Urban Blitz
Encyclopedia
Urban Blitz is best known for his “eerie and atmospheric” (Ira Robbins) electric violin
, baritone violectra
and lead guitar
work with the 1970s London protopunk
art rock
band Doctors of Madness
.
However, Blitz had considerable earlier musical experience, graduating from a classical background to hone his skills on the London late 1960s, and early 1970s club and pub rock
scene. He travelled to Italy in early 1973, to play with the Neapolitan Italian / Celtic chanteuse, Jenny Sorrenti. He lived and rehearsed with Sorrenti's band, 'Saint Just', in the ‘House on the Lake’ on Lake Bracciano
, that led to the album of the same name (La Casa del Lago) but before the recording, Blitz left Italy to join the Doctors of Madness in June 1974.
With Doctors of Madness, Blitz further developed his unique counterpoint electric violin
style, incorporating a garage rock
edge to complement the Doctor's nihilistic, manic, approach to rock music
; using fuzz box, wah-wah pedal
, phasing
, echoplex
and reverberation
to appropriate effect. He cited avant garde violinists Jean-Luc Ponty
, Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris and John Cale
of the Velvet Underground as his main influences; having largely rejected his early classical training.
Blitz was also an adventurous violin designer and maker, and in the early 1970s produced the first ‘skeleton’ electric violin design that is widely copied and adapted in mass produced electric violins today.
Blitz's multifaceted lead guitar work also made a significant impact throughout the Doctors' music.
In the mid 1970s, Blitz did occasional freelance studio work, playing the electric violin solo on "Watch Out Carolina", produced by David Essex
, for The Real Thing
, and he also showed some flair as a producer himself, working with York punk rock
band The Jermz on their single "Powercut" / "Me and My Baby".
Electric violin
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
, baritone violectra
Violectra
Violectra is the trade name of an electric violin produced by Barcus-Berry with the pitch equivalent of an acoustic tenor violin, sometimes called baritone violin. It is tuned an octave below normal violin; i.e. between viola and cello. It was developed in USA by Barcus-Berry in the early 1960s but...
and lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
work with the 1970s London protopunk
Protopunk
Protopunk is a term used retrospectively to describe a number of musicians who were important precursors of punk rock in the late 1960s to mid-1970s, or who have been cited by early punk musicians as influential...
art rock
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
band Doctors of Madness
Doctors of Madness
Doctors of Madness were a British protopunk art rock band formed in 1974 in a cellar in Brixton, south London by the composer and lead singer/guitarist Richard Strange, known as ‘Kid’ Strange...
.
However, Blitz had considerable earlier musical experience, graduating from a classical background to hone his skills on the London late 1960s, and early 1970s club and pub rock
Pub rock (UK)
Pub rock was a rock music genre that developed in the mid 1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, pub rock was a reaction against progressive and glam rock. Although short-lived, pub rock was notable for rejecting stadium venues and for returning live rock to the small pubs and...
scene. He travelled to Italy in early 1973, to play with the Neapolitan Italian / Celtic chanteuse, Jenny Sorrenti. He lived and rehearsed with Sorrenti's band, 'Saint Just', in the ‘House on the Lake’ on Lake Bracciano
Lake Bracciano
Lake Bracciano is a lake of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. It is the second largest lake in the region and one of the major lakes of Italy...
, that led to the album of the same name (La Casa del Lago) but before the recording, Blitz left Italy to join the Doctors of Madness in June 1974.
With Doctors of Madness, Blitz further developed his unique counterpoint electric violin
Electric violin
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
style, incorporating a garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
edge to complement the Doctor's nihilistic, manic, approach to rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
; using fuzz box, wah-wah pedal
Wah-wah pedal
A wah-wah pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect, mimicking the human voice...
, phasing
Phasing
In the compositional technique phasing, the same part is played on two musical instruments, in steady but not identical tempo...
, echoplex
Echoplex
The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s and was used by some of the most notable guitar players of the era; original Echoplexes are highly sought after....
and reverberation
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
to appropriate effect. He cited avant garde violinists Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...
, Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris and John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
of the Velvet Underground as his main influences; having largely rejected his early classical training.
Blitz was also an adventurous violin designer and maker, and in the early 1970s produced the first ‘skeleton’ electric violin design that is widely copied and adapted in mass produced electric violins today.
Blitz's multifaceted lead guitar work also made a significant impact throughout the Doctors' music.
In the mid 1970s, Blitz did occasional freelance studio work, playing the electric violin solo on "Watch Out Carolina", produced by David Essex
David Essex
David Essex OBE is an English musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Since the 1970s, Essex has attained nineteen Top 40 singles in the UK , and sixteen Top 40 albums...
, for The Real Thing
The Real Thing (group)
-Albums:Studio albums* Real Thing - UK #34* 4 from 8 * Step Into Our World , retitled Can You Feel the Force - UK #73* ....Saints Or Sinners? Live albums* The Real Thing Live Compilation albums...
, and he also showed some flair as a producer himself, working with York punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Jermz on their single "Powercut" / "Me and My Baby".