Dr. Eugene Chadbourne

Dr. Eugene Chadbourne is one of those genius avant-garde musicians that most people don't readily recognize despite his long career and influence. But he's worked with similarly minded artists such as John Zorn, Fred Frith, Carla Bley, Camper Van Beethoven and Sun City Girls. Like the Sun City gals, Chadbourne...

By Tom Murphy

July 16, 2009

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Dr. Eugene Chadbourne is one of those genius avant-garde musicians that most people don't readily recognize despite his long career and influence. But he's worked with similarly minded artists such as John Zorn, Fred Frith, Carla Bley, Camper Van Beethoven and Sun City Girls. Like the Sun City gals, Chadbourne fearlessly mixes together styles of music to produce something utterly unique. At first listen, his music sounds like an unlikely but pleasant enough fusion of bluegrass, jazz and folk. But subversive elements weave in under the surface and become an essential part of entire songs. Beyond being a pioneer of the noise genre, Chadbourne shows a complete though playful disregard for the walls that separate forms of music. His eclectic songs and live shows are shining testaments to that approach.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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