5uu's

Inspired by Europe's Rock In Opposition movement of the late 1970s, drummer/composer David Kerman formed the 5uu's in Los Angeles in 1984. The band's name was derived from gang graffiti spray-painted on local buildings. Later in 1984 the 5uu's released their first LP, Bel Marduk & Tiamat, on their own label. The album was based on the concept of Babylonian cosmology as a vehicle to describe the birth of intangibility. The experimental music was distinguished by complex rhythmic schemes. The band followed up in 1985 with a 7" single called "Bar Code". Playing concerts in the Los Angeles area, the group became familiar with the Motor Totemists Guild, a similar band from nearby Orange County, led by James Grigsby. The 5uu's and the Motor Totemists Guild collaborated on the 5uu's second album, Elements, on the Recommended label in 1988. Grigsby's classical arrangements for woodwinds and strings lent this LP a more formally-composed air. After Elements was released, the two groups merged, taking the name U Totem and issued two albums on the Cuneiform label. Kerman reformed the 5uu's, with different personnel, in 1994. The new lineup recorded Hunger's Teeth for Cuneiform, and is working on Crisis In Clay. Point of Views collects material recorded by the original lineup for Bel Marduk & Tiamat, Elements, Bar Code and ReR Quarterly v.3, #3. ~ Jim Dorsch, All Music Guide