Inger Lorre

Inger Lorre (born Lori Ann Wening) is an American singer who is best known for her bands The Nymphs.

Inger Lorre
Inger Lorre performing live, 1990.
Background information
Birth nameLori Ann Wening
Also known asInger Lorre, Inger Lorre-Wening
OriginNew Jersey, United States
GenresAlternative rock, glam punk
Occupation(s)Musician, Songwriter, Singer, Artist
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1985–present
LabelsGeffen Records
Sympathy for the Record Industry
Triple X Records
Associated actsThe Nymphs
Inger Lorre and Motel Shootout
Jeff Buckley
Henry Rollins
Gun Club
Chiefs of Infinity
WebsiteInger Lorre on Myspace

Music career

The Nymphs

The Nymphs spent the mid-to-late '80s honing their craft in New Jersey, but soon decided to try to make it big in California. They hadn't been there more than a few months before only Inger and guitarist Geoff Siegel were left, and replaced the other two with guitarist Sam Merrick, drummer Alex Kirst and bassist Cliff D. (Cliff Jones).[1]

The band's distinctive sound, a mixture of punk rock and goth, glam and grunge, and image began to attract the attention of major record labels. At the time, the band simply wanted to sign to an Indie label, as most grunge and punk bands did before the 1991 success of Nirvana's Nevermind, but by 1989 the Nymphs were signed to Geffen Records with a nearly million-dollar recording contract. The band even made a brief appearance in the film Bad Influence performing "The Highway", a song Lorre wrote about a young girl infatuated with serial killer Richard Ramirez.

It was at about this time that the Nymphs began to have problems with their label. Almost two years had passed since the Nymphs had completed their album. Lorre was losing her battle with heroin and in an alcohol induced fit she urinated on the desk of A&R man Tom Zutaut. "Rolling Stone[2] quipped, 'Talk about being pissed at your record label.'"[3] The band fired Lorre when she refused to go on stage in Miami opening for Peter Murphy.[4] An EP called The Practical Guide to Astral Projection was released the same year but it failed to chart.

Solo work

Lorre returned to New Jersey for several years. A few spots here and there over time, where Lorre popped up in various places, never evolved into a Nymphs reunion or second album. In 1995, she teamed up with Motel Shootout and released the single Burn, on old friend Long Gone John's label, Sympathy for the Record Industry. She entered rehab and worked toward permanent recovery.

She befriended singer Jeff Buckley and they began collaborating on music. Lorre's vocals are featured on "Angel Mine" while Jeff played guitar, sitar, and mouth sax on the track, released on the Jack Kerouac tribute album Kicks Joy Darkness. Jeff and Lorre duetted again on the track "Thief Without The Take" contained on Lorre's album Transcendental Medication. Buckley also covered "Yard of Blonde Girls" co-written by Lorre, which appeared on Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. Sadly, at the height of his popularity, Buckley drowned during an evening swim on May 29, 1997, before the album's release.[5] Lorre reemerged from New Jersey with her solo album, Transcendental Medication released on Triple X Records in 1999.

In 2000, Lorre moved back to Los Angeles, where she painted and appeared in group shows around the city. She made a cameo appearance in the 2001 indie film Down and Out with the Dolls, a raunchy, wry and in-your-face tale of the fast rise and fall of an all-girl, four-piece Portland rock band. She performed a cover of Black Flag's "Slip It In" with Henry Rollins on the 2002 album Rise Above.

On July 17, 2004, Lorre played an acoustic show at Hollywood's The Knitting Factory, performing Nymphs songs, new songs and covers. In 2006, a version of The Nymphs popped up in a few places.[6] There were plans to have a reunion with all original members, but with the death of original drummer Alex Kirst, it seems unlikely.[7][8]

On 3 April 2016, Lorre announced in a Facebook post that she would be performing a show on 27 May 2016 at The Viper Room, "doing 99% Nymphs songs."[9]

Discography

The Nymphs

Inger Lorre & the Motel Shootout

Solo

Guest appearances

Inger Lorre and the Chiefs of Infinity
  • 7" Single - Side A:Snowflake / Side B:Hate in my Heart 2014 Cargo Records

Filmography

References
  1. "Interview with vocalist Inger Lorre". HIP. 1990. Archived from the original on August 22, 2001. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  2. Rolling Stone, May 2, 1991, No.603, p.13.
  3. Pearson, Sarah Luck (March 23, 1999). "Inger Lorre, Patron Saint of Fucked-over Musicians". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  4. Hochman, Steve (July 4, 1992). "Nymphs Release Inger Lorre after Concert Incident". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  5. Schenley, Bill (May 29, 2005). "<Archive Obituaries> Jeff Buckley (May 29th 1997)". Newsgroup: alt.obituaries. Usenet: [email protected]. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  6. "Updates/Links: Inger Lorre". PussyRock. May 2, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
  7. McGinty, Kate (January 15, 2011). "Alex Kirst, former drummer for Iggy Pop and The Nymphs, killed in hit-and-run". The Desert Sun. Archived from the original on January 20, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  8. "Former Iggy Pop drummer dies in hit and run". The Guardian. January 15, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  9. Lorre, Inger (April 3, 2016). "Facebook Post". Facebook. Retrieved April 4, 2016. Ill Be Doing A Semi Secret Show On 5/27 At The Viper Room....Like Ten Bands Playing..... I'll Be Headlining......Doing 99% Nymphs Songs
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