The Golden Palominos

The Golden Palominos were not a group per se, but rather the revolving-door project of drummer, programmer, and bandleader <a href="spotify:artist:483hYXnMW88DowwGAmowzG">Anton Fier</a>. Born June 20, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio, <a href="spotify:artist:483hYXnMW88DowwGAmowzG">Fier</a> first made his mark as the drummer on <a href="spotify:artist:4UETUdF77BfyJ7fEFVztr3">the Feelies</a>' seminal 1980 debut Crazy Rhythms. After leaving the group, he joined the punk-jazz unit <a href="spotify:artist:4q1q53aTfhk0k63Ob9zdhH">the Lounge Lizards</a> before returning home to Cleveland, where he was recruited by the legendary new wave band <a href="spotify:artist:3V4FPipSnuYjtHnnAw9cZd">Pere Ubu</a> for the album Song of the Bailing Man. After exiting <a href="spotify:artist:3V4FPipSnuYjtHnnAw9cZd">Ubu</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:483hYXnMW88DowwGAmowzG">Fier</a> again relocated to downtown New York City, where he founded the first Golden Palominos lineup in 1981. In its primary live incarnation, the band was an avant-funk supergroup comprised of <a href="spotify:artist:483hYXnMW88DowwGAmowzG">Fier</a> and another drummer, <a href="spotify:artist:0WaTJw8DOAZCTse9v6Eu7j">David Moss</a>, saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:3gkJ7lXtLpE4KauFHpk2vK">John Zorn</a>, guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:2914JagOufmP5BY9qLDxtF">Arto Lindsay</a>, and a pair of bassists, <a href="spotify:artist:5RISqKCcrhGITX2TQAPGPL">Bill Laswell</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4Q6rJWmXt75wi3OemnrbYd">Jamaaladeen Tacuma</a>; on their self-titled 1983 debut, the Palominos were augmented by <a href="spotify:artist:4KMt98IljgbTUeeU9KAu7y">Fred Frith</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1s60MqDAKcVrTFxHM3w2Z0">Nicky Skopelitis</a>, and Mark Miller.

Over the next few years, <a href="spotify:artist:483hYXnMW88DowwGAmowzG">Fier</a> moved away from the first record's experimental noise into far more traditional pop territory; simultaneously, he largely jettisoned the first album's lineup in favor of an ever-changing collection of punk legends, post-punk superstars, up-and-comers, and N.Y.C.-scene vets. After enlisting ex-Raybeat Jody Harris to help him co-write much of the music, <a href="spotify:artist:483hYXnMW88DowwGAmowzG">Fier</a> recruited vocalists ranging from <a href="spotify:artist:4KWTAlx2RvbpseOGMEmROg">R.E.M.</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:2G1Lyk7bWbBBrtwyl3obNB">Michael Stipe</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:74oJ4qxwOZvX6oSsu1DGnw">Cream</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:73ndLgs6jSrpZzjyzU9TJV">Jack Bruce</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:70MMkLXtue3Edj3RJhJkYp">PIL</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:3qeZ2Y7fOYRAVJzOJxp1e2">John Lydon</a> and newcomer <a href="spotify:artist:4Zcl1FeBmIw22Ytdr27l1Q">Syd Straw</a>. Rounded out by musicians like former <a href="spotify:artist:1CYmYyxlWBVY80Kvq5lTDg">dB</a> <a href="spotify:artist:1i7YYagcULgnW5Qilsto1d">Chris Stamey</a>, guitar greats <a href="spotify:artist:5w75MoT8FfcGOMgjgrj1cz">Richard Thompson</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3JgykWJiK9U8B4gfoWdDMb">Henry Kaiser</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0xfzJF8IkpAmNrGRMJSlPc">P-Funk</a> alumni <a href="spotify:artist:3vB7T6czx1Jh89YEnzM0UF">Bernie Worrell</a> and Mike Hampton, the revamped Golden Palominos reached an early peak with 1985's Visons of Excess, a diverse yet cogent collection highlighted by a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:0NHSh9S0VQiFfsEFbvhRXN">Moby Grape</a>'s "Omaha" and the original "Boy (Go)."

