Flashback Friday: FA3574 by Famous Actors From Out of Town
When Famous Actors From Out of Town released their sole recording, FA3574, in 1986, it arrived as a definitive document of the Richmond, Virginia, underground scene. Originally released as a limited-edition cassette, the album was a high-water mark for a “supergroup” of local veterans who had spent years in the trenches of jazz, art-rock, and punk. For the band, FA3574 was a deliberate experiment in controlled chaos—an attempt to capture their infrequent but legendary live energy in the clinical environment of Floodzone Studios.
The 2026 remastered reissue of FA3574, spearheaded by Electric Cowbell Records through their new archival imprint Richmond Relics, has landed in a musical landscape that is arguably more prepared for it than the world of 1986. While the original release was a blink-and-you-miss-it cassette, the 2026 vinyl and digital restoration places Famous Actors From Out of Town (F.A.F.O.O.T.) at the center of a modern resurgence in experimental jazz and “post-everything” instrumental music.
Side Note: If I’m being completely honest, even though I was listening to avant-garde music of this caliber in the mid-80s, I was wholly unaware of this group or these artists. The primary reason being, I was not from Richmond, VA nor have I ever been there at any point in my life. I was only made aware of this re-release by combing through lists of soon-to-be-released records and gave it a “cold” listen purely by chance and with no expectations. I’m glad I did. This post is essentially you riding “shotgun” with me while I go down the rabbit hole to unpack who these people were in 1986 and why this record was important enough to re-issue 40 years later.
The group was the brainchild of composer and keyboardist Martin McCavitt, who envisioned a sound that was both cerebral and primitive. To achieve this, he recruited a lineup of the city’s most formidable talents: Paul Watson, A multi-instrumentalist who handled trumpet, short-scale bass, and prepared guitar, and a rare dual-drummer powerhouse of Johnny Hott & Pippin Barnett. Barnett was known for his homemade percussion, while Hott famously integrated “found objects”—like 50-gallon oil drums and flywheels—into his kit.
The four members were already staples of Richmond’s musical community, having played in influential acts like The Orthotonics, Idio Savant, and The Tom and Marty Band. Their chemistry was built on a mutual desire to push past the boundaries of traditional song structure, resulting in the ten instrumental tracks that make up the record.
Culturally, FA3574 occupied a unique space in the mid-80s. While much of the underground was leaning into hardcore punk or shimmering college rock, Famous Actors From Out of Town leaned into a “less is more” philosophy. McCavitt’s compositions allowed the two drummers to split rhythmic duties, creating a dense, mechanical richness that felt industrial yet organic.
The album’s title and the band’s name were themselves a bit of local wit, poking fun at Richmond’s burgeoning reputation as a cheap filming location for Hollywood productions. At the time, the “famous actors” in town were always outsiders; the band reclaimed the title for the local vanguard.
Upon its initial release, FA3574 was a “musician’s album.” It was highly sought after by those in the know, including Cuneiform Records founder Steven Feigenbaum, who reportedly tried to sign the “unmotivated” group after hearing the demo. Despite their reluctance to chase mainstream success, their live shows became mandatory viewing for a cross-section of Richmond society—punks, metalheads, and jazz aficionados alike.
The record’s significance only grew as its members moved on to shape the broader indie landscape. Johnny Hott went on to form House of Freaks, while other members contributed to seminal projects like Sparklehorse, Cracker, and Gutterball. Today, FA3574 is remembered not just as a cult classic, but as a vital bridge between the art-rock of the late 70s and the experimental indie movements of the 90s.
The reissue does more than just provide high-fidelity audio; it serves as a missing link for a new generation of listeners. For fans of Sparklehorse or House of Freaks, FA3574 acts as an “origin story,” revealing the avant-garde roots of the musicians who would later define the sound of the American South’s alternative scene.
Critically, the 2026 reception has been overwhelmingly positive, with major outlets like Pitchfork and The Wire noting that the album sounds “strikingly vibrant” forty years later. By moving the recordings from a deteriorating magnetic tape to a meticulously cut vinyl, the label has successfully transitioned the band from a regional footnote to a globally recognized piece of the experimental music puzzle (fans late 70s and 80s era King Crimson, rejoice… You have something “new” to listen to!).
The Album
Spotify:
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/fa3574/1858712668
Bandcamp:
The Band
The band doesn’t have a new digital footprint as far as I can tell (and never did, being from the 80s and all), but here is some ancillary info:
https://www.electric-cowbell.com/
The Richmond Relics imprint mentioned above is really just cool record store:
https://www.facebook.com/recordsandrelicsrva/
Be sure to check out the Audio Toxicity 2026 Bad Music Detox Protocol (AKA a playlist of songs covered so far…)