Larry Mullins (musician)

Not to be confused with athlete Larry Mullins or drummer Larry Mullen Jr..

Lawrence Edward Mullins, also known as Toby Dammit, (born 13 December 1966 in Knoxville, Tennessee)^[1][2] is an American musician, record producer, and composer. A multi-instrumentalist (primarily drums, percussion, and keyboards), Mullins is best known as a member of the bands Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Swans, as well as a former member of The Stooges and other incarnations of Iggy Pop’s bands. He has also worked extensively in music for films and television, and had a performance role in the German cable series Babylon Berlin.

Larry Mullins (Toby Dammit)
Larry Mullins playing keyboards with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in 2017.
Background information
Birth name	Lawrence Edward Mullins
Born	(1966-12-13) 13 December 1966 (age 56) Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Musician multi-instrumentalist record producer composer arranger
Instrument(s)	Drums percussion piano organ keyboards vocals
Years active	1984–present
Website	tobydammit.com

Music career

Mullins played drums in Iggy Pop’s band from 1990 to 1999, recording three albums and additional works created specifically for films. In 2011, he joined Iggy and The Stooges in England, and remained their live drummer until their final performance in 2013.^[3][4][5]

Mullins joined Swans in 1995 and continued working with Swans frontman Michael Gira in Angels of Light into 2001. He rejoined Swans in 2019 for the recording of their album Leaving Meaning, and remains a member as of 2018 to 2023.^[6][7][8]

Mullins's percussion work appeared throughout the score for Johnny Depp's 1997 film The Brave, where he is credited as "Lawrence Mullins."^[9] His original composition for the theme of director Tom Tykwer's German cable series Babylon Berlin,^[10] in which he had a screen role as big band drummer Willy Schuricke,^[11] was published as sheet music in 2020.^[12] In 2021, Mullins performed on drums for Anna Calvi’s score for the 2022 Peaky Blinders cable series.^[13][14]

In 2015, Mullins began performing live with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds as keyboardist,^[15] and continued performing with them during their world tour for the album Skeleton Tree.^[16] The tour for the album was documented in the film Distant Sky: Live in Copenhagen.^[17] In October, 2018, he switched from playing keyboards to playing drums for the band.^[18] Mullins drummed for the Ghosteen European tour in 2022, and afterwards joined Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for their Carnage tour of Australia.^[19]

Works (selected)

Solo

• Top Dollar (2001)

Film Scores

• Apple Jack (2006)

Collaborations

• Karny Sutra - with Luther Hawkins (2003)
• Morphosa Harmonia - with Thomas Wydler (2004)

As producer

• Bee and Flower - Last Sight Of Land (2007)
• Mell (French singer) [fr] - Western Spaghetti (2010)
• The Lightnin 3 [fr] - Morning, Noon & Night (2012)
• James Eleganz - The Only One (2019)
• James Eleganz - Hotel Augusta (2022)

As a featured musician

• Iggy Pop - American Caesar (1993)
• Iggy Pop - Naughty Little Doggie (1996)
• Iggy Pop - Avenue B (1999)
• Iggy and The Stooges - Ready to Die (2013)
• Swans - Die Tür ist zu (1996)
• Swans - Soundtracks For The Blind (1996)
• Swans - Swans Are Dead (1997)
• Swans - Leaving Meaning (2019)
• Swans - The Beggar (2023)
• Paul Personne - Patchwork Electrique (2000)
• Stephan Eicher - Taxi Europa (2003)
• Stephan Eicher - L’Envolée (2012)
• Stephan Eicher - Eldorado (2007)
• Arno - Jus de box (2007)
• Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars (2007)
• Zaz - Zaz (2010)
• Raphaël Haroche - Pacific 231 (2010)
• Raphaël Haroche - Anticyclone (2017)
• Meret Becker - Deins & Done (2014)
• Miguel Bosé - Amo (2014)
• Shakespears Sister - Ride Again (2019)

Soundtrack contributions

• Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
• Iggy Pop: Kiss My Blood: Live at The Olympia, Paris (1991)
• The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
• The Brave (1997)
• The Residents: Icky Flix (2001)
• Monsieur N. (2002)
• Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
• The Residents: Demons Dance Alone (2003)
• The Residents Play Wormwood (2005)
• End of Watch (2012)
• Dead Man Down (2013)
• The Parisian Bitch, Princess of Hearts (2015)
• Babylon Berlin (2018)
• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Distant Sky: Live in Copenhagen (2018)
• Where Does a Body End? (2020)
• Peaky Blinders: (Season 6, 2022)

Publications

• 1001 Nights: Willy Schuricke's Legendary Drum Solo as Performed in "Babylon Berlin" (sheet music, 2020)

References

1. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2009). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1 (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
2. Avedis Zildjian Company, artist sponsorship page, viewed on 3 April 2023, on 3 April 2023.
3. Trynka, Paul (2007). Open Up and Bleed. New York: Broadway Books. pp. 298, 329. ISBN 9780767923194.
4. Greene, Andy (1 September 2011). . Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
5. Greene, Andy (10 March 2014). . Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
6. Soulsby, Nick (2018). Swans: Sacrifice and Transcendence. London: Jawbone Press. p. 10. ISBN 1911036394.
7. Sherburne, Philip (13 November 2019). . Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
8. Van Isacker, Bernard (22 March 2023). . Side-Line. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
9. The Brave (DVD booklet credits). Johnny Depp (director, actor), Marlon Brando (actor). StudioCanal. 2015. OCLC 922814590.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Babylon Berlin (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (CD booklet credits). Various artists). BMG. 2018. BMG 538349170.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. Babylon Berlin (DVD booklet credits). Tywker, Tom (director). Kino Lorber. 2017. OCLC 1202150890.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. Mullins, Larry (2020). 1001 Nights: Willy Schuricke's Legendary Drum Solo as Performed in "Babylon Berlin". Berlin: La Chunga Music Publishing GmbH.
13. Tommy - Peaky Blinders (EP cover credits). Calvi, Anna. Domino Recording Company. 2022. RUG1308T. Retrieved 3 April 2023.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. Trendall, Andrew (5 April 2022). "Anna Calvi on 'Peaky Blinders' inspired EP: "I've been living inside Tommy Shelby's head"". NME. BandLab Technologies. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
15. Griffin, Matt. . London: Royal Albert Hall. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
16. Grow, Kory (13 April 2018). . Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018.
17. Köppl, Gerrit (12 April 2019). . VISIONS (in German). Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
18. Chrisfield, Bryget (23 October 2018). . The Music. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
19. Valentish, Jenny (28 November 2022). . The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.

Further reading

• Open Up And Bleed, Paul Trynka (2007) ISBN 9780767923194
• Swans: Sacrifice And Transcendence, Nick Soulsby, (2018) ISBN 1911036394
• Tricatel Universalis, Philippe Manœuvre & Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe (2018, in French) ISBN 1911036394
• Babylon Berlin, Michael Töteberg (2018, in German) ISBN 978-3462052503

External links

• Official site
• Larry Mullins at Allmusic
• Audio interview with Mullins on the Mike Watt podcast The Watt from Pedro Show from 5 July 2011.
• Audio interview with Mullins by Todd Steed on Knoxville radio station WUOT from 27 March 2015.