Once again, we are proud to share the stage with another obscure legendary band: Northeast Ohio's 15 60 75, AKA The Numbers Band. This art-punk avant-jazz-rock ensemble cut a seminal but underheard live record in 1976,
Jimmy Bell's Still in Town, and used to share bills with the likes of Devo and Rocket From the Tombs. Chrissy Hynde's saxophonist brother Terry is a longtime member, and bandleader Robert Kidney has also done time in the Golden Palominos. Based on numerous recent live footage clips on YouTube, these cats still rip it up!
Friday, November 20
Velvet Lounge
915 U St NW WDC
http://www.velvetloungedc.com202-462-3213
$10, doors at 9pm, 18+
The Numbers Band (performing two sets!)
Kohoutek (improv power-skronk from Mars)
The Numbers Bandhttp://www.numbersband.com15 60 75 The Numbers Band has been praised by almost every national music publication and several international publications since the beginning of their 30 years of live performances and recordings. Many fans are under the impression that the band remains obscure by choice. In fact, they have never been offered a contract from any recording company in the industry, ever.
The music "cannot be categorized", "it is undefinable", "too original". The music industry is not about music anymore. It is about selling products the public can relate to. After all, it is a business. Even "alternative" music has become a label. The founder of the band, Robert Kidney, explains, "The music industry, the media, and the tellsusourvision (TV) are defining for the American public what is good music by only playing and supporting what is profitable. We are taught to disregard everything that is not familiar. We (The Numbers Band) give the people our best. Our effort goes into being creative, unique and original. We define our own sound. There are no rules because we don't play the game. We are not in it for the game, we're in it for the music."
So, the band continues to create and evolve outside of the "Rock & Roll" establishment. The majority of the recordings were financed by friends who loved the music enough to put up their own money. Hundreds of photographs taken of the band in different stages of it's existence by different amazing people tell a story of intense performances, long nights, and the passing of time. Band members have come and gone, and returned again. Robert sees music as much more than an emotional release or a performance. It is a job, a job for which he demands respect and payment for services.
Robert Kidney picked up a guitar and began teaching himself to play when he 16. He bought a 45 record called Guitar Boogie Shuffle and his cousin, Larren Hesson, taught Robert the licks. He also taught him to play one of his favorite songs, Riders On The Storm. At 17, Robert played solo in coffee houses and also opened for several acts at La Cave in Cleveland such as Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponys and Janis Ian. He never found the time to learn to read music. After a short stint in the service in Chicago, he moved back to northeast Ohio in the spring of 1969. A friend, Gary Hawk, had formed a band called Pig Iron in Wadsworth, Ohio. Robert opened for them at the Akron Art Museum and several band members asked him to come to a rehersal sometime. When Robert did show up, Gary had left the group, and the remaining members wanted him to be their front man. Robert changed the name of the band to 15 60 75.
The title of the band has always aroused curiosity from fans. The fans called them The Numbers because it was easier than trying to get the figures right. Numbers had not been used in a name before, and the political climate in 1970 was quite Orwell-ian. Robert choose a sequence of numbers mentioned in a book written by Paul Oliver called The Blues Fell This Morning. In the chapter "The Jinx Is On Me", Oliver describes the Numbers Racket popular in Harlem in the 1950s and how dreams were analyzed as number sequences and used for placing bets. The band's music theory specialist, Terry Hynde, also discovered that 15 divided 15 is 1, 60 divided by 15 is 4, and 75 divided by 15 is 5. In a musician's world, "1, 4, 5," is referred to as the "universal progression".
The band resides in northeast Ohio. They have several recordings under their belt and more music than they can afford to release. Robert has recorded and toured with Anton Fier and his Golden Palominos. Robert and his brother, Jack, have toured Holland twice. The brothers also traveled to London, England in 1998 to perform in the Disastodrome! production by David Thomas. The entire band went to London to perform at the Royal Festival Hall in 2000. For more information on the production,and The Kidney Brothers, go to The Brothers And The Blues Abstract. This band has an incredibly interesting history. Continue with reading Modern Is Just Old Hat Chromed. A History., or better yet, go to The Schedule and check them out live.
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Upcoming events:
Wednesday 12/2 @ Bossa: Khan Jamal (solo and w/ Chromatic Mysteries), Kohoutek Dashin Gassoudan, Vattel Cherry $10, doors at 8pm, 21+
Monday 12/21 @ Velvet Lounge: Grant Hart (of Husker Du), Ambition Burning $10, doors at 8:30pm, 18+
Friday 1/8 @ Velvet Lounge: Erik Deutsch (CD release show) $10, doors at 8:30pm, 21+
Thursday 1/28 @ Bossa: Frode Gjerstad/Nick Stephens/Paal Nilssen-Love, Chromatic Mysteries $10, doors at 8pm, all ages
Saturday 2/6 @ Velvet Lounge: Kohoutek, projekt[transmit] (mem. of The Necks/Haptic) $8, doors at 8pm, 18+
Monday 2/8 @ Bossa: Mountains (Thrill Jockey), tape (from Sweden), Kuschty Rye Ergot
