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ONO (band)

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ONO
OriginChicago
GenresIndustrial, Noise, Sound Art
Years active1980-1986, 2007-present.
Memberstravis, P. Michael, many collaborators (see below)
Websiteono1980.com

ONO is a Chicago-based experimental music group formed in 1980.[1][2]

The group has received recognition for their unique combination of experimental noise and industrial music with gospel and spoken word performance.[1][2] Their lyrics directly reference themes of racism, colonialism, and homophobia.[3]

The group is made up of core members vocalist travis (née Travis Dobbs) and multi-instrumentalist P. Michael, alongside a rotating lineup of musical collaborators.[4]

History

Early years (1980 - 1986)

Prior to joining the group, travis grew up playing piano in church and singing spirituals in his home of rural Mississippi.[5][6] He served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War, a formative period during which he experienced severe racial discrimination and sexual violence.[1] Native Chicagoan P. Michael grew up in a musical family which included several noted jazz musicians.[6] Prior to forming ONO, he studied music and visual art and worked in academia.[7]

ONO began with the meeting of travis and P. Michael in 1980. An early supporter and friend of the group was Al Jourgenson of Ministry,[5] through whom they met scholar, performance artist, and musician Shannon Rose Riley. She has subsquently worked with the band from the 80s to the present.[1] The name "ONO" was derived in part from onomatopoeia, to emphasize the non-musical, "noise" character of their sound.[8]

The group developed a unique juxtaposition of industrial musique concrète and junk metal percussion alongside spoken word and liturgical organ.[9] P. Michael's music was inspired by The Stooges and The Velvet Underground, whereas travis' vocals drew inspiration from Mahalia Jackson.[6] During this period, ONO played extensively in and around Chicago, both solo and alongside acts including Lydia Lunch, Cabaret Voltaire, and Naked Raygun.[8][9] They performed both in music venues and non-traditional spaces such as art galleries and a wedding.[8]

From the beginning ONO performances featured a prominent ritualistic and theatrical element.[1][5] The group frequently utilized confrontational and subversive imagery, including religious and occult iconography, drag, blackface[6], and other symbols of racial oppression.[5][9] Early audiences, many of them punks[6], were divided by the project, and several early performances were disrupted or canceled due to the controversy the group provoked.[5][8]

From 1986, the project lapsed into a period of inactivity lasting over 20 years.[5] Group members shifted their energy toward other arts and academic projects.

Post-hiatus (2007 - present)

During their time of inactivity, awareness of the group and its work developed and their records become highly sought-after.[1]

Re-activation of the group was prompted by support from writer and musician Steve Krakow, who interviewed the group for the Chicago Reader in 2007 and featured them in his Secret History of Chicago Music column.[1][4][5]

Since their re-activation, the group has played both in the US and internationally, released many new records, and received positive attention from prominent music press including The Wire and The Recording Academy (presenters of the Grammy Awards).[1][10]

Themes

ONO's work has been focused on themes of queerness, colonialism, historical trauma, and the African-American and Native American experiences.[11][12][3] They describe themselves as "Exploring Gospel’s Darkest Conflicts, Tragedies and Premises".[4]

ONO have frequently referenced specific historical events in their work. The group's 2020 album Red Summer is themed around the Chicago race riots of 1919, and the track "Syphilis" from the album describes the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.[10]

Members

Current members[1][4][5][13]

  • travis - vocals, lap steel (1980 - )
  • P. Michael - bass, keyboards, electronics (1980 - )
  • Shannon Rose Riley - vocals, keyboards, horns (1981 - )
  • Rebecca Pavlatos - vocals, keyboards, percussion (2007 - )
  • Dawei Wang - vocals, guitar (2007 - )
  • Ben Baker Billington - drums (2014 - )
  • Connor Tomaka - electronics, percussion (2015 - )
  • Jordan Reyes - electronics, vocals (2016 - )
  • Benjamin Karas - percussion (2015 - )

Past and intermittent members[1][4][5][13]

  • Hallene Kathy Brooks (1980)
  • Mark Berrend - guitar (1980)
  • Ric Graham - guitar, trumpet, electronics (1981)
  • Jesse Thomas - vocals, guitar, trombone, percussion (2007 - 2015)
  • Mimi Wallman - vocals, percussion and electronics (2007 - 2015)
  • Abe Gibson - drums (2007 - )
  • Adam Wolack - drums (c. 2014)
  • Jake Acosta - trumpet (c. 2014 - 2018)
  • Brett Naucke - electronics (2007 - 2017)
  • John Daniel (2019 - )

Discography

Albums

  • Kate Cincinnati (1982)[9]
  • Machines That Kill People (1983)
  • Ennui (1986)
  • Albino (2012)
  • Diegesis (2014)
  • Spooks (2015)
  • Your Future is Metal (2018)
  • Red Summer (2020)

Singles

  • I Dream of Sodomy (2018)
  • KONGO / MERCY (2020)[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "ONO Talk Their Latest Release, 'Red Summer'". GRAMMY.com. May 14, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Wire staff (May 2020). "ONO: Red Summer". No. 435. Exact Editions.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b "Democracy at Work: travis and P.Michael of ONO". Sixty Inches From Center. February 1, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Mason, Rachel; Mason, ContributorRachel; Artist (July 23, 2014). "The Chicago Band Who Disappeared for 30 Years Only to Return Weirder and Louder". HuffPost. Retrieved May 14, 2020. {{cite web}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "ONO – An Unabridged History In Conversation | The COMP Magazine". www.thecompmagazine.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e Porter, James (2008). "ONO - TO THIS DAY..." Roctober. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2020. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; June 30, 2012 suggested (help)
  7. ^ "P. Michael (ONO)'s schedule for Moogfest 2017". moogfest2017.sched.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d "BIO". www.travistravis.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d Michaelsen, Scott (July 15, 1983). "Chicago's best-kept secret". The Chicago Reader. Vol. 12, no. 41.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ a b "Listen: ONO's Red Summer - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  11. ^ "Chicago's ONO Release Their Latest Industrial-Gospel Complex RED SUMMER". brain-arts.org. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  12. ^ "BriefArtStatement". www.travistravis.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "ONO - ChicagoPunk". punkdatabase.com. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  14. ^ "KONGO / MERCY, by ONO". ONO. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
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