More precisely, an early version of ‘Psycho Killer’ by the Artistics has turned up. David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth met as freshmen at the Rhode Island School of Design, where Byrne and Frantz formed a band called the Artistics. All three later moved to New York City. Jerry Harrison joined in 1977 and the Talking Heads were (was?) born. According to WPRI:
In the spring semester of 1974, the band gathered in Frantz’s Benefit Street apartment to record a demo tape. The cassette featured three tracks: “Warning Sign,” “Spin Spin” and “Psycho Killer.”
With hopes of gaining exposure, Frantz sent the demo and a handwritten letter to Alan Sondheim, an artist and former RISD instructor/lecturer who had moved to New York City, according to RISD Digital Archivist Douglas Doe.
The enclosed letter ended with a simple request: “Please return tape when through.”
Yada yada yada . . . 50 years later, Doe has returned the tape.
Upon its rediscovery, Frantz and Weymouth had the tape professionally copied and remastered, then returned it to RISD along with the letter that came with it.
It’s a long story involving envelopes and drawers; go watch the WPRI report. They interview Olympic Records owner Kevin Morosini who we last interviewed during The Olympics. Frantz and Weymouth plan to release a record sometime this year featuring the demo.
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(Seen here is the mural in the RISD Fleet Library café, featuring RISD grads of note. Designer Kyla Coburn is herself a RISD alum of note, famous for her amazing interiors: The Avery, Loie Fuller, The Grange.)