Bedhead (band)

Last updated
Bedhead
Origin Dallas, Texas, United States
Genres
Years active1991 (1991)–1998 (1998)
Labels
Spinoffs
Past members Matt Kadane
Bubba Kadane
Tench Coxe
Kris Wheat
Trini Martinez
Website Bedhead Official

Bedhead was an American indie rock band, active from 1991 to 1998, based in Dallas, Texas. Members consisted of Matt and Bubba Kadane (vocals and guitar), Tench Coxe (guitar), Kris Wheat (bass), and Trini Martinez (drums). The band released several EPs and three LPs on Trance Syndicate, touring intermittently. [1] Bedhead's music was generally subdued, with three electric guitars and one electric bass guitar over sung or spoken vocals. [2] Allmusic dubbed the group "the quintessential indie rock band," [3] and Tiny Mix Tapes gave their final album Transaction de Novo a perfect 5/5 score. [4]

Contents

In 1999, a year after the breakup of Bedhead, Matt and Bubba Kadane went on to form The New Year, a band with a style similar to Bedhead's. [1]

History

Founding

The roots of the band trace back to brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane playing music together as children in Wichita Falls, Texas. [1] They later began playing music together in Dallas, Texas. [1] The brothers founded Bedhead after their father died from a brain tumor: Matt Kadane stated that a lot of their music was rooted in "an outpouring of grief... Bubba and I didn’t talk much about [their father's death]. But we played music together". [5] Drummer Trini Martinez was the first addition to the duo's band in 1990, followed by guitarist Tench Coxe and bassist Kris Wheat. [6] The band was formed into Bedhead in 1991. After playing their debut show in Austin in early 1992, they released two early singles on Dallas-based record label Direct Hit Records, one in 1992 and one in 1993. [1]

WhatFunLifeWas (1994)

In 1993 the band came to the attention of King Coffey, drummer of the Butthole Surfers and founder of Trance Syndicate Records, who signed them to Trance Syndicate shortly after hearing them. [1] Bedhead's debut album, WhatFunLifeWas , was released in 1994, to positive reviews. Sputnik Music gave WhatFunLifeWas 4/5 stars, [7] and it received 4.5/5 stars from Allmusic. [8]

Sputnik Music stated that the album's themes touch on loss and depression, "but with a sense of the profound. WhatFunLifeWas is a modest album; slow indie rock with a hint of the epic, that draws upon its broodiness to create a serenely personal atmosphere." [7] Allmusic noted the band's careful use of both loud and soft dynamics, stating "The various comparisons to the Velvet Underground, Joy Division, and Spacemen 3 all make a certain sense, but...Bedhead have much more of an individual sensibility...rather than simply rehashing." [8]

They released two EPs before their second full-length, Beheaded. The first EP was a one take recording at a small church on March 31, 1994 titled 4-songEP19:10. The group launched its first expansive tour in the middle of 1995, and released the EP The Dark Ages in February 1996. [1]

Beheaded (1996)

Their second LP Beheaded was released on Trance Syndicate on October 24, 1996. [1] Beheaded received 4/5 stars from Allmusic, [9] with a positive review stating, "at the heart of the band is an indie rock sound that can be traced back to the most pleasant material of the Velvet Underground. A trio of guitars lays down unexceptional, strummed accompaniments; vocalists employ a reserved sing-speak; the drummer maintains a lazy pulse. However, with Bedhead these elements are so perfectly executed that the music seems to play itself. Beheaded represents another stop on the road to slow-burning, soaring, indie rock/pop perfection." [9]

Transaction de Novo (1998)

Their last LP, Transaction de Novo , was recorded by Steve Albini and released in 1998. In a departure from their usual sound, Transaction De Novo featured more up-tempo, heavily distorted songs than its predecessors. [10] [11] Transaction de Novo received 4.5/5 stars from Allmusic, [3] with a positive review stating "It's hard to imagine the group perfecting this sound much further." [3] The album received a perfect 5/5 score from Tiny Mix Tapes . [4]

After Bedhead

Bedhead broke up shortly after the release of Transaction De Novo, in 1998. After their breakup, the "Lepidoptera/Leper" 10" single was released in October 1998 on Trance Syndicate. This was followed by Macha Loved Bedhead, on April 25, 2000: a collaboration between the Kadane Brothers and Macha released on Jetset Records. [1] After the band ended, guitarist Tench Coxe earned a PhD in Russian Literature from Columbia University. [12] He went on to become a college professor, joining the faculty at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas in 2014. [13]

