No one man can make a scene. But perhaps one can be an embodiment of it. A representation of what makes a place and its music intertwined. Like his beloved Cleveland itself, the emblematic and occasionally problematic Peter Laughner was on the fringes of the American music canon. A shadowy presence in a shadowy place at the time when rock n roll was dark, smart, and powerful. But that is the thing about underground music...it can happen in the most unlikely places. And underground music needs people with vision and determination to make it live. Though most of Laughner's renown comes from being a member of both the proto-punk master-blasters Rocket from the Tombs and then his short-lived stint in their seminal art-punk offshoot Pere Ubu, he was involved in scores of other bands as well as being a writer and critic of music at one of its most important periods.
The real tragedy of Peter Laughner, beyond his self-destructive tendencies and untimely death, is that he is often remembered most for his self-destructive tendencies and untimely death. Though his importance has been well documented in his circles of influence, his reflective writing, his other-worldly guitar playing, and the scarce snippets of music that were available through bootlegs and a single disjointed compilation, his status as a rock n roll victim and burnt out luminary overshadow the music itself.
Today, we will play an interview with Nick Blakey, a Northwestern Ohio music archivist and a producer on the boxset who spent a decade working on the project. He speaks about what he has learned about Peter Laughner, the sometimes grueling process of culling hours of tapes to a 5 LP set, his perspective on hero worship, and a myriad of fascinating stories about his years as a fan, record collector, bootleg trader, musician, researcher, writer, and archivist.
You can order your copy of the Peter Laughner 5LP box set at Smog Veil Records
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