Music Feelies Fans: Prepare to Freak Out
It’s not a full-blown reunion yet, but Pitchfork reports serious rumblings that front this morning:
Quanah Humphreys reports: This Sunday, May 7, sandwiched between the Sensational Soul Cruisers R&B revue and the “high energy rock” of Majorette, members of post-punk legends the Feelies will get together for an early afternoon performance at the Hoboken Spring Arts & Music Festival. Sounds like we’re in for some slightly-less-than-crazy rhythms..It’s a partial Feelie formation, New Jersey’s Exit Weekly reports, with singer/guitarist Glenn Mercer and drummer Vinny DeNunzio performing a mix of Feelies songs and new material. Exit also reports that Feelies co-songwriter and guitarist Bill Million won’t be joining the duo due to personal and geographical restrictions (Million lives in Florida), dashing any chance of billing the performance as a full-fledged reunion.
The Feelies formed in the late 70s in New Jersey but quickly gained buzz in New York City as one of the most exciting bands in the city’s emerging new wave scene. The 1980 album Crazy Rhythms was a commercial failure but would go on to inspire countless young bands. The band suffered line-up changes and periods punctuated by on-and-off action but kept the core songwriting duo of Mercer and Million intact until the band skittered to a halt in 1991 with Million’s abrupt departure to Florida.
According to Exit Weekly, despite his absence from Sunday’s show, Million is interested in playing again with his former bandmates and might have larger plans for the Feelies than Hoboken festivals. For now, though, that’s all speculation. “It’s all fun at this point, and we’re going to be careful about the types of gigs we do,” Mercer told Exit. “We’re not just going to play for money. The shows have got to be fun.”
I saw them way back when in the late 70's--great post-punk band. But it doesn't do us a lot of good here in seattle.:(