Kevin Rutmanis

Kevin Rutmanis
Rutmanis rocking a Trevor Dunn shirt.
Background information
Birth Name	Kevin Visvaldis Rutmanis
Alias	Korny Ass Joker, Kevin Ass
Born	October 17, 1958
Occupation	Musician
Genres	Noise Rock, Experimental Rock, Sludge Metal, Alternative Rock
Instrument(s)	Bass, Slide Bass
Years active	1985 - Present
Labels	Ipecac, Amphetamine Reptile Records, Man's Ruin, Joyful Noise, Sympathy For The Record Industry
Associated acts	Melvins, Sabbath Assembly, Cows, Teenage Larvae, Tomahawk, Hepa-Titus

Kevin Rutmanis is a musician from the United States. He is notable for his swaying, sliding bass style and his lengthy tenure with the seminal Minneapolis noise rock band Cows, performing on the band's entire run from 1987 - 1998 and releasing nine albums with the band.

Following the Cows' dissolution in 1998, Rutmanis would join The Melvins in 1998, lasting with the band until 2005. Overall he would be the second-longest touring bassist and appear on the most Melvins full-length, performing on nine albums with the band, among guest appearances, singles and extended plays.

Along with works with the likes of Teenage Larvae, Tomahawk and his current band Hepa-Titus, Rutmanis has contributed to over twenty-five albums in a career spanning over thirty years.

Biography

Cows

Cows were a noise rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998, notorious for their raucous live performances.

The original line-up consisted of lead singer Shannon Selberg, who later took up the bugle, guitarist Thor Eisentrager, bass guitarist Kevin Rutmanis, and drummer Sandris Rutmanis (soon to be replaced by Norm Rogers). The band had a hardcore sound characterized by blurred guitars, however the Cows took the formula a step further, creating a unique and unconventional style.

Stripping away anything that remotely resembled pop - including melody and catchy hooks and riffs - the Cows offered punk rock in its crudest form. John Dougan in All Music Guide described the group's distorted sound as "a feral racket that sounded as is if the guitars were being played with metal files". Lyrically, their songs dealt with just about anything, from losers in life to sex and bodily fluids. And Selberg's shrieking vocal style and general lunacy on stage provided the Cows with a bizarre, yet often engaging focus.

In 1987, the Cows released their debut album, Taint Pluribus, Taint Unum, landing a record deal with Amphetamine Reptile Records for the release of their second LP, Daddy Has A Tail. And by the time Cunning Stunts arrived in 1992, critics began to cite improvements.

However, while the Cows exhibited a more solid playing technique and greater songwriting focus, they stayed true to their punk roots and anti-commercial stance. "We play music that we like", said Eisentrager once. "We know how the world works. We're not trying to make music for mass consumption. Sometimes you get frustrated, but it's all about music. Episodically you get pissed off, but we've had a fair shake with the band, and we've had good tours. Basically we wish more people could get their hands on the records, but we know what we're doing and like what we do. It's not like somebody is trying … to ignore us. It's just the nature of the beast".

After the release of Orphan's Tragedy in 1994, Roger decided to leave the Cows, fuelling rumors of a breakup. The rumors were silenced, however, with the release of Whorn in 1996. The album featured a new drummer, Freddy Votel.

In the wake of Whorn, talk of a band breakup emerged a second time when Selberg relocated from Minneapolis to New York City. But a new album again served as notice that the Cows were a healthy unit. Released in 1998, the eclectic Sorry In Pig Minor also saw the Cows, for the first time, exploring new ground. Although evidence of the old Cows remained, Sorry In Pig Minor was more varied in scope and texture. The opener, Cabin Man, was vintage Cows, yet tunes like the Latin-flavored El Shiksa and the jazzy Felon Of Troy proved that the group could handle more than punk.

After more than a decade of noise rock, the Cows disbanded in 1998. They have a star on Minneapolis' First Avenue. Their singer, Shannon Selberg, has gone on with music, fronting the noise rock band The Heroine Sheiks.

