THE COACHMEN |  |
HISTORY
"The Saga of JD King & The Coachmen: A Long Story and a Broken Road."
Mach One: South Street, Where All The Coachmen Meet
The NYC version of The Coachmen (1978 to 1980), the group that included JD King on guitar and vocals, Thurston Moore on guitar, Bob Pullin on bass and, first Danny Walworth, then Dave Keay on drums, was documented in copious detail and tiny type in the liner notes to their posthumous release, "Failure to Thrive," a 1988 album of their 1979 demo tape on New Alliance in all three formats. Those curious about the entire excruciating trek from its Providence, RI/Connecticut pre-Coachmen days, to embryonic-Coachmen days in NYC, on and on and on to the final bitter end are directed to those liner notes written by JD. The long story short is this:
Rhode Island School of Design grad and Providence, RI, resident, JD King, met a Connecticut teenager, Thurston Moore, in Cutler's Records in New Haven CT, just before Christmas, 1976, over the almost empty Velvet Underground bin. At that time, Velvet Underground fans were still pretty few and far between, enough of a rarity to inspire a pen pal relationship, with the teen writing of adventures at CBGB's and Max's Kansas City, enthusing over seeing The Cramps, Suicide, The Patti Smith Group, Blondie, The Ramones, Television, The Dead Boys, Richard Hell & The Void Oids, thusly nudging JD away from his Flamin' Groovies, Shadows of Knight, Beach Boys and Herman's Hermits vinyl to embrace something more contemporary, as well.
(Maybe the chaps would've been better off listening to Sonny Stitt or Sun Ra, but that was destined for later.)
In the Spring of 1977, JD formed a band, of sorts, that played four separate gigs around Providence, appearing under a different name for each date. The material was a combination of garage oldies, new punk rock covers and originals.
By September 1977, JD King and two of those band mates, John Miller and Randy Ludacer along with video artist Dan Walworth, had moved to a South Street, NYC, loft all intent on adding their artistic/musical two cents worth to Manhattan. Thurston was a frequent visitor, driving from his mom's place Bethel, CT, in his beat-up VW bug, armed with a sunburst Fender Stratocaster. (This was way before he discovered "other" Fenders.)
From this South Street scene, groups coalesced, members moving in and out of formations and in and out of the loft. Eventually one of the groups solidified around JD, Thurston, Bob and Danny and played out under the (too arty) name, Room Tone, at a loft party before settling on "The Coachmen," a humorous homage to JD's beloved 1960s garage rock bands. By early-1978 they were playing the NYC club/loft circuit: Max's Kansas City (only once!), CBGB's (several times) Tier 3, and artist loft parties thrown by the human string bean/art world wannabe Jenny Holzer (where they were once billed with Glen Branca's band, The Static) and a Lower East Side artist-run loft/performance space, A's, operated by Arlene Schloss and Todd Jorgenson. It was at A's that The Coachmen rang in 1980, starting one song on December 31, 1979, and finishing it on January 1, 1980. On this particular gig, they were billed with Alan Vega. Often at A's, they shared bills with Paul McMahon's A Band, and blonde bombshell Phoebe Legere's Monad.
Despite minor victories, our heroes were going nowhere with a bullet, and before Autumn, 1980, The Coachmen had fizzled out just as Thurston found new traction playing with folks he's met at Coachmen gigs: Kim Gordon (who met Thurston at The Coachmen's second-to-last date, at the performance loft of Giorgio Gomelsky, the former London impressario of Rolling Stones and Yardbirds fame) and Lee Renaldo (whose band Flux, was billed with The Coachmen at an obscure club in Manhattan's "floral district," The Botany Talk House.)
JD went on to underground comix and mainstream illustration.
Mach Two: Into the Woods
This new version of The Coachmen was formed in 1997 with guitarist J.D. as the sole original member, Valerie Boyd on Farfisa organ, Dave Wain on bass and Simone Kwik on drums. No longer NYC-based, they live in upstate NY. In March, 1997 they recorded "Ten Compositions: New Frontiers in Free Rock," an LP for Ecstatic Peace. It was released in 2000.
"Ten Compositions: New Frontiers in Free Rock" is an all-instrumental bracing blast/blend of free jazz, garage psych and modern classical, challenging all previously held notions of just what exactly is, and is not, "music," using a conceptual crowbar to pry notation and time free from any semblance of a traditional foundation. Chas Leland produced the LP (and subsequent recordings), wringing the worst noises possible out of the worst noises The Coachmen created. The end result sounds like an explosion in an electric guitar factory, with a drum kit falling down 20 flights, while a Farfisa is being savaged.
"Ten Compositions: New Frontiers in Free Rock" is available from Ecstatic Peace.
