DNA (American band)

Last updated
DNA
OriginNew York City, New York, U.S. [1]
Genres No wave, experimental rock, noise
Years active1977–1982
Labels Antilles, avant
Past members Arto Lindsay
Robin Crutchfield
Gordon Stevenson
Mirielle Cervenka
Ikue Mori
Tim Wright

DNA was an American no wave band formed in 1977 by guitarist Arto Lindsay and keyboardist Robin Crutchfield, and later joined by drummer Ikue Mori and bassist Tim Wright. They were associated with the late 1970s New York no wave scene, and were featured on the 1978 compilation No New York . [2]

Contents

History

DNA originally consisted of Lindsay, Crutchfield, Gordon Stevenson and Mirielle Cervenka, and took their name from a song by another no wave band, Mars. [3] Stevenson went on to play bass for Teenage Jesus and the Jerks; Cervenka was the younger sister of Exene Cervenka of X. Terry Ork, head of Ork Records, booked the band at Max's Kansas City for its first show. Cervenka and Stevenson left after hearing this. Lindsay and Crutchfield hastily recruited Ikue Mori—who at the time had little command of English and no musical experience—to be DNA's drummer. [4]

This lineup of DNA played occasionally at Tier 3, CBGB and Max's Kansas City and recorded one 7" single. Within their first year, they had cemented their reputation as a paradigmatic no wave band when Brian Eno selected them as one of the four groups documented on the No New York LP, the first recording to expose no wave groups to an audience outside of Lower Manhattan. [5] The other three bands appearing on this album were The Contortions, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, and Mars. [6]

Shortly after the recording of No New York, Crutchfield left DNA to form a new band, Dark Day. He was replaced by Tim Wright, previously of the Cleveland band Pere Ubu. As Wright played bass guitar and not keyboards and was the only member of the band to have any conventional instrumental technique, the change in DNA's sound was dramatic. The music became even more spare and angular, with Wright's bass lines creating a sometimes menacing sound to support Lindsay's scraping, atonal guitar and Mori's irregular rhythms. Their song structures became tighter, briefer, more abstract, and have been compared to haiku.

The Lindsay-Mori-Wright lineup of DNA developed something of a cult following between 1979 and 1982, but perhaps more of their fans came from the art world than from rock audiences. [7] Live shows were frequent in this period, but rarely outside of the CBGB/Mudd Club/Tier 3 circuit in lower Manhattan.

The group's 10-minute debut album, A Taste of DNA was recorded for Kip Hanrahan's American Clavé label, and was later released on Rough Trade in 1980. Some live DNA tracks appeared on compilation albums while the band was still in existence.

Lindsay, Mori, and Wright decided to dissolve the band in 1982. Its final concerts were three consecutive sold-out nights at CBGB. DNA's final encore was a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love". This is not included on the CD Last Live at CBGB, released more than a decade later, on John Zorn's Avant label.

Lindsay and Mori, and to a lesser extent Crutchfield, have remained active in music.

DNA on DNA , a comprehensive CD chronicle of the band, was released by No More Records in 2004.

The band is featured in the film Downtown 81 starring Jean-Michel Basquiat. [8]

The rock group Blonde Redhead takes its name from a DNA song.

Discography

Live albums

Compilation albums

Collaboration

EPs

Singles

Compilation appearances

Notes

  1. ↑ Dougan, John. "DNA". AllMusic . Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ Masters, Marc. No Wave. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007, pp. 52-67
  3. ↑ Masters, p. 38
  4. ↑ Moore and Coley, p. 31
  5. ↑ Masters, Marc. No Wave. London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007, pp. 52-67
  6. ↑ Masters, p. 40
  7. ↑ Carlo McCormick, "The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984", 06
  8. ↑ McGonigal, Mike: "Same Ol' Samo", Artforum, Summer 2000.

