Experimental American musicians, guitarist
Henry Kaiser and drummer
John French ("Drumbo" from
Captain Beefheart's
Magic Band), began collaborating in 1987. They invited
English musicians
Fred Frith (experimental guitarist from
Henry Cow) and
Richard Thompson (folk-rock guitarist from
Fairport Convention) to join them to make an album. They recorded
Live, Love, Larf & Loaf in
San Francisco in March 1987, an eclectic collection of songs drawn from a variety of
music genres, including
folk,
R&B and
avant-garde rock. Most of the album comprised compositions from each of the members of the group, plus a few covers, including
the Beach Boys' "
Surfin' U.S.A.". While the group experimented with folk and rock music, it is generally felt that Thompson's presence did "tone down" the "
avant-garde" leanings of the other three musicians. Mark Deming states in
AllMusic that "... the slightly bent wit and angular guitar figures of Richard Thompson's signature brand of folk-rock certainly added a spoonful of sugar that helped the avant-leaning art rock of Henry Kaiser, Fred Frith, and John French go down more easily." The group re-assembled in San Francisco in March 1990 to record
Invisible Means, another collection of "skewed" songs from each of the members, plus one cover ("
Loch Lomond"). ==Members==