The band have never had, or have ever seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America and Europe. They tour fairly often on both continents and maintain a dedicated fan base.
The band was formed in 1979 by brothers Rob Wright (bass guitar and vocals) and John Wright (drum set, keyboards and vocals). Their name derives from an anti-date rape slogan. For their first four years the duo's music would seem to be influenced as much by jazz and progressive rock as punk rock. The musical press described their earliest recordings as "Devo on a jazz trip, Motörhead after art school, or Wire on psychotic steroids." NoMeansNo have been credited with being an influence on, and perhaps even the genesis of, math rock.
The brothers Wright began recording as a two-piece in their parents' basement in 1979. These recordings, heard on their first two self-released 7"s, consisted of full rock band arrangements and had a new wave, warped-pop sound, different from subsequent recordings. When, in the early 1980s, the duo began gigging simply with bass, drums and vocals, the present form of their distinct sound slowly took shape. The songs they played in this period are documented on the "Mama" LP (re-released in 2004 on their own Wrong Records.)
In 1984, they added Andy Kerr (who played with John Wright in Infamous Scientists) on guitar and vocals. Kerr preferred pseudonymity and used such pseudonyms as "Buttercup" or "None-Of-Your-Fucking-Business". He brought a distinct hardcore punk edge to the group, and stayed until 1991. He is often erroneously credited for penning the lyrics of NoMeansNo songs on which he sang, perhaps due to deliberately vague liner notes and frequent vocal moonlighting (Kerr sings lead or co-lead vocals on nearly half the songs on Wrong for example). Kerr's vocals were a necessity for a period of time in the 1980s when Rob Wright was recovering from nodules on his vocal cords. While Rob Wright is the band's lyricist and main songwriter, all members have contributed songs to NoMeansNo records, and nearly all their material is credited to the entire band.
Wrong is widely considered the band's best and most representative record ("The playing is incredibly skilled, with the Wright brothers effortlessly shifting tempos and time signatures and Kerr's razor sharp lyrics clicking right into place").
After Kerr's departure, the Wright brothers recorded "Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?" as a duo. They subsequently recruited guitarist Tom Holliston from Showbusiness Giants and The Hanson Brothers, and have continued touring and releasing records, including "Worldhood of the World (as such)", "Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie", "One", and most recently, "All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt" which was released on August 22, 2006. The album was released by AntAcidAudio in the United States and Southern Records in Europe.
The album "One", released in 2000, featured "two stunning covers that only make sense coming from NoMeansNo": a slow stoner rock-styled version of The Ramones' Beat On The Brat, and rather authentic fifteen-minute version of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, (complete with electric piano and congas) featuring lyrics by Rob.
NoMeansNo initially released records with seminal punk rock record label Alternative Tentacles. This relationship ended in 2002. The band has since been reissuing old albums through Southern Records under their own Wrong Records imprint.
Even their earliest recordings demonstrate impressive instrumental technique ("some of the most complex instrumentation you're ever likely to find in punk rock"). Jazz has been an influence on the group; Rob's basslines have a loping, melodic quality often reminiscent of Charles Mingus, and John's drumming sometimes sounds a bit like Elvin Jones or Art Blakey.
NoMeansNo's output features a seemingly endless flow of "Wright/wrong/right" puns, and significant measures of black humour, with "pointedly warped lyrics", such as on "Dad" from Sex Mad. The song was a minor college radio hit, and has been called "a bit chilling, even though it's spit out at slam-pit's pace". The first person narrator details a rampaging father's physical and sexual abuse, ending with what's been called a "killer end touch—the baldly delivered line 'I'm seriously considering leaving home.'". One critic (while noting the group's "savage intelligence") suggests that NoMeansNo might well be "the secret influence on a fair amount of both early-'90s math rock and emo, what with the barely controlled fervour of the singing and the sudden jerks back and forth in the rhythm section."
Equally striking about the band's back catalogue is their ability to jump from style to style and still maintain their musical identity. They leap from dirge to thrash, complication to simplicity, discordant to melodic and still sound like themselves.
John's drumming style has been mentioned as an influence to others, including Dave Grohl.
NoMeansNo's alter ego is TheHanson Brothers, a quartet with John singing and different drummer. Nearly a Ramones tribute band, the Hanson Brothers play fun punk rock as a mock group of backward Canadian ice hockey fans. The lyrics centre on ice hockey, beer and girls. The name comes from characters in the 1977 George Roy Hill film Slap Shot, starring Paul Newman.
Rob Wright's alter ego is Mr. Wrong, who dresses as an authoritarian priest and often poses with a shotgun. Mr. Wrong is simply Wright on bass and vocals with no other instrumentation. It is rumoured that Wright also plays upright bass in a traditional jazz band who play standards, but he keeps this side of his life fuzzy in interviews.
Tom Holliston released several albums with his band Showbusiness Giants as well as three solo albums.
Andy Kerr and John Wright played in the early 1980s in the Infamous Scientists. Kerr, after leaving NoMeansNo, released a solo CD and collaborated with Victoria musician Scott Henderson in Hissanol. Kerr most recently has begun a duo called Two Pin Din in the Netherlands.
