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

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

Peter Stampfel Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American Violin, fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter. History Stampfel is best known as a member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a ...

. He and Stampfel were also briefly members 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 (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy ...

Life and career

Weber was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1943 and moved with his mother to

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, four ...

. In Bucks County he met musicians such as Robin Remaily, who would later join the Holy Modal Rounders, and Michael Hurley, who was long associated with the band. In 1963, Weber met

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, introduced by the

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 ...

figure

Antonia Antonia may refer to: People * Antonia (name), including a list of people with the name * Antonia gens, a Roman family, any woman of the gens was named ''Antonia'' * Antônia (footballer) * Antônia Melo Entertainment * '' Antonia's Line'', o ...

, who had dated Weber and would later marry Stampfel. Weber and Stampfel formed the Holy Modal Rounders as an acoustic duo and released two records on the Prestige Folklore label: ''

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) and '' The Holy Modal Rounders 2'' (1965). While most of the songs were traditional folk standards revised in a contemporary style, they recorded some originals, including "Hey, Hey Baby" written by Weber and "Junko Partner" co-written by Weber and Michael Hurley. After the release of the second Rounders album, Weber and Stampfel joined

Ed Sanders Edward Sanders (born August 17, 1939) is an American poet, singer, activist, author, publisher and longtime member of the rock band the Fugs. He has been called a bridge between the Beat and hippie generations. Sanders is considered to have bee ...

and

Tuli Kupferberg Naphtali "Tuli" Kupferberg (September 28, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was an American counterculture poet, author, singer, editorial cartoonist, comic artist, columnist, publisher, and co-founder of the rock band The Fugs. Biography Naphtali Ku ...

in the Fugs for a short time. Their 1965 recordings with the Fugs are on the albums '' The Village 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 ...

'', and ''

Fugs 4, Rounders Score ''Fugs 4, Rounders Score'' is a 1975 compilation album of material by The Fugs and The Holy Modal Rounders, including seven previously unreleased performances from the Fugs' first recording session (April 1965), when the Rounders (Peter Stampfe ...

''. Weber wrote the cult classic "Boobs a Lot" for the Fugs, which the Rounders later recorded on the album ''

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 ...

''. After leaving the Fugs, Weber and Stampfel reunited as the Rounders and recorded a third album, ''

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 ...

'' (

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York–based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), E ...

, 1967), adding

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

and

Lee Crabtree Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

to the group. Their fourth album, '' The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders'' ( Elektra, 1968), recorded with Shepard, Ken Crabtree, and Richard Tyler, included Antonia's composition "Bird Song," which was featured in

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...

's film ''

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. It was produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and the S ...

'' (retitled "If You Want To Be A Bird"). After Weber and Stampfel were unable to capitalize on the success of ''Easy Rider'' as well as an appearance on ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comed ...

'', their relationship grew increasingly contentious. In 1972, after the release of ''

'' (Metromedia, 1971), Stampfel decided to stay in New York while Weber and the rest of the band relocated to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. The band continued to release albums, including '' Alleged in Their Own Time'' ( Rounder, 1975) and ''

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 ...

'' ( Adelphi, 1978). After another break-up of the band, they reunited again for '' Going Nowhere Fast'' (Rounder, 1981), recorded as a duo and credited as Stampfel & Weber. Weber continued to tour with Portland-based band members as The Holy Modal Rounders without Stampfel. After years of drug and alcohol abuse on the West Coast, Weber decided in the mid-1990s to return east, moving in with his mother on a farm in Buckingham, Pennsylvania. Weber and Stampfel played together again in New York City at The Bottom Line in 1996 and reunited the Rounders for '' Too Much Fun!'' (Rounder, 1999). The original Rounders performed together for the last time in 2002. As captured by the 2006 documentary film ''The Holy Modal Rounders... Bound To Lose'', Weber and Stampfel's relationship grew contentious again, with Weber failing to show up for a 40th-anniversary concert for the Rounders in 2003. The album '' Holy Modal Rounders B.C.'' (Frederick Productions, 2006), credited to Steve Weber & The Holy Modal Rounders, was released, a recording from a concert for a Vancouver radio show in 1976 documenting the Portland-based, Weber-led version of the Rounders. After the release of ''Bound to Lose'', which he felt was deceptively edited, Weber broke off his connections with the Holy Modal Rounders. Retiring from his musical career, he moved to Mount Clare, West Virginia, where he died on February 7, 2020, at the age of 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Steve 1943 births 2020 deaths American folk musicians American folk rock musicians American folk singers American male singers Singers from Pennsylvania The Fugs members The Holy Modal Rounders members