The Cows would reunite for a one-time performance as THE COWZ on 11 July 2015 at Grumpy's Downtown, headlining the AmRep BASH.

Melvins

In 1998, Kevin Rutmanis would join the band after Deutrom was fired. The Melvins would record a multitude of albums in the next couple of years in the beginnings of a long-standing partnership with Mike Patton's label Ipecac, notably the trilogy (1999's The Maggot and The Bootlicker along with 2000's The Crybaby which featured multiple guests such as J.G. Thirlwell, Hank Williams III, Kevin Sharp, David Yow, Bliss Blood and Tool to name a few.). Colossus of Destiny, a live show from 1998 was intended to be the third part of the trilogy, ended up being put aside in favor of the guests album though it was released in 2001. Around the same time as the trilogy recordings the band would work with Mike Kunka for an album but this album would not be finished or released until 2016 when Kunka approached the band to finish the album. Electroretard would come out around the same time in 2001 on the now-defunct Man's Ruin Records, featuring re-recordings, covers and two of the songs from the Interstellar Overdrive EP.

In April 2002, The Melvins would release Hostile Ambient Takeover and tour heavily in support of it throughout 2002 and 2003. Rather than a proper vinyl release the seven songs making up the album were released as a series of seven 7" vinyls.

In 2004, Osborne and Crover toured to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band, and also released an art book Neither Here Nor There. The book is a collection of art by creators of their cover art as well as friends of the band, and also contained retrospectives on the past twenty years of the Melvins. The book included a CD with selected tracks from their albums. The same year The Melvins would also release an album with Lustmord entitled Pigs of The Roman Empire and an album with Jello Biafra entitled Never Breathe What You Can't See, both of which were recorded at the same period of time according to Osborne:

“	"On both the "Never Breathe What You Can't See" and the "Pigs of the Roman Empire" records, we did both those records at the same time because Biafra can't get out of bed. He can't get to the studio before about six in the after. So what we would do is we would get there about 11 and we would work on Lustmord's stuff 'til about six in the afternoon and then Biafra would show up and we'd work on his stuff until about 11 at night. That's what we would do. We'd shift gears and that's how we recorded both those albums at once.”	”
	— Buzz Osborne, Ultimate-Guitar

In 2004 a tour of the US in the summer was partially canceled and a tour of the US in the fall was entirely canceled due to undisclosed issues with Rutmanis (Some have speculated it was due to serious drug issues.). For the shows in the US and Europe supporting Cameron Jamie films, David Scott Stone would fill in as bassist. Trevor Dunn would fill in for a couple of live performances as the band performed "Houdini" in it's entirety. Rutmanis would briefly return in 2005 but ultimately be out of the band in June of that year.

Eventually, Buzz and Dale would reconcile with Kevin and become friends again, performing alongside Kevin's current band Hepa-Titus at select shows. In 2013, Kevin Rutmanis (along with Jello Biafra) would appear as a guest for a cover of Roxy Music's "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" on the 2013 album Everybody Loves Sausages. Rutmanis would also appear in the Melvins documentary Colossus of Destiny, along with rejoining the band on select dates to perform "Night Goat" in 2019 and 2020.

In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Buzz Osborne would speak about Rutmanis' departure and how it sparked a major change in the band, eventually leading to the rotating lineup of bassists today.

“	"You know, honestly, when we stopped working with [former bassist] Kevin Rutmanis in 2005, me and Dale, basically, we were very discouraged fellows at that point. And we just said, "We're not ever going to get in that position again." Where we're relying on any one thing. The Melvins are just whatever me and Dale do. It actually opened up the doors for us to do things we never would have done — like the Freak Puke record with Trevor Dunn, the 51-day tour, working with the Butthole Surfers guys — and there's no weirdness. We just told them straight up, at front: "Look, I like Big Business. I don't want Big Business to stop. You guys have to keep this band going." It's heart-wrenching, you know? To do all this work with someone, and then have all your stuff pinned on it, and then it doesn't work out. Fortunately with Kevin, everything's fine. That's all been resolved, and we're all really good friends now. ”	”
	— Buzz Osborne, Rolling Stone

Tomahawk

Tomahawk would form in 1999 when singer/keyboardist Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr Bungle) met guitar player Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard) and the pair started swapping tapes with the intention of collaborating. Denison then recruited drummer John Stanier (Helmet), while Patton invited bass player Kevin Rutmanis.

When Faith No More broke up in 1998 Mike Patton created the record label Ipecac Recordings, returned to work with his other band Mr. Bungle, and formed the experimental metal supergroup Fantômas with Buzz Osborne of Melvins and Dave Lombardo of Slayer. Patton met Duane Denison in 1999 at a Mr. Bungle concert in Nashville and the two began exchanging music and jamming.

During May and June 2001 the band recorded their eponymous debut album in Nashville. The album was released on 30 October 2001 and produced by Joe Funderburk. After the release of Tomahawk the band began touring extensively, playing in many countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, Europe and Japan. They generally headlined shows but were the supporting act for bands such as Tool. When opening for Tool on their 2002 summer tour of North America, the band was frequently booed for insulting the crowds. Tomahawk also played at various festivals, including the 2002 Big Day Out festival in Australia.

Work would begin on a follow-up with producer Joe Barresi in early 2003, with Mit Gas seeing release on 6 May 2003. Tomahawk took part in the "Geek Tour" during 2003, which featured labelmates the Melvins and Fantômas. During the band's early years they were known for dressing up as police officers in promotional photo shoots and during concerts. The band went on a short hiatus from 2004 to 2006 after finishing touring for Tomahawk and Mit Gas in late 2003 as the members began to focus on other projects. However by the time Tomahawk would begin work on their third album Anonymous (Released 19 June 2007), Rutmanis would leave the band with Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Fantômas) taking over the bass role.

Hepa/Titus

Hepa/Titus (Also stylized as Hepa-Titus would form in 2009 by Rutmanis and Stefan Larakis, with Sterling Riley. Following a series of DIY releases and shows in the Minnesota area, Hepa/Titus would release their first album Follow Me on 26 January 2013 via Amphetamine Reptile Records. Follow up releases in 2014's Gettin' It On and 2015's FM Warm Weather, along with a compilation in Touched By God. The band largely played shows in Minnesota and California, notably the Grumpy's AmRep BASH showcases in 2013 and 2015.

Hepa/Titus would release two more albums upon signing with Rock Is Hell Recordings: 2018's Champagne of Incest and 2019's Blue Fat Pussy.

Other Bands

• Teenage Larvae is a side project of Rutmanis with David B. Livingston (God Bullies) and "anyone else we can exploit or lure into the studio". That includes Shannon Selberg & Thor Eisentrager (both also from Cows). Much of their work consists of cover versions, given their own, very original spin. These generally appear on compilations, though there were two releases on Sympathy For The Record Industry in 1993, a 7" and a 10". Later new recordings would be composed and would surface in 2017 and 2018 via Rock Is Hell Recordings.

• Rutmanis would join the psychedelic doom metal band Sabbath Assembly in 2009, touring with Earth through Europe in 2011. He would leave the band roughly around 2012 but would contribute bass to the 2014 album Eno Ot Derotser.

• Rutmanis would participate in a new project in 2019 with Buzz Osborne known as Bluewhale. The duo would release a song entitled "Suicide" as part of a split with electronic/noise musician Void Manes in 2019 via Rock Is Hell.

Bands

• Cows - Bass (1987 - 1998, 2015 as THE COWZ)
• Teenage Larvae - Bass, Guitar, Samples, Vocals (1992 - Present)
• Melvins - Bass, Slide Bass, Vocals (1998 - 2005, 2018 - 2020 as a guest)
• Tomahawk - Bass (1999 - 2007)
• Sabbath Assembly - Bass (2009 - 2014)
• Hepa/Titus - Bass (2009 - Present)
• Bluewhale - Bass (2019 - Present)

Discography

With The Cows (Selected Discography)