With 1986's Blast of Silence, the group flirted with elements of country and folk; while <a href="spotify:artist:2G1Lyk7bWbBBrtwyl3obNB">Stipe</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3qeZ2Y7fOYRAVJzOJxp1e2">Lydon</a> were noticeably absent, many of the other players featured on Visions of Excess remained, along with new additions including guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:4zMX9gWf1DKhvsYHUCbBF7">T-Bone Burnett</a>, Numbers Band singer <a href="spotify:artist:3fs8FYd1uL9sBN4mMymk4p">Robert Kidney</a>, artist/producer <a href="spotify:artist:3LdLKmvFl65YydnIc2ZA9c">Don Dixon</a>, singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:0nkcgoH1u2GgX3a6v2tC1t">Peter Blegvad</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2idymNTKUdnTxforkb12Mw">Matthew Sweet</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0rESpKEusFHxhW59MIf7eM">Flying Burrito Brothers</a> alum <a href="spotify:artist:5VJJqNy6l5zfX9LpLit5N0">Sneaky Pete Kleinow</a>. On 1989's moody A Dead Horse, <a href="spotify:artist:483hYXnMW88DowwGAmowzG">Fier</a> again shifted gears, settling on a constant lineup of <a href="spotify:artist:5RISqKCcrhGITX2TQAPGPL">Laswell</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1s60MqDAKcVrTFxHM3w2Z0">Skopelitis</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3fs8FYd1uL9sBN4mMymk4p">Kidney</a>, and ex-<a href="spotify:artist:6bJUzb3mLEYCkTAp7eNJgO">Information Society</a> vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:19YrwUK0dvQ26lXooz6kFq">Amanda Kramer</a> along with a handful of guests, including former <a href="spotify:artist:22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe">Rolling Stone</a> <a href="spotify:artist:4tkgLX1wdWoOu2lyeQNYAi">Mick Taylor</a>.

1991's Drunk with Passion returned to the all-star format; <a href="spotify:artist:2G1Lyk7bWbBBrtwyl3obNB">Stipe</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5w75MoT8FfcGOMgjgrj1cz">Thompson</a> again rejoined the fold, welcoming newcomers like <a href="spotify:artist:4DD6xBZ1INIT3yGJRQLzej">Sugar</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:0fWvSXbvztkeHEnEuYvU2A">Bob Mould</a>. This Is How It Feels, a sophisticated concept album inspired by the <a href="spotify:artist:7fh471RcOPljEQFmUeWAA3">Graham Greene</a> novel The End of the Road followed in 1993; along with core members like <a href="spotify:artist:5RISqKCcrhGITX2TQAPGPL">Laswell</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1s60MqDAKcVrTFxHM3w2Z0">Skopelitis</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3vB7T6czx1Jh89YEnzM0UF">Worrell</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:19YrwUK0dvQ26lXooz6kFq">Kramer</a>, the record spotlighted vocalists <a href="spotify:artist:2H9YDI4YMVLrLYpiS57Tvy">Lori Carson</a> and Lydia Kavanaugh, as well as bass great <a href="spotify:artist:5K0rbdBrs2tNXe5LeWMATT">Bootsy Collins</a>. 1994's Pure featured many of the same principal players, while 1996's Dead Inside, essentially from a trio comprised of <a href="spotify:artist:483hYXnMW88DowwGAmowzG">Fier</a>, ex-<a href="spotify:artist:0O0lrN34wrcuBenkqlEDZe">Psychedelic Furs</a> guitarist Knox Chandler, and vocalist/lyricist Nicole Blackman, explored electronic and ambient soundscapes. Dead Inside would be the final album by the Golden Palominos with various compilations being the only additions to the discography. <a href="spotify:artist:483hYXnMW88DowwGAmowzG">Anton Fier</a> died on September 21, 2022 at the age of 66. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi