The Consumers
{{Short description|American punk rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = The Consumers
| origin = Phoenix, Arizona, United States
| genre = Punk rock
| years_active = 1977–1978
| label = In the Red Recordings
| associated_acts = The Liars, 45 Grave, Vox Pop, Dream Syndicate, The Romans, Chris Cacavas, Cathedral of Tears, Human Hands, Blue Shoes, The Feederz, Killer Pussy
| past_members = David Wiley
Paul B. Cutler
Greg Jones
Mikey Borens
Jim Allen
John "Johnny Precious" Vivier
}}
The Consumers were the first American punk rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, United States,{{Cite web|url=https://boredout305.tumblr.com/post/78795604248/the-consumers-interview-part-one|title=The Consumers Interview, Part One|website=Boredout305.tumblr.com|accessdate=21 September 2020}} but their members quickly relocated to Los Angeles, and became involved with the then-burgeoning L.A. punk scene.
History
The Consumers formed in Phoenix in 1977, with David Wiley on vocals, Paul Cutler and Greg Jones on guitar, Mikey Borens on bass, and Jim Allen on drums (the latter was soon replaced by Johnny Precious, formerly of another early Phoenix punk band, The Liars).{{cite web|url=http://derrickbostrom.net/blog/phoenix-punk-rock-days-john-e-precious-the-liars|title=Phoenix Punk Rock Days: John E. Precious & The Liars|author=Derrick Bostrom|website=Derrickbostrom.net|date=2010-08-26}} Cutler and Borens were already accomplished musicians, heavily influenced by avant-garde music and art, which they then merged with punk's rage. A hostile reception by the Phoenix club scene often resulted in a violent aftermath after the band's live performances, and after approximately a year of frustration, the group relocated to Los Angeles early in 1978.{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/most-influential-arizona-punk-rock-records-1-the-consumers-all-my-friends-are-dead-6618879|title=Most Influential Arizona Punk Rock Records: #1 – The Consumers, All My Friends Are Dead|author=Tom Reardon|website=Phoenixnewtimes.com|date=2015-02-16}}
Arriving in L.A., the band hit it off with the "Pasadena Mafia" (an informal moniker for Pasadena groups the Los Angeles Free Music Society and Bpeople), but were only coolly received by the Los Angeles punk rock crowd. During a performance at The Whisky, Cutler got into a scuffle with Kim Fowley and his entourage.{{Cite web|url=https://intheredrecords.com/collections/consumers|title=Consumers|website=Intheredrecords.com|accessdate=21 September 2020}} The band responded the following night by performing, as their entire set, a psychedelic interpretation of "Alley Oop", a song that Fowley had produced in the 1960s. The Consumers came to an end when Jones decided to move back to Phoenix in late 1978.
Only one recording of the band exists, from 1977. An entire album's worth of tracks were recorded in eight hours with the assistance of Cutler's friend Joey Dears, using studio time that Dears had accumulated working at a Phoenix studio. It was released posthumously in 1995 as All My Friends Are Dead.{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Consumers-All-My-Friends-Are-Dead/master/206198|title=The Consumers – All My Friends Are Dead|website=Discogs.com|accessdate=21 September 2020}}
Cutler went on to form Vox Pop, and then 45 Grave, the latter of which incorporated many Consumers songs into their set list.{{cite web|url=http://souciant.com/2012/04/deathrock-a-brief-history-part-i/|title=Deathrock: A Brief History, Part I|author=Oliver Sheppard|date=2012-04-16}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/45-Grave-Autopsy/release/675953|title=45 Grave – Autopsy|website=Discogs.com|accessdate=21 September 2020}}
In 1982, Cutler engineered and produced the debut EP by The Dream Syndicate, and later joined the band on guitar for their final two albums, Out of the Grey (1986) and Ghost Stories (1988), before their 1989 demise.
Borens went on to work with Cutler in 45 Grave, as well as with The Romans, Chris Cacavas and Cathedral of Tears. He died in 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=michael-d-borens&pid=183042873|title=Michael Borens Obituary – Los Angeles, California|date=10 December 2016|website=Legacy.com|accessdate=21 September 2020}}
Wiley started working with other musicians from the Pasadena Mafia{{Cite web|url=http://www.humanhands.com/band.html|title=Human Hands – The Band|website=Humanhands.com|accessdate=21 September 2020}} and LAFMS circles,{{Cite web|url=https://lafms.wordpress.com/essay-rick-potts-meeting-monitor/|title=Essay- RICK POTTS (Meeting Monitor)|website=Lafms.wordpress.com|date=27 May 2011|accessdate=21 September 2020}} and formed Human Hands, a group at the core of L.A.'s art punk and "Associated Skull Bands" scenes.{{cite web|url=http://boingboing.net/2013/04/04/monitor-los-angeles-art-punks.html|title=MONITOR: Los Angeles art punks, 1980|author=David Pescovitz|website=Boingboing.net|date=2013-04-04}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5oyYjDeNc_AC&q=human+hands+punk&pg=PA114|title=SPIN Magazine: Underground Column|author=Byron Coley|date=1988-12-01}} Wiley died in 1986.
Allen went on to play and record with a short-lived but locally popular{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/ten-years-after-6411786|title=Phoenix New Times: Ten Years After|author=Jimmy Magahern|website=Phoenixnewtimes.com|date=1991-07-03}} Phoenix power pop band, Blue Shoes.{{Cite web|url=https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/blue_shoes|title=Blue Shoes discography|website=RateYourMusic.com|accessdate=21 September 2020}}
Vivier went on to play with The Feederz, Vox Pop and Killer Pussy. He died in 1985.{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/killer-pussy-old-school-phoenix-punk-parodists-gather-for-30th-anniversary-reunion-6432716|website=Phoenixnewtimes.com|title= Killer Pussy: Old-School Phoenix Punk Parodists Gather For 30th Anniversary Reunion|author=Robrt L. Pela|date=2010-05-27}}
Members
;Former members
David Wiley – vocals (1977–1978)
Paul B. Cutler – guitar (1977–1978)
Greg Jones – guitar (1977–1978)
Mikey Borens – bass (1977–1978)
Jim Allen – drums (1977)
John "Johnny Precious" Vivier – drums (1977–1978)
Discography
=Studio albums=
- All My Friends Are Dead (1995, In the Red Recordings)