Uzi (band)

Last updated
Uzi
Origin Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres Alternative rock, noise rock, no wave , art punk
Years active1984 (1984)–1987 (1987)
Labels Homestead
Associated actsWhite Women, Dangerous Birds, Between Meals, Pep Lester and His Pals, Live Skull, Come, Thalia Zedek Band, A Scanner Darkly, Emerald Vein, El Dopa, 7 or 8 Worm Hearts
Past members
  • Thalia Zedek
  • Danny Lee
  • Randy Barnwell
  • Bob Young
  • Phil Milstein
  • Craig Federhen

Uzi was an American alternative rock band, formed in 1984 in Boston, Massachusetts and disbanded in 1987. The band featured Thalia Zedek (vocals, guitar), Danny Lee (drums), Randy Barnwell (bass guitar), Bob Young (guitar) and Phil Milstein (tape loops). [1] Never achieving commercial success during their short period of activity, [1] the band gained a cult following, becoming a part of Boston's underground rock scene. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Uzi was formed by Zedek and Lee after Zedek left the all-female post-punk band Dangerous Birds in 1983. [4] Barnwell was replaced briefly by Craig Federhen prior to Uzi's first concert. [5]

The band released only one EP, Sleep Asylum, released by Homestead Records in 1986. The band's sound featured "gritty wall of sound guitars, tape loops, and heavy drumbeats, accompanied by Zedek's strong vocal presence," which drew comparisons to noise rock acts such as Sonic Youth and to a lesser extent, Big Black. [2] [3] The EP was included at No. 5 in the annual Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll. [6]

Following the release of the EP, Uzi disbanded due to tensions between band members. Sleep Asylum was later reissued on compact disc in 1993 by Matador Records in the U.S. and in 1994 by Placebo in the UK [7]

Post-breakup and other projects

Before forming Uzi, Zedek was a member of White Women. She released one single with her second band, Dangerous Birds, "Alpha Romeo" (1982, Propeller). The single's Zedek-composed B-side, "Smile on Your Face", was later included on the influential Sub Pop compilation Sub Pop 100 .

After Uzi's demise, Zedek joined the New York-based no wave band Live Skull in 1987, appearing on their albums Dusted (1987) and Positraction (1989) and the Snuffer EP (1988). Live Skull split up in 1990. Zedek then moved back to Boston and formed the more blues-rock-oriented Come along with former Codeine drummer Chris Brokaw., [4] releasing four albums before they disbanded in 2001. That same year, she issued her first solo album, Been Here and Gone, since followed by two others under her name alone (Trust Not Those in Whom Without Some Touch of Madness and Hell Is in Hello, both 2004) and two as the Thalia Zedek Band (2008's Liars and Prayers and 2013's Via). [8] Zedek also participated in the 1998 Suffragette Sessions tour.

Lee was the drummer of Boston alternative metal band El Dopa, whose sole album, United in States of Narcolepsy, was released in 1997 on Conscience Records. [9] Lee also played drums on Marlene Tholl's 2007 album Kore, released by Small and Green Records. [10]

Following Uzi, Barnwell and Young resurfaced with A Scanner Darkly, releasing one album, This Is The Way, in 1988 on Belgian label Sub Rosa. [11] Later in '88, Young's solo project, Emerald Vein, released a solo album, Existence, on Sub Rosa. [12] A second Emerald Vein album, Land of the Living (with Barnwell on bass), was issued by Sub Rosa in 1991. [13]

Prior to Uzi, Milstein founded the Velvet Underground Appreciation Society in 1977 and edited the club's fanzine, What Goes On. [14] [15]

Milstein was part of the collaborative ensemble Between Meals along with Jad Fair (Half Japanese), Moe Tucker (The Velvet Underground), Andy Paley, Erik Lindgren (Birdsongs of the Mesozoic) and David Greenberger ( Duplex Planet ) and performed percussion, vocals and guitar on their mini-album Oh No I Just Knocked Over a Cup of Coffee, recorded in 1980 and 1982 but released in 1984 on Iridescence Records. [16]

Milstein's first solo project, Pep Lester and His Pals, released the Jack-O-Lantern Moon EP on Iridescence in 1984, which included musical contributions from Fair, Lindgren, Greenberger, Christmas members Michael Cudahy and Liz Cox (both later of Combustible Edison), and Mission of Burma members Roger Miller and Martin Swope, and mixing on one track by Willie "Loco" Alexander. [17] A Pep Lester double LP, The Mathematical Genius of Pep Lester, featuring over 20 guest musicians, was released by Forced Exposure in 1988.

Milstein later compiled an album, Tapeworm: SFX by Phil Milstein, consisting of a montage of the tape effects he used with Uzi, released in 1990 by Penn Jillette's 50 Skidillion Watts Records. [18] Using the name Phil X. Milstein, he also collaborated on a live album of experimental music with Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore, title Songs We Taught the Lord, Vol. 2. It was recorded December 4, 1996 at the Middle East club in Cambridge and released in 1997 on Hot Cars Warp Records. [19]

Milstein was also a member of 7 or 8 Worm Hearts, appearing on their 1989 self-released cassette All Writhe; [20] guested on three tracks on Cul de Sac's debut album, Ecim, released in 1991 by Capella; [21] and was a collaborator with Tom Ardolino on the "MSR Madness" series of song poem compilations. [22]

Band members

Discography

EPs

Related Research Articles

Holger Czukay German musician

Holger Czukay was a German musician, probably best known as a co-founder of the krautrock group Can. Described as "successfully bridg[ing] the gap between pop and the avant-garde", Czukay was also notable for having created early important examples of ambient music, for having explored "world music" well before the term was coined, and for having been a pioneer of sampling.

