Little Fyodor


Little Fyodor is the performance name of Dave Lichtenberg, an underground punk/garage musician from Denver, Colorado, who has been on the scene for two decades. He originally performed in the band Walls of Genius, and then went on to become a solo act. He is also known as a public radio DJ, and a reviewer of self-published music.

Biography

Little Fyodor is originally from suburban New Jersey where during college he was particularly inspired by the Ramones album Leave Home including the song "Carbona Not Glue". He moved to Colorado in 1981. In the 1980s he was a member of Walls of Genius, a cassette culture band which consisted of Little Fyodor, Evan Cantor, Ed Fowler and Brad Cartin, an experimental group from Colorado which produced 30 tapes from 1982 to 1986. Dave Lichtenberg later went on to work on his solo project Little Fyodor.
Little Fyodor is also notable for his association with the Elephant 6 collective. The Apples in Stereo performed some of their earliest shows opening for his band. "Let it be known that the very first time the Apples ever performed with a real drum set, they were opening for Little Fyodor and Babushka." Returning the favor, Fyodor's record "Dance of the Salted Slug" was released on the Elephant 6 label. In 1993 he toured with Negativland.
Before moving to Denver, Lichtenberg had a show on WTJU, the student-run station at the University of Virginia. Now, as Little Fyodor, he hosts a biweekly radio show every other Saturday at 11 PM on Boulder's KGNU titled "Under the Floorboards", which showcases obscure artists. 2011 marks the 27th anniversary of Little Fyodor’s career as a DJ at KGNU. After an initial interview in 1997, Little Fyodor also began a column based on his radio show, "A Few of the Interesting Characters I've Discovered Under the Floorboards", in Denver-based fringe magazine CyberPsychos AOD.
After a live appearance by Little Fyodor and Babushka at the Death Equinox '97 convention, attendees were so enthusiastic about the performance that they requested having them play every year. Little Fyodor became the con's Audial Terror Guest of Honor in '98 as a result, and they continued to play every year. Rev. Ivan Stang of the Church of the SubGenius witnessed their '98 performance and asked them to play at the next X-Day gathering.
Denver group Von Hemmling was reportedly named by Fyodor.
As of June 2015 the group is still performing.

Discography

Little Fyodor (and Babushka) releases

http://aural-innovations.com/2004/january/fyodor02.html - Walls Of Genius - "Raw Sewage, Vol. I"
Walls Of Genius - "Ludovico Treatment: Music To Cure Your Ills"
Little Fyodor - "Idiots Are Closer To God"
http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue22/fyodor01.html - Walls Of Genius - "Crazed To The Core"
Little Fyodor - "Dance Of The Salted Slug"
http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue30/fyodor03.html - Walls Of Genius - "Raw Sewage, Vol. II"
Walls Of Genius - "Before …and After"
Little Fyodor - "Beneath The Uber-Putz"
http://www.westword.com/2009-09-03/music/little-fyodor - Little Fyodor - "Peace is Boring" Review from Westword, September 2009