Rake (band)
Encyclopedia
Rake was an art rock
/noise rock
musical ensemble from Northern Virginia
(near Washington, DC), founded in 1989. Not aligned with the post-punk
/hardcore bands more commonly associated with the local underground music scene, Rake took a more experimental route and were more closely associated with fellow Virginia-based bands Pelt and Wingtip Sloat. Throughout the 1990s, a relationship cemented via their principal label, VHF Records
.
Band members Vinnie Van Go-Go (a.k.a. VVGG, a.k.a. OASTEM! Jim), Bill Kellum, and C-Man (Carl Moller) released their first record in 1989, a 7” 45 rpm single called "Cow Song" and the follow-up EP "Motorcycle Shoes" in 1990. The punkish leanings on these recordings were soon superseded by more experimental offerings such as the cassette "The Day I Remembered Seeing Ice" and the LP "Rake Is My Co-Pilot", the latter featuring a sidelong extemporization on the lead song from the "Motorcycle Shoes" EP. The band's early recordings featured (mostly shouted) vocals, but the band's later work was generally instrumental in nature. Although Rake's main instruments were electric guitar, bass and drums, they made liberal use of tape loops, synthesizers, static, and anything else they saw fit. The band's sound reached a highbrow, minimalistic
/ambient peak on 1998 album Resume The Cosmos, which was released by Australian label Camera Obscura
but their aesthetic is best summed up by their double CD release "The Art Ensemble Of Rake/The Tell-Tale Moog" which combined lengthy improvisations with found sounds, field recordings and harsh edits. The second disc was largely indexed at 60-second intervals, regardless of the musical content, although one 5-second section was simply a recording of a male voice saying, "Look out: rattlesnake!".
Often wilfully mysterious (to the point of providing misinformation, particularly through the OASTEM! website), Rake released a steady stream of vinyl singles, CDs, cassettes and later CDR's, mostly on VHF. However, they were never a touring act, only performing intermittently around the Virginia/ Maryland area. Although they never formally split and members of the band continue to work together, only archive material has been released during this decade.
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
/noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
musical ensemble from Northern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(near Washington, DC), founded in 1989. Not aligned with the post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
/hardcore bands more commonly associated with the local underground music scene, Rake took a more experimental route and were more closely associated with fellow Virginia-based bands Pelt and Wingtip Sloat. Throughout the 1990s, a relationship cemented via their principal label, VHF Records
VHF Records
VHF Records is an American record label, known for their extensive work with several major experimental artists. The label is based in the Washington, DC suburb of Fairfax, Va., and it initially focused on indie and experimental bands from that region...
.
Band members Vinnie Van Go-Go (a.k.a. VVGG, a.k.a. OASTEM! Jim), Bill Kellum, and C-Man (Carl Moller) released their first record in 1989, a 7” 45 rpm single called "Cow Song" and the follow-up EP "Motorcycle Shoes" in 1990. The punkish leanings on these recordings were soon superseded by more experimental offerings such as the cassette "The Day I Remembered Seeing Ice" and the LP "Rake Is My Co-Pilot", the latter featuring a sidelong extemporization on the lead song from the "Motorcycle Shoes" EP. The band's early recordings featured (mostly shouted) vocals, but the band's later work was generally instrumental in nature. Although Rake's main instruments were electric guitar, bass and drums, they made liberal use of tape loops, synthesizers, static, and anything else they saw fit. The band's sound reached a highbrow, minimalistic
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
/ambient peak on 1998 album Resume The Cosmos, which was released by Australian label Camera Obscura
Camera Obscura (record label)
Camera Obscura was a record label founded by Australian music journalist Tony Dale in 1996. Described by Dale as 'a conduit for the release of contemporary acid-folk, psych-pop and space-rock,' the label put out almost ninety releases over fourteen years, the vast majority of which were...
but their aesthetic is best summed up by their double CD release "The Art Ensemble Of Rake/The Tell-Tale Moog" which combined lengthy improvisations with found sounds, field recordings and harsh edits. The second disc was largely indexed at 60-second intervals, regardless of the musical content, although one 5-second section was simply a recording of a male voice saying, "Look out: rattlesnake!".
Often wilfully mysterious (to the point of providing misinformation, particularly through the OASTEM! website), Rake released a steady stream of vinyl singles, CDs, cassettes and later CDR's, mostly on VHF. However, they were never a touring act, only performing intermittently around the Virginia/ Maryland area. Although they never formally split and members of the band continue to work together, only archive material has been released during this decade.
OASTEM!
OASTEM! is a word invented by Rake that appears in various album and song titles by the band, although its exact meaning has never been revealed. It may be used in several ways: as a greeting or as a way of saying good-bye; as an exclamation of satisfaction; or as a reference to cosmological and mystical phenomenon. It is also the name of a web site (www.oastem.com) containing mp3 downloads of rare and previously unreleased music involving Rake members. Included are early cassettes such as "The Day I Remembered Seeing Ice" and "Shock Tart Chew Up" as well as more recent recordings under other names or by single members. An early version of the web site included the following greeting: "OASTEM! You have landed upon a web site devoted to the exploration of the Sound of Peace and Harmony that is expressed through OASTEM! Discuss OASTEM! Receive OASTEM! Achieve an understanding of the message that has captured the imagination of a generation."Additional information
- The stage name Vinnie Van Go-Go is a pun on Vincent Van GoghVincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
and go-go dancingGo-Go dancingGo-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at a discotheque. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s when women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City began to get up on tables and dance the twist...
