« Orwell's tips | Main | Future's So Bright » Bound to LoseThe Holy Modal Rounders just might've been the greatest sixties band, or at least the band that best personified the combination of psychedelic visionary giggle and subversive anarchy that merged into the Great Lost Vibe of sixties subcultural evolution. Something was happening that you can really read about our hear in a song, you had to feel it, and hopefully you can get a sense of it through a Rounders documentary that Ed Ward's just told me about, called Bound to Lose Always a fan of the Rounders, I've never seen them play, and I'm amazed/delighted to see that Pete Stampfel and Steve Weber are still playing. Many know them only through their whacky "If you want to be a bird," from "The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders," a tune everbody heard because it was part of the "Easy Rider" soundtrack. Lots more to hear... When fiddler Peter Stampfel collided with guitarist Steve Weber during the "Great Folk Scare" of the early sixties in New York, the two musicians formed a powerful bond based on their shared fascination with American roots music and early psychedelia. Dubbing themselves The Holy Modal Rounders, these eccentric outsiders have been playing their unique brand of psychedelic folk for over four decades, barely surviving on the fringes of the music industry while drawing a dedicated following of luminaries and lunatics. From their origins in New York's Greenwich Village folk scene and their involvement in the Easy Rider soundtrack, to the lost years of constant drug use, endless touring and a final shot at redemption, Bound To Lose recounts the unique forty-year history of these true American originals. With startling intimacy, Bound to Lose also documents the band's arduous, amusing, and sometimes heartbreaking struggle to capitalize on their recent resurgence in popularity, culminating in an unpredictable 40th anniversary concert in Portland, Oregon. More than just a chronicle of an obscure band, Bound To Lose is a raucous celebration of a lost American outlaw subculture as it draws its final rebellious breaths. jon posted this at 9:03 AM |
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