Massacre (Fred Frith band)

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For the American death metal band of the same name, see Massacre (band).
Massacre
Background information
Origin New York City,
United States
Genre(s) Avant-progressive rock,
Experimental,
Free improvisation
Years active 1980–1981
1998–2001
Label(s) Celluloid, Tzadik
Associated
acts		 Material
Former members
Fred Frith
Charles Hayward
Bill Laswell
Fred Maher

Massacre was a improvising and experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1980 by guitarist Fred Frith, bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher. They performed for just over a year and recorded a studio album, Killing Time (1981).

Frith and Laswell reformed Massacre in 1998 with drummer Charles Hayward, and released two more albums, Funny Valentine (1998) and Meltdown (2001). A third album with the new line-up, Lonely Heart is scheduled for release in 2007.

Contents

[edit] History

Guitarist Fred Frith, who was a co-founder of the English avant-garde rock group Henry Cow, moved to New York City in 1979 after Henry Cow split up. There he met and began performing with bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher, both of the pioneering jazz ensemble Material. In 1980, when Peter Blegvad was looking for an opening band for his Valentine’s day concert at Soundscape in New York, Frith volunteered and invited Laswell and Maher to join him as a power trio they called Massacre. The band was well received and soon began performing at venues all over New York City.

1981 LP cover of Killing Time.
1981 LP cover of Killing Time.

Massacre was a high-energy experimental rock band, manipulating rhythm and timbre freely. They intended to recapture the raw energy of early rock and roll, adding elements of improvisational jazz. Frith told Down Beat magazine in 1982 [1] (after Massacre had split up):

“ [Massacre] was formed to play the kind of loud and energetic racket that you hear in clubs. The group was a direct response to New York. [It was] a very aggressive group, kind of my reaction to the whole New York rock club scene. ”

Their live sets consisted of both composed and improvised numbers, often short but always loud. They toured the United States and Europe in 1980 and 1981, and their performances at progressive rock venues in France were particularly well received.

In 1981 Massacre released their only album Killing Time, comprising studio recordings made at Martin Bisi's later-to-be historic studio in Brooklyn, New York City in June 1981, and live recordings from their Paris concerts in April 1981. They also featured on part of Frith's 1981 solo album Speechless. Massacre's last performance was at the Whisky A Go-Go at Los Angeles in June 1981, after which Maher left the band and Massacre split up.

In 1983 what was left of Massacre joined The Golden Palominos, founded by drummer Anton Fier. The closest thing to another Massacre performance came at a concert, Two Against One, in Boston in February 1985, when The Golden Palominos performed with only three members: Frith, Laswell and Fier on drums. They played as if they were Massacre, including a number of pieces from Killing Time in their set.

Massacre reformed in 1998 when Frith and Laswell asked This Heat's drummer Charles Hayward to join them. They recorded Funny Valentine in 1998 and a live album, Meltdown, at Robert Wyatt's Meltdown Festival in London in June 2001. Both were released on John Zorn's Tzadik label.

[edit] Discography

In 1993 RecRec Music reissued Killing Time on CD with six extra tracks (one of them coming from Frith's Speechless album).

In 2005 Fred Frith released a remastered version of Killing Time on CD on his own label Fred Records with the six extra tracks from the RecRec reissue, plus two previously unreleased tracks.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The Frith Factor: Exploration in Sound", Down Beat magazine, January 1983.

[edit] External links

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