The Queers

The Queers were formed in 1981 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The original line-up consisted of guitarist/vocalist Joe “Queer” King, bassist Tulu, and drummer Wimpy Rutherford. Tulu introduced Joe Queer and Wimpy Rutherford to The Ramones in 1976 but it would be another five years before they formed the Queers shortly after Joe King returned to New Hampshire having spent a summer in Manhattan Beach, California. While Queer was on the west coast he saw many of the original Los Angeles punk rock bands including the Zeros, the Germs, Black Flag, the Dickies, Fear, and Angry Samoans. All three had previously played in earlier bands before forming the Queers including the Objects, the Falling Spikes, the Bugs, and the Monsignors. Tulu and the Objects released an album in 1980 (recorded live in 1978) and released a solo single in 1981 under his given name. Tulu stated that their band moniker had nothing to do with homosexuality, and meant queer as in someone strange or an outsider. This line-up recorded the Kicked Out of the Webelos EP and performed approximately six live shows (The Masonic Temple, a local pool party, and an outdoor open field gig; all three shows were located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The new line-up also played Geno’s Rock club in Portland, Maine along with two further shows), and broke up for a second time in 1984. Shortly after the breakup the Webelos EP was released and Wimpy then went to college in Arizona, Tulu moved to Boston, Massachusetts and reformed the Mosignors, while Joe owned a successful restaurant café while remaining in New Hampshire. In 1985, Joe formed a new version of the band with DMZ guitarist J. J. Rassler, bassist Kevin Kecy, and drummer Hugh O'Neill. The band broke up again in 1989 after King bought a restaurant, but the next year were re-formed by King and O'Neill, with Sean Rowley on rhythm guitar and new bassist B-Face. By now, the band had developed problems with drug and alcohol use. Larry Livermore, who was in the studio with the band for Love Songs for the Retarded, recalled that while Joe King was able to stop drinking, heroin remained an issue for both King and Hugh O'Neill. The other members staged an intervention for O'Neill, who was forced to take a leave of absence from the band to deal with his addiction. Jay Adelberg filled in on drums, performing on the live album Shout at the Queers; their 1994 cover version of the Ramones' 1977 album Rocket to Russia (released as part of Selfless Records' Ramones covers album series); and "Blabbermouth", their contribution to the 1994 Ben Weasel-curated compilation album Punk USA. The recording for the band's next album, 1994's Beat Off, was scheduled to take place partway through a U.S. tour, but O'Neill was once again sidelined by addiction. The Queers instead recruited Screeching Weasel drummer Dan Panic, and also added his bandmate Dan Vapid as a second guitarist. Panic and Vapid would record Beat Off with the Queers, though Vapid's guitar parts were removed from the album before its release. For the 1995 studio album Move Back Home, O'Neill returned, and the classic line-up of King, B-Face, and O'Neill would record one more album together with 1996's ''Don't Back Down'', which also saw the return of JJ Rassler on guitar. The album also marked the last release with Lookout! Records. The band had been offered a three-album deal with Epitaph Records, which King was in favor of, but B-Face and O'Neill weren't. The rift over this caused King to replace them with bassist Dave Swain from Jon Cougar Concentration Camp, and The Dwarves drummer Chris Fields. ==Musical style and influences ==

The Queers play a Ramones-derived style of pop punk. Much like The Ramones, common lyrical themes are of girls, love, drugs, alcohol and having fun. Musically the band deviates slightly from the driving rhythm guitar sound of the Ramones and augments their songs with harmony vocals and guitar solos. They have been described by Livermore as "The Ramones meets The Beach Boys". Ben Weasel of Screeching Weasel infrequently collaborates on songwriting with Joe Queer. The band is well known for the variety of cover versions they include on their records and during live performances. Bands/artists covered by The Queers include The Beach Boys, Ramones (including a complete re-recording of the Rocket to Russia album), Unnatural Axe, The Nobodys, Angry Samoans, The Mr. T Experience, Skeeter Davis, The Fantastic Baggys, The Who, The Undertones, The Hobos, Tommy James and The Shondells, Helen Love, The Catalogs (from Hawaii, featuring Les Hernandez of The Quintessentials), The Banana Splits and many more. Tom DeLonge of Blink-182, and Mike Herrera of MxPx, have cited The Queers as an influence. In 2008, a tribute album titled God Save The Queers was released, which featured covers by bands including Dwarves, Screeching Weasel, Teengenerate, New Bomb Turks, The Jolts, Hard-Ons, Toys That Kill, Parasites, Toothless George, and The Unlovables. ==Controversy==