The New Year and Overseas

In the summer of 1999, the Kadane brothers formed The New Year and signed to Touch and Go Records. [1] The sound of The New Year more or less picked up where Bedhead left off. Matt Kadane also played drums in the band Consonant (2001-2003) and piano, clavinet and organ with Silkworm (2002-2005). While still playing with The New Year, Bubba and Matt Kadane formed Overseas in 2012 with David Bazan of Pedro The Lion and Will Johnson of Centro-matic. Their debut and so far only album was released on June 11, 2013. The New Year have released four albums to date, the latest being Snow from 2017.

Sigh of Relief

Since 2019, Bubba Kadane has released three bandcamp-exclusive albums of ambient and minimalist music with his solo project Sigh of Relief. Abandoning the guitar-and-song format for electroacoustic soundscapes, the albums Injection (2019), The Dark Surround (2021) and Lifespan (2023) nevertheless employ the same distinctive, inimitable style and contrasting, stereophonic instrumental textures found in Bedhead and The New Year. [14] [15] [16]

The Destructors Club

In 2024, Bedhead's rhythm section, Trini Martinez and Kris Wheate, came out as part of the long-in-the-making The Destructors Club, a project that also includes a.o. Britt Robisheaux, Big Youth, Scientist and before their passing recorded collaborations with the late Lee "Scratch" Perry and the late Mark Stewart (frontman of the British post-punk band The Pop Group). A first 12", The Destructors Club meets... Scientist was released a year after Mark Stewart's death to celebrate his life and his crucial work. The band straddles the line between post-punk and unorthodox dub and has a full-length LP in the works.

Chronology

Date
Jan 1992first Bedhead show in Austin for a friend's art opening
May 1992release of Bedside Table/Living Well 7-inch on Direct Hit Records
Dec 1993release of The Rest Of The Day/I'm Not Here 7-inch on Direct Hit Records
Feb 1994tour of Germany (with an invitation from a German band)
Apr 4, 1994release of WhatFunLifeWas on Trance Syndicate Records
Summer 1994failed attempt to record songs later to appear on Beheaded
Oct 25, 1994release of 4-songCDEP19:10 on Trance Syndicate Records
June 1995toured the West Coast and played various shows in the rest of the country
July 1995recording session for The Dark Ages EP and Beheaded
Jan 1996tour of US deep south
Feb 20, 1996release of The Dark Ages 3-song EP (CD/10-inch)
June 18, 1996release of Beheaded 11-song LP/CD
June/July 19964-week US/Canada Tour
Mar/Apr 19973-week Eastern US tour (last week of dates cancelled due to an illness in the band)
May 2-9, 1997recording session for Transaction de Novo
Aug 1997Shows in Austin and Dallas to preview the yet-to-be-released Transaction de Novo
Nov 4, 1997release of one-sided 12-inch vinyl version of 4-songEP19:10
Feb 10, 1998release of Transaction de Novo 9-song LP/CD
Mar 9-22, 1998Western US tour
Apr 10-May 2, 1998Eastern US tour
May 9-20, 1998European tour
Aug 3, 1998Band breaks up
Oct 20, 1998release of "Lepidoptera"/"Leper" 10-inch
Summer 1999Matt and Bubba Kadane form THE NEW YEAR and go on to release four full-length albums as of 2017
Apr 25, 2000release of "Macha Loved Bedhead" CDEP
Nov 11, 2014release of "BEDHEAD 1992-1998" Box Set
Apr 18, 2015release of "Live In Chicago" LP/CD [17]

Musical style and influences

Bedhead's music was generally subdued, with a polyphonic sound based on the interlocking of single-line melodies played by three electric guitars and one electric bass guitar (often played with a capo), nearly always using clean (undistorted) tones, prompting comparisons to the Velvet Underground. [2] According to Matt Kadane, one major influence on their minimalist approach was the later work of Talk Talk, especially their album Spirit of Eden . [5]

According to Allmusic, "What distinguished [Bedhead] was the way it combined [indie rock]'s modest ambitions with careful song construction and rock & roll's sense of grand dynamic excitement. This was the quintessential indie rock band because it delivered some of the best the genre is capable of: workaday vocals that actually work, gorgeous melodies (though uncommercial, this music doesn't have to be indigestible), and dynamics that could crush the listener." [3]

