Hagfish is one of the punk rock bands to come out of the Deep Ellum scene in Dallas, TX. The band was created when former drummer Banning Lyon's band "Conniption Fit" disbanded. Lyon, a Rockwall, TX resident met up with the brothers Blair. Their sound gelled immediately, and they began to look for a frontman, finding one in the unlikely guise of James Newhouse of Mansfield, TX.
They began touring the Texas punk circuit in the early nineties, creating a fan base and becoming regulars of punk venues like Slipped Disc and The Jumpin' Java Joint. In this time they opened for such bands as Swervedriver, ALL, and The Poster Children.
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A demo tape was released and quickly became an underground hit. It followed the pattern of punk band The Descendents, with tracks like "Tallman" (about the middle finger) and "Marry Me" (a Lyon- composed love song). This was punk to have fun to, and it appealed to the Dallas punk scene at the time, which was composed mainly of suburbanites who would drive downtown on the weekends and had no time for politics.
Then grunge happened. Being fans of Seattle, WA's Mudhoney and the Northwestern punk sound, a decision was made to augment the band with a richer sound. Tensions between drummer Banning Lyon and the Blair brothers was mounting. Lyon was feeling used for his friendships with major punk bands. Zach and Donnie Blair felt used on account of their mother's wealth. Lyon left the band in 1992. John Fromme, formerly of the band "Pee Pee" joined in on drums. Another guitarist, "Camper" was added to fill out the sound. This lineup pushed the band into new territory, and the fans really liked it, but the band was winding down. The rampant drug abuse of lead singer James Newhouse, Camper, and Fromme ran counter to the "2 out of 3" straight edge of the brothers Blair.
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