A loose collective of downtown New York City musicians coalesced as the postmodern jug band The Scene Is Now. Chris Nelson and Philip Dray, both former members of Mofungo, served as the only unchanging presences across the group’s fluid history. Dick Champ and Jeff McGovern appeared on the 1985 debut single “1150 Lbs.,” while the Dadaist first album Burn All Your Records contained the track “Yellow Sarong,” which later gained widest recognition through a Yo La Tengo cover. Elliott Sharp acted as producer and part-time saxophonist on 1986’s Total Jive, guiding the band from the dense, spasmodic experimentation of its opening releases toward a gentler, more streamlined approach. Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and ex-dB Will Rigby contributed to 1988’s Tonight We Ride, an album that offered further surprises with the atmospheric “Dinah Shore” and the jaunty “Moonlight Broil.” The cassette-only Shotgun Wedding of 1990 featured a cameo by the Shams, and 1995 brought the expansive, eclectic overview The Oily Years (1983-1993).
