David Keenan
Encyclopedia
David Keenan is a Scottish author, critic and musician. He is the author of England's Hidden Reverse, a biography of Coil
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...
, Current 93
Current 93
Current 93 is an eclectic British experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet .-Background:Tibet has been the only constant in the group, though Steven Stapleton has appeared on...
and Nurse With Wound
Nurse with Wound
Nurse with Wound is the main recording name for British musician Steven Stapleton. Nurse with Wound was originally a band, formed in 1978 by Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak...
, a regular contributor to The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
since 1995, and proprietor of Volcanic Tongue
Volcanic Tongue
Volcanic Tongue is a record shop, distribution company and record label located in Glasgow, Scotland. It specialises in underground music from the UK, US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan...
, a shop, distributor, record label and mailorder business that he runs with his partner, the musician and artist Heather Leigh Murray.
Keenan was a founding member of 18 Wheeler
18 Wheeler (band)
18 Wheeler were a Scottish rock band active in the early 1990s, consisting of Sean Jackson , David Keenan , Alan Hake , and Neil Halliday...
although he left after their second single and didn't appear on any albums. He played on the same bill as Oasis at their legendary debut gig at King Tut's Wah-Wah Hut in Glasgow in May 1993, where Oasis were signed to Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
by Alan McGee
Alan McGee
Alan McGee has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian.McGee is best-known for co-forming and running the independent Creation Records label from 1983–1999, and then Poptones from 1999-2007...
and supported them on several early tours. He later formed Telstar Ponies
Telstar Ponies
Telstar Ponies are a rock band formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1994. They were signed to Fire Records Their musical style varies considerably but displays obvious influences from Krautrock, folk , and experimental noise.-History:...
and Phantom Engineer. From 1997 through 1998 he was a producer at XFM Radio in London, where he was responsible for the daytime and early evening programming, producing shows by Claire Sturgess
Claire Sturgess
Claire Sturgess is a British disc jockey, and voiceover artist. She was a presenter on BBC Radio 1 from 1993, after working as a production assistant on the Simon Bates mid-morning show...
and Keith Cameron while also presenting shows himself and collaborating with Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
on various live, improvised sketches. It is rumoured that Gervais' character of Gareth Keenan
Gareth Keenan
Gareth Keenan is a fictional paper salesman on BBC's comedy The Office. He is portrayed in the series by Mackenzie Crook as a gaunt, self-important team leader proud of his alleged lieutenant status in the Territorial Army...
in The Office was named after him as a back-handed tribute. In 1998 Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s...
's first group, The Audience, dedicated a track to him on the B-side of their "A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed
A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed
"A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed" is an indie-rock song written by Billy Reeves for Theaudience's epynomous album Theaudience, released as the third single on May 11, 1998. "A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed" became one of the band's most popular songs, peaking at #27 on the UK Singles Chart...
" single, entitled "Bells For David Keenan". Until 2008 he was a member of Taurpis Tula
Taurpis Tula
Taurpis Tula is a Glasgow-based band currently comprising David Keenan, Heather Leigh Murray and Alex Neilson. Initially a duo of Keenan and Murray , they expanded to a trio in 2005 with the Steel Rods Bruise Butterflies CDR on Chocolate Monk being the first document of this incarnation...
alongside Heather Leigh Murray and Alex Neilson
Alex Neilson
Alex Neilson is an English drummer, percussionist and singer who is currently based in Glasgow but grew up in Leeds. He has performed alongside a large number of bands and artists including Lucky Luke, The One Ensemble Of Daniel Padden, Ashtray Navigations, Alastair Galbraith, Isobel Campbell,...
(collaborator with Jandek
Jandek
Jandek is the musical project of an anonymous outsider musician who operates out of Houston, Texas. Since 1978, Jandek has self-released over 60 albums of unusual, often emotionally dissolute folk and blues songs without ever granting more than the occasional interview or providing any biographical...
, Will Oldham
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
and Richard Youngs
Richard Youngs
Richard Youngs is a British musician with a prolific and diverse output, including many collaborations. Based in Glasgow since the early 1990s, his extensive back catalogue of solo and collaborative work formally begins with Advent, first issued in 1990...
) and played alongside Neilson as Tight Meat Duo, who often expanded to a trio with the addition of bassist George Lyle. In November 2007, the trio undertook a UK tour in collaboration with US musician Sonny Simmons
Sonny Simmons
Huey "Sonny" Simmons is an American jazz musician.He grew up in Oakland, California, where he began playing the english horn. At age 16 he took up the alto saxophone, which became his primary instrument...
, playing as a quartet throughout. In February 2008, he performed at the Instal festival playing a three hour set in a one-off group which featured Alan Silva
Alan Silva
Alan Silva is an American free jazz double bassist and keyboard player.-Biography:...
