A bit of history: Marc Jeffrey, David Lee and James McCarthy first climbed up on the CBGB stage in 1978. The group was called The Limit. When their set was over Joey Ramone said they were ‘really good’. They were also really young, still in their teens, and really still in school. In 1981 Marc and David returned to CBGB with Richard Maurer, in the newly formed Band of Outsiders. Many nights at CBGB followed; one of which has turned up in the library archives of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 1983 James took David’s place. In November 1988 the band played a farewell show at CBGB with friend Nikki Sudden sitting in; that became the album Armistice Day. In 1999, for the CBGB 25th Anniversary series of shows, Band of Outsiders reformed for one night, with Marc, David, James and Richard. And that was the last chapter in this band’s CBGB story.
Until now. Reformed and recharged, the band is delighted to be playing the CBGB festival on Thursday July 5; and sharing The Delancey stage with Gods and Monsters, former Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas’ longtime ensemble that once included Jeff Buckley, and whose regular members include Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers) and Billy Ficca (Television). Rolling Stone’s David Fricke wrote: “Gary Lucas is one of the best and most original guitarists in America…a modern guitar miracle”. CBGB was itself a modern miracle for our generation of guitarists and our bands. So we look forward to celebrating that miracle again on July 5. Come on down and join us!
From NY Music Daily (June 13, 2012)
“Band of Outsiders, another group that called CB’s home in a previous life, were amazingly good at Local 269… even better now than they were at the peak of their popularity almost thirty years ago. The twin guitars of Jim McCarthy and Marc Jeffrey jangled and clanged and intertwined with a psychedelic chemistry akin to Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine in Television, a band they get compared to a lot and deservedly so. Mixing up older songs with new ones from their excellent new Sound Beach Quartet mini-album, they evoked other great guitar bands from years past: the artsy catchiness of the Church; the menacing improvisational stomp of True West; the hypnotic but hooky jangle of The Feelies, and then closed with a rampaging, uncharacteristically loose cover of ‘Shakin’ All Over’. But the best songs of the night were the new ones. McCarthy sang the bittersweet, Grateful Dead-tinged ‘Gods of Happenstance’ as Jeffrey hit his envelope pedal for some terse Jerry Garcia textures; Jeffrey took over vocals on the backbeat-driven, unexpectedly crescendoing ‘One Life Is Not Enough’.”
Band of Outsiders will play at 11pm, following Gods and Monsters’ set at 10pm. Full evening line-up here
The Delancey
168 Delancey Street
New York, NY, 10002
P: 212- 254-9920 F: 212-254-0782
James and Marc of the Band Of Outsiders were interviewed in BoB#78/79. Purchase here
Bucketfull Of Brains 