Joe Queer has been publicly outspoken against Nazism and white supremacy over the years as expressed in various interviews and in the song "You're Tripping" from the 1993 Lookout Records release Love Songs for the Retarded. The lyrics state "I hate white power... Can't you see, this ain't Nazi Germany". In a 2014 open letter, Joe Steinhardt of Don Giovanni Records called on Asian Man Records and Recess Records to drop the Queers after Joe Queer made public statements in support of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Artist Mitch Clem, who had previously done work for the band, publicly broke ties as well. Steinhardt later apologized for the open letter, stating "I remain personally appalled by Joe Queer's defense of Darren Wilson, his use of the term Obongo regarding the president...at the same time, I recognize that a better way to go about this would be more thoughtful discussion directly with the people involved." Joe Queer later called Steinhardt a 'gutless wimp' and challenged him to a face to face debate to be filmed and put online. Steinhardt has yet to respond. In an interview with Noisey, after their February 2016 show was cancelled due to a call for a petition to boycott the show from a local collective, Babely Shades, Joe Queer voiced his opinion when asked if he "supports racist, misogynistic or homophobic values?" he replied "Of course not. What normal minded person does? My closest pals here in Atlanta are Chris and Chester, two gay black guys. I was actually working a part time job. I was one of two white people on the whole job. If I was so racist, I wouldn't have worked there or be living in Atlanta! The whole city is predominantly black." Queer also voiced his opinion of the activist group Black Lives Matter, stating "Black Lives Matter doesn't care about black people, they just want to cause trouble and hate white people. If they truly cared they'd be in the ghettos of America trying to help there instead of screaming about white America. That's where the murders of black people are happening, but according to BLM it's all white cops who are doing it! It's insane thinking and not getting to the root of the problem at all. All lives matter." In a 2017 interview, Joe Queer stated "I get called a Nazi and racist because of our name, and then because I had an opinion about the Ferguson thing," he says. "I'm liberal as hell, and I was taken aback by how quickly people attacked me. To this day, I'll get snide comments. I was jumped by Nazis as a gay person, even though I'm not gay. I fought Nazis, so to be called a Nazi is lame by this alt-left." In the same interview he states that humor is a way to social change, we shouldn't take ourselves so seriously and that many people are looking for a reason to be offended. "In the old days of punk rock, all these bands were laughing at themselves, and they got their point across through humor," King says. "The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, the Dickies, the Angry Samoans, Flipper, X — they were funny, but they had a message. They were laughing at themselves. I don't think the new liberals are really offended. I think they're just looking for a reason to say they're offended. They completely take everything out of context. It's so insincere, this faux outrage." ==Members==

