Loopy Rhythms, Slow Disintegration
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The group formed when the pair met as students at the School of the Art Institute in the mid-80s. Schneller was getting a master’s in sculpture; Prekop was an undergrad in painting. A painting master’s candidate, David Kroll, became the group’s bass player, and the incipient Shrimp Boat was filled out with drumming by Schneller’s brother Eric, who later changed his last name to Claridge. The group played in local clubs and eventually made the record Speckly; when Claridge moved away he was replaced by producer Brad Wood, of Idful studios, where the band recorded. (Wood left the band last year.) The sound they created–on the independently released Speckly and the Bar/None albums Duende and Cavale–was a sort of intellectual, casual boogie: it was built around sometimes unexpected beats, Schneller and Prekop’s twin-guitar picking, and Prekop’s sometimes growly, sometimes falsetto vocals. The sound had a tinge of the novelty to it, and Shrimp Boat’s fondness for loopy rhythms made it a dance favorite.
Prekop sees it differently. “The Park West gig was a bad idea, but it wasn’t necessarily Richard’s idea,” he says. “He would present situations. We had decided we wanted to play more: uncool gigs, we didn’t care. We’d made that decision. It’s not like Richard was making us do anything.”
Time Underground
