DNA (band)
298291
205479942
2008-04-14T03:16:28Z
Sharkface217
262040
Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/214.13.192.184|214.13.192.184]] ([[User talk:214.13.192.184|talk]]) to last version by 203.99.176.13
DNA were formed in 1978 by [[guitar]]ist [[Arto Lindsay]] and [[keyboard instrument|keyboard]]ist [[Robin Crutchfield]]. Rather than playing their instruments in a traditional manner, they instead focused on making unique and unusual sounds. Their music was described as spare, noisy, and angular and was compared to some of [[Captain Beefheart]]'s output and even to [[Anton Webern]].
DNA originally consisted of Lindsay, Crutchfield, [[Gordon Stevenson]], and [[Mirielle Cervenka]], and took their name from a song by another no wave band, [[Mars (band)|Mars]]. Stevenson went on to play bass for [[Teenage Jesus and the Jerks]]; Cervenka was the younger sister of [[Exene Cervenka]] of [[X (U.S. band)|X]]. This incarnation of the band was very brief, not playing even one concert. After the rapid departure of Stevenson and Cervenka, Lindsay and Crutchfield hastily recruited [[Ikue Mori]] -- a Japanese woman with little command of English and no drum set -- to be DNA's drummer.
This lineup of DNA played occasionally at [[CBGB]] and [[Max's Kansas City]] and recorded one 7" single. Within their first year, they had cemented their reputation as a paradigmatic no wave band when [[Brian Eno]] selected them as one of the four groups documented on the ''[[No New York]]'' LP, the first recording to expose no wave groups to an audience outside of lower [[Manhattan]]. The other three bands appearing on this album were [[James Chance and the Contortions|The Contortions]], [[Teenage Jesus and the Jerks]], and [[Mars (band)|Mars]].
Shortly after the recording of ''[[No New York]]'', Crutchfield left DNA to form a new band, [[Dark Day]]. He was replaced by [[Tim Wright]], previously of the [[Cleveland]] band [[Pere Ubu (band)|Pere Ubu]]. As Wright played bass guitar and not keyboards, and was the only member of the band to have any conventional instrumental technique, the change in DNA's sound was dramatic. The music became even more spare and angular, with Wright's bass lines creating a sometimes menacing sound to support Lindsay's scraping, atonal guitar and Mori's irregular rhythms. Their song structures became tighter, briefer, more abstract, and have been compared to [[haiku]].
The Lindsay-Mori-Wright lineup of DNA developed something of a [[cult following]] between 1979 and 1982, but perhaps more of their fans came from the art world than from rock audiences. Live shows were frequent in this period, but rarely outside of the [[CBGB]] - [[Mudd Club]] - [[Tier 3]] circuit in lower Manhattan.
The group's 10-minute debut album, ''A Taste of DNA'' was recorded for [[Kip Hanrahan]]'s American Clavé label, and was later released on [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]] in 1980. Some live DNA tracks appeared on compilation albums while the band was still in existence.
Lindsay, Mori, and Wright decided to dissolve the band in 1982. It's a measure of the cult following the band had developed that its final concerts were three consecutive sold-out nights at CBGB. DNA's final encore was a cover of [[Led Zeppelin]]'s "Whole Lotta Love." Sadly, this is not included on the CD ''Last Live at CBGB'', released more than a decade later on [[John Zorn]]'s Avant label.
The band is featured in the film [[Downtown 81]] starring the artist [[Jean-Michel Basquiat]].
''DNA on DNA'', a comprehensive CD chronicle of the band, was released by No More Records in 2004.
Lindsay and Mori, and to a lesser extent Crutchfield, have remained active in music.
The rock group [[Blonde Redhead]] takes its name from a DNA song.
==Discography==
* "[[You & You]]" b/w "Little Ants" 1978 - Lust/Unlust Music, 11-CAN-234
* ''[[No New York]]'': various artists (Four DNA tracks) 1978 - Antilles, AN 7067 (LP)
* ''[[A Taste of DNA]]'' 1981 - American Clavé, AMCL 1003EP (12")
* ''[[The Fruit of Original Sin]]'': various artists (Three DNA tracks) 1981 - Les Disques Du Crepuscule, twi 035 (2xLP)
* ''[[Last Live at CBGB]]'' 1993 - Avant (Japan), Avant 006 (CD)
* ''[[American Clavé Sampler]]'': various artists (one DNA track) 1993 - American Clave (USA), AMCL 1020/1026 (2xCD)
* ''[[DNA on DNA]]'' 2004 - No More Records, NoCD12
== External links ==
*[http://www.myspace.com/llikyouridols Official Myspace page] for "Kill Your Idols", a documentary about the Cinema of Transgression featuring DNA lives
[[Category:No Wave musical groups]]
[[Category:No Wave]]
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