STANDPIPE
The music of Standpipe is available on all streaming platforms.
LISTEN
At the Parkside Lounge, LES, NYC (SF)
Promo shot (photo: Kim Levin)
Rebecca Weiner Tompkins(SF)
John O'Neill (SF)
Roberto Ruiz (SF)
At the Bitter End. Anna's Easel release party.
Rebecca Weiner Tompkins at the Bitter End
John Briton, Paul McKenzie and me at the Bitter End
THE STANDPIPE STORY
Standpipe formed on New York’s Lower East Side in 1996 when singer/songwriter, Jim Malone, and drummer John O’Neill, moved into an apartment on Stanton Street, a loft that Malone would eventually convert into Little Big Horn, a recording studio where they would record, among others, the Standpipe cds.
Inspired by the alt-folk/ alt-country movements of the mid 90’s, spearheaded by Uncle Tupelo and their offsprings, Wilco and Sonvolt, along with singer/songwriters like Steve Earle and Robbie Fulks they ran an ad in the Village Voice and found violinist Rebecca Weiner Tompkins, who at the time was branching out from more traditional fiddle into electric violin. Through another friend they connected with bassist John Briton to form the lineup that would record the band’s first cd, Zanna’s Easel, in 1998.
Zanna’s Easel received critical praise, most-notably from legendary NY DJ Vin Scelsa, who featured, standout tracks, Clear to the Bottom and One of the World’s Great Dreamers on Idiot’s Delight, the cult-favorite, free-form radio show he hosted for over 40 years.
Zanna’s Easel was quickly followed by 1999’s Remote Control Hitchhiking and the replacement of Britton with Roberto Ruiz. Standpipe’s second cd is as musically adventurous as their first as witnessed by songs like Into The Night and the title track, Remote Control Hitchhiking.
While the band was enjoying enthusiastic crowds at their NYC shows, often joined by The Peaux Boys horn section, an all-important record deal eluded them. These were the days before digital distribution and the tools that now empower bands to reach their audience. At the same time, Malone’s day job was becoming more demanding, he had become the voice director for the pop phenomenon, Pokémon, in its fevered, early days. He would go on to produce and write songs for several Saturday morning cartoon favorites while Standpipe became another NYC band that relatively few would come to know. Until the 2022 remastering and digital release of their two adventurous albums, their music has never been online. But their two cds bear witness to the songcraft and musicianship that made them ahead of their time.
