Sun City Girls was an American experimental rock group that was formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1979. The group was composed of Alan Bishop (bass guitar and vocals), Richard Bishop (guitar, keyboard, vocals) and Charles Gocher(drums, vocals). Sun City, Arizona, a retirement community in Arizona inspired their name. After a long fight with cancer, Gocher passed away in 2007. The group was finally closed down. They produced 50 albums, 23 cassettes and 6 feature-length videos over a 26 year career. Although they did not find mainstream success, they have continued to inspire a loyal following. They have released many critically acclaimed albums on small editions of labels such as Eclipse Records, Placebo Records, Amarillo Records and Placebo. Their music is diverse, spanning many genres, including spoken word, free improvisation and jazz. They often used lyrics that were heavily influenced by their interest in paranormal topics (especially UFOs), religion cults, and other esoterica. The group’s performances were sometimes wildly unpredictable and often bordered on performance art. They used elaborate costumes and kabuki-inspired makeup to create a festive, ritualistic atmosphere that encouraged audience participation. Steve Leggett, a critic, writes that SCG has been a unique, unpredictable, and eclectic musical group throughout its history. The group operates outside of the mainstream recording industry’s commercially driven goals and has become a beacon for independent musicians and artists all over the world. Ted Hendrickson, writing in the Village Voice, argued that “they’ve never made any sense conventionally speaking and that’s what makes ’em different.” Sun City Girls was born out of Arizona’s punk rock scene, which included JFA, Meat Puppets and The Feederz. They quickly incorporated long improvisations, beat poetry and jazz into their music. The band’s most popular releases were on audio cassettes until the 1980s. This earned them a legendary status among cassette-culture enthusiasts. The band’s seminal albums, such as Sun City Girls (1984), Grotto of miracles (1986), Torch of the Mystics (90), Dawn of the Devi(91), Bright Surroundings Dark Beginnings-1993), Kaliflower (1994), and Dawn of the Devi (1991), markedly changed to LP format. Dante’s Disneyland Inferno, and 330,003 Crossdressers from Beyond the Rig Veda were both double-CDs that were released in 1996. These records are perhaps the most important examples of the band’s aesthetic. In recent years, frequent collaborators of the SCG have been violinist Eyvind Kang and sound engineer Scott Colburn. Seattle, Washington is home to the Sun City Girls remaining members. Alan Bishop is the head of Sublime Frequencies[5]. He performs and releases records as Uncle Jim and Alvarius B. He was a member of the Velvet Underground’s short-lived group Paris 1942 in the 1980s. He edited Crime and Dissonance: Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack work from the late 1960s and early 70s in 2005. Rick Bishop is a solo guitarist who goes by the name of Sir Richard Bishop. Charles Gocher recorded a solo album called Pint Sized Spartacus, in 1997. He also performed with several groups including the Master Musicians of Bukkake and Tripod. Alan and Rick made it clear that they would no more record or perform music under the Sun City Girls name after Gocher’s passing. They do however plan to release any archival Sun City Girls recordings when time permits. From Wikipedia
