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The Bad Livers were a band from Austin, Texas whose inventive musical style defied attempts to categorize them according to existing genres.〔McLeese, Don. "Musical Mayhem: Bill Monroe, Metallica inspire Bad Livers' High-Speed Style" ''The Austin American-Statesman'' 7 March 1991.〕〔Alden, Grant. ("Bad Livers: Deconstruction of the Labels" ) ''No Depression'' #8. March–April 1997. Retrieved December 21, 2012〕〔Lupton, John. "Bad Livers: Dust on the Bible" (Review). ''Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine'' Volume 43 #4. Summer 1999. p. 125〕 The original lineup, formed in 1990, included Danny Barnes on banjo, guitar and resonator guitar, Mark Rubin on upright bass and tuba, and Ralph White III on fiddle and accordion. When White left the group at the end of 1996, he was briefly replaced by Bob Grant on mandolin and guitar. Barnes and Rubin then continued to perform and record as a duo until unofficially dissolving the band in 2000. The band has neither toured nor recorded since then, but Barnes and Rubin have played a few live shows with Grant in 2008, 2009, and 2014.〔(Bad Livers collection on the Internet Archive’s live music archive ) Retrieved January 1, 2013.〕〔 Richard, Terry. ("Mt. Hood Meadows' season ender on tap, featuring Austin-legend Bad Livers." ) ''The Oregonian'' 12 May 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014. 〕 The Bad Livers' music has often been cited for its influence on other groups,〔Staff. ("Phantom Power & Spiritual Benefits: The Return of the Bad Livers." )''Austin Chronicle'' 14 February 1997. Retrieved December 21, 2012〕〔Kale, Wendy. "Club Notes: Juno What?!, Danny Barnes and Edward Sharpe at Boulder Theater" ''The Colorado Daily'' 25 November 2009〕〔KUT Music Archive. ("Folktronics with Danny Barnes: January 29, 2010" ) Retrieved December 23, 2012〕〔Krings, Mike. ("Come together: Split Lip Rayfield, Bad Livers members see no limits to new project." ) Lawrence.com. 6 June 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.〕 creating what the ''Austin Chronicle'' described as "an impressive legacy."〔Hess, Christopher. ("Bad Livers: The Ridgetop Sessions (Review)." ) ''The Austin Chronicle'' 30 June 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2012.〕 ''The Stranger'' credited them with "revitalizing roots music,"〔Reighley, Kurt B. ("Border Radio: Roots & Americana." ) ''The Stranger'' 15–21 September 2005. Retrieved January 1, 2013.〕 and, according to the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', "The Bad Livers helped open the way for old-time and bluegrass bands of today."〔DuShane, Tony. ("The Bad Livers: Old-time hip, not hippie." ) ''The San Francisco Chronicle''. 19 March 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2013.〕 ==History== The Bad Livers formed in 1990, when Barnes "came up with this idea that it would be great to have a small-format acoustic band that could play different kinds of music (a ) virtuoso level, where they could play any kind of music."〔Morris, Chris "Banjo Widens Its Horizons" ''Billboard'' 10 October 1998. p. 52.〕 He began playing with Rubin and White,〔Hernández, Raoul. ("Complete Freedom: Danny Barnes". ) ''The Austin Chronicle'' November 5, 1999. Retrieved December 21, 2012.〕 and the trio adopted the name Bad Livers in the summer of 1990.〔Blackstock, Peter. "Best bets." ''The Austin American-Statesman'' 13 August 1990.〕 They began playing frequently in Austin,〔 including a weekly set at the Saxon Pub.〔Schroeder, Audra. ("Year of the Squirrel: Ralph White’s Old, Weird Americana." ) ''The Austin Chronicle''. December 8, 2006. Retrieved December 21, 2012.〕 A typical set in 1991 〔Internet Archive. (Live recording of the Bad Livers at Cicero’s in St. Louis, Missouri. ) May 4, 1991. Retrieved November 10, 2012.〕〔Internet Archive. (Live recording of the Bad Livers at the Saxon Pub in Austin, Texas. ) August 12, 1991. Retrieved November 10, 2012.〕 included a wide variety of styles and periods of music, as Rubin later explained: "We were doing Mississippi John Hurt, gospel tunes, Captain Beefheart—anything, really, but it was Motörhead or the Misfits that caught on."