Steven P. Weber (June 22, 1943 – February 7, 2020) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. Weber is best known as member of the

Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who began performing together on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early 1960s. Their unique blend of folk music revival ...

, a

psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music. Chara ...

band that he founded with

Peter Stampfel Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter. Stampfel is best known as a member of the Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with ...

. He and Stampfel were also briefly members of

The Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy ...

Life and career

Weber was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1943 and moved with his mother to

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the Englis ...

. In Bucks County he met musicians such as Robin Remaily, who would later join the Holy Modal Rounders, and Michael Hurley, who was long associated with the band. In 1963, Weber met

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 ...

, introduced by the

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 ...

figure

Antonia Antonia may refer to: People * Antonia (name), including a list of people with the name * Antonia gens, a Roman family, any woman of the gens was named ''Antonia'' * Antônia (footballer) * Antônia Melo Entertainment * ''Antonia's Line'', or ...

, who had dated Weber and would later marry Stampfel. Weber and Stampfel formed the Holy Modal Rounders as an acoustic duo and released two records on the Prestige Folklore label: ''

The Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who began performing together on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early 1960s. Their unique blend of folk music revival ...

'' (1964) and ''

The Holy Modal Rounders 2 ''The Holy Modal Rounders 2'' is the second studio album by the folk duo The Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1965 through Prestige Records. For the 1965 release the duo's originally track sequencing was changed much to their disapproval. All tr ...

'' (1965). While most of the songs were traditional folk standards revised in a contemporary style, they recorded some originals, including "Hey, Hey Baby" written by Weber and "Junko Partner" co-written by Weber and Michael Hurley. After the release of the second Rounders album, Weber and Stampfel joined

Ed Sanders Edward Sanders (born August 17, 1939) is an American poet, singer, activist, author, publisher and longtime member of the rock band the Fugs. He has been called a bridge between the Beat and hippie generations. Sanders is considered to have bee ...

and

Tuli Kupferberg Naphtali "Tuli" Kupferberg (September 28, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was an American counterculture poet, author, singer, cartoonist, publisher, and co-founder of the rock band The Fugs. Biography Naphtali Kupferberg was born into a Jewish, Yi ...

in the

Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy ...

for a short time. Their 1965 recordings with the Fugs are on the albums '' The Village Fugs'', ''

Virgin Fugs ''Virgin Fugs'' is a 1967 album by The Fugs. While it is their third released album, it consists of outtakes from the two 1965 sessions for their first album, '' The Village Fugs'' (also released as ''The Fugs First Album''). While that album em ...

'', and ''

Fugs 4, Rounders Score ''Fugs 4, Rounders Score'' is a 1975 compilation album of material by The Fugs and The Holy Modal Rounders, including seven previously unreleased performances from the Fugs' first recording session (April 1965), when the Rounders (Peter Stampfel ...

''. Weber wrote the cult classic "Boobs a Lot" for the Fugs, which the Rounders later recorded on the album ''

Good Taste Is Timeless ''Good Taste Is Timeless'' is the fifth studio album by the psychedelic folk band the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1971 through Metromedia Records. Track listing Personnel ;The Holy Modal Rounders *John Wesley Annas – bass g ...

''. After leaving the Fugs, Weber and Stampfel reunited as the Rounders and recorded a third album, ''

Indian War Whoop ''Indian War Whoop'' is the third studio album by the psychedelic folk duo the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1967 through ESP-Disk. Side one deals with psychedelic guitar and fiddle jams to radically altered interpretations of traditional folk ...

'' (

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York-based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), ESP b ...

, 1967), adding

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

and

Lee Crabtree Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...

to the group. Their fourth album, ''

The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders ''The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders'' is the fourth studio album by the New York psychedelic folk band the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1968 through Elektra Records. The record's title is in reference to ''The Moray Eels'', a rock ban ...

'' ( Elektra, 1968), recorded with Shepard, Ken Crabtree, and Richard Tyler, included Antonia's composition "Bird Song," which was featured in

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...

's film ''

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American independent drug culture road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American So ...

'' (retitled "If You Want To Be A Bird"). After Weber and Stampfel were unable to capitalize on the success of ''Easy Rider'' as well as an appearance on ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...

'', their relationship grew increasingly contentious. In 1972, after the release of ''

'' (Metromedia, 1971), Stampfel decided to stay in New York while Weber and the rest of the band relocated to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The band continued to release albums, including ''

Alleged in Their Own Time ''Alleged in Their Own Time'' is the sixth studio album by the psychedelic folk band The Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1975 through Rounder Records. Track listing Personnel The Holy Modal Rounders *Luke Faust *Robin Remaily *Peter S ...

'' (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

, 1975) and ''

Last Round ''Last Round'' is the seventh studio album by the psychedelic folk band the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1978 through Adelphi Records. Track listing Personnel ;The Holy Modal Rounders *Peter Stampfel – fiddle, banjo, vocals ...

'' ( Adelphi, 1978). After another break-up of the band, they reunited again for ''

Going Nowhere Fast ''Going Nowhere Fast'' is a studio album by the American band the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1981 through Rounder Records. It was recorded as a duo and credited as Stampfel & Weber. Critical reception ''The Boston Globe'' wrote: "By bringin ...

'' (Rounder, 1981), recorded as a duo and credited as Stampfel & Weber. Weber continued to tour with Portland-based band members as The Holy Modal Rounders without Stampfel. After years of drug and alcohol abuse on the West Coast, Weber decided in the mid-1990s to return east, moving in with his mother on a farm in Buckingham, Pennsylvania. Weber and Stampfel played together again in New York City at The Bottom Line in 1996 and reunited the Rounders for ''

Too Much Fun! ''Too Much Fun!'' is a studio album by the psychedelic folk band the Holy Modal Rounders. It was released in 1999 through Rounder Records. It was the band's first album in more than two decades. Critical reception ''Salon (magazine), Salon'' wrot ...

'' (Rounder, 1999). The original Rounders performed together for the last time in 2002. As captured by the 2006 documentary film ''The Holy Modal Rounders... Bound To Lose'', Weber and Stampfel's relationship grew contentious again, with Weber failing to show up for a 40th-anniversary concert for the Rounders in 2003. The album '' Holy Modal Rounders B.C.'' (Frederick Productions, 2006), credited to Steve Weber & The Holy Modal Rounders, was released, a recording from a concert for a Vancouver radio show in 1976 documenting the Portland-based, Weber-led version of the Rounders. After the release of ''Bound to Lose'', which he felt was deceptively edited, Weber broke off his connections with the Holy Modal Rounders. Retiring from his musical career, he moved to

Mount Clare, West Virginia Mount Clare is an unincorporated community in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. Mount Clare is south of Clarksburg. Mount Clare has a post office with ZIP code 26408. History The community was named after Mount Clare Shops in Ba ...

, where he died on February 7, 2020 at the age of 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Steve 1943 births 2020 deaths American folk musicians American folk rock musicians American folk singers American male singers Singers from Pennsylvania The Fugs members The Holy Modal Rounders members