Bio
“We are the Muffin!"
Electric Love Muffin was an integral part of the Philadelphia punk and hardcore scene throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The hard rocking four piece (Rich Kaufmann, Philip ‘Butch’ Lauer, Brian Campbell, and Frank Campbell) played extensively in the Philly region and toured nationally. They frequently shared the stage with other local Philly punk bands such as The Dead Milkmen, F.O.D., Scram, McRad, Baby Flamehead, Ruin, and many others. The band has also supported a wide range of national punk and alternative bands including Dead Kennedys, Hüsker Dü, Descendents, Meat Puppets, Flaming Lips, and Naked Raygun.
Although they started out as a hardcore thrash band, Electric Love Muffin drew on a wide variety of musical influences including punk, garage rock, British Invasion, soul, R&B, and roots and country music. Electric Love Muffin had plenty of songs to get the hardcore mosh pit going, but their overall musical sound is more in line with bands like X, Soul Asylum, the Replacements, R.E.M., and some of the alt country bands that came later such as Uncle Tupelo.
The band parted ways in 1990, but have done occasional reunion shows since then, most notably opening for a Ruin reunion show at the Trocadero in 1997. After the band’s demise in 1990, brothers Brian and Frank Campbell formed the short-lived Cave Canem. Frank later played drums in the punk band Rotgut. Brian formed the rock trio Poppy who continue to play shows and release music today. Butch Lauer played lead guitar in Fuck Monster and guitar & vocals in The Boss Hook-Up. Rich Kaufmann founded the alt country band Rolling Hayseeds in the mid-1990s releasing two records on the Record Cellar label. In 2003, returning to his punk rock roots, Rich formed the rock band Foxycontin whose debut album was finally released in 2020.
Band Members:
Rich Kaufmann (vocals, guitar)
Butch Lauer (guitar)
Brian Campbell (bass)
Frank Campbell (drums)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Photo and Image credits: Brian Campbell, Chris Clabbers, Phil Commander, Mike Eidle, Gary Ferenčak, BK Kerns, Spencer Lloyd, Tracey Long, Colin Markham, Mark Pingitore, Don Sheluga, Jim Vincent, Jr.
Demos, live recordings provided by: Brian Campbell, Jeff Fox