Polvo

Infobox musical artist
Name = Polvo

|thumb|Polvo
Img_capt = L-R: Ash Bowie, Steve Popson, Eddie Watkins, and Dave Brylawski.
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Instruments = electric guitar, bass guitar, vocals, drums/percussion
Genre = Indie rock
Math rock
Years_active = 1990 – 1998, 2008-
Label = Merge
Touch And Go
Kitchen Puff Records
URL = [http://www.southern.com/southern/band/POLVO Polvo]
Current_members = Ash Bowie
Dave Brylawski
Steve Popson
Eddie Watkins
Past_members =

Polvo is an influential indie noise rock band of the 1990s from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. The band was fronted by guitarists/vocalists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski. Eddie Watkins played drums, and Steve Popson played bass guitar.

Polvo are considered by some to be one of the key proponents of a genre which came to be known as math rock, although in interviews the band disavowed that categorization. Their sound was defined by complex and dissonant guitar harmonies and driving rhythm, complementing cryptic, often surrealist lyrics. Their sound was so unpredictable and angular that the band's guitarists were often accused of failing to play with correctly tuned guitars. Polvo's songs and artwork frequently featured Asian/"exotic" themes and references. The band's name means "dust" in Spanish; in Spain it also is a slang word for sex.

Biography

Polvo formed in 1990 in Chapel Hill, NC. Their original lineup consisted of vocalists/guitarists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, bassist Steve Popson and drummer Eddie Watkins. Bowie and Brylawski met in a Spanish class at the University of North Carolina and shared an affinity for both SST and Let's Active. Polvo's first recording was "Can I Ride", a double 7" single released on the band's Kitchen Puff Records label in 1991. It was later re-released on CD as the "Polvo" EP on micro-indie Jesus Christ Records. The band then released two full length albums, two EPs, and several 7"s on Merge Records, a label run by Superchunk's Mac McCaughan, a high-school classmate of Brylawski and Popson. Merge Records issued their debut album, "Cor-Crane Secret", in 1992. "Today's Active Lifestyles" followed in 1993, refining the group's approach, and it was followed in turn by two EPs, 1994's "Celebrate the New Dark Age" and 1995's "This Eclipse". Today's Active Lifestyles was later reissued with an alternate cover without the lion image on it, because of a copyright lawsuit brought by the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Touch & Go

Two albums were released after the band signed to the larger label Touch and Go Records. Their debut for the label was 1996's double-length "Exploded Drawing", an eclectic, progressive effort that began to delve more explicitly into the guitarists' fascination with Asian music. Drummer Watkins amicably left the band afterward to pursue career and family interests. The rest of the group was beginning to drift apart as well. Brylawski moved to New York City to attend graduate school and also traveled to India, while Bowie had already relocated to Boston by 1994 to join then-girlfriend, Helium frontwoman Mary Timony. Polvo reconvened in 1997 to record "Shapes" with new drummer Brian Walsby. Both Touch and Go releases featured a darker, more progressive rock-oriented sound instead of their earlier, post-punk influenced style. Rumors that it would be their final album proved true when they amicably disbanded later that year, ending their farewell US tour with a two-night stand at hometown club Cat's Cradle.

They were critically acclaimed from the outset, at least among those critics who were into nontraditional/ underground rock. Additionally, their music had a pronounced Eastern feel that came not only from the Indian and Middle Eastern-style drones in their compositions, but actual Eastern instruments like the sitar as well.

Touring

Polvo toured North America numerous times, including outings with Thinking Fellers Union 282, Pavement, Superchunk, Pipe, Sonic Youth, Unwound, Trumans Water, Sleepyhead, Trans Am, Dungbeetle, and Spatula. They toured twice in the UK and once in Europe, playing with Sebadoh, Babes in Toyland, and Superchunk.

Post-breakup activity

The group disbanded in February 1998 after a farewell tour in support of "Shapes". In 2000 Bowie released an album of home recordings on the Tiger Style label, called "Yesterday...and Tomorrow's Shells" under the name Libraness. He has since appeared with (current Polvo drummer Brian Quast's band) the BQ's and recorded and toured with Fan Modine. Bowie and Quast had also been working on tracks for a new Libraness album. Brylawski later played in the North Carolina-based Indonesian music-influenced band Idyll Swords, which released two albums on Communion, and currently is a member of The Black Taj, as is Steve Popson. Watkins currently plays drums in Dr. Powerful.

Reunion

Polvo reformed with new drummer Brian Quast, formerly of the Cherry Valence, after being invited to appear at All Tomorrow's Parties 2008 and the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain. [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/47010-polvo-reunite-for-all-tomorrows-parties] They have since played several shows in the US and have also been confirmed to play at the Northwest Music Fest in Portland, OR [http://www.musicfestnw.com/] . They have indicated that a new album may be forthcoming.

Discography

Albums

* "Cor-Crane Secret" LP/CD (Merge, 1992)
* "Today's Active Lifestyles" LP/CD (Merge, 1993)
* "Exploded Drawing" CD/2xLP (Touch & Go, 1996)
* "Shapes" LP/CD (Touch & Go, 1997)

EPs

* "Celebrate the New Dark Age" (EP/ mini album) CD/3x7" box set (Merge, 1994)
* "Polvo" CD (reissue of "Can I Ride" double 7"; Jesus Christ, 1995)
* "This Eclipse" CD EP (Merge, 1995)

ingles

* "Can I Ride" 2x7" (Kitchen Puff, 1990)
* "Vibracobra" 7" (Rockville, 1991)
* "El Cid" split 7" (with Erectus Monotone; Merge, 1992)
* "Tilebreaker" 7" (Merge, 1993)
* "Two Fists/All The Cliches Under Broadway" split 7" (with New Radiant Storm King; Penny Farthing, 1994)

Compilations

*"Mexican Radio" (originally by Wall of Voodoo) on the Planned Parenthood benefit cd (Tannis Root, 1992)
*"Watch The Nail" on Rows of Teeth (Merge Records, 1994)

ources

* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/polvo/bio.jhtml VH1 Bio about Polvo]
* [http://www.epitonic.com/artists/polvo.html on Epitonic, with free MP3 of "Tragic Carpet Ride"]

External links

* [http://www.southern.com/southern/band/POLVO/ Official Touch & Go site]
* [http://www.markprindle.com/polvoa.htm Mark Prindle's Polvo record reviews]