The debut album by Boston roots-rockers Antler doesn't fit into any particularly neat categories, which is part of its charm. The opening "Tombstones and Cigarettes" feels very much like Green on Red's mid-'80s mash-up of post-punk and country, but that rolls directly into the much darker "1975," with its squalling distorted guitar and threateningly slow pulse; it sounds more like a less crazed Queens of the Stone Age. The rest of the album moves back and forth between alt-country and stoner rock, and for the most part, it's a combination that works surprisingly well. The main exception is the overwrought "Blood on the Moon," which singer Craig Riggs oversings in an inappropriately stentorian manner (think Dennis DeYoung of Styx at his most vocally bloated) that's all the more frustrating because it has one of the album's strongest melodies. On songs where Riggs dials it back, like "Dead by Valentines" (which features an appealingly-'70s arena rock instrumental section), he's a much stronger frontman; luckily, that's most of the time, making Antler is a promising debut that suggests better still to come. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
Tim Catz (Guitar), Tim Catz (Group Member), Dave Unger (Percussion), Dave Unger (Keyboards), Ian Kennedy (Mastering), Brian Strawn (Drums), Brian Strawn (Group Member), Mike Quinn (Bass), Mike Quinn (Vocals), Mike Quinn (Engineer), Mike Quinn (Group Member), Ian Ross (Guitar), Andrew Schneider (Mixing), A. Turner (Design), A. Turner (Construction), Craig Riggs (Vocals), Craig Riggs (Engineer), Craig Riggs (Group Member), Hari Hassin (Vocals (Background)), Chris Coughlin (Fender Rhodes), Antler (Main Performer), Pete Valle (Guitar)
Since forming in 2002, Antler has defied the rules of geography by brewing genuine Southern rock from their home base of Boston, MA. That's where vocalist Craig Riggs and guitarist Tim Catz operated the stoner rock band Roadsaw before hooking up with guitarist Pete Valle, keyboard player Dave Unger, bassist Mike Quinn, and drummer Brian Strawn to record Antler's eponymous 2004 debut for Tortuga Records. Valle was replaced by new lead guitarist Ian Ross, and Quinn by new bassist Marc Schleicher before Antler reconvened to produce their second opus, Nothing That a Bullet Couldn't Cure, released by Small Stone in early 2006. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
Antler (born 1946, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, USA) is an American poet who lives in Wisconsin. His work reflects the influences of Walt Whitman, Allen Ginsberg, and the American traditions of transcendentalism and environmentalism[1]. He celebrates the wilderness, often comparing urban, industrial life unfavorably with natural phenomena. His frank, sometimes earthy poems frequently exhibit sexual and spiritual energy entwined with the wonder of the natural world[2].
Antler received a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1970. Later he completed a master's degree in English from the same university after spending some time at the noted Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. During the 1970s he also worked at various factory and other jobs just long enough to get money to support his poetry writing and time spent in wilderness areas across the United States.
Antler's first major work, the long poem Factory, was published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Bookstore in 1980. Allen Ginsberg declared him as "one of Whitman's `poets and orators to come'"[3]. The collection Last Words appeared in 1986 from Ballantine Books, and Antler: The Selected Poems was published in 2000 by Soft Skull Press. He has also published several chapbooks and has contributed to numerous local, national, and international journals and anthologies.
Among other honors, Antler received the Whitman Prize from the Walt Whitman Association, given to the poet "whose contribution best reveals the continuing presence of Walt Whitman in American poetry," in 1985. Antler also was awarded the Witter Bynner prize in 1987. Antler was the poet laureate of the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for 2002 and 2003.[1] He leads poetry workshops and gives readings across the United States and in other countries. He is also an advocate for wilderness protection and other causes, and continues to spend much time camping and exploring the wilderness areas he loves.[4]
Antler's work exhibits a punk sensibility, an unabashed sense of humor and a cutting satirical edge.[citation needed]
Books
Factory - (1980) City Lights
Last Words - (1986) Ballantine
Antler: The Selected Poems - (2000) Soft Skull Press
Awards
Whitman Award from the Whitman Society of Camden, New Jersey
Witter Bynner Prize from the Academy & Institute of Arts and Letters in New York
References
^ "Re-arm America Vs. Re-Fellatio America", poem - published in "Van Gogh's Ear", French Connection Press, 2004.
^ "Stands To Reason", poem - published in "Van Gogh's Ear", French Connection Press, 2004.
^ Published in "Van Gogh's Ear", French Connection Press, 2004.
^ Sharma-Jensen, Geeta. "Poet Antler answers, celebrates the call of the wild." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 21, 2001.
Nelson, Howard. "The Work of Antler." The Hollins Critic, June 1998. Reprinted in Twayne Companion to Contemporary Literature in English, edited by R.H.W. Dillard and Amanda Cockrell, pp. 21–34. New York: Twayne Publishers, 2003.