, Incapacitants
Incapacitants
are a Japanese noise music group formed in 1981. It consists of Toshiji Mikawa and Fumio Kosakai, whose stated aim is to produce "pure" noise, uninfluenced by musical ideas or even human intention, using primarily feedback, vocals, and various electronics...
and Don Dietrich
Don Dietrich (musician)
Don Dietrich is a saxophonist and founding member of New York City based improvisational group, Borbetomagus.Recently, he has become involved with the noise/free jazz "supergroup" The New Monuments .-References:...
of Borbetomagus
Borbetomagus
Borbetomagus are a free improvisation/noise music group. They are cited by critics as pioneers of aggressive improvised noise music.- Biography :...
, amongst others. Over the years he has collaborated with players such as John Olson (Wolf Eyes
Wolf Eyes
Wolf Eyes is a post-industrial/noise band from Detroit, Michigan, United States.-History:Wolf Eyes began as a solo project of former Nautical Almanac member Nate Young, with Aaron Dilloway joining in 1998, and John Olson in 2000...
), drummer Chris Corsano
Chris Corsano
Chris Corsano is a drummer from New England, USA. He often performs in an improvisation duo with saxophonist Paul Flaherty. He has also recorded material with artists such as Evan Parker, Dredd Foole, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Six Organs of Admittance, Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Matt Valentine,...
, Acid Mothers Temple (as part of the group Rebel Powers), bassists John Edwards and Margarida Garcia, saxophonist Paul Flaherty, Richard Youngs
Richard Youngs
Richard Youngs is a British musician with a prolific and diverse output, including many collaborations. Based in Glasgow since the early 1990s, his extensive back catalogue of solo and collaborative work formally begins with Advent, first issued in 1990...
, Matthew Valentine, Mirror, drummers Paul Hession, Sabu Toyozumi and Ben Hall and Japanese psychedelic group Suishou no Fune
Suishou no Fune
Suishou no Fune is a Japanese psychedelic rock band formed by guitarists Pirako Kurenai and Kageo in July 1999. In 2002, Toshihiko Isogai joined on drums and the band added doronco on bass a few months later. Since then membership has revolved.Their music is largely improvisatory twin guitar...
. Keenan has also issued four chapbooks of poetry, published by the American small press Kendra Steiner Editions. Two are solo works: Just Another High and High All The Time. A third, More Ragas, is a collaboration with Texas poet Bill Shute and a tribute/sequel to the 1959 book Ragas by David Meltzer
David Meltzer
David Meltzer is an American poet and musician of the Beat Generation and San Francisco Renaissance. Lawrence Ferlinghetti has described him as "one of the greats of post-World-War-Two San Francisco poets and musicians." Meltzer came to prominence with inclusion of his work in the anthology, The...
. The most recent chapbook, published in December 2006, is Voluntary Quicksand (In Memory of Richard Brautigan), a collaboration with Shute and with Byron Coley
Byron Coley
Byron Coley is an American music critic who wrote prominently for Forced Exposure magazine in the 1980s, starting with their fifth issue until the magazine ceased publication in 1993. Prior to Forced Exposure, he wrote for NY Rocker, Boston Rock, and Take It! magazine. Coley is one of the first...
. In 2008 Keenan announced that he was winding up his musical activities in order to focus exclusively on his writing. He is rumoured to be currently at work on a second history of the UK underground experimental music scene entitled Crime Calls for Night, as well as his debut novel.
His work for The Wire has been highly influential, helping to focus the magazine more towards coverage of new experimental rock, noise, folk, industrial and psychedelic music. His most frequently cited article is a cover story that appeared in the August 2003 issue entitled "New Weird America", where Keenan coined the phrase 'Free Folk', later bastardised to include 'Freak Folk' and 'Wyrd Folk' and used to describe everyone from Jack Rose
Jack Rose
Jack Rose may refer to:* Jack Rose , a classic cocktail* Jack Rose American gambler and underworld figure in NYC* Jack Rose , American guitarist...
and Charalambides through Devendra Banhart. He has presented several lectures on Free Folk and Industrial Culture in venues such as The Sage at Gateshead and the Colour Out Of Space event in Brighton. He also curated the Subcurrent festival, which ran for several years in Glasgow. In 2005 he was the creative consultant for the Instal festival, having retired from a similar position with Stirling's Le Weekend festival after a 5 year tenure.During the late-90s through the early 2000s, Keenan was the Jazz Critic for the Scottish Sunday Herald newspaper. Over the years his work has also appeared in Spiral Scratch (where he was first published in the late-1980s), MXpress, Melody Maker, NME, Mojo, Mojo Collections, Opprobrium, Uncut, The Ecstatic Peace Poetry Journal and The Glasgow Herald. He has contributed sleeve notes and press packs to artists such as Throbbing Gristle, Albert Ayler, Ilyas Ahmed, Paul Flaherty & Chris Corsano, Pita and Gary Smith.
A 2009 quote of Keenan cited by Karl Shaw, reproduced in his article in the Wall Street Journal (Review, Sept 24-25 2011), on the Beatles: "The Beatles are the absolute curse of modern Indie music...my favorite Beatle is Yoko Ono; without Yoko's influence, I don't think there would be any Beatles music I could listen to."