Spahn Ranch is the name of two bands:
1. An industrial group from LA Read Full Bio ↴Spahn Ranch is the name of two bands:
1. An industrial group from LA
2. A post-punk act from Detroit

The first and most well known is the Los Angeles electronic-industrial music group, formed in 1992 by Matt Green and his New York-based collaborator, Rob Morton. The group signed to Cleopatra Records. That same year, a self-titled, four-song EP with vocals supplied by Scott Franklin (later to become bassist for The Cramps), was released. In 1993, they added vocalist Athan Maroulis and recorded their debut album Collateral Damage. Their sophomore effort, The Coiled One, appeared two years later in the midst of Morton leaving the band due to creative and logistical differences. After his departure, the line-up was expanded to include Christian Death drummer David Glass, Screams for Tina guitarist Kent Bancroft, and Tubalcain drummer Harry Lewis. This offered a beginning of the fuller, more diverse, dark electro-industrial sound that Spahn Ranch would continue to pursue. By 1997 Spahn Ranch pared themselves down to a tight, three-piece unit of Green, Maroulis and Lewis.
Architecture, released in 1997, featured contributions from Killing Joke/Prong bassist Paul Raven and Rockats/Nancy Sinatra guitarist Danny B. Harvey. This album took an even more experimental appraoch to the Spahn Ranch sound, incorporating elements of drum and bass, dub and for the first time, live guitar parts. Beat Noir, in 1998, followed a similar path even further and included work with Bauhaus/Love & Rockets bassist David J.The band regularly toured throughout North America during their existence with the likes of Front Line Assembly, Front 242, Switchblade Symphony and The Electric Hellfire Club. Spahn Ranch also made a couple of European treks prior to their demise as a group in 2000. Closure was a posthumous release in 2001 of their final album recorded in 2000.

The second band was formed in Detroit, MI in 1986 and released one album in 1987 called Thickly Settled. In it's infancy, the band played in many local venues on the bill with various local bands. Quickly a strong following developed, which immediately precipitated a self titled cassette release of six tracks on the Ikthus Network label. After having missed their own billing at a show, the band was introduced to Eric Cope of Insight Records from San Francisco, CA. He offered them a contract with Insight after reviewing their cassette and video work. The band accepted and began recording their first LP, 'Thickly Settled' in California where they were welcomed by receptive audiences. 'Thickly Settled' was hailed as one of the best albums of the year by England's Underground Magazine, and also met favorable reception in the U.S.A. None of the members of Spahn Ranch had any formal music training and had not played an instrument prior to forming the group. "The sound they create is tense and raw, not polished to distract from the music itself. Drummer Odell Nails lays down a thick, almost tribal drum beat, accompanied by Hobey Echlin's bass foundation for the music. Guitarist Bradley Horowitz adds the energetic, consuming guitar melodies, changing the tunings for each song in order to make no two sets alike. Bob Sterner's vocals with a touch of folk influence, mesh with the instrumental sounds that give the finished product, intense music which envelopes and audience." Hobey Echlin later joined the band as bassist.

The Catalyst
Spahn Ranch Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

In the waiting room
Climbed the length
Of the wall
Scene the other end
The system turned red
Control room fitting
With pieces missing
Cuffed in time

Carving pushing
Pieces missing
In the faces passing
Keyed an answer
In the faces changing
Where's your answer?
In the other room
The cards will play
Are there any words
To define go away?
Control room fitting
With pieces missing
Cuffed each time
Carving pushing
Pieces missing
In the faces passing
Keyed an answer
And the face is changing
Where's your answer?
Pieces missing
Cuffed each time
Carving pushing
Pieces missing
In the faces passing
Keyed an answer
As the face is changing
Where's your answer?

Your answer?
Your answer?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics in Spahn Ranch's song "The Catalyst" seem to tell a story about someone waiting in a room, possibly a control room, observing the people passing by with missing pieces of themselves. The system they are in turns red, suggesting a sense of danger or urgency. The person is "cuffed in time," giving the impression they are trapped, and they are "carving pushing pieces missing," potentially trying to figure out what is happening or how to escape. As the faces passing by change, the person wonders where the answer is, suggesting they are searching for something.

The chorus ("Control room fitting with pieces missing") repeats, emphasizing the feeling of being in a system that is incomplete or flawed. The bridge suggests the person is not alone, and that there are others playing a game with cards ("In the other room, the cards will play"). However, the lyrics suggest that there may not be words to define the feeling of needing to escape, to "go away."

Overall, the song seems to be portraying a sense of desperation and confusion, with the repeating phrase "where's your answer?" suggesting a search for meaning or understanding. The lyrics also paint a picture of a faulty system or environment, with people "missing pieces" and a "control room" that is incomplete.

Line by Line Meaning

In the waiting room
The singer finds themselves in an uncertain, waiting state.

Climbed the length
The singer has been idle and used the time to observe their surroundings.

Of the wall
The singer is confined in a small or narrow space.

Scene the other end
The artist surveyed the entire area and witnessed the extent of their confinement.

The system turned red
A warning or imminent danger was detected in the system.

Control room fitting
The setting is a control room or chamber.

With pieces missing
There is a lack of or broken equipment in the control room.

Cuffed in time
The artist feels bound by time or constrained by time limitations.

Carving pushing
The artist is aggressively fighting and trying to escape their constraints.

In the faces passing
People around are passing or moving but are of no help.

Keyed an answer
The singer is using their expertise, knowledge to find a solution or escape plan.