About Soul Coughing
Soul Coughing is an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty , keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. They developed a devout fanbase and garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey of AllMusic described the band as "One of the most unique cult bands of the '90s...Driven by frontman M. Doughty's stream-of-consciousness poetry, Soul Coughing's sound was a willfully idiosyncratic mix of improvisational jazz grooves, oddball samples, hip hop, electronics, and noisy experimentalism". Doughty described the band's sound as "deep slacker jazz". The group broke up in 2000.
In June 2024, the group announced it would reunite for a United States tour in September and October of the same year. It made its first television appearance in decades on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
All four Soul Coughing members were regulars at The Knitting Factory, a New York City nightclub and performance venue that was part of the 1980s and 1990s experimental downtown scene. Doughty was a doorman known for his improvised comedic quasi-raps, while the others appeared at the Knitting Factory in various bands. Doughty, Degli Antoni, and Steinberg all performed in versions of John Zorn's composition Cobra, appearing on John Zorn's Cobra: Live at the Knitting Factory .
Within a year of its formation, the band was signed to Slash Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records. The group released three albums: Ruby Vroom , Irresistible Bliss and El Oso , with the latter showing a marked drum and bass influence. Irresistible Bliss and El Oso both reached the Billboard 200 albums chart. The band enjoyed minor hit singles with "Soundtrack to Mary" and "Super Bon Bon".
In 1996, Soul Coughing contributed to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip, produced by the Red Hot Organization. Also in 1996, one of the group's songs, "Unmarked Helicopters", was included in the Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files. The band also placed songs in the soundtracks to the films Batman & Robin , Tommy Boy and Spawn . Their song "Super Bon Bon" was included on the soundtrack for the video game Gran Turismo 2 in 1999.
The 1998 song "Circles" from El Oso reached #8 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, and was used as the soundtrack to a Cartoon Network extended commercial that poked fun at repeating cartoon backgrounds.
Map & Directions To Venue
