Pere Ubu Biography
Formed in Cleveland, Ohio, USA in 1975, and taking their name from Alfred Jarry's play, Pere Ubu evolved from several of the region's experimental bands, including Rocket From The Tombs and Foggy And The Shrimps. Their initial line-up, comprising David Thomas (1953, Miami, Florida, USA; vocals), Peter Laughner (b. Peter Ravenscroft Laughner, 22 August 1952, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, d. 22 June 1977, Cleveland, Ohio, USA; guitar), Tom Herman (guitar/bass/organ), Tim Wright (guitar/bass), Allen Ravenstine (synthesizer/saxophone) and Scott Krauss (drums), completed the compulsive "30 Seconds Over Tokyo", while a second single, "Final Solution", was recorded following Ravenstine's departure. Wright and Laughner then left the fold, but new bass player Tony Maimone augmented the nucleus of Thomas, Herman and Krauss before the prodigal Ravenstine returned to complete the most innovative version of the band. Two more singles, "Street Waves" and "The Modern Dance', were released before the quintet secured an international recording contract. Their 1978 debut album, also titled The Modern Dance and featuring tracks recorded by different line-ups, was an exceptional collection, blending new wave art-rock with early Roxy Music. Rhythmically, Pere Ubu was reminiscent of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band while Thomas" vocal gymnastics were both distinctive and compelling. Two further albums, Dub Housing and New Picnic Time, maintained this sense of adventure although the demonstrable power of that debut set was gradually becoming diffuse. Nonetheless, the three albums displayed a purpose and invention that deservedly received considerable critical acclaim.
In 1979 Tom Herman was replaced by former Red Crayola guitarist Mayo Thompson, who introduced a sculpted, measured approach to what had once seemed a propulsive, intuitive sound. The Art Of Walking was deemed obtuse, and the band became pigeonholed as both difficult and inconsequential. A dissatisfied Krauss left the line-up, and Anton Fier (ex-Feelies) joined for 1982's disappointing Song Of The Bailing Man. This lightweight selection appeared following the release of The Sound Of The Sand And Other Songs Of The Pedestrians, David Thomas' first solo album, and reflected a general disinterest in the parent band's progress. Maimone then joined Krauss in Home And Garden, Herman surfaced with a new group, Tripod Jimmie, while Ravenstine and Thompson collaborated within a restructured Red Crayola. Thomas, meanwhile, enjoyed the highest profile with a further five albums on which most of his ex-colleagues appeared. By 1985 both Maimone and Ravenstine were working with Thomas' new outfit, the Wooden Birds. Scott Krauss set the seeds of a Pere Ubu reunion by appearing for an encore during a Cleveland concert. "It walked like a duck, looked like a duck, quacked like a duck, so it was a duck,' Thomas later remarked, and by the end of 1987, the Pere Ubu name had been officially reinstated. Jim Jones (guitar) and Chris Cutler (drums) completed the new line-up for the exceptional The Tenement Year, which coupled the charm of earlier work with a new-found accessibility. 1989's Cloudland emphasized this enchanting direction although the band's age-old instability still threatened their long-term ambitions. Both Cutler and Ravenstine left the line-up. The latter was replaced by Eric Drew Feldman, formerly of Captain Beefheart, who made his debut on 1991"s Worlds In Collision but was absent from the following year's Story Of My Life. The 1995 release Ray Gun Suitcase was the first album to be produced by Thomas himself, and was recorded in the open air in nearby woods. Stylistically it had been informed by the singer and his wife's stay in Memphis during "Elvis' Death Week". It featured a completely restructured line-up, with Thomas and Jones joined by Scott Benedict (drums), Michele Temple (bass/lute) and Robert Wheeler, apparently the last living relative of Thomas Alva Edison and proficient on the theremin, an instrument he builds himself. Asked at this juncture why Pere Ubu were still around after more than two decades, Thomas responded, "We're too dumb to quit and lack the imagination to see a better future.' Thomas' unique vision was again evident on 1998's acclaimed Pennsylvania, recorded with Jones, Temple, Wheeler, the returning Tom Herman and new drummer Steve Mehlman. The same line-up reconvened to record 2002"s St. Arkansas. In 2004 Pere Ubu provided a live, often improvised score to a 3D stereoscopic presentation of Jack Arnold's cult 50s movie It Came From Outer Space, performing at a selection of venues in the UK.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
|
