Gorilla Biscuits
Gorilla Biscuits are a
New York straight edge hardcore punk band on
Revelation Records, consisting of Anthony Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios, and Sammy Siegler. Gorilla Biscuits were formed when Arthur met Civ because they were both living in New York and going to the same high school. They were both fans of the band Agnostic Front and became interested in hardcore from listening to them. They started going to hardcore shows at CBGB's on the weekends. This was where they met people like Ray Cappo and Porcell.
Arthur wanted Civ to start a hardcore band and wanted him to sing. Civ had no interest in singing and always had to face the floor or wall while doing it. The guys from Token Entry hooked them up with a show and needed to know the name of the band. The drug of choice in their neighborhood were these big
quaaludes which people called "gorilla biscuits" because they were so huge, mainly meaning "ape shit". They were just going to call themselves that until they changed it, but it pretty much stuck.
The start was kind of rough. They made poor quality demo tapes which included the song "Slut" on it. They were cheap tapes bought at a dollar store which had no cases, so they just cut and pasted some stuff onto a piece of paper and copied them. The first shirts were blue with a gorilla riding a skateboard. they were done using a black magic marker and an ink blotter. At the first Gorilla Biscuits show Civ wore camo pants and a green hooded sweatshirt.
Later, Jordan Cooper, the front man of Revelation Records, put out a Gorilla Biscuits 7" which later became a hardcore hit along with other hardcore classics. Gorilla Biscuits then toured the States and Europe twice. The first time they went to Europe they were getting spit on and stuff thrown at them. By the second time they went there a straight-edge scene had started and it was better. On their final U.S. tour, Start Today, had just hit stores two days before. It was great for the band. Sadly enough, they played their last show later that year in Buffalo, New York. Basically, all the members went on to play in CIV. Besides singing for CIV, Civ now owns a tattoo studio in New York City. Walter went on to form Quicksand. He then wrote the songs for and helped produce CIV's first album.
The band played a reunion show on August 14, 2005 at
CBGB in New York, New York as a benefit to
save CBGB from financial problems.
In 2006, it was reported on
Punknews.org that the band had plans to reissue their seminal recording,
Start Today The album was originally released in 1989 and will be remastered and feature in depth liner notes written by Walter Schreifels, it will also feature a DVD of the CBGB's reunion show from August of 2005.
Also set for 2006 is a month-long reunion tour which will feature an exclusive 7-inch only available on tour stops.
Gorilla Biscuits have now begun writing new material for a possible follow-up to
Start Today. [
1]
*Anthony "Civ" Civorelli, singer. Civ went on to form
punk rock band
CIV. Starting out with
Lava Records and
Revelation Records, they signed a major label deal with
Atlantic Records in 1995. They achieved commercial success with the single "Can't Wait One Minute More." Civ is also the owner of a
Long Island tattoo studio called Lotus Tattoo.
*Walter Schreifels, who played guitar and wrote most of the songs for the Gorilla Biscuits, went on to be the frontman in
Quicksand, one of the most influential
post-hardcore bands. Later, Walter was in
Rival Schools and
Walking Concert. He has also done extensive producing for other bands.
*Arthur Smilios, bass. Arthur joined
CIV with Civ.
*Luke - Drums
| Title | Release date | Notes | Label | | Gorilla Biscuits | 1988 | First 7" EP | Revelation |
| Start Today | 1989 | Their second and final album | Revelation |
| Walter Sings the Hits | 19?? | Bootleg | ? |
| Live At CBGB's 8/14/05 | 2005 | Bootleg | ? |
*
New York City Hardcore:Together, 7" (1987,
Revelation Records)
* "Gorilla Biscuits" was NY slang for methaqualones: quaaludes
* Anthony "Civ" Civarelli became a well known tattoo artist in Long Island
* Guitarist and primary song writer Walter Schriffels went on to lead for Quicksand
* Walter's history includes positions in the heavyweight Warzone and influential Youth of Today
* Gorilla Biscuit's Start Today is one of the top selling albums on Revelation Records
* The band formed for a reunion show in '97 for the Raybeez (RIP) benefit show at CBGB's
* The band played a reunion show on August 14, 2005 at
CBGB in New York, New York as a benefit to
save CBGB from financial problems.
* Start Today was partly funded by friend (and Revelation Records president) Jorden Cooper's compensation from a vehicle accident
*
List of straight edge groups*
Gorilla Biscuits on Myspace*
Revelation Records*
All Music Guide*
Fan Site*
Gorilla Biscuits Profile on Punknews.org
