Snakefinger

Biography

Snakefinger was the stage name of Philip Charles Lithman (1949–1987), an English guitarist and violinist whose slashing, effects-bent playing became a signature sound of *The Residents*' records for #Ralph Records#. After co-founding pub rockers *Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers* in London, he settled in San Francisco and recorded a run of solo albums, from 'Chewing Hides the Sound' (1979) to 'Night of Desirable Objects' (1987), that fused blues roots with avant-garde experiment. He died suddenly on tour in Austria in 1987, aged 38.