The Holy Modal Rounders
The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who formed in 1963 on the Lower East Side of New York City. Although the band was not initially successful, they quickly earned a dedicated cult following and have been retrospectively praised for their pioneering innovation in several genres related to folk music. They also proved to be influential, both during their initial run and to a new generation of musicians like Yo La Tengo and Espers.[2]
The Holy Modal Rounders
1963–2003
Prestige, Transatlantic, Rounder, ESP-Disk, Elektra, Metromedia, Adelphi, DBK Works, Water, Big Beat, Don Giovanni
- The Moray Eels
- The Unholy Modal Rounders
- Clamtones
- Peter Stampfel
- Steve Weber
- Lee Crabtree
- Sam Shepard
- Antonia Duren
- John Annis
- Richard Tyler
- Michael McCarty
- Robin Remaily
- Dave Reisch
- Ted Deane
- Roger North
- Jeff "Skunk" Baxter
- Luke Faust
As the Holy Modal Rounders, Stampfel and Weber began playing in Greenwich Village, at the heart of the ongoing American folk music revival. Their sense of humor, irreverent attitude, and novel update of old-time music brought support from fellow musicians but also caused controversy amongst folk purists in the scene. In 1964, the Rounders made history with their self-titled debut, which included the first use of "psychedelic" in popular music. After their first two studio albums, the duo briefly joined the newly formed underground rock band the Fugs in 1965 and helped record the band's influential debut album.
Following their exit from the Fugs, the duo released two albums that experimented with psychedelic folk before they expanded their lineup to a full rock band by the end of 1968. The Holy Modal Rounders' expanded lineup notably included famed playwright Sam Shepard as a drummer and later guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (amongst others) before stabilizing in 1971, with a band that would later back Jeffrey Frederick as the Clamtones. In 1972, Weber relocated the band to Portland, Oregon, while Stampfel stayed behind in New York. Although Stampfel would describe Weber as his "long lost brother,"[3] they often had a hostile relationship[4][2] and the two would only reunite sporadically following the band's Portland move. After Weber returned to the East Coast in 1995, the duo began a series of concert reunions starting in 1996 before breaking up for the last time in 2003.
History[edit]
Original incarnation[edit]
Fiddle and banjo player Peter Stampfel and country-blues guitarist Steve Weber[2] were introduced to each other in May 1963 by Stampfel's girlfriend Antonia Duren (or Antonia Stampfel), who was mononymously known as Antonia.[5][6] Peter and Antonia continued to date into the late 1970s and she received many co-writing credits to the band's songs.[7][6][4] According to Stampfel, he and Weber began performing together in New York City not long after being introduced.[6]
In popular culture[edit]
While Sam Shepard was still a drummer for the band, the Holy Modal Rounders played a brief set on the sketch comedy television program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in 1968.[42] Stampfel believes this is the only film of Shepard playing with the band.[38] In 1969, the Holy Modal Rounders' "Bird Song" was included in Dennis Hopper's film Easy Rider and the movie's soundtrack. According to Stampfel, the song caught the attention of co-writer Peter Fonda who thought it would be perfect for the movie.[11] However, it has also been reported that it was Hopper who first heard the song.[4] The soundtrack charted in the Billboard Top Ten and went gold.[59] The group also received exposure through Dr. Demento's radio show, which frequently included "Boobs A Lot."[9][55] From 1971 to 2022, Demento played it 167 times.[60]
Legacy[edit]
Much has been made of the band's legacy as a cult act. Rolling Stone magazine dubbed the Holy Modal Rounders "one of rock's greatest cult bands."[61] The Seattle Times said "in the subculture of obscure music groups, the Rounders may be in a class of their own for deficiency of fame as well as longevity. For more than 40 years, this freakadelic folk-rock band... had lasting influence on fans wild and crazy enough to be in on the acquired-taste secret of their art."[62] For the band's retrospective compilation I Make a Wish for a Potato, John Swenson reflected that the Rounders' music "resolutely pursued their eccentric muses despite an almost complete lack of interest from the general public."[63] Writing for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger called the band "almost the very definition of a cult act... Their audience was small because their music was too strange, idiosyncratic, and at times downright dissonant for mainstream listeners to abide."[1]
