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The Holy Modal Rounders

October 28, 2023

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. Their sense of humor and unique blend of folk music revival and psychedelia gave them a cult-like following and has influenced bands like Yo La Tengo and Espers.[2]

The Holy Modal Rounders
OriginLower East Side, New York, NY, USA
GenresOld-time, Psychedelic folk[1]
Years active1963–2003
LabelsPrestige, Transatlantic, Rounder, ESP-Disk, Elektra, Metromedia, Adelphi, DBK Works, Water, Big Beat, Don Giovanni
Past members
Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders

Following a brief stint with the influential underground rock band the Fugs in 1965, the duo broke up for the first time.[3][4] After they reunited in 1967, the band for the next three decades included more members, mostly notably adding Sam Shepard and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter at different times. In the early 1970s, Weber relocated the band to Portland, Oregon without Stampfel. Stampfel and Weber often had a hostile relationship[5][2] and they would only reunite occasionally after the end of the band's original incarnation. After Weber's Portland incarnation ended in 1995, the duo began a series of concert reunions starting in 1996 before breaking up for the last time in 2003.

Origin of the name edit

Stampfel explained the origin of the name in the webzine Perfect Sound Forever:

We kept changing the name. First it was the Total Quintessence Stomach Pumpers. Then the Temporal Worth High Steppers. Then The Motherfucker Creek Babyrapers. That was just a joke name. He was Rinky-Dink Steve the Tin Horn and I was Fast Lightning Cumquat. He was Teddy Boy Forever and I was Wild Blue Yonder. It kept changing names. Then it was the Total Modal Rounders. Then when we were stoned on pot and someone else, Steve Close maybe, said Holy Modal Rounders by mistake. We kept putting out different names and wait until someone starts calling us that then. When we got to Holy Modal Rounders, everyone decided by accumulation [sic] that we were the Holy Modal Rounders. That's the practical way to get named.[6]

History edit

Original incarnation edit

Fiddle and banjo player Peter Stampfel and country-blues guitarist Steve Weber[2] were introduced to each other by Greenwich Village figure Antonia (also known as Antonia Stampfel or Antonia Duren).[7] Stampfel and Antonia were dating at the time and she would receive many cowriting credits to the band's songs.[8][3][5] According to Peter Stampfel, he and Weber began performing together as an act in May 1963, not long after being introduced.[3]

Music critic Richie Unterberger remarked that the duo intended to "update old-time folk music with a contemporary spirit."[1] He expanded that "they twisted weathered folk standards with wobbly vocals, exuberantly strange arrangements, and interpretations that were liberal, to say the least."[9] John Sebastian, of the Lovin' Spoonful, noted that the duo stood out in Greenwich Village because they "played [old-time folk music] in an irreverent way [and] with a sense of humor."[10] Stampfel himself described his approach to music at the time: "I got the idea in 1963: What if Charlie Poole, and Charley Patton, and Uncle Dave Macon and all those guys were magically transported from the late 1920s to 1963? And then they were exposed to contemporary rock 'n' roll. What did they do? And that sounded way, way, way more interesting than" faithfully imitating folk music.[2]

The duo released their first album, The Holy Modal Rounders in 1964. Most notably, it contained a version of "Hesitation Blues", the lyrics of which included the first use of the term psychedelic (here pronounced "psycho-delic") in popular music.[11] Shortly after the release of their second album The Holy Modal Rounders 2 in 1965, the duo joined The Fugs for a short time.[12] Their 1965 recordings with the Fugs are on the band's debut studio album The Village Fugs and compilation albums Virgin Fugs and Fugs 4, Rounders Score. Weber's cult classic "Boobs a Lot" was included on The Village Fugs and the Rounders recorded their own version of the song on the 1971 album Good Taste Is Timeless.

