The Washington Squares

about

The Washington Squares were a 1980s neo-beatnik folk revival music group. Modeled after early 1960s groups like The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, the group was named after New York City's Washington Square Park, emblematic of Greenwich Village. The group, consisting of Bruce Jay Paskow, Tom Goodkind, and Lauren Agnelli, came up with their name over free drinks provided by Agnelli, who was a waitress at a Village club where Goodkind and Paskow were regulars. They began with the suggestion of "The Charlie Weavers to Block," then "The Hollywood Squares," and finally "The Washington Squares". Paskow, Goodkind, and Agnelli dressed, played, and sang in a style evocative of the idealistic, left-leaning folk revival groups of the Kennedy era, but added a layer of post-punk Reagan-era irony. Paskow had previously played in the punk band The Invaders; Agnelli had been in the Nervus Rex; Goodkind, the band's leader, had knocked around in U.S. Ape, and had been the founder of two NYC new music venues: Irving Plaza and the Peppermint Lounge. The revivalist concept preceded any real familiarity with this genre of music: to put together their repertoire, the band bought a bunch of records, picked the brains of veteran folksingers, and pooled their money to send Goodkind to Washington, D.C. to do research on folk songs at the Library of Congress. They followed the Kingston Trio in covering "Greenback Dollar" and Peter, Paul and Mary in the traditional folk song, "Samson and Deli

top songs

albums

The Washington Squares

Fair and Square

▥

Folk Riot Sessions, Vol. II (1985-1987)

▥

Monsters of Folk Sessions, Vol I (1983-1985)

▥

From Greenwich Village: The Complete Washington Squares

▥

Troubadours of the Folk Era, Vol. 5 - Singer-Songwriters of the 1980's

▥

All-Ears Review, Volume 1

▥

Troubadours of Folk, Vol.5: Singer-Songwrites of the '80s

▥

Washington Squares

▥

Troubadours Of Folk: Volume 5 - Singer-Songwriters Of The '80s

▥

Rockin' Patriots

▥

Troubadours of Folk (Volume Five: Singer-Songwriters of the '80s)

similar artists