Grossest National Product
Grossest National Product (GNP) was a hardcore punk band formed in December 1982 by vocalist Spike Rogers, guitarist Keith Patton, bassist Jimmy Starr and drummer Duhgi Doom. The group, sometimes called the "worst band in Birmingham" endured for nearly three decades, going through seven bass players along the way. Regular members included guitarists Scott Boykin and Chris Hendrix, and vocalist Tim Boykin. David Manning was the bassist from 1998 to at least 2004.
Hendrix has described the band's sound as "like being underneath a runaway freight train, trying to sit up and being knocked back down by it, repeatedly and relentlessly. And every time it briefly slows down enough that you think you might be able to get out from under it, a red-hot chunk of metal comes bouncing along and bangs into you, sticking to you, getting under your skin, scorching and searing its way to your very core."
GNP played a seminal benefit show for United Campuses Against Nuclear War with the Ether Dogs and Jim Bob & the Leisure Suits at St Andrew's Episcopal Church in June 1983. They performed with Ether Dogs again at a Delta Chi party at Birmingham-Southern College that fall. The band released a self-titled cassette tape in 1985 and appeared on the first two Thedford Recordings 7" compilations.
References
- McCracken, Kenn (May 6, 2004) "'It's not supposed to tickle': The long, bizarre legacy of GNP". Birmingham Weekly
- "Unforgettable: Rocker Chris Hendrix" (August 1, 2016) B-Metro
- Millard, Andre (2017) Magic City Nights: Birmingham's Rock 'n' Roll Years. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press ISBN 9780819576972
External links
- Grossest National Product fan page on Facebook.com