〔Riemenschneider, Chris. "Bad Livers transplant: Austin band is doing nicely after music-saving procedure." ''The Austin American-Statesman''. 13 February 1997.〕 Imprecise descriptions of the Bad Livers' music abounded: "thrash-grass,"〔Fricke, D. "Rockin' in the Heart of Texas." ''Rolling Stone''. 30 April 1992. 28.〕 "acoustic bluegrass with a punk death wish,"〔Staff. ("Critics' picks." ) ''The Houston Chronicle''. 24 December 1992. Retrieved December 22, 2012.〕 "something called 'contemporary bluegrass,'"〔Stoute, Lenny. "Mud puppies left holding the bag." ''The Toronto Star''. 14 May 1992. F10.〕 and "acoustic-metal-bluegrass,"〔Armstrong, Gene. "Pop band Overwhelming Colorfast on bill with a unique hip-hop duo." ''The Arizona Daily Star''. 27 May 1994. 2E.〕 although these same sources would cite the band as "much-lauded" 〔 and note that "the musicians can really play."〔 The recurrence of the term bluegrass, however bizarrely it was modified, along with counter-assessments of them as "good, faithful traditionalists" who "preserve the spirit as well as the technique of old-timey folk music,"〔Schoemer, Karen. "Sounds Around Town." ''The New York Times''. 25 September 1992. Weekend Desk C.〕 created a generic perplexity that led Austin country legend Don Walser to observe that the only question he couldn't answer was what kind of music the Bad Livers played.〔Beal, Jim Jr. "Bad Livers Indescribably Delicious." ''San Antonio Express-News''. 17 May 1996. 9 H.〕 Barnes insisted that the Bad Livers were not a bluegrass band,〔〔Nitchie, Donald. "Interview with Danny Barnes." ''Banjo Newsletter''. August 1995. 6-11.〕 but had created an original sound: "This isn't bluegrass and it isn’t this or that. It's Bad Liver music. We end up making our own thing."〔Rosenberg, Madelyn. "The Bad Livers Play Music from the Heart." ''The Roanoke Times & World News''. 22 February 1997. Metro, 10.〕 Barnes' original compositions were featured on their first album, ''Delusions of Banjer'',〔Foster, Dan. "The Bad Livers." ''The Old-Time Herald.'' Fall 1993. 11-13.〕 released in 1992 on Quarterstick Records and produced by Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers. The album was praised for "Barnes's strong material, as well as the group's tight musical interaction."〔 Barnes credited the latter with improving the former: "The musical telepathy is really good. I can sort of tailor-make a song to the guys' playing, make the song fit what they're doing, since I write most of the material."〔 Rubin claimed that they had decided to incorporate the accordion and tuba into the band to counteract their growing popularity,〔Internet Archive. (Live recording of the Bad Livers at the Nick in Birmingham, Alabama. ) April 21, 1993. Remarks spoken at the end of "Turpentine Willie." Retrieved November 10, 2012.〕 but to no avail: their audience continued to widen and more critics saw beyond the gimmicky descriptions to the band's innovation and skill. The ''Washington Post'' described them as "truly great,"〔Brace, Eric. "Shocked and Soundly Rocked". ''The Washington Post''. 25 October 1991. B06.〕 the ''Times-Picayune'' praised their "serious musicianship" and Barnes' "soulful, urgent lead vocals,"〔Sandmel, Ben. "Bad Livers Play It All." ''The Times-Picayune''. 17 July 1992.〕 while ''Rolling Stone'' admired their "striking blend of virtuoso flash and poignant simplicity."〔Darzin, Daina. "Bad Livers." ''Rolling Stone''. 15 December 1994. Page 40.〕 Don McLeese of the ''Austin American-Statesman'' twice described the Bad Livers as "Austin's best band" 〔McLeese, Don. "Amusements." ''The Austin American-Statesman''. 12 January 1993. F5.〕〔McLeese, Don. "The Noise of '94." ''The Austin American-Statesman''. 22 December 1994. 5.〕 and raved of one live show: "The uncommon telepathy enjoyed by Danny Barnes, Mark Rubin and Ralph White makes the band's frenetic acoustic interplay sound like the work of a six-armed, multistringed monster."〔McLeese, Don. "Step right up for big springtime shows: Austin takes on all it can handle with touring acts and South by Southwest." ''The Austin American-Statesman''. 