Certain states and cities are often associated with particular musical styles. This is no different in the context of punk and wider “alternative” music genres. Washington D.C. is the hearth of emo, as the intense pioneering hardcore of bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains morphed into a more introspective and melodic sound of emo. New York is no different, with the city hosting several of the foundational bands of the punk and new wave movement such as The New York Dolls, The Ramones, Television, and Blondie. New York hardcore is a beast unto itself, with the heavy and mosh-friendly sounds of bands like Cro-Mags laying the groundwork for thousands of stupid brutal beatdown hardcore and metalcore bands.
One part of the United States that I feel deserves more recognition when it comes to punk music is the state of Texas, as it had a surprisingly innovative and unique roster of bands in the ‘80s. Dicks was a band that is notable for its front man, Gary Floyd, being openly gay and pioneering the queercore movement. D.R.I. (an abbreviation of Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) started out playing some of the fastest punk of their time before evolving into a more metal-informed sound. This mix of punk and metal would be coined crossover thrash and would influence the pioneering bands of the metalcore genre that rose to popularity in the ‘90s and is relevant to this day.
These two bands are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Texas alternative music and I’m sure residents of the state will know of hidden gems that I’m unfamiliar with. Perhaps the most widely known alternative band from Texas is Butthole Surfers, formed in 1981 in San Antonio under a constantly shifting moniker before finally settling on its current name.
I will provide a disclaimer to the overview I wrote for this band. As the sheer amount of drug-fueled surrealism that comprises the history of Butthole Surfers cannot be contained in a single article. Just know that the gritty details, whether they are undeniable or reside only in rumours, extend far beyond the scope of a single article.
As a band that was active for around two decades, one can imagine that quite a bit of sonic development occurred between their 1983 self-titled debut EP and 2001’s “Weird Revolution.” Early Butthole Surfers owed much of its sound to hardcore punk, albeit still infused with experimental and psychedelic touches, before marching towards a more alternative rock approach.
On the topic of alternative rock, Butthole Surfers would later be championed as an influence on the Grunge movement. This band experienced what I will call the “The Kurt Cobain Effect” in which a band or musical artist experiences reappraisal thanks to Kurt Cobain listing them as one of his influences (Flipper, another favorite band of mine, is another example of “The Kurt Cobain Effect,” as Cobain wore a home-made Flipper shirt in several public appearances, which led to Flipper being recognized as the pioneering band that it was). A common claim is that Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love first met at a Butthole Surfers concert in 1991.
Butthole Surfers not only are unique in terms of their sound, but also their history with labels. The band’s juvenilia was released on Alternative Tentacles, an independent label founded by Dead Kennedys’ members East Bay Ray and Jello Biafra that would host some of the most eccentric underground rock bands of the eighties and nineties. Their first full length album “Psychic… Powerless… Another Man’s Sac” was released by Touch And Go records, who would release much of the band’s later ‘80s catalog. In 1992 the band did the unthinkable and signed to major label Capitol Records. Yes, that means that The Beatles and Butthole Surfers have released music on the same record label.
This would lead up to the shelved album that we are discussing today. Two years after the release of 1996’s “Electriclarryland,” the second album on Capitol records, the band attempted to record “After The Astronaut” only for it to be scrapped. In 2001 the band released “Weird Revolution,” which included rerecorded material from “After The Astronaut.” “Weird Revolution” was poorly received and is rather notorious for featuring Kid Rock, of all people, as a songwriter on the song “Shame Of Life.” This LP would be all she wrote for Butthole Surfers for over two decades.
“After The Astronaut” will finally be released on June 26, 2026, with the tracks as they were originally envisioned. As of writing this, two of the songs have been released as music videos: “Jet Fighter” and “Imbuya.” “After The Astronaut” is an album that has been available as a leaked promo for quite some time, but an official release will make this piece of music history available to more than just the most dedicated of music fans.
Butthole Surfers are a band that have had a surprising amount of relevance and longevity despite the odds. The rerelease of this album is a testament to the fact that this band and the scene that they represent was more than just a flash in the pan. The brazen creativity displayed through a singular discography, something that can be seen in just the album titles alone, is inspiring. Very few bands could write both frantic hardcore and psychedelic alternative rock and maintain a consistent identity, so give these Texan punks a listen, even if just for the novelty of saying you’ve listened to a band called Butthole Surfers.
Featured image: Jackpot Records
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