The group's vocals were often delivered in such a low key manner that they could be difficult to decipher. [11] This unusual sound was dubbed by some critics as "slowcore", referring to the slow tempos of many of the band's songs, though the band's members objected to the labeling in interviews. [18] In reality, many of the group's songs only begin slow before building in speed, intensity and volume. Bedhead also experimented with time signatures less commonly used in rock music, by playing some songs in 7/8 or 5/4 meter.[ citation needed ]

Members

Discography

Studio albums

YearAlbum titleRelease details
1994 WhatFunLifeWas
1996 Beheaded
  • Released: June 18, 1996
  • Label: Trance Syndicate
  • Format: LP, CD, DL
1998 Transaction de Novo
  • Released: Feb 10, 1998
  • Label: Trance Syndicate
  • Format: LP, CD, DL

Singles

YearTitleFormat and notesLabel + release date
1992"Bedside Table/Living Well"7", 1000 copies Direct Hit Records, May 1992
1993"The Rest of the Day/I'm Not Here"7", 33 ⅓ RPM, 2000 copies Direct Hit Records, Dec 1993
1998"Lepidoptera/Leper"10" Trance Syndicate, Oct 20, 1998
2024"Atmosphere/Disorder"split 7" of Joy Division covers with Codeine Numero Group, Feb 16, 2024

EPs

YearAlbum titleRelease details
1994 4-songEP19:10
  • Released: October 25, 1994
  • Label: Trance Syndicate
  • Format: CD, CS, one-sided 12" 33 ⅓ RPM (12": Nov 4, 1997)
1996 The Dark Ages
  • Released: Feb 20, 1996
  • Label: Trance Syndicate
  • Format: 10", CD
2000 Macha Loved Bedhead
(with Macha)

Compilations

Live albums

Unreleased

Covers of Bedhead songs by others

YearSongCovering artist(s)Notes
2008"Bedside Table" Adem Ilhan Domino Records

Further reading

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ankeny, Jason. "Bedhead Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  2. 1 2 "Bedhead: Cardiff". Brainwashed. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bush, Nathan (February 1998). "Bedhead Review: Transaction de Novo". Allmusic . Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  4. 1 2 "Bedhead - Transaction De Novo - Music Review - Tiny Mix Tapes". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 Chick, Stevie (2 August 2023). "'Our music didn't build. We were anti-catharsis': the glacial pleasures of slowcore". theguardian.com . Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "Bedhead: Milk". Brainwashed. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  7. 1 2 Cooper, Kane (August 7, 2009). "Review: WhatFunLifeWas". Sputnik Music. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  8. 1 2 Raggett, Ned (1994). "Bedhead Review: What Fun Life Was". Allmusic . Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  9. 1 2 Bush, Nathan (October 1996). "Bedhead Review: Beheaded". Allmusic . Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  10. ↑ "Sharps and Flats: Bedhead". Salon . February 18, 1998. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  11. 1 2 "Music Reviews: Vol 17, Issue 24". The Austin Chronicle . 1997. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  12. ↑ "Musicians with PhD's - Division by Zero". Division by Zero. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Tench Coxe Profile". Discogs. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  14. ↑ "Review: Sigh Of Relief – Injection". The Ash Grey Proclamation. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  15. ↑ "Review: Sigh Of Relief – LifeSpan". dMute.net. 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  16. ↑ "Review: Sigh Of Relief – LifeSpan". Popnews. 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  17. ↑ "BRIEF HISTORY/CHRONOLOGY" . Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  18. ↑ Chick, Stevie (2023-08-02). "'Our music didn't build. We were anti-catharsis': the glacial pleasures of slowcore". The Guardian. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  19. ↑ Wilonksy, Robert (May 16, 1996). "Rhyme and Reason". Dallas Observer . Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  20. ↑ Wilonksy, Robert (August 6, 1998). "Putting It To Bed". Dallas Observer . Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  21. ↑ Wilonksy, Robert (March 14, 1996). "Stabbed in the redneck". Dallas Observer . Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  22. ↑ Wilonksy, Robert (November 23, 1995). "Red Hot". Dallas Observer . Retrieved 2014-05-16.
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