Thinking Plague is an American avant-garde progressive rock

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

founded in 1982 by guitarist/composer Mike Johnson and bass guitarist/drummer Bob Drake. Based in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the band has been active off and on since 1982, taking on a number of musicians over the years. They have made seven studio albums between 1984 and 2017, and released one live album recorded at

NEARfest The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, was a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event was held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsy ...

in 2000. Their music is a mix of rock, folk, jazz and 20th-century classical music. Music.com remarked that "...Thinking Plague stand out as a shining example of avant-garde music blended with just enough rock for it to be called progressive rock..." While never directly related to

Rock in Opposition Rock in Opposition or RIO was a movement representing a collective of progressive bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by English avant-rock group H ...

(RIO), Thinking Plague was strongly influenced by this late-1970s movement, particularly

Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...

and

Art Bears Art Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler (percussion, texts), Fred Frith (guitar, bass guitar, violin, keyboards) and Dagmar Krause (vocals; previously of ...

. In spite of Johnson's dislike of the term, the band has often been categorized as a "RIO" band.

History

Early Plague

Mike Johnson and Bob Drake first met in 1978 and played in several

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. ...

s. They began experimenting with basement recordings in 1980 and by 1982 they had enough song material to attempt a few live performances. For these shows they enlisted the services of classically trained vocalist Sharon Bradford, luthier Harry Fleishman on keyboards, and Rick Arsenault on drums. This ensemble became the first incarnation of Thinking Plague. They played at a few venues around

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1983 but their complicated music was not well received and Johnson and Drake decided to make an album of their material instead. With Bradford, Fleishman and Mark Fuller on drums the band worked on and off for almost a year recording their songs at a crude 8-track recording facility in the basement of an old slaughterhouse called the Packing House Studios. Having limited funds they did all the tracking and mixing themselves, and released the album, ''...A Thinking Plague'' in 1984 on their own Endemic label. Only 500 LPs were pressed with each cover hand painted by Drake with spray-paint and a stencil. In spite of the small scale,

low-tech Low technology (low tech; adjective forms: low-technology, low-tech, lo-tech) is simple technology, as opposed to '' high technology''. History Historical origin Primitive technologies such as bushcraft, tools that use wood, stone, whoo ...

quality of the release, a number of distributors, including

Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected mus ...

and Wayside Music (Cuneiform Records) agreed to sell the album and it was well received by some critics. In 1985 Johnson and Drake began to record material for a new Thinking Plague album. The Packing House Studios had closed but they had access to a few "low budget" recording facilities in Denver. Having disbanded the "Packing House" group after their first album, Johnson and Drake recruited a new band: singer-songwriter Susanne Lewis, drummer Mark Fuller and keyboardist

Eric Moon Eric Edward Moon (6 March 1923 – 31 July 2016) was a librarian and editor who had a shaping influence on American librarianship in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s as editor-in-chief of '' Library Journal'', president of the American Libr ...

. Disregarding, or ignorant of the proper "industry" way of doing things, Thinking Plague recorded their second album, ''Moonsongs''. The title track was a fifteen-and-a-half minute "tribal-pagan-environmental-anti-materialistic avant-rock ritual" composed by Johnson.. Initially ''Moonsongs'' was released in 1986 on

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

by Endemic, but the following year the band signed with Dead Man's Curve Records in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and ''Moonsongs'' was released on LP. As with their first album, ''Moonsongs'' was praised in "progressive" circles and Thinking Plague enhanced their stature as an

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band. Riding on the success of their two albums, Thinking Plague performed a series of live shows in 1987 in Denver, opening for Sonic Youth at one of them. Pianist/clarinetist Lawrence Haugseth joined the band for the live performances, but left in early 1988. Haugseth's brief stay did, however, establish the need for a woodwind/reed section in the band. Fuller and Moon had also left the band in late 1987, which prompted the acquisition of three new musicians: classical pianist, Shane Hotle, bassist Maria Moran, and Mark Harris on clarinet, saxophones and flutes. Drake switched from bass guitar to drums.

''In This Life''

Recording for a new album began in early 1988 in various studios, including a large rehearsal room in an old

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...

factory (referred to as the Yog Factory). Johnson and Lewis had collaborated on a collection of songs for the album, which featured several "new" instruments, including sampler, tabla, various

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n and Balinese percussion instruments, and a fiddle (courtesy Bob Drake). Ex-Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith guested on one track, "Organism (version II)", the original version (also with Frith) having been released on Recommended Records' '' RēR Records Quarterly Vol.2 No.4''. Drake did all the production work and the album, ''In This Life'' was finished in mid-1988. At the time ex-Henry Cow drummer and Recommended Records founder,

Chris Cutler Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, ...

was on tour with

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their ...

in Denver and Johnson gave Cutler a cassette tape of the new album. Cutler offered to release it on the Recommended label, and in September 1989, ''In This Life'' became the first US-made CD on the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

label. ''In This Life'' was widely distributed and began "gaining kudos from aficionados of avant rock from all around the world." But Thinking Plague's euphoria was short lived when Lewis moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Attempts to replace her with a local singer were unsuccessful and working "long distance" with her proved impractical at the time. Disillusioned, Drake relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to work as an engineer and producer, and Moran left the band, leaving Thinking Plague at the point of disintegrating. In Los Angeles, Drake met drummer Dave Kerman of an avant-rock band, the 5uu's and began working with Kerman's band. Kerman's interest in Thinking Plague led to him joining the Denver band. Drake and Lewis also agreed to "rejoin" (despite the distances) and with the other remaining members, Johnson, Harris and Hotle, Thinking Plague "reformed" in 1990. For the next few years the band worked intermittently at some long-distance rehearsals, performed in a few concerts and made some new recordings, after which all work was put on hold. During this period of dormancy Johnson toured across

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in 1995 with Drake, Kerman and the 5uu's, but upon returning to the United States the three agreed that reviving Thinking Plague again was not a practical option.

