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Psychedelic rock gets an update, with playful metallic edge By Darrell Jonsson For The Prague Post (May 8, 2003) When University of Errors' Josh Pollock finishes the artful implosions of his guitar's full electronic potential, you will have been to the future of electric guitar and back. With members ranging from 25 to 63 years old, University of Errors (UoE) takes listeners on a transgenerational journey piloted by what bass player Micheal Clare describes as "a psychedelic punk band from Planet Gong." During the '70s and '80s, bands such as Hawkwind in the United Kingdom, Gong in France, and Can in Germany pursued the electronic threads of '60s rock, extending their vitality and musicianship through emerging electronic technologies. With UoE there are also touches of punk and what is today known as ambient. But like the early psychedelic bands, UoE also has a charming playfulness. Frontman Daevid Allen, who describes himself as "an ancient antipodean flower child," is well-acquainted with the 20th-century avant-garde. In the early '60s Allen moved into a Paris hotel room previously occupied by Allen Ginsberg. There he began cutting up audiotape to provide musical backdrops for performances by William Burroughs. In 1966, along with drummer Robert Wyatt, Allen founded the Soft Machine, a band that shared many venues and influences with Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd. Two years later, working with poetess Gilli Smyth, Allen organized music projects that combined elements of psychedelia, free jazz, metaphysical lyrics and humorous stage performances. From these performances the band Gong emerged. Actuel magazine once described Gong as "the leading underground band in France." After French authorities took offense at Gong members distributing teddy bears to military police while performing for protesters during the 1968 general strike in Paris, Allen, Smyth and other band members were forced to leave France to avoid arrest.
Bouncing between Spain, England and France, Gong continued into the '70s, when they become one of the first acts signed by Virgina Records (along with Mike Oldfield of subsequent Tubular Bells fame). In the late '70s, Allen continued his knack for founding innovative bands, forming the punk rock unit Here & Now Band in the UK, and a New York version of Gong. Here in the 21st century, Allen plows through his pataphysical lyrics with a new ensemble founded in San Francisco, California. UoE brings together younger members from San Francisco's neo-psych scene, such as guitarist Pollock and drummer Warren Huegel, with veteran musical activist Clare on bass. The lineup provides an electronically evolved, contemporary metallic edge to Allen's ever-deep, dark and often humorous lyrics. On tour promoting their third CD, Ugly Music for Monica, UoE will be making its first Czech Republic appearance at Svandovo divadlo. Opening the bill will be Prague's own Czech underground-influenced Skryty puvab byrokracie (Hidden Grace of Bureaucracy). UoE has a way of breaking the barrier between performers and audiences. In fact, Allen is already extending an invitation to Czech audiences: "Please come and talk to us. We want to meet you and talk." Anyone who thinks rock music fell into a mixer hardwired with drum machines will be pleased watching UoE break loose. Backed by a lively rhythm section, the wild punk-informed electronica guitar of Pollack and the theatrical vocal peformance of Allen, UoE is fresh, thought-provoking and funny. As one recent UoE concertgoer remarked, "I laughed all the way home."
Darrell Jonsson can be reached at
features@praguepost.com
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