Mofungo was a

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 ...

-based band that was active from 1979 to 1993. It featured guitarist

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...

and food writer

Robert Sietsema Robert Sietsema is an American restaurant critic. He wrote reviews and articles for the ''Village Voice'' from 1993 to 2013. He has also contributed to ''Gourmet'' magazine. After being let go from the ''Voice'' in a round of downsizing, he was hi ...

. Members Chris Nelson and Jeff McGovern were also founding members of The Scene Is Now.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

described their last album as "basically unlistenable unless you grant it your full attention". The

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described them as "not your typical rock and roll band". Sietsema listed Contortions and DNA as influences. During their career, they played with artists including the Fall,

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company Société à responsabilité limitée#In Switzerland, limited (NICO) is a Switzerland, Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC bu ...

, Pavement,

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

, and

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...

. Sietsema believes that the band's track ''End of the World'' was an influence on the refrain of

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

's ''

It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., which first appeared on their 1987 album, ''Document''. It was released as the album's second single in November 1987, reaching No. 69 i ...

.''

History

According to Sietsema, Mofungo was the successor band to another group called Blinding Headache, which featured Rick Brown, later of the band Run On. Brown's bandmates were Kym Bond, Willie Klein, and Jim Posner. Later, Brown left the band and formed another group called Information, and the three remaining members formed Mofungo with Sietsema, as well as brother and sister Michael McMahon and

Amy Rigby Amy Rigby (born Amelia McMahon, January 27, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter. After playing with several New York bands she began a solo career, recording several albums which had only modest sales despite enthusiastic reviews. She settled ...

(née McMahon). McMahon and Rigby left shortly after the band's formation. Mofungo, Blinding Headache, and Information were featured on ''Tape #1'', a tape that was released in 1980. Mofungo later released their debut 7'', ''Elementary Particles'', which was almost entirely instrumental. Their debut album, ''End of the World'', was released in 1981. It featured drummer Jeff McGovern. Four songs on the album were mixed by

Chris Stamey Christopher Charles Stamey (born December 6, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. After a brief time playing with Alex Chilton, as well as Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, Stamey formed The dB's with Peter ...

, founder of

the dB's The dB's are an American alternative rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s. Their debut album, '' Stands for Decibels'', is often acclaimed as one of the greatest "lost" powe ...

, and one was recorded by Anne DeMarinis, then a member of

. Mofungo reunited on December 6, 2010, to open for

on the sixth night of their annual Hanukkah show, at

Maxwell's Maxwell's, last known as Maxwell's Tavern, was a bar/restaurant and music club in Hoboken, New Jersey. Over several decades the venue attracted a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river. Ma ...

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

Discography

*End of the World unlabeled), 1981 *Out of Line oar, 1983*Frederick Douglass win/Tone/Coyote, 1985 *Messenger Dogs of the Gods ost, 1986 *End of the World, Part 2 ost, 1987 *Bugged ST, 1988 *Work ST, 1989

References

{{reflist Musical groups from New York City No wave musicians No wave groups 1979 establishments in New York City