Since its formation, the band has gone through a few line-up changes, with Joe Queer as the only constant member. The band currently consists of Joe Queer (guitar/vocals), Ginger Fanculo (bass), and Hoglog Rehab (drums). The first line-up was Joe Queer, Tulu, Keith Hages and Wimpy Rutherford. The mid-1980s line-up was Joe Queer, JJ Rassler, Hugh O'Neill with Kevin Kecy or Evan Shore. The best-known line-up is from the 1990s Lookout Records era: Joe Queer, B-Face and Hugh O'Neill. After leaving Lookout Records, B-Face and Hugh O'Neill left and Dangerous Dave joined. The Queers continue to actively tour and a new record is in the works. In 1999, former drummer Hugh O'Neill died of brain cancer at the age of 41. ;Current members • Joe Queer (a.k.a. Joseph P. King) – guitar, lead vocals (1981–present) • Alex Martin (a.k.a. Hoglog Rehab) – Drums (2011–present) • Ginger Fanculo – Guitar/Bass (touring) (2018–present) ;Former part-time and fill-in members • Tulu (a.k.a. Scott Gildersleeve) (bass/drums) (1981–1984, 2001 with “Drunken Cholos” original Queers reunion) (died March 2015) • Wimpy Rutherford (a.k.a. Jack Hayes) (drums/lead vocals) (1981–1984, 1993, 2001 with “Drunken Cholos” original Queers reunion, “special guest” live gig appearances) • Keith Hages (bass, backing vocals) (1983-1984) • Bobby Gaudreau (lead vocals) (1985-1986) • Kevin Kecy (bass, backing vocals) (1985-1986) • Hugh O'Neill (a.k.a. Hubie) (drums, backing vocals) (1985-1993, 1995–1998) (died January 20, 1999) • Joseph Hughes (drums) (1986–1988) • J.J. Rassler (lead guitar, backing vocals) (1987–1988) • Evan Shore (bass, backing vocals) (1987–1988) • Danny McCormack (guitar) (1987-1988) • Magoo Piranha (bass, backing vocals) (1987–1988) • Jeebs Piranha (drums) (1987–1988) • Greg Urbaitis (bass) (1988-1990) • Young Sean Rowley (a.k.a. Sean Rowley) (guitar) (1988–1990) • B-Face (a.k.a. Chris Barnard) (bass, backing vocals) (1990–1998) • Jay Adelberg (drums) (1993) • Harlan Miller (guitar) (1993) • Dan Vapid (a.k.a. Dan Schafer) (guitar, backing vocals) (1994, 2002, 2014 Love Songs... tour) • Danny Panic (a.k.a. Dan Sullivan) (drums) (1994) • Metal Murf Cretin (a.k.a. Jason DiLorenzo) (guitar) (1995-1997) • Erick Coleman (guitar) (1995–1996) • Hunter Oswald (drums) (1995) • Kato Cretin (guitar) (1996) • Chris Cougar Concentration Camp (a.k.a. Chris Fields) (guitars, backing vocals) (1997-1999) • Dangerous Dave (a.k.a. Dave Swain) (bass, backing vocals) (1998-2002, 2007-2015) • Geoff Palmer (a.k.a. Geoff Useless) (bass, backing vocals) (1998, 2001 with “Drunken Cholos” original Queers reunion, 2006–2007) • Rick Respectable (a.k.a. Rick Orcutt) (drums, backing vocals) (1998) • Steve Stress (a.k.a. Steve Visneau) (drums) (1998–2000) • Lurch Nobody (a.k.a. Justin Disease) (drums, backing vocals) (2000-2001, 2006-2011) • Isaac Lane (bass) (2001) • Phillip Hill (bass, backing vocals) (2002–2006, 2007) • Matt Drastic (a.k.a. Matt Yonker) (drums) (2002-2004) • Dusty Watson (drums, backing vocals) (2004, 2009) • Dave Trevino (drums) (2004–2006) • Andrew Griswold (drums) (2005) • Ben Vermin (bass) (2006, 2007) • Ryan Kwon Doe (drums) (2006) • Jeff Dewton (guitar) (2007) • Adam Woronoff (drums) (2007, 2009-2010) • Jonathon Mackey (drums) (2010) • Bear Williams (drums) (2012) • Josh Goldman (bass, backing vocals) (2013, 2015) • Wyatt Peterson (bass, backing vocals) (2015) • Chris May (a.k.a. Cheeto Bandito, a.k.a. Cheeto Mayhem) (bass, backing vocals) (2017–2022) • Geoff Armstrong (bass) (2018) • Mick Francis (bass, backing vocals) (2022) • Robbie Rotten (bass, backing vocals) (2022–2023) • Alessandro Osella (a.k.a. Ose) (bass, backing vocals) (2022 40th anniversary Queers tour, 2024) ==Discography==

Studio albums • Grow Up (1990) • Love Songs for the Retarded (1993) • Rocket To Russia (1994) • Beat Off (1994) • Move Back Home (1995) • ''Don't Back Down'' (1996) • Punk Rock Confidential (1998) • Beyond The Valley... (2000) • Pleasant Screams (2002) • Summer Hits No. 1 (2004) • Munki Brain (2007) • Back to the Basement (2010) • Beyond The Valley Revisted Live At Loud & Clear Studios (2015) • Punk Rock Confidential Revisited (2018) • Save The World (2020) • Reverberation (2021) ==References==