Nash the Slash

Nash the Slash

Nash the Slash is a Canadian progressive rock, classical, and alternative musician. Though a multi-instrumentalist, he is known primarily for playing electric violin and mandolin, as well as harmonica, keyboards, glockenspiel, and other instruments. He was a member of the band FM in the 1970s, before launching a solo career in 1978, producing an audiovisual collaboration with artist Robert Vanderhorst which continues to this day.

Identity

Since 1979 Nash has always performed with surgical bandages covering his face. "During a gig at The Edge in the late '70's to raise awareness of the threat from the Three Mile Island disaster, he walked on stage wearing bandages dipped in phosphorus paint and exclaimed: "look, this is what happens to you". The bandages became his trademark." [1] Prior to 1979 Nash performed twice on TV Ontario's Nightmusic Concert, once alone and once with FM co-founder Cameron Hawkins. In both of these appearances Nash wore his typical black tuxedo, top hat, and dark sunglasses, but wore no bandages.

Born Jeff Plewman (as given in copyright depositions at the Library of Congress)([2]) [3]), he has attempted to keep his true identity the subject of some speculation. In a 1981 interview with the UK magazine Smash Hits, Nash's response to a question about his real name was "Nashville Thebodiah Slasher". By never officially confirming or denying his name, some fans came to believe Nash to be an alter ego of Ben Mink, who replaced him as FM's violinist in 1978. This is a common misconception but he has been photographed onstage with Ben Mink. [4] While in the UK, he was rumoured to be Billy Currie of Ultravox fame.

Career

Nash has been creating his unique concept of sound and vision for nearly thirty years. His first live presentation of music to film was a performance to Luis Buñuel's surreal silent film Un chien andalou at the Roxy Theatre in Toronto.

Nash's persona was born of silent film. The name comes from a killer butler encountered by Laurel and Hardy in their first film Do Detectives Think? (1927). Nash the musician has gone on to create the music scores for the Canadian films Roadkill and Highway 61, both directed by Bruce McDonald. His other movie score and soundtrack work has included The Kidnapping of the President (1980), Blood & Donuts (1995), and Black Pearls (1989).

Nash's music is a complex blend of new wave, new age and punk rock, using electric mandolins, violins, drums machines and an arsenal of effects and sonic devices. He has written, played and produced almost all of the material on his solo albums by himself, although he has also worked with producers Daniel Lanois and Bill Nelson.

Nash was personally invited by Gary Numan to tour the UK as his support act in 1980 and 1981, and also toured Europe with The Tubes. He was signed to Richard Branson's DinDisc (Virgin) label and in 1980 he released the album Children of the Night in Europe. Returning to Toronto in spring 1981, Nash followed up the success of Children of the Night with the album And You Thought You Were Normal. This included the track and later single "Dance After Curfew" on which a then relatively unknown Daniel Lanois took the production helm. The single has the distinction of being a club and radio hit in Poland, which was then still behind the iron curtain.

Nash's next project was an album of all-American classics titled American Bandages. Nash enlisted the help of former FM cohorts Cameron Hawkins (keyboards) and Martin Deller (drums),and the album was released in 1984. The album was aimed at the US market, but due to poor distribution and management it never got the exposure it deserved. After the bad experience with American Bandages, Nash rejoined FM from 1984 to 1989, releasing the albums Con-Test and Tonight, before embarking on a series of film projects. Nash re-released his first two albums Bedside Companion and Dreams & Nightmares on CD in 1997, calling the result Blind Windows. An all-new album, Thrash, followed in 1999. Nash continued to release his back catalogue on CD in the early 2000s, supporting this with tours in his native Ontario. During 2004 and 2005 Nash was again working with Robert Vanderhorst on the project Two Artists[5], a live multimedia event presenting a fusion of surrealistic visuals with classic stylings in music.

Discography

• Bedside Companion (1978)
• Dreams & Nightmares (1979)
• Hammersmith Holocaust (1980) {Rare Live EP [300 handstamped copies] supporting Gary Numan in London .}
• Children of the Night (1980)
• Decomposing (1981) {Engineered to play at any speed.}
• And You Thought You Were Normal (1982)
• The Million Year Picnic (1984)
• American BandAges (1984)
• Blind Windows (1997, re-release of first two albums)
• Thrash (1999)
• Children of the Night (2000, reissue with bonus tracks)
• Nosferatu (2000)
• Lost in Space (2001)
• And You Thought You Were Normal (2002, reissue with bonus tracks)
• American Bandages (2003, reissue with bonus tracks)
• In-A-Gadda-Da-Nash (2008) {Nash covers a variety of songs}

Film soundtracks

Nash has composed the film scores for several movies, including:

• The Kidnapping of the President (1980) - Nash provided electronic sound effects
• A Trip Around Lake Ontario (1984, short subject)
• Roadkill (1989)
• Black Pearls (1989)
• Highway 61 (1991)
• Blood & Donuts (1995)

Excerpts from tracks on the FM album Tonight, co-written by Nash the Slash, appear in the movie Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood.

In addition, he has appeared on the following movie soundtracks:

• Highway 61 (1991, track "Into the Land of the Fire")

Movie appearances

Nash has a cameo appearance in the movie Roadkill (1989) playing his own composition We Will Be The Leaders

DVDs

• As 'Two Artists' , a collaboration with artist Robert Vanderhorst.
• A View from the Gallery - One, (2004)
• A View from the Gallery - Two, (2005)

Trivia

Nash has appeared as a character in several comic books by Matt Howarth. Nash has also provided original music on a CD for Howarth's graphic novel The Simultaneous Man.

External links

• Nash's official website
• Nash's official MySpace website
• Official fan site
• Official site for 'Two Artists'
• Biography of Nash the Slash
• The Canadian Encyclopedia article on the band "FM"
• FM Fansite
• Early Nash on Youtube
• Later Nash on Youtube