New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsModine", a brand of heater.

History

Founded in the late 1990s by songwriter Wade Schuman (vocals and harmonica, occasional guitar and other instruments), the band in their formative years also featured mainstays Joe Daley (tuba, sousaphone) and Randy Weinstein (harmonica). Other personnel varied considerably, including not only performers on guitar, drums and sax but also exotic oddities like cimbalom and bass marimba. Their debut album was recorded over a five-year span and earned positive critical notice. Hazmat Modine was featured on the

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

program "

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

" on October 25, 2006,Eyre, Banning.
"Alien and Familiar: The Music of Hazmat Modine"
"

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, published October 25, 2006, accessed February 15, 2008. and on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

program "The Daily Planet" on May 29, 2006.Hazmat Modine
, ABC.net.au, published May 29, 2006, accessed February 15, 2008. Their second Hazmat Modine album featured a more stable lineup, though Weinstein has parted ways with the band. In 2013 Wade Schuman enlisted his friend Erik Della Penna to join the band as a guitarist, co-vocalist and songwriter. Schuman wanted the band to evolve into one that had more vocal harmonies, he was becoming more interested in the long tradition of American songwriting by the likes of

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

, Fats Waller,

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...

, Hays & Porter. A live album followed in 2014, and a studio album in 2015. Horizonte 2014 Fr 1345

Hazmat Modine has collaborated with

Huun-Huur-Tu Huun-Huur-Tu ( tyv, Хүн Хүртү, Hün Hürtü, ; rus, Хуун-Хуур-Ту, ) are a music group from Tuva, a Russian federative republic situated on the Mongolia–Russia border. Their music includes throat singing, in which the singer ...

and Alash, both bands a from Kyzl Tuva in Central Asia. Also, Natalie Merchant, Kronos Quartet, Gangbe Brass Band from Benin, and Balla Kouyate from Mali

Critical reception

The band's first album, titled '' Bahamut'' and released in the US on the

Barbès Records Barbes or Barbès or ''variation'' may refer to: Barbes *A festival in Latvian mythology Barbeş *''Barbeş'', a village in Greece merged into the town of Vergina Barbès ;People *Armand Barbès, French Republican revolutionary * Charles-Noël B ...

label, peaked at #12 on '' Billboard''s "Top Blues Albums" chart." Hazmat Modine - Charts & Awards,

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 databa ...

, accessed February 15, 2008. Reviewing the album for

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 databa ...

,

Jeff Tamarkin Jeff Tamarkin is an American editor, author and historian specializing in music and popular culture. Career For 15 years Tamarkin was editor of '' Goldmine'', a magazine for record and CD collectors. Prior to that, he served as the first editor o ...

gave it four stars out of a possible five, and termed it a "stunning debut".Tamarkin, Jeff. " Bahamut - Overview,

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 databa ...

, accessed February 15, 2008. Tamarkin praised the band for successfully fusing styles as disparate as blues, jazz, calypso, and ska into "music that sounds at once ageless and primeval, authentically indigenous and inexplicably otherworldly, familiar and unlike anything else." He also praised the group for making "listener-friendly music" that doesn't "require a degree in ethnomusicology to enjoy".

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

reviewer

Joe Tangari Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

gave the album's track "Everybody Loves You", a collaboration with

Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

n throat singers

Huun-Huur-Tu Huun-Huur-Tu ( tyv, Хүн Хүртү, Hün Hürtü, ; rus, Хуун-Хуур-Ту, ) are a music group from Tuva, a Russian federative republic situated on the Mongolia–Russia border. Their music includes throat singing, in which the singer ...

, a four-star review.Tangari, Joe.
"Everybody Loves You" Track Review
"

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

, published January 3, 2007, accessed February 15, 2008. Characterizing it as "generalized roots music that takes from pretty much any roots it sees fit," he praised it as "true world music, weird and wonderful to the last note."

Members

* Wade Schuman:

Diatonic harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

and lead vocals, guitar, pan flute,

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

* Erik Della Penna:

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

s,

banjo guitar Banjo guitar or banjitar or ganjo (Australia) is a six-string banjo tuned in the standard tuning of a six-string guitar (E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4) from lowest to highest strings. The six-string banjo was introduced in the late 19th century. Less widesprea ...

,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, songwriting * Joseph Daley:

Tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

,

sousaphone The sousaphone ( ) is a brass instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than ...

* Pamela Fleming:

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, flugelhorn * Steve Elson:

Tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, duduk, contra alto clarinet, flute * Reut Regev:

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* Patrick Simard: Drums * Daisy Castro Violin

Past or intermittent members

* Bill Barrett:- harmonica * Scott Veenstra:- drums * Randy Weinstein:- harmonica * Pete Smith - guitar * Richard Livingston Huntley - drums *

Henry Bogdan Henry Bogdan (born February 4, 1961 in Riverside, California), is an American musician. He is perhaps best known as the original bass guitarist and a founding member of the alternative metal band, Helmet. Henry Bodgan played bass for all of Hel ...

- lap steel guitar * Michaela Gomez, Guitar, Lap Steel * Graham Hawthorne, Drums * Rachelle Garniez, Vocals, Accordion * Tim Keiper, Drums * Kevin Garcia, Drums * Bob Jay, Guitar * Thor Jenson, Guitar * Charlie Burnham, Violin Mazz Swift, Violin Scott Robinson, Reeds, horns,

Discography

Bonfire, JARO Medien GmbH & Geckophonic in the U.S.

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control American blues musical groups American folk musical groups American jazz ensembles from New York City Musical groups from New York City World fusion groups Jazz musicians from New York (state)