photo by Blythe Penn

WBR recorded their live album Silent B​ü​tt Deadly on 06/09/01 to a cassette four track by PJ Sykes at Cullen's pool party. At the end of "Breakin’ da Law" you can hear Cullen request for a blank cassette tape. I believe we taped over a copy of Vanilla Ice To The Extreme for the rest of the set. 

Front cover photograph by Dewey Mayhew. 
Back cover photograph by Blythe Penn. 
Inside collage by PJ Sykes. 

This recording was intended to capture the height of Lynchburg's "Butt Rock" or as some called it "Buttcore" movement. Like most "Butt Rock" shows at the time, this recording features cover songs, crude jokes, immaturity, mockery, and total awesomeness. 

Friends of the band would often fill in for the original members at the last minute. At times WBR has included PJ Sykes, Graham Birce, Alex Tomlin, Chris Howe, Donnie Graham, and many others. WBR went on to open for Yellowcard and Something Corporate and even caught the ear of one Andrew WK

WBR live performance video

WBR photo and flyer archive

We Called It Butt Rock

by Aaron Canada

 

We called it "Butt Rock" or "Buttcore". Although no one now could really tell you exactly why we gave it that name. Personally, I remember wanting to call it "Ass-id Rock". Cause I've always been a sucker for a good pun…

But most people's best guess as to why the music written and performed by Lynchburg, Virginia's Wakovia Bank Robbers was referred to as Butt Rock, and why their first live album was titled "Silent Butt Deadly", is simple.

It's because it sucked.

What else would you call a song about "Four Things" you can stick up your butt?

Or a raw cover of the Power Rangers theme song?

OR A SONG ABOUT BREAD??! Seriously. WBR had a song about how much they loved bread, titled "El Breado y Songo."

Despite all that, though, these guys were among my all-time favorites during those wonderful few years I spent immersing myself in the Lynchburg local band scene. And memories of their shows will stay with me forever.

Like that show at Cullen's grandma's house where Silent Butt Deadly was recorded. The one where, before performing, Cullen broke a dude's nose because the guy jumped on him from the diving board into the pool.

Or the one in guitarist Adam Birce's basement where bass player Barry Kidd couldn't show up, so I had to step in and play bass. Even though I'd never even played bass before.

Of course no one remembers that one, because no one was there. The guys in the band probably don't even remember that one. But I do.

It was one of the best shows I've ever played.

Most of us do remember, though, how drummer Daniel Sumerlin always wore those big, industrial-strength hearing protection headphones because he didn't want to damage his ear drums.

To me, that image perfectly symbolizes what butt rock is all about; covering your ears so you don't have to actually listen to WBR's music, but you can still enjoy the antics onstage and jump around with the crowd.

Because WBR was a band that made every crowd it played to fall in love with them. One crowd at Longwood University loved them so much, they were the hands-down winner of the campus radio station's Battle of the Bands that year; an honor that got them onto a side stage at WMLU's BandFest that Spring to open up for Yellowcard and Something Corporate.

Even Andrew WK loved these guys!

Like I said, this was one of my favorite bands from that Golden Era of Lynchburg local music, and it will probably be one of my favorite bands of all time. Just because of how fun every show was.

Adam, Barry, Cullen, Daniel. I salute you guys. Thanks for being a big part of the soundtrack of my youth.