A History of Violins (1973-1979)

Recent listening to British  proto-punk bands spurred an interest in British rock violinists of that era.

Jean-Paul Crocker was an original member of Cockney Rebel, and played on the first two albums (1973’s Human Menagerie and 1974’s Psychomodo).  Crocker and the rest of the band quit after a dispute over songwriting, and Steve Harley formed a new group to back him.  (Harley died in March of this year.)

After Eno left Roxy Music, Eddie Jobson joined on keyboards and violin, appearing on Stranded (1973) through Viva! (1976).  Jobson then helped form UK, launched a solo career, played with Zappa and more.

Billy Currie played violin and keyboards in Ultravox, beginning with the three 77-78 albums of the John Foxx era.  Currie also worked with Visage and Gary Numan.

Simon House played keyboards and violin with Hawkwind from 1974 (Hall Of The Mountain Grill) through 1979 (PXR5).  You can hear him on "She Blinded Me With Science", Tin Drum, Bowie's Stage and Lodger.  The Quietus points out that Simon plays a "snaking Arabic melody" on Lodger's "Yassassin" that is similar to his performance on Hawkwind's "Hassan-i Sabbah".

Urban Blitz (aka Geoff Hickman) was a member of Doctors of Madness (an undersung but influential British pre-punk band).  They made their three studio albums (1976-1978).  Urban Blitz played lead guitar and violin, and he treated his violin with effects including distortion, wah-wah, phaser, and reverb. He later became a designer of violins. (Urban Blitz and Doctors Of Madness vocalist Richard Strange are pictured above.) 

Bobby Valentino played violin and mandolin with the Fabulous Poodles (who were new wave via pub rock). Bobby was known to play violin with a talk box as well as other effects.  He has enjoyed a prolific career as a solo artist and in the band Los Pistoleros (with Martin Belmont and BJ Cole). He's done studio and live work with artists ranging from Mad Professor to Mark Knopfler. You can hear Bobby on the one hit wonder "Shiny Shiny"!

I didn't find any decent American rock bands with a violinist in the 70's -- it was an instrument consigned to hippies, jazzbos and rednecks. Beginning in the 80's, the violin was reclaimed by Tuxedomoon, Tupelo Chain Sex, Gogol Bordello, the Geraldine Fibbers, Lisa Germano and today's young sensations the Callous Daoboys.

PREVIOUSLY ON JONDERBLOG: our exhaustive survey of Talk Box rock, funk and hip hop!

Pere Ubu: The Waffle House Near Walden Pond

Pere Ubu recently announced a new album, Trouble On Big Beat Street, which will be released in May 2023. This is a bit of a surprise, as the last album was called The Long Goodbye and was billed as "the end of a road".  Career-spanning box sets appeared in 2022. Previously unreleased songs and official bootlegs were let loose from the avant garage.  A sense of history and finality seemed to be in the air.

David Thomas still leads the band, which now includes Michele Temple, Keith Moliné, Andy Diagram, Gagarin, and new members Alex Ward and Jack Jones.  Andy started his career with The Diagram Brothers and Dislocation Dance.  Andy and Keith Moliné were the "Two Pale Boys" who performed and recorded with David Thomas. Andy Diagram has also been a member of James, The Pale Fountains, and the duo Spaceheads, among others.

Gagarin (born Graham Dowdall) began drumming professionally with Ludus, then played with Nico, John Cale, Eric Random, Sons of Arqa, Zor Gabor and others.  Michele Temple was a member of Cleveland bands The Vivians and Home And Garden before the latter band "merged" with Pere Ubu circa 1987. 

Michele Temple teaches guitar at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.  She and Keith Moliné are both published authors. Gagarin is an academic lecturer.  Alex Ward has an extensive career as a composer and improviser.  These are serious musicians.

The timeline of Ubu members is not unlike that of The Fall. Ubu's website states, "As long as David Thomas is in charge and The Rules are followed, it's Pere Ubu."  Mark E. Smith would approve of the sentiment.  Keith Moliné points out in his review of Pere Ubu reviewers that, despite the public perception of David Thomas as a hire-and-fire employer (again, like MES), only two people left Pere Ubu in two decades.

MES and David Thomas are both idiosyncratic "singers" with a professed disdain for musicians ("Musicians Are Scum") and the music industry. Both are intelligent and outspoken, with no false modesty about the significance of their music.  Both men are also known for their love of their cities (Cleveland and Manchester). Both created projects combining music and theater ("I Am Curious, Orange" and "Hey! Luciani"; David Thomas' Mirror Man, "Long Live Père Ubu", and the Two Pale Boys' Shockheaded Peter). 

Today's sampler of songs recorded between 2002 and 2020 takes its title from a David Thomas lyric ("At the end counter table of the Waffle House with the view of Walden Pond" - from The Long Goodbye's "Fortunate Son").   It includes songs from the three albums by the reformed Rocket From The Tombs, as well as Pere Ubu's albums and live recordings.

In June 2023, Pere Ubu will perform in NYC with Faust. Former Ubu members Tony Maimone and Allen Ravenstine plan to join Pere Ubu onstage.

This Ain't No Funhouse

The Stooges' classic second album, Funhouse, is almost half a century old? Hard to believe. And who would have guessed that Iggy would outlive all of his original bandmates? Not with that lifestyle. And yet, here we are: it's 2019, and Iggy is 72.

Funhouse was released on 7/07/1970. All of its songs (with the exception of the freeform "LA Blues") have been covered by numerous artists. A few years ago on another blog I compiled two sets of Funhouse covers. Here's an update -- with a third volume -- to mark the album's 49th anniversary.

But how to address the lack of "LA Blues" cover versions?  John Zorn and Yamatsuka Eye's "TV Eye" sounds as unhinged as "LA Blues", as does the music of Billy Bao (whose album Buildings From Bilbao isn't truly a Nigerian emigrant's song by song cover of Funhouse, as it was purported to be.) 

I included an unrelated "LA Blues" from Iggy's solo Acoustics KO, and one of the Stooges' freeform jams from the Complete Funhouse Sessions box set.  In addition to Iggy and the Stooges themselves, Ron Asheton appears (with Scott Morgan's Powertrane, New Race and Dark Carnival), as do Scott Asheton (Dark Carnival) and Steve Mackay. And there are a couple of Funhouse inspired tunes by Sour Jazz and the Spacemen 3.

If you're an Iggy fan, don't miss my "Guest Spots" collection of his many collaborations with other artists. Iggy most recently appeared on hip hop singles by Pan Amsterdam and Fémina, and he played a zombie in the film The Dead Don't Die.  Hopefully he will stick around for next summer's 50th anniversary of Funhouse.