The Bevis Frond

London’s Nick Saloman is up to 19 albums under the Bevis Frond moniker. His latest sprawling 18-track masterwork, Hit Squad will be out September 7, 2004. In his musical infancy, Saloman founded a late 60’s cover band called the Bevis Frond Museum. The name came from classmate and future rock film director Julien Temple (The Secret Policemans Other Ball, The Filth and the Fury).. In the mid-70’s, Saloman made his recording duo playing bass for an obscure folk duo, Oddsocks. Saloman’s first rock band of note were the Von Trap Family, whose single garnered John Peel BBC airplay. That band evolved into Room 13, who released a 12” shortly before Saloman became severly injured when his motorbike hit an unmarked hole in the road. After several years of recovery, involving a metal rod inserted in his arm, a legal settlement came in. After paying off his bills, Saloman used the money left over to buy a porta-studio. This created the seeds of the modern Bevis Frond. 1986 saw the release of the Bevis Frond debut Miasma. With all instruments played by Saloman in his home recording studio, the record was initially meant as a 250 copy vanity pressing. However, his local psychedelic rock emporium Funhouse Records, started selling out of the record encouraging Saloman to keep releasing records. Throughout the late 80’s, he released a series of lo-fi home recorded albums picked up in the US by Reckless Records: “Inner Marshland,” “Bevis Through The Looking Glass,” “Triptych” and “The Auntie Winnie Album.” The Bevis Frond’s professional recording studio debut, “Any Gas Faster” came in 1990 employing drummer Martin Crowley. However it really was 1991’s double album New River Head which turned heads. Multiple musicians were employed, most notably Adrian Shaw, Hawkwind’s touring bass player off and on during the 70’s and on their album Quark Strangeness and Charm. Thoughout the first half of the 90’s, Saloman released “London Stone,” “It Just Is” and “Superseeder” on his own Woronzow label without a US label after Reckless went under. Saloman’s career got a boost in 1998 when he co-wrote and produced Mary Lou Lord’s “Got No Shadow” album for WORK/Sony. His lo-fi song “Lights Are Changing” had already been released by Lord on her Kill Rock Stars debut EP, but this time the song that originally appeared in lo-fi form on Triptych, got the major label treatment with a guest appearance by the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn. Flydaddy Records then released “Son of Walter,” “North Circular,” and “Vavona Burr” in the late 90’s. They also subsidized their first US tour, culminating in “Live At The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco,” before going out of business. In 2000 Rubric took over and released “Valedictory Songs.” It was supposed to be a farewell to the indie music business, but instead became the start of a new beginning. Several Terrastock festival appearances, and an acoustic and electric tour followed. In 2001, Rubric embarked on a reissue series of “Miasma,” “Inner Marshland” and “Triptych.” In 2002, Rubric issued the last studio album, “What Did For The Dinosaurs.” In 2003, Rubric reissued “New River Head” expanding it to it’s vinyl length. Later that year, Mary Lou Lord recorded her “Baby Blue” album with Nick and current Frond studio drummer Jules Fenton (ABC, Lightning Seeds). It was released earlier this year. After recording with Lord, Saloman decided it was time for his own new record resulting in this years sprawling “Hit Squad.” From the “Batman” influenced title track, to the brass explosion of the opening “All Set” to the pop songsmith of “Alpha Waves” to the psychedelic 11 + minute epic “Fast Falls the Eventide,” the variety of Hit Squad is a release to be treasured for years to come.