Hüsker Dü’s Greg Norton Rejuvenates With Porcupine
Porcupine has been making music since 2006. Their debut LP The Trouble With You came out in 2009 and they’ve been releasing albums ever since. Greg Norton joined Porcupine in 2016 despite it sounding like he would have become a part of the band years earlier if given the chance, which aids in their distinctive punk sound.
In the 1980s, Greg Norton noticed Casey Virock opened for The Meat Puppets after a Hüsker Dü show. The two struck up a friendship. More than thirty years later, Norton joined on bass in Porcupine with Virock— who is now his bandmate of more than three decades.
Check out Porcupine, “Dead Mint Club”
“I remember playing a show with them [and] thinking, ‘man, I wish I could find a guitar player who could sing like this,’” Norton said. Norton left Hüsker Dü in December of 1986 when he was in need of a fresh start. It has not been until recently that he’s had the chance revitalise his career with Porcupine
After breaking up with Con Queso, Greg Norton retreated for a few years. One day he saw a Facebook post from Porcupine announcing they had a new bassist. Norton wondered why they didn’t ask him, but quickly forgot about it. The next day Virock called saying the new bassist wasn’t working out. Norton played his first show with them quickly after. Today, the lineup features Norton on bass, Virock on guitar and vocals and Ian
“The whole creative process has been very rejuvenating,” says Tchad Blake. “I definitely hear a huge difference in the material [between European Engagement and Red Room], but I feel just as good and strongly with what Porcupine is doing and what we could do as I did in the early days of Red Room.
Though Porcupine’s newest EP is softer than classic Hüsker Dü, it’s edgier. Instead of songs that flow quickly, Porcupine songs have intricate guitar riffs and light moods that still sit in the realm of indie rock.
“Casey’s guitar sound and style is definitely different than Bob [Mould’s],” Hüsker Dü bassist Greg Norton commented. “The rhythm section in Porcupine is really a driving factor in the music. Casey writes music that allows the rhythm section to be the driving force. Hüsker could be directly in your face.”
Porcupine pays homage to Greg Norton’s Hüsker Dü past with their final song–a live performance of the Hüsker song “Exit 180.” The band added it as tribute to their late drummer, Grant Hart, who passed away at the young age of 56 after a long battle with liver cancer and Hepatitis C.
Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü performs “Rejuvenation”
Thirteen years after Hüsker Dü’s dissolution, Greg Norton has reenergized by playing with another band. “Standing By The Sea” was the first song they played at their live show after Grant Hart’s suicide. The band also read one of his poems and explained that although hard at times, “we want to carry it on and be one hundred percent sure we did our best for him. It feels like we know him better than ever
This week on episode three of The Music Meetup, we’ll be playing the entire Without a Sound album by Hüsker Dü and catching up with Porcupine (and Hüsker Dü’s) Greg Norton.
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