To avoid confusion with 1960's garage bands with the same name, they altered their moniker to J.D. King & The Coachmen, and also underwent a slight personnel change with the exit of Dave Wain, replaced by May December, as well as Valerie trading her Farfisa for an electric guitar. Their 2000 recording session, "American Mercury," was released by Ecstatic Peace on CD in 2006 and is available from Ecstatic Peace.
"American Mercury" received considerable airplay in the US and Canada on independent and college stations, most notably WFMU. It also garnered positive reviews in The Wire 276, Next Big Thing and Blog to Comm.
Compared to the anarchy of "Ten Compositions: New Frontiers in Free Rock," "American Mercury" seems almost pop, yet remains a swirl of free jazz, garage psych and modern classical, with the addition of gut-bucket blues elements. This time, all the instruments are tuned to a tee, reining in the chaos, establishing an occasional border to the disorder. Several guitars were used: a Gibson Les Paul Classic, a Fender Stratocaster, a Fender Telecaster and a Rickenbacker 330-12.
J.D. King & The Coachmen returned to the studio before "American Mercury" was even released to weave their study in garage minimalism, "Mercy (Can Make You Happy)." Percussion is limited to tambourine and maracas. All guitar tracks are six-string: a Strat, a Tele and a Ric 330.
The album is mixed and in search of a label. Four tracks are on our MySpace page.
MP3s
1. Rumble (© Link Wray)
This is from an unreleased tape from 1978. It's the very first version of The Coachmen that includes JD King and Thurston Moore on guitars, John Miller on bass and Danny Walworth on drums. John Miller was soon to make tracks for Cal Arts, to be replaced with Bob Pullin.2. General Zachary Thackery Marches On (and on and on)
It was recorded at the 85 South Street loft on a cassette recorder.
This is the 1997 version of The Coachmen. JD, on guitar, is the sole remaining original member. The others are Valerie Boyd on Farfisa organ, Dave Wain, bassist, and drummer, Simone Kwik.3. Shivaree! Shivaree!
Production is by Chas Leland.
This track was previously only available on the Ecstatic Peace LP, "Ten Compositions: New Frontiers in Free Rock" To order this LP from Ecstatic Peace click here.
4. Untitled #17
Both are on the new CD, "American Mercury," on the Ecstatic Peace label. The personnel is slightly altered: JD and Valerie are on guitars, May December on bass, and Simone still holding down the drum slot.
Production is by Chas Leland.
To order "American Mercury" from Ecstatic Peace click here.
ARTIFACTS
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A's flyer/poster |
The Coachmen and others |
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The Coachmen, circa 1978, prowling downtown Manhattan, searching for kicks. L to R: Bob, JD, Thurston, Danny. |
JD on South Street, 1977. |
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Thurston, circa 1978, wondering, |
JD serenading the flowers and the birds at the |
A Partial Listing of Albums That JD King & The Coachmen Couldn't Live Without:
(To avoid any hint of favoritism, no artists are listed whom we're friends of.)
In no particular order:
"Axis Bold as Love" The Jimi Hendrix Experience
"Live at Shaboo, 1979" JB Hutto & The New Hawks
"England's Newest Hitmakers" The Rolling Stones
"Appalachian Spring" Copland / Slatkin
"Petrouchka" Stravinsky / Thomas
"Turn, Turn, Turn" The Byrds
"Coltrane" The John Coltrane Quartet
"Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse
"The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees" The Monkees
"Little Deuce Coupe" The Beach Boys
"Stellar Regions" John Coltrane
"East Broadway Run Down" Sonny Rollins
"West Side Story" Original Cast Recording
"A German Requiem" Brahms / Karajan
"24 Preludes & Fugues op. 87" Shostakovich / Jarrett
"Beethoven: The Five Middle Quartets" The Guarneri Quartet
"Sun Song" Sun Ra
"Raw Power" Iggy & The Stooges
"The Lonely Surfer" Jack Nitzche
"Underground" Thelonious Monk
"The Who Sell Out" The Who
"Sings and Plays" Chet Baker
"A Pell of a Time" Dave Pell's Jazz Octet
"The Ramones" The Ramones
"Ballads" The John Coltrane Quartet
"All Members" Don Sleet
"Girlfriend" Matthew Sweet
"Blue Train" John Coltrane
"Waltz for Debbie" The Bill Evans Trio