Line-up expansion edit

After leaving the Fugs in 1965, the duo worked separately before re-forming in June 1967 with drummer Sam Shepard and keyboardist Lee Crabtree to record their third album Indian War Whoop.[13][12] Mark Deming of AllMusic noted the album was "a thoroughly bizarre listening experience" with "neo-psychedelic fiddle-and-guitar freakouts and free-form (and often radically altered) interpretations of traditional folk tunes."[14] Their fourth album The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders was recorded in 1968 for Elektra Records and included "Bird Song" (essentially Ray Price's "You Done Me Wrong" with altered lyrics), which was featured in Dennis Hopper's film Easy Rider.[12] It featured a similar combination of traditional music and psychedelia to Indian War Whoop.[15] Stampfel expressed dissatisfaction with Indian War Whoop and The Moray Eels because the band were using excessive amounts of amphetamines and Weber refused to rehearse before recordings.[6][9] He also noted that "[Indian War Whoop] and two gigs were all Weber and I did together between July '65 and the Elektra album."[9]

After The Moray Eels, a number of musicians passed through their lineup, including Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.[1] The band's fifth album Good Taste Is Timeless was released by Metromedia in 1971 and included additional band members Robin Remailly, John Wesley Annas, and Michael McCarty. In the same year, the band relocated to Boston.[13] Stampfel stayed in New York City but played with the band on occasion.[6] In 1972, they recorded their sixth album Alleged in Their Own Time with Remailly and Luke Faust; [6] the album would not be released until 1975. After the album's recording, Weber relocated The Holy Modal Rounders to Portland, Oregon, again without Stampfel.[5][2]

In 1975, Stampfel (without Weber) formed the short-lived Unholy Modal Rounders with Kirby Pines, Charlie Messing, Jeff Berman, and Paul Presti. The group was part of the collaborative and critically-acclaimed 1976 album Have Moicy!, joining Michael Hurley and Jeffrey Frederick and the Clamtones.

Stampfel and Weber released Last Round as the Holy Modal Rounders in 1978 and Going Nowhere Fast as Stampfel & Weber in 1981. A promotional tour followed the release of Going Nowhere Fast [6] before they ceased collaboration until 1996.

Later activity and reunions edit

Weber's touring incarnation of the Rounders continued to be active in Portland until 1995, when Weber returned to his native Pennsylvania after years of substance abuse issues.[5] This touring band included members of the aforementioned Clamtones, who would performed with Jeff Frederick as the Clamtones and with Weber as the Holy Modal Rounders.[13] A live album, Steve Weber and the Holy Modal Rounders, B.C., from a 1976 radio show was released by Frederick Productions/Red Newt Records in 2006.[16] This is the only commercial album featuring Weber and the full Portland band in its heyday.

During the band's time in Portland, Stampfel formed The Bottle Caps in New York, releasing Peter Stampfel and the Bottlecaps (1986), The People's Republic of Rock n' Roll (1989), and You Must Remember This (1994). He also won a Grammy Award in 1998 for writing part of the liner notes for the CD reissue of the Anthology of American Folk Music.[17]

Stampfel and Weber reunited in 1996 at the Bottom Line, which began a series of reunions for the duo.[5] They then released Too Much Fun under the Rounders name in 1999.

In 2006, the documentary film The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose[10] was released, directed by Paul Lovelace and produced by Sam Douglas.[2] The films ends with Weber failing to show for a 40th anniversary show in 2003.[5] Weber explained that he felt deceived by the filmmakers and was disappointed at the lack of attention directed to the band's days in Portland.[5]

Weber died on February 7, 2020, aged 76, in Mount Clare, West Virginia.[5][18] Stampfel noted after Weber's death that he hadn't seen Weber since 2002 and they had last corresponded via email in 2003 when they were arranging the 40th anniversary show.[4]

