Lach is an American singer-songwriter who founded the
Antifolk
Anti-folk (sometimes referred to as unfolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in response to the remnants of the 1960s folk music scene. Anti-folk music was made to mock the perceived seriousness of the time's mainstream music scene, a ...
movement, which is cited as a main inspiration by contemporary performers like
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
,
Jeffrey Lewis
Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist.
Early life
Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating in ...
,
Hamell on Trial
Edward James "Ed" Hamell, performing as Hamell on Trial, is an American punk rock, anti-folk, spoken word musician, described by Righteous Babe Records as "loud, fast music informed by politics, passion, energy and intelligence, played by a guy ...
,
The Moldy Peaches
The Moldy Peaches were an American indie group founded by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band has been on hiatus since 2004. The appearance of their song " Anyone Else but You" in the film ''Juno'' s ...
and
Regina Spektor
Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist.
After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...
in the US and
Laura Marling
Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit A ...
in the UK.
Lach has released six albums, a book of poetry, a fantasy novel, and was the star (writer and host) of a critically acclaimed series on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
called ''The Lach Chronicles''.
Early life
Lach was born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York and raised in suburban
Rockland County
Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of th ...
. He learned to play classical piano at a young age, but turned to rock music after discovering
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
bands like
the Sex Pistols
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
,
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
,
the Damned, and
the Jam
The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...
. Lach went to college but quickly dropped out to live in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, resuming his education at Boston University, where he met his later bassist
Geoffrey Notkin
Geoffrey Notkin (born February 1, 1961) is an American actor, author, and entrepreneur. Notkin is known as one of the hosts of ''Meteorite Men'', a documentary reality television series from Science Channel, which ran for three seasons. He is the ...
.
Career
Lach moved to
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
in New York City in 1983, looking to play the renowned
Folk City
Gerdes Folk City, sometimes spelled Gerde's Folk City, was a music venue in the West Village, part of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, in New York City. Initially opened by owner Mike Porco as a restaurant called Gerdes, it eventually began to presen ...
club. Having been rejected by the club's bookers, who believed his music was too "punk", he moved to the Lower East Side, opening his own illegal after-hours club, the Fort. The opening of the Fort coincided with the New York City Folk Festival, so Lach held an event at his club called the New York Antifolk Festival, which remains a popular event in the
East Village.
In 1990, Lach put out his debut CD, ''Contender'' on the Goldcastle label. The album received rave reviews in the press and considerable radio play, but the record label folded three months later. Lach moved to San Francisco releasing an EP, ''Family Values Pack'', containing "The Hillary Clinton Song" which aired on over 600 stations during
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
's first campaign.
In 1993, Lach returned to New York City and started The Fort up again at The Sidewalk Cafe in the East Village, ushering in a new wave of anti-folk. In 1997 Lach started his own label, Fortified Records, and released, in conjunction with Shanachie Records, ''Lach's Antihoot: Live from the Fort''. Fortified subsequently released downtown comedian
Rick Shapiro
Rick Shapiro (born April 13, 1959) is a Los Angeles-based comedian and actor.
Life and career
Shapiro was born in New Jersey. Spending his early years in New York City and New Jersey, Shapiro started his career in the early 1980s as a comedian ...
's ''Unconditional Love'', produced by Lach (1998) and
Major Matt Mason USA
Major Matt Mason USA is the recording project of Matt Roth, an American musician and record producer active in the anti-folk and DIY music scene of New York's East Village.(May 28, 2004). "Matt at front of 'anti-folk'", ''Coventry Evening Teleg ...
's ''Me, Me, Me'' (2000). In 1999 Fortified released Lach's second album ''Blang!'', produced by
Richard Barone
Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert events ...
.
September 18, 2001 saw the domestic release of ''Kids Fly Free'', again produced by Richard Barone with a 16-page lyric booklet illustrated by
Daniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...
. Tours of the UK by Lach and other NYC anti-folkers such as
The Moldy Peaches
The Moldy Peaches were an American indie group founded by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band has been on hiatus since 2004. The appearance of their song " Anyone Else but You" in the film ''Juno'' s ...
, Hamell On Trial and
Jeffrey Lewis
Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist.
Early life
Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating in ...
sparked the beginnings of the UK scene, inspiring such British artists as Milk Kan,
Filthy Pedro Filthy Pedro is an antifolk musician based in London. Born Simon Parry in Anglesey, Wales, he moved to London in the late 1990s. Parry had grown interested in antifolk after hearing Beck's '' Stereopathetic Soulmanure'' album (1994). However, it w ...
