Fuckface

Fuckface was founded in 1990 by Dave Szolwinski, proprietor of Milwaukee record store Earwaves. A man with a vision, he culled the members of the band from the numerous eclectic personalities that frequented his store, eventually settling into a more or less stable lineup featuring three drummers — no cymbals or snare drums allowed — two guitarists, a bassist and a scrap-metal percussionist, with Szolwinski’s unique personality and vocal delivery out front. Featuring members of legendary Milwaukee groups Die Kreuzen, Boy Dirt Car, The Crusties and others, Fuckface grew from its roots as a sort of percussive art experiment into one of Milwaukee’s most potent rock bands of the ’90s. With a sound comprising raw, propulsive pounding, eddying guitars and tales of mayhem, car wrecks and alternate realities, Fuckface grabbed and held audiences all over the region, selling out two pressings of its single, “Thorn” — most of them the hard way: in person, after shows. In early 1995, at the height of its powers and popularity, Fuckface recorded a nine-song, self-titled album that, as fate would have it, went unreleased. Contract disagreements and personality differences within the organization left the completed work unheard when the group finally disbanded in 1996.