Urban Blitz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Urban Blitz | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Rock, Protopunk, Art rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Associated acts | Doctors of Madness |
Urban Blitz is best known for his “eerie and atmospheric” (Ira Robbins) electric violin, baritone violectra and lead guitar work with the influential 70s London protopunk rock band Doctors of Madness.
However, Blitz had considerable earlier musical experience, graduating from a classical background to hone his skills on the London late 60s, early 70s club and pub rock scene before travelling to Italy in early 1973 to play with the Neapolitan Italian / Celtic chanteuse, Jenny Sorrenti. He lived and rehearsed with Jenny's band 'Saint Just' in the ‘House on the Lake’ on Lake Bracciano, that led to the album of the same name (La Casa del Lago) but before the recording, Blitz left Italy to join the Doctors of Madness in June 1974.
With Doctors of Madness, Blitz further developed his unique counterpoint Electric violin style, incorporating a garage rock edge to complement the Doctor's nihilistic, manic, approach to rock music; using fuzz box, wah-wah pedal, phasing, echoplex and reverberation to appropriate effect. He cited avant garde violinists Jean-Luc Ponty, Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris and John Cale of the Velvet Underground as his main influences; having largely rejected his early classical training.
Blitz's multifaceted lead guitar work also made a significant impact throughout the Doctors' music.
In the mid 70s he did occasional studio work, playing the electric violin solo on ‘Watch Out Carolina’ produced by David Essex for chart toppers The Real Thing, and he also showed some flair as a producer himself, working with York punk rock band ‘The Jermz’ on their local hit single Powercut / Me and My Baby.