Discography edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "The Holy Modal Rounders Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Holy Modal Rounders: Oddly Influential Folk". npr.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Vila, Benito (February 27, 2019). "Peter Stampfel: The Last Holy Modal Rounder Tells All". Please Kill Me. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Peter, Stampfel (August 2020). "Steve Weber". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Sisario, Ben (March 7, 2020). "Steve Weber, 76, a Founder of an Influential Folk Band, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e Gross, Jason (September 1996). "Peter Stampfel Interview". Perfect Sound Forever.
  7. ^ "Antonia Duren". Discogs. 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  8. ^ McFadden, John (2007). Bear Suit Follies: The Songs, Stories and Letters of Antonia. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-61513-773-5.
  9. ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "Liner Notes for The Holy Modal Rounders Eat the Moray Eels". richieunterberger.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose". IMDb.com.
  11. ^ Hicks, Michael (2000). Sixties Rock: Garage, Psychedelic, and Other Satisfactions. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-0-25206-915-4.
  12. ^ a b c Larkin, Colin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 616. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  13. ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "Peter Stampfel". richieunterberger.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  14. ^ Deming, Mark. "Indian War Whoop Review". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  15. ^ Campbell, Al. "The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders Review". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  16. ^ "Steve Weber & The Holy Modal Rounders – Holy Modal Rounders B.C." Discogs. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  17. ^ Pareles, Jon (February 26, 1998). "Dylans, Father and Son, Gather Grammys; Shawn Colvin Wins for 'Sunny'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  18. ^ "Stephen P. Weber June 22, 1943 ~ February 7, 2020". Davis Funeral Home. Retrieved March 4, 2020.

External links edit

  • The Holy Modal Rounders at AllMusic
  • 1996 Stampfel interview in Perfect Sound Forever
  • 2010 Stampfel interview on Outsight Radio Hours
  • Peter Stampfel's audio interviews on the podcast The Future And You (in which he describes his expectations of the future), 2006
  • NPR interview

