The subjects interviewed for Underground Rhode Island were selected, among many possibilities, for several reasons. The eldest were likely to have been part or the "hip" scene around jazz and the Celebrity Club of the 1950s. More than a few had a connection with AS220 and its circle, at some time in the past. And the youngest members have been active in the Rhode Island arts scene, in one way or another, during the last twenty years or so. Not all are either "lost" or "unknown"; some of them have long been prominent. And yet they represent a self-consciously offbeat take on the mainstream culture of Middle America. They are "underground" even when "overground," part of a world more recognizable to Allen Ginsberg (or Bruce Springsteen) than the people in the White House or Wall Street. And they were intriguing to the students who chose to interview them.
You may expect to find a photo--not necessarily from the recent past--a short biography, a recording of the subject's own voice, a verbatim transcript of the interview, and links to related materials. Not all these are present for each interview--some are still being gathered (or recovered)--but they definitely represent a sense of a life and creative work within that life.
A ten-year Providence resident, Paul Lyons moved to the state to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. An occasional-student at RISD, Lyons continued as an artist by drawing comics and playing in a band. In 1996, he moved into an abandoned mill building in Olneyville's Eagle Square that came to be known as Fort Thunder. Fort Thunder became a center for young artists and performers in Providence. Its residents hosted frequent shows and other events. Torn down two years ago for development of the property, the illegal live-space and artist's community has become an icon of the recent Providence arts scene.
© 2005