The Ordinaires was a nine piece

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 ...

band from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The band, which broke up in 1991, was composed of Angela Babin (guitar), Robin Casey (violin), Joe Dizney (guitar), Sven Furberg (bass), Kurt Hoffman (tenor saxophone), Barbara Schloss (violin), Jim Thomas (drums), Fritz Van Orden (alto saxophone), Garo Yellin (cello), and Peter Moffitt (cello, from 1984-1987). Born as the early '80's New York no wave/

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

movement began to take root, the band was both an outgrowth of and a reaction against the shapeless dissonance of their peers. Initially named Off-Beach, the band christened themselves The Ordinaires after completing two tracks for a Lower East Side compilation record. The name was a simplification of The Vin Ordinaires (based on the French term for table wine), and a pun on the name of band member Fritz Van Orden. Their self-titled debut, recorded at New York's

CBGB's CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

, was released on the German Dossier label and was then released in America by

Bar/None Records Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his na ...

. The Ordinaires are credited on the song "Kiss Me, Son Of God" by

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

, and Kurt Hoffman would later be a part of They Might Be Giants' backing band.

Adam Duritz Adam Fredric Duritz (born August 1, 1964) is an American singer, best known as the frontman for the rock band Counting Crows, of which he is a founding member and principal composer. Since its founding in 1991, Counting Crows has sold over 20 mi ...

of the band

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...

is wearing a The Ordinaries shirt in the music video of their hit song Mr. Jones.

Discography

Albums

*''The Ordinaires'' - LP (1986, Dossier Records) *''One'' - LP/Cassette (1989,

)

Compilation Appearances

*''Peripheral Vision'' - "Bands of Loisaida" - Cassette (1982, Zoar Records) *''Island of Sanity'' - "New Music From New York" - LP (1987, Rec-Rec Records) *''Time For A Change'' (1989,

)1989 - Time For A Change (

compilation)

Notes

External links

The Ordinaires: They Might Be Giants Knowledge Base

Bar/None Records overview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ordinaires American noise rock music groups American experimental rock groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups from New York City