The Embarrassment

The Embarrassment were a quartet formed in 1979 in Wichita, Kansas that made several recordings before breaking up in 1983. The band consisted of guitarist Bill Goffrier, lead singer and organist John Nichols, bassist Ron Klaus and drummer Brent Giessmann.

Although some people considered the band punk rock, the band itself liked to describe themselves as "Blister Pop." The Village Voice's long-time chief music critic, Robert Christgau, called them a "great lost American band."

The Embarrassment stopped performing when two of the members moved to Boston. Giessmann drummed for The Del Fuegos, and Goffrier formed the band Big Dipper with former members of the Volcano Suns. Several of The Embarrassment's unreleased songs were recorded by Big Dipper, including "Faith Healer," which was later covered by Japanese all-girl group Shonen Knife.

The "Embos," as fans call them, have played several reunion concerts in the years since, the latest being in August, 2008, when they played an acoustic show in Wichita.

Kansas-born political writer Thomas Frank quoted lyrics from their song "Sex Drive" in his bestselling 2004 book What's the Matter with Kansas?.

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