Skeleton Crew (80s band)
Encyclopedia
Skeleton Crew was a United States
experimental
rock
and jazz
group from 1982 to 1986, comprising core members Fred Frith
(guitar) and Tom Cora
(cello), with Zeena Parkins
(harp) joining later. Best known for their live improvisation
performances where they played various instruments simultaneously, they also recorded two studio albums Learn to Talk
(1984) and The Country of Blinds
(1986).
, but before their first performance, two of the band members suffered collapsed lungs
within two weeks of each other, leaving ex-Henry Cow
guitarist Fred Frith
and improvisational cellist Tom Cora
from Curlew
with the choice of continuing or abandoning the project. They chose to continue, agreeing to play all the instruments on stage themselves. Frith played guitar, violin, keyboards, bass drum and hi-hat while Cora played cello, bass guitar, homemade drums and other contraptions enabling him to play instruments with his feet.
Performing like this was a challenge for them and made the resulting music unpredictable, but as an improvising duo
, this pleased them. It gave rise to a rhythmic tension not present in a group with just one drummer. Frith told Down Beat
magazine in 1982:
In 1982 they performed extensively in Europe
, North America
and Japan
, refining their double one-man band
act with each new concert. Later that year Dave Newhouse of The Muffins
helped out for a while playing saxophone and part of a drum kit. Two limited edition
cassette tape recordings of some of the trio
's live performances in 1982 were released in 1982 and 1984. After Newhouse left, they continued touring as a duo again. In October 1983 they joined Duck and Cover, a commission from the Berlin Jazz Festival, for a performance in West Berlin
, followed by another in February 1984 in East Berlin
. In December 1983 Skeleton Crew performed at the 1st Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
in Victoriaville, Quebec
, Canada
.
Later in 1984 Skeleton Crew began work on their first studio album Learn to Talk
in Switzerland
. The LP (with sides named "Side Free" and "Side Dirt") featured music that was both sparse and raw and consisted of cynical and humorous "songs" interspaced with cello, guitar and violin instrumental fragments. It conveyed the energy of their live performances. Tapes also featured throughout the album: Ronald Reagan
saying "We're still free in America", cut-ups of Sousa
's "Washington Post
" and TV ad clips. Tapes had also become a part of their live act.
By now, Skeleton Crew had become "quite competent" with their one-man-band act. Later in 1984 Zeena Parkins
, playing electric harp and keyboards, joined the band and remained until the end. As a trio, they made their second studio album The Country of Blinds
in 1986 (again in Switzerland and produced by ex-Henry Cow member Tim Hodgkinson
). Here the music was richer and more rhythmical than their first album. The songs were more developed but the cynical edge of the first album remained. Soon after the recording sessions the group decided to split up. Frith explained why:
Frith and Cora re-united in 1995 in the Netherlands
to record a CD-ROM Etymology, a sound sample library of sonic sounds and wire manipulations.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
group from 1982 to 1986, comprising core members Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
(guitar) and Tom Cora
Tom Cora
Thomas Henry Corra , better known as Tom Cora, was a United States cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock...
(cello), with Zeena Parkins
Zeena Parkins
Zeena Parkins is a harpist active in rock music, free improvisation and jazz. Parkins plays standard harps, as well as several custom-made one-of-a kind electric harps; she also plays piano and accordion...
(harp) joining later. Best known for their live improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
performances where they played various instruments simultaneously, they also recorded two studio albums Learn to Talk
Learn to Talk
Learn to Talk is a studio album by United States experimental rock band Skeleton Crew, recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, between Christmas and New Year 1983/1984. It was their debut album and was released in 1984....
(1984) and The Country of Blinds
The Country of Blinds
The Country of Blinds is a studio album by United States experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew, recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, December 1985 and January 1986. It was their second and final album and was released in 1986....
(1986).
History
Skeleton Crew originally began in 1982 as an unnamed quartetQuartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
, but before their first performance, two of the band members suffered collapsed lungs
Pneumothorax
Pneumothorax is a collection of air or gas in the pleural cavity of the chest between the lung and the chest wall. It may occur spontaneously in people without chronic lung conditions as well as in those with lung disease , and many pneumothoraces occur after physical trauma to the chest, blast...
within two weeks of each other, leaving ex-Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
guitarist Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
and improvisational cellist Tom Cora
Tom Cora
Thomas Henry Corra , better known as Tom Cora, was a United States cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock...
from Curlew
Curlew (band)
Curlew is an experimental free jazz group founded by saxophone player George Cartwright in 1979. Members of the band have included cellist Tom Cora, guitarists Davey Williams and Fred Frith, and bassist Bill Laswell.-Discography:*Curlew...
with the choice of continuing or abandoning the project. They chose to continue, agreeing to play all the instruments on stage themselves. Frith played guitar, violin, keyboards, bass drum and hi-hat while Cora played cello, bass guitar, homemade drums and other contraptions enabling him to play instruments with his feet.
Performing like this was a challenge for them and made the resulting music unpredictable, but as an improvising duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
, this pleased them. It gave rise to a rhythmic tension not present in a group with just one drummer. Frith told Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
magazine in 1982:
- "It's all just on the edge of breaking down all the time, which is a quality that I've always liked. I don't like things to be too easy."
