Raised in England and currently residing in North Carolina, Dan Melchior is a prolific garage-rocker and a universal favorite here at WFMU. He recently gave us the go-ahead to share a career-spanning set of previously unreleased recordings, including WFMU live sessions and home recordings from his newest project, Dan Melchior Und Das Menace.
The first live session dates back to 2001, when Melchior was playing straight-outta-the-swamp slide-guitar fuzz rock in The Broke Revue. They plowed through hits from their In The Red releases, like “You’re My Wife”, “Hungry Ghost”, “Out of the Swamp”, and “Me & JG Ballard” (from 2002’s classic Bitterness, Spite, Rage, and Scorn) and “Witch On Fire”, the opening track to 2001’s Heavy Dirt.
Melchior returned to The Three Chord Monte again in 2003 for an acoustic set accompanied by Bruno of the Broke Revue, playing gems like “This Is Not the Medway Sound”, which later appeared on WFMU’s 2004 marathon compilation Tunes On Toxic Terrain (the studio recording is the titlte track to 2002 Smart Guy Records LP).
In 2008, Melchior made his fourth visit to the WFMU studios for a set on Terre T’s Cherry Blossom Clinic with his new project Dan Melchior Und Das Menace. “The Post Office Line” is a standout track here, the original recording was released on 7” by Columbus Discount Records’ super solod-out singles club. Dan Melchior Und Das Menace also played the CBC in 2006, and we’re working on bringing that set to you as well.
We’re also incredibly psyched to host this batch of unreleased Dan Melchior rarities, showcasing his increasingly experimental, psychedelic tendencies with Das Menace. If you like what you hear, be sure to pick up some of Melchior’s recent releases: 2008’s Christmas For the Crows LP (Daggerman Records) and this year’s Thank You Very Much 2xLP (S-S Records). Keep an eye on Melchior’s discography to keep from missing out on his consistently awesome, too-frequently-sold-out 7”s. And if you like Melchior’s music, you may also enjoy his artwork, and/or the music of collaborator and musical compatriot Billy Childish.