roxword Bio
Born in New York, roxword was raised on the tunes of Ellington and Ella with a healthy dollop of Basie. He studied the words of Wordsworth and Blake. He understood Whitman and Ginsberg and Beckett and Borges and Kerouac and Dylan. He a [+]roxword Bio
Born in New York, roxword was raised on the tunes of Ellington and Ella with a healthy dollop of Basie. He studied the words of Wordsworth and Blake. He understood Whitman and Ginsberg and Beckett and Borges and Kerouac and Dylan. He admired the art of Van Gogh and Duchamp and Warhol and Dali. He formed his first band when he was 16. Influenced by The Fugs, Captain Beefheart and Little Walter, Rocky Raccoon's Abnormal Tabernacle Choir and Swing Band, an energetic big band punk blues dada hybrid, were doomed from the start to enigmatic cult obscurity.
No matter. He dug further underground and took harp lessons from Blues Boy Bain, studied Sonny Terry, and rediscovered the pulsating rhythms from the Kalamazoo train yards of his youth. He performed solo in front of sketchy liquor stores, edgy skid row bus stops, and under dark overpasses for dimes and nickels and the odd quart of low-class high-proof vodka. But his luck was changing. He was invited to an audition for a back-up band. roxword was chosen.
As a charter member of the Supersonics, he supported the legendary Eddie Silver, and became a small cog in the big wheel of the first great rock 'n roll revival. Unfortunately, at the height of their popularity, bass player Biker Mike Carter (the Stu Sutcliffe of the group) was fired for incompetence and soon after, real tragedy struck the band. Hotshot drummer Mister Dean and dynamic Silver City Dancer Boy Orbison died too young for a reunion tour. Eddie Silver and the Supersonics soon fell apart, emotionally and musically. Eddie returned to his native Scotland and instead of groupie tarts, he picked up legal torts. In retrospect, the Supersonics were a showtime band and had no patience for the studio. Their only recording, "Live from Lebanon, The Best Damn Dolphin Christmas Party Ever!", was a searing performance perfectly captured by reclusive, misunderstood genius cab driver/producer, Gerg Llewop.
In university, roxword joined the midwest avant-garde scene (Madtown, Wisconsin). He teamed with Broose Presston and Beezer Pohle in a raw but spontaneously crunchy band called The Psycho. Their hard-to-find release "Symphonies for Found Objects" was hailed 'an eerie masterpiece', and disturbed almost everyone who heard it.
After stepping
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