A Washington D.C based post-punk pop band of the mid eighties whose best known lineup consisted of Scott Wingo, Jay Moglia, bassist Mitch Parker and drummer Dan Joseph.
The Crippled Pilgrims Story
After being kidnapped by the savage noise troubadours Death Camp 2000 (featuring the rhythmic styling of Jay Spiegel a.k.a. the Rummager and the not yet famous thrashings of sound impresario Don Fleming), Jay Moglia's path shifted from its idyllic moorings onto an uncertain carousel of melody and mayhem. The 21-year-old Moglia took a crash course in guitar to color his vivid wordscapes and began looking for bandmates. Meanwhile, Scott Wingo sat at home drinking and wallowing in self-pitying gloom. His housemate Charles Steck had recently enlisted as bassist for Fleming's phenomenal pop combo the Velvet Monkeys - a fact that made Wingo's in
ability to fulfill his adolescent fantasies of rock stardom all the more agonizing.
As Moglia's embryonic attempts at song emerged, he was lucky to have the Velvet Monkeys help in fleshing them out with background noise. He lived in the room directly adjacent to the Monkeys' rehearsal space and spent many days lurking in the corner hoping for an invitation to jam. In time, whether for the good of rock or just to get him out of their ascending orbit, the Monkeys suggested that Moglia get together with Wingo for a musical chemistry check.
Scott arrived at Jay's house fully expecting to meet a circa 1982 standard-issue punk/alternative type but was instead greeted by a clean-cut young man in a green golf sweater with a stutter on his tongue and a phantom in his eye. This was Jay Moglia.
It wasn't long before the two started blending ideas. Wingo had cut his teeth in the influential DC punk band Trenchmouth, but his musical leanings were as much Beatles as Ramones, and Moglia's meandering yet forceful compositions allowed plenty of space for the outcast guitarist to sharpen his knives. Prominent among these knives was a recently acquired affinity for modal psychedelic noodling. Despite a valiant Punk/British Invasion-hardened resistance to all things Dead, a recent chance encounter with a particular ergot-derived substance combined with a well-timed Aoxomoxoa turntable spin had opened Wingo's ears and fingers to a whole new palette of six-string possibilities. The wide-open nature of Jay's pieces seemed to provide an apt canvas for somehow combining the alcoholic glee of pure hard rock with the lysergically-damaged wanderings of the not-so-distant past. (Whether this was actually achieved is an entirely separate question.)
The duo's joy in their well-meshed "sound" overshadowed more earthly concerns like song structure and length. An early Pilgrims show could easily last an hour as they whipped through their six-song set. It took bassist Mitch Parker, previously with the legendary DC punk outfit Government Issue, to bring some focus and direction to the raw strands of tune. Parker's ability to slice through musical excess coupled with his local scenester par excellence credentials quickly landed the group a slot on Fountain of Youth's compilation LP Bouncing Babies, immediately leading to the recording of their EP Head Down Hand Out (also on Fountain of Youth).
Through all of this, one central question remained unanswered: Who was the Crippled Pilgrims' drummer? The Velvet Monkey's Rummager (who shortly afterward reached heartthrob status as drummer for DC boy band HE) handled some of the crucial early gigs and sessions (including the first Inner Ear demo which yielded the Bouncing Babies track). At other times it was hard-hitting Tommy Carr of the powerful quartet Black Market Baby stepping in at the last minute to rescue the Pilgrims on show night. Ultimately, Dan Joseph, who had been with the group only two weeks before recording Head Down Hand Out, would become the drummer of record. Joseph never became an "official" member of the band due to his commitment with the progressive horror rock ensemble 9353. Though generous with his time, Joseph was reluctant to be affiliated with the Pilgrims. Jay, Scott, and Mitch's "regular guy" personas were no match for the preening charisma 9353 brought to the stage. Plus, Crippled Pilgrims' reputation for flowing melody and the occasional extended guitar solo had burdened them with a comparatively uncool reputation amid the rigid conformity of the then thriving harDCore scene. At 17 years old, Dan Joseph could certainly be excused for downplaying such a potentially credibility-busting association.
The revolving-door drummer status meant gigs for the Pilgrims were infrequent. Shortly after the release of Head Down Hand Out, Moglia, stifled by inactivity and bolstered by the EP's positive reviews and healthy college chart rankings, set out for NYC hoping to expand the group's profile and ultimately relocate the band. Unfortunately, he neglected to tell Wingo and Parker about his ambitious plans and was surprised when they didn't join him in Manhattan. Instead of extending the ranks of New York's rock elite, Jay found himself dazedly wandering the city's avenues carrying a can of blue spray paint and a cardboard "Crippled Pilgrims" stencil. Scott and Mitch were left back in DC with the proverbial question marks hanging over their heads.
Moglia eventually recovered from his spray-painted daze and began laying down tracks for an atmospheric collection of electronic folk songs under the name Geezer Park. The music was actually pressed and was poised to become the first release on Bar/None Records when Jay inexplicably pulled the plug on the project. In the meantime, Head Down Hand Out gathered momentum, garnering notable amounts of airplay in obscure and far-away markets. This came as a surprise to the group as their local DC following was less than massive. In mid-1984, with a fair number of Pilgrims' tunes never given a proper recording and Fountain of Youth pressing for a follow-up to Head Down Hand Out, Jay, Scott, and Mitch tentatively decided to revive the group.
With Jay commuting from NY to DC for gigs and recording sessions, Mitch and Scott both unwilling to abandon their relatively comfortable DC existences, and the continuing "who is our drummer" plague, the future did not bode well for the band. However, the trio (along with the drummer of the moment) managed to squeeze out a few more shows--the final being a pairing with LA's Gun Club at DC's 9:30 Club on September 7, 1984.
Recording and mixing of tracks continued sporadically throughout the fall of 1984. When Under Water was released the following spring, it was met with strong reviews and college radio airplay, but Crippled Pilgrims as a performing and recording unit were history.
In the ensuing years, Jay, Scott, and Mitch continued to make music together in various combinations and permutations. Notable among these was the full-frontal, testosterone-drenched stance of CPU (Crippled Pilgrims Unlimited), who, disappointingly, never performed beyond a few private parties. More fortunate in outreach was the crystalline rock perfection of Rambling Shadows whose initial mid-90's stirrings saw Jay and Mitch mining the urban underbelly for inspirational fuel. For reasons that remain murky, Mitch, in early 1996, abruptly quit the project, never to be seen or heard from again. The aforementioned Charles Steck (Velvet Monkeys, High Back Chairs, Lida Husik) and Scott Wingo stepped in to salvage and retool, adding their own unique marks to the sound. This time around, the drummer was official - the multitalented Davis White (Foundation, Lorelei, Alice Despard Group among many others). Though the quartet never attained the popularity of Crippled Pilgrims, it gigged regularly in the DC area and even managed to have a couple of tunes released on obscure compilation CDs (Welcome to the Big Ring and Bumper to Bumper Hits, Vol. 2), with many other excellent tracks still awaiting release. After a five year hiatus, in early 2004, the Rambling Shadows re-emerged from the depths fully primed for yet another round of amplified truth promulgation - walking hard and thinking wrong.
The music encoded on this CD is the towering pinnacle of 1980's alt-rock. That few realized it at the time of its original release matters not a whit. What matters is that you now listen and know the glorious truths awaiting within.
Clint Vista
Terrain Press
NOTE: The song posted on Last.fm called "Unamerican" has nothing to do with the band described here. "European Charts" was recorded by Jay Moglia solo--the song was never recorded or performed by Crippled Pilgrims.
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