Bongwater was an American psychedelic rock band, which formed in 1987 and dissolved in 1992. The group was founded by Ann Magnuson and

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 * Fin ...

(who was also the founder of the Shimmy Disc record label), who had worked together previously in

Pulsallama Pulsallama was an all-woman, no wave band from New York. Described as "13 girls fighting over a cowbell," the post-punk group was primarily a percussion ensemble with two bass guitars and several vocalists. The band was formed in early 1981 fr ...

.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 240 The group also featured drummer David Licht and guitarists Dave Rick and later Randolph A. Hudson III. Guests included Fred Frith,

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 ...

and Fred Schneider.

Overview

Earlier recordings consisted of psychedelic-era cover songs,

sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done throu ...

s and originals in an abrasive and/or abstract, dense and sludgy

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

style with often dreamy and cacophonous vocals by Magnuson on the songs "Frank" (a sardonic "tribute" to Frank Sinatra) and "Dazed and Chinese" (

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's " Dazed and Confused", sung in Cantonese). The band's style ultimately evolved into a more

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, sexy approach which still retained an experimental edge as well as retaining the surreal and wicked, often self-deprecating wit which had distinguished the group's earlier releases. Lengthy sound collages would often terminate or begin the songs and without warning, a

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

monologue (often taken from Magnuson's

dream journal A dream diary (or dream journal) is a diary in which dream experiences are recorded. A dream diary might include a record of nightly dreams, personal reflections and waking dream experiences. It is often used in the study of dreams and psychology. ...

excerpts) might cut into the music. They distinguished themselves as interpreters of songs by other artists and in particular of 1960s psychedelic rock songs, although they also covered occasional oddities like "Bedazzled" by

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

. They made " Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" by

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs fr ...

, "The Drum" by Slapp Happy and "You Don't Love Me Yet" by Roky Erickson into virtual

signature tune A signature song is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established recording artist or band is most closely identified with or best known for. This is generally differentiated from a one-hit wonder in th ...

s. The former was made into a tribute to Bobby, Magnuson's late brother, and others lost to AIDS. A number of their other songs made reference to this. This included their arguably biggest college radio hit "Folk Song". The group created a number of arty low budget home movie-style music videos, three directed by Magnuson's then-boyfriend, Brad Dunning. However a more slick and polished example, "The Power of Pussy", strangely, aired on the

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, which also financed its production. Bongwater had two major college radio hits, "The Power of Pussy" and the nine-minute "Folk Song", and some college radio chart success. Personality clashes and money issues caused the duo to split up with much acrimony.

Select discography

''all on Shimmy Disc unless stated''

Singles

*"You Don't Love Me Yet" b/w " The Porpoise Song" (7" Vinyl) (1988)

EPs

*'' Breaking No New Ground!'' (1987) *'' The Peel Session'' (1992; Dutch East India Trading Records)

Albums

*'' Double Bummer'' (1988) *'' Too Much Sleep'' (1989) *'' The Power of Pussy'' (1990) *'' The Big Sell-Out'' (1992) ;Compilations: *''Double Bummer/Breaking No New Ground'' *'' Box of Bongwater'' (contains their entire discography) (1998)

References

External links

Bongwater@Discogs.com
* Bongwater entry at Allmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bongwater Musical groups from New York City Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Shimmy Disc artists