Pylon (band)

Pylon was an American new wave/post-punk band from Athens, Georgia, United States, who were active from 1979 to 1983, 1989 to 1991, and 2004 to 2009. The band consisted of singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay, guitarist Randall Bewley, bassist Michael Lachowski, and drummer Curtis Crowe. They released three studio albums and a number of singles from 1979 to 1990, as well as a live double album in 2016 (recorded on December 1, 1983).

The band's danceable sound, a blend of new wave, post-punk, jangle pop, influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. AllMusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".

History

1979–1983: Formation, early years and breakup

Pylon was formed in 1979. The four members of Pylon were art students at the University of Georgia in Athens. Guitarist Randall Bewley and bass guitarist Michael Lachowski began playing music and attempting to form a band in 1978. Neither had any musical experience: as Lachowski later recalled, "A lot of us in the art school were trying out different media with a punk rock message, which is just go in there and do it. You don’t need training, or authority or legitimacy. Just figure it out". They originally formed the band with the intention of securing live appearances in New York City, along with press attention, before splitting up.

They practiced in a studio in downtown Athens that Lachowski rented from Curtis Crowe, upstairs from the later location of the Grill on College Avenue. The room was lit by a single 40-watt light bulb, so the band referred to it as the "40 Watt Club". Crowe, who lived above the studio, recalled hearing Lachowski and Bewley's early rehearsals through the floor: "a never-ending series of hooks—no bridges or chorus, just hooks". He soon joined the band as a drummer, stating that he "had every song memorized" before he approached them to join. According to Lachowski, "we chose Pylon because it is severe, industrial, monolithic, functional". Despite receiving a relatively cool reception at their first two concerts, members of the B-52's attended Pylon's third show, where "they started dancing and running around like crazy and everybody else did too", according to Briscoe Hay. After Schneider passed Hurrah's manager Jim Fouratt a Pylon demo tape, Fouratt called the band and offered their choice of opening slots for a number of upcoming headlining bands: they chose to support the Gang of Four. Their performance was well-received by the audience and was the subject of a positive review by Glenn O'Brien in Interview. was released on DB Records in 1979, and received many positive critical reviews. That year they also opened for the B-52s at Central Park. Two further singles followed, "Crazy" (1981), which charted at No. 61 for club play in Billboard, and "Beep" (1982).

From 1980 to 1983, Pylon toured parts of the U.S., Canada and the U.K., playing with groups such as the B-52's, Gang of Four, Mission of Burma, Love Tractor, R.E.M., Talking Heads and U2.

Chomp, their second album, was released in 1983. By that time, the members of Pylon were beginning to feel that playing together was becoming less fun and more like a business, and after being poorly received by audiences when opening for U2 on the U.S. leg of their War Tour, they decided to break up the band in late 1983, In April, R.E.M. released the compilation album Dead Letter Office, which opened with a cover version of Pylon's "Crazy", previously issued as the B-side of their 1985 single "Driver 8". "That was (R.E.M.) just being gracious and honoring the scene that they came out of and the scene that they obviously contributed to," said Lachowski in a 2016 interview in New York Observer. "R.E.M. became so successful and successful in a different way. They were true musicians and had all kinds of historical knowledge about musical forms and different kinds of music. They were just very adept and confident and had so much more range. We were truly just art students assembling things with sound and instruments". coinciding with the release of a compilation of the band's work from 1979–83, Hits (1989).

They opened for the final leg of R.E.M.'s Green tour.

In 1990, the group released a new album, Chain, on Sky Records. a show taped for Georgia Public Broadcasting in Athens, and the Revolve Film and Music Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

On February 25, 2009, Bewley died, two days after suffering a heart attack while driving his van.

Bewley's death brought the band's career to a close; Hay said, "Pylon died when Randy died".

On July 25, 2016, Chunklet Industries released the double album Pylon Live, which had been recorded at Athens club The Mad Hatter on December 1, 1983, before they disbanded for the first time. Pitchfork called it

The album was previewed by Chunklet's April 20 release of a 7" single, "Gravity", taken from the live album.

New West Records reissued the "Cool"/"Dub" single as a special edition for Record Store Day in 2019. On August 28, 2020, the label announced the November 6, 2020 release of Pylon Box, a vinyl box set that contains remastered editions of Gyrate and Chomp, and two exclusive albums, Extra (containing various non-album tracks and five previously unissued recordings) and Razz Tape, containing the band's first-ever studio recordings, preceding the "Cool"/"Dub" single. The box also includes a 200-page hardcover book with new interviews with the surviving members of the band and testimonies from members of R.E.M., The B-52's, Gang of Four, The Bongos, Mission of Burma, Sleater-Kinney, Beat Happening, and Sonic Youth, and others.

