Tin Huey is an American

experimental 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 ...

and new wave band from

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, United States, that formed in 1972 and disbanded in 1982.

History

Original lineups

Initially named Rags, the band started with Mark Price (then known as Wesley the Stash) on guitar, Michael Aylward on bass, and Stuart Austin (then known as Napoleon Lemens) on drums. The band renamed themselves after Aylward's younger brother. Harvey Gold became the fourth member to join on organ. Price left the band, and the remaining members switched to acoustic music before hiring electric guitarist Arthur Baranoff and bassist Wayne Swickley. When the latter two left, Price rejoined as the bassist, while Aylward took on electric guitar, and Gold alternated between electric guitar and keyboards; they briefly added saxophonist Lochi MacIntosh to the lineup before replacing him with

Ralph Carney Ralph Carney (January 23, 1956 – December 17, 2017) was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer. While his primary instruments were various saxophones and clarinets, Carney also collected and played many instruments, often un ...

. Chris Butler (the bassist for 15-60-75 (The Numbers Band)) was the last to join, also on guitar. Inspired by

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the M ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

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 the

Soft Machine Soft Machine are an English Rock music, rock band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became o ...

, Tin Huey was among the bands that emerged from the Akron/Cleveland music scene, including

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their ...

Chi-Pig Chi-Pig was a new wave power trio hailing from Akron, Ohio that formed in 1977. History Before Chi-Pig During the 1960s and 1970s, Susan Schmidt (daughter of Marjorie H. Schmidt of The Co-eds) and Deborah Smith were active in several area ban ...

, the Electric Eels, the Bizarros, and the

Rubber City Rebels Rubber City Rebels are an American punk band from Akron, Ohio, that formed in 1976. Early years The original lineup of the band consisted of Rod Firestone (vocals), Buzz Clic (guitar), Donny Damage (bass), Stix Pelton (drums) and Pete Sake ( ...

Career

Tin Huey signed with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

and recorded and released their debut album '' Contents Dislodged During Shipment'' in 1979. (The album was issued for the first time on CD by

Collector's Choice Music Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois-based record label and retailer of music on CD. Originally the company was primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally re ...

in 2003.) It was not a commercial success. Ralph Legnini (a.k.a. Ralph E.) played with the band for several early '80s shows before they went their separate ways. It would be two decades before they released any new material. Their follow-up second album, ''Disinformation'', was released in 1999 by Butler's Future Fossil Records. Since then, they have played shows both in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and in the greater New York City area. Most recently, they assembled recordings from the mid-70s for their third album, ''Before Obscurity: The Bushflow Tapes''. The album is a combination of studio recordings and live performances from JB's in

Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County, Ohio, Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 United States ...

, where they regularly played. In 2003, Tin Huey were among the Midwestern/Akronite bands that were featured in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

It's Everything, And Then It's Gone ''If You're Not Dead, Play'' is a 2005 PBS rock music documentary, a Western Reserve Public Media/ PBS production and the sequel of ''It's Everything, And Then It's Gone''. This was also written and directed by Phil Hoffman (American filmmaker), ...

'', which covered the mostly overlooked stories about the bands who hailed from the Ohio music scene and developed the " Akron Sound". That same year, Tin Huey played at the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. Tin Huey briefly became a septet after adding newcomer Bob Ethington, formerly of Unit 5. Price died after a four-year battle with

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

on 6 November 2008, at the age of 56. Tin Huey stopped performing as a band. A spin-off band, Half Cleveland, was formed in 2007 featuring Gold, Butler, Ethington, and former

bassist Debbie Smith. They have played occasional shows in the Akron/Cleveland area, including opening a show at the Akron Civic Theater for

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American-British musician. She is a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter; she and drummer Martin Chambers are the ...

the Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

. Since Price's death, there have been a couple live events, one a jam loosely dedicated to Mark involving all the surviving members of the Hueys, bass handled by Gold, Smith, and Kristoffer Carter (The KC Show). The second was an Arts Program benefit billed as "A Gaggle of Hueys and a Houseguest" featuring original Hueys Gold, Aylward and Austin, along with Dave Rich of Houseguest. Recently, Gold and Aylward have also been playing improvisational guitar duets at local art galleries.

Current line-up of Tin Huey

*Michael Aylward (Guitar, Vocals) *Stuart Austin (Drums, Percussion) * Chris Butler (Guitar, Vocals) *Harvey Gold (Keyboards, Bass, Guitar, Vocals) *"Bongo" Bob Ethington

Former members of the Rags/Tin Huey

*Arthur Baranoff (Electric Guitar) *Wayne Swickley (Bass) *Lochi MacIntosh (Horns) *Ralph Legnini (Guitar) *Mark Price (Bass, Vocals) (deceased) *

(Horns) (deceased)

Discography

*''Tin Huey (EP)'' (1977) (Clone Records) *''Breakfast with the Hueys (EP)'' (1978) (Clone Records) *'' Contents Dislodged During Shipment'' (1979) (

) *''English Kids'' (1980) EP (Clone Records) *''Disinformation'' (1999) (Future Fossil Records) *''Before Obscurity: The Bushflow Tapes'' (2009) ( Smog Veil Records)

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control American experimental rock groups American new wave musical groups Rock music groups from Ohio Musical groups from Akron, Ohio Warner Records artists