Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in

Wauwatosa Wauwatosa ( ; colloquially Tosa) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is a suburb located immediately west of Milwaukee and is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

) is an American

fiddle player The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, contra dance, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering ...

ian, and singer-songwriter.

History

Stampfel is best known as a member of the

Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who formed in 1963 on the Lower East Side of New York City. Although they achieved only limited commercial and critical success in th ...

, a

psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of contemporary folk music, folk, but adds musical elements common ...

band that he founded with

Steve Weber Steven P. Weber (June 22, 1943 – February 7, 2020) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. Weber is best known as member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with Pete ...

in the early 1960s. He was also briefly a member of the

Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy Modal Rounders. Kupfer ...

and has been the leader of several musical projects, including the Bottlecaps, the Du-Tels, and the WORM All-Stars. He has performed with

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

, the Roches,

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert events ...

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...

, Bongwater,

Jeffrey Lewis Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist. Early life Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating in ...

, Michael Hurley,

Baby Gramps Baby Gramps is an American guitar performer, who, though born in Miami, Florida, has been based in the Northwest U.S. for at least the last 40 years. He is famous for his palindromes. Baby Gramps started performing in 1964 and is still playing ...

and

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

Legacy

Music Critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

has asserted that “next to Bob Dylan, Stampfel is the closest thing to a genius" to come out of the New York folk revival scene of the 1960's. Peter Stampfel 08

Discography

;Solo * '' May 1994 Hello CD of the Month'' (1994) * '' You Must Remember This...'' (1995) * '' Dook of the Beatniks'' (2010) * '' Better Than Expected'' (2014) * '' Holiday For Strings'' (2016) * '' The Cambrian Explosion'' (2017) * '' The Ordovician Era'' (2019) * '' Peter Stampfel's 20th Century in 100 Songs'' (2021) ;The Fugs * ''

Virgin Fugs ''Virgin Fugs'' is a 1967 album by the Fugs. While it is their third released album, it consists of outtakes from the two 1965 sessions for their first album, '' The Village Fugs'' (also released as ''The Fugs First Album''). While that album e ...

'' (1966) ;Holy Modal Rounders * ''

The Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who formed in 1963 on the Lower East Side of New York City. Although they achieved only limited commercial and critical success in ...

'' (1964) * '' The Holy Modal Rounders 2'' (1965) * ''

Indian War Whoop ''Indian War Whoop'' is the third studio album by the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1967 through ESP-Disk. The album is the band's first with contributions outside of the original members Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber. The title track is a co ...

'' (1967) * '' The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders'' (1968) * ''

Good Taste Is Timeless ''Good Taste Is Timeless'' is the fifth studio album by the psychedelic folk band the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1971 through Metromedia Records. Track listing Personnel ;The Holy Modal Rounders *John Wesley Annas – bass ...

'' (1971) * '' Alleged in Their Own Time'' (1975) * ''

Last Round ''Last Round'' is a studio album by the American musical group the Holy Modal Rounders. It was released in 1978 through Adelphi Records. Critical reception The '' Lincoln Journal Star'' deemed the album "pleasant, amusing, ndpretty insignifica ...

'' (1978) * '' Going Nowhere Fast'' (1981) * '' Too Much Fun!'' (1999) ;with the Bottlecaps * ''Peter Stampfel & the Bottlecaps'' (1986) * ''People's Republic of Rock 'n' Roll'' (1989) * ''The Jig Is Up'' (2004) ;with Zoë Stampfel * ''Ass in the Air'' (2010) ;with Baby Gramps * ''Outertainment'' (2010) ;with

* '' Come On Board'' (2011) * '' Hey Hey, it's... The Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel Band'' (2013) * '' Have Moicy 2: The Hoodoo Bash (2015) * ''Both Ways'' (2021) ;with

Luke Faust Luke Faust (born 1936) is an American folk musician, best known as a member of the Insect Trust. Career In the early 1960s, Faust often played at The Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village, New York City, performing with a wide array of instrument ...

* ''Wendigo Dwain Story'' (2011) ;with the Unholy Modal Rounders and others * ''

Have Moicy! ''Have Moicy!'' is a collaborative studio album by Michael Hurley, the Unholy Modal Rounders and Jeffrey Frederick & the Clamtones. It was released on January 1, 1976 by Rounder Records. In 2011, Light in the Attic Records reissued ''Have M ...

'' (1976) ;with the WORM All-Stars * ''A Sure Sign of Something'' (2011)

References

External links

Interview
on Stampfel's folk beginnings, New York City in the 1950s and collaborations, with ''

Jersey Beat Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gove ...

''
Stampfel World
Stampfel's notes on recent projects. 1938 births Living people American folk musicians American folk rock musicians American folk singers American male singers American male violinists Singers from Wisconsin Musicians from Milwaukee Songwriters from Wisconsin The Fugs members American book editors American science fiction editors 21st-century American violinists The Holy Modal Rounders members Don Giovanni Records artists Homestead Records artists {{US-musician-stub