spotlight FRED
THE B-52s
SCHNEIDER IT’S A COSMIC THING
by joel martens
I doubt that there’s a band or group who are more readily recognizable and to a broader cross-section of people, than the B-52s and their catalogue of fun, funky music. In a career that has spanned nearly 40 years, this mercurial group has spun a stack of hypnotic tunes filled with rock lobsters and love shacks, introducing a whole generation of young Americans to a new kitschy aesthetic. It’s a sound that lands somewhere between new wave and surf music, with roots in the surrealist musical leanings of crazy camp films and television shows of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Some might call it “oddball,” but I dare you to find a person who doesn’t know the sound when they hear it and hasn’t danced their ass off to it at some point. Setting aside the namesake beehives and bouffants,
the mad retro outfits and the cosmic-tinged vibe for a moment, it’s important to note that the B-52s have managed to stay together as a cohesive group since forming all those years ago—and in the process—becoming such integral part of the fabric making up the American music scene. So much so, that Rolling Stone has named the group’s aforementioned hits, “Rock Lobster” and “Love Shack,” one of the “500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.” Fred Schneider’s voice is the distinctive sound you hear in the foreground
of many of the B-52s hits, sidled alongside the sounds of its other five origina- tors including: Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards), Cindy Wilson (vocals, percussion), Ricky Wilson (lead guitar) and Keith Strickland (drums, rhythm guitar, keyboards). And, for the most part, with the exception of Ricky Wilson who sadly died in 1985, an early victim of the AIDS epidemic, they are still rockin’ and rolling it all around the world.
IT’S WAY BEYOND COOL FORTHE RAGE MONTHLY, TO HAVE THE CHANCE FOR A CONVERSATION WITH SCHNEIDER ABOUT ALL OF IT.
I’m curious, about who or what influenced you coming up? Basically, it was spooky sounds…Halloween songs and goofy holiday
music. (Laughs) I guess the absurdity of that just struck a chord with me. I’ve always been into crazy stuff even as a kid and was always into surrealism. I really loved Motown and soul music too, not that I would say that I’m much of a soul singer. You know, I really never planned to be in a band in the first place. Suddenly I’m in one and a couple years later we had a record contract and 40 years later, I’m still shaking my tired old ass on stage! (Laughs)
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RAGE monthly | JULY 2017
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