The Butthole Surfers are an American alternative rock band. The band was founded by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. Incorporating elements of hardcore punk, psychedelia, heavy metal, avant-garde and performance art, their live shows also made heavy use of strobe lights, background films (of note, footage of penis reconstruction surgery) and naked dancers. The band has a well-reported appetite for recreational drugs, particularly psychedelics, an evident influence on their sound. ...show more

The Butthole Surfers are an American alternative rock band. The band was founded by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. Incorporating elements of hardcore punk, psychedelia, heavy metal, avant-garde and performance art, their live shows also made heavy use of strobe lights, background films (of note, footage of penis reconstruction surgery) and naked dancers. The band has a well-reported appetite for recreational drugs, particularly psychedelics, an evident influence on their sound.

These live performances added a dimension that completely side-stepped the arena rock grandiosity and secured them a prominent place in the cult annals. Their best known songs are 1994's "Pepper" (a left-field Top 40 hit) and 2001's "Dracula From Houston". The band has had numerous personnel changes, but the core lineup of Haynes (vocals), Leary (guitar), and drummer King Coffey has been together since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second drummer from 1983 to 1985 and from 1986 to 1989, and they have employed a variety of bass players, most notably Bill Jolly, Jeff Pinkus and Mark Kramer (of Bongwater and SHIMMY DISC).

Their song "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" can be found on the hit console game Guitar Hero II (without most of the 'I'm flying' intro) The Buttholes are best known for their chaotic and disturbing live shows, black humor, a sound that incorporates elements of punk rock, psychedelia, heavy metal, noise rock, and electronica, as well as their use of sound manipulation and tape editing. Although they were respected by their peers and attracted a devoted fan base, the Butthole Surfers had little commercial success until 1996's Electriclarryland, their only gold record to date. The album contained the hit single "Pepper" which climbed to number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart that year. Pre-history The Butthole Surfers had their genesis at San Antonio, Texas' Trinity University in the late 1970s, when students Gibson "Gibby" Haynes, and Paul Leary Walthall (later just Paul Leary) met for the first time. ...show less