The Urban Verbs was an American new wave band from

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Urban Verbs blended Doors and

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

. The band was fronted by lead singer and lyricist Roddy Frantz and guitarist Robert Goldstein. The duo wrote songs together for over 30 years. Altogether, the band originally consisted of the aforementioned Roddy Frantz, Robert Goldstein, Linda France on bass, Robin Rose on keyboard, and Danny Frankel on drums. In 1977, the Urban Verbs rehearsed in the Atlantic Building at 930 F Street in Washington, D.C. The band's first performance was at an art party in a loft close to D.C.'s

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW ...

. Robert Goldstein (December 6, 1949 – October 7, 2016) began to book bands in a bar in the Atlantis Club, which was where the Urban Verbs played their first shows and became a nexus of the D.C. new wave and punk rock scene. In 1980, the Atlantis became the 9:30 Club. The Urban Verbs played at the

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

club in 1978 with the Cramps.. Producer

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 ...

was in the audience. Eno offered to record several of the band’s songs ("The Next Question" and "Pensive Lives") which have never been officially released. In late 1978, Urban Verbs returned to CBGB to perform with Cleveland band

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...

. Urban Verbs played the Peppermint Lounge and various New York clubs as well as numerous Washington, D.C. shows. In early 1979, the Urban Verbs shared the stage with

the B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

at the Corcoran School of Art. The band received positive reviews in ''

the Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

and ''

the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

', among others. Urban Verbs became darlings of the D.C. downtown art scene and played shows at such arty venues as the

Washington Project for the Arts Washington Project for the Arts, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support and aid of artists in the Washington, D.C. area. History Alice Denney, a contemporary art collector active on the Washington scene, founded th ...

, D.C. space, the Corcoran Gallery and School of Art, and the Pension Building (now the National Building Museum). The band also played at night club venues such as Atlantis (Nightclub 9:30), the Childe Harold, the Bayou, and the Cellar Door. Warner Brothers executive

Bob Krasnow Robert Alan Krasnow (July 20, 1934 – December 11, 2016) was an American record label executive and entrepreneur who had a long and successful career in the music industry. He founded Blue Thumb Records, later became chairman of Elektra Records ...

signed the band to a two-record contract. The band's eponymous first album, ''Urban Verbs'', was recorded with

Mike Thorne Mike Thorne (born 25 January 1948) is an English record producer, arranger, composer, engineer, and musician. He started playing the piano at the age of 10. After studying physics at Hertford College, Oxford, in the late 1960s he worked as a ta ...

(producer of

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their plat ...

and

Bronski Beat Bronski Beat were a British synthpop trio which achieved success in the mid-1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit "Smalltown Boy", from their debut album '' The Age of Consent''. "Smalltown Boy" was their only US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 s ...

) in 1979 and published under

Warner Bros Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

in early 1980. The cover of the album pictures single photos of each band member in plastic bags partially filled with a clear liquid, presumably water. The Urban Verbs second album for Warner Bros. Records, ''Early Damage'', was recorded in Atlanta with producers Jeff Glixman and

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...

. Urban Verbs were scheduled to tour with

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

in May 1980. Arriving in Toronto for the first show, the band found the tour was canceled due to the suicide of Joy Division singer

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown P ...

. After subsequent touring in 1980, Robin Rose and Linda France left the band. France was replaced by bassist Billy Swann, formerly of

the Muffins The Muffins were an American Maryland-based progressive rock/avant-jazz group. They were formed in Washington, DC in the early 1970s and recorded four albums before disbanding in 1981. In 1998 the group reformed and recorded a further five albu ...

. The band toured the United States and Italy as a quartet until its final show at Nightclub 9:30 in D.C. on October 29, 1982. In 1995, Urban Verbs reunited to perform at the closing celebration for the 930 "F" street location of the 9:30 club. Urban Verbs again reformed in 2008 to play a show at the 9:30 Club which was featured on NPR’S

All Songs Considered ''All Songs Considered'' is a weekly online multimedia program started in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' director Bob Boilen. At first, the show featured information and streaming audio about the songs used as bumper music on '' ...

. Robert Goldstein died on 7 October 2016 from cancer, at the age of 66.

Notes

# Welcome to the Club: 930, The Washington Post Magazine, April 18, 2010 # Urban Verbs Renewal, Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post, December 22, 1995 # Urban Verbs Past Perfect, Mark Jenkins, The Washington Post, December 30, 1995 # Shaping Music, Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, October 7, 1983 # Urban Verbs, Mike Joyce, The Washington Post, February 22, 1982 # Pop Notes, Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, November 4, 1980 # Urban Verbs, Harry Sumrall, The Washington Post, March 10, 1980 # Assault by Urban Verbs, Joanne Ostrow, The Washington Post, March 7, 1980 # The Urban Verbs, Eve Zibart, The Washington Post, January 26, 1979 # The Urban Verbs, Harry Sumrall, The Washington Post, October 30, 1978 # Pop Notes, Eve Zibart, August 15, 1978 # Two Rock Groups Play CBGB's, John Rockwell, The New York Times, November 12, 1978

References

{{Authority control American new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups from Washington, D.C.