French Frith Kaiser Thompson

Last updated

French Frith Kaiser Thompson
Origin San Francisco, California, United States
Genres Folk rock
Experimental rock
Years active1987, 1990
Labels Rhino, Windham Hill
Past members John French
Fred Frith
Henry Kaiser
Richard Thompson

French Frith Kaiser Thompson was an English/American experimental rock quartet comprising John French, Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser and Richard Thompson. The band was formed in 1987 to create an album, Live, Love, Larf & Loaf . In 1990 they recorded their second album, Invisible Means , and performed live in Berkeley, California to promote this album.

Contents

History

Experimental American musicians, guitarist Henry Kaiser and drummer John French ("Drumbo" from Captain Beefheart's Magic Band), began collaborating in 1987. They invited English musicians Fred Frith (experimental guitarist from Henry Cow) and Richard Thompson (folk-rock guitarist from Fairport Convention) to join them to make an album. [1] [2]

They recorded Live, Love, Larf & Loaf in San Francisco in March 1987, an eclectic collection of songs drawn from a variety of music genres, including folk, R&B and avant-garde rock. Most of the album comprised compositions from each of the members of the group, plus a few covers, including the Beach Boys' "Surfin' U.S.A.". [3]

While the group experimented with folk and rock music, it is generally felt that Thompson's presence did "tone down" the "avant-garde" leanings of the other three musicians. Mark Deming states in AllMusic that "... the slightly bent wit and angular guitar figures of Richard Thompson's signature brand of folk-rock certainly added a spoonful of sugar that helped the avant-leaning art rock of Henry Kaiser, Fred Frith, and John French go down more easily." [3]

The group re-assembled in San Francisco in March 1990 to record Invisible Means, another collection of "skewed" songs from each of the members, plus one cover ("Loch Lomond"). [1] [4]

Members

Discography

Related Research Articles

Fred Frith English musician, composer and improvisor

Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improvisor.

John French (musician) Musical artist

John Stephen French is an American drummer and member of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band. He contributed to several Beefheart albums, including 1969's Trout Mask Replica. Beefheart gave him the nickname Drumbo.

Henry Kaiser (musician) American guitarist, film director, and scientific diver

Henry Kaiser is an American guitarist and composer, known as an idiosyncratic soloist, a sideman, an ethnomusicologist, and a film score composer. Recording and performing prolifically in many styles of music, Kaiser is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He is considered a member of the "second generation" of American free improvisers. He is married to Canadian artist Brandy Gale. He is the son of Henry J. Kaiser Jr. and the grandson of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser.

Massacre (experimental band) American experimental rock band

Massacre was founded in 1980 in New York City by guitarist Fred Frith, bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher as an improvising and experimental rock band. They performed live for just over a year and recorded a studio album, Killing Time (1981). Frith and Laswell reformed Massacre in 1998 with drummer Charles Hayward, and released four more albums, Funny Valentine (1998), Meltdown (2001), Lonely Heart (2007) and Love Me Tender (2013). The last three albums were recorded live, the first in London, and the others at European festivals between 1999 and 2008.

<i>Guitar Solos</i> 1974 studio album by Fred Frith

Guitar Solos is the debut solo album of English guitarist, composer, and improviser Fred Frith. It was recorded while Frith was still a member of the English experimental rock group Henry Cow and was released in the United Kingdom on LP record by Caroline Records in October 1974. The album comprises eight tracks of unaccompanied and improvised music played on prepared guitars by Frith without any overdubbing.

<i>That House We Lived In</i> 2003 live album by Keep the Dog

That House We Lived In is a double live album by American experimental rock band Keep the Dog. It comprises material from their final European tour in 1991 and was released by Fred Frith on his own Fred Records in 2003.

<i>Gravity</i> (Fred Frith album) 1980 studio album by Fred Frith

Gravity is a 1980 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith from Henry Cow and Art Bears. It was Frith's second solo album and his first since the demise of Henry Cow in 1978. It was originally released in the United States on LP record on The Residents's Ralph record label and was the first of three solo albums Frith made for the label.

<i>Speechless</i> (Fred Frith album) 1981 studio album by Fred Frith

Speechless is a 1981 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith of the group Henry Cow. It was Frith's third solo album, and was originally released in the United States on LP record on The Residents' Ralph record label. It was the second of three solo albums Frith made for the label.

<i>Cheap at Half the Price</i> 1983 studio album by Fred Frith

Cheap at Half the Price is a 1983 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith. It was Frith's fifth solo album, and was originally released in the United States on LP record on the Residents' Ralph record label. It was the third of three solo albums Frith made for the label.

