Biography
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Years Active
1991 – 2019 (28 years)
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Founded In
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States
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Members
- Criss Crass
- Jim Laspesa
- Kim Shattuck
- Melanie Vammen
- Ronnie Barnett
The Muffs are a rock band based in Southern California, formed in 1991.
After releasing their initial 7" EPs and singles independently and on local labels, The Muffs signed to Warner/Reprise in the early '90s. The band was heavily promoted along with acts such as Mudhoney in the hope of repeating the commercial success of Green Day. Despite the wide exposure afforded by appearing on a wide variety of movie soundtracks ("Clueless" director Amy Heckerling, in particular, had taken a keen interest in their songs) as well as a lucrative Fruitopia commercial, The Muffs were eventually dropped from the label. The Muffs have since continued to release new records on various independent labels.
The Muffs' leader was singer-songwriter Kim Shattuck. The original lineup also included guitarist Melanie Vammen (like Shattuck, a former member of 1980s all-female garage rock outfit The Pandoras), bassist Ronnie Barnett and drummer Criss Crass. Vammen and Crass left after the band's self-titled debut album. Crass was replaced by Jim Laspesa for their 1993 tour with the Goo Goo Dolls, and later by Roy McDonald in 1994. Ironically, McDonald's former band Redd Kross had released a 1987 single, "Play My Song," whose chorus was viewed by many as directed toward The Pandoras, who had recently moved into a hair metal direction: "No metal sluts or punk rock ruts for me, oh no." The Muffs have been a 3-piece since 1995 with members Kim Shattuck, Ronnie Barnett and Roy McDonald.
Lead singer Kim Shattuck died on October 2, 2019, and the band disbanded shortly after.
A character on Mr. Show (HBO, 1995-1999) was named Dr. Shattuck, this was a reference to the lead singer of The Muffs.
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