Keep the Dog
Encyclopedia
Keep the Dog was a United States
-based experimental rock
touring band from New York City
formed in 1989 by English
multi-instrumentalist
, composer
and improvisor
Fred Frith
. The sextet
was conceived as a review band for performing selections of Frith's extensive repertoire of compositions from the previous 15 years.
The band lineup was Frith, René Lussier
, Jean Derome
, Zeena Parkins
, Bob Ostertag
and Kevin Norton
. Later Charles Hayward
replaced Norton. The group existed until mid-1991, performing live in Europe
, North America
and the former Soviet Union
. A double CD, That House We Lived In
, from their final 1991 European tour, was released in 2003.
, Massacre, Skeleton Crew and French Frith Kaiser Thompson
), and from his many collaborations with other musicians. But as the group grew in stature it started extending itself. Instead of simply covering
Frith's compositions, they began to adapt them and improvise
around them. Frith remarked in an interview at the time: "The group is constantly evolving into things we don't expect." By 1991, Keep the Dog had become largely an improvising band, very different from what they started out as in 1989.
During the band's three year existence they toured extensively, performing in the United States
, Canada
, mainland Europe
and the former Soviet Union
. They also played at a number of festivals, including the 7th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
in Victoriaville, Quebec
, Canada
in October 1989. Every concert was different: Frith often juggled the material around and in some cases re-arranged it, for example if a venue provided a piano. While remaining a sextet throughout, they were occasionally joined on stage by guest musicians, including Tom Cora
, John Zorn
and Tenko Ueno.
Being a touring band, Keep the Dog never went to the studio
, but every concert they performed was recorded on DAT
. While bootleg recording
s of some of the concerts soon began circulating, Frith never considered officially releasing their work until a decade after the band stopped performing. In a 2003 interview, Frith said:
Leidecker sifted though about 20 DAT recordings from the band's final performances in Austria
, Germany
and Italy
in May and June 1991, and built a montage which he passed on to Frith for further editing. The result was a double CD, That House We Lived In
, which was released on Frith's own Fred Records
in 2003. Frith remarked in the album's liner notes:
Other album appearances
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
touring band from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
formed in 1989 by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and improvisor
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
. The sextet
Sextet
A sextet is a formation containing exactly six members. It is commonly associated with vocal or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six similar or related objects are considered a single unit....
was conceived as a review band for performing selections of Frith's extensive repertoire of compositions from the previous 15 years.
The band lineup was Frith, René Lussier
René Lussier
René Lussier is a musician based in the province of Québec, Canada. He is a composer, guitarist, bass guitarist, percussionist, bass clarinetist and singer. Lussier has collaborated with such figures as Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Jean Derome and Robert M. Lepage...
, Jean Derome
Jean Derome
Jean Derome is a French Canadian avant-garde saxophonist, flautist and composer. A prominent figure in the Montreal musique actuelle scene, Derome has been a member of a number of experimental jazz and rock groups, and has appeared on over 30 albums, including seven solo albums...
, Zeena Parkins
Zeena Parkins
Zeena Parkins is a harpist active in rock music, free improvisation and jazz. Parkins plays standard harps, as well as several custom-made one-of-a kind electric harps; she also plays piano and accordion...
, Bob Ostertag
Bob Ostertag
Robert "Bob" Ostertag is an experimental sound artist based in San Francisco.- Early career :...
and Kevin Norton
Kevin Norton
Kevin Norton is a percussionist and composer active in the New York City jazz and contemporary music scenes. He has performed and recorded with a diverse group of musicians, including Anthony Braxton, Paul Dunmall, Milt Hinton, Fred Frith, David Krakauer, Joelle Leandre, Frode Gjerstad and Wilber...
. Later Charles Hayward
Charles Hayward (musician)
Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock group This Heat. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Radar Favourites, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with old schoolfriend and "Pooh and the Ostrich Feather" member Phil Manzanera in the...
replaced Norton. The group existed until mid-1991, performing live in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. A double CD, That House We Lived In
That House We Lived In
That House We Lived In is a double live album by the United States experimental rock band Keep the Dog. It comprises material from their final European tour in 1991 and was released by Fred Frith on his own Fred Records in 2003.-Background:...
, from their final 1991 European tour, was released in 2003.