• Taint Pluribus Taint Unum (1987, Treehouse)
• Daddy Has a Tail (1989, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Effete and Impudent Snobs (1990, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Peacetika (1991, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Cunning Stunts (1992, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Sexy Pee Story (1993, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Orphan's Tragedy (1994, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Whorn (1996, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Sorry in Pig Minor (1998, Amphetamine Reptile Records)

With The Melvins (Selected Discography)

• The Maggot (1999, Ipecac Recordings)
• The Bootlicker (1999, Ipecac Recordings)
• The Crybaby (2000, Ipecac Recordings)
• Electroretard (2001, Man's Ruin Records))
• Colossus of Destiny (Live Album) (2001, Ipecac Recordings)
• Hostile Ambient Takeover (2002, Ipecac Recordings)
• Pigs of The Roman Empire (Melvins + Lustmord) (2004, Ipecac Recordings)
• Never Breathe What You Can't See (Jello Biafra With The Melvins) (2004, Alternative Tentacles)
• Sieg Howdy! (Jello Biafra With The Melvins) (2005, Alternative Tentacles)
• Three Men And A Baby (Mike + The Melvins) (2016, Sub Pop) (Recorded 1999/2015)

With Hepa/Titus (Selected Discography)

• The Giving Brain Vol. 1 (2011, Land O'Smiles)
• Follow Me (2013, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Gettin' It On (2014, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• FM Warm Weather (2016, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Skeletal Omega Pig and Lick (2017, Ghoulhouse)
• Champagne of Incest (2018, Rock Is Hell)
• Blue Fat Pussy (2019, Rock Is Hell)

Guest Appearances and Other Releases

• Teenage Larvae - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (7" Single) (1992, Sympathy For The Record Industry)
• Teenage Larvae - Songs For Pigs (Studio Album) (1993, Sympathy For The Record Industry)
• Tomahawk - Tomahawk (Studio Album) (2001, Ipecac Recordings)
• Tomahawk - Mit Gas (Studio Album) (2003, Ipecac Recordings)
• Haze XXL / Dalek ‎– A Purge Of Dissidents (Soundtrack) (2006, Ipecac Recordings)
• Sabbath Assembly - Eno Ot Derotser (Studio Album) (2014, Svart)
• Dale Crover - United Fruit (7" Single) (2014, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
• Dumb Numbers ‎– Dumb Numbers II (Studio Album; Bass on B3) (2016, Joyful Noise)
• Qui w/ Trevor Dunn - Qui w/ Trevor Dunn (Studio Album; Slide Guitar on "Ashtray Heart") (2017, Joyful Noise)
• Dead - We Won't Let You Sleep (Studio Album) (2017, We Empty Rooms)
• Teenage Larvae - Omega Pig (Split Album with Hepa/Titus) (2017, Rock Is Hell)
• Teenage Larvae - Pelt of The Sun (7" Single) (2018, Rock Is Hell)
• LORD Kevin ‎– and His slide bass (10" Lathe Cut) (2019, Self-Released)
• Bluewhale - Suicide / Mercury Vapor (Split with Void Manes) (2019, Rock Is Hell)
• Dumb Numbers ‎– The Longest Goodbye (Digital Single; Bass on "Looking Forlorn In All The Wrong Places") (2020, Joyful Noise)

Equipment

• Custom Made Bass, looks just like a DANO longhorn, but longer scale he has two, orange and green both sparkly, courtesy of Eric's Guitars in Van Nuys, CA
• 2 or 3 mid 60's or 70's fender P basses
• Fernandes Atlas Standard Bass
• Ampeg SVT Head
• Ampeg SVT 8x10 Cab
• Sunn Beta Bass head
• Sunn Model T Guitar head
• Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler w/ Line 6 EX1 Expression Pedal
• Boss Noise Supressor
• Ernie Ball Volume Pedal
• Dunlop Crybaby 105Q wah pedal
• Boss ODB-3 Bass Overdrive
• Crowther Audio Prunes and Custard
• Boss Tuner

External Links

• Cows on Last.fm
• Rutmanis on Discogs
• Rutmanis on themelvins.net