Little Fyodor

Little Fyodor[1][2][3]is the performance name of Dave Lichtenberg, an underground punk/garage musician from Denver, Colorado, who has been on the scene for two decades.[4] He originally performed in the band Walls of Genius, and then went on to become a solo act (now with a full band, but still carrying the name Little Fyodor). He is also known as a public radio DJ, and a reviewer of self-published music.

Contents

Biography

Little Fyodor is originally from the suburbs of New Jersey, and moved to Colorado in 1981.[5] In the 1980s he was a member of Walls of Genius, which consisted of Little Fyodor, Evan Cantor, Ed Fowler and Brad Cartin,[6][7] an experimental group from Colorado which produced 30 tapes from 1982 to 1986. Dave Lichtenberg later went on to work on his solo project Little Fyodor.

Little Fyodor is also notable for his association with the Elephant 6 collective. The Apples in Stereo performed some of their earliest shows opening for his band. "Let it be known that the very first time the Apples ever performed with a real drum set, they were opening for Little Fyodor and Babushka." [8] Returning the favor, Fyodor's record "Dance of the Salted Slug" was released on the Elephant 6 label. In 1993 he toured with Negativland.

Before moving to Denver, Lichtenberg had a show on WTJU, the student-run station at the University of Virginia. Now, as Little Fyodor, he hosts a bimonthly radio show, every other Saturday at 11 PM, on Boulder's KGNU titled "Under the Floorboards",[9] which showcases obscure artists. 2011 marks the 27th anniversary of Little Fyodor’s career as a DJ at KGNU. After an initial interview in 1997,[10] Little Fyodor also began a column based on his radio show, "A Few of the Interesting Characters I've Discovered Under the Floorboards", in Denver-based fringe magazine CyberPsychos AOD.

After a live appearance by Little Fyodor and Babushka at the Death Equinox '97 convention, attendees were so enthusiastic about the performance that they requested having them play every year. Little Fyodor became the con's Audial Terror Guest of Honor in '98 as a result, and they continued to play every year. Rev. Ivan Stang of the Church of the SubGenius witnessed their '98 performance and asked them to play at the next X-Day gathering.[11]

Denver group Von Hemmling was reportedly named by Fyodor.[12][13]

Discography

Little Fyodor (and Babushka) releases

Appearances/Contributions

TV and Radio Appearance

Reviews

http://aural-innovations.com/2004/january/fyodor02.html - Walls Of Genius - "Raw Sewage, Vol. I" (self-released 2003, originally released on cassette 1983-1984) Walls Of Genius - "Ludovico Treatment: Music To Cure Your Ills" (self-released 2003, originally released on cassette 1984) Little Fyodor - "Idiots Are Closer To God" (self-released 2001, originally released on LP 1990)

http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue22/fyodor01.html - Walls Of Genius - "Crazed To The Core" (self-released on CDR in 2001, originally released 1984 on cassette, WOG 0017) Little Fyodor - "Dance Of The Salted Slug" (The Elephant 6 Recording Co. 1994, EL6-901)

http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue30/fyodor03.html - Walls Of Genius - "Raw Sewage, Vol. II" (self-released 2004, originally released various cassettes, 1983–1985) Walls Of Genius - "Before …and After" (self-released 2004, originally released on cassette, 1984) Little Fyodor - "Beneath The Uber-Putz" (self-released 2002, originally released on LP, 1988, Small Tools Tradition)

http://www.westword.com/2009-09-03/music/little-fyodor - Little Fyodor - "Peace is Boring" Review from Westword, September 2009

References

  1. ^ Allmusic.com bio of Walls of Genius, Richie Unterberger
  2. ^ Bracelin, Jason (July 13, 2006). "Cheeseballs and oddballs in town". Las Vegas Review-Journal: p. 3A. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LVRB&p_theme=lvrb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=112DDB2C1E7F82A8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 14 March 2009. 
  3. ^ Little Fyodor & Babushka Celebrate 20 Years, Optical Atlas March 6, 2009
  4. ^ Neth, Alex (April 10, 2008). "These club acts follow the beat of a different drum". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/10/these-club-acts-follow-the-beat-of-a-different/. 
  5. ^ Heller, Jason (January 5, 2006). "Weird Al-right". Westword. http://www.westword.com/2006-01-05/music/weird-al-right. 
  6. ^ Aural Innovations #22, January 2003
  7. ^ "Little Fyodor Dances the Salted Slug". Optical Atlas. April 14, 2006. http://opticalatlas.com/2006/04/little-fyodor-dances-salted-slug.html. 
  8. ^ Peake, Thomas (May 14, 1998). "Notes From the Underground". Westword. http://www.westword.com/1998-05-14/music/notes-from-the-underground. Retrieved 2009-02-22. 
  9. ^ Edwards, Robin (December 12, 2008). "Buried Treasure: Little Fyodor". Denver Decider. The Onion. http://denver.decider.com/articles/buried-treasure-little-fyodor,2571/. Retrieved 2009-02-22. 
  10. ^ Getting Closer to God with Little Fyodor and Babushka interview excerpt
  11. ^ Little Fyodor's Death Equinox Guest of Honor Bio
  12. ^ Optical Atlas, 6 Questions with: Jim McIntyre
  13. ^ Kiser, Amy (April 29, 1999). "The Curator of Pet Sounds". Westword. http://www.westword.com/1999-04-29/music/the-curator-of-pet-sounds. 
  14. ^ Peace is Boring track list at All Music
  15. ^ Little Fyodor's Greatest Hits track list at All Music
  16. ^ Dr. Demento playlist / Tom Lehrer profile April 6, 1986
  17. ^ Dr. Demento playlist November 16, 1997

External links