Harry Rushakoff was born on November 16, 1958, in Chicago. He became Concrete Blonde’s original drummer, joining singer and bassist Johnette Napolitano and guitarist Jim Mankey in the trio that recorded the band’s self-titled debut. Their partnership would include changes in personnel, time apart and a return to recording together.
His early musical connections were in Chicago’s punk and new wave scene. Rushakoff helped form Special Affect in 1978, playing with vocalist Groovie Mann and, after a change of guitarists, Al Jourgensen. The group recorded the EP Mood Music and the album Too Much Soft Living, released in 1980. Those sessions placed Rushakoff alongside musicians who would take different paths through My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Ministry.
After moving to Los Angeles, he joined Napolitano and Mankey through a friend’s recommendation. In a 1993 interview with Steve Steffek for High Point University’s Campus Chronicle, Napolitano recalled needing a drummer and being pointed toward Rushakoff. The connection worked. “We had so much fun that Johnette asked me if I wanted to be in the band,” Rushakoff said. They were still called Dream 6 when he joined; the Concrete Blonde name followed.
The trio released Concrete Blonde in 1986, with Rushakoff playing drums on “Still in Hollywood.” For the follow-up, 1989’s Free, the group added bassist Alan Bloch, allowing Napolitano to concentrate on singing. That changed Rushakoff’s immediate musical partnership: the rhythm section paired him with Bloch. The album included both the anti-gun “God Is a Bullet” and “Happy Birthday,” with Rushakoff drumming on each. The latter’s compact pop arrangement and the former’s confrontational subject matter gave the expanded band distinctly different settings to work in.
Rushakoff’s tenure didn’t run continuously through the catalog. Paul Thompson replaced him for Bloodletting, released in 1990, before Rushakoff returned for Walking in London in 1992. Stereo Review’s April 1992 report described him reconnecting with Napolitano and Mankey after working with a band in Nashville. Rushakoff said a conversation between the three had rekindled their enthusiasm for playing together. The resulting album put him back on drums and percussion, including on “Ghost of a Texas Ladies’ Man,” with Napolitano again playing bass.
That willingness to reconnect led to another recording chapter in 2001. Rushakoff, Napolitano and Mankey began playing together again in August, and their sessions became Group Therapy. Speaking to writer Jason Nahrung in 2002, Napolitano explained that the reunion hadn’t begun with a record deal or a carefully laid plan. They met, picked up their instruments and started playing. “We had no high expectations, we were just happy to play,” she said. The trio recorded the album in 10 days, and Manifesto Records released it in January 2002.
