The Beatnigs

The Beatnigs were a San Francisco-based band active between 1986 and 1990, influenced by industrial music, hip hop and hardcore punk. They were described in The Rough Guide to Rock as "a kind of avant-garde industrial jazz poets collective".[1] The band was initially formed through the collaboration of Michael Franti and Rono Tse, who would later form The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, and Kevin Carnes, who would later form Broun Fellinis. The band's stage performance included the use of power tools such as a rotary saw on a metal bar to create industrial noise and pyrotechnics.[2]

In 1988, The Beatnigs released a self-titled studio album and a 12" EP of their most famous song,[3][4] Television, via the record label Alternative Tentacles.[5] That same year they played their NYC debut at the New Music Seminar,[6] and recorded for the BBC's Peel Sessions.[7] The band toured with Billy Bragg and Michelle Shocked in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Other groups they perfomed with include D.O.A., MDC, Fugazi, Living Colour and Einstürzende Neubauten.[8][9] The single "Television" was reissued by Alternative Tentacles in 2002, and the album was planned for a CD re-release while made available on iTunes and other digital retailers.