Background
Keep the Dog began purely as a review band, performing Fred Frith compositions from his solo albums, from some of the groups he belonged to (Henry CowHenry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
, Massacre, Skeleton Crew and French Frith Kaiser Thompson
French Frith Kaiser Thompson
French Frith Kaiser Thompson was a United States experimental rock quartet comprising John French, Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser and Richard Thompson. The band was formed in 1987 to create an album, Live, Love, Larf & Loaf...
), and from his many collaborations with other musicians. But as the group grew in stature it started extending itself. Instead of simply covering
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
Frith's compositions, they began to adapt them and improvise
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
around them. Frith remarked in an interview at the time: "The group is constantly evolving into things we don't expect." By 1991, Keep the Dog had become largely an improvising band, very different from what they started out as in 1989.
During the band's three year existence they toured extensively, performing in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, mainland Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. They also played at a number of festivals, including the 7th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville is an annual international music festival held in Victoriaville, Quebec that showcases contemporary music.-External links:*...
in Victoriaville, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in October 1989. Every concert was different: Frith often juggled the material around and in some cases re-arranged it, for example if a venue provided a piano. While remaining a sextet throughout, they were occasionally joined on stage by guest musicians, including Tom Cora
Tom Cora
Thomas Henry Corra , better known as Tom Cora, was a United States cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock...
, John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
and Tenko Ueno.
Being a touring band, Keep the Dog never went to the studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, but every concert they performed was recorded on DAT
Digital Audio Tape
Digital Audio Tape is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a compact audio cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As...
. While bootleg recording
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
s of some of the concerts soon began circulating, Frith never considered officially releasing their work until a decade after the band stopped performing. In a 2003 interview, Frith said:
Leidecker sifted though about 20 DAT recordings from the band's final performances in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in May and June 1991, and built a montage which he passed on to Frith for further editing. The result was a double CD, That House We Lived In
That House We Lived In
That House We Lived In is a double live album by the United States experimental rock band Keep the Dog. It comprises material from their final European tour in 1991 and was released by Fred Frith on his own Fred Records in 2003.-Background:...
, which was released on Frith's own Fred Records
Fred Records
Fred Records is a British independent record label created in 2002 by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith to re-release his own back catalogue of recordings and previously unreleased material...
in 2003. Frith remarked in the album's liner notes:
Members
- Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
– guitar, bass guitar, violin, voice - René LussierRené LussierRené Lussier is a musician based in the province of Québec, Canada. He is a composer, guitarist, bass guitarist, percussionist, bass clarinetist and singer. Lussier has collaborated with such figures as Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Jean Derome and Robert M. Lepage...
– guitar, bass guitar - Jean DeromeJean DeromeJean Derome is a French Canadian avant-garde saxophonist, flautist and composer. A prominent figure in the Montreal musique actuelle scene, Derome has been a member of a number of experimental jazz and rock groups, and has appeared on over 30 albums, including seven solo albums...
– alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute, voice - Zeena ParkinsZeena ParkinsZeena Parkins is a harpist active in rock music, free improvisation and jazz. Parkins plays standard harps, as well as several custom-made one-of-a kind electric harps; she also plays piano and accordion...
– accordion, electric harp, piano, synthesizer, voice - Bob OstertagBob OstertagRobert "Bob" Ostertag is an experimental sound artist based in San Francisco.- Early career :...
– sampling keyboard - Kevin NortonKevin NortonKevin Norton is a percussionist and composer active in the New York City jazz and contemporary music scenes. He has performed and recorded with a diverse group of musicians, including Anthony Braxton, Paul Dunmall, Milt Hinton, Fred Frith, David Krakauer, Joelle Leandre, Frode Gjerstad and Wilber...
– drums, percussion, voice - Charles HaywardCharles Hayward (musician)Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock group This Heat. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Radar Favourites, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with old schoolfriend and "Pooh and the Ostrich Feather" member Phil Manzanera in the...
– drums, percussion, voice
Discography
Live albums- 2003 That House We Lived InThat House We Lived InThat House We Lived In is a double live album by the United States experimental rock band Keep the Dog. It comprises material from their final European tour in 1991 and was released by Fred Frith on his own Fred Records in 2003.-Background:...
(2xCD, Fred RecordsFred RecordsFred Records is a British independent record label created in 2002 by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith to re-release his own back catalogue of recordings and previously unreleased material...
, U.K.United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
)
Other album appearances
- 1992 Various artists: Angelica 91 (CD CAICAI Music ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) – Includes two Keep the Dog tracks recorded live at the Angelica Italian jazz festival, 12 May 1991.
External links
- FredFrith.com. Official homepage..
- Fred Frith discography