No Trend

No Trend
No Trend
	File:No Trend band.gif
Background information
Origin	Ashton, Maryland, United States
Genres	Jazz rock; no wave; post-hardcore; noise rock;
Years active	1982–1988
Labels	No Trend; Touch and Go; Blast First Petite; Teen Beat;
Past members	Dean Evangelista; Eric Leifert; Jeff Mentges (vocals); Greg Miller; Brian Nelson; Buck Parr; James Peachey; Frank Price (guitar); Jack Anderson; Michael Salkind (drums); Bob Strasser (bass); Christine Niblack (bass)

No Trend was an American noise rock and hardcore punk group from Ashton, Maryland, formed in 1982. They were considered anti-hardcore, with the members, especially guitarist and lyricist Frank Price, vehement about their abhorrence towards the punk youth subculture. The band was known for their confrontational stage performances, which normally involved aggressively baiting their punk audience.^[1] They were influenced by Public Image Ltd. and Flipper.

They released three full-length albums, two released independently and one issued through Touch and Go Records. A fourth album that was recorded in 1987 but never released was finally issued as More in 2001.

History

No Trend formed in 1982 in Ashton, Maryland and consisted of Jeff Mentges (vocals), Bob Strasser (bass), Frank Price (guitar), and Michael Salkind (drums). Prior to No Trend, Mentges, Salkind, Strasser and Brad Pumphrey (guitar) were a band called the Aborted; they nearly played out with Government Issue.^[2] No Trend formed as a reaction against the growing punk rock movement of the time. Their early period has been described as "dark" and "nihilistic". The group intended to write a single song for one performance only, but the group soon wrote enough material for a release: their debut extended play, the Teen Love EP, a 7" independently issued by the band.^[3] In August 1983, Strasser and Salkind left the band. Jack Anderson (bass) and Greg Miller (drums) joined and the quintet released their first full-length studio album, titled Too Many Humans, which met moderate success within the American underground music scene. In the spring of 1984 the band rerecorded the Teen Love 7” and released it as a 12” with two additional tracks.

After an aborted tour during the summer of 1984, Price, Anderson and Miller all left the group, leaving Mentges as the only member of the group. Mentges would later get other musicians to join the band, and the newly reformed No Trend would go back in studio to record their second record, A Dozen Dead Roses, which was released in 1985. This record featured a significant change in sound when compared to the cold, noisy tone found on previous releases. The record featured vocalist Lydia Lunch contributing to multiple songs. The songs that featured Lunch were released previously on the 10" extended play Heart of Darkness through her label Widowspeak Productions. She also issued a No Trend compilation album in 1986, titled When Death Won't Solve Your Problems, through the same label.^[4]

The band would later be signed to Touch and Go Records and would release their third album, Tritonian Nash-Vegas Polyester Complex, through them in 1986. A fourth album was recorded in 1987, but after they showed the label the record, Touch and Go refused to release it, deeming that it was "too weird" to release. They were unable to find a label to release the album, effectively putting an end to the band.^[5] The album would remain unreleased until Morphious Archives, a label that specializes in releasing obscure records, gained the rights to release the album. It was finally issued in 2001 as More.

After the group's official disbandment, Jeff Mentges attended the University of Maryland as a film student, and subsequently directed the John Holmes biographical film Of Flesh and Blood in 1990.^[5]^[6] Founding member and original No Trend guitarist Frank Price committed suicide in 1989, which brought shock to both members and fans of the band.^[7]^[8] A compilation of unreleased studio and live tracks was released through TeenBeat Records in 1995, titled The Early Months.^[9]

Musical style

The band originally started out as a noise rock outfit, with critics comparing their sound to hardcore punk and industrial music. As shown on Teen Love and, to a greater extent, Too Many Humans, the band's music typically revolved around Bob Strasser's repetitive basslines. Michael Salkind's drums were quick-paced, and Frank Price's guitar riffs were mostly composed of guitar feedback. Their sound quickly changed with A Dozen Dead Roses, which focused much more on jazz rock, funk music, and experimental rock to a lesser extent. Tritonian Nash-Vegas Polyester Complex dug deeper into the musical stylings of A Dozen Dead Roses, and More included major classic rock influences.

