Pylon (band)
Encyclopedia
Pylon is an American
rock band from Athens, Georgia
. The band's danceable jangle pop
sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock
explosion is unassailable".
in Athens. Guitarist Randall Bewley
and bass guitarist Michael Lachowski
began playing music and attempting to form a band in 1978. They practiced in a studio in downtown Athens which Lachowski rented from Curtis Crowe
, upstairs from the current location of the Grill on College Avenue. The room was lit by a single 40-watt light bulb, so the band referred to it as the "40 Watt Club
." Crowe soon joined the band as a drummer. On February 14, 1979, the three held auditions for a singer. Vanessa Briscoe (now Vanessa Briscoe Hay
) was chosen. The group was named for a novel by William Faulkner
Pylon played their first live show at a party on March 9, 1979. Members of The B-52's
attended Pylon's third show. Fred Schneider
and Kate Pierson
of the B-52's were particularly supportive and helped promote Pylon's music in New York City
, getting them a gig at Hurrah
. Soon Pylon opened for Gang of Four
in New York. Pylon's debut single, "Cool," appeared on DB Records
in early 1980, and received many positive critical reviews. From 1980 to 1983 Pylon toured parts of the U.S., Canada, and the UK, playing with groups such as the B-52's, Gang of Four, Mission of Burma
, Love Tractor
, R.E.M.
, the Talking Heads
, and U2
. Pylon was the opening act for the first part of U2's first U.S. tour. Crazy/M-Train charted at #61 for Club play singles in 1982 according to Billboard Magazine entry in All Music Guide. At that time the members of Pylon were beginning to feel that playing together was becoming less fun and more like a business. They decided to break up the band in 1983.
With some help from the members of R.E.M., Pylon's reputation as one of the great underground bands of the New Wave era was solidified in 1987. When Rolling Stone
named R.E.M. "America's Best Band" in November 1987, R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry said, "We're not the best rock 'n' roll band in America." Pylon, he said, was the best. In the same year, R.E.M. released their compilation album
Dead Letter Office
(1987):the album opens with a version of Pylon's "Crazy", which had been the b-side to their single "Driver 8". Confirming this judgment, numerous musicians from the Athens rock scene publicly attest to their deep reverence for Pylon in the film Athens, GA: Inside Out
.
After a six-year hiatus punctuated with a smattering of reunion shows, Pylon officially reformed in 1989, and opened for the final leg of R.E.M.'s "Green" tour, The group recorded with Sky Records, and released a new album Chain, and a single, "Sugarpop". They played several more shows including the South by Southwest Festival in 1990 and 1991, but when guitarist Bewley decided to leave in 1991, the band broke up again.
Pylon came out of retirement again in 2004, and played their first set in more than a decade in August 2004 at the then-fledgling Little King's Shuffle Club. The band officially reunited for the second time when they played the New Year's Eve (2005) show at the 40 Watt Club
; they later headlined the first night of the Athens music festival, AthFest
(June 2005). In 2006, they recorded a so far untelevised segment for "Pancake Mountain".
On April 4, 2007, they performed an impromptu show at Little King's to announce the reissue of "Gyrate" on DFA Records
, called "Gyrate Plus", which was released on October 16, 2007. They performed several key shows in 2008 including the Part Time Punks Festival in Los Angeles, a show taped for Georgia Public Radio in Athens, Georgia, and at the Revolve Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with Mitch Easter
.
On February 25, 2009, guitarist Randall Bewley
died, two days after suffering a heart attack
while driving his van.
DFA Records re-released Gyrate and Chomp with extra tracks as Gyrate Plus (2007) and Chomp More (2009).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock band from Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
. The band's danceable jangle pop
Jangle pop
Jangle pop is a genre of alternative rock from the mid-1980s that "marked a return to the chiming or jangly guitars and pop melodies of the '60s" bands such as The Byrds, with their electric twelve-string guitars and power pop song structures. Mid-1980s jangle pop was a non-mainstream "pop-based...
sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
explosion is unassailable".
History
All four members of Pylon were art students at the University of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
in Athens. Guitarist Randall Bewley
Randall Bewley
Randall "Randy" Bewley was the guitarist for the Athens, Georgia band Pylon. Born in Bradenton, Florida, United States. He lived in Sarasota, Florida, Washington, DC and near Atlanta, Georgia while growing up. Bewley attended the University of Georgia art school where he met Michael Lachowski, a...
and bass guitarist Michael Lachowski
Michael Lachowski
Michael Lachowski is the bass guitar player for Pylon, a band from Athens, Georgia. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia and attended the University of Georgia art school. He and his roommate Randy Bewley formed Pylon, recruiting Curtis Crowe as a drummer, and Vanessa Briscoe Hay, a fellow student at...
began playing music and attempting to form a band in 1978. They practiced in a studio in downtown Athens which Lachowski rented from Curtis Crowe
Curtis Crowe
Curtis Crowe is the drummer for the Athens, Georgia rock band Pylon. He is a native of Marietta, Georgia and is the middle of five children. Curtis moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia art school. His sister Rhett Crowe was later the bass player for the band Guadalcanal Diary, a...
