Lach is an international artist who founded the antifolk movement, which is cited as a main inspiration by contemporary performers like

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

, Jeffrey Lewis,

Hamell on Trial Edward James "Ed" Hamell, performing as Hamell on Trial, is an American punk rock, anti-folk, spoken word musician, described by Righteous Babe Records as "loud, fast music informed by politics, passion, energy and intelligence, played by a guy w ...

The Moldy Peaches The Moldy Peaches are an American independent music, indie group founded by Adam Green (musician), Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band had been on Recess (break), hiatus since 2004, but in 2023 announ ...

and

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in the US and

Laura Marling Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is an English Folk music, folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist, Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for th ...

in the UK. Lach has released six albums, a book of poetry, a fantasy novel, and was the star (writer and host) of a critically acclaimed series on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

called ''The Lach Chronicles''.

Early life

Lach was born 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 ...

, New York. He learned to play classical piano at a young age, but turned to rock music after discovering

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

bands like

the Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

, the Damned, and

the Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...

. Lach went to college but quickly dropped out to live in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, resuming his education at Boston University, where he met his later bassist Geoffrey Notkin.

Career

Lach moved to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

in New York City in 1983, looking to play the renowned Folk City club. Having been rejected by the club's bookers, who believed his music was too "punk", he moved to the Lower East Side, opening his own illegal after-hours club, the Fort. The opening of the Fort coincided with the New York City Folk Festival, so Lach held an event at his club called the New York Antifolk Festival, which remains a popular event in the East Village.

Discography

*''Contender'' (1991) – 3/5 on AllMusic *''Blang!'' (1999) *''Kids Fly Free'' (2001) *''Today'' (2004) – "a gem of an album" *''The Calm Before'' (2008) – 3/5 on AllMusic *''Ramshackle Heart'' (2011) – 3/5 in The List

References

{{Authority control Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Singers from Brooklyn male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state)