The Units

The Units were an American synthpunk band, founded in San Francisco in 1978 and active until 1984. They were one of America's earliest electronic new wave bands, and have been cited as pioneers of synthpunk, also retrospectively known as "electropunk". The Units were notable for their use of synthesizers in place of guitars, and multimedia performances featuring multiple projections of satirical, instructional films critical of conformity and consumerism.

Poison Idea was an American punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1980.

<i>Spot the Pigeon</i> 1977 EP by Genesis

Spot the Pigeon is an extended play (EP) from the English progressive rock band Genesis, released in May 1977 on Charisma Records. Its three songs were originally written for the group's eighth studio album Wind & Wuthering (1976), but were not included in the final track selection. It was the final studio release to feature guitarist Steve Hackett prior to his departure from Genesis.

Hellbastard

Hellbastard is an English crust punk/thrash metal band formed in 1984 in Newcastle, England.

Come (American band)

Come is an American alternative rock band, formed in Boston by Thalia Zedek, Chris Brokaw, Arthur Johnson (drums), and Sean O'Brien (bass).

Chris Brokaw American musician

Chris Brokaw is an American musician, best known for his work with the bands Come and Codeine.

Pylon (band) US rock band

Pylon was an American new wave/post-punk band from Athens, Georgia, United States. The band's danceable sound, a blend of new wave, post-punk, jangle pop, alternative rock and funk rock, influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. AllMusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".

Thalia Zedek American musician (born 1956)

Thalia Zedek is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the early 1980s, she has been a member of several notable alternative rock groups, including Live Skull and Uzi both of which, according to Spin magazine, "made big noise in the underground", and Come. Critic Heather Phares writes that Zedek's music can be defined by "the permanent, aching rasp in her voice, her guitar's bluesy bite, the startlingly clear-eyed lyrics about life and loss."

"In Every Dream Home a Heartache" is a song written by Bryan Ferry, originally appearing on his band Roxy Music's second album, For Your Pleasure.

Live Skull

Live Skull is a post-punk/experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1982.

Pauline Murray

Pauline Murray is best known as the lead singer of the punk rock band Penetration, originally formed in 1976.

The Perfect Disaster were an English alternative rock band from Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire, England, formed in 1980. They released four albums before splitting up in 1991. The only constant member was singer/guitarist Phil Parfitt.

<i>11:11</i> (Come album) 1992 studio album by Come

11:11 is the debut album by Boston indie rock band Come.

Thats What Friends Are For (Slade song) 1987 single by Slade

That's What Friends Are For is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1987 as the second single from their fourteenth studio album You Boyz Make Big Noize. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. It reached No. 95 in the UK, remaining in the charts for the one week.

<i>Tom Peterson and Another Language</i> 1984 studio album / Mini-LP by Tom Peterson and Another Language

Tom Peterson and Another Language is the debut and only (mini)-album from American musician and former Cheap Trick bassist Tom Peterson, released in 1984 under his group name Tom Peterson and Another Language.

Political Asylum was a Scottish anarcho-punk band formed in Stirling in 1982 and active until 1993. One of the most popular bands within that scene, they played hundreds of gigs across the U.K., Europe and America and "were an integral part of the fiercely independent underground that existed at the time."

<i>Been Here and Gone</i> 2001 studio album by Thalia Zedek

Been Here and Gone is Thalia Zedek's debut solo album, following the demise of Come, her previous band.

<i>Liars and Prayers</i> 2008 studio album by Thalia Zedek

Liars and Prayers is Thalia Zedek's fourth solo album, released four years after Trust Not Those in Whom Without Some Touch of Madness.

<i>Eve</i> (Thalia Zedek album) 2016 studio album by Thalia Zedek

Eve is Thalia Zedek's sixth solo album, released three years after Via.

References

  1. 1 2 Bush, John. "Uzi". AllMusic . Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Palmer, Robert (September 10, 1986). "The Pop Life: Electronic Legacy in Boston". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Hanson, Amy. "Uzi - Sleep Asylum". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 Prato, Greg. "Thalia Zedek". AllMusic . Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Uzi Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  6. ↑ "The 1986 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". Robertchristgau.com . Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Uzi - Sleep Asylum". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  8. ↑ "Thalia Zedek Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  9. ↑ "El Dopa Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  10. ↑ "Marlene Tholl - Kore (CD, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  11. ↑ "A Scanner Darkly - This Is The Way (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  12. ↑ "Emerald Vein - Existence (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  13. ↑ "Emerald Vein - Land Of The Living (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  14. ↑ "Phil Milstein Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  15. ↑ Victor Bockris (2002). Uptight: The Velvet Underground Story. Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0711991705.
  16. ↑ "Half Japanese". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  17. ↑ "Pep Lester And His Pals - Jack-O-Lantern Moon EP (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  18. ↑ "Phil Milstein - Tapeworm: SFX By Phil Milstein (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  19. ↑ "Phil X. Milstein* And Thurston Moore - Songs We Taught The Lord, Vol.2 (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. 1996-12-04. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  20. ↑ "7 Or 8 Worm Hearts - All Writhe (Cassette)". Discogs.com. 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  21. ↑ "Cul de Sac - Ecim (CD, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
  22. ↑ "The Rumpus Interview With Phil Milstein". The Rumpus.net. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
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.