proto-punk
Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...
band formed in 1970 by
Wheeler Winston Dixon
Wheeler Winston Dixon (born March 12, 1950) is an American filmmaker and scholar. He is an expert on film history, Film theory, theory and Film criticism, criticism.Bill Goodykoontz, December 23, 2012, USA TodayDefining Tarantino Accessed Aug. 25, ...
(lead vocals, slide guitar) and Michael Downey (rhythm guitar, backing vocals).Thomas Savage "The Figures of Light," ''Savage Magazine'', December 4, 2009.Ed Post-Mortem "Figures of Light – Smash Hits" garagepunk.com, August 28, 2008.
History
Origins (1970-72)
At the time of the band's formation, Dixon, 20, and Downey, 23, were roommates, and the band, which at the time included Phil Cohen (lead guitar) and Dennis Druzbik (bass), rehearsed in their apartment in
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Jill Hubley "Figures of Light" Shit-Fi.com, 2006. Retrieved November 7, 2013. Guitarist William Spaceman Patterson jammed with the band during their early practice sessions, though he never performed or recorded with the group. They were influenced by
the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
,
the Stooges
The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...
, and other pre-punk bands of that era.Steve Terrell, Also noted: TV Smashing Concert" '' Santa Fe New Mexican'', May 10, 2013.Soul Sanctuary Figures Of Light – Legendary American Proto-Punks (Interview) Retrieved November 1, 2014, "...Velvet Underground/Stooges era... Ramones ... The Sex Pistols, The Cramps, The Troggs..." In 1972, Figures of Light cut their debut 7" single, "It's Lame", with a limited pressing of 100. The single has since been called "raw, loud, and nothing like the prevailing music of the time." The band was unable to get a record deal, which led to its dissolution later that year.
At their debut live performance, at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
in 1970, band members smashed 15 television sets and "a bunch of mirrors" with axes and sledgehammers. They also drove a motorcycle down the main aisle of the concert hall and destroyed a record player. Dixon has called it a protest against 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 ...
and the way it was being presented on television. The band performed regularly from 1970 until their breakup in 1972.
Reunion (2006-15)
In 2006,
Norton Records
Norton Records is an American independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on releasing rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock, and early rhythm and blues. Most of i ...
Miriam Linna
Miriam Linna (born October 16, 1955) is a Canadian-American drummer who has run the Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York-based independent record label Norton Records since 1986, originally with her husband, the late producer and singer-songwriter Bill ...
discovered and re-released the "It's Lame" single, prompting Figures of Light to reunite. At the time, Dixon and Downey hadn't spoken in around 25 years.Steve Terrell "Figures of Light Shine Again" The Stephen W. Terrell Web Blog, June 15, 2012. The band's newly recorded material was combined with early in-studio and live tracks for their first full-length release, ''Smash Hits'' (2008). They followed that up with ''Drop Dead'', recorded in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
in 2011. Dixon and Downey were joined on the album by Linna (of the Cramps and the A-Bones),
Mick Collins
Mick Collins (born December 18, 1965) is a musician from Detroit, Detroit, Michigan.
Biography
Collins first received exposure to early rock and roll music through his family's record collection. Living in Detroit, he was also surrounded by ...
(of the Gories and the Dirtbombs) and Marcus "The Carcass" Natale (of the A-Bones). Collins produced the album, which has a raw, reverb-saturated, stripped down sound. "It's Lame" was later included on the 2009 compilation ''I Still Hate CD's: Norton Records 45 RPM Singles Collection Vol. 2''."Norton's Second Set of Out Of This World Wax Rarities Out Now!" The Daily Rind, June 4, 2009. Dixon explained his approach:
The band broke up amicably in March 2015; with Dixon stating that "we've done everything we want to do with FOL; now it's time to move on." A permanent archive of FOL videos is on YouTube; their music is still available on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify and other content providers. Despite the band's formal breakup, they continue to release new recordings, and are now a studio band.
Discography
Albums
* ''Smash Hits'' (
Norton Records
Norton Records is an American independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on releasing rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock, and early rhythm and blues. Most of i ...
, August 12, 2008)
* ''Drop Dead'' (Norton Records, November 13, 2011)
* ''Lost & Found'' (FOL Records, August 15, 2013)
* ''The TV Smashing Concert, July 23rd 1970'' (recorded 1970, released by Norton Records, 2013)
* ''Feedback Music'' (FOL Records, February 5, 2014)
Extended plays
* ''Too Many Bills, Not Enough Thrills'' (FOL Records, June 15, 2013)
* ''Gimme A Quarter'' (FOL Records, August 21, 2013)
* ''The Power'' (FOL Records, September 9, 2013)
* ''Great! Now We Have Time to Party!'' (FOL Records, September 26, 2013)
* ''The Open Door'' (FOL Records, November 8, 2013)
* ''Leave Her Alone'' (FOL Records, November 22, 2013)
* ''Buy Before You Die'' (FOL Records, February 7, 2014)
* ''The Nebraska Sessions'' (FOL Records, July 31, 2014)
* ''R U Ready?'' (FOL Records, July 19, 2015)
* ''Maximum'' (FOL Records, September 2, 2016)
* ''Blanc et Noir'' (FOL Records, September 30, 2016)
* ''Funny You Asked'' (FOL Records, July 5, 2023)
Singles
* "It's Lame" b/w "I Jes Wanna Go to Bed" (Midnite Swan, 1972; re-released by Norton Records, 2006)
* "Five Years Later" (FOL Records, June 24, 2014)
* "Instant Drone" (FOL Records, October 23, 2014)
* "You Better Wise Up" (Instrumental Version) (FOL Records, February 22, 2016)
* "Boiling Point!" (FOL Records, October 13, 2016)
* "Surfin' the Skies" (FOL Records, February 3, 2017)
* "Got It!" (FOL Records, March 5, 2017)
* "Quixotic" (FOL Records, September 2, 2017)
* "Rumbling" (FOL Records, December 18, 2017)
* "Midlife Crisis" (FOL Records, June 18, 2018)
* "Breaking Through" (FOL Records, January 12, 2019)
* "Fire and Ice" (FOL Records, January 25, 2019)
* "Surf's Up Again!" (FOL Records, March 20, 2019)
* "Compression" (FOL Records, April 6, 2019)
* "Rock 'n Roll" (FOL Records, January 23, 2020)
* "We Ain't Goin' To Paris" (FOL Records, April 5, 2020)
* "Rude Awakening" (FOL Records, August 12, 2020)
* "Good Riddance 2021" (FOL Records, December 31, 2021)
* "Storm Warning" (FOL Records, August 31, 2022)
* "Zut Alors!" (FOL Records, February 12, 2023)
Compilations
* "It's Lame", ''I Still Hate CD's: Norton Records 45 RPM Singles Collection Vol. 2'' (Norton Records, June 2, 2009)
* "World of Pain", ''World of Pain: 20 Pounders, Vol. 2'' (Norton Records, November 12, 2013)
* ''Figures of Light: Greatest Hits'' (FOL Records, September 3, 2014)
* ''The Instrumentals'' (FOL Records, December 20, 2015)
Gallery
Image:It's Lame by Figures of Light cover art.jpg, Cover of 45 single "It's Lame"
Image:Destruction.png, A record player axed during concert
File:Mitro at Board.jpg, Mitro at the board
File:Wheeler Winston Dixon and Michael Downey.jpg, Dixon and Downey
File:Best Band Photo 2.jpg, 2011. L to R: Downey, Natale, Linna, Dixon, Collins.
Image: Figures of Light First Concert Poster.jpg, Concert poster, 1970