{{short description|American rock band}} {{about|the post-hardcore band from Chicago|the disease called "trench mouth"|Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | name = Trenchmouth | image = Trenchmouth.jpg | caption = Trenchmouth, from left to right: Armisen, Locks, DeZutter, Montana | alt = | background = group_or_band | origin = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | genre = {{flatlist| *Post-hardcore *punk rock *math rock *dub }} | years_active = 1988–1996 | label = Skene!/East West | associated_acts = The Eternals | past_members = *Damon Locks *Chris DeZutter *Wayne Montana *Fred Armisen *Chris Cupzack *Josh Kohn *Tom Sweets }}
'''Trenchmouth''' was an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1988. Throughout its existence, the band mainly consisted of Damon Locks (vocals/percussion), Chris DeZutter (guitar), Wayne Montana (bass), and Fred Armisen (drums).<ref name="allmusic-bio">{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/trenchmouth-mn0000747058/biography | title=Trenchmouth biography | publisher=Allmusic | accessdate=September 3, 2015 | author=Kellman, Andy}}</ref>
==Biography== The band was founded in 1988 after Locks and Armisen dropped out of the School of Visual Arts and moved from New York to Chicago.<ref name="uproxx">{{cite web | url=http://uproxx.com/music/2014/02/brief-history-fred-armisens-musical-career-trenchmouth-8g-band/ | title=A Brief History Of Fred Armisen's Musical Career: From Trenchmouth To The 8G Band | publisher=Uproxx | date=February 24, 2014 | accessdate=September 3, 2015 | author=Hawkins, Bennett}}</ref> As a five-piece with two guitarists, the band released their debut EP, "Snakebite," in 1989.<ref name="midwest-popmatters"/> After releasing two studio albums, ''Construction of New Action'' and ''Inside The Future'', they released a third LP, ''Trenchmouth vs. The Light of the Sun'', on East West Records, a division of Elektra Records. The band broke up after releasing their final album, ''The Broadcasting System'', in 1996.<ref name="allmusic-bio"/>
Armisen went on to be a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'', and would later create, produce, and star in the TV sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. Locks went on to be in Super ESP and later reconvened with Montana to form The Eternals.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Marcus J. |date=2021-04-06 |title=Damon Locks and the Black Monument Ensemble’s Spiritual, Funky Escape |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/arts/music/damon-locks-black-monument-ensemble-now.html |access-date=2026-05-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Locks also collaborated with Rob Mazurek in Exploding Star Orchestra and, and founded Black Monument Ensemble in the late 2010s.<ref name=":0" />
In a 2014 panel discussion with filmmaker Lance Bangs and musicians David Pajo and David Grubbs, Armisen revealed why he quit Trenchmouth: "It just felt like other bands kept passing us by." As the ''Village Voice'' reported on the discussion, "Armisen said it was easy to convince himself some of those bands were more pop, and had a broader appeal. But as weirder and weirder bands started passing Trenchmouth by, he started to see the writing on the wall." As Armisen himself concluded at the event: "Tortoise [Pajo's former band] had 20 minute songs with ''no vocals'' and they were ''huge''."<ref name="village-people">{{cite web | url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/fred-armisen-reveals-why-he-quit-trenchmouth-6646780 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208064310/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/fred-armisen-reveals-why-he-quit-trenchmouth-6646780 | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 8, 2015 | title=Fred Armisen Reveals Why He Quit Trenchmouth | publisher=The Village Voice | date=March 18, 2014 | access-date=September 3, 2015 | author=McManus, Brian}}</ref>
==Musical style== Primarily known as a post-hardcore band,<ref name="village-people"/> Trenchmouth was also labeled as punk rock and math rock.<ref name="dub-1"/> The band's musical style featured influences from various genres, including no wave, post-punk, funk, and reggae,<ref name="allmusic-bio"/> as well as Latin music.<ref name="uproxx"/> The band's first single, "Snakebite", was described as a post-punk track that "fills in the void between primitive acid-jazz grooves, worldbeat brazenness, and fetid Fugazi formula."<ref name="midwest-popmatters">{{cite web | url=http://www.popmatters.com/post/158156-top-ten-lost-midwest-punk-singles/ | title=Top Ten Lost Midwest Punk Singles | publisher=PopMatters | date=May 16, 2012 | accessdate=September 3, 2015 | author=Ensminger, David}}</ref> While the band's following releases, including ''Trenchmouth Vs. the Light of the Sun'', featured "mutating time signatures, elaborate guitar phrasing, and fast-walking basslines that traditionally signify 1970s prog-rock",<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/vs-the-light-of-the-sun-mw0000124072 | title=Trenchmouth - Vs. the Light of the Sun | publisher=Allmusic | accessdate=September 3, 2015 | author=Glazer, Joshua}}</ref> the band's final album completes the band's evolution to a "bass-heavy dub project".<ref name="dub-1">{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-broadcasting-system-mw0000080093 | title=Trenchmouth - The Broadcasting System review | publisher=Allmusic | accessdate=September 3, 2015 | author=Glazer, Joshua}}</ref>
==Discography== '''Studio albums''' *''Construction of New Action'' (Skene! Records, 1991) *''Inside The Future'' (Skene!, 1993) *''Trenchmouth Vs. the Light of the Sun'' (Skene!/EastWest, 1994) *''Volumes, Amplifiers, Equalizers'' (Runt, 1994) *''The Broadcasting System'' (Skene!, 1996)
'''EPs''' *''Kick Your Mind and Make It Move'' EP (Dead Bird, 1991)
'''Compilation appearances''' *''Achtung Chicago! Zwei compilation'' (Underdog Records, 1993) *''More Motion: A Collection'' (Thick Records, 2003)
'''Singles''' * "Snakebite" (1989)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Discogs artist|825379}}
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Category:American post-hardcore musical groups Category:Rock music groups from Chicago Category:American musical quartets Category:Musical groups established in 1988 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Category:Punk rock groups from Illinois Category:American math rock groups Category:American dub musical groups Category:East West Records artists