Call it punk rock's most triumphant realization of the belief that anyone can do it. Which the four key members of this completely insane, horrible, and horribly funny band did, again and again. Flourishing, for lack of a better term, from 1989 to 1991 in Tualatin, OR, the Raunchy Young Lepers consisted of suburban teenage males of questionable talent, taste, and overall panache. No live performances ever occurred, but the band did record, almost endlessly, during those two years. The quartet never actually got around to releasing any of what was done in its lifetime, but a mid-'90s tape compilation on the Catsup Plate label, We Will Kick Your Ass if You Don't Listen to Our Suicide Music!, helped establish the legend. The floodgates fully opened with a multi-CDR release, Simon & Garfunkel Shoot Up Salt Through Their Wangs!, on Tape Mountain, a label setup in 2000 by one of the members who went on to better things following his Lepers stint. All participants prefer that their respective band pseudonyms be used when discussing the Lepers ( quite understandable considering just how hilariously wrong their work was. As the story goes, sixth-grader Dr. Pain, along with his friend Jeff Defcon, wished to form a metal band. Both couldn't play any instruments and lacked songs, but Dr. Pain's older brother, a sedate Sting/Talking Heads-listening self-described nerd who quickly clothed himself as 28086, participated in school orchestra and had a guitar, and thus was dragged in to help the screaming, coffee can bashing twosome. Things started to gel, more or less, when 28086 invited in his 'fellow geek' and Fat Boys/Paula Abdul fan B.S. to replace Jeff Defcon. 28086 wanted the incipient group to be called the Enlightenment, but B.S. won the day with the Raunchy Young Lepers, which proved perfectly descriptive in the end. This initial three person line-up recorded an "album" (quotes intentional on the band's part) in early 1989, Live in the Garage. The beyond primitive tape ended up being shown off at high school, resulting in the final piece of the puzzle, the addition of the Goat-Boy, so named for his facial hair and odor. The Goat-Boy volunteered to help with other instruments, singing, and lyrics, and so was swiftly recruited, only to discover that he really was a true Slayer/Rush/Metallica hyper-metalhead who sang like the world's worst James Hetfield imitator, which in many ways he was. Regardless, the lineup persevered for the next two years, recording no less than 13 more 'official' albums, along with innumerable side projects and solo affairs. The earliest albums are the flat-out funniest and most totally offensive ) Eminem, frankly, wishes he was this naturally angst-ridden and hilarious all at once. Recording equipment consisted of trusty boomboxes and little else, percussion appeared thanks to smashing cans and hitting the floor. Guitars and bass and other instruments crop up as they do ( even flute and car-horn! ) while somehow always sounding like a series of recording mistakes coming to life. The subject matter covered everything from French teachers to zombies, evil overlords to the joys of syphilis and back again. All complete over-the-top, tasteless fantasy from people who should have known better, but thankfully utterly unable to be taken seriously due to the participants' self-evident folly. In no way could any of it be considered great, good, or even competent music, but as a bizarro blast of untalented primitivism that's often quite catchy in spite of itself, it's unquestionably the testosterone-obsessed equivalent of the glorious Shaggs. Later albums found the various members improving in musical skill and realizing there was something more in life, odd eruptions of earlier weirdness cropped up regardless, while the final album, Off to the Front!, featured random reworkings of older songs as a bonus. The band called it quits due to college and other commitments, though three members reunited for an instrumental one-off, Sex and Heredity, in 1997. The Lepers' legacy in and of itself is nil, but those who have heard the band's material agree that it's unforgettable.