fecal matter formed early in 1985 after kurt cobain had dropped out of aberdeen high school. one of "several joke bands" that arose from the circle of friends associated with the melvins, it initially included cobain singing and playing guitar, melvins drummer dale crover playing bass, and greg hokanson playing drums. the band spent several months rehearsing original material and covers, including songs by the ramones, led zeppelin, and jimi hendrix.