Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner  - Dan Murphy  - Karl Mueller.  - Grant Young 

The group was an outgrowth of a previous band, Loud Fast Rules, formed in 1981 by drummer and lead vocalist Dave Pirner, guitarist and backing vocalist Dan Murphy, and bassist Karl Mueller. Pirner was moved to rhythm guitar, and Pat Morley took over on drums. As Loud Fast Rules, two of their songs were released on the 1982 Reflex Records cassette compilation Barefoot and Pregnant. On the following Reflex compilation, Kitten (recorded live at Goofy's Upper Deck), they were billed as Proud Crass Fools.  Soul Asylum began performing around the Minneapolis–St. Paul area (including the nightclub First Avenue) and quickly developed a core following while becoming known for their powerful, dynamic stage shows.[6]

Their 1984 debut album, Say What You Will... Everything Can Happen was originally released on LP and cassette as a nine-song EP. It is out of print but was re-released on CD as Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold the Truck, which includes five additional tracks that were cut from the original album. Between the release of Say What You Will and their second album, Grant Young joined the group, taking over the drums from Morley. In 1986, Soul Asylum released three albums, Made to Be Broken, Time's Incinerator (on cassette only) and While You Were Out.

The band toured relentlessly in its early years, opening for other American touring bands and later performing as a headliner act after gaining exposure on the "Flip Your Wig" tour with the Minneapolis band Hüsker Dü in early 1986. Contrasted with some of the popular underground and alternative styles at the time, audiences were struck by the band's onstage swagger, scruffy Midwestern appearance and extremely loud, frenetic sound, mixing tuneful but unrestrained punk, hardcore, 1970s rock, country and self-effacing kitsch. One early review described their sound as "some unholy mix of Kiss and Hank Williams thrown under the wheels of a runaway train." All elements contributed to the band's being described as a "grunge precursor", a claim often recited in comparisons between pre-Nirvana Minneapolis and Seattle bands.

- from Wikipedia