In 1982 they performed extensively in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, refining their double one-man band
One-man band
A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of musical instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical contraptions. The simplest type of "one-man band" — a singer accompanying themselves on acoustic guitar and harmonica mounted in a metal "harp rack" below the...
act with each new concert. Later that year Dave Newhouse of The Muffins
The Muffins
The Muffins are an American Maryland-based progressive rock/avant-jazz group. They were formed in Washington, DC in the early 1970s and recorded four albums before disbanding in 1981. In 1998 the group reformed and recorded a further five albums and a DVD...
helped out for a while playing saxophone and part of a drum kit. Two limited edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
cassette tape recordings of some of the trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
's live performances in 1982 were released in 1982 and 1984. After Newhouse left, they continued touring as a duo again. In October 1983 they joined Duck and Cover, a commission from the Berlin Jazz Festival, for a performance in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, followed by another in February 1984 in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
. In December 1983 Skeleton Crew performed at the 1st Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville is an annual international music festival held in Victoriaville, Quebec that showcases contemporary music.-External links:*...
in Victoriaville, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Later in 1984 Skeleton Crew began work on their first studio album Learn to Talk
Learn to Talk
Learn to Talk is a studio album by United States experimental rock band Skeleton Crew, recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, between Christmas and New Year 1983/1984. It was their debut album and was released in 1984....
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The LP (with sides named "Side Free" and "Side Dirt") featured music that was both sparse and raw and consisted of cynical and humorous "songs" interspaced with cello, guitar and violin instrumental fragments. It conveyed the energy of their live performances. Tapes also featured throughout the album: Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
saying "We're still free in America", cut-ups of Sousa
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....
's "Washington Post
The Washington Post (march)
"The Washington Post" is a march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1889. Since then, it has remained as one of his most popular marches throughout the United States and many countries abroad.-History:...
" and TV ad clips. Tapes had also become a part of their live act.
By now, Skeleton Crew had become "quite competent" with their one-man-band act. Later in 1984 Zeena Parkins
Zeena Parkins
Zeena Parkins is a harpist active in rock music, free improvisation and jazz. Parkins plays standard harps, as well as several custom-made one-of-a kind electric harps; she also plays piano and accordion...
, playing electric harp and keyboards, joined the band and remained until the end. As a trio, they made their second studio album The Country of Blinds
The Country of Blinds
The Country of Blinds is a studio album by United States experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew, recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, December 1985 and January 1986. It was their second and final album and was released in 1986....
in 1986 (again in Switzerland and produced by ex-Henry Cow member Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
). Here the music was richer and more rhythmical than their first album. The songs were more developed but the cynical edge of the first album remained. Soon after the recording sessions the group decided to split up. Frith explained why:
- "We actually started to sound like a normal rock and roll band so it seemed kind of pointless to go on at that point."
Frith and Cora re-united in 1995 in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
to record a CD-ROM Etymology, a sound sample library of sonic sounds and wire manipulations.
Studio albums
- Learn to TalkLearn to TalkLearn to Talk is a studio album by United States experimental rock band Skeleton Crew, recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, between Christmas and New Year 1983/1984. It was their debut album and was released in 1984....
(1984, LP, Rift Records, U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) - The Country of BlindsThe Country of BlindsThe Country of Blinds is a studio album by United States experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew, recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, December 1985 and January 1986. It was their second and final album and was released in 1986....
(1986, LP, Rift Records, U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
)
Compilations
- Learn to Talk / Country of BlindsLearn to Talk / The Country of BlindsLearn to Talk / The Country of Blinds is a double CD compilation album by United States experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew. It was released by Fred Records in 2005 and comprises the band's two studio albums, Learn to Talk and The Country of Blinds, with one track omitted, plus ten live...
(1990, CD, RecRec MusicRecRec MusicRecRec Music was a Swiss independent record label created in 1983 by Daniel Waldner. The label was modeled on, and affiliated to, the British independent record label Recommended Records, but remained financially independent...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) – Learn to Talk and The Country of Blinds combined on a single CD, minus two tracks from Learn to Talk and one track from The Country of Blinds. - Learn to Talk / The Country of BlindsLearn to Talk / The Country of BlindsLearn to Talk / The Country of Blinds is a double CD compilation album by United States experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew. It was released by Fred Records in 2005 and comprises the band's two studio albums, Learn to Talk and The Country of Blinds, with one track omitted, plus ten live...
(2005, 2xCD, Fred RecordsFred RecordsFred Records is a British independent record label created in 2002 by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith to re-release his own back catalogue of recordings and previously unreleased material...
, U.K.United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) – Learn to Talk and The Country of Blinds reissued on a double CD, minus one track from The Country of Blinds, plus ten extra tracks.
Other album appearances
- Various artists: Passed Normal, Vol.1 (1987, LP, FOT Records, U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) – Includes six Skeleton Crew tracks recorded live at Illinois State UniversityIllinois State UniversityIllinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
, NormalNormal, IllinoisNormal is an incorporated town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. It had a population of 52,497 as of the 2010 census. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
on November 4, 1984. - Various artists: Festival Mimi 86 (1987, LP, Oblique Musique, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) – Includes one Skeleton Crew track recorded live at Saint-Rémy-de-ProvenceSaint-Rémy-de-ProvenceSaint-Rémy-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Geography:...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on July 3–6, 1986. - Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
: Step Across the BorderStep Across the Border (soundtrack)Step Across the Border is a soundtrack double album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, of the 1990 avant-garde documentary film on Frith, Step Across the Border. The album features music from the film performed by Frith and other musicians, and covers ten years of Frith's...
(1990, 2xLP, RecRec MusicRecRec MusicRecRec Music was a Swiss independent record label created in 1983 by Daniel Waldner. The label was modeled on, and affiliated to, the British independent record label Recommended Records, but remained financially independent...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) – Includes two Skeleton Crew tracks.