. - It was rumored that the band chose its name from indie rock "supergroup" Velvet MonkeysVelvet MonkeysVelvet Monkeys is an American rock band currently based in New York City, formed in 1980. The name "Velvet Monkeys" was a combination of The Velvet Underground and The Monkees.-Background:...
' album Rake, which was released on Rough Trade RecordsRough Trade RecordsRough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
in 1989, about a year before Rake's first single. There was also a reference to Velvet Monkeys member Don FlemingDon FlemingDonald Denver "Don" Fleming was an American college and professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League for three seasons in the early 1960s. Fleming played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the...
on the first Rake 45. However, in 1993, the band told UK magazine Grim HumourFourth Dimension RecordsFourth Dimension Records is a British record label, specialising in international underground music. It was founded by Gary Levermore as an offshoot of his Third Mind label before being taken over by Richard Johnson in 1984...
that their name was chosen before becoming aware of the album and also that the final decision on their name had been taken by Kellum, who had designed the sleeve to "Cow Song". - Several titles were puns on well-known musical and cultural references: Rake Is My Co-Pilot is a pun on the name of the queercoreQueercoreQueercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...
band God Is My Co-PilotGod Is My Co-Pilot (band)God Is My Co-Pilot is a queercore band from New York City that's been recording and playing music since 1991. The two main members of God is My Co-Pilot are vocalist Sharon Topper and guitarist Craig Flanagin...
, Art Ensemble Of Rake is a pun on the name of experimental jazz collective Art Ensemble of ChicagoArt Ensemble of ChicagoThe Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago's AACM in the late 1960s. The group continues to tour and record through 2006, despite the deaths of two of the founding members....
and The Tell-Tale Moog is a pun on the Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
short story "The Tell-Tale HeartThe Tell-Tale Heart"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. It follows an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a "vulture eye". The murder is carefully calculated, and the murderer hides the body by dismembering it and hiding it under the...
." In addition, *The cover art of the Fighting 2 Quarters And A Nickel double live CD is a modification of the cover of rebel organist Virgil FoxVirgil FoxVirgil Keel Fox was an American organist, known especially for his flamboyant "Heavy Organ" concerts of the music of Bach. These events appealed to audiences in the 1970s who were more familiar with rock 'n' roll music and were staged complete with light shows...
's early-'70s live album Heavy Organ.
Discography
- "Cow Song" b/w "My Fish Died" - 7" 1990 (L Records, 1990)
- "Motorcycle Shoes"/ "Look at Rocks"/ "My Miserable Existence"/ "The Center" - 7" EP (VHFVHF RecordsVHF Records is an American record label, known for their extensive work with several major experimental artists. The label is based in the Washington, DC suburb of Fairfax, Va., and it initially focused on indie and experimental bands from that region...
, 1991) - The Day I Remembered Seeing Ice cassette (Sweet Portable Junket, 1992)
- "Subterranean Marijuana Garden"/ "U.S. TV" - 7" (VHF RecordsVHF RecordsVHF Records is an American record label, known for their extensive work with several major experimental artists. The label is based in the Washington, DC suburb of Fairfax, Va., and it initially focused on indie and experimental bands from that region...
, 1992) - Shock Tart Chew Up - cassette (Chocolate Monk, 1993)
- Rake Is My Co-Pilot - LP (VHF, 1994, all sleeves handpainted)
- Rake Live at the 15 Minutes Art Gallery - cassette (1994)
- Squelch/ Phrase Text Slur - 7" (Fourth Dimension RecordsFourth Dimension RecordsFourth Dimension Records is a British record label, specialising in international underground music. It was founded by Gary Levermore as an offshoot of his Third Mind label before being taken over by Richard Johnson in 1984...
, 1995 - misspelt as "squlech" on the sleeve) - The Art Ensemble Of Rake/ The Tell-Tale Moog - 7", 2xCD (VHF, 1995 - the 7" single condensed the album onto two sides of vinyl by randomly overlaying sections of the tracks)
- Intelligence Agent Rake (a.k.a. G-Man) - CD (Squealer, 1996)
- Fighting 2 Quarters And A Nickel - 2xCDR (VHF, 1998) (Live recordings)
- Resume The Cosmos - CD (Camera Obscura, 1998)
- Omniverse .:. Frequency - CD-R (VHF, 2000)
External links
- OASTEM! Explores the philosophy of OASTEM!, a concept central to the overall Rake experience.
- VHF Records Record label run by Kellum
- [ Allmusic entry]
- Rake's Facebook Page
- Rake.info at archive.org