BIO
his own name, and as several other artist names, Manny ( Man )
Parrish is nonetheless one of the most important and influential
figures in American electronic dance music. Helping to lay the
foundation of electro, hip-hop, freestyle, and techno, as well as the
dozens of subgenres to splinter off from those, Parrish introduced
the aesthetic of European electronic pop to the American club scene
by combining the plugged-in disco-funk of Giorgio Moroder and the man-
machine music of Kraftwerk with the beefed-up rhythms and cut'n'mix
approach of nascent hip-hop. As a result, tracks like "Hip-Hop Be Bop
(Don't Stop)" and "Boogie Down Bronx" were period-defining works that
provided the basic genetic material for everyone from Run-DMC and the
Beastie Boys to Autechre and Andrea Parker -- and they remain
undisputed classics of early hip-hop and electro to this day. A
native New Yorker, Parrish was a member of the extended family of
glam-chasers and freakazoids that converged nightly on Andy Warhol's
Studio 54 club. His nickname, Man, first appeared in Warhol's
Interview magazine, and his early live shows at Bronx hip-hop clubs
were spectacles of lights, glitter, and pyrotechnics that drew as
much from the Warhol mystique as from the Cold Crush Brothers.
Influenced by the electronic experiments of his good friend and co -
writer Klaus Nomi and Brian Eno as well as by Kraftwerk, Parrish
together with "Cool" Raul Rodriguez recorded their best-known work in
a tiny studio sometimes shared with Afrika Baambaata, whose own
sessions with Arthur Baker and John Robie produced a number of
classics equal to Parrish's own, including "Wildstyle, " "Looking for
the Perfect Beat, " and the infamous "Planet Rock." What
distinguished "Hip-Hop Be Bop, " however, was its lack of vocals and
the extremely wide spectrum of popularity it gained in the club
scene, from ghetto breakdance halls to uptown clubs like Danceteria
and the Funhouse. After he discovered a pirated copy of his music
being played by a local DJ at theinfamous "Anvil" club ( NYC ),
Parrish found his way to the offices of the Importe label (a
subsidiary of popular dance imprint Sugarscoop and Disconet DJ mixing
service), which whom he inked his first deal. He released his self-
titled LP shortly after, and the album went on to sell over 2 million
copies worldwide. He was signed to Electra Records and managed by
David Bowie's notorious manager Tony De Fries and the infamous Main
Man Ltd management team. Tony De Fries had managed careers of David
Bowie, New York Dolls, Mott the Hoople, Mick Ronson and Dana
Gillespie to name a few.
Following a period of burn-out that followed, Parrish recorded and
remixed tracks for Michael Jackson, Boy George, Gloria Gaynor, and Hi-
NRG group Man2Man, among others, and served for 6 years as manager
for the Village People and Crystal Waters to name a few. While
Parrish's subsequent material has achieved nowhere near the success
or creative pitch of his earlier work, he continues to record from
his brooklyn studio and is a frequent DJ at New York's eclectic night
spots and SM clubs. His Sunday Underground Party "Sperm" at the "Cock
Bar" on New Yorks lower east side, is notorious, to say the least !
He is main DJ and co founder for a circut party called "Hustlerball"
which has parties in many cities worldwide. He also had several adult
websites and online businesses which kept him busy as a webmaster,
and "jack of all trades". His second LP, DreamTime, appeared on
Strictly Rhythm in 1997.
- Sean Cooper, All Music Guide
MAN PARRISH MENU