Aztec Two-Step is an American
folk-rock band, formed by Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman at a chance meeting on open stage, at a Boston coffee house, the Stone Phoenix,
[ Artist pageat ]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
in 1971. Fowler grew up in Connecticut and Maine, and Shulman grew up in Manhattan.
The band was named after a line from a poem that appeared in ''
A Coney Island of the Mind'' by
Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Former
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
State Representative Chris Greeley once worked as a light man for the group.
After two months in Boston, the duo moved to New York City, which remained their base.
Within a year after meeting, they had a contract with
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...
to make their first album. This self-titled debut on Elektra was followed by three albums with
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
.
They are noted for longevity as a duo, with a career of more than 40 years of performing together. Fowler once explained, "we've survived with pure guile, DIY's and the support of our fan base which we established by recording on two major labels (Elektra and RCA Records) back in the Seventies."
In 1982, Aztec Two-Step played two sold-out performances at The Door (formerly
The Cellar Door), the iconic Washington DC club in Georgetown, becoming the last band to play at the club before it closed. On that night, "possibly as a diversionary move to keep the doors open," the audience called the duo back for eight encores.
They received the New York Music Award for Best Folk Album in 1986, and have performed on TV and radio programs such as ''
Late Night with David Letterman'', ''The
King Biscuit Flower Hour'', and ''
World Cafe Live''.
[ ] A documentary about the band, ''No-Hit Wonder'', aired on
PBS in 1999.
Since Shulman's retirement in 2017, the band has toured as Aztec Two-Step 2.0, a term coined by former bandmate Shulman to describe the group's new sound.
Discography
* ''Aztec Two-Step'' (1972)
* ''Second Step'' (1975)
* ''Two's Company'' (1976)
* ''Adjoining Suites'' (1977)
* ''Times of Our Lives'' (1979)
* ''Living in America'' (1986)
* ''See It Was Like This...'' (1989)
* ''Of Age'' (1993)
* ''Highway Signs'' (1996) (Live album)
* ''Gettysburg: Reflections on American Life'' (2001)
* ''Live and Rare'' (2001)
* ''Plums'' (2003)
* ''Days of Horses'' (2004)
* ''Time It Was - The Simon & Garfunkel Songbook'' (2009)
* ''The Persecution & Restoration of Aztec Two-Step (An Anthology)'' (2009)
* ''Cause And Effect'' (2012)
* ''Naked'' (2017)
References
External links
Official web site*
Artist pageat
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
*Monarch Music Agency
Aztec Two-Step Booking AgencyPlanet Noise RecordsReleased Rex Fowler's solo album "Reflections on American Life" as well as the Aztec Two-Step Album "Live & Rare"
Planet Noise Music
Aztec Two-Step
Flying Fish Records artists
1971 establishments in Massachusetts
Musical groups established in 1971
{{US-folk-band-stub