The Del-Byzanteens
Encyclopedia
The Del-Byzanteens was a New York-based No Wave
band active in the early 1980's. The band comprised Phil Kline
(vocals, guitar); Jim Jarmusch
(vocals, keyboards); Philippe Hagen (bass); Josh Braun (percussion, drums); and Dan Braun
(drums, percussion). Luc Sante
wrote the lyrics to some of their songs, while James Nares sometimes contributed as a percussionist, and occasionally John Lurie
performed with them on stage.
They released a 12" EP: Girl's Imagination (1981), an LP: Lies To Live By (1982), and a 7" single: Draft Riot (1982). In 1985-86 they recorded two more songs ("The Last Time" and "Fascination"), which were never finished or officially released.
"At that time everyone in New York had a band," Jarmusch recalled in an interview The Washington Post (1984). "The idea was that you didn't have to be a virtuoso musician to have a band. The spirit was more important than having technical expertise, and that influenced a lot of filmmakers." According to Sante, they were "a band that insouciantly blended high and low, virtuosity and amateurism, calypso and science fiction, pots and pans and drones and the Supremes. They released several records, on a British label, which did very well in the former Yugoslavia."
They played a number of concerts at clubs such as CBGB
, Hurrah
and the Mudd Club
in New York City. Two of their songs were featured in Wim Wenders
' 1982 film The State of Things
. At the time, Hot Press said that their debut LP was "a debut equal to anything out of New York these past six years", and Melody Maker
described it as "mighty stuff... You are strongly urged to investigate this record... outstanding". Like the filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, many of its members have gone on to become famous in their own right, making music (Phil Kline), art (James Nares), and writing (Luc Sante).
Their back catalogue has never been re-issued on CD, and the old vinyls are a rare sight on the second-hand market. However, "Girl's Imagination" was featured on the Beggars Banquet's 1999 compilation Pspyched!
, and again on the Gomma compilation Anti-NY in 2001, while "My Hands Are Yellow (from the job that i do)" was released on New York Noise Vol 2, in 2003. Three of their shows at the Hurrah
club were filmed, in their entirety, by Merrill Aldighieri. In early 2011 she released a 52 minute "hand-made" dvd, "Eskimo Lounge Music", featuring live footage from these performances, interfoiled with recent interviews with the band members.
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
band active in the early 1980's. The band comprised Phil Kline
Phil Kline
Phil Kline is an American composer. After graduating from Columbia University with a degree in English Literature, he formed the New York No Wave band The Del-Byzanteens in the early 1980s with filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and painter James Nares, collaborated with photographer Nan Goldin on the...
(vocals, guitar); Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
(vocals, keyboards); Philippe Hagen (bass); Josh Braun (percussion, drums); and Dan Braun
Dan Braun
Dan Braun is a musician, composer, writer, editor, art director, and film producer.-Early music career:Dan Braun and his twin brother Josh started several punk bands in high school in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, including Platinum Hardcore and Hack Ptooey. Their first real band was called Spinal...
(drums, percussion). Luc Sante
Luc Sante
-Early life:Born in Verviers, Belgium, Sante emigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. He attended school in New York City, first at Regis High School in Manhattan and then at Columbia University.-Writing:...
wrote the lyrics to some of their songs, while James Nares sometimes contributed as a percussionist, and occasionally John Lurie
John Lurie
John Lurie is an American actor, musician, painter and producer. He is co-founder of The Lounge Lizards, a jazz ensemble. Lurie has acted in 19 films including Stranger than Paradise and Down by Law, composed and performed music for 20 television and film works, and he produced and starred in...
performed with them on stage.
They released a 12" EP: Girl's Imagination (1981), an LP: Lies To Live By (1982), and a 7" single: Draft Riot (1982). In 1985-86 they recorded two more songs ("The Last Time" and "Fascination"), which were never finished or officially released.
"At that time everyone in New York had a band," Jarmusch recalled in an interview The Washington Post (1984). "The idea was that you didn't have to be a virtuoso musician to have a band. The spirit was more important than having technical expertise, and that influenced a lot of filmmakers." According to Sante, they were "a band that insouciantly blended high and low, virtuosity and amateurism, calypso and science fiction, pots and pans and drones and the Supremes. They released several records, on a British label, which did very well in the former Yugoslavia."
They played a number of concerts at clubs such as CBGB
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
, Hurrah
Hurrah (nightclub)
Hurrah was a nightclub located at 32 West 62nd Street in New York City from 1976 until 1980. Under the management of Jim Fouratt it became known as the first rock disco in New York, and pioneered the use of music videos in nightclubs, placing video monitors around the club, over a year before the...
and the Mudd Club
Mudd Club
The Mudd Club was a TriBeCa nightclub that was opened in October 1978 by Steve Mass, art curator Diego Cortez and Anya Phillips, a figure in the downtown punk scene...
in New York City. Two of their songs were featured in Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
' 1982 film The State of Things
The State of Things (film)
The State of Things is a 1982 road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It tells the story of a film director travelling from Portugal to Los Angeles in search of his missing producer....
. At the time, Hot Press said that their debut LP was "a debut equal to anything out of New York these past six years", and Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
described it as "mighty stuff... You are strongly urged to investigate this record... outstanding". Like the filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, many of its members have gone on to become famous in their own right, making music (Phil Kline), art (James Nares), and writing (Luc Sante).
Their back catalogue has never been re-issued on CD, and the old vinyls are a rare sight on the second-hand market. However, "Girl's Imagination" was featured on the Beggars Banquet's 1999 compilation Pspyched!
Pspyched!
Pspyched! is a 1999 compilation album of psychedelic rock and indie from bands on the Beggars Banquet label. Billed as 'The Secret Underworld of Alternative Nuggets' , it aimed to be a Nuggets for the 1990s ....
, and again on the Gomma compilation Anti-NY in 2001, while "My Hands Are Yellow (from the job that i do)" was released on New York Noise Vol 2, in 2003. Three of their shows at the Hurrah
Hurrah (nightclub)
Hurrah was a nightclub located at 32 West 62nd Street in New York City from 1976 until 1980. Under the management of Jim Fouratt it became known as the first rock disco in New York, and pioneered the use of music videos in nightclubs, placing video monitors around the club, over a year before the...
club were filmed, in their entirety, by Merrill Aldighieri. In early 2011 she released a 52 minute "hand-made" dvd, "Eskimo Lounge Music", featuring live footage from these performances, interfoiled with recent interviews with the band members.
Further reading
- Christine Heise, "Lies, Sweet Lies - Jim Jarmusch ist kein Rockstar", in Jim Jarmusch, edited by Rolf Aurich and Stefan Reinecke von Bertz (Bertz + Fischer, 2001). ISBN 3929470802. Also available as a pdf-file at http://www.scribd.com/doc/4074370/null.
External links
- The Del-Byzanteens at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- The Del-Byzanteens at The Jim Jarmusch Resource Page
- http://limitedcontrol.posterous.com/the-del-byzanteens-moving-slow
- [ The Del-Byzanteens] at Allmusic