About Home and Garden

By 1987, Tony Maimone and Jim Jones were playing with Ubu frontman David Thomas' Wooden Birds. A compilation of early Pere Ubu singles had been released earlier and had done surprisingly well. It was beginning to seem like Pere Ubu had unfinished business that could be tended to.

Krauss made overtures, and in 1987 Pere Ubu was reborn. The core band that had recorded History and Geography would form the core of Pere Ubu for that band's next four albums — The Tenement Year, Cloudland, Worlds in Collision, and Story of My Life.

With Pere Ubu demanding progressively more of Krauss' attention, Home and Garden began to fade into the background. Christyson left the group. Linda Wheeler occasionally sat in. The band continued on as a four piece composed of Krauss-Morrison-Temple-Wheeler, and continued to record and play out, but by 1990 had pretty well stopped.

As Pere Ubu was preparing to embark on its 1993 tour to promote Story of My Life, Maimone left the group, replaced by Michele Temple. In 1994, during the recording sessions that would lead to 1995's Raygun Suitcase, Krauss — unhappy with the direction the band was taking — opted to leave. Thomas invited Robert Wheeler to join.

Krauss restarted Home and Garden as a studio-only project with ideas he had written for Pere Ubu. With contributions from Temple, Vivians' vocalist Diane Duncan, Tony Maimone and other luminaries of the Cleveland music scene, Home and Garden had come full circle. This version recorded an album's worth of material — yet to be released — some of which has seen the light of day on Cleveland music compilations.

In the new century, Home and Garden transformed into Homeless Gardens, primarily a live vehicle featuring Krauss, Rick Kallister, Michael Hronek, J.P. Gamiere, and occasional contributions from Warren Levert and Tony Maimone. Returning to Home and Garden's roots, this version played largely improvised instrumental grooves.

With the pending reissue of History and Geography on the horizon, a new iteration of Home and Garden  appeared — featuring the reunion of Krauss and Maimone — joined by Robert Wheeler on synths, Ryan Weitzel on guitar, and Keith Kornajcik on vocals. Original Pere Ubu guitarist Tom Herman sat in from time to time, reuniting the core of the classic Modern Dance/Dub Housing Pere Ubu lineup. Further musicians joined the continuing Home and Garden adventure, including bassist Lonn Schubert, guitarist Miss Melvis, and Angel Mendoza on noise. They have played outside their Cleveland base, hitting New York, Detroit, and Chicago multiple times.