Related Research Articles

No wave is a music genre, named for the transient avant-garde music and visual art scene from which it emerged in the late 1970s in downtown New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mars (band)</span> American rock band

Mars was an American, New York City-based no wave experimental noise rock band, formed in 1975 when China Burg and artist Nancy Arlen (drums) brought Mark Cunningham (bass) and vocalist Sumner Crane together to talk about music. They were joined briefly by guitarist Rudolph Grey. The band played one live gig under the name China before changing it to Mars. They played a mixture of angular compositions and freeform noise music jams, featuring surrealist lyrics and non-standard drumming. All the members were said to be completely untrained in music before forming the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arto Lindsay</span> American guitarist, singer, and composer

Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation No New York. In the 1980s, he formed the group Ambitious Lovers. He also performed with The Golden Palominos and The Lounge Lizards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ikue Mori</span> Japanese drummer, electronic musician and composer

Ikue Mori, also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, electronic musician, composer, and graphic designer. Mori was awarded a "Genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Chance</span> American musician

James Chance, also known as James White, is an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teenage Jesus and the Jerks</span> American no wave band

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks were an influential American no wave band, based in New York City, who formed part of the city's no wave movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Chance and the Contortions</span> American band

James Chance and the Contortions was a musical group led by saxophonist and vocalist James Chance, formed in 1977. They were a central act of New York City's downtown no wave music scene in the late 1970s, and were featured on the influential compilation No New York (1978).

<i>No New York</i> 1978 compilation album by various artists

No New York is a compilation album released in 1978 by record label Antilles under the curation of producer Brian Eno. Although it only contained songs by four different artists, some consider it to be a definitive single album documenting New York City's late-1970s no wave movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mudd Club</span>

The Mudd Club was a nightclub located at 77 White Street in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It operated from 1978 to 1983 as a venue for underground music and counterculture events. It was opened by Steve Maas, Diego Cortez and Anya Phillips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Stevenson</span> American film director

Gordon Stevenson was an artist, actor, musician and filmmaker who died of AIDS in 1982, one of the East Village art community’s first casualties of the AIDS epidemic.

<i>John Gavanti</i> 1980 studio album by members of Mars and DNA

John Gavanti is a 1980 no wave opera album by members of the bands Mars and DNA. It was written and played by Mark Cunningham, Sumner Crane, China Burg, Ikue Mori and Arto Lindsay. All were prominent members of New York City's short-lived No Wave music scene.

Anya Phillips was an American fashion designer and the co-founder of legendary New York nightclub the Mudd Club along with Steve Maas and Diego Cortez. Phillips had an influence on the fashion, sound and look of the New York-based no wave scene of the late 1970s. She was also the manager and girlfriend of New York-based musician James Chance.

Theoretical Girls were a New York-based no wave band formed by Glenn Branca and Jeff Lohn that existed from 1977 to 1981. Theoretical Girls played only about 20 shows. It released one single, which had some attention in England where it sold a few thousand copies. The band was never signed by a record company, but is well regarded as an early leading no wave group that mixed classical modern ideas of composition with punk rock. This experimental music was mostly supported by the New York art world and minimal art music audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Crutchfield</span> Musical artist

Robin Lee Crutchfield is an American artist. He is best known as one of the founding musicians of the former New York No Wave scene. He has performed at such hallowed musical grounds as Tier 3, CBGB's, Max's Kansas City and Artists Space; as well as had his work on display at prestigious venues like MoMA and The Whitney Museum of American Art.

Noise Fest was an influential festival of no wave noise music performances curated by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth at the New York City art space White Columns in June 1981. Sonic Youth made their first live appearances at this show.

Tier 3 was an influential but short-lived 300-capacity no wave art nightclub in New York. Founded by Hilary Jaeger in 1979, Tier 3 was a major venue in the city's underground music and counterculture post-punk art scene, along with the Mudd Club. Live performances showcased punk rock, no wave, ska, noise music, free jazz, new wave and experimental music. The club was located at 225 West Broadway in the TriBeCa neighborhood of lower Manhattan.

<i>A Taste of DNA</i> 1981 EP by DNA

A Taste of DNA is an EP by the no wave band DNA, released in 1981 through American Clavé. It was to be the band's last album to be released before they disbanded the following year.

<i>DNA (Last Live at CBGBs)</i> 1993 live album by DNA

DNA is a live album by DNA, released in 1993 through Avant Records.

Boris Policeband was a no wave noise music performer who used dissonant violin, police radio transmissions, and voice. Boris Pearlman was a classically trained violist from New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Arlen</span> American sculptor

Nancy Arlen was a cast polyester resin sculptor and drummer for the no wave band Mars.

References

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.