Phantom Tollbooth was a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

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 ...

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 ...

. They played a style of post punk that included elements from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, and

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

. This allowed Phantom Tollbooth to make sudden starts, stops, and tempo changes in their music. All of their albums were released in a four-year window between 1984 and 1988 on

Homestead Records Homestead Records was a Long Island, New York-based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading that operated from 1983 to 1996. The label was known for not paying its artists and not spending any money on promotion. History The l ...

. In 2003, Guided by Voices frontman

Robert Pollard Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. (born October 31, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter who is the leader and creative force behind indie rock group Guided by Voices. In addition to his work with Guided by Voices, he continues to have a prol ...

created new lyrics and melodies for Phantom Tollbooth's 1988 album ''Power Toy''. The resulting work was released as ''Beard of Lightning''.

Members

Dave Rick David Matthew Rick is an American guitarist and former member of underground rock bands B.A.L.L.,True Bongwater, King Missile,Strong, p. 390 Phantom Tollbooth, When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water, Wonderama, and Yo La Tengo. He ...

(guitar/vocals), is a former member of B.A.L.L., Bongwater,

King Missile King Missile is an American avant-garde art rock band best known for its 1992 single "Detachable Penis". Vocalist John S. Hall has fronted several disparate incarnations of the group since founding it in 1986. History King Missile (Dog Fly Rel ...

, Shapir-O'Rama,

When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water was an American experimental music, experimental psychedelic rock, psychedelic rock music, rock band from New York City active from 1986 to 1996. Their three albums and several EPs consist of exper ...

, Wide Right, Wonderama,

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...

. He currently plays with Atlantic Drone, Dew-Claw, The Martinets, Overcat and Stress Test. * Gerard Smith (bassist), recently recorded with Ben Miller and his band Third Border on the album "Sun of Water, Sea of Light". Produced by Roger Miller (Mission of Burma) and Laurence Miller (ex Destroy All Monsters), the album was a Grammy Award candidate for "Best Alternative Music Album of 2006." In 2010, Smith played several dates with Doug Gillard (Guided By Voices/Death of Samantha) in the Doug Gillard Electric. *Jon Coats (drums), currently of Canartic and proprietor of dank disk records.

Records

*''Valley of the Gwangi 7" (1986) *''Phantom Tollbooth E.P. (1986) *''One Way Conversation'' (1987) album cover designed by Dave's sister Jenny *''Power Toy'' (1988) *''Daylight in the Quiet Zone'' E.P. (1990) *''

Beard of Lightning ''Beard of Lightning'' is an album by Phantom Tollbooth, released in 2003 with Robert Pollard on lead vocals.Phantom Tollboothat Discogs'' Track listing Personnel *Robert Pollard – vocals *Dave Rick David Matthew Rick is an American gui ...

'' (2003)

References

External links

Band Website
American post-punk music groups American noise rock music groups Homestead Records artists Musical groups from New York City Rock music groups from New York (state) {{US-punk-band-stub