Noise Fest was an influential festival of no wave

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

performances curated by

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...

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 ...

at the

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 ...

art space

White Columns White Columns is New York City’s oldest alternative non-profit art space. White Columns is known as a showcase for up-and-coming artists, and is primarily devoted to emerging artists who are not affiliated with galleries. All work submitted is ...

in June 1981.

made their first live appearances at this show. In mid 1981

Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...

and Josh Baer convinced Thurston Moore to organize this nine-day noise festival to accommodate underemployed experimental performers in the downtown scene. The festival was held in the

gallery, which had a capacity of 60 people. Each night three to five acts performed, including

Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to: Name or surname * Glenn (name) * John Glenn, U.S. astronaut Cultivars * Glenn (mango) * a 6-row barley variety Places In the United States: * Glenn, California * Glenn County, California * Glenn, Georgia, a settlement ...

Rhys Chatham Rhys Chatham (born September 19, 1952) is an American composer, guitarist, trumpet player, multi-instrumentalist (flutes in C, alto and bass, keyboard), primarily active in avant-garde and minimalism, minimalist music. He is best known for his "g ...

, Jeffrey Lohn, Built on Guilt,

Rudolph Grey Rudolph Grey is a musician and the biographer of filmmaker Ed Wood. As an electric guitarist, Grey has recorded and performed with Mars, under his own name, as well as leading various ad hoc ensembles called The Blue Humans. His music draws on ...

, the Avant Squares, Off Beach, Mofungo, Red Decade, NNB, Robin Crutchfield's Dark Day, Ad Hoc Rock, Smoking Section, Chinese Puzzle, Avoidance Behaviour, and

Recording history

In 1978 a similar series of punk rock influenced loud

mixed with

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

was held at New York’s Artists’ Space that led to the

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

-produced recording ''

No New York ''No New York'' is a compilation album released in 1978 by record label Antilles under the curation of producer Brian Eno. Although it only contained songs by four different artists, some consider it to be a definitive single album documenting Ne ...

''. This recording was seen by many as the first attempt to define the no wave sound, as it documented

The Contortions James Chance and the Contortions (initially known simply as Contortions, a spin-off group is called James White and the Blacks) was a musical group led by saxophonist and vocalist James Chance, formed in 1977. They were a central act of New York ...

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks Teenage Jesus and the Jerks were an influential American no wave band, based in New York City, who formed part of the city's no wave movement. Background Lydia Lunch met saxophonist James Chance at CBGB and moved into his two-room apartment. ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

and DNA. Music from the Noise Festival (aka Noise Fest) was first released as a cassette titled ''Noise Fest'' on ZG Music in 1981; the music label of the legendary ZG magazine organized by Rosetta Brookes. All material was recorded live at

. This included the music of Ut,

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth (guitar and vocals). In 2004, ''Rolling ...

, Mofungo, Khmer Rouge, The Problem, Smoking Section,

, Jeff Lohn (of the

Theoretical Girls Theoretical Girls were a New York-based no wave band formed by Glenn Branca and Jeff Lohn (a conceptual artist and composer) that existed from 1977 to 1981. Theoretical Girls played only about 20 shows (three of which took place in Paris). It r ...

), Ima, Jules Baptiste Red Decade, EQ'D, Avant Squares, Don King, Primivites, Ad Hoc Rock,

Y Pants Y Pants were an American all-female no wave band from New York City active from 1979 to 1982. The trio, made up of photographer/musician Barbara Ess, visual artist Virginia Piersol (aka Virge Piersol), and filmmaker Gail Vachon, developed a uni ...

, John Rehnberger, Off Beach, Barbotemagus (as it is misspelled on the cover), Economical Animal, Chinese Puzzle, Glorious Strangers, Built On Guilt (

Robert Longo Robert Longo (born 1953) is an American artist, filmmaker, photographer and musician. Longo became first well known in the 1980s for his ''Men in the Cities'' drawing and print series, which depict sharply dressed men and women writhing in cont ...

, Brian Hudson, Jeffrey Glenn, and Karol Hogloff), Oma Fakir, Lampshades. In 1982 the ''Noise Festival Tape'' was released by

Influence

Noise Fest inspired the Speed Trials

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

series organized by

Live Skull Live Skull is a post-punk/experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1982. In an overview of their abrasive no wave-influenced music, ''Trouser Press'' said, "As part of the same New York avant-noisy scene that spawned Sonic Youth, Lyd ...

members in May 1983 at

. Among an art installation created by

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and AIDS activist prominent in the East Village art scene. He incorp ...

and

Joseph Nechvatal Joseph Nechvatal (born January 15, 1951) is an American post-conceptual digital artist and Aesthetics, art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and computer animations, often using custom-created computer viruses. Life and work ...

, various

ists such as

Ilona Granet Ilona Granet (born 1948) is a contemporary American artist. Granet is known for her works, which stem from her experience as a sign painter. As a feminist, she has collaborated with local communities and the New York City Department of Transport ...

and Emily XYZ did their acts intermixing with the music of The Fall,

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

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 ...

Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

and

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation ''No New York''. In ...

. ''Speed Trials'' was eventually released as a live album recorded by Mark Roule and became one of the best-selling independent records of its time.

Carlo McCormick Carlo McCormick is an American culture critic and curator living in New York City. He is the author of numerous books, monographs and catalogues on contemporary art and artists. Pedagogic and art writing activities McCormick was Senior Edito ...

, ''The

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984'',

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

Press, 2006

Discography

*''Noise Festival Tape'' (1982) TSoWC

*''Noise Fest'' (1981) cassette tape, ZG Music *''Speed Trials'' (1984) Homestead Records HMS-011

References

*Marc Masters, (2007) " No Wave", Black Dog Publishing, London *Paul Hegarty, ''Noise/Music: A History'' (2007) Continuum International Publishing Group * RoseLee Goldberg, ''Performance: Live Art Since 1960'' (1998) Harry N. Abrams, NY NY *

, ''Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture'' (2004) Universe

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noise Fest Noise music No wave Experimental music festivals

Recording history

Influence

Discography

See also

References

Footnotes