Massacre (Fred Frith band)

Infobox musical artist |
Name = Massacre


Img_capt = From the left: Fred Frith, Charles Hayward,
Bill Laswell.
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = New York City,
United States
Genre = Avant-progressive rock,
Experimental,
Free improvisation,
Punk jazz
Years_active = 1980–1981
1998–2003
Label = Celluloid, Tzadik
Associated_acts = Material
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members = Fred Frith
Bill Laswell
Fred Maher
Charles Hayward

Massacre was an improvising and experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1980 by guitarist Fred Frith, bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher. cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jekxikx6bb19 |title=Massacre |work=Allmusic |first=Joslyn |last=Layne |accessdate=2008-05-12 ] They performed live 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 three more albums, "Funny Valentine" (1998), "Meltdown" (2001) and "Lonely Heart" (2007). Their last album was recorded live at two European festivals in 2003.

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 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. cite web |url=http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2727 |title=Massacre |work=Prog Archives |accessdate=2008-05-12 ] cite web |url=http://www.cloudsandclocks.net/CD_reviews/massacre_kt_E.html |title=Massacre: Killing Time |work=Clouds and Clocks |accessdate=2008-05-12 ] The band was well received and soon began performing at venues all over New York City. "The Frith Factor: Exploration in Sound", "Down Beat" magazine, January 1983. ]

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 (after Massacre had split up):

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 well received. [ cite web |url=http://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/massacre.html |title=Massacre, "Killing Time" |work=Forced Exposure |accessdate=2007-07-23 ]

In 1981 Massacre released their only album "Killing Time", comprising studio recordings made at Martin Bisi's 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 farewell performances took place at Manhattan's Inroads performance space over the course of a July 4th weekend in 1981 (July 2-4), after which Maher left and the band split up. [ cite web |url=http://www.virose.net/00AUDIO/Massacre1981-07-02.txt |title=Massacre: New York City @ Inroads |work=Emily Keller |accessdate=2008-05-12 ]

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. This unit also played in Tokyo around the same time. [ cite web |url=http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_105/TECH_V105_S0131_P010.pdf |title=Two Against One no Massacre |work=MIT's The Tech |accessdate=2008-05-12 ]

Massacre reformed in 1998 when Frith and Laswell asked This Heat's drummer Charles Hayward to join them. The new line-up released "Funny Valentine" in 1998 and two live albums, "Meltdown" (2001) recorded at Robert Wyatt's Meltdown Festival in London in June 2001, and "Lonely Heart" (2007) recorded during performances at two European festivals in January and June 2003. All three albums were released on John Zorn's Tzadik label.

Members

*Fred Frith – guitar, Casio, radio, voice, WWII pilot's throat microphone
*Bill Laswell – 4 and 6 string bass guitars, pocket trumpet
*Fred Maher (1980-1981) – drums, percussion
*Charles Hayward (1998-2003) – drums, voice, melodica

Discography

*"Killing Time" (1981, LP, Celluloid Records, France)
*"Funny Valentine" (1998, CD, Tzadik Records, U.S.)
*"Meltdown" (2001, CD, Tzadik Records, U.S.)
*"Lonely Heart" (2007, CD, Tzadik Records, U.S.)

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, "Third Street" and "F.B.I." (live Paris 1981). This edition includes the following note: "In contrast to previous CD and LP versions, the "Killing Time" LP cuts are heard here as originally intended, at the correct speed and pitch and without added reverb."

References

External links

*amg | id = 11:jekxikx6bb19 | label = Massacre.
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20050221084406/http://www.fredfrith.com/longbiography.html FredFrith.com archive] . "Fred Frith biography (archived)".
* [http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_105/TECH_V105_S0131_P010.pdf The Tech] . "Two Against One" concert".
* [http://home.arcor.de/nyds-exp-discogs/frith.htm Fred Frith discography]