The band's frequent drug use as well as Stampfel and Weber's creative differences also hindered a breakthrough. Peter Stampfel reflected that "there was just too much drugs, alcohol, and bad attitude in the band" to "capitalize on our positive aspects."[16] NPR noted that the band exhibited "self-destructive behavior" that led to an early breakup and an inability to capitalize on the inclusion of "Bird Song" on Easy Rider's commercially successful soundtrack.[2] Dave Van Ronk thought similarly: "that was their moment right there. If they had been able to capitalize on [Easy Rider], they would have been two very very wealthy men. But somehow or another it just didn't happen."[64] In the early 2000s, the band's former road manager Jack Gallagher recalled that "managing them was like herding snakes" but put the band's lack of success more squarely on Weber, questioning whether Weber would even complete the band's current tour and saying that Weber "never crashes until the money gets real good."[65]
Despite the band's lack of critical and commercial success during their initial run in the 1960s and 1970s, they have since earned significant praise, in particular for their groundbreaking reworking of 1920s and 1930s folk music. Music journalist Greil Marcus used the Holy Modal Rounders as the earliest example of old-time music being reinvented with modern aesthetics, commenting that they were "incapable of taking anything seriously, but nevertheless [got] to the bottom of folk songs other people sang as if they were obvious."[66] The band has frequently been lumped into what Marcus coined as "old weird America,"[55][61][67] which refers to the type of music Bob Dylan recorded for The Basement Tapes. Michael Simmons also noted the band's trail-blazing aesthetics, saying that "the story of the Rounders is one of the grand secret histories of 20th-century American music. If music history is often a game of Who Came First?, then the Rounders can be said to be the first psychedelic hippie freak band and the first aggressively anti-purist folkies, making them a crucial missing link between early- and late-20th-century pop."[10] The band's first two albums have been called early forerunners of the genre freak folk,[68][69] with music critic Robert Christgau commenting "freak folk started here."[28] The band's two psychedelic albums are also of historical significance, with The New York Times saying that they "still stand as extreme examples of acid-tinged folk music."[4]
Both Stampfel and Weber have been singled out for praise when reviewers discuss the Rounders' legacy. Music critic Eric Weisbard, writing for Spin in 1999, declared that "Stampfel has become to roots music what Jon Langford is to punk: the patron saint of lost causes and good times in spite of them." Robert Christgau had similar high praise, believing that the Holy Modal Rounders, like Bob Dylan, "greatly transcend" the New York folk scene they began in and that "next to Bob Dylan, Stampfel is the closest thing to a genius" to come out of the 1960s folk revival.[17] Christgau also praised Weber, calling him an "ace guitarist" who "can just not give a fuck while remaining both charming and musical."[28] Jason Weiss observed that "from the start, [Weber] was recognized for his technique and divine spontaneity he brought to old-time music."[33] The New York Times also noted Weber's "mastery of traditional guitar styles."[4]
While Stampfel was dismissive of the Holy Modal Rounders' influence in the late 1990s, calling it "practically nonexistent,"[8] others have disagreed. Writing for New Haven Independent, Eleanor Polak discussed how the band had not just had significant influence, but that they had also inspired "countless other musicians to take deep dives into American folk music to find the dark and weird within."[70] In 1999, Dave Van Ronk reflected: "they were hugely influential in New York and on college campuses around the country. Those albums were played in dorms from coast to coast."[8] Ben Sisario similarly wrote that the band's music has served as inspiration to "generations of underground musicians."[4] NPR mentioned Yo La Tengo and Espers as newer bands influenced by the group.[2] The Anniversary named the Rounders as an influence on their 2002 album Your Majesty.[71] Space Needle named their 1997 studio album The Moray Eels Eat the Space Needle in tribute to the Rounders' 1968 album.[72]
Rounder Records was named partially as a tribute to the Holy Modal Rounders.[73][8] The label would release several of the band's studio albums after its formation in 1970. In 2008, the Holy Modal Rounders were inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame for their long stay in the state and their influence on the Portland music scene.[55]
Intervals for Tyler, Remaily, Reisch, North, and Shepard are included in the documentary The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose. The list below is adapted from the list the film provides during the credits.[74]