The Nymphs: Encyclopedia II - The Nymphs - Band History

The Nymphs - Band History

Lorre and guitarist Jet formed the band in New Jersey in the mid 1980's. The band moved to Los Angeles to pursue their musical careers, and after two members returned to New Jersey, Lorre and Jet recruited guitarist Sam Merrick, drummer Alex Kirst and bass player Cliff D. The band became known for its wild live shows around Los Angeles, with Lorre once performing oral sex on her boyfriend live on stage.

The band was hoping to sign with an alternative label such as Alternative Tentacles, but their reputation led to interest from the major labels. However, the band's wild behaviour led to some companies losing interest. The band was recording a demo for A&M Records when Bono of U2 walked by as one of the band members was mooning another. Bono called Herb Alpert, which resulted in the session being cancelled.^[1]

The Nymphs eventually signed with Geffen Records in 1989, with the label offering an advance of $900,000. The band wanted to record immediately, but faced continuous delays from Geffen. The longest delay was caused when the producer of their album was taken from the project to work on the Guns N' Roses albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.

The delay in recording the album led to rising tension within the band. The band worked on building its name by supporting rising bands such as Soul Asylum and Soundgarden. However, Tom Kohaut, their A&R man, told them not to play live, resulting in a drunken Lorre urinating over his desk as an expression of her anger. The incident attracted widespread attention in the music press, with Rolling Stone magazine quipping: "Talk about being pissed at your record label".^[2] Courtney Love used a recording which Lorre had left on her answering machine for the track "Sassy", which appeared on the Hole album Pretty on the Inside.

The Nymphs eventually released their self-titled album in 1991, but it failed to chart. They were on tour with Peter Murphy when Lorre's boyfriend Chris Schlosshardt (bassist with the Sea Hags) died of a heroin overdose. Shortly afterwards, Lorre suffered a nervous breakdown. The band broke up in 1992, and Lorre returned to New Jersey, destitute and addicted to heroin. An EP called The Practical Guide to Astral Projection, consisting of rarities and outtakes, was released in 1992, but it failed to chart.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Band History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki