History Music / Nomeansno

Nomeansno’s second full-length, 1986’s ''Sex Mad'', featured the minor college radio hit “Dad”, in which the teenage narrator details an evening of horrific domestic abuse. Around this time, Rob developed nodules on his vocal cords, leading Andy to take over as main vocalist. The band signed with former Music/DeadKennedys frontman Music/JelloBiafra’s label Creator/AlternativeTentacles and released the EP ''The Day Everything Became Nothing'' and the album ''Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed''. By the following year, Rob’s larynx had sufficiently healed and he resumed lead vocalist duties in time to record what is widely considered the band’s Main/MagnumOpus, the 1989 LP ''Wrong''.

In 2002, Nomeansno left Alternative Tentacles and The Hanson Brothers released their final full-length album ''My Game'', the cover and title song of which parody Music/BlackFlag’s ''My War''. Nomeansno’s output slowed after this, and it wasn’t until 2006 that they released what turned out to be their final full-length album, ''All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt''.

'''Nomeansno''' (sometimes written as '''[=NoMeansNo=]''' or '''No Means No''') were a Canadian punk band formed in 1979 in Victoria, British Columbia by bassist John Wright and his younger brother Rob on drums and keyboards. Later on they were joined by guitarist Andy Kerr, who left in 1992 and was replaced by Tom Holliston. Second drummer Ken Kempster played with the band from 1993-1997 before they went back to being a trio.

Nomeansno’s second full-length, 1986’s ''Sex Mad'', featured the minor college radio hit “Dad”, in which the teenage narrator details an evening of horrific domestic abuse. Around this time, Rob developed nodules on his vocal cords, leading Andy to take over as main vocalist. The band signed with former Music/DeadKennedys frontman Music/JelloBiafra’s label Alternative Tentacles and released the EP ''The Day Everything Became Nothing'' and the album ''Small Parts Isolated and Destroyed''. By the following year, Rob’s larynx had sufficiently healed and he resumed lead vocalist duties in time to record what is widely considered the band’s Main/MagnumOpus, the 1989 LP ''Wrong''.

The band formed in 1979 after Rob and John saw {{UsefulNotes/Vancouver}} punk rock legends {{Music/DOA}} play a chaotic show at the University of Victoria. Taking their name from an anti-rape slogan, they rehearsed and made home recordings in their parents’ basement and released their debut single, a surreal synthpop song called "Look, Here Come the Wormies", in 1980.

The Hanson Brothers released their second album ''Sudden Death'' in 1996, with Ken Kempster taking over for Ken Jensen on drums. The album featured a cover of Canadian troubadour Music/StompinTomConnors’ classic “The Hockey Song”, the music video for which became popular on Creator/MuchMusic.

Post-retirement, John Wright has kept himself busy musically writing and recording songs for the Berlin-based all-robot rock band {{Music/Compressorhead}}.

** During the ''Wrong'' sessions, the band recorded two covers of Vancouver-area hardcore punk bands they were fans and friends of—“New Age” by {{Music/DOA}} and {{Music/Subhumans}}’ “Oh Canaduh”—they were later released a benefit single for the Prisoners Rights Group.

[[AuthorExistenceFailure Tragedy struck]] in early 1995 when Ken Jensen died in a fire caused by a discarded cigarette in a house with no working smoke detector. Jensen had also been drumming for D.O.A., and John handled both production and percussion duties on the band’s next album ''The Black Spot''. Later the same year, Nomeansno released their first album with Tom Holliston, ''The Worldhood of the World (As Such)'', the title of which was inspired by Rob’s [[HiddenDepths interest]] in the writing of existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger.

* WordSaladLyrics: The band's lyrics (especially Rob's) are often quite cryptic, and John has said in an interview: "The songs sometimes don’t even make a lot of sense but they leave you with a feeling"

'''Nomeansno''' (sometimes written as '''[=NoMeansNo=]'' or '''No Means No''') were a Canadian punk band formed in 1979 in Victoria, British Columbia by bassist John Wright and his younger brother Rob on drums and keyboards. Later on they were joined by guitarist Andy Kerr, who left in 1992 and was replaced by Tom Holliston. Second drummer Ken Kempster played with the band from 1993-1997 before they went back to being a trio.