, upstairs from the current location of the Grill on College Avenue. The room was lit by a single 40-watt light bulb, so the band referred to it as the "40 Watt Club
40 Watt Club
The 40 Watt Club is a music venue in Athens, Georgia. Along with CBGB's, the Whisky a Go Go, and selected others, it was instrumental in launching American punk rock and "New Wave music."...
." Crowe soon joined the band as a drummer. On February 14, 1979, the three held auditions for a singer. Vanessa Briscoe (now Vanessa Briscoe Hay
Vanessa Briscoe Hay
Vanessa Briscoe Hay is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon and Supercluster.-Biography:...
) was chosen. The group was named for a novel by William Faulkner
Pylon (novel)
Pylon is a novel by the American author William Faulkner. Published in 1935, Pylon is set in New Valois, a fictionalized version of New Orleans. It is one of Faulkner's few novels set outside Yoknapatawpha County, his favorite fictional setting, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi. Pylon is the...
Pylon played their first live show at a party on March 9, 1979. Members of The B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
attended Pylon's third show. Fred Schneider
Fred Schneider
Frederick William "Fred" Schneider III is an American rock singer, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well-known for his sprechgesang which he developed from reciting poetry over guitars.-Early life:Schneider was born in Newark,...
and Kate Pierson
Kate Pierson
Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson is an American vocalist and one of the lead singers and founding members of The B-52's. One of the multi-instrumentalists in the band, Pierson played guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments...
of the B-52's were particularly supportive and helped promote Pylon's music in 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...
, getting them a gig at Hurrah
Hurrah (nightclub)
Hurrah was a nightclub located at 32 West 62nd Street in New York City from 1976 until 1980. Under the management of Jim Fouratt it became known as the first rock disco in New York, and pioneered the use of music videos in nightclubs, placing video monitors around the club, over a year before the...
. Soon Pylon opened for Gang of Four
Gang of Four (band)
Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
in New York. Pylon's debut single, "Cool," appeared on DB Records
DB Records
DB Records is a record label owned by Danny Beard. The label's headquarters reside in the Wax N Facts record store in the Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood of Little Five Points.-History:In 1978, Danny Beard helped some friends in an Athens, Georgia rock band...
in early 1980, and received many positive critical reviews. From 1980 to 1983 Pylon toured parts of the U.S., Canada, and the UK, playing with groups such as the B-52's, Gang of Four, Mission of Burma
Mission of Burma
Mission of Burma is an American post-punk band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1979. The band was formed by Roger Miller , Clint Conley , Peter Prescott and Martin Swope...
, Love Tractor
Love Tractor
Love Tractor was a band from Athens, Georgia and like The B-52's, Pylon and R.E.M., was recognized as a founder of the Athens, Georgia alternative rock scene...
, R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, the 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...
, and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. Pylon was the opening act for the first part of U2's first U.S. tour. Crazy/M-Train charted at #61 for Club play singles in 1982 according to Billboard Magazine entry in All Music Guide. At that time the members of Pylon were beginning to feel that playing together was becoming less fun and more like a business. They decided to break up the band in 1983.
With some help from the members of R.E.M., Pylon's reputation as one of the great underground bands of the New Wave era was solidified in 1987. When Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
named R.E.M. "America's Best Band" in November 1987, R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry said, "We're not the best rock 'n' roll band in America." Pylon, he said, was the best. In the same year, R.E.M. released their compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Dead Letter Office
Dead Letter Office (album)
Dead Letter Office is a rarities and B-sides collection by R.E.M., released in 1987. The album is essentially a collection of many additional recordings R.E.M. made pre-Murmur to Lifes Rich Pageant that were outtakes or released as flip sides to their singles internationally...
(1987):the album opens with a version of Pylon's "Crazy", which had been the b-side to their single "Driver 8". Confirming this judgment, numerous musicians from the Athens rock scene publicly attest to their deep reverence for Pylon in the film Athens, GA: Inside Out
Athens, GA: Inside Out
Athens, GA: Inside/Out is a documentary film about the mid-1980s music scene in Athens, Georgia, USA.The film features interviews and concert footage of local bands who were a part of the scene at the time of the documentation as well as local legends R.E.M., Pylon, and The B-52's. It also features...
.
