Bob Drake (musician)

Infobox musical artist |
Name = Bob Drake


Img_capt = Bob Drake performing at Nearfest, 2007 Photo by Alex DeWolf
Landscape =
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Bob Drake
Born = December 6th, 1957
Cleveland, United States
Instrument = Percussion, Bass guitar, vocals
Genre = Avant-rock, Experimental
Occupation = Musician, Record producer
Years_active = 1970s – present
Label = Recommended
Associated_acts = Thinking Plague, 5uu's,
Hail, The Science Group, Chris Cutler
URL = [http://www.bdrak.com/ www.bdrak.com]

Bob Drake (born December 6th, 1957) is an American avant-garde musician. He was a founding member of avant-prog band Thinking Plague and later in 5uu's and The Science Group (with Chris Cutler and Fred Frith). He joined Susanne Lewis in Hail (as the bassist) when she left Thinking Plague.

Drake has released a number of solo albums, starting with his debut "What Day is It?" (1994, with Dave Kerman) and also including "Skull Mailbox (and Other Horrors)" and "13 Songs & a Thing" (2003). Drake's solo material is highly inventive and skillfully merges dazzling string and drum technique with ultra-compact song forms that can communicate fully-realized songs in less than 30 seconds. Drake is fascinated with classic horror literature including H P Lovecraft and lyrics in his songs often reflect the mysterious and eldritch themes of the genre.

Drake has worked as a recording engineer, including on Ice Cube's "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" (1990). Drake has also remastered a number of albums, including "The Art Box" (2003), "Henry Cow Concerts" (2006) and others on the Recommended Records catalog.

In 2007 Drake formed Bob Drake's Cabinet of Curiosities, to perform material from his solo albums live on stage. It comprised Bob Drake (guitar, vocals, violin, banjo), David Campbell (guitar, bass, vocals) Dave Kerman (drums), and Jason DuMars (soprano/alto saxophones, keyboards) plus guest musicians for most performances. In June 2007 they played at NEARfest in Pennsylvania with guests Olivier Tejedor (keyboards) and Lynnette Shelley (vocals). In January 2008, the Cabinet played the Mercury Cafe in Denver, Colorado with guest musicians Sharon Bardford, Mike Johnson and others. The band will be touring the East coast for the first time in October, 2008 with shows in Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Baltimore and the FurFright Convention in Waterbury Connecticut.

olo discography

* "What Day is it?", Self released, 1994
* "Little Black Train", Recommended Records, 1998
* "Medallion Animal Carpet", Recommended Records, 1999
* "The Skull Mailbox and Other Horrors", Recommended Records, 2001
* "13 Songs and a Thing", Recommended Records, 2003
* "The Shunned Country", Recommended Records, 2005

External links

* [http://www.bdrak.com Official website]
* [http://www.bdrak.com/sounds/music.htm Complete discography]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:1ihqoa8abijn AllMusic entry]
* [http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/bobdrake.html 2003 Perfect Sound Forever interview]
* [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/10303-profile-bob-drake Pitchforkmedia profile]
* [http://cabinetofcuriosities.bdrak.com/ Bob Drake's Cabinet of Curiosities]
* [http://www.saxophone.org/wdii.html Review of What Day is it?]