Corbett vs. Dempsey is honored to present the first comprehensive compilation of the music of Jon Waine, culled and curated from original 1970s/80s master tapes, home recordings, and rehearsal documentation, featuring provocative and legendary artist Pope.L in a little-known musical guise.
In 1975, two college kids, Brian McCormack and William Pope, started making music in their dorm room at Montclair State University, in Montclair, New Jersey. Early on, they christened their endeavor Jon Waine. Over the following eight years, McCormack and Pope (who soon began to work under the name Pope.L, and went on to have an illustrious career as a conceptual visual artist) would transform this experimental project into a well-honed group that played every legendary venue in the New York/New Jersey area, including CBGB, Maxwell's, and Danceteria. Dubbed an Afro Nu-Wave Band by Pope.L, Jon Waine made only one record during its lifetime, a self-produced flexi-disc of two pieces they'd perfected during years of club gigs - "Do the Tic" b/w "Boogie Down the Congo." It is, of course, now impossibly rare.
Second Skin (1975-1983) presents two CDs of music by Jon Waine. Tracking back to the early years, one disc covers the formative adventures of Pope.L and McCormack as a duo, with sound collages, synthesizer drones, drum machines, McCormack's guitar work and Pope.L's inimitable baritone vocals. Drawn in part from cassettes preserved in McCormack's collection, delivered to CvsD the day after his untimely death, these recordings were homemade and highly experimental, showing the influence of a favorite triad of heroes: Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and Sun Ra. Another important discovery in Pope.L's studio brought to light two reel-to-reel tapes of multitrack recordings by the duo from 1981, made just as they were adding members and becoming a full-fledged performing ensemble.
A second disc is devoted to Jon Waine, the band. With drummer Franc Palaia joining in 1980, quickly followed by Ellen La Forge on electric bass, the group worked up a repertoire of original material. Highly political, sarcastic, funny, funky and post-punky, with nods at Devo and contemporaneous New York no wave bands like DNA and the Contortions, Jon Waine gained a following and created a platform for some of Pope. L's early explorations of race issues in songs like "Fresh White Boy" and "Second Skin." As focused and accomplished as the band grew, they remained virtually unknown to the burgeoning audience for Pope. L's art. Surprisingly, at the same time, Pope.L's bandmates reportedly knew little about his fame as an artist. In 1983, at roughly the same moment that they released their flexi-disc, with fewer club dates and other commitments calling its members away, Jon Waine ceased to exist.
Second Skin (1975-1983) presents the whole Jon Waine story, from the batshit crazy early years to the surgical strike of the quartet and quintet in the early 1980s. In addition to the music and detailed liner notes by John Corbett, the package includes never-seen photos and ephemera, including hand-drawn lettering and cartoons by McCormack and Pope.L. This project accompanies CvsD's exhibition of Pope.L's work and is produced in celebration of the musical partnership between Pope.L, who died unexpectedly in 2023 at age 68, and Brian McCormack, who was 69 when he passed in December 2024.
