Music: Peter Stampfel

Saturday afternoon I had the delight of seeing Peter Stampfel perform with his daughter Zoe at the gallery Corbett vs. Dempsey (where I've been interning for about a month now). He's a hilarious performer to listen to, and the way he holds himself is fun to watch: very theatrical and goofy at the same time. You can get a sense of his energy in some of these photos from the gallery:

Peter Stampfel and Zoe Stampfel, performing in front of new paintings by Phil Hanson (Sept. 2010).

Both photographs from the Corbett vs. Dempsey Facebook page.

Peter Stampfel, a founding member of the Holy Modal Rounders, was also part of the first Fugs recording session in April 1965, and has had a hand in a lot of American music throughout the last fifty years. I found an interview with him, which you can check out here; totally worth a read, full of music history from the 1950s through the 1970s and other various American cultural goodies. (Fun fact: he's friends with playwright Sam Shepard). You can also listen to more of his current music here (and he's got an album coming out soon!).

Here's a video of some of his recent banjo experimentations: