Lost & Found: Here’s the Butthole Surfers with a Side of Beastie Boys

Public access TV shows have been a haven for weird bands with nowhere else to go, so it's no surprise that the Butthole Surfers popped up on 'The Scott and Gary Show' way back in 1984. They came on and played a short set of their acquired-taste tunes before chatting with Scott, and according to the show's Wikipedia entry, someone used this episode at a symposium on the dangers of public access television.

This video also features a performance by a young set of fellows who called themselves the Beastie Boys, along with drummer Kate Schellenbach. As some may know, the Beasties started out as a punk band before shifting into hip-hop. If the video is any indication, they made a smart move. As a punk band, they were, well, less than impressive. By this time, though, they were already making their transition to rap music. A year or so later, they'd go on tour opening for Madonna just before releasing 'License to Ill' and blowing up like a bag of M80s.

The Butthole Surfers never reached the heights of mainstream success that the Beastie Boys enjoyed, but they did enjoy some small amount of fame during the '90s when grunge was exploding. Singer Gibby Haynes eventually developed his long hair and goatee look and started wearing nice clothes, as you can see in the above 'Headbangers Ball' interview.

The album being discussed, 'Independent Worm Saloon,' marked the band's move away from the crazy psychedelic sound they'd become known for. The Butthole Surfers had just signed to Capitol Records and brought in Led Zepplin bassist John Paul Jones to produce the album. It spawned one minor hit, 'Who Was in my Room Last Night,' and set the stage for the 1996 album, 'Electriclarryland.' It was, unfortunately, all downhill from there. Here's the video for 'Who Was in my Room Last Night,' which in case you didn't know, is actually a pretty kick-ass song.