Filthy Pedro is an antifolk musician based in London. Born Simon Parry in Anglesey, Wales, he moved to London in the late 1990s. Parry had grown interested in antifolk after hearing Beck's Stereopathetic Soulmanure album (1994). However, it was only after a trip to New York's Sidewalk Cafe (where Beck had first come to prominence) in 2001 that he thought a similar movement should be created in London.
Similar to Lach, the New York-based musician/promoter who first started booking 'antifolk' shows at various venues in New York City after finding himself unwelcome at more traditional venues, Parry founded a similar movement in London in 2002, taking the stagename Filthy Pedro. He created the antifolk.co.uk website and soon after started a seasonal gig in London -- 'The Antifolk UK Fest' -- where unusual and like-minded songwriters could perform outside of the generic indie/rock scene. The 'antifolk movement' and its unorthodox practices (often booking people on its shows with a low level of musical competence), started to attract some press attention in 2006, with Filthy Pedro a key interviewee.
The movement has been championed by Nude Magazine, Time Out London and Everett True of Plan B Magazine and The Village Voice . Filthy Pedro has appeared on Channel 4's Transmission programme (which borrowed the idea from his song 'Rock N Roll Points' as an interview technique), was recommended by Lauren Laverne in the NME and in 2007 performed live on Marc Riley's BBC6 radio show following the launch of his first single.
Filthy Pedro often performs with a band, The Carthaginians, which is composed of Thee Intolerable Kidd (Nathaniel Kidd), Claudius T. Skull (Tim Tomlinson), Cigarface (Jack Medley), Penny O, Krakatoa Kate, and Disco Stu (Stuart Saunderson of David Cronenberg's Wife). Many songs humorously combine themes of (usually ancient) history with more modern examples of heavy drinking, drugs and sex: "Man, I'm Old", "History Lover" and "Talking About Caesar".
Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording techniques, extended instrumental solos, and improvisation. Many psychedelic groups differ in style, and the label is often applied spuriously.
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style that drew directly from the blues and rhythm and blues genres of African-American music and from country music. Rock also drew strongly from a number of other genres such as electric blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical, and other musical styles. For instrumentation, rock has centered on the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar, drums, and one or more singers. Usually, rock is song-based music with a 4
4 time signature using a verse–chorus form, but the genre has become extremely diverse. Like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political.
Sir Roderick David Stewart is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 250 million records worldwide. He has had 10 number-one albums and 31 top ten singles in the UK, six of which reached number one. Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.
Pub rock is a rock music genre that was developed in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock and flashy glam rock scenes of the time. Although short-lived, pub rock was live rock played in small traditional venues like pubs and clubs. Since major labels showed no interest in pub rock groups, pub rockers sought out independent record labels such as Stiff Records. Indie labels used relatively inexpensive recording processes, so they had a much lower break-even point for a record than a major label.
Michael Peter Hayes, known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey, and the Jeff Beck Group, often issued on his own RAK Records label.
Anti-folk is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in response to the remnants of the 1960s folk music scene. Anti-folk music was made to mock the perceived seriousness of the time's mainstream music scene, and artists have the intention to protest with their mocking and clever lyrics.
Lach is an American singer-songwriter associated with the anti-folk movement. As a songwriter, Lach founded the anti-folk art and music movement, which is cited as a main inspiration by contemporary performers like Beck, Jeffrey Lewis, Hamell on Trial, The Moldy Peaches and Regina Spektor in the US and Laura Marling in the UK. Lach has released six albums, a book of poetry, and has a regular series on BBC Radio 4 called The Lach Chronicles.
British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the development of American music and rock music across the world.
Jeffrey Lewis is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist.
The 12 Bar Club was a music venue in London that opened in 1994 on Denmark Street – known as Great Britain's "Tin Pan Alley" – just off Charing Cross Road and close to Soho.
Major Matt Mason USA is the recording project of Matt Roth, an American musician and record producer active in the anti-folk and DIY music scene of New York's East Village.
The Balham Alligators were an English band from London that mixed rock 'n' roll, cajun, country and R&B. The band centred on singer and instrumentalist Geraint Watkins.
British rock and roll, or sometimes British rock 'n' roll, is a style of popular music based on American rock and roll, which emerged in the late 1950s and was popular until the arrival of beat music in 1962. It was important in establishing British youth and popular music culture and was a key factor in subsequent developments that led to the British Invasion of the mid-1960s. Since the 1960s, some stars of the genre, most notably Cliff Richard, have managed to sustain successful careers and there have been periodic revivals of this form of music.
Brook Pridemore (they/them) was born in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, United States) and is a New York City–based songwriter, performer, and lead vocalist. Their early work is affiliated with the antifolk movement. They've released five albums on the Bronx-based record label Crafty Records, and was responsible for co-producing the much acclaimed Anticomp Folkilation album which has since become an underground cult hit.
Phoebe Kreutz is a singer-songwriter, primarily associated with the anti-folk scene of New York City, but also known for her theater and television work.
Anders Griffen is a drummer, composer, and trumpet player from Brooklyn, New York. Griffen works in a range of contexts including folk, jazz, pop, improvised music, and modern dance theater.
The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell-Smith. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, all of whom ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. The band had a string of hits throughout the mid-1960s, including "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul", "Shapes of Things" and "Over Under Sideways Down".
The SideWalk Cafe was a music venue and restaurant/cafe in East Village, New York City founded in 1985. It became a known venue for its underground music scene, and in particular, was known as being the center for Anti-folk in the United States. It offered an eclectic mix of local and national acts ranging from DIY, avant garde music, indie rock, and jazz to pop music and electronic music. The venue also hosted poetry readings, comedy and live-band karaoke. The Local East Village, at the time part of The New York Times, referred to the SideWalk Cafe and its music scene as a "gift to the neighborhood".
The New York Antifolk Festival is an annual music festival featuring anti-folk, indie rock, post-punk and indie pop bands and singer-songwriters. It also has featured performance artists, comedians and magicians.
Sergeant Buzfuz are a seven-piece band based in London. Their musical style has been referred to as indie folk, psychedelic pop and anti-folk. They take their name from a character in The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. The current line-up consists of core member Joe Murphy, Eilish McCracken, William Barr (mandolin), Ian Button (drums), Polly MacLean, Joss Cope (bass) and Stu Crane (guitar). To date the band have released six studio albums, one extended play (EP), and seven singles.