TamTam Books News Friday, July 16, 2004: I got this from the Guardian. Obituary ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Arthur Kane US musician who influenced British punk Garth Cartwright Saturday July 17, 2004 The Guardian Arthur Kane, who has died of leukaemia aged 55, was bassist with the New York Dolls, a group that existed between 1971 and 1977, issued just two albums and never enjoyed commercial success. Yet their subsequent influence on British and American musicians cannot be underestimated. Kane was born in the Bronx, New York, to Irish parents. A model student at the local Pratt College, he moved to Amsterdam in 1971. Having failed to put a band together, he concentrated on selling hashish. Deported back to the United States for riding a stolen motorbike, he took a job with the post office before hooking up with John Genzale (Johnny Thunders), Billy Murcia and Sylvain Mizrahi. Kane swapped his guitar for Genzale's bass, so establishing the Dolls' sound. Soon afterwards, the singer David Johansen joined, and the band quickly developed a loyal following around Manhattan. Mizrahi and Murcia had worked in the fashion industry, so dressed the band in clothes that mixed glam with a seedy, transvestite image. Musically, the Dolls were primitive, but with their outrageous attire and sharp, New York wit, they charmed local fans and critics. In 1972, the Melody Maker ran a feature on the Dolls, who were not signed to any label, which lead to the band being flown to London to support the Faces at Wembley - and drummer Billy Murcia died from substance abuse while in London. Replacing him with Jerry Nolan, the band signed to Mercury. Their self-titled debut album, The Dolls, and the follow-up, Too Much Too Soon, sold poorly, but inspired young musicians in New York and London. By 1975, Malcolm McLaren was managing the band, Vivienne Westwood was designing their outfits, Morrissey was running their fan club and the fledgling Sex Pistols and Clash were taking shape, inspired by the Dolls. Their early dissolution was, in large part, due to their intake of drugs and alcohol. An atmosphere of chaos surrounded the band, both in their sound and lifestyle. Thus did Kane's jealous girlfriend Connie attempt to sever his thumb while he lay in a drunken stupor in 1973. As punk rock happened, so did the Dolls fall apart. Their sound, meanwhile, was recycled by hundreds of young bands. Kane responded by aspiring to punk stardom, leading the Corpse Grinders. Shifting to Los Angeles, he broke both knees falling from a window. During the 1991 Los Angeles riots, he was attacked with a baseball bat. He spent a year in hospital and had a metal plate enclosed in his skull. Ex-Dolls Thunders and Nolan both died in 1991, their bodies ravaged from years of abuse. Morrissey, always the Dolls' greatest champion, managed to get the three surviving Dolls to reform and play his Meltdown Festival, at the South Bank last month. Both performances sold out and Kane, looking rather dazed, but still playing those huge, elemental bass lines, was given a considerable cheer by the audience. "A lot of the Dolls' sound I attribute to Arthur's bass playing, and it made us sound really strange and different from other rock bands," noted David Johansen. "He couldn't breathe and play at the same time, so he would take a re ally deep breath, play a lot of notes, and then take another deep breath and start playing again." In later years, Kane joined the Mormons, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and worked at one of its family history centres. He has no immediate survivors. ยท Arthur Kane, musician, born 1949; died July 15 2004 Tosh // 11:35 PM ______________________ Comments: Post a Comment
I got this from the Guardian. Obituary ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Arthur Kane US musician who influenced British punk Garth Cartwright Saturday July 17, 2004 The Guardian Arthur Kane, who has died of leukaemia aged 55, was bassist with the New York Dolls, a group that existed between 1971 and 1977, issued just two albums and never enjoyed commercial success. Yet their subsequent influence on British and American musicians cannot be underestimated. Kane was born in the Bronx, New York, to Irish parents. A model student at the local Pratt College, he moved to Amsterdam in 1971. Having failed to put a band together, he concentrated on selling hashish. Deported back to the United States for riding a stolen motorbike, he took a job with the post office before hooking up with John Genzale (Johnny Thunders), Billy Murcia and Sylvain Mizrahi. Kane swapped his guitar for Genzale's bass, so establishing the Dolls' sound. Soon afterwards, the singer David Johansen joined, and the band quickly developed a loyal following around Manhattan. Mizrahi and Murcia had worked in the fashion industry, so dressed the band in clothes that mixed glam with a seedy, transvestite image. Musically, the Dolls were primitive, but with their outrageous attire and sharp, New York wit, they charmed local fans and critics. In 1972, the Melody Maker ran a feature on the Dolls, who were not signed to any label, which lead to the band being flown to London to support the Faces at Wembley - and drummer Billy Murcia died from substance abuse while in London. Replacing him with Jerry Nolan, the band signed to Mercury. Their self-titled debut album, The Dolls, and the follow-up, Too Much Too Soon, sold poorly, but inspired young musicians in New York and London. By 1975, Malcolm McLaren was managing the band, Vivienne Westwood was designing their outfits, Morrissey was running their fan club and the fledgling Sex Pistols and Clash were taking shape, inspired by the Dolls. Their early dissolution was, in large part, due to their intake of drugs and alcohol. An atmosphere of chaos surrounded the band, both in their sound and lifestyle. Thus did Kane's jealous girlfriend Connie attempt to sever his thumb while he lay in a drunken stupor in 1973. As punk rock happened, so did the Dolls fall apart. Their sound, meanwhile, was recycled by hundreds of young bands. Kane responded by aspiring to punk stardom, leading the Corpse Grinders. Shifting to Los Angeles, he broke both knees falling from a window. During the 1991 Los Angeles riots, he was attacked with a baseball bat. He spent a year in hospital and had a metal plate enclosed in his skull. Ex-Dolls Thunders and Nolan both died in 1991, their bodies ravaged from years of abuse. Morrissey, always the Dolls' greatest champion, managed to get the three surviving Dolls to reform and play his Meltdown Festival, at the South Bank last month. Both performances sold out and Kane, looking rather dazed, but still playing those huge, elemental bass lines, was given a considerable cheer by the audience. "A lot of the Dolls' sound I attribute to Arthur's bass playing, and it made us sound really strange and different from other rock bands," noted David Johansen. "He couldn't breathe and play at the same time, so he would take a re ally deep breath, play a lot of notes, and then take another deep breath and start playing again." In later years, Kane joined the Mormons, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and worked at one of its family history centres. He has no immediate survivors. ยท Arthur Kane, musician, born 1949; died July 15 2004 Tosh // 11:35 PM
