During their brief but eventful lifespan, the Individuals—guitarist/singer/songwriter Glenn Morrow, lead guitarist Jon Klages and the sibling rhythm section of bassist/vocalist Janet Wygal and drummer Doug Wygal—made accessibly idiosyncratic music that mixed jittery, danceable rhythms, inventive guitar interplay, unconventional song structures and enigmatic yet expressive lyrics. Combining an art-school sensibility with an upbeat pop attitude, the foursome's recorded output reflected.

The Individuals arrived on the New York scene during the transitional era between the '70s punk explosion and the rise of '80s alt-rock, a period during which downtown Manhattan hosted a diverse array of left-of-center bands. Early on, the Individuals became a cornerstone of the burgeoning Hoboken indie-pop scene.

The Individuals—originally Morrow, Klages, Janet Wygal and drummer John Klett—formed in the summer of 1979. Klages, grandson of mood-music orchestra leader Enoch Light, and Wygal, a recent Pratt Institute dropout and the daughter of ex-showbiz parents, were both recruited by Morrow through a Village Voice classified ad. Neither had any prior rock-band experience. Morrow, who at the time was selling ads and writing for New York Rocker, had previously been a member of the Hoboken combo "a," whose three other members would go on to form the Bongos. "a" had been the first band to perform at Maxwell's, which became the Individuals' home base and the hub of the Hoboken scene, which came to include such notable combos as the dB’s, the Bongos, the Feelies and the Human Switchboard.

"It was a vital community of musicians," says Klages. "Gradually, the press began to write about the 'Hoboken Sound,' but I don't know how much weight that carried with the local music audience. To me, it felt like we were always struggling to make our way."

When John Klett left in the spring of 1980, Janet's brother Doug, who'd played in numerous bands in Ohio, agreed to give up his job managing a record store in Toledo to become an Individual. With their lineup complete, the band's creative rapport developed quickly. The 19-year-old Klages was a remarkably imaginative and sophisticated player, and his style meshed well with Morrow's more basic approach. Janet, who'd never played bass before joining the Individuals, was adept at coming up with catchy, unconventional rhythmic hooks, while Doug's solid, swinging drumming tied the band's divergent components into an accessible package.

"I think the name fit the group," Morrow asserts. "Everyone was their own person with strong ideas and opinions, and everyone wanted to carve out a place for themselves in the songwriting and arranging. Listening back to it all these years later, I'm impressed with how well crafted it all was. I brought in sketchy outlines of songs that I was eager to get input on. Often I would have a loose idea for a song, a couple of chords and maybe a title, and we would jam until something came to the surface."

The quartet quickly established itself as a formidable live act, combining musical adventurousness and manic energy. "Glenn and Janet had a great chemistry on stage," says Doug. "Glenn was emotional and sweaty, while Janet was cool and ethereal. I remember Glenn once jumping off the stage at the Peppermint Lounge in a frenzy during our last song and just disappearing; the stage had to be six or seven feet high. When we got back to the dressing room, he was already there holding his stomach. This may have some connection to the hernia he developed soon after."

The Individuals made their recording debut with the EP Aquamarine, released in late 1981 on the Lust/Unlust label. Recorded at New York's 39th Street Studio with Gene Holder of the dB's producing, the five-song disc (whose title referred to a description of the band's sound by fanzine writer Billy Lee Buckeye, aka Mark Eitzel) was voted one of the year's best EPs in the annual Village Voice critics' poll.

The Individuals' sole album, Fields, released in the spring of 1982 by the Plexus label, was produced by Holder and engineered by Mitch Easter in the congenial environs of Easter's Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (where R.E.M. were simultaneously recording their Chronic Town EP).

The band spent over a month working on Fields at Drive-In; the extra effort showed in the album's expansive sonic palette. Fields won considerable critical acclaim, with New York Times critic Robert Palmer naming it one of 1982's ten best albums. It also received some commercial radio exposure. "Dancing with My Eighty Wives" got substantial airplay on Long Island's WLIR, while "Walk by Your House" was a hit at WHFS in Washington, D.C.

Such modest career advances were significant, considering the limited promotional outlets open to indie bands at the time. The group's touring circumstances were similarly modest.

"We did it bare-bones," Janet Wygal recalls. "Our first tour was in a cargo van with no windows, seats or heat; Glenn used to sleep in it at night to make sure no one stole our equipment. It could be difficult attracting audiences outside of a few major cities, but there was a huge sense of freedom and adventure in taking off for parts unknown and playing music for new people, even if there was only a handful of them."

The Individuals had plenty of company in their spartan touring efforts, sharing bills with such like-minded bands as R.E.M., X, Mission of Burma, the Dream Syndicate, the Lyres, 10,000 Maniacs, Love Tractor and Romeo Void.

"Most of the CBGB bands used traditional agents and major-label tour support, so we were among the first real wave of D.I.Y. bands," Morrow says, adding, "I feel like we helped to create a network that didn't exist before bands like us. There was a lot of cross-pollination between different regional scenes; for example, R.E.M. was always supportive hosting the Hoboken bands down in Athens."

