Нэш the Slash: Канадский музыкант и виртуоз электроскрипки.

Canadian musician (1948–2014)

James Jeffrey "Jeff" Plewman (March 26, 1948 – May 10, 2014), better known by his stage name Nash the Slash, was a Canadian musician. A multi instrumentalist, he was known primarily for playing the electric violin and mandolin, as well as the harmonica, keyboards, glockenspiel, and other instruments (sometimes described as "devices" on album notes). Nash worked as a solo artist beginning in 1975; founding the progressive rock band FM in 1976. Soon after releasing the band's first album, Black Noise, in 1977, he left the band; he resumed his solo career in 1978 (it was not until after Nash's departure that the album was widely promoted, eventually charting and receiving a gold record award). He rejoined FM from 1983 to 1988, followed by a brief reunion from 1994 to 1996, all concurrent with his solo work. Nash's music covers an eclectic range, varying from instrumental—mood setting music, to rock and pop music with vocals. In addition to giving concert performances, he composed and performed soundtrack music for silent films, presenting these works live in movie theatres to accompany screenings of the films. Another venue for his music was in performances to accompany the viewing of paintings by surrealist painter Robert Vanderhorst, an audiovisual collaboration, which took place in 1978 and again in 2004. Nash famously never allowed guitars on any of his solo albums and singles. He turned down Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's offer to lay down a guitar track on his album Children of the Night.

Nash was born in Toronto, Ontario. He performed with surgical bandages covering his face starting in 1979. "During a gig at The Edge in the late 1970s to raise awareness of the threat from the Three Mile Island disaster, he walked on stage wearing bandages dipped in phosphorus paint and exclaimed: 'Look, this is what happens to you.' The bandages became his trademark." In later years, he attempted to keep his true identity the subject of some speculation, although the Star profile of 1978 had already matter of factly revealed his real name. The "Nash the Slash" persona came from silent film, and Nash said he took his stage name from that of a killer butler encountered by Laurel and Hardy in one of their first films, Do Detectives Think? (1927), for which he composed a soundtrack score. (The film character's name is actually "The Tipton Slasher"; nowhere on screen does "Nash the Slash" appear.) Images of Nash the Slash are featured in a variety of murals painted by artist Jungle Ling in Toronto. These images are located in the Leslieville district, next to a TD Bank at Queen St. East and Logan Avenue and below Queen St. East on Connaught Avenue, as part of a neighborhood beautification project conducted by the Toronto Transit Commission.

Nash's music is a complex blend of progressive rock, New Wave, new age, and punk rock, using electric mandolins, violins, drum machines, and a variety of effects and sonic devices. He wrote, played, and produced most of the material on his solo albums by himself, though he also worked with producers Daniel Lanois, Steve Hillage, and Bill Nelson.

Before working as a solo artist, Nash recorded an unreleased song called "Slasher" with a group called Breathless, which also included his (and FM's) future producer, Michael Waite on bass guitar. The song appeared on a "various artists" promotional album titled Concept (after the Toronto based management company, Concept 376; this was one of a series of such albums), but was not issued to the public in any form. The promo album does not list the group's personnel, or even a songwriting credit, but Nash is clearly heard singing a song, beginning with the lyrics "Hear the children of the night" (though this was a completely different song from his later work, "Children of the Night"), and playing electric violin. The song also featured a complex organ solo not in Nash's usual style (nor that of Cameron Hawkins, his bandmate in FM).

Nash's first solo performance and live presentation of music to film occurred when he played his soundtrack to Luis Buñuel's silent film Un chien andalou (1929) at The Original 99 Cent Roxy Theatre in Toronto on March 17, 1975.

He also composed music for other classic silent films including Nosferatu (1922) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). When performing soundtracks, Nash would appear on stage beside the screen (using his own projection screen when a full theatre screen is not available), the same format he used when performing concerts. He also composed scores for modern Canadian films Roadkill (1990) and Highway 61 (1991), both directed by Bruce McDonald. His other movie score and soundtrack work included the short film "A Trip Around Lake Ontario (1985), The Kidnapping of the President (1980), Black Pearls (1989), and Blood and Donuts (1995). During this time, Nash made his first appearance on record, on David Pritchard's solo album Nocturnal Earthworm Stew (1976), with a short solo track titled "Nash Metropolitan" (named after Nash Metropolitan), and on an improvised piece with Pritchard and drummer Martin Deller (with whom he would later work in FM). He also appeared on the live TV Ontario program Nightmusic (before its change in format, where it became Nightmusic Concert); in this incarnation, the show was a televised version of an FM radio show hosted by disc jockey Reiner Schwarz, and had not previously featured a live performer. Nash claimed he was both the first and last musical artist to appear on the show.

