-jazz saxophone and enough black humour to destroy any trace of punk-rock solemnity. Instead of learning to play properly, Mr. Epp learned how to use distortion, repetition, awkwardness and confrontation as a language of their own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTheir songs take aim at uniformed hardcore punks, Reagan-era patriotism, the Moral Majority, militarism, police authority, suburban privilege, college life and nuclear annihilation, while never sparing their own scene or themselves. “\u003cem\u003eMohawk Man\u003c\/em\u003e” was a vicious attack on those who had reduced hardcore to a pose and a dress code. The song reached number one on the influential Los Angeles radio show \u003cstrong\u003eRodney on the ROQ\u003c\/strong\u003e, while their 1982 EP \u003cem\u003eOf Course I’m Happy, Why?\u003c\/em\u003e was reviewed in the very first issue of Maximum Rocknroll, which praised its strange structures, cynicism and intelligence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA Seattle radio DJ introduced them as \u003cem\u003e“the worst band in the world”\u003c\/em\u003e. Mr. Epp embraced the insult, building their reputation through absurd posters, deliberately ridiculous self-promotion and chaotic live performances. During their brief existence they shared bills with \u003cstrong\u003eDead Kennedys\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eTen Minute Warning\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eThe Rejectors\u003c\/strong\u003e, before playing their final show in 1984 alongside \u003cstrong\u003eMalfunkshun\u003c\/strong\u003e, opening for \u003cstrong\u003eFang\u003c\/strong\u003e. Less than three years after becoming a real band, it was over.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginally issued on CD in 1996, \u003cem\u003eRidiculing the Apocalypse\u003c\/em\u003e now receives its \u003cstrong\u003efirst-ever vinyl edition\u003c\/strong\u003e. BANG! Records and Jo Smitty have reshaped the anthology into a concentrated sixteen-track LP, newly remastered for vinyl by \u003cstrong\u003eSergio Delgado\u003c\/strong\u003e in Madrid in 2026. It includes the complete \u003cem\u003eOf Course I’m Happy, Why? EP\u003c\/em\u003e, the band’s most essential studio recordings and two live tracks captured at Seattle’s Metropolis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe packaging completes the document: Todd Why?’s original drawings, the wrecked EPP car, rehearsal and live photographs, Craig Joyce’s extensive band history and Jo Smitty’s track-by-track notes. Nothing has been cleaned up or rewritten into respectable rock history. The entire edition retains the photocopied, basement-made, fanzine-and-rented-hall aesthetic that defined Mr. Epp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEssential for followers of Mudhoney, Green River, \u003cstrong\u003eFlipper\u003c\/strong\u003e, early American hardcore, post-punk and outsider noise — and for anyone who wants to hear Seattle before it became an industry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot a footnote. Not a novelty. The sound of a band turning ridicule into method.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BANG!","offers":[{"title":"Limited Vinyl LP","offer_id":59348061127001,"sku":"SDZ-52057","price":31.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/3455\/0945\/files\/SHE_20260909_1026_092713_181_p_Outlook-zh044rjn_3_001.jpg?v=1788950903","url":"https:\/\/spindizzyrecords.com\/products\/mr-epp-ridiculing-the-apocalypse","provider":"Spindizzy Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}