Aztec Two-Step is an American folk-rock band, formed by Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman at a chance meeting on open stage, at a Boston coffee house, the Stone Phoenix, Artist pageat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

in 1971. Fowler grew up in Connecticut and Maine, and Shulman grew up in Manhattan. The band was named after a line from a poem that appeared in ''

A Coney Island of the Mind ''A Coney Island of the Mind'' is a collection of poetry by Lawrence Ferlinghetti originally published in 1958. It contains some of Ferlinghetti’s most famous poems, such as “I Am Waiting” and “Junkman's Obbligato”, which were created f ...

'' by

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. The author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, an ...

. Former

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Chris Greeley Christian D. Greeley is a former representative in the Maine state legislature. He was a Republican. He represented District 22 in the House of Representatives for four consecutive two-year terms, from 2002 to 2010, at which point he was prohibit ...

once worked as a light man for the group. After two months in Boston, the duo moved to New York City, which remained their base. Within a year after meeting, they had a contract with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

to make their first album. This self-titled debut on Elektra was followed by three albums with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. They are noted for longevity as a duo, with a career of more than 40 years of performing together. Fowler once explained, "we've survived with pure guile, DIY's and the support of our fan base which we established by recording on two major labels (Elektra and RCA Records) back in the Seventies." In 1982, Aztec Two-Step played two sold-out performances at The Door (formerly

The Cellar Door The Cellar Door was a 163-seat music club located at 34th & M Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. from 1964 through January 7, 1982. It occupied the location of a former music club called The Shadows. One of the premie ...

), the iconic Washington DC club in Georgetown, becoming the last band to play at the club before it closed. On that night, "possibly as a diversionary move to keep the doors open," the audience called the duo back for eight encores. They received the New York Music Award for Best Folk Album in 1986, and have performed on TV and radio programs such as ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

'', ''The

King Biscuit Flower Hour The ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' was an American syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock music recording artists. History The program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 19 ...

'', and '' World Cafe Live''. A documentary about the band, ''No-Hit Wonder'', aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

in 1999.

Discography

* ''Aztec Two-Step'' (1972) * ''Second Step'' (1975) * ''Two's Company'' (1976) * ''Adjoining Suites'' (1977) * ''Times of Our Lives'' (1979) * ''Living in America'' (1986) * ''See It Was Like This...'' (1989) * ''Of Age'' (1993) * ''Highway Signs'' (1996) (Live album) * ''Gettysburg: Reflections on American Life'' (2001) * ''Live and Rare'' (2001) * ''Plums'' (2003) * ''Days of Horses'' (2004) * ''Time It Was - The Simon & Garfunkel Songbook'' (2009) * ''The Persecution & Restoration of Aztec Two-Step (An Anthology)'' (2009) * ''Cause And Effect'' (2012) * ''Naked'' (2017)

References

External links

Official web site
* Artist pageat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*Monarch Music Agency
Aztec Two-Step Booking AgencyPlanet Noise Records
Released Rex Fowler's solo album "Reflections on American Life" as well as the Aztec Two-Step Album "Live & Rare"
Planet Noise Music

Aztec Two-Step Aztec Two-Step is an American folk-rock band, formed by Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman at a chance meeting on open stage, at a Boston coffee house, the Stone Phoenix, Artist pageat AllMusic in 1971. Fowler grew up in Connecticut and Maine, and Shulm ...

Flying Fish Records artists {{US-folk-band-stub