Peter Stampfel

Last updated

Peter Stampfel
Peter Stampfel interview.jpg
Stampfel sometime between 2000 and 2003
Born (1938-10-29) October 29, 1938 (age 86)
OccupationAssociate editor at DAW Books
Spouse(s) Betsy Wollheim (1970s-present, as of 2020); Antonia (a.k.a. Barbara Ann Goldblatt, 1960s–1970s, d. 2017) [1] [2] [3] [4]
Musical career
Genres Folk
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician
Instrument(s) fiddle, violin, guitar, banjo
Years active1963–present
Labels

Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin [5] ) is an American fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter.

Contents

History

Stampfel is best known as a member of the Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with Steve Weber in the early 1960s. [6] He was also briefly a member of the Fugs and has been the leader of several musical projects, including the Bottlecaps, the Du-Tels, and the WORM All-Stars. He has performed with They Might Be Giants, the Roches, Richard Barone, Yo La Tengo, Bongwater, Jeffrey Lewis, Michael Hurley, Baby Gramps and Loudon Wainwright III. [7]

Legacy

Music Critic Robert Christgau has asserted that “next to Bob Dylan, Stampfel is the closest thing to a genius" to come out of the New York folk revival scene of the 1960's. [8]

Stampfel performs in 2012 Peter Stampfel 08.jpg
Stampfel performs in 2012

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fugs</span> American rock band

The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy Modal Rounders. Kupferberg named the band from a euphemism for fuck used in Norman Mailer's novel The Naked and the Dead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Holy Modal Rounders</span> American folk music duo

The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who formed in 1963 on the Lower East Side of New York City. Although they achieved only limited commercial and critical success in the 1960s and 1970s, they quickly earned a dedicated cult following and have been retrospectively praised for their groundbreaking reworking of early 20th century folk music as well as their pioneering innovation in several genres, including freak folk and psychedelic folk. With a career spanning 40 years, the Holy Modal Rounders proved to be influential both in the New York scene where they began and to generations of underground musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ESP-Disk</span> American record company and label

ESP-Disk is a New York–based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman.

Clamtones was an American folk rock group, and Jeffrey Frederick's most notable band. The best-known incarnation of the band formed in 1975 when Frederick and Jill Gross moved to Portland, Oregon and began playing with the backing band of the Holy Modal Rounders. Although the Clamtones only recorded one studio album, they were a popular act in the Portland music scene. They were inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2011, with the organization noting that the Clamtones "developed a reputation for being 'one of the best bar bands in the country.'"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Hurley (musician)</span> American folk singer-songwriter (born 1941)

Michael Hurley is an American folk singer-songwriter who was a part of the Greenwich Village folk music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to playing a wide variety of instruments, Hurley is also a cartoonist and a painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Frederick</span> American musician

Jeffrey Sutton Frederick (1950–1997) was a songwriter, guitarist and performer specializing in good-time Americana music—an idiosyncratic blend of folk, country and rock and roll. He was a largely uncredited predecessor of today's alternative country music genre. Also notorious for his pranks, he was a prodigious songwriter, specializing in sly, hilarious and soulful pieces. Frederick's tightly crafted songs and intricate guitar work were praised by the likes of Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Dan Hicks. His songs are being featured in a series of tribute albums, starting with St. Jeffrey's Day: The Songs of Jeffrey Frederick, Volume I (2008). Jeffrey Frederick and the Clamtones were inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame on October 8, 2011.

Luke Faust is an American folk musician, best known as a member of the Insect Trust.

<i>Have Moicy!</i> 1976 collaborative album by multiple musicians

Have Moicy! is a collaborative studio album by Michael Hurley, the Unholy Modal Rounders and Jeffrey Frederick & the Clamtones. It was released on January 1, 1976 by Rounder Records. In 2011, Light in the Attic Records reissued Have Moicy! on vinyl. Although nominally credited to three different groups, the music is performed by an overlapping cast of musicians, with Hurley, Frederick, and Peter Stampfel alternating lead vocals with one track sung by Paul Presti.

<i>The Fugs First Album</i> 1965 studio album by the Fugs

The Fugs First Album is the 1965 debut album by American rock band the Fugs, described in their AllMusic profile as "arguably the first underground rock group of all time". In 1965, the album charted #142 on Billboard's "Top Pop Albums" chart. The album was originally released in 1965 as The Village Fugs Sing Ballads of Contemporary Protest, Point of Views, and General Dissatisfaction on Folkways Records before the band signed up with ESP-Disk, who released the album under its own label with a new name in 1966. The album was re-released in 1993 on CD with an additional 11 tracks.

