Certain General is an American post-punk band formed in 1980 by Parker Dulany, Phil Gammage, Marcy Saddy, and Russell Berke.

[1] In the liner notes for Introduction to War (2001), their former manager, Stephen Graziano, called them, "... the baddest, craziest, most misbehaved but mind bendingly brilliant band that was walking the Earth."

"'[2] Drawing on a tradition established by New York rock bands such as the Velvet Underground, Certain General has recorded and performed extensively in the United States and Europe.

"[4] New York rock critic heavyweight Christgau from the Village Voice weighed in that the band produced "rolling, ambitious, somewhat mannered art pop that is totally original.

Before playing their first club date at New York's Hurrah, the band had already created a buzz among the downtown Manhattan music and art communities.

Bassist Russell Berke (Carla Bley), drummer Marcy Saddy (Toronto's the B-Girls), and guitarist Phil Gammage (the Corvairs) collaborated with painter and poet Parker Dulany to create a live show that captivated the local New York press.

In a review of a show for These Are the Days (1986) at Danceteria, Richard Grabel of the New Musical Express wrote "in a wall of ingenious noise Parker seems like a fallen angel out of a page by Rimbaud.

The five-song EP was produced by Peter Holsapple of The dB's and mixed by Michael Gira of fellow Labor Records label mates Swans, "an interesting pairing if there ever was one.

"[10] In 1983, original bassist Berke would depart to be replaced by roadie and all-around funster, Joe Lupo, and the band would begin work on recording their first proper album.

While the bass work of Berke was widely regarded as brilliant, Graziano remarked that Lupo was "the plutonium rod that fueled the Certain General party reactor.

[3] During this time, Certain General would catch the attention of British music journalist Kris Needs, who championed the band and later served as their host during their first UK visit.

Highlights of the UK dates included shows at Alice in Wonderland (where in his typical exuberance Dulany smashed his hand through the asbestos ceiling) and the Batcave in London, as well as the Hacienda (with James) in Manchester.

David Fricke of the Melody Maker wrote of this performance "Certain General defy equilibrium in their abrasive velvet descended attack and by set's end they are a revved-up dance engine with juggernaut possibilities.

[12] Although the next two years saw the band tour and make television appearances in France several times, within the United States, the group's profile remained primarily underground as they continued to perform mainly on the East Coast.

The bands with whom Certain General appeared in the early- and mid-eighties is a veritable list of many of the top independent rock bands of the era: Green on Red, Rain Parade, Mission of Burma, Gun Club, Oingo Boingo, New Order, Rank and File, The Rezillos, The Bongos, The Nails, Gang of Four, R.E.M., Pylon, The Sisters of Mercy, Way of the West, Medium Medium, and Raybeats.

"[13] While successful in France, November's Heat was not released in the United States until 2000, rather odd considering that the band was covered widely, especially by the much-respected UK music press.

This success was overshadowed by tragedy when Ruth was killed in a horrific car accident that left her pinned beneath a yellow cab in the doorway of The Limelight club, a converted church in New York, as the band performed there in September 1986.

Produced by Tooley at his Concept Studios in New York, Stolen Car includes contributions from sax session musician Robert Aaron, a veteran of recordings by David Bowie, James White, and Al Jarreau, among many others.

In expressing this declaration we avoided all of the usual recording entrapments: No big studios, no outside producer, no instruments of 'sentiment' such as acoustic guitars or strings; nothing that the three of us could not play ourselves.

In a review of a gig marking the release of Introduction to War at Don Hill's in New York, Kristy Eldredge wrote in Glorious Noise, that Dulany embodies subtle but powerful charisma ... and slender scarecrow elegance ... (his) body language is the loosest and he seems to have the most soul.

Replacing the artist's lofts, dives, and backrooms that were their laboratory are the all-too typical earmarks of any modern gentrified locale: the Nine Wests, the Starbucks, the Gaps et al.. Fortunately, in spite of these less-than-inspiring surroundings and unlike most of their peers, the band carries on: Parker Dulany, Phil Gammage and Kevin Tooley continue to perform and record as Certain General.

In 2001, SourMash Records issued the two-CD set An Introduction to War, which included the previously unreleased album The Dead Rabbit Gang (songs that were to be released after November's Heat in 1985), and a disc of live material, Savage Young Generals, circa 1981–1982.