Deaf Club was founded by Justin Pearson (The Locust, Dead Cross, Planet B), Brian Amalfitano (ACxDC), Scott Osment (Weak Flesh), Jason Klein (Run With The Hunted), and Leo Ulfelder (Fissure), who was later replaced by Tommy Meehan (The Manx, Chum Out!). The band says they "approach music as an opportunity to confront our collective sicknesses."
Their 2019 EP Contemporary Sickness was released by Pearson's Three One G label and preceded by a single and video for “Bright Side Of Death.” The video, directed by Rogelio Lopez and edited by Lucas Takano, sports fast paced footage of the band performing in front of a strobe-lit wall of amps. A video for “Bounced Reality Check,” directed by Dark Details (who created videos for Planet B, Kool Keith), is a zombie apocalypse mini-movie. Another album video, for “Boyfriends of Christ,” features around a minute of jarring black and white found footage.
Released October 4, 2019 in a digital edition and a specially printed vinyl run, Contemporary Sickness was mixed and mastered by Brent Asbury (Retox, Dead Cross, Planet B), with vinyl cover art by Jesse Draxler, who has done artwork for Nine Inch Nails, Daughters, The New York Times, Dita Eyewear, MCQ Alexander McQueen, etc.
In late 2019, a new video debuted by Rogelio Lopez and Alexandre Lopez for “Days of Amusement Are Over” comprised of live footage from a record release show at the Factory DTLA.
In 2020, Contemporary Sickness was re-released in a cassette remix edition featuring the original tracks, along with bonus remixes featuring GothBoiClique’s YAWNS (with accompanying video), Bubblegum Octopus, 304angstroms, and DJ Embryonic Petit Sac. The limited edition of 200, neon green cassettes, released through Three One G and Sweatband Records, was followed by a digital release. Vinyl/cover art again by Jesse Draxler.
Early 2021 saw the benefit release of a cover and video of Killing Joke’s “The Wait,” with all proceeds going to Fair Fight, an organization founded in 2018 by Stacey Abrams. A single for “Someday All Men Will Die” dropped in September 2021, with a video directed and shot by Mike Manasewitsch, and edited by Tommy Meehan.
Parts of their debut full-length Productive Disruption were recorded on the same day as the January 6, 2021 riot in Washington DC. The album was recorded by Alex Estrada and Tommy Meehan, mixed by Pseudo Beast, and mastered by Brent Asbury. It was released via Three One G Records and Sweatband Records on January 6, 2022, in vinyl editions including a “persecutor color” limited to 700 copies and “pyrolysis color” limited to 300, as well as a limited run of 100 cassettes.
A single for "Don't Forget to Live" debuted in late October, 2021. The following month, they released a cover and video of Killing Joke’s “The Wait” as a benefit. Other 2021 music videos included a long form performance of their upcoming album Productive Disruption in its entirety, and they collaborated with clothing brand Brain Dead to release limited test pressings of the album.
Additional 2021 promotions included a handful of shows in Southern California, including under a bridge in DTLA lit by the spotlight of a police helicopter hovering overhead. A single and video was released for "Planet Bombing," from Productive Disruption, which was recorded by Alex Estrada and Tommy Meehan, mixed by Pseudo Beast, and mastered by Brent Asbury. Productive Disruption was released January 6, 2022 via Three One G on limited edition vinyl, with 700 “persecutor color” copies and 300 “pyrolysis color” LPs, as well as a limited run of 100 cassettes.
A video debuted in December 2021 for "Shoplift From Jail" directed by Dark Details and starring: Lisa Mungo, Mark Gajadhar, Phil Bouie, Kevin Bartlett, Brian Kim, Niko Stathakopolous, Nic Danielson, and Chris Cunningham.
February 2022 saw the release of Bad Songs Forever, a limited vinyl EP recorded by Alex Estrada and Tommy Meehan, and mixed and mastered by Brent Asbury. The EP was pressed on limited edition color vinyl, released by Three One G and Sweatband Records with album art and design by Paul Rentler. It features three original tracks as well as a cover of “Broken Face” by the Pixies. A video was produced for "Ride With Cops, Shoot With Robbers."
Around the same time, Productive Disruption was released in a limited VHS edition.
(Photo courtesy Three One G)