"Sold Out" The Kingston Trio
"String Along" The Kingston Trio
"A Salty Dog" Procol Harum
"High Tide & Green Grass" The Rolling Stones
"Taking Tiger Mountain" Brian Eno
"Tchaikovsky: Con. #1/Rachmaninoff Con. #2" Van Cliburn
"Please Please Me" The Beatles
"Oeuvres d'Erik Satie" Aldo Ciccolini
"South Pacific" Original Cast Recording
"Vincebus Eruptum" Blue Cheer
"Leave Home" The Ramones
"Rah" Mark Murphy
"La Femme" Les Baxter
"Timothy Clover is a World Today" Timothy Clover
"Fifth Dimension" The Byrds
"Mostly Monk" The Riverside Reunion Band
"Ellington Indigos" The Duke Ellington Orchestra
"Les Grands Succes De Francoise Hardy"
"Relaxin' With The Miles Davis Quintet"
"Damned" The Damned
"The Sidewinder" Lee Morgan
"The Fantasticks" Original Cast Recording
"The Hawk Flies High" Coleman Hawkins
"Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson"
"Electric Warrior" T Rex
"Filles de Kilimanjaro" The Miles Davis Quintet
"Pin Ups" David Bowie
"Mary Martin Sings, Richard Rodgers Plays"
"Roger the Engineer" The Yardbirds
"Alone in San Francisco" Thelonious Monk
"Through the Past Darkly" The Rolling Stones
"Pet Sounds" The Beach Boys
"The Individualism of Gil Evans" Gil Evans
"Echo" Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
"Sketches of Spain" Miles Davis/Gil Evans
"Getz/Gilberto" Stan Getz
"The Charlie Parker Story on Dial"
"You Really Got Me" The Kinks
"The Bridge" Sonny Rollins
"A Portrait of..." Art Farmer
"Presenting..." The Red Mitchell Quartet
"Ballads" Ben Webster
"Original Hits" Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas
"Capitol Collector's Series" Gene Vincent
"House of the Rising Sun" The Animals
"Segments II" Cecil Taylor
"Time Out" The Dave Brubeck Quartet
"Time Further Out" The Dave Brubeck Quartet
"In Person" The Kingsmen
"On the French Riviera" Dizzy Gillespie
"Gloria" The Shadows of Knight
"The World of Henry Orient" Soundtrack/Elmer Bernstein
"The Richard Rodgers Songbook" Ella Fitzgerald
"This is Our Music" The Ornette Coleman Quartet
"Ask the Ages" Sonny Sharrock
"Animalization" The Animals
"Four for Trane" Archie Shepp
"Ah Um" Charles Mingus
"Here Come the Warm Jets" Brian Eno
"Ragged Glory" Neil Young & Crazy Horse
"Shine on Brightly" Procol Harum
"Television" Television
"99 Chicks" Ron Haydock & The Boppers
"Rubber Soul" The Beatles
"Col Legno" Morton Feldman
"Hawks and Doves" Neil Young
"Beverly Kenney Sings For Johnny Smith"
"Hey Little Cobra" The Rip Chords
"Brandenburg Concertos" Bach / Karajan
"Blues and Roots" Charles Mingus
"Highway 61 Revisited" Bobby Dill Pickle
"Chet Baker Introduces Johnny Pace"
"This is the Modern World" The Jam
"Last Time Around" Buffalo Springfield
"Somethin' Else" Eddie Cochran
"Something Else" The Kinks
"Yerself is Steam" Mercury Rev
"Both Sides of..." Herman's Hermits
"There's a Kind of Hush..." Herman's Hermits
"Blaze" Herman's Hermits
"Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" Soundtrack
"Their Greatest Hits" Herman's Hermits
"The Soft Machine"
"Truth" The Jeff Beck Group
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" Donovan
"II" Led Zep
"Are You Experienced?" The Jimi Hendrix Experience
"Disraeli Gears" Cream
"The Jazz Giants '56" Lester Young
"Volunteers" The Jefferson Airplane
"Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones" The Monkees
"Radio Star" Big Star
"'Bout Changes & Things" Eric Andersen
"Tin Can Alley" Eric Andersen
"Album Seven" Rick Nelson
"Almanac" The Weavers
"Liquid Magic" The Ahmed Abdullah Quartet
"Green Tambourine" The Lemon Pipers
"A Love Supreme" John Coltrane
"E Pluribus Unum" Sandy Bull
"Long Walk Back" Junior Brown
"Today" The Beach Boys
"Relics" DMZ
"Bela Bartok: Piano Works" Andor Foldes
"Surf Age" Jerry Cole & His Spacemen
"Mama Too Tight" Archie Shepp
"Wish You Were Here" Pink Floyd
"Teenage Head" The Flamin' Groovies
"Nuggets" Various Artists
"Love it to Death" Alice Cooper
"Moby Grape" Moby Grape
"Easily Slip Into Another World" Henry Threadgill
"Happy Trails" The Quicksilver Messenger Service
"Spirits Before" The Charles Gayle Trio
"Running on Empty" Jackson Brown
"Bookends" Simon & Ratfinkel
"The Paragons vs The Jesters"
"Slanted/Enchated" Pavement
"Painful" Yo La Tengo
"Our True Story" The Jive 5
Etc., Etc., ETC.!!!
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