Todd Tamanend Clark

Todd Tamanend Clark
Born (1952-08-10) August 10, 1952
Greensboro, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres Avant-garde, psychedelic rock, jazz fusion, electronic, industrial, experimental rock, Native American
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, author, composer, poet
Instruments Vocals, vocoder, theremin, keyboards, guitar, bass pedals, drum machine, percussion, flute
Years active 1975–present
Labels Deathguard, World Theater, Jeree, TMI, Primal Pulse, Anopheles
Associated acts The Stars, The Eyes, The Todd Clark Group
Notable instruments
Moog synthesizer, Theremin

Todd Tamanend Clark (born Todd Clark; August 10, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, author, and poet.[1] He is known for "his musical blend of Native American heritage, glam fashion consciousness, cyberpunk attitude, and often skeptical, always opinionated lyrical approach to scientific and sociological subjects."[2]

Biography

Todd Tamanend Clark was born on August 10, 1952 in Greensboro, Pennsylvania, to Frederick Leland Clark (1923-2003) and Hope Ramona Harvey (1925-2001).[1] He is Native American and is of Onodowaga (Seneca) and Lenape ancestry.[3] He graduated from Waynesburg Central High School in 1970 and from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Communication in 1983.[1] He then went on to graduate school at Indiana University of Pennsylvania studying art and anthropology.

In 1975, he started to record music under the alias The Stars. Two years later, he formed the Butler, Pennsylvania based rock band The Eyes. The band's album, New Gods: Aardvark Through Zymurgy was released in 1977 and has been called "the holy grail of psychedelic collectibles." In 1978, The Eyes (with two personnel changes) evolved into The Todd Clark Group, who released their "We're Not Safe!" album in 1979.[4]

In the early 1980s, he abandoned his psychedelic rock style and adopted an experimental rock and electronic music-oriented sound. "Secret Sinema" and "Flame Over Philadelphia" singles, which were released in 1980 and 1985 respectively, became college radio hits. In 1984, Clark released Into The Vision, which featured appearances from Allen Ravenstine of Pere Ubu and Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys, as well as the Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs. During this time, he immersed himself more deeply into his Native American heritage, adopting the middle name "Tamanend", which is what his grandfather called him as a child. In between 1986 and 1999, he stopped releasing new material and devoted his time to his children, although he continued to compose music and perform at occasional concerts.

Between 2000 and 2004, Clark released three interrelated instrumental albums: Owls In Obsidian (2000), Staff, Mask, Rattle (2002), and Monongahela Riverrun (2004).[4] In 2005, his first decade of recordings was collected chronologically on the double-disc compilation album, Nova Psychedelia, through Anopheles Records.[5] In 2014, he released a complexly orchestrated darkly psychedelic cyberpunk album Dancing Through The Side Worlds, which contains many autobiographical songs. He is currently recording a new album Whirlwind Of The Whispering Worlds which will be forthcoming in 2017.

A photograph of his son, X Tecumseh Clark (born October 7, 1984), was featured on the cover art of Canadian electronic music band Crystal Castles' second eponymous album in 2010.[4]

Another of his five sons, Sachem Orenda Clark (born February 21, 1988), has his own solo career as a multi-instrumentalist and also plays guitar on some of his father's albums.

Musical style

Clark's music in the 1970s were described as "electro-psychedelic glam-rock" and "unique fusion of wild 60s-style experimentalism and proto-new wave synth-freakery."[6] His early influences included the 1960s psychedelic rock of The Mothers Of Invention, The Doors, The Electric Prunes, Jimi Hendrix, and especially the early adopters of analog synthesizers such as The United States of America, Lothar and the Hand People, and Silver Apples, while he was also attuned to the sounds of the proto punk rock scene, such as The Seeds, The Music Machine, The Velvet Underground, The MC5, and The Stooges.[4]

In the 1980s, he switched to an experimental rock sound, taking inspirations from artists like The Residents and Laurie Anderson and the works of science fiction, cyberpunk and stream-of-consciousness writers such as Harlan Ellison and William S. Burroughs.[4] He was also inspired by comic books, most prominently by Turok and Doctor Strange,[3] but also by Batman, Green Arrow, The Haunt of Fear, Shock SuspenStories, Strange Tales, Strange Adventures, Challengers of the Unknown, Adam Strange, The Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Love and Rockets, Coyote, Aztec Ace, and Scout.

Equipment

Music equipment used by Todd Tamanend Clark includes (but is not limited to): Synthesizers: ARP 2600, ARP Avatar, ARP Quadra, ARP Odyssey, Dave Smith Instruments Pro 2, Dave Smith Instruments Prophet '08, Ensoniq MR-61, Ensoniq MR-Rack, Ensoniq TS-10, E-mu E-Synth, E-mu Morpheus, E-mu Orbit, E-mu Vintage Keys, E-mu Xtreme Lead-1, Korg Kronos 2-88, Maestro Theremin, Moog Etherwave Theremin, Moog Memorymoog Plus, Moog Micromoog, Moog Minimoog Model D, Moog Minimoog Voyager, Moog Polymoog, Moog Taurus 1, Moog Taurus 3, Oberheim Matrix-1000, Oberheim Xpander, Sequential Prophet-5; Guitars: Ampeg Dan Armstrong, BC Rich Warlock USA seven string, Fender Stratocaster, Parker Fly Deluxe Vibrato, Paul Reed Smith Custom, Steinberger GL2S, Steinberger GM5T; Guitar Amplifiers: Johnson Millennium Stereo One-Fifty, Rocktron Taboo 100; Effects: DigiTech Synth Wah, DigiTech Turbo Flange, DigiTech Whammy, Dunlop Crybaby From Hell, Electro-Harmonix Talking Wah, Ensoniq DP/4+, Ensoniq DP Pro, Maestro Echoplex, Maestro Ring Modulator, Moog Moogerfooger Ring Modulator, Moog Vocoder, Morley Echo-Chorus-Vibrato, Mu-Tron Bi-Phase, MXR Pitch Transposer; Percussion: Linn Linndrum, Native American handmade instruments, Pollard Syndrums Quad, Rhythm Tech Maracas, Rhythm Tech Rainmakers, Rhythm Tech Shakers.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles

References

  1. 1 2 3 Stephenson, Clarence David (1993). The Park family of Pennsylvania: two hundred years, 1793-1993. A.G. Halldin. p. 187. ISBN 0935648410.
  2. ↑ "Signal to Noise". Signal to Noise (40-43): 96. 2006.
  3. 1 2 Mayor, Adrienne (2013). Fossil Legends of the First Americans. Princeton University Press. p. 350. ISBN 1400849314.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Todd Tamanend Clark". Weirdestbandintheworld.com. June 5, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  5. ↑ Cloutier, Cecile (December 14, 2005). "Todd Tamanend Clark: Nova Psychedelia (1975-1985)". City Pages. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ Farrar, Justin F. (December 7, 2005). "Todd Tamanend Clark - Nova Psychedelia". SF Weekly. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
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