James Chance And The Contortions
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James Chance And The Contortions
James Chance and the Contortions (initially known simply as Contortions, a spin-off group is called James White and the Blacks) was a musical group led by saxophonist and vocalist James Chance, formed in 1977. They were a central act of New York City's downtown no wave music scene in the late 1970s, and were featured on the influential compilation ''No New York'' (1978). Recording history Their first recording, credited solely as ''Contortions'', was on the 1978 compilation, ''No New York'', produced by Brian Eno. The following year, two albums were issued almost simultaneously on ZE Records; '' Buy'' and '' Off White'' under the moniker James White and the Blacks. The same musicians recorded both records, though none are credited on the album cover. The Contortions appeared in Rosa von Praunheim's film ''Das Todesmagazin'' in 1979. In 2016, Chance released his first single with his original Contortions band in nearly 30 years, entitled "Melt Yourself Down". A music video for th ...
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James Chance
James Chance, also known as James White (born James Siegfried, April 20, 1953), is an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer. A key figure in no wave, Chance has been playing a combination of improvisational jazz-like music and punk in the New York music scene since the late 1970s, in such bands as Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, James Chance and the Contortions, James White and the Blacks (as he appeared in the film ''Downtown 81''), The Flaming Demonics, James Chance & the Sardonic Symphonics, James Chance and Terminal City, and James Chance and Les Contortions. Biography Born and raised in Milwaukee and Brookfield, Wisconsin, Chance attended Michigan State University, then the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. There, Chance joined a band named Death, which performed covers of the Stooges and the Velvet Underground before moving toward original songs. At the end of 1975, Chance dropped out and moved to New York City after the dissolution of the band an ...
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Bush Tetras
Bush Tetras are an American post-punk band from New York City, formed in 1979. They are best known for the 1980 song "Too Many Creeps", which exemplified the band's sound of "jagged rhythms, slicing guitars, and sniping vocals"."Bush Tetras: Biography by Mark Deming."
''AllMusic.com''. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
Although they did not achieve mainstream success, the Bush Tetras were influential and popular in the Manhattan club scene and college radio in the early 1980s. New York's post-punk revival of the 2000s was accompanied by a resurgence of interest in the genre, with the Tetras' influence heard in many of that scene's bands.


