1986–1996: Formation to split edit

Alice Donut formed in 1986 after the demise of the Sea Beasts, a band at Columbia University, the name soon trimmed from the initial Alice Donut Liver Henry Moore, a play on "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore".^[2] Ted Houghton, Tomas Antona, Dave Giffen and Tom Meltzer recruited drummer Stephen Moses and quickly found a substantial audience at CBGB. Guitarist Michael Jung soon replaced Meltzer. The band's first commercial release was the Donut Comes Alive album, released in 1988 on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label,^[3][4] followed in 1989 with Bucketfulls of Sickness and Horror in an Otherwise Meaningless Life.^[5][6]

In August 1990, the band's debut single, a cover version of "My Boyfriend's Back", preceded third album Mule, released the following month, and described by Trouser Press as "challenging and invigorating".^[5][7][8] Revenge Fantasies of the Impotent was released in May 1991 (and later included in Andrew Earles' Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996),^[9] and included an instrumental cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs".^[5][10] Austrian born Bassist Sissi Schulmeister joined the band before the end of the year,^[11] with Richard Marshall also joining on guitar.^[5]

The band's fifth album, The Untidy Suicides of Your Degenerate Children, was released in September 1992; It was described by CD Review as "a peculiar mixture of ornate and wicked little bits about suicide, strippers, and a disgruntled ex-postal worker".^[12] It would be over three years before the bands's next studio album, Pure Acid Park,^[13] although a (mostly) live album, Dry-Humping the Cash Cow, came out in 1994.^[5][14]

The band decided to call it a day after playing their 1,000th show, in London on November 25, 1995, and confirmed the split in February 1996.^[15] The band's many shows between 1988 and 1996 included tours of the United States, Europe, and Japan,^[1] including a performance at the Reading Festival in 1993.

Moses went on to briefly join Rasputina, while Antona and Schulmeister got married and relocated to Durham, North Carolina.^[11][16]

Reunion edit

In 2001, Alice Donut started recording and writing again and in 2003 Three Sisters, their first release after their hiatus, was recorded as a four-piece with Tom Antona on vocals, Michael Jung on guitar, Stephen Moses on drums and Sissi Schulmeister on bass.^[16][17]

Guitarist Dave Giffen rejoined the group for Fuzz, which was recorded in Brooklyn's BC Studio with longtime co-producer Martin Bisi, mixed and engineered by Joel Hamilton, and released on September 5, 2006.^[16]

The band's tenth studio album followed, Ten Glorious Animals, released in September 2009, again on Alternative Tentacles.^[16][18]

In 2011, the band's 25th anniversary was marked with the documentary Freaks in Love.^[16] In 2012, the Freaks in love compilation was released. Alice Donut still performs live on some occasions, like a show in 2014 in France and 2017 in Baltimore, MD at Ottobar.

On November 11, 2016, Tomas Antona stated on Facebook that Alice Donut are writing a new album. No completion or release date was given.

The band has been described as "punk...with elements of oddball country and funk" by Allmusic writer John Bush,^[16] and as "abstract metal" by Andrew Earles.^[9] The New Yorker described the band as a "dadaist punk ensemble" playing "oddball psychedelic noise-rock with a spiky sense of humor".^[2] Trouser Press described the band as "a little bit Zappa, a little bit cacophonous punk", calling it "a belated East Coast response to the Dickies and Redd Kross".^[8] Critics also drew comparisons with artists such as Butthole Surfers, Frank Zappa, and G.G. Allin.^{[6][8][9][13]}

Demos edit

• Dork Me Bangladesh (1987)

Albums edit

Studio edit

• Donut Comes Alive (1988), Alternative Tentacles
• Bucketfulls of Sickness and Horror in an Otherwise Meaningless Life (1989), Alternative Tentacles
• Mule (1990), Alternative Tentacles
• Revenge fantasies of the impotent (1990), Alternative Tentacles
• The Untidy Suicides of your Degenerate Children (1992), Alternative Tentacles
• Pure Acid Park (1995), Alternative Tentacles
• Three Sisters (2004), Howler
• Fuzz (2006), Howler
• Ten Glorious Animals (2009), Alternative Tentacles

Live edit

• Dry-humping the Cash Cow (1994), Alternative Tentacles – live

Compilations edit

• Freaks in Love (2011), Alternative Tentacles – compilation
• Poof. (2013), MVD

Singles and EPs edit

• "My Boyfriend's Back"/"Demonologist" 7" (1990), Alternative Tentacles
• "Get A Life" 7" (1990), Vital
• The Ass Trilogy 12" (1991), Alternative Tentacles
• "Love Rollercoaster"/"Egg" (1991), Rave – split with Da Willys
• "Magdalene" 7" (1992), Alternative Tentacles
• "Blood On The Tundra"/"Bottom Of The Chain" 7" (1993), HeartFirst – split with Ice Princess
• "Medication" 7" (1993), Alternative Tentacles
• "Nadine" 7" (1994), Alternative Tentacles
• Michael Gerald's Party Machine Presents 7" (1996), Touch and Go – split with Killdozer
• Free Electric State 7" (2010), 307 Knox – split with Free Electric State

VHS edit

• Video Monstrosity (1994), Alternative Tentacles

DVD edit

• London, There's a Curious Lump in My Sack (2004), Punkervision
• Freaks in Love: :: A Quarter Century in Underground Rock with ALICE DONUT (2012)
• Poof. (2013), MVD

• Tomas Antona – vocals, drums
• Stephen Moses – drums, trombone
• Michael Jung – guitar, keyboard, vocals
• Sissi Schulmeister – bass, banjo, vocals, accordion, guitar
• David Giffen – guitar, banjo, vocals
• Richard Marshall – guitar, vocals (1990–1995)
• Ted Houghton – Bass, vocals (1986–1990)
• Tom Meltzer – guitar, vocals (1986–1987)

• Peterson, Karla (26 March 1993). "Alice Donut's rock is an acquired taste -- or lack thereof". San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Reinert, Jed (30 June 2000). "Alice Donut saved the best album for last". Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster, PA.
• Righi, Len (21 October 2006). "Coming full circle ** All the right ingredients in place for full Alice Donut band reunion". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA.
• Blush, Steven (2016). New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB. St. Martin's Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-250-08361-6.

• Official website
• The Alternative Tentacles biography
• Freaks in Love at IMDb