The Insect Trust

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The Insect Trust: Been Here And Gone So Soon / World War I Song

The Insect Trust was a rock band that formed in New York in 1967, whose characteristic sound was a psychedelic mixture of progressive rock, jazz, folk, blues and rock and roll and had similarities to Fairport Convention, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane.

The members of the band were Nancy Jeffries, vocals, Bill Barth on guitars, Luke Faust on guitars, banjo, fiddle and harmonica, Trevor Koehler on saxophone and Robert Palmer on clarinet and alto saxophone.

According to The New York Times the band took its name from William Burroughs's detailing of a race of giant insects bent on world domination in the novel Naked Lunch;^[1] however according to Bill Barth the name "Insect Trust" came from the poetry journal the Insect Trust Gazette, published by Bill Levy. Levy took the name from Burroughs, Warren Gardner then gave it to the band.

They made two albums:

The Insect Trust in 1969 and
Hoboken Saturday Night in 1970.

The band's sax player Bob Palmer later became the highly lauded rock critic Robert Palmer, while the female vocalist Nancy Jeffries became an important record company executive (A&M, Virgin, Elektra). Luke Faust had earlier been a member of the Holy Modal Rounders, an old-timey/psychedelic/eclectic group in a category by themselves.

[edit] References

^ See Throwing Rock Snobs a Bone The New York Times December 18, 2005 Sunday Section 14NJ; Column 4; New Jersey Weekly Desk; MUSIC; Pg. 14.

See: Throwing Rock Snobs a Bone by Tammy LA Gorce. The New York Times December 18, 2005 Sunday.Section 14NJ; Column 4; New Jersey Weekly Desk; MUSIC; Pg. 14.