Method Actors

Method Actors have been a favorite of mine for quite some time. I found a used copy of one of their albums which is a double album called "Little Figures" a few years ago and never heard anything about them other than that they were part of the Athens, Georgia post-punk scene in the early 80's. Since Method Actors were playing NYC a lot in those days its no wonder that they picked up a little Television "marquee moon" kinda vibe and brought it back home to be mixed in with their contemporaries the B52's and Pylon. Great frantic tube-amped scrappy guitars over angular rhythms with Tom Verlaine like vocals. Acute records has released an anthology of their recordings called "This Is Still It" covering their early singles as well as the little figures album. This is A+ post punk from the heart of Athens, Georgia circa 1979-80.


The Method Actors, a critically adored post-punk/new wave band from Athens, GA, was formed in 1979 by two members of the short-lived Tone-Tones: guitarist/vocalist Vic Varney and drummer/vocalist David Gamble. Though they gigged extensively throughout New York City in a concentrated burst a few months shortly after forming, it was back in their hometown where they were picked up by London, England’s Armageddon label, whose Peter Dyer was in town to sign Pylon, a like-minded band managed by Varney. From 1980 through 1982, the Method Actors recorded and released a number of well-received discs, including This Is It (a three-song 7” picked as a Single of the Week in the U.K.’s New Music Express), the Rhythms of You EP (trimmed of two songs for U.S. release as Dancing Underneath, issued on Athens’ DB label), and the double-LP Little Figures (reduced to a single LP in the U.S.). While touring in support of their album, they took on a third member, guitarist Michael Richmond (Varney had switched to bass), but Gamble was out before the end of 1982. The band was a quartet by the time it released its final album, 1983’s Luxury. Varney subsequently formed Go Van Go, which was active on and off through 1987, then carried on as a solo artist with several albums to his credit. Much of the Method Actors' early material was compiled on This Is Still It, released in 2010 by the Acute label.(by Andy Kellman : AMG)