'''Nomeansno''' (sometimes written as '''NoMeansNo'' or '''No Means No''') were a Canadian punk band formed in 1979 in Victoria, British Columbia by bassist John Wright and his younger brother Rob on drums and keyboards. Later on they were joined by guitarist Andy Kerr, who left in 1992 and was replaced by Tom Holliston. Second drummer Ken Kempster played with the band from 1993-1997 before they went back to being a trio.

'''Nomeansno''' were a Canadian punk band formed in 1979 in Victoria, British Columbia by bassist John Wright and his younger brother Rob on drums and keyboards. Later on they were joined by guitarist Andy Kerr, who left in 1992 and was replaced by Tom Holliston. Second drummer Ken Kempster played with the band from 1993-1997 before they went back to being a trio.

The band formed in 1979 after Rob and John saw {{UsefulNotes/Vancouver}} punk rock legends {{Music/DOA}} play a show at the University of Victoria. Taking their name from an anti-rape slogan, they rehearsed and made home recordings in their parents’ basement and released their debut single, a surreal synthpop song called "Look, Here Come the Wormies", in 1980.

Touring with two drummers had become a logistical and financial headache for Nomeansno, and the band was a trio again for their next album ''Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie''. The album took a much more experimental, avant-garde approach than previous records and featured some of the band’s [[EpicRocking longest songs]] to date. Reception was mixed, and John later said it was [[OldShame “not our greatest album”]].

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: Though the band is known for their signature style of extremely groovy and meticulous punk rock, they had extremely diverse stylistic influences, and their output ranges from raucous hardcore to synthpop to progressive rock to jazz to a capella.

** The ''Wrong'' sessions also produced an ''a cappella'' cover of their then-label boss (and future collaborator) Music/JelloBaifra's old band Music/DeadKennedys' song "Forward to Death", which was later featured on the [=DKs=] tribute album ''Virus 100''.

* IHaveYourWife: The narrator of the title track off ''Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie'' has kidnapped the listener's wife, son, and daughter

** The ''Wrong'' sessions also produced an ''a capella'' cover of their then-label boss (and future collaborator) Music/JelloBaifra's old band Music/DeadKennedys' song "Forward to Death", which was later featured on the [=DKs=] tribute album ''Virus 100''.

** The band played covers of Music/TheRamones throughout their career; side-project The Hanson Brothers evolved out of the band moonlighting as a Ramones cover band, and some of Nomeansno’s final gigs were as a Ramones tribute band. Their 2000 album ''One'' ends with a nearly four-minute-long cover of The Ramones' "Beat on the Brat", immediately following a fifteen-minute long cover of Music/MilesDavis' "Bitches Brew'.

** ''You Kill Me'' features a cover of Music/JimiHenrix's "Manic Depression".

* WouldHurtAChild: The song "Dad" ends with the titular patriarch [[spoiler:molesting his daughter]].

* MinisculeRocking: "No Fkuicgn" off ''Sex Mad'' is 31 seconds long.
** ''"I guess you heard my head turned brown... I lost several pounds and juuuuuuuuust look terrible!"''

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: Though the band is known for their signature style of extremely groovy and meticulous punk rock, they had extremely diverse stylistic influences, and their output ranges from raucous hardcore to synthpop to progressive rock to jazz to a capella.

** The band’s most iconic album ''Wrong'' ends with a cover of the melancholy 1960s Skeeter Davis hit “End of the World”, performed solo by Rob on vocals and bass guitar.

* Miniscule Rocking: "No Fkuicgn" off ''Sex Mad'' is 31 seconds long.

Nomeansno [[RevisitingTheRoots carried on as a duo]] for a time, recording and releasing the album ''Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?'' in 1993, with Rob handling both guitar and bass, before joining forces with guitarist Tom Holliston (who had already been playing with Rob and John in The Hanson Brothers) and second drummer Ken Kempster. In 1994, {{Music/Sepultura}} cancelled an appearance at the Roskilde Festival in UsefulNotes/Denmark and Nomeansno were brought in to replace them; they ended up playing for 60,000 people immediately after Music/PeterGabriel.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Though the band are cult legends in their native Canada, they found their greatest success in Eastern Europe, particularly Poland, and toured there regularly.

* HeAlsoDid: In addition to music, John is an accomplished homebrewer, and has hosted an instructional video on brewing your own beer in his “Johnny Hanson” persona. Canadian brewery Trou Du Diable released a Hanson Brothers-branded “Punk Rauch” beer (a kind of smoked lager) in 2014, and he currently owns and operates a brewpub.