Rebirth

Johnson joined another local avant-rock band, Hamster Theatre in 1996, and suggested to its leader, accordionist and bassist Dave Willey that he join a new incarnation of Thinking Plague. Willey agreed and recommended Deborah Perry as a singer. At much the same time, Kerman moved to Denver and rejoined the band. With existing members Harris and Hotle the new Thinking Plague began recording new material that Johnson had written. In early 1998 the finished tracks were sent to Drake (now living in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

) for mixing and production, and the result was Thinking Plague's fourth album, ''In Extremis'', released in 1998 by Cuneiform Records. ''In Extremis'' was rated the top album in 1998 by ''Gnosis'', and its success resulted in new concert appearances for the band. A new member, Matt Mitchell on keyboards was recruited to replace Hotle who had left after the making of ''In Extremis'', and Thinking Plague performed at the 1999 ProgDay Festival, followed by a tour of the eastern and mid-western United States. In June 2000 the band played at

, a recording of which was mixed three years later by Drake and released as ''Upon Both Your Houses'' in 2004 by NEARfest Records. In July 2000 the band toured France and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. After the concerts in Europe, Kerman left the band and was replaced by ex-

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (often abbreviated to SGM) was an American experimental rock band, formed in 1999 in Oakland, California. The band fused classical, industrial, and art-rock themes throughout their music. They were known to perform elabo ...

drummer David Shamrock. Work began on a new album, ''A History of Madness'', which was released in September 2003 by Cuneiform Records. It was recorded over a period of two years, with half the band members flying into Denver from across the United States to add their contributions. ''A History of Madness'' was the first Thinking Plague album that Bob Drake did not produce; Johnson and Mark McCoin, of the Brave New Audio studio where the album was recorded, did all the mixing.

Name

Thinking Plague's name was created by the band's founders, Mike Johnson and Bob Drake. According to Johnson, "The idea was to say something about that sort of existential condition of being unable to stop thinking, analyzing, or otherwise intellectualizing, which causes one to be separated from 'things in themselves', as it were."

Members

A number of musicians have passed through Thinking Plague over the years, except for Mike Johnson who has remained with the group since its inception. The dates below indicate the years that they were active in the group. * Mike Johnson (1982–present) – guitars, drums, percussion, vocals * Bob Drake (1982–1994) – bass guitar, drums, percussion, vocals, guitar, bowed balalaika, synthesizer, piano, organ, noise, violin * Sharon Bradford (1982–1984) – vocals, noise, casio mini-synth, drake noise box * Harry Fleishman (1982–1984) – piano, organ, vocals * Rick Arsenault (1982–1983) – drums * Mark Fuller (1983–1988) – drums * Susanne Lewis (1985–1990) – vocals *

as known as Eric Jacobson (1985–1988) – keyboards * Lawrence Haugseth (1987–1988) – clarinet, synthesizer, vocals *Mark Harris (1988–present) – baritone saxophone, clarinet, flute * Shane Hotle (1988–1998) – piano, synthesizer, noise, organ, mellotron * Maria Moran (1988–1989) – bass guitar, guitars * Dave Kerman (1989–2000; 2007–2010) – drums, percussion * Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer (2008) – keyboards, zither, processing, bass, voice * Dave Willey (1996–present) – bass guitar, accordion * Deborah Perry (1996–2008) – vocals * Matt Mitchell (1999–2004) – keyboards * David Shamrock (2001–2004) – drums, percussion * Elaine Difalco (2008–present) – vocals * Kimara Sajn (2009–2014) – drums, percussion, keyboards, vocals * Robin Chestnut (2011–present) – drums, percussion * Bill Pohl (2013–present) – guitars

Discography

Studio albums

*''...A Thinking Plague'' (1984, LP, Endemic Music, US) *''Moonsongs'' (1986, LP, Dead Man's Curve Records, UK) *''In This Life'' (1989, CD,

, UK) *''In Extremis'' (1998, CD,

Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and elec ...

, US) *''A History of Madness'' (2003, CD, Cuneiform Records, US) *''Decline and Fall'' (2012, CD, Cuneiform Records, US) *''Hoping Against Hope'' (2017, CD, Cuneiform Records, US)

Live album

*''Upon Both Your Houses'' (live at

2000) (2004, CD, NEARfest Records, US; Reissue: 2020, digital, Cuneiform Records, US)

Compilations

*''Driving Me Backwards'' (1987, LP, Dead Man's Curve Records, UK) *'' RēR Records Quarterly Vol.2 No.4'' (1989, LP, Recommended Records, UK) *'' RēR Quarterly Vol.4 No.1'' (1994, CD, Recommended Records, UK) *''Early Plague Years'' (2000, CD, Cuneiform Records, US) – remastered releases by Bob Drake of the LPs ''...A Thinking Plague'' and ''Moonsongs'' on one CD.

Footnotes

References

Thinking Plague history
''Thinking Plague homepage''.

External links

Thinking Plague Official Website
*

''The Giant Progweed''. .

''The Giant Progweed''. . {{Authority control Musical groups from Denver Musical groups established in 1982 American progressive rock groups Rock in Opposition Cuneiform Records artists American experimental rock groups 1982 establishments in Colorado Rock music groups from Colorado