In September 2020, the city launched the Athens Music Walk of Fame. The public art walk spans a two city blocks loop around West Washington and Clayton Streets connected by North Lumpkin Street. Guitar pick plaques were laid down on the sidewalk in front of such significant music venues as the Georgia Theatre, the 40 Watt Club, and the Morton Theatre. The first round of inductees included The B-52s, Danger Mouse, Drive-By Truckers, The Elephant 6 Recording Company, Hall Johnson, Neal Pattman, Pylon, R.E.M., Vic Chesnutt, and Widespread Panic.

Other projects

Hay is a member of the Athens band Supercluster, formed in 2007. Bewley was also a member before his death.

In 2014, Hay formed Pylon Reenactment Society with guitarist Jason NeSmith, drummer Gregory Sanders, and bass guitarist Kay Stanton, members of more recent Athens bands like the Glands and Casper & the Cookies. In a 2016 interview, Hay said "It's been inspirational, if that's the right word, to be able to play this music again. I really don't want people to forget Pylon. These are different people and we are re-enacting this experience, so it's not exactly Pylon, but it's fresh and done in the same spirit". In October 2017, Pylon Reenactment Society self-released an EP initially recorded on December 11, 2016 for broadcast in Los Angeles for DJ Michael Stock's Part Time Punks KXLU show, titled Part Time Punks Session.

On February 9, 2024, Pylon Reenactment Society released their full-length album debut on Strolling Bones Records titled Magnet Factory. The album of eleven songs includes two tunes written by Pylon in 1979, but never formally recorded in the studio – "3 x 3" and "Heaven (In Your Eyes)". It also includes a track ("Fix It") featuring vocals by Kate Pierson.

Members

Randall Bewley – guitar (1978–1983, 1989–1991, 2004–2009)
Curtis Crowe – drums (1978–1983, 1989–1991, 2004–2009)
Vanessa Briscoe Hay – vocals (1979–1983, 1989–1991, 2004–2009)
Michael Lachowski – bass guitar (1978–1983, 1989–1991, 2004–2009)

Discography

Studio albums

Gyrate (November 1980, DB Records DB54; reissued on CD 2007 as Gyrate Plus, DFA Records DFA2181CD)
Chomp (April 1983, DB Records DB65; reissued on CD 2009 as Chomp More, DFA Records DFA2220CD)
Chain (1990, Sky Records)

Singles and EPs

"Cool / Dub" 7" single (April 1980, DB Records DB53)
!! 10" EP (February 1981, Armageddon Records AEP10214)
"Crazy / M Train" 7"/12" single (March 1982, DB Records DB61)
"Beep / Altitude" 7" single (September 1982, DB Records DB62)
"Beep / Altitude / Four Minutes" 12" EP (September 1982, DB Records DB62)
"Sugarpop / Sugarpop Remix / Interview" promo CD single (1990, Sky Records)
Cover + Remix 7" single <small>(split single with Deerhunter</small> (June 2011, DFA Records DFA2279LP)
"Gravity / Weather Radio" 7" single (April 2016, Chunklet Industries CK7010)

Live albums

Pylon Live (July 25, 2016, Chunklet Industries CHKLP020)

Box set

Pylon Box (November 8, 2020, New West Records)

Compilation albums

Declaration of Independents – 13 Tracks of U.S. Rock 1980, Vinyl LP, Various artists (1980, Ambition Records AMB1, Basement Records BASE 6005, Stiff Records Yank 2)Various - Declaration Of Independents Discogs
Trouser Press Presents the Best of America Underground, Cassette LP, Various artists (1983, ROIR A124) Various - Trouser Press Presents the Best of America Underground Discogs
Jericho Go, Vinyl LP, Various artists (1985, DB Records / Stiff Records D BAT80) (DB Recs / Victor Musical Industries, Inc. VIL 28034)Various - Jericho Go Discogs
Athens, GA – Inside / Out, Vinyl LP, Various artists (1987, I.R.S. Records IRS6185)
Hits, Cassette, CD (1989, DB Records DB91)Pylon (4) - Hits Discogs
Squares Blot Out the Sun, Vinyl LP, CD, Cassette, Various artists (1990, DB Recs DB72)Various - Squares Blot Out the Sun Discogs
Totally Wired, CD, Various artists (1995, Razor & Tie RE 2076)Various - Totally Wired Discogs
KFJC 98.7 Fifty – Blowing Minds Since 1959, Vinyl double record LP, Various artists (2009, No label KJFC24)Various - KFJC 89.7 FM - Fifty Blowing Minds Since 1959 Discogs
Keith Haring – The World of Keith Haring – Influences + Connections , Vinyl triple record LP boxset, Triple CD boxset, Various artists (2019, Soul Jazz, Ltd. SJR LP444)Keith Haring Discogs
Blank Generation: A Story Of Us - Canadian Punk & Its Aftershocks 1975-1981, Five CD Boxset, Various artists (2023, Cherry Red Records CRCDBOX147)[https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/blank-generation-a-story-of-us-canadian-punk-its-aftershocks-1975-1981-various-artists-5cd-book-set/] Cherry Red Records