, David Cronberg's Wife, Sgt. Joe Buzzfuzz and
Laura Marling
Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit A ...
. The 12 Bar Club began hosting monthly anti-folk nights called Blang!
In 2002 Lach signed with the Agency Group as his exclusive European booking agent, and with
Steve Hawkins
Stephen Greg Hawkins (born August 3, 1962) is an American college basketball coach and the former head Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball, men's basketball coach at Western Michigan University. He had previously served as the head coach ...
as his tour manager.
Track Records
Track Record (a.k.a. Track Records) was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most succe ...
released ''Kids Fly Free'' in the UK on May 7. Lach was also featured on ''Antifolk Vol.1'' (Rough Trade), compiled by
The Moldy Peaches
The Moldy Peaches were an American indie group founded by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band has been on hiatus since 2004. The appearance of their song " Anyone Else but You" in the film ''Juno'' s ...
.
In 2004, Sanctuary Press released ''Waking Up in New York City: A Musical Tour of The Big Apple'' by Mike Evans, with a chapter devoted to Lach. Lach's band 'Lach and The Secrets', featuring
Billy Ficca
William Joseph Ficca (born February 15, 1950, in Delaware) is an American drummer who was a founding member of the rock groups Television and The Waitresses.
Career
Italian origins, Ficca was a childhood friend of Tom Verlaine (aka Tom Mill ...
on drums and Roy Edroso on bass, arrived in the UK In March that year for eight shows in eight nights including a show at The Basement Club organized by Strokes producer
Gordon Raphael
Gordon Raphael is an American record producer and musician from Seattle, Washington, and New York, currently living in Hebden Bridge (UK), after a few years in Berlin. Raphael is most widely known for his work with The Strokes, whom he met while ...
. Lach and The Secrets released their album, ''Today''. Lach toured UK and France as a solo artist, performing 35 dates supporting
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...
,
Television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and
The Fine Young Cannibals
Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele (musician), David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat (British band), The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (fo ...
.
In 2005, he toured the UK including five dates sharing the bill with
The Casbah Club
Casbah Club is a British mod rock band formed in Finchley, London in 2004.
Career
The band consisted of guitarist/vocalist Simon Townshend (brother of Pete Townshend and touring member of The Who), bassist Bruce Foxton (The Jam, Stiff Litt ...
. In 2006, Lach organized the biggest 'Fortified Summer Antifolk Fest' yet with a concert in
Tompkins Square Park
Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City, Manhattan, Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by 10th Street (Manhattan), East 10th ...
, an anti-folk parade and special guest set from
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...
. Lach toured the UK including an Anti-folk Fest at
The Barfly
The Barfly was a chain of live music venues in the United Kingdom originally started by Nick Moore, Jeremy Ledlin and Be Rozzo on Valentine's Day 1997. Club nights and events tended to feature rock, alternative and independent music.
The flags ...
in London featuring Lach headlining a show with nine other UK anti-folk acts.
In 2007, Lach signed with Primary UK Booking Agency. Lach finished his fifth album ''The Calm Before'' recording once again with
Billy Ficca
William Joseph Ficca (born February 15, 1950, in Delaware) is an American drummer who was a founding member of the rock groups Television and The Waitresses.
Career
Italian origins, Ficca was a childhood friend of Tom Verlaine (aka Tom Mill ...
,
Richard Barone
Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert events ...
, Mike Visceglia,
Chris Barron
Chris Barron (born Christopher Gross; born February 5, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of Spin Doctors.
Biography
Christopher Gross was born February 5, 1968, in Honolulu, where his father was statio ...
and Lydia Ooghe at Studio G in Brooklyn.
In 2008, Lach said goodbye to Sidewalk Café and his weekly Antihoot, New York's longest running open mic ("A Manhattan Institution"). A subsequent documentary on Lach's farewell was filmed YouTube. ''The Calm Before'' was released on Fortified Records and Lach toured the US for the first time as well as the UK and the Netherlands. The album hit the College Charts, becoming Fortified's best seller. In 2009, he toured the UK with
Neil Halstead
Neil Halstead (born 7 October 1970) is an English musician, widely known as singer, primary lyricist, and guitarist of shoegaze band Slowdive. He has been hailed by AllMusic as "one of Britain's most respected songwriters", and '' Time Out'' as ...
