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{{More citations needed|date=July 2008}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name = Fat Day
|image =
|caption =
|background = group_or_band
|origin = [[Cambridge, MA|Cambridge]], [[Massachusetts]]
|Instruments =
|genre = [[Noise rock]], [[indie rock]], [[chimp rock]]
|years_active = 1992–2005
|label = [[100% Breakfast!]], [[Methodist Leisure Inc.]], [[Donut Friends]], [[Devour Records]], [[HG Fact]], Wabana, [[Ratfish Records|Ratfish]], [[Load Records|Load]], [[Dark Beloved Cloud]]
|website =
|associated_acts = [[DQE (band)|DQE]], [[Debo Band]], [[Exusamwa]]
|current_members = Arik Grier <br> Doug Demay <br> Matt Pakulski <br> Zak Sitter
|past_members =
}}
'''Fat Day''' was a [[Boston]]-based [[Grindcore|noisecore]] band. Formed in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] in 1992, they released a handful of LPs and several EPs on their own [[100% Breakfast!]] label as well as many others.
==History==
The four members of Fat Day met in the early 1990s when they were DJs on the [[Record Hospital]], a nightly program of [[punk rock|rock]] and [[indie rock]] aired on [[WHRB]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]. Doug Demay and Zak Sitter both played guitar in the short-lived band Mopar before dedicating their time to Fat Day. The band rented a small house in [[Somerville, Massachusetts]] (dubbed "Fat Day House") where they lived, practiced, recorded, ran a record label, and hosted shows for local and touring bands.
Fat Day toured the U.S. several times, as well as the UK and Ireland in 1997, and Japan in 1998. During the band's existence, they self-released three LPs and several EPs as well as an EP co-released with [[Donut Friends]]. Other labels that put out Fat Day records include Japan's [[HG Fact]], Wabana, [[Ratfish]], and the [[Japanese-American]] label [[Devour Records]], which compiled a [[CD]] of Fat Day's first two albums. In 2002 'Fat Day 'IV' came out on [[Douglas Wolk]]'s [[Dark Beloved Cloud]] label, and 2004's ''Unf! Unf!'' was issued by [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]] noise label [[Load Records]]. Fat Day also released split EPs with the Ohio bands [[Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments]] and [[Harriet the Spy (band)|Harriet The Spy]] and the Japanese band [[Melt-Banana]].
==Creative projects==
Fat Day's original inception as a standard guitar/bass/drums/vocals [[punk rock|punk]] band has always been infused with a [[performance art]] aesthetic. They have been known to play dressed only in clear [[cellophane]] wrap or have vocalist Matt Pakulski locked inside a speaker cabinet for the entire duration of a live show. Their 1997 tour of the UK and Ireland featured a fifth "member" wearing only  a pair of jockey shorts, with  a toy [[saxophone]] and covered in a substance of the band's choice at every gig. This, apparently, was due to him wanting to accompany the band on the tour, and, not being able to play, the other members of the band agreed on the condition they covered him head-to-toe in a different substance for each show. The saxophone was unmiked and unplayable. Their sound on that tour was a mixture of noise, avant-punk and hardcore, frequently giving the impression of a more impenetrable The Fall attempting some of Captain Beefheart's most difficult pieces, arranged by a "The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady"-era Charles Mingus. On their 1998 tour of the U.S and Japan the band built a set of [[oscillator]]s that were activated by choreographed dances on four small [[trampoline]]s. These homemade [[electronics|electronic]] instruments were later condensed into a more manageable [[helmet]] form that the band would wear and play songs on in the midst of their more guitar-based set.
Fat Day recorded a [[soundtrack]] for guitarist Doug DeMay's [[film]] '''''[[Sexy Doings]]'''''. They have also collaborated with the comic strip illustrator [[PShaw!]] on a [[comic strip]] poster and a purple vinyl 45 RPM record set called ''Oskarrensaga'', based on their elaborate 2002 rock opera of the same name that involved inflatable pool toys (such as swans and a curly sea serpent), and featured narration by PShaw. The album ''Fat Day IV'' is a collection of twenty-one pieces of music composed and mailed in by fans, and ''Iguanadonaland'' enlists a community [[orchestra]] that performs throughout the album.
==Break up==
By 2005 half of Fat Day had moved away from Boston and they eventually disbanded. Guitarist Doug Demay continues to run a home recording studio and record label. Arik Grier took up [[sousaphone]] in the Stick and Rag Village Orchestra and [[Debo Band]]. Matt Pakulshi runs the Chicago-based label FPE Records.
==Members==
*'''Arik Grier''', [[bass guitar]] and [[electronic music|electronics]], now plays tuba in the [[Ethio-groove]] outfit [[Debo Band]].
*'''Doug Demay''', [[guitar]] and electronics, sang for a [[Devo]] [[cover band]], now plays in [http://exusamwa.com/ Exusamwa].
*'''Matt Pakulski''', vocals and electronics, majored in [[Contemporary classical music|new music]] composition in college and originally played [[bagpipes]] in Fat Day.
*'''Zak Sitter''', [[Drum kit|drums]] and electronics, was a founding member of [[DQE (band)|DQE]].
==Discography==
===Albums===
* ''My Name Is I Hate You'' (1995)
* ''Burrega!'' (1997)
* ''Cats of the Wild'' (2000)
* ''IV'' (2002)
* ''Unf! Unf!'' (2004)
* ''Iguanadonaland'' (2008)
===EPs and singles===
* ''1st 7"'' (1993)
* ''Live Poultry Fresh Killed'' (1994)
* ''Bound for Glory'' (1995)
* ''Smell Me Silly!'' (1996)
* ''Split 7" with Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments'' (1997)
* ''Split 7" with Harriet the Spy'' (1998)
* ''Gun Court'' (1999)
* ''Poop E.P.'' (2002)
* ''Oskarrensaga'' (2006)
* ''Split CD with Melt-Banana'' (2007)
===Compilation albums===
* ''Burrega!/My Name Is I Hate You'' (1998 CD release of first two albums)
* ''Snarl of Pulchritude: Singles 1993-2003'' (2004)
===Compilation appearances===
* One song on a [[flexidisc]] that came as an insert in ''Wingnut'' magazine (Sealed Hotel Publications, 1993)
* One song on ''The Guide To Your Demise'' 7" compilation (1994)
* One song on the ''Stealing the Pocket'' compilation LP (Positively Punk, 1994)
* "All Your Winning Colours" and "Dub" appear on the [[Methodist Leisure Inc.]] freebie spazzcore compilation [https://web.archive.org/web/20120314235252/http://www.methodistleisure.com/cat/1.html ''Short Attention Span''] (2009, [http://ww.methodistleisure.com Methodist Leisure Inc.]{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }})
==Other appearances==
Fat Day's song "Little Rachcles" is sampled on the 1999 album [[Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 199999]] by [[DJ Pica Pica Pica]], a continuous mix of music compiled by [[Yamatsuka Eye]]. The song is incorrectly listed in the liner notes of that CD as "Burrega Theme".
==See also==
* [[Record Hospital]]
* [[WHRB]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.fatdayband.com/  Official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/fatday Myspace]
* [http://www.pshaw.net/K/fatday/index.html Mr. Fat Day comics by PShaw!]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050117044213/http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/music/98/02/05/FAT_DAY.html Article by Douglas Wolk]
* [http://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/1753 Review by Charlie Wilmoth]
* [http://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/299 Review by Marc Gilman]
* [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r702871|pure_url=yes}} Review by Rick Anderson]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Noisecore musical groups]]
[[Category:American noise rock music groups]]
[[Category:Load Records artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1992]]