After working as a solo artist for a year, Nash formed the group FM in 1976, initially as a duo with Cameron Hawkins; drummer Martin Deller was added later. The group began recording in July 1976, though no performances in its duo format were issued at the time. However, they did appear on television and in live concerts, beginning in November 1976. In 1977, with Deller added to the group, they recorded the album Black Noise, which received a gold record award. It was listed as one of the "Top 50 Prog Rock Albums" by Rolling Stone magazine. By the end of 1977, Nash had left FM, and resumed his solo career starting with another television appearance on Nightmusic Concert on February 28, 1978. Also in 1979, Nash thanked Toronto radio station CFNY FM for their support of his music, by playing electric violin on the station's theme song, which was recorded by various disc jockeys of the station in a strange blend of new wave and country music. It was released as "Working on the Radio" by the 102.1 Band, as a single on Ready Records. The B side has an extended version with a longer solo by Nash, who is not credited on the cover. Nash's solo career up to this point had only a small cult following, due to his working exclusively as an instrumentalist. His next record, a 1980 single featuring a cover version of Jan and Dean's "Dead Man's Curve" with vocals, propelled him to greater public recognition. The B side, "Swing Shift (Souixante Neuf)" also featured vocals, and was co composed with lyricist Toby Dammit, with whom Nash further collaborated over the next few years. Music videos were made for both songs. Nash also played on three songs by Toronto group Drastic Measures for their self titled album, including violins on their signature tune, a cover version of the children's song, "The Teddy Bears' Picnic". Nash's label, Cut throat Records, later issued a single by the group, the only other artist to appear on his label, although Nash was not involved in its recording. Nash's later soundtrack album for Highway 61 includes tracks by Tony Malone, the lead singer for Drastic Measures. Nash was invited by Gary Numan to tour the UK as his support act in 1980 and 1981, and subsequently played on Numan's 1981 LP Dance. He also toured Europe with The Tubes. He was signed to the Dindisc label and in 1981, he released the album Children of the Night in Europe, also released in Canada shortly after. Several British singles were also issued. These records appeared on the Dindisc / Cut throat label in Europe and on Virgin / Dindisc / Cut throat in Canada.

Returning to Toronto in spring 1981, Nash released an instrumental "mini album" Decomposing (1981), which purported to be playable at any speed, with song timings on the label quoting three lengths, depending on whether the record is played at 33, 45, or 78 rpm. However, songs from this record also appeared on compilation albums and singles, where they always play as heard when Decomposing is played at 45 rpm. This remains Nash's only significant release that has yet to be reissued on CD. In 1981, Iggy Pop name checked Nash during the fade out on the song Eggs on Plate singing "Hey Nash the Slash, why did you leave your sticker on the ceiling of my forty two dollar and fifty cent motel suite?!" A year later, Nash got a call from Iggy who invited him to be his opening act on tour. Nash's next album was And You Thought You Were Normal (1982). This included the track "Dance After Curfew" produced by Daniel Lanois prior to his association with Brian Eno. The single became a surprise club and radio hit in Poland, which was then still behind the iron curtain, where curfews and restrictions on western culture were imposed by the government of the time. A 12 inch single featuring a remixed and extended version of the song was issued in the USA on PVC Records. Nash's next project was an album of American rock classics titled American Band ages. Nash enlisted the help of his former FM collaborators Cameron Hawkins (keyboards) and Martin Deller (drums), and the album was released in 1984. The album was aimed at the US market, but due to distribution and management problems, including a change in record labels (to MCA, after Quality Records folded in 1985), it never got the exposure Nash thought it deserved. In the same year, Nash released a compilation album (with most tracks remixed) titled The Million Year Picnic on Ralph Records in the United States, the label which was home to The Residents. While working on American Band ages in 1983, he proposed to promote it with a double bill tour with his former band FM. But Ben Mink, Nash's replacement, had left the band that year; therefore, Nash rejoined the group, staying with them from 1983 to 1989 (followed by a reunion tour from 1994 to 1996), and retaining the idea of a double bill by performing solo as the opening act. With Nash, FM released further albums: Con Test (1985), Tonight (1987), and RetroActive (1995). In 1985, Nash sued PepsiCo for using his likeness in commercials without permission; PepsiCo subsequently settled out of court, pulling the commercial from broadcast and paying Nash's legal fees.

After the break up of FM in 1989, Nash embarked on a series of film soundtrack projects, and revived his Cut throat label in 1991 to issue these on CD, and has also used it to re issue his earlier records. New albums of songs with vocals have also been released on the label: Thrash (1999) and In A Gadda Da Nash (2008), the latter consisting entirely of cover versions. During 1992 3 Nash the Slash collaborated with the electronic music artist Plexus to create a series of visually intense live shows called Psychedelitron. They performed Psychedelitron live between 1993 and 1995. In 1993, the show was performed only at Stratenger's in Toronto, Canada, every third Saturday of the month from March to October. The performed two sets, each a mix of Nash the Slash and Plexus songs. Later, in 1994 and 1995, they took the show to other venues, including the grand opening of the Toronto Public Library at 239 College Street to commemorate the inclusion of the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy in this library location. Psychedelitron used intense visuals, including a refinement of Nash's psychedelic projector lighting, strategically placed pin lights to increase the perception of the stage size, strobe lights, fog and indirect and silhouette lighting. The techniques used during Psychedelitron, and their subsequent refinement during the reign of the shows became an important visual aspect to Nash's later shows. Psychedelitron was also used as way to re define Nash's shows both visually and musically. In 1998, Nash performed as part of Toronto's Pride Week, publicly acknowledging that he was gay. During 2004 and 2005, he was again working with Robert Vanderhorst, under the name Two Artists, on the project View From the Gallery, including issues #2–7 of Savage Henry. Nash also provided original music on a CD for Howarth's graphic novel The Simultaneous Man. Nash continued to tour, mostly in his native Ontario, but occasionally elsewhere, including a 2008 tour of the UK, which resulted in a live CD/DVD. 2011 saw Nash release his first ever compilation album, The Reckless Use of Electricity.

Nash announced his retirement via his website on November 6, 2012, stating he was "rolling up the bandages" and shutting down his official website on December 31.