Ed Hall (band) - History

History

Described by Trouser Press as "Austin's resident heirs to the Butthole Surfers' weird-rock crown", Ed Hall was a trio not containing any member of that name; Gary Chester handled guitar duties, with Larry Strub on bass. Drumming was originally by John Buron, who was replaced by Kevin Whitley, who was later replaced by Lyman Hardy. The provenance of their namesake was never revealed, although multiple explanations were proffered by band members, media, and fans. The track "Who's Ed" on debut album Albert does little to dispel the mystery.

The band emerged from the music scene based in and around the Dong Huong, a Vietnamese restaurant-turned-punk club whose proprietor Phong encouraged and hosted loud, obnoxious bands too raw and/or unknown for established clubs. The Dong scene was documented on a cassette compilation called The Polyp Explodes (see Crust (band)), which ultimately brought Ed Hall to the attention of Boner Records owner Tom Flynn and to the unwanted attention of Jim Adler (The Texas Hammer) when a class action lawsuit was filed for loss of hearing and mental anguish of many of the band's fans.

One of the more striking features was the habit of performing while painted with blacklight paint, accompanied by the appropriate lighting on stage. This was probably a sort of psychedelic homage to their heroes of Kiss.