Scrawl


Marcy Mays: guitar, vocals
Sue Harshe: bass, vocals
Carolyn O'Leary: drums, vocals 1988-1992
Dana Marshall: drums, vocals 1993-

THE BEGINNING
August, 1985 Columbus, OH: Scrawl, opening for the Meat Puppets, plays a 20-minute set to an enthusiastic hometown crowd. Encouraged by pals in the local scene, they do a few more shows. Over the next six months, Scrawl writes songs, plays local shows and gets interviewed by regional fanzines.

PLUS, ALSO, TOO
September, 1986: Several friends give Scrawl money to record an album of 10 original songs at an 8-track studio in Columbus. Plus Also Too is released in May 1987 on No Other Records. Scrawl starts to feel like a real band.

November, 1987: Helpful friends send copies of Plus Also Too to people in the biz. Positive reviews follow, including a B+ review in Robert Christgau's Village Voice column. Makes the phone jangle. Some regional touring follows.

March 1988: Independent label interest skyrockets. Scrawl, confused, signs a contract with Rough Trade US.

Summer 1988: Scrawl records He's Drunk at Prince's Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis. The album is released on Rough Trade in Winter 1988, and garners much college radio play and positive reviews in Option, Spin and the Village Voice. Scrawl tours with fIREHOSE, earning raves for their live shows. The band's photo appears in the New York Times. Sporadic touring continues until summer 1989.

1989: Scrawl prepares to record their second Rough Trade album Smallmouth with producer Gary Smith (Throwing Muses, Pixies, Chills, Walkabouts). The album is finished in Nov, 1989 at Fort Apache Studios. A big tour is planned.

Spring 1990: Smallmouth is released and touring with Afghan Whigs is a great success. Smallmouth nets much college and even some alternative commercial radio play.

Summer 1990: Scrawl records four cover versions with Steve Albini for a promo EP, which Rough Trade then decides not to release.

Fall 1990: Negotiations for Scrawl's third Rough Trade release do not go well. Discouraged, the band leaves the label. Several months later, Rough Trade declares bankruptcy. Months go by and Scrawl has no clue about the status of their back catalog.

BLOODSUCKER
Jan and April 1991: Scrawl records five originals with Steve Albini at the board. Two covers from the summer 90 sessions are unshelved and a 7-track mini LP, Bloodsucker, is compiled. The band embarks on a 17 date tour with the Australian band The Cannanes.

October 1991: Bloodsucker comes our on Feel Good All Over Records. Rave reviews ensue, but poor distribution and business weirdness haunt the release. Underestimating the band's popularity, the EP goes out of print almost immediately. The band tours with the Afghan Whigs, Meat Puppets and opens for My Bloody Valentine in Columbus.

May 1992: Drummer Carolyn O' Leary leaves the group, due to creative differences. Even though their album it not available Scrawl is the subject of positive articles in Option, USA Today, Alternative Press and Guitar World. Bloodsucker is reviewed favorably in Spin, Puncture, and Rockpool.

FOXCORE, MY ASS
June 1992: Scrawl releases a 7" two song 45 on Singles Only Label. Embarking on a Foxcore, My Ass tour, Marcy and Sue travel to NYC for the New Music Seminar to set the record straight, playing captivating semi-acoustic sets as a two-piece with David Kilgour (The Clean).

July 1992: Back home, Marcy and Sue commence their search for a new drummer and negotiate with Simple Machines to re-release Bloodsucker on all three formats. Bob Mould invites Scrawl to open for his band, Sugar, on a midwest tour.

Fall 1992-Winter 1993: Dana Marshall joins the band as a drummer. Scrawl agrees to put out their next 2 records with Simple Machines. January 93 finds the trio in the Chicago studios of favorite producer Steve Albini to record their fourth album Velvet Hammer scheduled for a late summer 93 release.

1994: Velvet Hammer is released in 1993. After some US touring, Scrawl heads over to the UK and Europe in 1994 for the Reading Festival and more shows, opening for then-unknowns Oasis in Holland and Belgium.

1995-96: Scrawl signs a deal with Elektra and heads off to France to record their fifth full-length with Steve Albini. Elektra takes a long time and their record, Travel On, Rider is released in September 1996. After a fall tour, Scrawl goes on a little break while drummer Dana ties the knot. In the meantime, they contact Simple Machines about releasing the vinyl version of the Elektra record. As diehard fans and good friends, Simple Machines agrees to do it and gets ready for the release of a limited edition letterpressed LP in January 1997.

1997-98: Scrawl records their sixth full-length, and second on Elektra - Nature Film - stunning album that includes a few remakes of songs that were originally released on Rough Trade records. Hardly out of the boxes, Elektra goes through a huge financial shakedown and Scrawl is dropped. Burned again. In Scrawl's never-say-die attitude, they continue to tour, selling Nature Film and handing out postcards to audience members so they can write to the president of Elektra.

1999: Scrawl is currently working on another record, which they intend to release themselves.

SMR 17 Scrawl
Bloodsucker CD.LP 1991
CD: $11 LP: $9

Scrawl's fourth release, which originally came out in 1991 on CD only on Feel Good All Over. With rave reviews and tons of college radio airplay, the CDs were snatched up immediately, and the EP went out of print. As true Scrawl fans, we were really sad when this happened, so you can't imagine how happy we were to be reissuing this EP! Includes their amazing "Clock Song" and a cover of Cheap Trick's "High Roller".

Review

SMR 20 Scrawl
Velvet Hammer CD.LP
1993
CD: $11 LP: $9

Scrawl hails from Columbus, OH, but their roots spread way across the indefinable bounds of the indie community, and their records have graced hip turntables across the country for years. After the misfortune of the Rough Trade bankruptcy which forced their earlier albums out of print, Scrawl got back on track with their fifth album, Velvet Hammer. The ten songs range from spare and delicate to confident and powerful, with full guitar sounds and great harmonies. Marcy and Sue have a way with words, finding the common denominators in all our lives - melancholy, self doubt, anger, comfort, and the emotions in family ties. Intelligent words and music make these songs some of Scrawl's strongest work.

Review

SMR 21 Scrawl
Your Mother Wants to Know 7"
1993
7": $3.50

And you thought the Tsunami Matchbook 7" was intricate packaging. A gorgeous single off the Velvet Hammer CD with one track off the record and an exclusive B side. Packaged in an origami, multi-folding sleeve that tops them all!

SMR 45 Scrawl
Good Under Pressure 7"
1995
7": $3.50

Two articulate, gut wrenching, ass-moving, "stop and do a double take" great songs...everything you've ever liked about Scrawl and more. "Good Under Pressure" is quite possibly the best song they have ever written.

Review

1987

Plus Also Too LP

Rough Trade

hard to find

1988

He's Drunk CD/LP

Rough Trade

hard to find

1990

Smallmouth CD/LP

Rough Trade

hard to find

1991

Lever comp. 7"

Simple Machines

on SMR 19 CD

1991

Bloodsucker CD/LP

Simple Machines

available

1992

Fortune Cookie Prize CD/LP

Simple Machines/Cargo

available

1992

Misery/Just Plain Bad 7"

Singles Only Label

1993

January Working Holiday 7"

Simple Machines

on SMR 26 CD

1993

Your Mother Wants to Know 7"

Simple Machines

available

1993

Velvet Hammer CD/LP

Simple Machines

available

1995

Good Under Pressure 7"

Simple Machines

available

1996

Travel On, Rider CD

Elektra

1998

Nature Film

Elektra