An "artcore" band from the 1980s founded by producer and Def Jam creator Rick Rubin. Hose's 7-inch single was the first official Def Jam release. Def Jam Recordings is an American based hip-hop record label that operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group, which is owned by Universal Music Group. ... Frederick Jay Rubin (born 1963), is an American record producer best known for his work in rap and heavy metal. ...

Original Members:

Rick Rubin-guitar, Warren Bell-bass, Joel Horne-drums, Rick Rosen-vocals Frederick Jay Rubin (born 1963), is an American record producer best known for his work in rap and heavy metal. ...

Later Members:

Autumn Goft-drums, Steve Williams-bass, Tony Scheitinger-bass, "Sweet"-bass, Mike Espindle-vocals

Rick Rubin and Mike Espindle of Hose at Maxwell's in Hoboken circa 1985

The Founding:

Founded in 1981 at New York University's Weinstein Dorm by guitarist Rick Rubin, bassist Warren Bell, drummer Joel Horne, and lead singer Rick Rosen, this early "artcore" band was often touted as the East Coast's answer to Flipper. The band's slow-paced, blues-influenced sound was mostly designed and produced by Rubin, who embodied the best of the era's DIY attitude that continued on to his later career as a top record producer and rock tastemaker. The first recording was a 12-inch EP (or SLP for "short long play") produced in a dorm activity room with a basic "boombox" and a single microphone. The initial release featured a jacket with Rubin's interpretation of a Mondrian-inspired design that held to his production idea that bass and drums provided structure and guitars and vocals added color to a song. The album mixed originals with slowed-down covers of pop soul tunes like Hot Chocolate's "You Sexy Thing," and Rick James' "Superfreak." Early shows by Hose saw neophyte bassist Bell playing in a seated position, an Electrolux vacuum mic'ed offstage to add white noise and singer Rosen aggressively entering the audience in an athletic, pre-mosh pit fashion. Both the band and album received critical praise from reviewer Robert Christgau. New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ... The term flipper has a number of meanings: Some animals, such as sea turtles, have limbs which are formed into flippers - see: flipper (anatomy). ... See also: DIY Network, a cable TV network. ... Mondrian can refer to: The artist, Piet Mondrian; A stimulus used in research into color perception, particularly color constancy. ... Hot chocolate with marshmallow For the musical band, see Hot Chocolate. ... Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr; February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004) was an American funk and soul musician, who worked as a singer, keyboardist, bassist, record producer, arranger, and composer during his long career. ... Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau), born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. ...

Changes:

The amicable departure of Rick Rosen brought dorm-friend Mike Espindle into the vocalist slot in 1982, and his larger-than-life stage presence and growling vocals infused Hose's live shows with a rowdier vibe. Autumn Goft replaced Joel Horne on drums; a skilled, practiced drummer, Goft brought a solid, slightly Bonham-like off-beat to the band's back end. During this period, Hose recorded a 7-inch single that became Def Jam's official first recording. On the vinyl: "Mobo," a cover of an obscure French disco song, "Girls," a 20-second hardcore thrash, and "Zoo," a dumbed-down version of the folk song "We're All Going to the Zoo Tomorrow." The single was, again, produced by Rubin (this time in a Long Island City studio)and was released with gouged etchings by Espindle in the center instead of a label and was shipped in a brown paper bag with stickers. NME ran a positive review of the single soon after its release. Bassists during this time shifted between Bell, dorm-friends Steve Williams and Tony Scheitinger, and a pick-up bassist for a San Francisco tour simply known as "Sweet." The band also played and toured heavily at this time, sharing the stage with the likes of Husker Du, the Meat Puppets, the Butthole Surfers, the Circle Jerks, Red Kross, Shark Attack and MDC. Bonham is a city located in Fannin County, Texas. ... Def Jam Recordings is an American based hip-hop record label that operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group, which is owned by Universal Music Group. ... The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is a music magazine in the UK which has been published weekly since March 1952. ... Husker Du can refer to: Hüsker Dü, a rock music group from Minneapolis-St. ... The Meat Puppets formed as a three-piece band in Scottsdale, Arizona in January 1980, originally calling themselves the Bastions Of Immaturity. ... The Butthole Surfers is an American indie and punk band. ... For the masturbatory practice see mutual masturbation. ... Redd Kross, an alternative rock/garage rock/power pop/cover version band from Hawthorne, California had their roots in 1978 in a band called The Tourists begun by Jeff and Steve McDonald while the brothers were still in middle school. ... MDC can stand for: Multiple Description Coding Major Diagnostic Category Mega-Damage Capacity, a measure of the toughness and structural integrity of armored vehicles in the Palladium Books role-playing system MetaData Coalition - see metadata (computing) Modification Detection Code Movement for Democratic Change - A Zimbabwean political party MDC - a hardcore...

End of Days:

The budding enterprise of Def Jam and the demands of the fledgling label slowly took Rubin away from performing music, although he did try to include Hose in the fabled deal Def Jam made with CBS Records. CBS passed on Hose, but picked up projects like the Beastie Boys and other rap-related acts. The band recorded its final songs, "Down by the River" and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "How Many More Times?" as part of Touch and Go Record's "God's Favorite Dog" compilation (which included bands like Happy Flowers, Big Black and the Butthole Surfers). The songs were recorded with Steve Ett, who would become Rubin's go-to-guy for producing, in what would later become Chung King House of Metal studios made famous by the Beastie Boys and other acts. Hose's last performance together was at Irving Plaza in 1986 with the Butthole Surfers with Rubin, Goft, Espindle and Williams. Columbia Records is the oldest continually used brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888. ... The Beastie Boys are an American group from New York City: Brooklyn and Manhattan. ... Led Zeppelin were an English rock band. ... The musical group, Happy Flowers, was formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1983 by two former members of the Landlords, John Beers (Horribly Charred Infant) and Charlie Kramer (Mr. ... Big Black was one of the most influential noise rock bands of the 1980s. ... Irving Plaza is club located at 17 Irving Place, between 15th and 16th Streets and one block west of Third Avenue in New York City. ...

Summary:

Although largly notable simply as an early Rick Rubin project, Hose's position as an outsider, inventive rock band--a progeniter to the self-fueled alternative rock and grunge movements--deserves it own consideration.

External links

Mystical Beast music blog

• [1]