Davenport Family (band)


Davenport, or The Davenport Family, was a musical collective from Madison, Wisconsin. The project was initiated by Clay Ruby in 2002. Their musical style, difficult to categorize, owes more to freeform jazz, psychedelic rock, and experimental avant-garde music than to traditional folk music, and may be loosely attributed to such genres as free folk, psychedelic folk, freak folk or New Weird America. The Davenport Family name existed actively until 2005. Presently, all original members participate in a similar band, which operates under the name Second Family Band.
The recordings and performances typically include varying combinations of drums and other percussion, guitars, vocals, synthesizers, piano, organs, violins, flutes, electronics, sound sculpture, field recordings, more synths, sitar, sticks, rocks, and stones. Their music is almost always improvised, with a rare exception of overdubbing and other studio composed manipulations, especially in the early days of the group. The group is noted for usually shunning the recording studio, preferring field recording in locations such as barns, caves, or pastures. Consequently, environmental sounds such as dogs barking, birds singing, and other ambient noise may be heard on record.

History

The group was unusually prolific in terms of number of titles released in the first years of their career, but most of their records were pressed in small runs of limited availability on CDR's lathe cut records and cassettes. Many of these titles were recordings of live actions or intimate recordings of family rituals. In 2005 "Free Country" CD was released by Last Visible Dog marking their first official studio album.
"Free Country" was soon followed by the self-titled Davenport Family LP on Not Not Fun Records, which featured half studio and half live workings. After gaining some notoriety as a free-wheeling Wisconsin folk collective, and just preceding the release of "Free Country", Clay Ruby made the decision to release a solo recording experiment under the Davenport name. Taking a cue from groups like This Heat, he employed the use of a handheld cassette recorder with a removed erase-head, to compose the entire album. With this technique, Ruby could overdub continuously onto what he had previously recorded though he was unable to monitor anything while actually recording. This resulting cassette, filled with fractured folk songs and environmental psychedelia became the "Rabbits Foot Propellor" CD on Three Lobed Recordings. Their very last jam under the name "Davenport" was performed on Walpurgis 2005, Clay Ruby's birthday, and released by Meudiademorte in October 2006 on a one sided C70 cassette called "At The Foot Of Zodiac Mountain". Between 2005 and 2007 many of the members formed different side projects, including Zodiac Mountain, All Do Gather, Orthodox Blood Orchestra.
Many of the original members have regrouped since 2007 and the band has been releasing all their music under the name Second Family Band. They still continue to document the improvised musical rituals of their loose-knit community and have released dozens more albums, many of which do not feature Clay Ruby as a member. Ruby is present on all of the Davenport Family recordings but since reforming under the name Second Family Band, the band is operating regardless of line-up. No single member's presence is required for any Second Family jam session. Over the years, Davenport/Second Family has included Billy Lee, T Endless, Nico Kain, Clay Ruby, Dan Woodman, Theresa Behnen, Tyler Olsen, Jonathan Matthews, Clay Kolbinger, Lyx Ish, db Pedersen, DMS, Nic Stage, Karen Eliot, John Gould, Justin May, Jon Stage, Jerod Annoye, Beau Devereaux, Andy Knackert, Jessica Non Popa, Aaron Laurant, Corey Bushcott, Azrael Zanon-Stage, Jenny Hoffman, David Libert, JoAnne Powers, Sven Bolan, Smith Baker, Ivan Calderon, Daeve Ross, Richard Remington, Cyrus Andreas, Jacob Tibbs, Nick Johnson, Kelly Shippey, Dave 3000, Ivan Mairesse, Max Elliott, Mike Schultz, Johnny Danielson, Nathaniel Ritter, Troy Schafer, as well as collaborations with friendly outsiders such as: Peaking Lights, Spiral Joy Band, The Skaters, Tomutonttu, Jooklo Duo, Glenn Donaldson, Lau Nau, Maths Balance Volumes, Hush Arbors, Absinthe Minds, Relentless Corpse, Plastic Boner Band, Islaja, Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice, Mumber Toes, Nautical Almanac, Anla Courtis, Cult of Hypnos and Takuri Tali.

Discography

Davenport / The Davenport Family


Ψ = later reissued on cassette

Compilations