god's acre: riff-o-rhama

God’s Acre: Riff-o-Rhama b/w Killing Time

York Record (1989)
(ltd. Edition # 115/800)

Peter Houpt – Guitar, Vocals
Brendan Burke – Drums
Mark Blade – Bass, Vocals

Red Vinyl

God’s acre began somewhere in 1986 with a Drum Machine and Peter Houpt. He went through a couple of line-up changes after deciding that a real band would be a nice thing to have. Doug McCombs from Eleventh Dream Day did a little stint as a bass player, and got his friend Johnny Hearndon to sit in on the drums. Brian St. Clair stepped in on the drums after that, until 1988, when he left to join Rights of the Accused, and that’s when Brendan Burke joined (after a short stint with Craig Bradford behind the kit).
Doug was relieved of his duties and Mark Blade stepped in to fill those bass shoes, and that’s where this 7” falls –

There have been a few God’s Acre tracks appearing on various compilations, a full length entitled “Ten Gospel Greats” which always makes me think of “Twenty Jazz Funk Greats” by Throbbing Gristle, although they are definitely different. It’s just one of those in my head connections, y’know.

The band ended around 1992, and left behind what seems to be a fairly strong, but small, cult following.
I always attach this band to hanging out with my Denver friends back in ’90 / ’91,

Peter has also spent some time playing with the band Church Key. Other than that, seriously… I have no idea. Perhaps he’s laying low in the great American wastelands.
I did learn, however, that prior to starting God’s Acre Peter was in a band called “Women In Love” with brothers John and Frank Navin, who (after getting kicked out because of musical “differences”) started the band the Aluminum Group.


Mark is evidently still making music – somewhere – but there’s very little information that I’m finding here – seems a little strange, but perhaps I’m just searching in the wrong places.

Brendan Burke has done some time playing with Freakwater, and is also involved with working on the recording side of music, working on albums by musicians like Roy Montgomery and Ken Vandermark. There’s also a solo-project, which sounds very strange, sonic, instrumental, and experimental, under the name of Interbellum. It looks like he’s traveled a long way from hanging out in those acres of god.


This band also makes me think of a band I was almost in, very briefly –
I think we managed to get together for a practice, but my sonic inclinations weren’t quite in line with the noise and chaos that the band (God’s Thinking Womb) was going for. I enjoyed seeing them play though, at a couple of those infamous Denver warehouse parties that were always happening in the early 90’s.


Looking over my list of past bands, there seems to be a couple of instances where I went for that noise scene –
it’s not that difficult for me to sit behind a drum kit and make noise, but I always ended up going more for a melodic surrounding.


One of these days I might get around to telling you a little Pork Queen story, but for now, here’s an acre in seven inches.