October 28, 2023
holy, modal, rounders, american, folk, music, group, originally, peter, stampfel, steve, weber, formed, 1963, lower, east, side, york, city, their, sense, humor, unique, blend, folk, music, revival, psychedelia, gave, them, cult, like, following, influenced, b. 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 Their sense of humor and unique blend of folk music revival and psychedelia gave them a cult like following and has influenced bands like Yo La Tengo and Espers 2 The Holy Modal RoundersOriginLower East Side New York NY USAGenresOld time Psychedelic folk 1 Years active1963 2003LabelsPrestige Transatlantic Rounder ESP Disk Elektra Metromedia Adelphi DBK Works Water Big Beat Don GiovanniPast membersPeter Stampfel Steve Weber John Annas Jeff Baxter Lee Crabtree Robin Remaily Sam Shepard Richard Tyler Dave Reisch Michael McCarty Ted Deane Roger North Michael Hurley Luke FaustPeter Stampfel of the Holy Modal RoundersFollowing a brief stint with the influential underground rock band the Fugs in 1965 the duo broke up for the first time 3 4 After they reunited in 1967 the band for the next three decades included more members mostly notably adding Sam Shepard and Jeff Skunk Baxter at different times In the early 1970s Weber relocated the band to Portland Oregon without Stampfel Stampfel and Weber often had a hostile relationship 5 2 and they would only reunite occasionally after the end of the band s original incarnation After Weber s Portland incarnation ended in 1995 the duo began a series of concert reunions starting in 1996 before breaking up for the last time in 2003 Contents 1 Origin of the name 2 History 2 1 Original incarnation 2 2 Line up expansion 2 3 Later activity and reunions 3 Discography 4 References 5 External linksOrigin of the name editStampfel explained the origin of the name in the webzine Perfect Sound Forever We kept changing the name First it was the Total Quintessence Stomach Pumpers Then the Temporal Worth High Steppers Then The Motherfucker Creek Babyrapers That was just a joke name He was Rinky Dink Steve the Tin Horn and I was Fast Lightning Cumquat He was Teddy Boy Forever and I was Wild Blue Yonder It kept changing names Then it was the Total Modal Rounders Then when we were stoned on pot and someone else Steve Close maybe said Holy Modal Rounders by mistake We kept putting out different names and wait until someone starts calling us that then When we got to Holy Modal Rounders everyone decided by accumulation sic that we were the Holy Modal Rounders That s the practical way to get named 6 History editOriginal incarnation edit Fiddle and banjo player Peter Stampfel and country blues guitarist Steve Weber 2 were introduced to each other by Greenwich Village figure Antonia also known as Antonia Stampfel or Antonia Duren 7 Stampfel and Antonia were dating at the time and she would receive many cowriting credits to the band s songs 8 3 5 According to Peter Stampfel he and Weber began performing together as an act in May 1963 not long after being introduced 3 Music critic Richie Unterberger remarked that the duo intended to update old time folk music with a contemporary spirit 1 He expanded that they twisted weathered folk standards with wobbly vocals exuberantly strange arrangements and interpretations that were liberal to say the least 9 John Sebastian of the Lovin Spoonful noted that the duo stood out in Greenwich Village because they played old time folk music in an irreverent way and with a sense of humor 10 Stampfel himself described his approach to music at the time I got the idea in 1963 What if Charlie Poole and Charley Patton and Uncle Dave Macon and all those guys were magically transported from the late 1920s to 1963 And then they were exposed to contemporary rock n roll What did they do And that sounded way way way more interesting than faithfully imitating folk music 2 The duo released their first album The Holy Modal Rounders in 1964 Most notably it contained a version of Hesitation Blues the lyrics of which included the first use of the term psychedelic here pronounced psycho delic in popular music 11 Shortly after the release of their second album The Holy Modal Rounders 2 in 1965 the duo joined The Fugs for a short time 12 Their 1965 recordings with the Fugs are on the band s debut studio album The Village Fugs and compilation albums Virgin Fugs and Fugs 4 Rounders Score Weber s cult classic Boobs a Lot was included on The Village Fugs and the Rounders recorded their own version of the song on the 1971 album Good Taste Is Timeless Line up expansion edit After leaving the Fugs in 1965 the duo worked separately before re forming in June 1967 with drummer Sam Shepard and keyboardist Lee Crabtree to record their third album Indian War Whoop 13 12 Mark Deming of AllMusic noted the album was a thoroughly bizarre listening experience with neo psychedelic fiddle and guitar freakouts and free form and often radically altered interpretations of traditional folk tunes 14 Their fourth album The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders was recorded in 1968 for Elektra Records and included Bird Song essentially Ray Price s You Done Me Wrong with altered lyrics which was featured in Dennis Hopper s film Easy Rider 12 It featured a similar combination of traditional music and psychedelia to Indian War Whoop 15 Stampfel expressed dissatisfaction with Indian War Whoop and The Moray Eels because the band were using excessive amounts of amphetamines and Weber refused to rehearse before recordings 6 9 He also noted that Indian War Whoop and two gigs were all Weber and I did together between July 65 and the Elektra album 9 After The Moray Eels a number of