Nervus Rex
Encyclopedia
Nervus Rex was a New Wave
pop band whose roots were in the New York City independent music scene, its members frequenting clubs like CBGB's and Max's Kansas City
. After Lauren Agnelli answered a Village Voice ad for a "CBGB type band," the band’s founding members Agnelli and Shaun Brighton met one night at CBGB’s and discovered a connection in a mutual appreciation for other new wave bands playing at the time, including Talking Heads
the Cramps
and The Velvet Underground
. Agnelli had been working as a rock critic for The Village Voice and Creem
magazine under the pen name Trixie A. Balm.
Soon joined by Miriam Linna
, drumming for the Cramps at the time and later, Jonathan Gildersleeve, Nervus Rex started to develop an uptempo pop sound focusing on driving surf guitar twang and danceable rhythms. Their initial bass player, Lew Eklund, left the band shortly after Gildersleeve joined. Artist and Ohio transplant, Dianne Athey, took over on the bass after Eklund left, and soon added to the group musically and in terms of image. In 1978 the band released a single on the Cleverly Named Record Company, a 45 RPM "Don't Look" b/w "Love Affair." Two years later, Blondie
producer Mike Chapman and his partner, Nicky Chinn (Chinnichap), signed the band to the Dreamland label.
Nervus Rex only released a single album on Dreamland, the 1980’s self titled “Nervus Rex.” That release, having been on hold for a year while the dynamic New Wave music scene flourished with talented contemporaries like the B-52's booming in much-deserved popularity, the Nervus Rex debut release met with little success and the band continued playing in clubs for several more years before breaking up in the early 80’s. Nervus Rex played on double bills with The Pretenders
, Squeeze, The Bloodless Pharaohs (Brian Setzer's first band), and Richard Hell and the Voidoids.
After the band's demise, Agnelli joined the Washington Squares
, a new generation beat folkgroup who released several LP’s and earned a Grammy nomination. She went on to play with the Dave Rave Conspiracy in the U.S. and Canada as well as the duo Agnelli & Rave, and was co-writer and featured vocalist on an "Kiss of Fire," an album released in the U.S. and Japan, by Brave Combo
. More recently she has enjoyed a solo career with a CD release in 2004 on the BongoBeat label, "Love Always Follows Me." In 2011, she co-produces Small Town Concert Series with her husband in CT and they have a 5-piece Americana Group, Amalgamated Muck, who play frequent shows and are working on their first release. Agnelli also continues to write songs and record with Dave Rave as co-writer and co-producer.
Shaun Brighton (now Shawn Brighton) went on to form The Puppets, a band whose hit dance single "The Way of Life" on Canadian company Quality Records reached the #3 position on the Billboard Dance Chart, went to #1 on the regional New York charts, and fared even better in Canada. There are, in fact, at least six known different mixes of the song on vinyl and CD from various countries. The band toured briefly to major audiences but soon disbanded due to both internal disagreements and legal problems between the producers, Quality Records, and Shawn Brighton as to ownership issues.
Dianne Athey's band after "the Rex" was The Riddles, led by Karen LeSage (formerly of The Gloo Girls). The Riddles worked from 1999 - 2004, playing gigs and recording. She currently works as a fine art painter and graphic artist for Town & Country
.
In 2010, Brighton moved to Miami Beach, where he works as an art dealer, creates art and continues to write songs. A possible musical reunion with Agnelli, Brighton, and bassist Athey is under discussion.
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
pop band whose roots were in the New York City independent music scene, its members frequenting clubs like CBGB's and Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...
. After Lauren Agnelli answered a Village Voice ad for a "CBGB type band," the band’s founding members Agnelli and Shaun Brighton met one night at CBGB’s and discovered a connection in a mutual appreciation for other new wave bands playing at the time, including Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
the Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
and The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
. Agnelli had been working as a rock critic for The Village Voice and Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
magazine under the pen name Trixie A. Balm.