Members

Jeff Mentges – vocals (1982–1988)
Frank Price – guitar (1982–1984)
Bob Strasser – bass (1982–1984)
Stephan "Chazz" Jacobs – electric cello and percussion (1982–1983)
Christine Niblack – bass (1983 tour)
Michael Salkind – drums (1982–1983)
Jack Anderson – bass (1983–1984)
Greg Miller – drums (1983–1984)
Danny "Spidako" Demetro – keyboards (1985–1986)
Robert "Smokey" Marymont – bass (1985–1988)
Dean Evangelista – guitar, keyboards (1985–1988)
Benard Demassy – saxophone (1985–1986)
Ken Rudd – drums (1985–1986)
James "Fuzz" Peachy – drums (1986–1988)
Nick Smiley – saxophone (1986–1988)
Scott Rafal – saxophone (1986–1988)
Johnny Ontego – saxophone (1986–1988)
Paul Henzy – trumpet (1986–1988)
Leif – guitar (1986–1988)
Bobby Birdsong – guitar (1986–1988)
Rogelio Maxwell – cello (1986–1988)
Chris Pestelozzie – percussion (1986–1988)

Timeline

<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:200 bottom:60 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1988 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1982 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1988

Colors =

 id:guitars value:green       legend:Guitar
 id:vocals    value:red      legend:Vocals
 id:keys    value:purple      legend:Keyboard
 id:bass    value:blue     legend:Bass
 id:drums   value:orange        legend:Drums
 id:horns  value:gray(0.5)         legend:Horns
 id:saxophone  value:skyblue      legend:Saxophone
 id:percussion  value:claret      legend:Percussion
 id:cello  value:yellowgreen     legend:Cello
 id:lines1  value:black       legend:Studio_Albums
 id:lines2  value: gray(0.5)       legend: EPs

BarData =

 bar:Jeff  text:Jeff Mentges
 bar:Frank  text:Frank Price
 bar:Dean     text:Dean Evangelista
 bar:Leif  text:Leif
 bar:Bobby text:Bobby Birdsong
 bar:Benard   text:Benard Demassy
 bar:Nick   text:Nick Smiley
 bar:Scott  text:Scott Rafal
 bar:Johnny  text:Johnny Ontego
 bar:Paul  text:Paul Henzy
 bar:Rogelio  text:Rogelio Maxwell
 bar:Bob  text:Bob Strasser
 bar:Christine text:Christine Niblack
 bar:Jack  text:Jack Anderson
 bar:Robert  text:Robert "Smokey" Marymont 
 bar:Danny  text:Danny "Spidako" Demetro 
 bar:Michael  text:Michael Salkind 
 bar:Ken     text:Ken Rudd
 bar:James     text:James "Fuzz" Peachy
 bar:Chris  text:Chris Pestelozzie

PlotData=

 width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

 bar:Jeff from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1988 color:vocals
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 bar:Michael  from:01/01/1982 till:09/01/1983       color:drums
 bar:Danny  from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1986        color:keys
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 bar:Dean  from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1986 color:guitars
 bar:Dean  from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1988 color:keys
 bar:Benard     from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1986 color:saxophone
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 bar:James     from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1988 color:drums
 bar:Nick     from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1988 color:saxophone
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 bar:Paul  from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1988        color:horns
 bar:Leif  from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1988       color:guitars
 bar:Bobby  from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1988 color:guitars
 bar:Rogelio  from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1988        color:cello
 bar:Chris  from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1988        color:percussion
 bar:Christine from:03/01/1983 till:09/01/1983 color:bass
 bar:Jack from:09/01/1983 till:07/01/1984 color:bass

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</timeline>

Discography

Studio albums

Too Many Humans..... (1984, No Trend Records)
A Dozen Dead Roses (1985, No Trend Records)
Tritonian Nash-Vegas Polyester Complex (1986, Touch and Go)
More (2001, Morphius Archives)

