Babylon Dance Band 1978-82
The Babs (The Dance Band) was formed by friends Chip Nold (vocals), Tim Harris (bass) and Marc Zakem (guitar). They played around with various drummers before Dave Bradley signed on. They gained a second guitar with Tara Key after No Fun dissolved. When Marc left the group, he was briefly replaced with Karen Vance from Lexington before the band decided to strip down to a four-piece. The departure of Dave paved the way for Sean Mulhall to take the drum stool and complete the classic line-up. Though they went in the studio a number of times, their only period releases were the "When I'm Home/Remains of the Beat" single (self-released--1981) and a track ("My Friend Roger") on the New Accounts compilation (Hit A Note--1981). A bit more prolific in the afterlife, the band recorded and released the "Someday/Rubbertown" single (Trash Flow--1990), and the Four On One album (Matador--1994).
A shot of Tara singing (blow-up from Tewligan's series below) by Ken Flaherty, 2 shots by Kate Dunn of a May '81 show at Lexington's Club Au Go Go, plus an unknown shot from the August 7th 1982 WLRS Sun Splash Festival.
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A promo shot by Roea Wallace & 4 photos from Bill Carner illustrating the evolution of the band.
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Finally some more Dance Band shots, courtesy of Ken Flaherty. First a Feb. '81 all-nighter at Tewligan's, then the 2/11/81 Hit-a-Note Records New Accounts show at Armando's Palace. To save load time on this page, click into the galleries below.
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Tewligan's
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Armando's
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The James Hamilton 8x10, plus duotone reproduction, that graced the cover of the Village Voice and the "When I'm Home" single.
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A sampling of a bunch of slides band friend Charley Westerman shot of the Sept. '81 show at the Crimson Lounge. It was a two night gig they shared with Circle X (note banner in back); as well, the first night Tom Carson read from his punk novel Twisted Kicks while the instrumental Babs provided back-up.
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For other great BDB shots, be sure to check out the Kenny's Memories gallery.
And furthermore, in the OOH OOH WAIT NEW NOW MORE! Dept. is much more for your further consideration. The first grouping excellently shows the hardest part of being in a punk band: finding a drummer! The first three shots were snagged from somewhere and look like snapshots of photographs, so they might be from the Live from a Dark Room exhibit, though not by my hand. Everything else was borrowed from Chip Nold's vault.
In the first ten photos, who held the cameras is anybody's guess. In trying to nail down some further details, I thankfully remembered Chip's BABYLON DANCE BAND TIMELINE, 1963-1984. It's more than just a resource, it's a funny read.
great set of a set!
yo, up east mofo!
Michael Conen's Magical Frames
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