Urban Blitz

Last updated
Urban Blitz
Genres Rock, protopunk, art rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Associated acts Doctors of Madness

Urban Blitz is an English rock musician, best known for his "eerie and atmospheric" [1] (Ira Robbins) electric violin, baritone violectra and lead guitar work with the 1970s London protopunk art rock band Doctors of Madness. [2]

However, Blitz had considerable earlier musical experience, graduating from a classical background to hone his skills on the London late 1960s, and early 1970s club and pub rock scene. He travelled to Italy in early 1973, to play with the Neapolitan Italian / Celtic chanteuse, Jenny Sorrenti. He lived and rehearsed with Sorrenti's band, 'Saint Just', in the House on the Lake on Lake Bracciano, that led to the album of the same name, [3] but before the recording, Blitz left Italy to join the Doctors of Madness in June 1974.

With Doctors of Madness, Blitz further developed his unique counterpoint electric violin style, incorporating a garage rock edge to complement the Doctor's nihilistic, manic, approach to rock music;[ citation needed ] using fuzz box, wah-wah pedal, phasing, echoplex and reverberation to appropriate effect. He cited avant garde violinists Jean-Luc Ponty, Don "Sugarcane" Harris and John Cale of the Velvet Underground as his main influences; having largely rejected his early classical training.

Blitz was also an adventurous violin designer and maker, and in the early 1970s produced the first ‘skeleton’ electric violin design that is widely copied and adapted in mass-produced electric violins today. Blitz's multifaceted lead guitar work also made a significant impact throughout the Doctors' music.[ citation needed ]

In the mid 1970s, Blitz did occasional freelance studio work, playing the electric violin solo on "Watch Out Carolina", produced by David Essex, for The Real Thing, and he also showed some flair as a producer himself, working with York punk rock band The Jermz [4] on their singles "Powercut" [5] and Me and My Baby. [6]

Related Research Articles

Jazz guitar Jazz instrument and associated playing style

The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of electric guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz". The jazz-type guitar was born as a result of using electric amplification to increase the volume of conventional acoustic guitars.

Wah-wah pedal effects unit that mimics the sound of "wah wah"

A wah-wah pedal is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The pedal sweeps the peak response of a frequency filter up and down in frequency to create the sound, a spectral glide, also known as "the wah effect". The wah-wah effect originated in the 1920s, with trumpet or trombone players finding they could produce an expressive crying tone by moving a mute in and out of the instrument's bell. This was later simulated with electronic circuitry for the electric guitar when the wah-wah pedal was invented. It is controlled by movement of the player's foot on a rocking pedal connected to a potentiometer. Wah-wah effects are used when a guitarist is soloing, or creating a "wacka-wacka" funk-styled rhythm for rhythm guitar playing.

Fred Frith English musician, composer and improvisor

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

Arto Lindsay American musician

Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer.

Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye, known professionally as King Sunny Adé, is a Nigerian jùjú singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is regarded as one of the first African pop musicians to gain international success, and has been called one of the most influential musicians of all time. For his longevity, fluid moves, boundless stage energy and vast collaborative variety, he is Africa's Mick Jagger.

An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fitted with an electric pickup of some type, although "amplified violin" or "electro-acoustic violin" are more accurate in that case.

Guitar solo

A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music written for a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular music such as blues, swing, jazz, jazz fusion, rock and metal, guitar solos often contain virtuoso techniques and varying degrees of improvisation. Guitar solos on classical guitar, which are typically written in musical notation, are also used in classical music forms such as chamber music and concertos.

<i>Cheap Trick</i> (1977 album) 1977 studio album by Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick is the debut studio album by the American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1977. It was released under Epic Records and produced by Jack Douglas, a frequent collaborator of the band. The album did not reach the Billboard 200 chart but did "bubble under" at number 207 for one week in April 1977.

<i>Trouser Press</i> American music magazine

Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press". Publication of the magazine ceased in 1984; the unexpired portion of mail subscriptions was completed by Rolling Stone sister publication Record, which itself folded in 1985. Trouser Press has continued to exist in various formats.

Eko guitars

Eko is an Italian manufacturer of electric guitars, acoustic guitars and similar instruments, catering to professional level and manufacturing largely for export. It is located in Recanati, Marche.

Martin Rushent English record producer

Martin Rushent was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and Buzzcocks.

Dick Cuthell is a British musician and record producer. He plays flugelhorn, cornet, and trumpet, amongst a range of other brass instruments, including tenor horn and valve trombone. Cuthell is best known for his work with The Specials and Rico Rodriguez. He also collaborated with bands such as Madness, Eurythmics, Fun Boy Three, XTC, and The Pogues. In addition to a range of horns, Cuthell also plays bass, keyboards and percussion and is a composer and arranger.

<i>Thirteen Years</i> 1993 studio album by Alejandro Escovedo

Thirteen Years is an album by Alejandro Escovedo. The cover painting is by Jack Smith.

Doctors of Madness British punk rock band active 1975-1978

Doctors of Madness were a British protopunk art rock band active as a recording and touring band from 1975 until late 1978. They found cult level acclaim and recognition in the 70s, but had little commercial success. Since then they have come to be regarded as prime movers who were forerunners of the later punk movement.

Stoner was an English rock musician, best known as the bass guitar player and vocalist with the art rock band Doctors of Madness (1974–1978), and later with the post-punk rock band Explorers, which he formed with T.V. Smith in 1980.

Robin Simon is a British guitarist who was a member of Ultravox, Magazine and Visage.

<i>Pure Mania</i> 1977 studio album by The Vibrators

Pure Mania is the debut album by the punk band the Vibrators. It was released in 1977 on Epic Records and reached No. 49 in the UK Albums Chart. The song "Baby Baby" was released as a single and punk band Stiff Little Fingers got their name from the song of the same name from this album.

<i>Blueprints for a Blackout</i> 1984 studio album by The Ex

Blueprints for a Blackout is the fourth album by Dutch post-punk band The Ex, originally released in 1984. It was the first of The Ex's albums to feature Luc playing bass guitar and he would remain as the band's bass player for 20 years. The album also featured many guest musicians, a notable trend in The Ex's discography that would provide musical elements unique to each of their albums.

<i>Polara</i> (album) Self-titled 1995 debut album by Minneapolis alternative rock band Polara

Polara is the self-titled first album by Minneapolis alternative rock band Polara.

All I Ever Wanted (Kirsty MacColl song)

"All I Ever Wanted" is a song by British singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl, released in 1991 as the third and final single from her third studio album Electric Landlady. It was written by MacColl and Marshall Crenshaw, and produced by Steve Lillywhite. The song reached No. 154 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.

References

  1. "Doctors of Madness". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
  2. Robbins, Ira "Doctors of Madness", Trouser Press , retrieved 2011-07-10
  3. ""La Casa Del Lago" by Saint Just (Italy, 1974)". YouTube. 2010-07-21. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  4. [ dead link ]
  5. "Powercut" on YouTube
  6. "Me and My Baby" on YouTube