A HISTORY LESSON
MOFO CULT has existed in one form or another throughout recorded history. We are the unheard, unwanted, unpopular musicians who die in obscurity rather than live on forever in top 40-radio limbo. For every Bach, there was a composer who wrote original and inventive music, but never bent his vision to appeal to a patron for funding. For every Led Zepplin there is the band down the street that played all of the same music in all of the same clubs... but never sank into the pop cliches necessary to land the record deal. For every radio-friendly corporate money machine mainstream hit factory, there is the band that rejects the popular taste, public opinion, and media-manipulated trend fashion and seeks their own dark vision - the left hand path - we who are not like others...
How It Went Down
NEST OF SAWS was formed in '91 in the surprisingly fertile music scene in Little Rock, Arkansas... the brainchild of drummer, Todd Arnold. The band began with the rhythm section of ex-punk rock clowns, NO THANKS... and was reinforced with guitarist, Clayton "S8-N" Arnold fresh from the Los Angeles hardcore scene. He added a death metal edge to the punk/funk stylings of Nest of Saws... and things were rounded off with Tulsa hardcore slacker, Kelly Hurd, who's complete inability to sing greatly aided in their quest to never land a record deal. They played countless shows throughout the tri-state area with bands as diverse as Quicksand and Living Sacrifice. Their ten-song demo still stands up ten years later as a fiercely bold and disturbed vision. Inner chaos eventually tore the band apart as S8-N moved to Atlanta to escape growing personal problems and psycho bitches.... And Kelly moved to New Orleans to pursue a career as a drug addict. Nest of Saws recorded a final album with replacement guitarist and pimp-daddy wannabe, Tony Rodgers, but the band eventually fell apart and drummer Todd Arnold moved to Pensacola, FL to go back to school.
Meanwhile...
S8-N formed and fronted two of Atlanta's least popular bands: The jazzy death metal trio GUNTHERS GROWTH and the visionary rap-core assault known as SPAWN RANCH DISCIPLES... fusing rap and metal long before the likes of Limp Bizkit and the rest of the wigger ilk... but not content with Atlanta's stale music scene, he relocated to New Orleans and began a career of indulging in heavy drinking, bad meth, and serious songwriting. This period spawned some of Mofo Cult's darkest material. Drummer Todd Arnold eventually rescued him from certain physical and emotional ruin as an uncanny twist of fate reunited the two... and bassist Paul Hillman (RIP) was added to the mix forming the first incarnation of Mofo Cult. Its bloody head breached the vaginal membrane of Pensacola's unsuspecting music scene opening for the likes of Buzzoven, Stuck Mojo, and Season to Risk... until tragedy brought the band to an untimely halt... Bassist, Paul Hillman committed suicide on August 12th, 1998.
Damn.
Although Paul wasn't a particularly good bassist, and wasn't well liked, he proved to be irreplaceable... So the search for a new bassist continues to this day... Meanwhile, S8-N has taken over the duties of bassist for studio purposes and the first Mofo Cult album "It must have been something I hate" is due out soon.
To Be Continued...
UPDATE! (11.02.03)
***With the remains of MOFO CULT floating in limbo following the departure of Jeff in May of 2003, Clayton joined an up-and-coming metal outfit called Helgate. Following Helgate's untimely demise in September of 2003, Clayton invited Helgate bass player Jeremy Clark to fill in that big empty space at stage left.***