Compilations

When Death Won't Solve Your Problems (1986, Widowspeak Productions)
The Early Months (1995, TeenBeat)
You Deserve Your Life (2018, Digital Regress)
Too Many Humans / Teen Love (2020, Drag City)

Extended plays

Teen Love (1983, No Trend)
with Lydia Lunch: Heart of Darkness (1985, Widowspeak Productions)

References

^ Andersen, Mark; Jenkins, Mark (2009). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. Akashic Books. p. 126. ISBN 9781933354996. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
^ n/a (2010-10-02) (2 October 2010). "No Trend, No Scene, No Movement: No Trend, the Early Years". onechorisenough.blogspot.com. Blogspot/Google. Retrieved 2017-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ n/a (2010-07-15). "No Trend Interview". yellowgreenred.com. Blogspot/Google. Retrieved 2017-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ McCaleb, Ian (2007). "No Trend". Trouser Press. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
^ ^5.0 ^5.1 Little, Michael H. (April 25, 2013). "Ugly Dwarf: The Story of No Trend". thevinyldistrict.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
^ Porter, Christopher (2010-08-10). "High Hopes and Low Budgets: Jeff Mentges, 'Of Flesh and Blood,' at AFI Silver". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-09-25.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Mamone, Jordan N. (January 15, 2002). "No Trend Didn't Just Go Against the Grain, They Shoved It in the Faces of the Pretentious Hardcore Fans". New York Post. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
^ Sunderman, Zack. "No Trend". TeenBeat Records. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
^ Beaujon, Andrew (April 2004). "Essential Hardcore". Spin. Vol. 20, no. 4. p. 50. Retrieved June 21, 2013.

External links

[danceofdays-1] Andersen, Mark; Jenkins, Mark (2009). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. Akashic Books. p. 126. ISBN 9781933354996. Retrieved June 21, 2013.

[blogspot-2] /a (2010-10-02) (2 October 2010). "No Trend, No Scene, No Movement: No Trend, the Early Years". onechorisenough.blogspot.com. Blogspot/Google. Retrieved 2017-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[YGR-3] /a (2010-07-15). "No Trend Interview". yellowgreenred.com. Blogspot/Google. Retrieved 2017-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[trouserpress-4] McCaleb, Ian (2007). "No Trend". Trouser Press. Retrieved June 21, 2013.

[uglydwarf-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Little, Michael H. (April 25, 2013). "Ugly Dwarf: The Story of No Trend". thevinyldistrict.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.

[WP-6] Porter, Christopher (2010-08-10). "High Hopes and Low Budgets: Jeff Mentges, 'Of Flesh and Blood,' at AFI Silver". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-09-25.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[againstthegrain-7] Mamone, Jordan N. (January 15, 2002). "No Trend Didn't Just Go Against the Grain, They Shoved It in the Faces of the Pretentious Hardcore Fans". New York Post. Retrieved June 21, 2013.

[teenbeatbio-8] Sunderman, Zack. "No Trend". TeenBeat Records. Retrieved June 21, 2013.

[spinmag04-9] Beaujon, Andrew (April 2004). "Essential Hardcore". Spin. Vol. 20, no. 4. p. 50. Retrieved June 21, 2013.

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v t e No Trend
Jeff Mentges Bob Strasser Frank Prince Micheal Salkind Danny "Spidako" Demetro Dean Evangelista Robert "Smokey" Marymont Benard Demassy Ken Rudd James "Fuzz" Peachy Nick Smiley Scott Rafal Johnny Ontego Paul Henzy Leif Bobbie Birdsong Rangelio Maxwell Chris Pestelozzie
Studio albums	Too Many Humans (1984) A Dozen Dead Roses (1985) Tritonian Nash-Vegas Polyester Complex (1986) More (2001)
Other releases	Teen Love EP (1983) Heart of Darkness (1985) The Early Months (1995)
Related articles	Touch and Go Records Lydia Lunch