Larry O. Dean and Malcontent albums to be reissued

Two reissue releases are upcoming from the Zenith Beast label:

Larry O. Dean "Throw the Lions to the Christians" (out March 6th)

Malcontent "Embarrassment of Riches" (out March 20th


Larry O. Dean was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. As a young man, he worked with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, was widely published in the alternative press, and also worked as an underground cartoonist. He attended the University of Michigan at
Flint and Ann Arbor, where he won three Hopwood Awards in Creative Writing, an honor shared with fellow poets Robert Hayden, Jane Kenyon, Frank O'Hara, and John Ciardi, among others; and Murray State University's low-residency MFA program. He teaches literature and
composition as an adjunct English instructor, and is a Poet-in-Residence in the Chicago Public Schools through the Poetry Center of Chicago's Hands on Stanzas program. He was a recipient of
the Gwendolyn Brooks Award for teaching excellence in 2004. In addition, he is a singer and songwriter, working both solo as well as with several "hard pop" bands. He has released numerous critically-acclaimed CDs, including "Throw the Lions to the Christians" (1997). He is currently working on his third solo album, "Good Grief", with producer Chris Stamey (The dB's). Since 2001 he has hosted a monthly songwriter showcase, Folk You! After living in San Francisco for over a decade, he makes his home in Chicago.

Malcontent (1994-1995) was a short-lived indie pop quartet from San Francisco. The band formed after leader Larry O. Dean's previous band, The Fussbudgets, splintered with the departure of co-songwriter Chris Lehmann. Drummer James Coil had played with The Fussbudgets in their last phase, as had bassist, Ned Doherty. Guitarist Tony Maxwell
was a friend of Larry's from high school in Flint, Michigan. Maxwell brought a tighter pop feel to his guitar parts (in opposition to The Fussbudgets' more shambolic work ethic), as well as a tendency toward bluesiness in his leads, most noticeably on "Perversity." The band gigged infrequently in the Bay Area, recording a four-song EP dubbed "Embarrassment of Riches" with producer Greg Freeman at Lowdown Studios. The four principals were augmented by Christine Wall (Chris Isaak, The Movie Stars, El Sob) on vocals, and Sheila Schat (Dandeline, Tiny, Liar) on violin and viola. "Embarrassment of Riches" was briefly released on cassette in 1995, but its four tracks were later appended on Dean's solo debut, delayed but ultimately released in 1997, after he had moved to Chicago and started the band Post Office.