Soon joined by Miriam Linna
Miriam Linna
Miriam Linna has run the Brooklyn-based independent record label Norton Records since 1986 with her husband—the producer and singer-songwriter Billy Miller...
, drumming for the Cramps at the time and later, Jonathan Gildersleeve, Nervus Rex started to develop an uptempo pop sound focusing on driving surf guitar twang and danceable rhythms. Their initial bass player, Lew Eklund, left the band shortly after Gildersleeve joined. Artist and Ohio transplant, Dianne Athey, took over on the bass after Eklund left, and soon added to the group musically and in terms of image. In 1978 the band released a single on the Cleverly Named Record Company, a 45 RPM "Don't Look" b/w "Love Affair." Two years later, Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
producer Mike Chapman and his partner, Nicky Chinn (Chinnichap), signed the band to the Dreamland label.
Nervus Rex only released a single album on Dreamland, the 1980’s self titled “Nervus Rex.” That release, having been on hold for a year while the dynamic New Wave music scene flourished with talented contemporaries like the B-52's booming in much-deserved popularity, the Nervus Rex debut release met with little success and the band continued playing in clubs for several more years before breaking up in the early 80’s. Nervus Rex played on double bills with The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
, Squeeze, The Bloodless Pharaohs (Brian Setzer's first band), and Richard Hell and the Voidoids.
After the band's demise, Agnelli joined the Washington Squares
Washington Squares
The Washington Squares were a 1980s neo-beatnik folk revival music group. Modeled after early 1960s groups like The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, the group was named after New York City's Washington Square Park, emblematic of Greenwich Village...
, a new generation beat folkgroup who released several LP’s and earned a Grammy nomination. She went on to play with the Dave Rave Conspiracy in the U.S. and Canada as well as the duo Agnelli & Rave, and was co-writer and featured vocalist on an "Kiss of Fire," an album released in the U.S. and Japan, by Brave Combo
Brave Combo
Brave Combo is a polka/rock band based in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1979 by guitarist/keyboardist/accordionist Carl Finch, they have been a prominent fixture in the Texas music scene for more than twenty-five years...
. More recently she has enjoyed a solo career with a CD release in 2004 on the BongoBeat label, "Love Always Follows Me." In 2011, she co-produces Small Town Concert Series with her husband in CT and they have a 5-piece Americana Group, Amalgamated Muck, who play frequent shows and are working on their first release. Agnelli also continues to write songs and record with Dave Rave as co-writer and co-producer.
Shaun Brighton (now Shawn Brighton) went on to form The Puppets, a band whose hit dance single "The Way of Life" on Canadian company Quality Records reached the #3 position on the Billboard Dance Chart, went to #1 on the regional New York charts, and fared even better in Canada. There are, in fact, at least six known different mixes of the song on vinyl and CD from various countries. The band toured briefly to major audiences but soon disbanded due to both internal disagreements and legal problems between the producers, Quality Records, and Shawn Brighton as to ownership issues.
Dianne Athey's band after "the Rex" was The Riddles, led by Karen LeSage (formerly of The Gloo Girls). The Riddles worked from 1999 - 2004, playing gigs and recording. She currently works as a fine art painter and graphic artist for Town & Country
Town & Country (magazine)
Town & Country, formerly the Home Journal and The National Press, is a monthly American lifestyle magazine. It is the oldest continually published general interest magazine in the United States.-Early history:...
.
In 2010, Brighton moved to Miami Beach, where he works as an art dealer, creates art and continues to write songs. A possible musical reunion with Agnelli, Brighton, and bassist Athey is under discussion.
Resources
- http://www.dave-rave.com/index.php?content=bio
- https://sites.google.com/site/laurenagnelli/biography
- Lauren Agnelli
- Nervus Rex
- CBGB's
- Layne Heath, Michael, "Rocking Your Way to the Middle: Four Bands from CBGB's Second Golden Era" Perfect Sound Forever online music magazine, January 2002.