Fred Frith discography Recordings by Fred Frith

Fred Frith appears on over 400 recordings. This is a selection from bands he was/is a member of, collaborations with other bands and musicians, and his solo recordings. The year indicates when the album was first released. For a comprehensive discography, see the Discography of Fred Frith by Michel Ramond, Patrice Roussel and Stephane Vuilleumier.

Fred Frith Guitar Quartet American contemporary classical and experimental music guitar quartet

The Fred Frith Guitar Quartet was an American-based contemporary classical and experimental music guitar quartet comprising Fred Frith, René Lussier, Nick Didkovsky and Mark Stewart. The group was formed in 1989 by Frith and they performed extensively across North America and Europe for the next ten years, including at the 14th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada in May 1997. They recorded their first album, Ayaya Moses in 1996, and released a live album, Upbeat in 1999.

<i>Live, Love, Larf & Loaf</i> 1987 studio album by French Frith Kaiser Thompson

Live, Love, Larf & Loaf is a studio album by the English/American experimental rock quartet French Frith Kaiser Thompson. It was the group's first album and was recorded at Mobius Music in San Francisco in March 1987. The album was released in 1987 in the United States by Rhino Records on LP, CD and cassette. The CD release contained two extra tracks. The album was reissued in 2008 by Fledg'ling Records with five extra tracks recorded live at the Ashkenaz in Berkeley, California.

<i>Invisible Means</i> 1990 studio album by French Frith Kaiser Thompson

Invisible Means is a studio album by the English/American experimental rock quartet French Frith Kaiser Thompson. It was the group's second album and was recorded at Mobius Music in San Francisco on March 19–23, 1990. The album was released in 1990 in the United States by Windham Hill Records on CD. The album was reissued in 2008 by Fledg'ling Records with one extra track recorded live.

<i>Dropera</i> 1991 studio album by Fred Frith and Ferdinand Richard

Dropera is a concept album by Fred Frith and Ferdinand Richard, credited as "Fred & Ferd". It was their first collaborative album as a duo and was recorded in Zürich, Switzerland in August 1989. It was released on both LP and CD by RecRec Music in Switzerland in 1991. The album's songs were sung in French and a booklet of the song lyrics in French, German and English accompanied the album.

<i>Nous Autres</i> 1987 live album by Fred Frith and René Lussier

Nous Autres is a live album by Fred Frith and René Lussier recorded in October 1986 at the 4th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada. The live mixes were later enhanced with additional material recorded by Frith and Lussier in December 1986 at a studio in Montreal, Quebec, and the resulting album was released on LP in 1987. The album was released on CD in 1992 with four additional studio tracks recorded by Frith and Lussier in January 1992 in New York City.

Les 4 Guitaristes de lApocalypso-Bar Canadian electric guitar quartet

Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar, also known as Les Quatre Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar was an electric guitar quartet founded by André Duchesne in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1986. It was one of the first electric guitar quartets and was billed as a band from post-apocalypse Canada "inspired by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix".

<i>With Friends Like These</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser

With Friends Like These is a 1979 studio album of improvised experimental music by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser. It was recorded in July 1979, and was released on LP by Metalanguage Records later that year. It was Frith and Kaiser's first collaborative album, and was followed in 1983 by Who Needs Enemies?

<i>Who Needs Enemies?</i> (album) 1983 studio album by Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith

Who Needs Enemies? is a 1983 studio album of improvised experimental music by Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith. It was recorded in October 1983, and was released on LP by Metalanguage Records later that year. It was Kaiser and Frith's second collaborative album, following on from their first, With Friends Like These in 1979.

<i>Friends & Enemies</i> Album by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser

Friends & Enemies is a 1999 double-CD compilation album of studio and live material by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser. It contains the complete collaborative recordings of Frith and Kaiser from 1979 to 1999, namely their two studio albums With Friends Like These (1979) and Who Needs Enemies? (1983), an unreleased live album recorded in 1984, and new studio tracks recorded in 1999. The album was released by Cuneiform Records in June 1999.

Live, Laugh, Love is an inspirational phrase.

References

  1. 1 2 Layne, Joslyn. "French Frith Kaiser Thompson". AllMusic . Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  2. ↑ Horowitz, Steve. "Invisible Means". PopMatters . Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Deming, Mark. "Live, Love, Larf & Loaf". AllMusic . Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  4. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Invisible Means". AllMusic . Retrieved December 22, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.