By the time they'd finished touring to support Fields, the Individuals' initial solidarity had begun to fray. Klages left in late 1982 to finish his degree at NYU; in 1985, he would release a solo EP whose backup band would soon become Yo La Tengo. Klages would subsequently play with Richard Lloyd's and Russ Tolman's bands.

After Klages' departure, the Individuals performed for several months (and recorded a never-released album) with a five-piece lineup that included Gene Holder on guitar and a third Wygal sibling, Tricia, on keyboards. "That lineup sounded good, but it changed the whole dynamic of the group," Doug notes. "I think Glenn sometimes felt overwhelmed by having the group now be Janet's siblings and boyfriend."

"It seemed that after a certain point, the more confident and experienced we all became, the less we had a uniting creative spark," Janet adds. "Glenn's newer songs would have benefited from a different kind of band, and I know that I had begun to feel the urge to try something else musically. So I don't think the rest of us were as supportive of Glenn's material as we could have been. At any rate, Glenn decided to break up the band."

After the Individuals disbanded in the summer of 1983, Morrow focused his musical energies on his new outfit Rage to Live. That group released two albums on Bar/None, the indie label that Morrow still operates. Janet and Doug formed the Wygals, releasing an album on the Rough Trade label. Janet subsequently recorded with Splendora, whose lineup included her sister, Tricia. Doug, meanwhile, remains one of New York's most in-demand drummers, having gigged and/or recorded with a wide array of acts including Laura Cantrell, Amy Rigby and the World Famous Blue Jays.

"When I look back," says Klages, "I feel incredibly fortunate to have been making music at that time and with this band. We rode in some pretty cold vans and slept on some very hard floors, but the scene seemed alive with possibilities and, for awhile, the Individuals were right in the thick of it."

The Individuals didn't stay together long enough to reap the career rewards of the indie support system that they'd helped to pioneer. But the band's kinetic live shows are warmly remembered by those fortunate enough to have witnessed them, and their recordings retain a compelling sense of freshness and innocence, capturing the sound of an openhearted young band embracing a wide world of endless musical options.

Scott Schinder
January 2008

For lyrics and more info: www.bar-none.com/individuals.html

Original liner notes for Fields (released 1982)
Produced by Gene Holder

Engineered and good ideas by Mitch Easter
Thanks to Pat Irwin for sax on “Monkey”
Guns and guitars provided by Sam Moss
Arrangements by the Individuals w/ Gene Holder
Recorded at Mitch’s Drive In Studio, Winston Salem, N.C.
Mastered at Masterdisc by Howie Weinberg

Cover: Janet Wygal
Back Photo: Laura Levine
Typesetting: Partison Productions Design, coordinated by GRAFX Inc.

Thanks to the Morrows, Lib, Faye, Steve Fallon, Chris Nelson, the Myer-Lee, and Bob
Special Thanks to Carmella Holder
Doug Wygal: drums, percussion, rebel yell
Janet Wygal: bass, keyboards, vocals
Jon Light Klages: lead guitar, keyboards, vocals
Glenn Morrow: guitar, sax, keyboards, vocals

Original liner notes for Aquamarine (released 1981)

Occasional guitar and percussion by Gene Holder
(Courtesy of Albion Records)
Tap dancing by Tricia Wygal
Band Photos by Stephanie Chernikowski
Design by Van Itallie/Myers
EP Title by Billy Lee Buckeye
Recorded at 39th Street Studio
Engineered by John Rhodes

Side One
1. My Three Sons (revolve around the earth) 3:20
2. Can’t Get Started 3:25
3. Hooks & Ladders 3:34
4. Monkey 2:48
5. Our World* 3:07
6. Dancing With My Eighty Wives 3:26
Side Two
7. Walk By Your House 4:39
8. Leap Of Faith 2:57
9. White 2:32
10. Johnny’s In the Mines 3:03
11. Thinking Aloud 2:21
12. Swimming In the Streets 3:55

Aquamarine
Side One
13. Young and Dancing 3:29
14. Okay Chorale 3:43
Side Two
15. Piledrive 3:32
16. Jackie Said, “So…” 3:46
17. The Argument 3:26
Bonus material:
18. Seven Hours By Motorboat (single B-Side) 1:59
19. Our World (Single Version) 3:02
20. Dancing With My 80 Wives (12 “ extended mix) 5:26 **
21. Hidden Track (from Aquamarine EP) 1:00
* alternate mix
** previously unreleased

Reissue Credits:
All songs published by Brazen Yellow Music (ASCAP)
Tracks 1,6,7,12,14,18,21 written by the Individuals
Tracks 2,5,8,9,13,15,16,19 written by Glenn Morrow
Tracks 3,10 written by Jon Light Klages
Tracks 4,11 written by Janet Wygal
Track 17 written by Glenn Morrow and Lisa Elfers

Mastered by Gene Holder/Andreas Meyer at Tangerine, Weehawken NJ
Original tapes transferred by Steve Addabbo at Shelter Island NYC
Color photos by Phil Marino
Reissue designed by Dave Richman
Liner notes: Scott Schinder

Special thanks to those who were there with us: Bill Ryan, Mark Kates, Randy Blattberg, Frank Riley and Bob Singerman