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While Pere Ubu has never been widely popular—usually categorized as " Underground Rock "—they have a devoted Following , have been hugely influential on several generations of forward-thinking musicians and are among the most critically acclaimed American musical groups. Their early singles are sometimes regarded as minor Protopunk classics. Critical opinions of Pere Ubu include "the world's only in the last decade and a half. Either that or they will be entirely forgotten." {Link without Title} Pere Ubu have consistently conducted their affairs as they see fit, regardless of convention: They refuse to discuss or explain their sometimes odd music, forgoing the usual banter of Newspaper and press interviews. Pere Ubu have compiled a list of guidelines for touring, live performances and the like, including such statements as, "Lighting should be Theatrical rather than rockist. We are interested in atmosphere, Mood , Drama , energy, subtlety, Imagination -- not rock cliche," and note that the Danish Broadcasting Corporation is one of the few organizations they trust to record live performances, "solely on the basis of the King of Denmark's Defense Of The Jews in WWII ." {Link without Title} Tired of being asked to define their music, Pere Ubu coined the term ''Avant Garage'' to reflect interest in both experimental Avant-garde music (especially Musique Concrète ) and raw, direct Blues influenced Garage Rock . Thomas has stated "Avant Garage" is "a Joke invented to have something to give Journalist s when they yelp for a neat Sound Bite or Pigeonhole ." {Link without Title} HISTORY 1970s , while David Thomas and Guitar ist Peter Laughner joined with guitarist Tom Herman , Bass Guitar ist Tim Wright , Drummer Scott Krauss and Synthesist Allen Ravenstine to form Pere Ubu in 1975 . Pere Ubu's debut single was "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" (inspired by the " Doolittle Raid " and named after a film depicting the raid), backed with "Heart of Darkness"; followed by "Final Solution" in 1976 . One review noted that "30 Seconds" "was clearly the work of a Garage Band , yet its arty dissonance and weird Experimentalism were startlingly unique." {Link without Title} Of their second single, "Final Solution" (backed with "Cloud 149"), one scribe writes that Ubu's "call for a 'final solution' was the cry of teen Final Solution .) From these first recordings, Pere Ubu sounded like little else. Their propulsive Rhythm ic pulse was similar to Krautrock , but Thomas's yelping, howling, desperate singing was and still is peculiar to traditional music of the United States of America. In their songs, Pere Ubu imagined 1950s and 1960s Garage Rock and Surf Music Archetypes as seen in a distorting funhouse mirror, emphasising the music's Angst , loneliness and Lyric al Paranoia . Sometimes sounding like a demented Nursery Rhyme sing-along, this already bizarre blend was overlaid with Ravenstine's ominous EML synthesizer effects and Tape Loop ed sounds of mundane conversation, ringing Telephone s or steam whistles. After "Street Waves", their third single, Pere Ubu signed to Blank Records , an imprint of Mercury Records created just for the band. Laughner left the group after their first two singles, and died soon afterwards after a struggle with Drug Addiction . Tony Maimone signed on as bassist after Tim Wright left to join DNA . Their debut album, '' The Modern Dance '' ( 1978 ), sold poorly, but has proven influential. Musicians of many types, including Prog Rock , Punk Rock , Post Punk and New Wave , were influenced by the dark, abstract record. Special note should be made of Ravenstine's contributions to Pere Ubu. While most synthesizer players tended to play the instrument as they would a Piano or Organ , Ravenstine generally opted instead to make all manner of odd, disquieting and unique sounds that defied proper notation, and reminiscent of spooky Sound Effects from 1950's Science Fiction films, or perhaps Electronic Music and Musique Concrète . One critic writes that Ravenstine "may be one of the all-time great synth players" and his playing has been called "utterly original" [http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=pere_ubu . '' Dub Housing '' and '' New Picnic Time '' followed, with much the same reaction. The group briefly disbanded in 1979 , but reformed soon afterwards with Herman replaced by Mayo Thompson (of Red Krayola ). 1980s '' The Art Of Walking '' ( 1980 ) showed a movement towards a pop audience. For the next original album, '' Song Of The Bailing Man '' ( 1982 ), Krauss was replaced by Anton Fier . The group disbanded again soon afterwards; Krauss and Maimone formed Home & Garden , while Thomas worked on a solo career, notably with Richard Thompson and with members of Henry Cow . By the late 1980's, one of Thomas's solo projects eventually featured much of Pere Ubu. The band was reformed again in 1988 , with Jim Jones and Chris Cutler joining for the release of '' The Tenement Year '' ( 1988 ), a far more pop-oriented album than ever before. The following year, "Waiting for Mary" (off '' Cloudland '') appeared on MTV briefly. Eric Drew Feldman joined in time for '' Worlds In Collision '' but left afterwards, joining Frank Black . 1990s and beyond '' Story Of My Life '' ( 1993 ) was released on Imago Records ; Maimone left once again, and Michele Temple and Garo Yellin joined for the 1995 album, '' Raygun Suitcase ''. Robert Wheeler has played Synthesizer and Theremin with Pere Ubu since 1994. After a 1996 box set, Thomas reunited with Tom Herman—after Jones retired from touring due to health problems—to record '' Pennsylvania '' ( 1998 ) and '' St. Arkansas '' in 2002 . Both Herman and Jones contributed guitar tracks to the latter album. METHODOLOGY Pere Ubu had an interesting way of combining musicians: from the start the Ubu methodology was almost, just about, nearly, definable:
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