Eugene Chadbourne
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Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic.


Life and career

Chadbourne was born in
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was 11 or 12 years old, inspired by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
and hoping to get the attention of girls. Although he was drawn to
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
and played in a garage band, he found rock and pop music too conventional. He gravitated to the
avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz, experimental jazz, or "new thing") is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through the late 1 ...
of
Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...
and Derek Bailey. Braxton persuaded Chadbourne to abandon his intention to enter journalism and instead pursue music. During the early 1970s, he lived in Canada to avoid military service in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Returning to the United States, he moved to New York City in the mid-1970s and played
free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of ...
with Henry Kaiser and
John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...
. Around this time, he released his first album, ''Solo Acoustic Guitar''. In the early 1980s, he led the
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, wit ...
band Shockabilly with Mark Kramer and
David Licht David Licht (born 20th century in Detroit, Michigan) is a drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning American Klezmer band The Klezmatics. He moved to New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the m ...
. Chadbourne explored other genres, playing with a Cajun band and a Russian folk band at a festival in Winnipeg. He mixed country, Western, and improvisation in the band LSD C&W. For many years he was in a duo with
Jimmy Carl Black James Inkanish, Jr. (February 1, 1938 – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Jimmy Carl Black, was an original member of the Mothers of Invention, providing drums and vocals. He is known for introducing the songs “ Are you Hung Up?” a ...
, who played drums for Frank Zappa. He has also worked with
Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal figu ...
,
Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry ...
,
Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical music, contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, author, and visual artist. A central figure in the Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimenta ...
, and Charles Tyler. A solo album, ''Songs'' ( Intakt, 1993), featured politically oriented originals, such as "Hello Ceausescu", and covers, such as Nick Drake's "Thoughts of Mary Jane",
Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter, protest song, protest singer (or, as he preferred, "topical singer"), and Political Activist, political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic h ...
' "Knock on the Door", and Floyd Tillman's "This Cold War With You". Chadbourne invented an instrument known as the electric rake by attaching an electric guitar pickup to a rake. He played a duet of electric rake and classical piano with
Bob Wiseman Robert Neil Wiseman (born 1962) is a film composer, songwriter, author and music teacher. Wiseman discovered or produced many artists including Ron Sexsmith, The Lowest of the Low, Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall, Anhai, and former Canadia ...
on Wiseman's 1991 album ''Presented by Lake Michigan Soda''. He also played the instrument on a
Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...
tribute album.


Discography

* ''Volume One: Solo Acoustic Guitar'' (Parachute, 1976) * ''Volume Two: Solo Acoustic Guitar'' (Parachute, 1976) * ''Improvised Music from Acoustic Piano and Guitar'' with Casey Sokol (Music Gallery Editions, 1977) * ''Volume Three: Guitar Trios'' (Parachute, 1977) * ''
School A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
'' (Parachute, 1978) with
John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...
* ''Environment for Sextet'' with John Zorn,
Andrea Centazzo Andrea Centazzo (born 1948) is an Italian-born American composer, percussionist, multimedia artist and record label founder. Music career Centazzo was born in Udine, Italy. In the 1970s he played percussion in avant-garde jazz with John Zorn, ...
, Tom Cora, Toshinori Kondo, Polly Bradfield (Ictus, 1979) * ''Don't Punk Out'' with Frank Lowe ( QED, 1979) * ''2000 Statues and the English Channel'' (Parachute, 1979) * ''Possibilities of the Color Plastic'' with Toshinori Kondo (Bellows, 1979) * ''There'll Be No Tears Tonight'' (Parachute, 1980) * ''Torture Time!'' with Polly Bradfield Concert recorded at Logos Studio, Gent, Belgium on April 2, 1981 (Parachute, 1981) * ''Blues'' (Parachute, 1984) * ''Country Music of Southeastern Australia'' (RR, 1984) * ''Dinosaur on the Way'' (self-released, 1984) * ''The President; He Is Insane'' (Iridescence, 1984) * ''Country Protest'' (Fundamental, 1985) * ''Corpses of Foreign War'' (Fundamental, 1986) * '' Camper Van Chadbourne'' with
Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California, in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk, folk, alternative, country, and world music, among other ge ...
(Fundamental, 1987) * ''LSD C&W – The History of the Chadbournes in America'' (Fundamental, 1987) * ''Dear Eugene, What you did was not very nice, so... Kill Eugene'' (Placebo, 1987) * ''Vermin of the Blues'' with Evan Johns & The H-Bombs (Fundamental, 1987) * ''Kultural Terrorism'' with Rosenberg (Dossier, 1987) * ''I've Been Everywhere'' as The Doctor Eugene Chadbourne (Fundamental, 1988) * ''The Eddie Chatterbox Double Trio Love Album'' (Fundamental, 1989) * ''Country Music in the World of Islam Volume XV'' (Fundamental, 1989) * ''Terror Has Some Strange Kinfolk'' with Evan Johns (
Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " C ...
, 1992) * ''Blotter LSD C&W 2001'' (Delta, 1992) * ''Chadbourne Baptist Church'' (Delta, 1992) * ''Hot Burrito #2'' with Werner Dafeldecker and Walter Malli (Extraplatte, 1993) * ''Strings'' ( Intakt, 1993) * ''Songs'' (Intakt, 1993) * ''Locked in a Dutch Coffeeshop'' with
Jimmy Carl Black James Inkanish, Jr. (February 1, 1938 – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Jimmy Carl Black, was an original member of the Mothers of Invention, providing drums and vocals. He is known for introducing the songs “ Are you Hung Up?” a ...
(Fundamental, 1993) * ''Nismegen Hassen Hunt'' (House of Chadula, 1995) * ''The Acquaduct'' (Rectangle, 1996) * ''Boogie with the Hook'' ( Leo, 1996) * ''In Memory of Nikki Arane'' with John Zorn (
Incus The ''incus'' (: incudes) or anvil in the ear is one of three small bones (ossicles) in the middle ear. The incus receives vibrations from the malleus, to which it is connected laterally, and transmits these to the stapes medially. The incus i ...
, 1996) * ''Jesse Helms Busted with Pornography – The C&W Opera by Eugene Chadbourne'' (Fire Ant, 1996) * ''Psychad'' (Swamp Room, 1997) (limited to 500 copies) * ''Patrizio'' with Paul Lovens (Les Disques Victo, 1997) With Noël Akchoté * '' Lust Corner'' ( Winter & Winter, 1997) With
Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal figu ...
and Toshinori Kondo * '' Jazz Bunker'' (Golden Years of New Jazz, 2000) With Evan Johns * ''Terror Has Some Strange Kinfolk'' (
Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " C ...
, 1992) With Henry Kaiser * ''The Guitar Lesson'' (Les Disques Victo, 1999) With
John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...
* '' In Memory of Nikki Arane'' (Incus, 1996)


Books

*''Dreamory'' (The House of Chadula, 2013): a 1000+-page book that is a collection of Chadbourne's diaries from his teens to his tours and including his dream diaries


References


External links


Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chadbourne, Eugene 1954 births 20th-century American guitarists AllMusic people Alternative Tentacles artists American jazz guitarists Camper Van Beethoven members Incus Records artists Intakt Records artists Jazz musicians from New York (state) Living people Musicians from Mount Vernon, New York Northern Spy Records artists Shockabilly members