King Black Acid and the Womb Star Orchestra

Known for their extended, mind-altering jams, Portland, Oregon's King Black Acid was originally the moniker of Hitting Birth leader Daniel Riddle's solo home-taping project. As he became more interested in exploring musical avenues other than Hitting Birth's tribal/industrial percussive grooves, he put down his bass, picked up a guitar, and recruited roommate Melinda DiCillo (keyboards), Roger Campos (guitar), Nathan Jorg (bass), ex-Wiper Scott Adamo (drums), and part-timer Joseph Trump (drums; also of Pigface and Elliott Sharp's Carbon). In contrast to Hitting Birth, King Black Acid pursued the sort of spacy, neo-psychedelic indie guitar rock typified by bands like Mercury Rev and My Bloody Valentine, with a bit of blues-rock influence in their chord progressions. King Black Acid's debut recording appeared in 1995 on Cavity Search; titled Womb Star Session, it captured the band's epic sound on full display in concert. Sunlit appeared in 1996, and Royal Subjects followed it the next year. After a three year break, King Black Acid resurfaced in fall 2000 to issue Loves a Love Song.