Keep the Dog
| Keep the Dog | |
|---|---|
| Origin |
New York City, United States |
| Genres | Avant-rock, experimental, free improvisation |
| Years active | 1989–1991 |
| Labels | Fred |
| Past members |
Jean Derome Fred Frith René Lussier Kevin Norton Bob Ostertag Zeena Parkins Charles Hayward |
Keep the Dog was a United States-based experimental rock touring band from New York City formed in 1989 by English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. The sextet was conceived as a review band for performing selections of Frith's extensive repertoire of compositions from the previous 15 years.
The band lineup was Frith, René Lussier, Jean Derome, Zeena Parkins, Bob Ostertag and Kevin Norton. Later Charles Hayward replaced Norton. The group existed until mid-1991, performing live in Europe, North America and the former Soviet Union. A double CD, That House We Lived In, from their final 1991 European tour, was released in 2003.
Keep the Dog began purely as a review band, performing Fred Frith compositions from his solo albums, from some of the groups he belonged to (Henry Cow, Massacre, Skeleton Crew and French Frith Kaiser Thompson), and from his many collaborations with other musicians. But as the group grew in stature it started extending itself. Instead of simply covering Frith's compositions, they began to adapt them and improvise around them. Frith remarked in an interview at the time: "The group is constantly evolving into things we don't expect." By 1991, Keep the Dog had become largely an improvising band, very different from what they started out as in 1989.
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