Ivan Julian at the Raccoon Motel -- August 30.
Friday, August 30, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
With his 2023 album Swing Your Lanterns hailed by Stereo Embers Magazine's Dave Cantrell as "blistering, elegiac, funky, rocking, and reflective," punk and rock legend Ivan Julian headlines a special August 30 event at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the artist lauded, beyond his solo work, for being the guitarist, singer/songwriter, and founding member of Richard Hell & the Voidoids and Lovelies.
When he was 13, the now-69-year-old, Washington D.C. native Julian sang in a Led Zeppelin cover band, which led him to pick up the guitar at 14. Having also studied bassoon and saxophone as a youth, he spent his high school years as a part-time student in a college program studying music theory. Then, at the age of 17, Julian toured the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the former Yugoslavia as a member of The Foundations, known for hits including "Build Me Up Buttercup" and "Baby Now That I Found You."
In 1976, Julian relocated to New York, where he became a founding member of the seminal punk and New Wave outfit Richard Hell & the Voidoids. The band was quickly signed to Sire/Warner Brothers, and with the musicians and Richard Gottehrer producing, the Blank Generation LP debuted. This album set a new standard for a whole generation of guitar players, and led Trouser Press to rave that "the album combines manic William Burroughs-influenced poetry and raw-edged music for the best rock presentation of nihilism and existential angst ever." Ben Ratliff of the New York Times later wrote that Blank Generation "helped define punk, so we're often told, but it's much more than that: it's literary, romantic (boy-girl), Romantic (intellectual tradition), and ... intensely musical, an album of high-grade improvisation."
As stated at IvanJulian.com, "After the Voidoids disbanded, Julian stepped out to form the Outsets as a vehicle for his own vocal and songwriting efforts. Combining rock, funk and African rhythms, the Outsets became a beloved fixture on New York’s burgeoning club scene, winning considerable critical acclaim for such releases as the debut single “I’m Searchin’ for You'/'Fever,' a self-titled EP produced by Garland Jeffreys, and the posthumously released The Punk/Funk Voodoo Collection. Teaming up with Bush Tetras singer Cynthia Sley Julian’s next band, the Lovelies, won substantial attention with the release of the Mad Orphan LP.
"In recent years, Ivan has concentrated mainly on studio work, producing and/or recording artist such as Sean Lennon and producing three albums by The Fleshtones. He’s also developed his recording studio, SuperGiraffeSound into one of New York’s hottest new recording facilities, working with numerous local, national and international bands. His solo LP The Naked Flame was named one of the best records of the year by several trade magazines in Europe and the states, including Trouser Press. Soon after came The Fauntleroys EP, and Below the Pink Pony, a collaboration with Alejandro Escovedo, Nick Tremulis and Linda Pittman. His newest album Swing Your Lanterns is available on PRAVDA Records. The songs encompass his experiences of the past five years and more – some of which we have all lived through."
Ivan Julian performs his headlining engagement in Davenport on August 30 with special guests Running Man and Camp Regret. A local super-group featuring Skip Greer, the current vocalist of Dead Kennedys, Running Man features a backing band of QC veterans including members of The Multiple Cat, Mondo Drag, Meth &Goats, Lord Green, and Tambourine, while Camp Regret is a new, local, post-punk group featuring members of Ice Hockey, Meth & Goats, Lazer Mountain, and Centaur Noir. Admission to the 7 p.m. concert event is $19.84, and tickets are available by visiting RaccoonMotel.com.
