Shockabilly was an American

avant-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 ...

. Shockabilly released four

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s between 1982 and 1985, displaying an experimental approach to music that encompassed influence from numerous genres. The band's line-up included

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

on guitar and vocals,

Mark Kramer Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

on bass guitar and organ, and

David Licht David Licht (born 20th century in Detroit, Michigan) is a drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning American Klezmer band The Klezmatics. He moved to New York City in 1985 to help manage a recording studio, joined the band Bong ...

on drums.

Style and influences

Although the name of the group suggested that Shockabilly were a

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

band, only one release by the group, ''

The Dawn of Shockabilly ''The Dawn of Shockabilly'' is an Extended play, EP by Shockabilly, released in 1982 by Rough Trade Records. Track listing Personnel Adapted from ''The Dawn of Shockabilly'' liner notes. ;Shockabilly * Eugene Chadbourne – Singing, vo ...

'', contained any rockabilly influence. Shockabilly was actually an

band, although the band's experimental approach to music saw their works encompassing many genres, including

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

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 Fol ...

, folk-rock,

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

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 ...

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

, rockabilly,

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and surf, all of which would be explored in avant-garde arrangements, as the band performed covers of songs by other artists that were nearly unrecognizable from the original compositions. The band's music has been seen as a possible influence on the later works of future

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 ...

bands such as

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 Primus, where the vocals of

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the ro ...

have been compared to the vocal style used by

in Shockabilly.

Discography

* ''

'' ( Rough Trade, 1982) * '' Earth vs. Shockabilly'' (Rough Trade, 1983) * ''

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

'' (Rough Trade, 1984) * ''

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

'' (Fundamental Music, 1984) * ''

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

'' (Fundamental Music, 1985) * '' Live: ...Just Beautiful'' (Shimmy Disc, 1990)

References

External links

* American experimental rock groups Rock music groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City American musical trios Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1985 Shimmy Disc artists Rough Trade Records artists {{NewYorkCity-stub