New Wave Pioneer Kevin Dunn for Tour

String of northeast dates to mark recently released anthology.

By Blurt Staff

Pioneering post-punk guitarist, songwriter, and producer Kevin Dunn, whose provocatively idiosyncratic musical contributions are being rediscovered by a new generation via the release of the anthology No Great Lost: Songs, 1979-1985 (Casa Nueva), will embark on a rare northeast tour this September. The tour combines full-length concert performances with mini-concerts at selected independent record shops, and represent his first northeastern performances in over three decades.

In the BLURT review of the album, our writer called it  "...an essential introduction to the artistry of this unheralded hero of American post-punk, whose combination of hyper-literate lyricism, angular, envelope-pushing guitar playing (think Glenn Phillips of the Hampton Grease Band meets Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe) and a voice that brings to mind a Dixie Tom Verlaine is long overdue for rediscovery."

A pivotal figure in the Atlanta/Athens new wave renaissance of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Dunn co-founded the legendary Fans (among the very first art-rock/new wave bands in the southeast) and co-produced seismic early releases by the B-52's (their seminal "Rock Lobster" 45) and Pylon (their "Cool" 45 and the Gyrate album, recently reissued by DFA). Between 1979 and 1985, he released a series of ingenious, widely acclaimed art-pop solo projects, welding brainy, inquisitive lyrics to off-kilter, insidiously catchy melodies, with his undulating, thickly processed guitar acting as the bonding agent.

The twenty-one tracks of No Great Lost: Songs, 1979-1985 include Dunn's solo debut LP The Judgement of Paris in its entirety, fully restored from the original multi-track master tapes, augmented with selections from prior and subsequent LPs, EPs, a singles - including a rare Fans a-side. Positive initial media reaction (see below) has inspired Dunn to take to the road for the first time since the Fans played at such punk landmarks as New York City's CBGB and Boston's the Rat.

Tour Dates:

Wednesday, September 15        Crooked Beat                           Washington, DC
Friday, September 17                The Lily Pad                            Cambridge, MA
Saturday, September 18            Mystery Train Records            Amherst, MA
Monday, September 20            Permanent Records                   Brooklyn, NY
Tuesday, September 21            Joe's Pub                                   New York, NY

[Photo Credit: Priscilla G. Smith]