Michael Scott Lachowski was the bass guitar player for Pylon, a band from Athens, Georgia. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and attended the University of Georgia art school. He and his roommate Randy Bewley formed Pylon, recruiting Curtis Crowe as a drummer, and Vanessa Briscoe Hay, a fellow student at the University of Georgia.[1] They recorded the single "Cool/Dub", an album Gyrate, an EP, another album Chomp, and two singles. Pylon toured the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom before breaking up in 1983. They returned to tour again in 1988, and recorded another album, Chain, in 1990, before breaking up again in 1991. Pylon reformed in 2005 and occasionally performed until 2009, when Bewley died.[2] Their first album, Gyrate Plus, was reissued on October 16, 2007, by DFA Records, New York City. In 2009, Chomp More was also reissued by DFA Records.[3]
Michael Lachowski | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Scott Lachowski |
| Born | Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Genres | New wave, post-punk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter, Graphical designer |
| Instrument | Bass guitar |
| Years active | 1978–present |
Lachowski has had a graphic design firm in Athens called Candy and a magazine called Young, Foxy and Free. He also works on occasion as a disc jockey and has been involved as a participant in the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia for years. He has worked in public relations at the Georgia Museum of Art since 2012.[4]
During his time in Athens, Lachowski ran an answerphone service known as the Athens Party Telephone. Its acronym, A.P.T., was used in the R.E.M. song "Stumble", which appeared on the band's first American release, 1982's Chronic Town EP.[5]
Discography
editPylon
- Cool/Dub 7" single (Caution Records 1979)
- Gyrate LP (DB Records, Armageddon 1980)
- Pylon !! EP (DB Records, Armageddon 1980)
- Crazy/M-Train 7" single (DB Records 1981)
- Beep/Altitude 7" single (DB Records 1982)
- Four Minutes/Beep/Altitude EP (Db recs 1982)
- Chomp LP (DB Records 1983)
- Hits CD/cassette (DB Records 1988)
- Chain LP/CD (Sky Records 1990)
- Gyrate Plus CD (DFA Records 2007)
- Chomp More CD (DFA Records 2009)
- Gravity/Weather Radio 7" single (Chunklet 2016)
- Pylon Live Double LP (Chunklet 2016)
- Pylon Box (2020)
Other
- Dead Letter Office (LP) LP (IRS Records 1985) (Cover of "Crazy" by R.E.M.)
- Cover + Remix 7" single (DFA Records, October 2011) (Cover of "Cool" by Deerhunter, Remix of Yo-Yo by Calvinist)
- Magnet Factory by Pylon Reenactment Society (Strolling Bones Records, 2024, songwriting, graphics)
Filmography
edit- Athens, GA.: Inside/Out (1987), archive footage, interview
Video
edit- Beep (1990), Pylon, from CD: Hits, a compilation, DB Records
- Look Alive (1992), Pylon, from album :Chain, Sky Records
References
edit- ^ "Pylon: Biography". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- ^ "Pylon Guitarist Randy Bewley dies". Access Atlanta. Archived from the original on 2009-03-01.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Pylon Biography". Allmusic.com. Rovi. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
- ^ Bennett, Kim Taylor (7 August 2014). "We Talked to Pylon's Michael Lachowski because He's a Legend". Vice. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
- ^ Hogan, Peter (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of R.E.M. Omnibus Press. p. 43. ISBN 0-7119-4901-8.
- Reynolds, Simon: Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984, Penguin Books, February 2006, p. 264.
- Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate. p. 469. OL 22546927M.
- Christgau,Robert: Christgau's Consumer Guide-the 80's, Pantheon Books, 1990, pp. 329, 498, 506.