Figures of Light

Figures of Light
Dixon and Downey in 2012.
Background information
Origin	New Brunswick, NJ, USA
Genres	Proto-punk
Years active	1970–1972; 2006–2015
Labels	Norton Records
Members	Wheeler Winston Dixon Michael Downey
Past members	Phil Cohen Dennis Druzbik

Figures of Light is an American proto-punk band formed in 1970 by Wheeler Winston Dixon (lead vocals, slide guitar) and Michael Downey (rhythm guitar, backing vocals).

At the time of the band’s formation, Dixon, 20, and Downey, 23, were roommates, and the band, which at the time included Phil Cohen (lead guitar) and Dennis Druzbik (bass), rehearsed in their apartment in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Guitarist William Spaceman Patterson jammed with the band during their early practice sessions, though he never performed or recorded with the group. They were influenced by the Velvet Underground, The Stooges, and other pre-punk bands of that era. In 1972, Figures of Light cut their debut 7” single, “It’s Lame,” with a limited pressing of 100. The single has since been called “raw, loud, and nothing like the prevailing music of the time.” The band was unable to get a record deal, which led to its dissolution later that year.

At their debut live performance, at Rutgers University in 1970, band members smashed 15 television sets and “a bunch of mirrors” with axes and sledgehammers. They also drove a motorcycle down the main aisle of the concert hall and destroyed a record player. Dixon has called it a protest against the Vietnam War and the way it was being presented on television. The band performed regularly from 1970 until their breakup in 1972.

In 2006, Norton Records founders Billy Miller and Miriam Linna discovered and re-released the “It’s Lame” single, prompting Figures of Light to reunite. At the time, Dixon and Downey hadn’t spoken in around 25 years. The band’s newly recorded material was combined with early in-studio and live tracks for their first full-length release, Smash Hits (2008). They followed that up with Drop Dead, recorded in Brooklyn in 2011. Dixon and Downey were joined on the album by Linna (of The Cramps and The A-Bones), Mick Collins (of The Gories and The Dirtbombs) and Marcus “The Carcass” Natale (of The A-Bones). Collins produced the album, which has a raw, reverb-saturated, stripped down sound. “It’s Lame” was later included on the 2009 compilation I Still Hate CD's: Norton Records 45 RPM Singles Collection Vol. 2. Dixon explained his approach: