Stampfel, Peter

"Now 77 years old, Stampfel has been making music since the 1960s, a decade on which he left his stamp - a song placed on the soundtrack of the hippie touchstone movie "Easy Rider," collaboration with the poets who would form the rock band The Fugs, his own recordings with the group he co-founded, The Holy Modal Rounders. And Stampfel's '6os roots continue to show." - NPR "At his best, Stampfel does a kind of slack-wire act, striking his own crazy folkie balance between soul and satire and his own crazy rock and roll balance between hell-bent enthusiasm and musicianly effect." - Robert Christigau "crown prince of the old-timey anarcho- psychofolkadelic American songster tradition" - No Depression

Fresh off of his LP with the Fiddle & Mandolin Swarm, Peter Stampfel returns to Don Giovanni Records backed by a brand new group: The Atomic Meta-Pagans. As far as we can gather, the path toward their formation was circuitous, involving social media messaging, the unlocking of inner voices, and something about an all expenses paid trip to Russia (to play a music festival). However it all came together, know that Stampfel is joined here by Hubby Jenkins (Carolina Chocolate Drops) and composer/improviser Shelley Hirsch, among others. Their debut, The Cambrian Explosion, was recorded in two improv-heavy sessions. Most are first takes. And there's more to come. "Our target is two AM-P albums a year, which will be titled after ongoing geological eras-Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, etc.," writes Stampfel. "My cup hath the runs. I am blessed indeed."

Welcome to The Ordovician Era in which the Peter Stampfel and Atomic Meta-Pagans become even more like themselves. Featuring the vocal stylings of the Stampfelettes, magical overdubs by Mark Bingham, higher quality improvs by award winning experimental vocalist Shelley Hirsch (Singing, The Big Gundown), Peter Stampfel (Holy Modal Rounders, Fugs), and more! Ongoing jolliness beckons! We asked Mark Bingham to do the sequencing, and he started with an improv, "so improvs won't be like dirty stepchildren." Featuring beautiful full color artwork by Tony Millionaire!