Educational Media Reviews Online

In May of 1963, musicians Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber began playing New York’s tumultuous Greenwich Village folk scene. Developing a cult-like following for their “psychedelic folk” sound, The Holy Modal Rounders would release their first album “Hesitation Blues” in 1964. In 1965, the Rounders briefly joined Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg of the Fugs, during which time Weber penned the cult classic “Boobs a Lot”—one of his greatest claims to fame. Shortly thereafter, Stampfel and Weber reformed the Rounders into a full psychedelic country rock band. Over the course of their career, the Rounders recorded several albums, playing along such famed acts as Ike and Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, and the Velvet Underground. In 1970, the band relocated to Oregon, leaving Stampfel back in New York (where he would kick his drug habit and eventually raise a family). In the following years, sober Stampfel and rebellious Weber would reconnect musically on several occasions—but never without brotherly bickering and dramatic onstage tension.

The 2006 documentary film The Hold Modal Rounders…Bound to Lose chronicles the forty-year history of the eccentric duo (now in their 50’s) from the “free love” days of Greenwich Village, the lost success in capitalizing from the Easy Rider soundtrack, their obvious struggles with substance abuse, to a final reunion tour. The film, which spans three recent years in Stampfel and Weber’s weakening relationship, includes archival footage and interviews with musicians and family members. For those who wonder “whatever happened to The Holy Modal Rounders?” the answers can be found in the heartbreaking truths that this film records.

Although somewhat amusing to watch for the first hour or so, the 87-minute running time felt a bit on the long side. Recommended for Holy Modal Rounders buffs and those studying the history of the Greenwich Village folk scene.