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Group Members: Steve Almaas, Steve Almaas And Ali Smith
All Music Guide:
Before Prince, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, and the Replacements dominated and defined the Minneapolis rock scene of the '80s, three guys, Chris Osgood, Steve Almaas, and Dave Ahl, had a swinging little punk rock combo called the Suicide Commandos. They made only two records, one of them a live one, but they were one of, if not the first and most influential, honest-to-god faster 'n' louder punk rock band to come out of the Twin Cities. Along with giving the Minneapolis punk scene a jump-start, the Commandos, along with Pere Ubu, were the first (and, as it turned out, only) bands signed to Mercury Records punk label Blank. While Ubu was art-punk, the Commandos were revved up and ready to rock, leaving hooks and riffs buried under a speedy wall of distortion. But the accent on simplicity shouldn't detract from your enjoyment of Chris Osgood's guitar playing, one of the best and most underrated axeslingers (and all-around nice guys) the Twin Cities has ever produced. After their debut Make a Record went largely unnoticed, the Commandos toured a bit (with Ubu) and called it quits when Almaas decided to follow his power-pop urges to New York and form the Crackers and later Beat Rodeo. Perhaps not the greatest of the early Minneapolis punk rockers, it would have been hard to imagine the excitement of the Minneapolis rock scene of the '80s happening without the Suicide Commandos providing the impetus.
Wikipedia:
The Suicide Commandos were an American punk rock trio from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They formed in 1975 and released two 7" EPs on an indie label in 1976 and 1977 before signing with Blank Records (a subsidiary label of Mercury Records) in 1977. Their first album, Make A Record was recorded and released in 1977, and then re-released on CD in 1996. A live album, The Suicide Commandos Commit Suicide Dance Concert was released in 1979, which was their last performance together before the band broke up. Only 1,000 copies were pressed. In 2000 it was re-released on CD by Garage D'Or Records. The original vinyl release contained 19 tracks while the CD re-release increased this figure, bringing the total number of tracks to 32. Despite their short 4-year stint together, the Suicide Commandos were considered the pioneers for jump-starting a punk rock music scene in the Twin Cities, which eventually produced bands like the Suburbs, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements and Soul Asylum.
On January 29, 2012, the band were a co-headlining act at the 7th Birthday Party for the popular member supported radio station, "The Current" (89.3 FM). The event was held at 1st Avenue in downtown Minneapolis and brought thousands of the most dedicated fans of the radio station together to witness an important piece of punk rock history at a legendary Minneapolis venue.
Their 1977 song "Burn It Down" inspired a short film directed by rock video pioneer Chuck Statler, which featured the burning of a house the band had used for rehearsing for several years.
The band was a headline act at the Minnesota State Fair in 2007; their music was used for a Target commercial in 2004.
Ahl and Osgood were street corner musicians in St. Paul for the 2008 Republican convention.
On January 17, 2009 the Suicide Commandos played a benefit at Nick & Eddie in Minneapolis for Laura Kennedy, bassist and founding member of the NYC no-wave band the Bush Tetras, who had recently received a liver transplant. David Thomas of Pere Ubu was guest vocalist.
