Nash the Slash, the influential and experimental musician born Jeff Plewman, who frequently covered his face with surgical bandages and wore a top hat and sunglasses while performing, has died. He was 66.
Nash, a multi-instrumentalist known primarily for playing the electric violin, mandolin, harmonica and glockenspiel, was a solo musician before founding the prog rock band FM in 1976. He resumed his solo career following FM's debut album, Black Noise, and was a highly influential fixture on Toronto's music scene, helping local band's like Blue Rodeo get their start. He founded Cut-Throat Records in 1978.
As a solo act, he released more than 20 recordings that blended everything from New Wave to punk rock to country and included seven film scores, toured the world with Iggy Pop and was a go-to opening act for like-minded performers coming to Toronto, such as The Who and Elvis Costello (watch him talk about opening for Costello below).
Nash retired in 2012, issuing a statement on his website saying he was "rolling up the bandages." You can read part of it below, taken verbatim from his site.
I'm proud of my remarkable 40-year career in the music biz with no hit (commercial) records. As an independent artist without management, major label support or any grants whatsoever (thank you Canada Council and Factor), I toured internationally and accomplished so much. I was unique on stage and on my recordings. I refused to be slick and artificial. I opened for and toured with some of the best musicians in the world, and was regarded highly by my peers. Rolling Stone journalist Lester Bangs once reported, "Nash the Slash is the kind of opening act that makes the headliner work twice as hard."
Watch the video for his take on "Dead Man's Curve," released in 1980, below.