Big Dick
NoMeansNo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're half gorilla too
When you pound it with your fist
And make it real stiff
Big Dick
Gotta cover your mistakes
Your bloody out-takes
So you dip it in the wine
Big Dick
Big Dick! Come quick
Big Dick! Come quick
Well, you're running up a tree
You're trying not to scream
Then you're pounding on your chest
Like you whipped the best
Big Dick
The rivers of the blood
You've spilled have turned to mud
Now the flies are buzzin' round
Don't they make a loud sound
Big Dick
Big Dick! Come quick
Big Dick! Come quick
It won't be long
Till those bad bits are gone
It won't be long till those bad bits are gone
Now we're sitting by the fire but Daddy's getting tired
'Cause he drank the whole crock
Now he's got a limp cock
Big Dick
Big Dick! Come quick
Big Dick! Come quick
The lyrics to NoMeansNo's song "Big Dick" seem to be a commentary on toxic masculinity and the negative effects it has on individuals and society as a whole. The opening lyrics mention a monkey in a zoo, which could represent how men often feel like they are trapped or confined by societal expectations of what it means to be a man. The reference to a half gorilla also emphasizes the idea of the animalistic nature of masculinity.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the need to cover up mistakes and shortcomings in order to maintain a strong, dominant persona. The reference to dipping "it" (presumably the penis) in wine and making a holy sign could represent the way that society often glorifies and exalts men who behave in dominant, aggressive ways, even when those actions are harmful or destructive.
The verses of the song describe the physical and emotional toll that this type of behavior can take on men. The reference to running up a tree and pounding on the chest seems to describe the way that men often try to prove their dominance and strength, even when they are feeling weak and vulnerable. The lyrics about spilling blood and attracting flies suggest that the consequences of this behavior can be violent and destructive.
Overall, the song seems to be a critique of the way that toxic masculinity can lead to harmful and destructive behaviors, both for the men who engage in those behaviors and for the people around them. It encourages men to be more introspective and reflective, and to recognize the ways in which their actions can perpetuate harmful cycles of violence and aggression.
Line by Line Meaning
Like a monkey in a zoo,
You behave inhumanely, just like a monkey in captivity
You're half gorilla too
Furthermore, you seem to exhibit aggressive and animalistic behavior like a gorilla
When you pound it with your fist
You engage in forceful and violent sexual behavior
And make it real stiff
You are attempting to demonstrate your sexual prowess
Big Dick
The above observations are indicative of your identity and self-worth being defined by your genitalia
Gotta cover your mistakes
You must constantly cover up your questionable and inappropriate actions
Your bloody out-takes
Those actions have resulted in harmful and violent consequences for others
So you dip it in the wine
You attempt to purify yourself from guilt and shame through religious or traditional rituals
And make a holy sign
You seek forgiveness and absolution from a higher power or authority figure
Big Dick
Your behavior and actions expose your fragile and distorted sense of masculinity
Big Dick! Come quick
This utterance is a reinforcement of your hypersexual identity and preoccupation
Well, you're running up a tree
You are attempting to escape the consequences of your actions
You're trying not to scream
You confront and suppress the intense emotions and guilt you feel
Then you're pounding on your chest
You attempt to reassert your masculinity and intimidate others
Like you whipped the best
You persist in engaging in harmful and oppressive behavior toward other people
Big Dick
Your destructive behavior reveals your fragility and insecurity in regards to your sexuality and masculinity
The rivers of the blood
Your actions and behavior have caused significant physical and emotional harm to others
You've spilled have turned to mud
You attempt to reframe or justify your actions after the fact
Now the flies are buzzin' round
You cannot escape the consequences and impact of your actions
Don't they make a loud sound
The consequences are being amplified and cannot be silenced
It won't be long
Your actions and behavior will eventually catch up to you
Till those bad bits are gone
You will eventually have to confront, take ownership of, and make amends for your harmful actions
Now we're sitting by the fire but Daddy's getting tired
This verse recounts a more introspective moment where you come to acknowledge your own weakness and limitations
'Cause he drank the whole crock
You implicitly recognize that your harmful actions are partly due to personal shortcomings or vices
Now he's got a limp cock
You have come to apprehend that your fixation on sexual identity and image is a fragile facade, easily dismantled
Big Dick
The song's repetition of this phrase serves to critique the harmful, toxic nature of male identity and sexual obsession
Big Dick! Come quick
This phrase is a reinforcement of the song's overall message of male sexual obsession and exclusionary identity-reaching disturbing and destructive outcomes
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sir Psycho Sexy
As a guitar player, this song honestly makes me wish I played bass instead.
Malo dgs
SAAAAAAAAAAAAAME
Malo dgs
and sir psycho sexy's outro is just the best outro ever dude
locksh
I think this comment perfectly describes this song because this is exactly what I just thought a second a go, daydreaming playing this on bass in front of a crowd.
Hooded Streetmonk
From what I recall, seeing as you started with guitar, you can just adapt once you start with the bass. If it was the other way around, it would be more complicated.
IMPERATOR
is never too late
Trillian
it's 30 years later, 2019 now, this is still one of my fav bands n albums
al gor
Absolutely same here!!!
Renwoodpeaches
Saw NOMEANSNO live in Phoenix AZ at HOLLYWOOD ALLEY Twice, in 2005 and again in like 2006...SUPER EPIC AND AWESOME! Ultra cool guys as well, really down to earth, just make sure if you see them at a show, when they are done with the set, AFTER the oncore, you bring them each a frosty cold beer, thats all they have on their minds after they are all sweating after a show, and all the fanboys mob them making them unable to get to the bar for a cold one. -Renwood
ZINCOVIX8754.
John Wright an absolute rhythmical genius.