17 January 1995. E6.〕 Barnes was voted "Best Player of Any Other Instrument" for the banjo at the Austin Music Awards in 1991 and 1992,〔"Austin Music Awards: Best Austin Musicians." (''Austin Chronicle'' archives. ) Retrieved December 22, 2012.〕 and the Bad Livers were voted "Best None of the Above" for four consecutive years from 1991 to 1994.〔"Austin Music Awards: Best Performing Bands." (''Austin Chronicle'' archives. ) Retrieved December 22, 2012.〕 The Bad Livers' second album, ''Horses in the Mines'', was produced by Barnes and released on Quarterstick in 1994.〔 In his review, McLeese admired them as "a band drawing from the wellspring of tradition to create something fresh, vital and original."〔McLeese, Don. "Releases play with tradition." ''The Austin American-Statesman''. 21 April 1994.〕 ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' found that the record "sounded quite authentic—almost as if it had long held a place in the Library of Congress."〔Ellenrider, Manfred. "Fettlebe; Die „Bad Livers” wechseln das Label" ''Süddeutsche Zeitung''. 5 November 1997.〕 Raoul Hernández poetically concurred, saying that the record sounded "like a bunch of skeletons cackling into the sole microphone that dangles from the outhouse ceiling."〔 The Bad Livers spent 1995 and 1996 touring and working on side projects 〔 as well as looking for a new label to release their next album.〔Staff. ("Bogs on the Highway." ) ''The Austin Chronicle'' 29 November 1996. Retrieved December 21, 2012.〕 Finally the band signed a three-album deal with Sugar Hill Records, which had more experience than Quarterstick at "selling banjo records."〔Horak, Terri. "Bad Livers reach out to new fans with Sugar Hill set." ''Billboard'' 1 March 1997. 10, 77〕 Their first album for the label, ''Hogs on the Highway'', was released along with the information that White had decided to leave the band.〔〔 It was announced that he was to be replaced by Bob Grant, though Grant's tenure with the band did not last long.〔〔Langer, Andy. ("Against the Grain: Mark Rubin." ) ''The Austin Chronicle'' 5 November 1999. Retrieved December 21, 2012.〕 Both White and Grant appeared on ''Hogs on the Highway'', which received enthusiastic reviews from ''Sing Out!'', praising Barnes' "quirky and inventive" original songs,〔Wald, Elijah. "Bad Livers: ''Hogs on the Highway'' (Review)." ''Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine''. May 1997. 138.〕 and the ''Old-Time Herald'', admiring the "considerable skill" with which Barnes crafted his lyrics.〔Shirk, A. V. ("Bad Livers: ''Hogs On the Highway'' (Review)." ) ''The Old-Time Herald''. Winter 1997-98. Retrieved December 22, 2012.〕 The ''Austin American-Statesman'' agreed that Barnes was "an entirely underrated songwriter" as well as a "banjo wizard,"〔Corcoran, Michael. "Don't forget these local albums next Christmas." ''The Austin American-Statesman''. 1 July 1997. E1.〕 while the ''Washington Post'' lauded his "timeless, deadpan voice."〔Himes, Geoffrey. "Bad Livers: ''Hogs on the Highway'' (Review)." ''The Washington Post'' 4 July 1997. N14〕 The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' was appreciative of the "beautifully controlled ambience" 〔Elder, Bruce. "Country CD of the week: Texans mix up a tasty brew." ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' 26 May 1997.〕 of the entire album. Shortly after the album's release, Barnes moved from Austin to Port Hadlock, Washington,〔〔Lieck, Ken. ("Dancing about Architecture" )''The Austin Chronicle'' April 4, 1997. Retrieved December 31, 2012.〕 though he and Rubin continued to work closely together on the score for the Richard Linklater film ''The Newton Boys'' as well as the Bad Livers' next album. Although the soundtrack was admired by ''The Village Voice'' 〔Taubin, Amy. "Let's Misbehave." ''The Village Voice''. 31 March 1998. 68.〕 and ''Entertainment Weekly'' 〔Staff. "The week: Music." ''Entertainment Weekly'' 27 February 1998.