Holy Modal Rounders Got Eatin' By Something

Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber obviously loved American folk music as much as any of the kids who had their head turned around by Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music in the 1950s, but unlike the many musicians who paid tribute to America's musical past by trying to re-create it as closely as possible, as The Holy Modal Rounders Stampfel and Weber opted to drag the music into the present, shrieking and giggling all the way. Even by the standards of The Holy Modal Rounders' first two albums, 1967's Indian War Whoop is a thoroughly bizarre listening experience; loosely structured around the between-song adventures of two seedy vagabonds named Jimmy and Crash, side one veers back and forth between neo-psychedelic fiddle-and-guitar freakouts and free-form (and often radically altered) interpretations of traditional folk tunes such as "Soldier's Joy" and "Sweet Apple Cider," while side two is devoted to like minded originals (including a couple songs from their friend Michael Hurley, who would later join the group). Most certainly a product of its time, Indian War Whoop sounds rather dated today, but its buoyant good humor and chemically-altered enthusiasm remains effective, even when the Rounders' reckless pursuit of inner space sounds like it was more fun to create than to observe on record. (AM)



In the mid- to late '60s you couldn't get much further underground in the ever-expanding world of rock music than the Fugs -- unless of course you were one of the Holy Modal Rounders, i.e. folk musicians Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber. The Rounders started out in the same early-'60s New York folk and jug scene as Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, and had crossed paths numerous times. Stampfel and Weber will be eternally remembered for "Bird Song," which was prominently featured in both the movie Easy Rider and its soundtrack. It's also the opening cut on The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders, an album way beyond anything else considered to be "far out" at the time. Released in 1968 on Elektra, the 13 tracks are highlighted by such otherworldly compositions as "Werewolf," "My Mind Capsized," "The STP Song," and "Half a Mind." Unabashed in its own eccentricity, this set is similar to their 1967 ESP release Indian War Whoop in that it combines acoustic traditional American folk, blues, and hillbilly music regurgitated by crazed folkie acidheads experimenting with electric instruments. Following the disc's release, Stampfel said this album reflected producer Frazier Mohawk's musical taste more so than the band's. The Modal duo are assisted, in this case, by playwright Sam Shepard on tambourine, Richard Tyler on piano, and John Wesley Annis on bass and drums. As good luck would have it, the Water label unleashed this CD on the public for the first time in 2002 with two previously unreleased bonus tracks. Absolutely essential. (AM)

I could not say it better myself. I started to listen them about six years ago and then I did not even understand it. My friend who introduced me to Peter Stampfel (the man with the mustache in the photo above and the one with the short hair in the photo below) at a show in New York City and said if you have not ever listened to his stuff you should. I was honored to meet him but did not know about what band he was in. I felt embarrassed that I did not The Holy Modal Rounders. Peter asked for my address and I gave it to him. He wrote a note that said. "Dear Matt I am sure that this will satisfy what I did a long time ago and be prepared for some of the most original acoustic music ever placed on your turntable.



Once a friendly stranger said to me,
Hippies call it STP
You're a friendly stranger, I can see,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Have a revelation, the first one's free
Soon you'll be addicted to eternity
We'll be pushers, cosmic style
It's too late to stop now,
You're a Nova Cop now
Hippies call it STP

Look at all them hippies do their thing,
Hippies call it STP
Trying to be the next week ripoff king,
Take a whiff on me
Seems he was a flower child just last week
Now he's got the clap and he's a needle freak
Good thing love's all you need
Brand new generation,
Brand new explanation
Hippies call it STP

Meanwhile in a headshop in Provincetown,
Hippies call it STP
A gentle, soulful cat's putting soldiers down,
Take a whiff on me
Soldiers getting salty, but the cat don't mind
Getting soldiers salty helps the cat unwind
He's a narc on a lark
Busy as a beaver
Just a gay deceiver
Hippies call it STP

(refrain, both parts done simultaneously)
Going to the country where everything's free
Going to the country, and you can't catch me
I can't stand that bad city
All I do there is shoot junk
(and)
Gong around, gong around
Keep on kicking that gong arond
Tears me up, brings me down
But I gotta keep kicking that gong around

Be my flower child, little girl, Hippies call it STP
Lemme be your guru for awhile,
Take a whiff on me
'Splain dat to me Kingfish, it ain't too clear
King it to me, 'splainfish, said the engineer
Now you know why I veer
Yummy yummy yummy
Sucking off a mummy
Hippies call it STP

I grew to like it more and more. The lyrics above is for a song called "The STP Song." Very odd, but definite owing to their counterparts The Fugs. The Fugs were more of a fuller band, but the oddities as a duo is what made The Holy Modal Rounders.

If you are looking for the odd music to add to your collection that will have your friends second guessing your sanity then this is the one for you. Enjoy!!