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During their not-quite decade of operation that spanned most of the '80s, Defenestration was an absolute enigma of an alternative rock band; eschewing new wave, college rock, and hardcore for their own utterly unique, middle-American hybrid of British glam of the early '70s and post-punk, which found a devoted handful of an audience before finally self-destructing. Formed in Bartlesville, OK, in 1980, the group was essentially Tyson Meade (vocals, guitar) and Todd Walker (guitar) and a revolving cast of friends and associates, starting with Clark Walker (drums) and Page Royse (bass). From the beginning, Meade was unquestionably the focus of the band, with the other members laying down slinky beat and muffled lead guitar parts behind his distinctive, rangy warble and warped lyrics. By the time the band recorded 1984's deliciously strange Defenestration with a loan from Meade's mother, it had relocated to the college town of Norman and added the new rhythm section of Whit Hyde (drums) and Chris Royse (bass). The relative success of the debut led to a deal with indie Relativity and the release of 1987's tighter-but-slicker Dali Does Windows, which featured yet another rhythm section in Chris Ward (drums) and Joe Kollman (bass). A power struggle between Meade and Walker resulted in the latter being booted from the group, and with the subsequent lineup floundering and working 12-hour shifts on an Oregon algae farm, a weary Meade broke up the band in late 1988 and returned to Norman. Walker released the solo EP Thrown Away a year later, and Meade formed the punchier, more dynamic Chainsaw Kittens around the same time. ~ Steve May, All Music Guide |
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