When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water
Encyclopedia
When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water (frequently shortened to WPWSALNTW) was an American experimental
psychedelic
rock
band from New York City
active from 1986–1996. The group's recorded output consists solely of cover versions of older pop
, country
, swing and rock songs performed in obtuse arrangements.
) and guitarists
David Raymer and Bob Meetsma. They based their repertoire around deconstructive cover versions of other artists' songs, alternating between precise and loose arrangement techniques resulting in renditions that were "not exactly affectionate tributes, but not complete jokes either". They thus held the double-identity of art rock
and party band. Featuring bassist
Mitch Strassberg and drummer
Ron Spitzer (of Band of Susans
), the group's 1987 debut EP found them covering Ray Davies
and reciting the Gettysburg Address
.
Their second EP, 1988's Uncle Ben, was their first with bassist Dave Rick
(of Phantom Tollbooth
, King Missile
, Bongwater
and Yo La Tengo
) and drummer David Licht (of the Klezmatics, Bongwater, Shockabilly
and Eugene Chadbourne
's band). The record also marked the beginning of their work with Shimmy Disc
, a like-minded New York-based experimental rock label run by Bongwater
leader Mark Kramer
, who frequently played on the group's recordings. This was followed by 1989's Bobby, their first LP, composed entirely of Bobby Goldsboro
covers. Keyboardist
/multi-instrumentalist
Chris Xefos
(also of King Missile) played extensively on the record as a guest and joined the group as a full-time member shortly thereafter.
In 1991, the band released Porgy, an album of material from Ira
and George Gershwin
's Porgy and Bess
. WPWSALNTW's last LP, 1994 Bill Kennedy's Showtime, was composed of songs by obscure or semi-obscure 1960's Detroit rock bands (as Rancourt grew up in the area during that time). Talk of an album of material popularized by Louis Armstrong
arose as plans for the band's fourth LP, but the record never materialized, and the band became inactive.
Rancourt and Rick next co-founded the group Shapir-O'Rama, creating original music. The band recorded several albums, including two with Jad Fair
. Rancourt currently plays in a group called JFK with Andrew W.K.
and Don Fleming
. Defilipps plays in a band called Gravy, and other members have also remained musically active.
Singles
Compilation appearances
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...
psychedelic
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
rock
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...
band from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
active from 1986–1996. The group's recorded output consists solely of cover versions of older pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, swing and rock songs performed in obtuse arrangements.
History
The group formed in 1986 around vocalists Kim Rancourt and Joe Defilipps (who also played tromboneTrombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
) and guitarists
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
David Raymer and Bob Meetsma. They based their repertoire around deconstructive cover versions of other artists' songs, alternating between precise and loose arrangement techniques resulting in renditions that were "not exactly affectionate tributes, but not complete jokes either". They thus held the double-identity of 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...
and party band. Featuring bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Mitch Strassberg and drummer
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Ron Spitzer (of Band of Susans
Band of Susans
Band of Susans was a noise rock band formed in New York City in 1986. It originally consisted of Robert Poss , Susan Stenger , Ron Spitzer , with Susan Lyall , Susan Tallman , and Alva Rogers . However, the band would undergo several permutations over the years, usually involving guitarists...
), the group's 1987 debut EP found them covering Ray Davies
Ray Davies
Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
and reciting the Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
.
Their second EP, 1988's Uncle Ben, was their first with bassist Dave Rick
Dave Rick
Dave Rick is an American guitarist and former member of underground rock bands B.A.L.L, Bongwater, King Missile, Phantom Tollbooth, When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water, Wide Right, Wonderama, and Yo La Tengo . He is a current member of Atlantic Drone, Dew-Claw, The Martinets, Overcat...
(of Phantom Tollbooth
Phantom Tollbooth (band)
Phantom Tollbooth was a post punk band from New York City. Purveyors of psychedelic/jazzcore damage, PT played from 1984 to 1988, releasing albums on Homestead Records....
, King Missile
King Missile
King Missile is an American avant-garde band that has been led in various disparate incarnations by poet/singer John S. Hall since 1986. Currently, Hall performs with a new version of the first incarnation, King Missile ....
, Bongwater
Bongwater (band)
Bongwater was a psych rock band formed in 1985 and dissolved in 1992. The group was founded by Ann Magnuson and Mark Kramer , who had worked together previously in Pulsallama. The group also featured drummer Dave Licht and guitarists [Dave Rick] and later Randolph A. Hudson III...
and Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo, sometimes abbreviated as YLT, is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan , Georgia Hubley , and James McNew .Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential...