After a six-year hiatus punctuated with a smattering of reunion shows, Pylon officially reformed in 1989, and opened for the final leg of R.E.M.'s "Green" tour, The group recorded with Sky Records, and released a new album Chain, and a single, "Sugarpop". They played several more shows including the South by Southwest Festival in 1990 and 1991, but when guitarist Bewley decided to leave in 1991, the band broke up again.
Pylon came out of retirement again in 2004, and played their first set in more than a decade in August 2004 at the then-fledgling Little King's Shuffle Club. The band officially reunited for the second time when they played the New Year's Eve (2005) show at the 40 Watt Club
40 Watt Club
The 40 Watt Club is a music venue in Athens, Georgia. Along with CBGB's, the Whisky a Go Go, and selected others, it was instrumental in launching American punk rock and "New Wave music."...
; they later headlined the first night of the Athens music festival, AthFest
Athfest
Athfest is a free annual music and arts festival in Athens, Georgia, first held in 1997. Jared Bailey founded the festival to promote the music of Athens, Georgia; he was formerly of the free alternative weekly Flagpole and the influential early nightclub the 40 Watt Club.- External links :*...
(June 2005). In 2006, they recorded a so far untelevised segment for "Pancake Mountain".
On April 4, 2007, they performed an impromptu show at Little King's to announce the reissue of "Gyrate" on DFA Records
DFA Records
DFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
, called "Gyrate Plus", which was released on October 16, 2007. They performed several key shows in 2008 including the Part Time Punks Festival in Los Angeles, a show taped for Georgia Public Radio in Athens, Georgia, and at the Revolve Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter is a songwriter, musician, and producer. As a producer, he is probably best known for his work with R.E.M. from 1981 through 1984, though he has also worked with many other acts including The Hang Ups, Pavement, Suzanne Vega, Game Theory, Marshall Crenshaw, Velvet Crush, and...
.
On February 25, 2009, guitarist Randall Bewley
Randall Bewley
Randall "Randy" Bewley was the guitarist for the Athens, Georgia band Pylon. Born in Bradenton, Florida, United States. He lived in Sarasota, Florida, Washington, DC and near Atlanta, Georgia while growing up. Bewley attended the University of Georgia art school where he met Michael Lachowski, a...
died, two days after suffering a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while driving his van.
DFA Records re-released Gyrate and Chomp with extra tracks as Gyrate Plus (2007) and Chomp More (2009).
Members
- Randall BewleyRandall BewleyRandall "Randy" Bewley was the guitarist for the Athens, Georgia band Pylon. Born in Bradenton, Florida, United States. He lived in Sarasota, Florida, Washington, DC and near Atlanta, Georgia while growing up. Bewley attended the University of Georgia art school where he met Michael Lachowski, a...
(guitar) - Michael LachowskiMichael LachowskiMichael Lachowski is the bass guitar player for Pylon, a band from Athens, Georgia. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia and attended the University of Georgia art school. He and his roommate Randy Bewley formed Pylon, recruiting Curtis Crowe as a drummer, and Vanessa Briscoe Hay, a fellow student at...
(bass guitar) - Curtis CroweCurtis CroweCurtis Crowe is the drummer for the Athens, Georgia rock band Pylon. He is a native of Marietta, Georgia and is the middle of five children. Curtis moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia art school. His sister Rhett Crowe was later the bass player for the band Guadalcanal Diary, a...
(drums) - Vanessa Briscoe HayVanessa Briscoe HayVanessa Briscoe Hay is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon and Supercluster.-Biography:...
(vocals)
Discography
- Cool/Dub 7" single (Caution Records 1979)
- Gyrate LP (Db recs, Armageddon 1980)
- Pylon !! EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
(Db recs, Armageddon 1980) - Crazy/M-Train 7" single (Db recs 1981)
- Beep/Altitude 7" single (Db recs 1982)
- Four Minutes/Beep/Altitude EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
(Db recs 1982) - Chomp LP (Db recs 1983)
- Hits LP/CD (Db recs 1988)
- Chain LP/CD (Sky records 1990)
- Gyrate Plus CD (DFA RecordsDFA RecordsDFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
2007) - Chomp More CD (DFA RecordsDFA RecordsDFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
2009)
External links
- Pylon official web site
- PARTY ZONE: a tribute to Pylon
- Pylon unofficial web site
- [ AllMusic entry on Pylon]
- Pylon MySpace web page
- Interview with Pylon on Well-Rounded Radio
- Interview with Vanessa Briscoe Hay on Chelsea Zine (in spanish)
- Village Voice Interview with Michael Lachowski and Randy Bewley
- DFA records official website
- http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pylon/albums/album/16114699/review/17437117/gyrate_plus Robert ChristgauRobert ChristgauRobert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
review for Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J... - http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=pylon Trouser PressTrouser PressTrouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...
review