A Short History of Beat Happening

First thing's first. Calvin Johnson founded K Records. Respect is due. K Records has been fundamental to the promotion and development of independent music right through the nineties. He also founded noisy lo-fi chancers Beat Happening in the early eighties. They challenged the accepted hardcore and punk image of the times but were, just like his label, staunchly independent and single-minded when it came to music.

Beat Happening began life at Evergreen College, Washington. This was the same college that Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, attended a few years previous. Beat Happening considered themselves punk even though their music was gentler and more sensitive. They wore woolly jumpers and floral print dresses, which let's face it, was not common in the hardcore scene at the time. The trio comprised of Calvin Johnson, Bret Lunsford and Heather Lewis. They had a shambolic and haphazard approach to their music, swapping instruments for each song with Johnson mainly singing.

One of the first things they did when they formed was take a trip to Japan. At the time there were no other American or British independent bands around in Japan. Johnson thought they could move there and become almost instantly famous, or at least make a name for themselves and gain some kind of following. The band's first demos were recorded on a normal tape player in a hotel room. The demos became their debut album 'Beat Happening', officially released in 1985. It's the band's definitive record and contains very lo-fi, non-produced disjointed guitar, drums and vocals. The songs are about true pop fare, like going out and having a crush on someone, and not the usual hardcore stuff.

Beat Happening's second album, called 'Jamboree', was more of the same. Except the guitars are a little more like the Cramps, but less rockabilly and more punk, yet the mood is still sassy-pop and apple-pie. The album was short and sweet.

The band got to support the likes of Black Flag and Fugazi. All the time borrowing equipment from the headline acts. When they visited England they hooked up with similar bands. Similar in spirit any way. The Pastels and The Vaselines from Scotland. They released a single on the 53rd and 3rd label, run by The Pastels. All their other recordings were released on their own K Records and distributed by either Sub Pop (America) or Rough Trade (UK). K Records went on to release work by Beck, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and many other well known acts.Beat Happening called it quits in 1992. They had recorded five albums and have been cited by many bands as being influential, in spirit more than sound. Yo La Tengo, Teenage Fanclub, Riot Grrrl bands, Nirvana and the White Stripes included.