The Screamers

The Screamers were a group of musical performers that emerged in Los Angeles' first wave of punk rock in the 1970s. The label "techno-punk" was applied to the band by the Los Angeles Times in 1978, and they are widely cited as the pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk." The Screamers were notable for their use of synthesizers in place of guitars, and for a highly developed theatrical presentation that centered around a manic lead vocalist, Tomata du Plenty, whose stage persona one early commentator described as "a psychotic Mickey Rooney." Though they developed a substantial following and generated considerable press coverage, the Screamers never released a record. Jello Biafra, leader of the Dead Kennedys, once declared the Screamers to be "the best unrecorded band in the history of rock'n'roll."