〕 as well as the Austin papers,〔Riemenschneider, Chris. "Number 1 with a bullet: How a Hollywood soundtrack became a showcase for the heart, soul and guts of Austin musicians." ''The Austin American-Statesman''. 5 March 1998 32.〕〔Hernández, Raoul. ("''The Newton Boys: Music from the Motion Picture'' (Review)." ) ''The Austin Chronicle'' 20 March 1998. Retrieved December 31, 2012.〕 the film did not fare well at the box office,〔Kirschling, Gregory. "A League of His Own." ''Entertainment Weekly'' 22 July 2005.〕〔Spong, John. "Dude!" ''Texas Monthly'' October 2008, Vol. 36, Issue 10. 223.〕 and the soundtrack album did not sell well.〔 The Bad Livers' second album for Sugar Hill, ''Industry and Thrift'', was released in September 1998 with only Barnes and Rubin credited as members of the band,〔Bad Livers. ''Industry and Thrift''. Sugar Hill Records, 1998.〕 though the album features various guest musicians, including members of Rubin's side project, Rubinchik’s Orkestyr,〔Hess, Christopher. ("Klezmatic Convergence: Rubinchik’s Orkestyr." ) ''The Austin Chronicle''. 21 August 1998. Retrieved December 30, 2012.〕 who are featured on the track "A Yid Ist Geboren inz Oklahoma."〔 The album garnered positive reviews,〔Riess, Al. "Bad Livers: ''Industry and Thrift'' (Review)." ''Dirty Linen''. February 1999. 53.〕〔Staff. "Bad Livers: ''Industry and Thrift'' (Review)." ''Bass Player''. April 1999. 66.〕〔Carlson, Scott. "Bad Livers: ''Industry and Thrift'' (Review)." ("Bad Livers: ''Industry and Thrift'' (Review)" ) ''The Baltimore City Paper''. 23 December 1998. Retrieved December 30, 2012.〕 and the ''Chicago Tribune'' selected it as the best bluegrass album of 1998,〔Duckman, David. "Sound Decisions: Our Critics Choose the Best Albums of the Year (Bluegrass)." ''The Chicago Tribune''. 6 December 1998. 10.〕 while ''The Times'' of London admired its "genuine originality."〔Humphries, Patrick. "New album releases—Music—Country choice." ''The Times''. 7 November 1998.〕 ''Industry and Thrift'' did not receive as much attention from the press as ''Hogs on the Highway'' had, however, and as Barnes lamented, the album "fell off the face of the earth."〔 The Bad Livers' final album, ''Blood and Mood'', was released in February 2000 and featured, as the ''Austin Chronicle'' noted with astonishment: "''Electric'' punk rock, sample-based tunes with drum tracks, and a shocking scarcity of juiced-up banjo playing."〔Hess, Christopher. ("Bad Livers: ''Blood and Mood'' (Review)." ) ''The Austin Chronicle'' 3 March 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2012.〕 ''The Independent'' named it "the leftfield album of the week" and found that it "brims with enthusiastic ideas,"〔Perry, Tim. "Going Out—Pop—Album Reviews." ''The Independent''. 4 March 2000. 37.〕 while the ''Washington Post'' was puzzled but invigorated by a live show supporting the album, concluding that it had been "Fascinating. Even refreshing."〔McClain, Buzz. "For the Bad Livers, the Diagnosis Is Weird." ''The Washington Post''. 12 April 2000. C05.〕 Although it left ''No Depression'' depressed,〔Alden, Grant. ("Trading in the tools of the trad. Bad Livers: ''Blood and Mood''." ) ''No Depression'' #26 March–April 2000. Retrieved December 24, 2012.〕 Daniel Wolff found the album to be uniquely evocative of a "rural eccentricity" 〔Wolff, Daniel. "Bad Livers: ''Blood and Mood'' (Review)." ''Rock & Rap Confidential''. April 2000. 2.〕 that had not yet been extinguished and formed a kind of continuum with punk and old-time country: "Either the Bad Livers pick up where 'I Wish I Were a Mole in the Ground' left off, or Bascom Lunsford discovered the punk aesthetic in the 1920's."〔 ''Blood and Mood'' did not sell well,〔Lieck, Ken. ("Dancing about Architecture." ) ''The Austin Chronicle'' 16 June 2000. Retrieved December 21, 2012.〕 and by the summer of 2000 the Bad Livers appeared to be "over for good."〔 The Bad Livers were inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2007.〔(Austin Chronicle Archives ) Retrieved December 22, 2012.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bad Livers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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