<i>It Crawled into My Hand, Honest</i> 1968 studio album by The Fugs

It Crawled into My Hand, Honest is the fifth studio album by The Fugs, a band composed of anti-war poets. It was released in the US by record company Reprise.

<i>Fugs 4, Rounders Score</i> Album by The Fugs

Fugs 4, Rounders Score is a 1975 compilation album of material by The Fugs and The Holy Modal Rounders, including seven previously unreleased performances from the Fugs' first recording session, when the Rounders were members of the Fugs' band. The title is both a reference to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and the fact that this is the fourth album of Fugs material released on ESP, as well as a pun on "score" as drug slang. Although all recordings were made under the umbrella of the Fugs, the 6 lead vocals by Stampfel and Weber on Side A allow the album to function as a Rounders compilation as well. There is a notable and unusual lack of lead vocalizing by Ed Sanders, the most prominent vocalist on all other Fugs albums.

Bernard Stollman was an American lawyer and the founder of the ESP-Disk record label.

<i>Come On Board</i> 2011 studio album by Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel

Come On Board is the sixth album by anti-folk artist Jeffrey Lewis, and the first credited to Peter Stampfel and Jeffrey Lewis. Peter Stampfel was a founding member of American folk music band The Holy Modal Rounders. In an interview with Audio Antihero for GoldFlakePaint, Lewis revealed that a follow-up album was due in 2013.

<i>Indian War Whoop</i> 1967 studio album by the Holy Modal Rounders

Indian War Whoop is the third studio album by the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1967 through ESP-Disk. The album is the band's first with contributions outside of the original members Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber. The title track is a cover of an obscure song featured on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music.

<i>The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders</i> 1968 studio album by The Holy Modal Rounders

The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders is the fourth studio album by the New York psychedelic folk band the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1968 through Elektra Records. Although Peter Stampfel does not regard the album highly, it has received positive reviews and its opener, "Bird Song," was notably included in the 1969 film Easy Rider.

<i>Going Nowhere Fast</i> 1981 studio album by Stampfel & Weber

Going Nowhere Fast is a studio album by the American band the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1981 through Rounder Records. It was recorded as a duo and credited as Stampfel & Weber.

<i>Bird Song: Live 1971</i> 2004 live album by The Holy Modal Rounders

Bird Song: Live 1971 is a live album by the psychedelic folk band The Holy Modal Rounders, released on April 20, 2004, through Water Records.

The Pop Ups are a children's musical duo consisting of Jason Rabinowitz and Jacob Stein. After their national TV debut on Sprout's "Sunny Side Up Show" in April 2014, the duo released their third album, Appetite For Construction, in August 2014. The Pop-Ups perform regularly around New York City venues using cardboard props, hand-painted sets and a cast of "Original Puppets". They also have toured nationally, including a tour with Yo Gabba Gabba! Live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Down Hill Strugglers</span> American band

The Down Hill Strugglers, previously known as the Dust Busters, is an American old-time string band trio from Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 2008, the band has been influenced by the music of rural America, including Appalachian traditions, music from the Deep South, and the Western States. The band was originally made up of Craig Judelman, Eli Smith, and Walker Shepard. In 2012, Craig Judelman left the Dust Busters and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Jackson Lynch. At the same time, the band changed its name to the Down Hill Strugglers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Weber</span> American folk musician (1943–2020)

Steven P. Weber was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist.

References

  1. Vila, Benito (February 27, 2019). "Peter Stampfel: The Last Holy Modal Rounder Tells All". Please Kill Me . Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  2. "Antonia Duren". Discogs. 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  3. McFadden, John (2007). Bear Suit Follies: The Songs, Stories and Letters of Antonia. Lulu.com. ISBN   978-0615137735.
  4. Sisario, Ben (March 6, 2020). "Steve Weber, 76, a Founder of an Influential Folk Band, Dies". New York Times . Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  5. Layne, Joslyn. "Peter Stampfel". Allmusic. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  6. "Welcome to the weird world of Peter Stampfel". The Irish Times. December 8, 2001. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  7. Gross, Jason (September 1996). "Peter Stampfel interview". Perfect Sound Forever . Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  8. The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose (2006), May 10, 2023, retrieved September 8, 2023
  9. "The Fugs - Virgin Fugs Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic .