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Iconic NYC Punk Band Visits Bay Area

By Dave Pehling

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Long hailed as one of the most influential bands to emerge from the New York punk scene during the '70s, guitarist Tom Verlaine's quartet Television delivered knotty, intricate guitar anthems that earned the group the earliest description as "post-punk" on record. Verlaine (who was born Tom Miller) got into music in 1972 when he reunited with Richard Hell (aka Richard Meyers), a longtime friend he had met when both were teens attending -- and running away from -- a prep school in Delaware.

While both moved to New York City in their 20s to pursue careers as poets, Verlaine would join Hell and drummer Billy Ficca in the band Neon Boys which would eventually transform into Television in 1974 after second guitarist Richard Lloyd rounded out the group. The band would become one of the early regular acts at CBGBs, the club that would become ground zero for the cutting-edge new style of music emerging from New York.

The band seemed to be closing in on a record deal with Island in 1975, but the label ended up passing on Television after hearing demos recorded with Brian Eno. Friction within the band would also lead Hell to leave the group; he went on to form The Heartbreakers with former members of the New York Dolls before starting his solo career with backing band the Voidoids (they would release their seminal debut Blank Generation in 1977). Fred Smith would replace Hell on bass.

Television would eventually sign to Elektra Records, which issued their landmark debut Marquee Moon in 1977. Filled with the complex six-string interplay between Verlaine and Lloyd (especially on the epic 10-minute title track) that was as inspired by the Velvet Underground and free jazz, the album  was widely celebrated by critics. It remains among the most acclaimed and influential albums to be produced by the group of groundbreaking bands that developed at CBGBs during the '70s that included the Ramones, Blondie and the Talking Heads. Their angular guitar sounds pointed the way towards new wave, post-punk and even alternative rock in the following decade.

While Television's sophomore effort Adventure might initially suffer when compared to the band's debut, the second album would be reevaluated over time as a distinct and quieter record that more than holds up to repeat listens. Unfortunately, inner tension between Verlaine and Lloyd coupled with the lukewarm reception Adventure received and the band imploded only months after the album's release in 1978. Both guitarists would release solo albums and work on other projects before finally coming back together for 1992's eponymous reunion album that featured the original line-up playing a warmer, more minimalist sound than the earlier recordings.

The group has reconvened periodically to play live in the years since, though Lloyd would leave the group amicably in 2007 (his replacement, Jimmy Rip, has been playing guitar with Verlaine since the '80s). Fresh from a lauded performance at this year's Desert Daze Festival at Joshua Tree National Park, Television comes to the Chapel for two sold-out shows playing a variety of classic songs, extended guitar improvisations and possibly newer material. SF-based songwriter Andy Cabic opens the show with the duo version of his psych band Vetiver. On Sunday, the band plays a third show at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz.

Television
Friday-Saturday, Oct. 21-22, 9 p.m. $38-$40
The Chapel

Sunday, Oct. 23, 8 p.m. $33-$38
The Rio Theater

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