) and drummer David Licht (of the Klezmatics, Bongwater, Shockabilly
Shockabilly
Shockabilly was a band which included Eugene Chadbourne on guitar/vocals, Mark Kramer on bass/organ, and David Licht on drums.Shockabilly released a number of albums during their brief existence , most were later re-released...
and Eugene Chadbourne
Eugene Chadbourne
Eugene Chadbourne is an American improvisor, guitarist and banjoist. Highly eclectic and unconventional, Chadbourne's most formative influence is free jazz. He has also been a reviewer for Allmusic and a contributor to Maximum RocknRoll.Chadbourne started out playing rock and roll guitar, but...
's band). The record also marked the beginning of their work with Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc was an influential New York City based record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, it was responsible for providing a mass audience for acts including Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween,...
, a like-minded New York-based experimental rock label run by Bongwater
Bongwater
Bongwater may refer to:* Bongwater , a 1997 comedy film* Bongwater , a former college rock band* Bong water, the used fluid from a bong...
leader Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer
Mark Kramer , known professionally as Kramer, is a musician, composer, record producer and founder of the New York City record label Shimmy-Disc...
, who frequently played on the group's recordings. This was followed by 1989's Bobby, their first LP, composed entirely of Bobby Goldsboro
Bobby Goldsboro
Bobby Goldsboro is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic "Honey," which sold well over one million copies in the United States.-Early life:Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida...
covers. Keyboardist
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
/multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Chris Xefos
Chris Xefos
Chris Xefos is an American multi-instrumentalist musician/engineer/producer and former member of band King Missile. He plays various instruments such as accordion, bass, piano, and synthesizer, among others. He began recording/producing various groups in New York during the 1980s, including...
(also of King Missile) played extensively on the record as a guest and joined the group as a full-time member shortly thereafter.
In 1991, the band released Porgy, an album of material from Ira
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
and George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
. WPWSALNTW's last LP, 1994 Bill Kennedy's Showtime, was composed of songs by obscure or semi-obscure 1960's Detroit rock bands (as Rancourt grew up in the area during that time). Talk of an album of material popularized by Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
arose as plans for the band's fourth LP, but the record never materialized, and the band became inactive.
Rancourt and Rick next co-founded the group Shapir-O'Rama, creating original music. The band recorded several albums, including two with Jad Fair
Jad Fair
Jad Fair is an American singer, guitarist and graphic artist, most famous for being a founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.-Biography:In 1974, with his brother David, Jad Fair founded the lo-fi group Half Japanese...
. Rancourt currently plays in a group called JFK with Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K. is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, entertainer, and motivational speaker. He is the host of the television series Destroy Build Destroy.-Early life & career:Andrew Wilkes-Krier was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
and Don Fleming
Don Fleming (musician)
Don Fleming is an American musician, best known for being the frontman of Velvet Monkeys, B.A.L.L., and Gumball.-Biography:...
. Defilipps plays in a band called Gravy, and other members have also remained musically active.
Members
- Kim Rancourt – vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, casio horn (1986–1996) - Joe Defilipps – vocals, tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
(1986–1996) - David Raymer – guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals (1986–1996) - Bob Meetsma – guitar, lap steel guitarLap steel guitarThe lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
, cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, vocals (1986–1996) - Chris XefosChris XefosChris Xefos is an American multi-instrumentalist musician/engineer/producer and former member of band King Missile. He plays various instruments such as accordion, bass, piano, and synthesizer, among others. He began recording/producing various groups in New York during the 1980s, including...
– keyboards, tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, vocals, etc. (1989–1996) - Dave RickDave RickDave Rick is an American guitarist and former member of underground rock bands B.A.L.L, Bongwater, King Missile, Phantom Tollbooth, When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water, Wide Right, Wonderama, and Yo La Tengo . He is a current member of Atlantic Drone, Dew-Claw, The Martinets, Overcat...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitar, vocals (1988–1996) - David Licht – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(1988–1996) - Mitch Strassberg – bass (1986–1988)
- Ron Spitzer – drums (1986–1988)
Discography
Albums- Bobby (1989)
- Porgy (1991)
- Bill Kennedy's Showtime (1994)
Singles
- When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water (1987)
- Uncle Ben (1988)
Compilation appearances
- Donovan: Island of CirclesIsland of CirclesIsland of Circles is a tribute album to singer-songwriter Donovan that was released on June 26, 1992 by Nettwerk. The title song "Island of Circles" is provided by Donovan himself.-Track listing:#"Island of Circles" - Donovan#"Hurdy Gurdy Man" - Brix E...
1992 - "The Natural High is the Best High in the World (Riki Tiki Tavi)" - Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M.Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M.Surprise Your Pig: A Tribute to R.E.M. is a tribute album of the songs of R.E.M. released in 1992. The title comes from a misunderstood exchange between Jefferson Holt and Mike Mills.-Track listing:...
1993 – "I Believe"