musicians passed through their lineup including Jeff Skunk Baxter 1 The band s fifth album Good Taste Is Timeless was released by Metromedia in 1971 and included additional band members Robin Remailly John Wesley Annas and Michael McCarty In the same year the band relocated to Boston 13 Stampfel stayed in New York City but played with the band on occasion 6 In 1972 they recorded their sixth album Alleged in Their Own Time with Remailly and Luke Faust 6 the album would not be released until 1975 After the album s recording Weber relocated The Holy Modal Rounders to Portland Oregon again without Stampfel 5 2 In 1975 Stampfel without Weber formed the short lived Unholy Modal Rounders with Kirby Pines Charlie Messing Jeff Berman and Paul Presti The group was part of the collaborative and critically acclaimed 1976 album Have Moicy joining Michael Hurley and Jeffrey Frederick and the Clamtones Stampfel and Weber released Last Round as the Holy Modal Rounders in 1978 and Going Nowhere Fast as Stampfel amp Weber in 1981 A promotional tour followed the release of Going Nowhere Fast 6 before they ceased collaboration until 1996 Later activity and reunions edit Weber s touring incarnation of the Rounders continued to be active in Portland until 1995 when Weber returned to his native Pennsylvania after years of substance abuse issues 5 This touring band included members of the aforementioned Clamtones who would performed with Jeff Frederick as the Clamtones and with Weber as the Holy Modal Rounders 13 A live album Steve Weber and the Holy Modal Rounders B C from a 1976 radio show was released by Frederick Productions Red Newt Records in 2006 16 This is the only commercial album featuring Weber and the full Portland band in its heyday During the band s time in Portland Stampfel formed The Bottle Caps in New York releasing Peter Stampfel and the Bottlecaps 1986 The People s Republic of Rock n Roll 1989 and You Must Remember This 1994 He also won a Grammy Award in 1998 for writing part of the liner notes for the CD reissue of the Anthology of American Folk Music 17 Stampfel and Weber reunited in 1996 at the Bottom Line which began a series of reunions for the duo 5 They then released Too Much Fun under the Rounders name in 1999 In 2006 the documentary film The Holy Modal Rounders Bound to Lose 10 was released directed by Paul Lovelace and produced by Sam Douglas 2 The films ends with Weber failing to show for a 40th anniversary show in 2003 5 Weber explained that he felt deceived by the filmmakers and was disappointed at the lack of attention directed to the band s days in Portland 5 Weber died on February 7 2020 aged 76 in Mount Clare West Virginia 5 18 Stampfel noted after Weber s death that he hadn t seen Weber since 2002 and they had last corresponded via email in 2003 when they were arranging the 40th anniversary show 4 Discography editStudio albumsThe Holy Modal Rounders 1964 The Holy Modal Rounders 2 1965 Indian War Whoop 1967 The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders 1968 Good Taste Is Timeless 1971 Alleged in Their Own Time 1975 Last Round 1978 Going Nowhere Fast 1980 Too Much Fun 1999 Collaboration albumsHave Moicy 1976 CompilationI Make a Wish for a Potato 2001 Live albumsLive in 1965 2002 Bird Song Live 1971 2004 Steve Weber and the Holy Modal Rounders B C 2005 References edit a b c Unterberger Richie The Holy Modal Rounders Biography allmusic com Retrieved October 10 2023 a b c d e f Holy Modal Rounders Oddly Influential Folk npr com Retrieved October 18 2023 a b c Vila Benito February 27 2019 Peter Stampfel The Last Holy Modal Rounder Tells All Please Kill Me Retrieved March 20 2020 a b Peter Stampfel August 2020 Steve Weber Perfect Sound Forever Retrieved October 17 2023 a b c d e f g h Sisario Ben March 7 2020 Steve Weber 76 a Founder of an Influential Folk Band Dies The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 9 2020 a b c d e Gross Jason September 1996 Peter Stampfel Interview Perfect Sound Forever Antonia Duren Discogs 2017 Retrieved March 20 2020 McFadden John 2007 Bear Suit Follies The Songs Stories and Letters of Antonia Lulu com ISBN 978 0 61513 773 5 a b c Unterberger Richie Liner Notes for The Holy Modal Rounders Eat the Moray Eels richieunterberger com Retrieved October 18 2023 a b The Holy Modal Rounders Bound to Lose IMDb com Hicks Michael 2000 Sixties Rock Garage Psychedelic and Other Satisfactions Urbana IL University of Illinois Press pp 59 60 ISBN 978 0 25206 915 4 a b c Larkin Colin ed 1997 The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music Concise ed Virgin Books p 616 ISBN 1 85227 745 9 a b c Unterberger Richie Peter Stampfel richieunterberger com Retrieved October 18 2023 Deming Mark Indian War Whoop Review allmusic com Retrieved October 19 2023 Campbell Al The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders Review allmusic com Retrieved October 19 2023 Steve Weber amp The Holy Modal Rounders Holy Modal Rounders B C Discogs Retrieved October 22 2023 Pareles Jon February 26 1998 Dylans Father and Son Gather Grammys Shawn Colvin Wins for Sunny The New York Times Retrieved May 25 2010 Stephen P Weber June 22 1943 February 7 2020 Davis Funeral Home Retrieved March 4 2020 External links editThe Holy Modal Rounders at AllMusic 1996 Stampfel interview in Perfect Sound Forever 2010 Stampfel interview on Outsight Radio Hours Peter Stampfel s audio interviews on the podcast The Future And You in which he describes his expectations of the future 2006 NPR interview Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Holy Modal Rounders amp oldid 1181550980, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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