Eric Gaffney is an American songwriter and recording artist, and has been home recording on cassette since 1981. An active participant in the Western Mass hardcore scene, in 1983 he founded, wrote songs for, and drummed with Grey Matter, opening hall shows with Jerry's Kids, F.U.s, The Freeze, Big Boys, Raw Power, Adrenalin O.D., Siege, 7 Seconds, Outpatients, Pajama Slave Dancers, Da Stupids, and others.
Gaffney co-founded and arranged for the first practice of Sebadoh,[1] and booked the first few shows for the band. He created the cover art for Sebadoh III, as well as the album collage art.
Sebadoh signed to both Sub Pop, 20/20 (Domino) and City Slang in 1992. Gaffney contributed the title and collage art and CD layout for Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock, the front cover photograph for Rockin' The Forest, and contributed the title of the Sebadoh Vs. Helmet album. Gaffney left the band in late 1993.
Owen Manure, who has emerged on the scene in the past couple of years, is no exception. But perhaps what sets Manure apart from some of his contemporaries is the fact that his band would have been huge thirty years ago. Manure’s swampy, grunge anthems recall a different time: when grunge was king, punk was fun, and I was probably barely a baby. That isn’t to say the genre is stale; to the contrary, it provides a nice antidote to the masterly produced and easily-digestible indie-pop that drives “chill” Spotify playlist metrics these days. Most of all, it’s the real thing.