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Artist
The Children's Zoo
12+ albums
deathrockpost-punknew yorkGothic RockDelete
about
The Children's Zoo's musical menagerie blended intricate, gliding bass work, echoing guitar filigrees, and elaborate, highly dramatic male vocals, all set to the demure rhythmic pulse of the drum machine, for an effect reminiscent of the golden age of the 4AD label. The Children's Zoo coalesced in NYC in summer 1986 around the nucleus of Christopher Bollman (former bass prodigy for goth-punkers The Naked and the Dead), archly poetic frontman Robert Conroy (late of Burning Rome), and an Irish emigre named Thomas Sheridan with a talent for coaxing the most elegantly echoing rifflets from his guitar. Initially using the name Piltdown Man, then The Brown Recluse, the trio were aided by various guest drummers (Naked and the Dead's David Patti as well as Joe Truck of Brain Eaters/Burning Rome/Chop Shop/Scarecrow), but didn't truly find their sound until adding a drum machine, coinciding with their adoption of the puzzling but memorable moniker The Children's Zoo. Throughout the first half of 1987, the Zoo recorded several excellent demos (a pair in early 1987, and then four more in late June), and drew raves for numerous performances at hip NYC clubs CBGB, Area, and Lismar Lounge. For reasons unclear to this day, the threesome disbanded at summer's end. The complete demos and additional live Children's Zoo songs can be downloaded at their SoundClick page. Following the Zoo's demise, Bollman put down his bass to pursue interests in cello, luthiery, sailing, and carpentry, until
