Tin Huey is an American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

and new wave band from

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

, United States, that formed in 1972 and disbanded in 1982.

History

Original lineups

Initially named Rags, the band started with Mark Price (then known as Wesley the Stash) on guitar, Michael Aylward on bass, and Stuart Austin (then known as Napoleon Lemens) on drums. The band renamed themselves after Aylward's younger brother. Harvey Gold became the fourth member to join on organ. Price left the band, and the remaining members switched to acoustic music before hiring electric guitarist Arthur Baranoff and bassist Wayne Swickley. When the latter two left, Price rejoined as the bassist, while Aylward took on electric guitar, and Gold alternated between electric guitar and

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

; they briefly added saxophonist Lochi MacIntosh to the lineup before replacing him with

Ralph Carney Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

. Chris Butler (the bassist for 15-60-75 (The Numbers Band)) was the last to join, also on guitar. Inspired by

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

and the

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

, Tin Huey was among the bands that emerged from the Akron/Cleveland music scene, including

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...

Chi-Pig Chi-Pig was a new wave power trio hailing from Akron, Ohio that formed in 1977. History Before Chi-Pig During the 1960s and 1970s, Susan Schmidt (daughter of Marjorie H. Schmidt of The Co-eds) and Deborah Smith were active in several area ban ...

, the Electric Eels, the Bizarros, and the Rubber City Rebels.

Career

Tin Huey signed with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

and recorded and released their debut album ''

Contents Dislodged During Shipment ''Contents Dislodged During Shipment'' is an album by American rock band Tin Huey, released in 1979 by Warner Bros. Records. Most of it was written by the band's frontman, Chris Butler. Even though their cover of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer" w ...

'' in 1979. (The album was issued for the first time on CD by

Collector's Choice Music Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois, company originally primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact disc The com ...

in 2003.) It was not a commercial success. Ralph Legnini (a.k.a. Ralph E.) played with the band for several early '80s shows before they went their separate ways. It would be two decades before they released any new material. Their follow-up second album, ''Disinformation'', was released in 1999 by Butler's Future Fossil Records. Since then, they have played shows both in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and in the greater New York City area. Most recently, they assembled recordings from the mid-70s for their third album, ''Before Obscurity: The Bushflow Tapes''. The album is a combination of studio recordings and live performances from JB's in

Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 Census. The city is counted as pa ...

, where they regularly played. ''Perversity'' was released on November 17, 2009, on the

Smog Veil Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and '' fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then inte ...

label, becoming their first new album in over a decade. In 2003, Tin Huey were among the Midwestern/Akronite bands that were featured in the

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 ...

documentary ''

It's Everything, And Then It's Gone ''If You're Not Dead, Play'' is a 2005 PBS rock music documentary, a Western Reserve Public Media/ PBS production and the sequel of '' It's Everything, And Then It's Gone''. This was also written and directed by Phil Hoffman. It provides the f ...

'', which covered the mostly overlooked stories about the bands who hailed from the Ohio music scene and developed the "

Akron Sound The Akron Sound refers to the independent music, largely new wave and punk rock, coming out of Akron, Ohio, in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s, following the international success of local band Devo, talent scouts combed the city. Soon, sever ...

". That same year, Tin Huey played at the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. Tin Huey briefly became a septet after adding newcomer Bob Ethington, formerly of

Unit 5 Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (alb ...

. Price died after a four-year battle with

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

on November 6, 2008, at the age of 56. Tin Huey stopped performing as a band. A spin-off band, Half Cleveland, was formed in 2007 featuring Gold, Butler, Ethington, and former

bassist Debbie Smith. They have played occasional shows in the Akron/Cleveland area, including opening a show at the Akron Civic Theater for

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

of the

Pretenders Pretenders may refer to: * The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (le ...

. Since Price's death, there have been a couple live events, one a jam loosely dedicated to Mark involving all the surviving members of the Hueys, bass handled by Gold, Smith, and Kristoffer Carter (The KC Show). The second was an Arts Program benefit billed as "A Gaggle of Hueys and a Houseguest" featuring original Hueys Gold, Aylward and Austin, along with Dave Rich of Houseguest. Recently, Gold and Aylward have also been playing improvisational guitar duets at local art galleries.

Current line-up of Tin Huey

*Michael Aylward (Guitar, Vocals) *Stuart Austin (Drums, Percussion) * Chris Butler (Guitar, Vocals) *Harvey Gold (Keyboards, Bass, Guitar, Vocals) *"Bongo" Bob Ethington

Former members of the Rags/Tin Huey

*Arthur Baranoff (Electric Guitar) *Wayne Swickley (Bass) *Lochi MacIntosh (Horns) *Ralph Legnini (Guitar) *Mark Price (Bass, Vocals) (deceased) *

(Horns) (deceased)

Discography

*''Tin Huey (EP)'' (1977) (Clone Records) *''Breakfast With The Hueys (EP)'' (1978) (Clone Records) *''

'' (1979) (

) *''

English Kids English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

'' (1980) EP (Clone Records) *''Disinformation'' (1999) (Future Fossil Records) *''Sneak Peek: The Obscurity Series'' (2004) *''Before Obscurity: The Bushflow Tapes'' (2009) (

Smog Veil Records Smog Veil Records was a Chicago, IL based independent record label. In addition to standard CD, DVD, and vinyl distribution, Smog Veil also distributed its media via digital channels, including Napster and iTunes. History In business from 1991 ...

) *''New Stuff: Obscurity Deluxe'' (TBC)

References

External links

* *
Tin Huey Article

Tin Huey
on Myspace (Official) {{Authority control American experimental rock groups American new wave musical groups Rock music groups from Ohio Musical groups from Akron, Ohio Warner Records artists