. In 2010, Lach completed a new album, ''Ramshackle Heart'' which was recorded in the UK with Halstead. Lach took on running two nights a week (the 'Tuesday Antihoot' and Wednesday's 'Lach Presents' series) at the
Webster Hall
Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant ...
in New York. Lach subsequently took on the role of executive producer of the venue.
After debuting his one-man show 'The Day I Went Insane' in the UK, Lach was discovered by
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
producer Richard Melvin and comedy producer Karen Koren. He was then invited to headline The
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
's venue,
The Gilded Balloon
Gilded Balloon is a producer and promoter of live entertainment events, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and best known as one of the Big Four venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each August.
The company has its origins in a venue kn ...
.
Lach moved to Edinburgh, a move documented on
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 November 197 ...
in a special entitled ''From New York to New Town''. Lach continued to do The Edinburgh Fringe in 2011 and 2012. Lach also toured the UK extensively including shows with Hamell on Trial,
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked (born Karen Michelle Johnston; February 24, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. Her music has entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and received an award f ...
,
Dean Friedman
Dean Friedman (born May 23, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter who plays piano, keyboard, guitar and other instruments, including the harmonica.
Although considered a one-hit wonder in the US, he has had multiple singles chart in other terr ...
,
The Spin Doctors
Spin Doctors are an American alternative rock band from New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", which peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at No. 7 and No. 17, respec ...
and
Florence and The Machine
Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...
. Lach wrote a book, ''The Day I Went Insane'' which was then commissioned by
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
for a full series produced by Dabster Productions.
In 2013, he became executive producer of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
's Henry's Cellar Bar revamping the look and style of the venue and programming performances from such stars as
Thomas Truax
Thomas Truax ( ) is an American songwriter, performer, animator, and inventor of experimental musical instruments.
Biography
Truax first came to prominence as a solo performer in the 1990s in New York City as one of a group of musicians and so ...
and
Toby Goodshank
Toby Goodshank is a musician and visual artist based out of New York City. In addition to his solo work, he performs regularly with New York City-based bands Double Deuce, the Tri-Lambs, and the Christian Pirate Puppets.
Biography
Toby Goodshank ...
. At the venue, he started the Mondays Antihoot Open Stage, Tuesdays Songwriter's Cellar and Wednesday's Antihoot Radio Night. Antihoot Radio Night featured a weekly radio sit-com written by Lach and featuring some of the top comics in Scotland. His 2013 Edinburgh Fringe show ''Anticdotes'' was produced in conjunction with transgressive comedian Bob Slayer's Heroes of The Fringe.
In August 2013, BBC Radio 4 premiered ''The Lach Chronicles'' written and performed by Lach and produced by Edinburgh's Dabster Productions. A weekly four-part series featuring Lach's songs, stories and comedy. In 2014, he left Henry's Cellar Bar and Dive took up residency at Summerhall in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. The BBC commissioned a second series of ''The Lach Chronicles'' and it was broadcast in December 2014.
Desert Hearts
''Desert Hearts'' is a 1985 American romantic drama film directed by Donna Deitch. The screenplay, written by Natalie Cooper, is an adaptation of the 1964 lesbian novel '' Desert of the Heart'' by Jane Rule. Set in Reno, Nevada in 1959, it te ...
publishing commissioned a book of poetry from Lach entitled ''The Thin Book of Poems'' for a January 19, 2015 release.
In 2015, Lach toured the UK with Chris Barron. Desert Hearts Publishing released Lach's ''The Thin Book of Poems'' and Lach toured the UK reading selections from the book in bookstores during the day and playing the local music venues at night. In 2016, BBC Radio 4 commissioned a third series of ''The Lach Chronicles'' aired in June. Lach was named creative director of The New Wee Theatre which presented performances at The New Town Theatre as part of The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2016.
Discography
*''Contender'' (1991) – 3/5 on AllMusic
*''Blang!'' (1999)
*''Kids Fly Free'' (2001)
*''Today'' (2004) – "a gem of an album"
*''The Calm Before'' (2008) – 3/5 on AllMusic
*''Ramshackle Heart'' (2011) – 3/5 in The List
References
{{Authority control
Anti-folk musicians
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Singers from Brooklyn
American male singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from New York (state)