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Teresa Taylor

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Teresa Taylor
Also known asTeresa Nervosa
Born(1962-11-10)November 10, 1962
Arlington, Texas, U.S.
DiedJune 18, 2023(2023-06-18) (aged 60)
Genres
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums

Teresa Taylor (November 10, 1962 – June 18, 2023), also known as Teresa Nervosa, was an American musician and actress. She was best known as a drummer for the American experimental rock band Butthole Surfers.

Biography

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Taylor was born in Arlington, Texas.[1] She began drumming by playing for various high school marching bands in Texas' Fort Worth and Austin areas. King Coffey, another Surfers' drummer, was one of her fellow performers in high school.[2]

Taylor was one of two Surfers drummers from 1983 through 1989 (the other being Coffey), with the exception of a brief leave of absence from late 1985 to 1986. In that band, she and Coffey played in unison on separate stand-up drum kits. Her drumming can be heard on a number of key Surfers albums, including Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac, Rembrandt Pussyhorse, and Locust Abortion Technician (see "Discography" section).

Shortly after leaving the band in 1989, Taylor was diagnosed with an aneurysm and subsequently underwent brain surgery. She also started to suffer from strobe light-induced seizures.[3]

Taylor had a small role in director Richard Linklater's 1990 film, Slacker. She played a woman who was trying to sell a pap smear from Madonna.[4] Taylor's character, listed as "Pap smear Pusher", also appeared on the movie's poster[5] and subsequent home video media covers. The film, which Taylor became a face of, was credited for defining Generation X's "slacker" image.[1]

In 1995, Coffey indicated that Taylor was employed at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and was working on a book about her experiences touring with the Butthole Surfers.[6]

As of 2007, Taylor was living in Austin and still recording music with Gibby Haynes, who has a home studio there. In 2008, she returned to the Butthole Surfers: the band's website announced tour dates for 2009 including Taylor.[7]

In November 2021, Taylor announced via a public Facebook post that she had been diagnosed with end-stage lung disease.[8] In another post a year later, she described her death as "imminent," further noting that she had "received a loving message from Paul and spoke on the phone with King and Gibby. It's all been a blast....Ciao."[9] Taylor died on June 18, 2023, at the age of 60. Her partner, Cheryl Curtice, said that she died "clean and sober, peacefully in her sleep".[1]

Family confusion

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During her time with the Butthole Surfers, Taylor and Coffey repeatedly referred to themselves, and were referred to, as siblings.[2][6][10] However, in his 2001 book on the American punk movement, Our Band Could Be Your Life, author Michael Azerrad asserts that the two only presented themselves as brother and sister due to their similar appearances, and were not actually related.[11]

Discography

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All albums and EPs released by the Butthole Surfers.

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Williams, Alex (June 24, 2023). "Teresa Taylor, 60, Drummer for Butthole Surfers and a Face of Generation". The New York Times. p. B11. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Interview, Flipside #46, conducted September 22, 1984 Archived November 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, archived at Butthole Surfers fan website, Negro Observer Archived December 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Joe Nick Patoski and John Morthland, "Feeding the Fish: An Oral History of the Butthole Surfers", Spin Magazine, 1996 Archived November 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, archived at Butthole Surfers fan website, Negro Observer Archived December 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "A Slacker's Story". Criterion Collection. September 20, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  5. ^ Graham, Ben (October 6, 2021). "Cinema As Enema: The Butthole Surfers On Film". The Quietus. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  6. ^ a b King Coffey interview, SonicNet.com, conducted February 22, 1995 Archived November 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, archived at Butthole Surfers fan website, Negro Observer Archived December 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "www.buttholesurfers.com".
  8. ^ "Teresa Taylor - My situation is perfect, really. I live..."
  9. ^ "Teresa Taylor - Boy, does this imminent death, coupled..."
  10. ^ Butthole Surfers article at Trouser Press
  11. ^ Michael Azerrad; Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991; Little, Brown; 2001
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