History


Formation, name, and early years

The Bush Tetras formed in 1979, and soon solidifie ...
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Alan W
Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *Alan (Chinese singer) (born 1987), female Chinese singer of Tibetan ethnicity, active in both China and Japan *Alan (Mexican singer) (born 1973), Mexican singer and actor * Alan (wrestler) (born 1975), a.k.a. Gato Eveready, who wrestles in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración *Alan (footballer, born 1979) (Alan Osório da Costa Silva), Brazilian footballer *Alan (footballer, born 1998) (Alan Cardoso de Andrade), Brazilian footballer *Alan I, King of Brittany (died 907), "the Great" *Alan II, Duke of Brittany (c. 900–952) * Alan III, Duke of Brittany(997–1040) *Alan IV, Duke of Brittany (c. 1063–1119), a.k.a. Alan Fergant ("the Younger" in Breton language) *Alan of Tewkesbury, 12th century abbott *Alan of Lynn (c. 1348–1423), 15th ce ...
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Coleen Fitzgibbon
Coleen Fitzgibbon (born 1950) is an American experimental film artist associated with Collaborative Projects, Inc. (a.k.a. Colab). She worked under the pseudonym Colen Fitzgibbon between the years 1973-1980. Fitzgibbon currently resides on Ludlow Street in New York City and in Montana. Career history Fitzgibbon was a student of 1960s Structuralist cinema at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Whitney Independent Study Program where she studied with Owen Land (aka “ George Landow”), Stan Brakhage, Yvonne Rainer, Carolee Schneemann and Vito Acconci. Fitzgibbon worked on film and sound projects for Dennis Oppenheim, Gordon Matta-Clark and Les Levine. Fitzgibbon formed the collaborative ''X&Y'' project with Robin Winters in 1976 and helped form the conceptual art project called ''The Offices of Peter Fend, Fitzgibbon, Jenny Holzer, Peter Nadin, Richard Prince and Robin Winters'' in 1979 (the same year she performed at ''Public Arts International/Free Speech''). She ...
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Carlo McCormick
Carlo McCormick is an American culture critic and curator living in New York City. He is the author of numerous books, monographs and catalogues on contemporary art and artists. Pedagogic and art writing activities McCormick was Senior Editor of ''Paper''. He lectures and teaches extensively at universities and colleges around the United States on popular culture and art. His writing has appeared in '' Effects : Magazine for New Art Theory,'' ''Aperture,'' '' Art in America,'' ''Art News,'' ''Artforum,'' ''Camera Austria,'' ''High Times,'' '' Spin,'' '' Tokion,'' ''Vice'' and other magazines. He appears in an on-camera interview in the 2017 documentary film '' Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat'' by Sara Driver that contains extensive coverage of Colab, ''The Real Estate Show'', '' The Times Square Show'' and ABC No Rio. ''The Downtown Show: the New York Art Scene from 1974 to 1984'' McCormick was guest curator of the exhibition ''The Downtown ...
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Le Poisson Rouge
(Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space was designed and engineered by John Storyk/WSDG. It has become known for its focus on artistry, bringing contemporary classical music into the club setting, and offering a variety of set ups so that a seated classical performance can be followed by a standing set by a rock band or a DJ. Responding to a performance of Olivier Messiaen's ''Quartet for the End of Time'' featuring pianist Bruce Brubaker at LPR, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported: "The crowd – many of whom wouldn't even have known who Messiaen was – sat in rapt silence, and roared their approval at the end." Kantor and Handler, both graduates of Manhattan School of Music, founded LPR with the stated desire of creating a venue that would foster the fusion of "popular and art ...
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Robert Aaron
Robert Aaron (born Robert Arron Vineberg; November 13, 1955) is a Canadian jazz musician. According to John Leland of the New York Times "Mr. Aaron played flute, saxophone, clarinet and piano, then taught himself guitar, trumpet, bassoon, French horn and other instruments." He performed for rapper Wyclef Jean's band from 1998 to 2008. Robin Caulden of Press-Republican said "He's played with everybody — Afrika Bambataa, B52s, Blondie, Chic, David Bowie, Heavy D, James Chance and The Contortions, RZA, Stetsasonic, William Vivanco and Wu-Tang Clan." In 1981, he first started work with James Chance for the group James White and the Blacks; and has toured with him since in Europe and Japan. He played sax on David Bowie's 1983 hit " Let's Dance". In 2010, Aaron released his album ''Trouble Man'', which Michael Daly of the Daily Beast called "artistically adventurous but commercially unsuccessful". Folk singer Eric Andersen, who used Aaron on several albums as a producer and ...
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Defunkt
Defunkt is an American musical group founded by the trombonist and singer Joseph Bowie in 1978 in New York City. Their music touches on elements of punk rock, funk, and jazz. Career Joseph Bowie is the brother of big band musician Byron Bowie and Art Ensemble of Chicago co-founder Lester Bowie. Joseph, who had previously worked as a sideman for various 1970s jazz musicians, founded Defunkt in 1978 with members of a band that had backed James Chance. The new group's original focus was on danceable jazz music. Joseph Bowie remains the only consistent member of the group over its history; he has been noted for displaying the influence of far-ranging musicians like Ornette Coleman, James Brown, and Joe Strummer. The first incarnation of the group was active in New York City's " No Wave" radical underground music scene, which also included fusion-oriented groups like Material and Sonic Youth. Joseph's saxophonist brother Bryon, bassist Melvin Gibbs and future Living Colour guitari ...
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Joseph Bowie
Joseph Bowie (born October 17, 1953) is an American jazz trombonist and vocalist. The brother of trumpeter Lester Bowie, Joseph is known for leading the jazz-punk group Defunkt and for membership in the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. Career Bowie was greatly influenced by his older brothers, saxophonist Byron Bowie and trumpeter Lester Bowie. His first international tour was with Oliver Lake of the Black Artists Group in 1971. During this time in Paris, he worked with Alan Silva, Frank Wright, and Bobby Few. He also worked with Dr. John in Montreaux in 1973. He moved to New York City, and with the help of Off Broadway Theater impresario Ellen Stewart he established La Mama children's theater. He performed with Cecil Taylor, Human Arts Ensemble, Nona Hendryx, Leroy Jenkins, Vernon Reid, Stanley Cowell, Sam Rivers, Philippe Gaillot, Dominique Gaumont and Ornette Coleman. In 1976 he moved to Chicago, where he led bands for Tyrone Davis and other R&B artists. Returning to New Y ...
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John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, drone, classical, avant-garde and electronic music. He studied music at Goldsmiths College, University of London, before relocating in 1963 to New York City's downtown music scene, where he performed as part of the Theatre of Eternal Music and formed the Velvet Underground. Since leaving the band in 1968, Cale has released sixteen solo studio albums, including the widely acclaimed '' Paris 1919'' (1973) and '' Music for a New Society'' (1982). Cale has also acquired a reputation as an adventurous record producer, working on the debut albums of several innovative artists, including the Stooges and Patti Smith. Early life and career John Davies Cale was born on 9 March 1942 in the mining village of Garnant in the valley ...
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Pat Irwin
Pat Irwin (born May 17, 1955) is an American composer and musician who was a founding member of two bands that grew out of New York City's No Wave scene in the late 1970s, the Raybeats and 8-Eyed Spy. He joined The B-52s from 1989 through 2008. He currently performs and records witSUSSwho have released several records on the indie label Northern Spy. He composed the score for the Showtime series, '' Dexter: New Blood.'' Other television scores include HBO's '' Bored to Death,'' Showtime's ''Nurse Jackie,'' and '' The Good Cop'' on Netflix. He has composed scores for many cartoons including ''Rocko's Modern Life'', ''Pepper Ann'', ''A Little Curious'', and '' Class of 3000''. Independent film credits include ''My New Gun'', '' But I'm A Cheerleader'', and ''Bam Bam and Celeste.'' Biography Pat Irwin graduated from Grinnell College in 1977. He received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for international study and moved to Paris after graduation. In Paris he attended composition work ...
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Raybeats
The Raybeats were an American instrumental neo-surf rock combo from New York City that arose from the No Wave musical scene. The original line-up consisted of Don Christensen (drums), Jody Harris (guitar), Pat Irwin (guitar, saxophone, Acetone organ), and George Scott III (bass). History The Raybeats formed in 1979, brought together by George Scott. He had worked with Jody Harris and Don Christensen in James Chance and the Contortions, and he had worked with Pat Irwin in 8-Eyed Spy. When Scott died from a drug overdose in August 1980, he was replaced by Danny Amis. Amis left in the spring of 1982, after which the Raybeats used several bassists-for-hire, including David Hofstra, Bobby Albertson and Gene Holder. Amis later formed Los Straitjackets. With Amis, the Raybeats recorded an EP called ''Roping Wild Bears'', which was released in 1981. Later that year, they recorded and released a full-length album titled ''Guitar Beat'' produced by Martin Rushent. It featured ten ori ...
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