The Horrors
From The Secret History of the Cedar Valley
The Horrors (ca. 1997-2003) was a trash rock band from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and co-founders of Slew Style. Their first recording was a split 7" with brother band The Pee Pees. The band also circulated a cassette tape titled "Drunk" on side A, and "Drunker" on side B.
Members: Paul "the Head" Cary, guitar / vocals Andy "Damn Easy" Caffrey guitar, / vocals T.J. McDounough, junk drums 1997-1999 James "the Burger" Mcleese, hot drums 2000-2003
In late 1997, the group signed to the West Coast label, In The Red Records, and released two full length albums. The first album, self titled, was followed by a tour in Europe and ended with the original drummer T.J. McDonough calling it quits. The Pee Pees drummer, James "the Burger" Mcleese, joined the band in 2000, and helped arrange and record their second full length album "Vent," with a member of the trash rock mainstay, The Oblivians.
"Vent" was followed by a US tour and is viewed in sharp contrast to the raw and improvisational fury of the first record. The refusal to play strictly trash rock may of come too early. The band, at the forefront of the trash rock genre, deserves credit for popularizing the subsulture sound in the late 90's. But their insistence on pure originality in face of and deep seeded artistic differences between frontman Paul Cary and Andy Caffrey proved to be their undoing. Not only did they want to break the format rock n' roll in subculture, they wanted to do it with no regard to career and expectations of the rock n' roll lifestyle. James quit the band after the 2003 tour because of the infighting. Andy Caffrey went on to form The Autodramatics, and his own "field recording" unit, Obsolete Records. Paul Cary performs as a solo artist in Chicago, IL.
The Sound. Perhaps the most original aspect of this group is their sound, but it is also their approach. Frequently out of tune, and performing on substandard equipment, the dynamics of their music ranges from blues rock to avant garde. The shrill vocals of the early years also gave way to an emergent singer / songwriter tendency in Cary's regard. Alcohol and anarchy slew style characterized the many basement shows they played.
