The band were formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1978 by
Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa. In 1979,
Don Bolles of the
Germs joined as drummer. The following year, Phranc left the band and
Paul Roessler of the Screamers joined. At this time they recorded the tracks for the compilation
Live at Target, released as an LP and a video, both seminal not only in the punk scene but also as early industrial recordings; fellow contributors
Factrix and
Z'EV (listed on this recording as "UNS") were early industrial acts, and Nervous Gender found more acceptance among that scene initially. All the artists involved in
Live at Target were experimenting with atonality, noise and concepts not common until
post-punk groups emerged later. Nervous Gender played with bands such as
SPK,
Factrix,
NON,
Einstürzende Neubauten, and
Psychic TV during the early 1980s. In 1981 they released their LP
Music from Hell, which included guest vocalist
Alice Bag from
Bags singing on "Alice's Song". Nervous Gender did not record in the studio again. After the LP came out, Paul Roessler moved to New York City to play with the
Nina Hagen Band and was replaced by Bill Cline, and Don Bolles left the band to play with
45 Grave. He was replaced by an eight-year-old boy, Sven Pfeiffer. In 1982, Sven was deported alongside his mother and both returned to live in Germany. During their career Nervous Gender was called by one critic, "...the thorn in the side of the L.A. music scene..." During the mid-1980s, the band was on the verge of breaking up when members of
Wall of Voodoo Bruce Moreland,
Marc Moreland and Chas Grey, who were fans, stepped in and offered to collaborate with them. It was at this point that a guitar-driven version of Nervous Gender emerged. During this time
Dinah Cancer of 45 Grave was a frequent guest performer with them, and they played shows with bands such as
Christian Death,
Super Heroines,
Kommunity FK and Gobsheit (a side project of Stapleton's with Patrice Repose) at venues such as the Anti Club. In 1988, Edward Stapleton played his last show with the band. In early 1990, original members Gerardo Velasquez and Michael Ochoa along with Joe Zinnato (a long time Ochoa collaborator) revived Nervous Gender as a trio. This formation did a series of 8 performances, and were working on what would have been the final Nervous Gender album (working title "American Regime") with producer
Paul B. Cutler (of
45 Grave). The final performance of Nervous Gender was on August 26, 1991, at Club A.S.S. in Silverlake, CA. Gerardo Velasquez died on March 28, 1992, at age 33. After Gerardo's death, members Ochoa and Zinnato, with the addition of singer Claire Lawrence – Slater (of Honeymoon Killers, Huge Killer Ships), formed "HighHeelTitWig" a punk-industrial-pop-grunge hybrid, which played a series of shows. In 1995 Joe Zinnato suffered a serious stroke which put an end to musical activities. As of 2005, Edward Stapleton, Michael Ochoa and Joe Zinnato were reviewing all of the Nervous Gender material (studio, live and rehearsal recordings and performance videos) with an eye towards releasing a NG retrospective. At this time, Edward Stapleton (with Karene Stapleton) also recorded under the name Kali's Thugs. In 2007 the band reformed with Stapleton, Ochoa, Zinnato and Tammy Fraser. As of 2017, Edward Stapleton, and Matt Comeione, San Diego Mod and Cal Arts trained composer started Nervous Gender Reloaded. The duo released the album
Milking the Borg in 2021. 2023 saw the release of an expanded reissue of the
Music from Hell debut album on 2LP and CD. == Discography ==