Indie-List_V2_N10 INDIE-LIST DIGEST * VOLUME 2, NUMBER 10 * AUGUST 3 1993 "Chill out, man. Have a bagel or somethin'." Brought to you by Mark Cornick, Liz Clayton, and Sean Murphy. This week in Indie-List: Meet our new moderator Indie-List was born a ramblin' zine... Life In Hell (The New Music Seminar) A Dambuilders fan reports Indie happening in the Delaware Valley... Millions of Damned Concerts Indie-Label List Marijuana experiments (not really) ********************** From: Mark <cornick@delphi.com> Subject: Meet our new moderator With Josh unfortunately lost to us, we have a new moderator. K. Lena Bennett has been promoted from postmodernism consultant to moderator. Lena lives in Seattle and, in addition to being pretty hip about this thing we call music, is also a big comix fan, so maybe she'll slip us some Fantagraphics news now and then. Her qualifications include being mistaken for Houk on alt.music.alternative (a unique asset in anyone's book.) Lena's address is <keb@u.washington.edu>. You may send your articles to her beginning now. (She does her email from work, so please be patient with her. Thanks.) ********************** From: Mark <cornick@delphi.com> Subject: Indie-List was born a ramblin' zine... ... trying to continue existing and doing the best we can. Many apologies for the generally poor state of affairs at Indie-List in July. Between Josh leaving the net and my problems with America Online, we've had a lot of problems. I am now back with Delphi, a company with whom I've had excellent relations in the past. Thank you for bearing with us. (Special thanks to Liz and Sean for enduring Josh's and my shit.) Thank you to everyone who's offered condolences on my house being condemned, but frankly, I'm glad. Scott, Troy and I have a new house which is much sturdier, has higher ceilings (for tall folk like me) and costs less too. We'll be moving over the next two weeks, and our new address is in the footer at the end of this digest. Housewarming gifts are always welcome. :-) A new FAQ file will be on its way as soon as I get some information from Liz. There are many changes in it over previous editions, so please read it when you get it. There would be a live review of Pitchblende and Pelt (ex-Lid) here, but I had to work. Rats... sorry, Mike G :-) I wrote last week about the Tsunami/Small Factory split 45, and I must admit that the Small Factory song is really growing on me. Small Factory have done absolutely nothing for me in the past, but "If You Hurt Me" is pretty nifty, it starts out really quiet and eventually revs into electric (!!!!!) guitar later in the song. And it's a bad-love song. I tend to like bad-love songs with electric guitars. I gave it another try and, well, I like it. I still can't get thru that damn One Last Kiss track, but I'll approach SF a little differently from now on. _______________________________ Mark Cornick : cornick@delphi.com ********************** From: skmurphy@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Sean Murphy) Subject: Life In Hell (The New Music Seminar) So, now that it's over and the fallout is headed toward the land of cheaper venues and 21+ clubs (Philadelphia), maybe it's time for a quick look at this year's edition of the New Music Seminar. I did not attend the whole conference (luckily), leaving that task to our Music Director, Jen. But I did make it up to the city for a few shows... 1. Wednesday - Lotion, Small Factory, Monsterland, Madder Rose, TVP's at the Wetlands. I HATE THE FUCKING WETLANDS! I HATE THE FUCKING WETLANDS! Whew. OK, so despite my hatred of the infamous "eco-saloon", I went 'cause Small Factory was playing and I was hoping to see the Television Personalities, too. But we didn't make it to the end - TVP's went on at 1 am, and we left during Madder Rose's set, around 12:15. Small Factory put on a good show (as usual), although I really wanted to slap the "Sunny Sunday Smile" people for making the stupid, conntrived request of "Suggestions" to end the set. Come on, gang, the song is over 2 years old, they have an LP full of new songs which are great, why not learn something new? "Junkie On A Good Day" will be the epic anthem of the fall on a good radio station near you. The other bands were passable but not special, and the atmsophere and people really bummed me out at the beginning - only later did some nice folks show up, and we all sat outside killing time. 2. Thursday - Candy Machine, Girls Against Boys, Jawbox at Maxwell's. Due to some absurd bullshit, Maxwell's was not an official venue for NMS shows (meaning that they would mot be reimbursed for people who entered with badges). So, only 50 badges were allowed, and then the rest of the tickets sold out at 8:30 that evening. SInce I didn't have a ticket, I spent my time playing Jurassic Park pinball and watching someone else rock the Twilight Zone game at our favorite Hoboken hot-spot, Mr. Big's Deli and Arcade. So, I missed Candy Machine, but apparently they put on a great show. A bit of wheeling and dealing got me into the show for Girls Vs. Boys, and they were generally great, although the kick was missing from "Bulletproof Cupid" and they played some stupid song which consisted of the riff from "You've Got Another Thing Coming" by Judas Priest. Three 1/2 stars - I'd go see them again 'cause I think that this was an uncharacteristicly weak performance in places. Jawbox were good - no sell-out here, thank you. The number one topic of discussion was the fact that Jawbox signed to Atlantic, but I don't really think it will change them much (famous last words...). [ The same Jawbox who, two years ago, wouldn't even make t-shirts? Well, best of luck to 'em. - Mark ] 3. Friday - Kudgel, Deluxx, Pitchblende, Rodan, Crain, Grifters, and Antietam at the Knitting Factory. Too much to cover in whole - again, we skipped the last band (Antietam didn't go on 'til 2:15am) but certainly got our money's worth. And this show was well attended by random label reps - some were fairly cool, but man were there some major-league sleazeballs...hitting on anything that moved. Blech. Pitchblende probably put on the best set, but Rodan and the Grifters were also great, and I liked Kudgel's noise-crunch. Major complaint - the club was just too damn loud. Even with earplugs, it hurt. So, I got my first real taste of college radio reps in person (a damn good reason to stay out of that business...), saw some good shows, and had an OK time overall. The shows were a bit weak this year - in the past, I often found myself torn between 2 or 3 equally solid shows, but this year there was only one good one per night, in general, and since most folks are playing Philly this week, I've still got a chance to catch them without the hoopla. Oh yeah, there was a sunday night show at my friend Jon's house - no stupid blue backpacks allowed, no badges admitted. Plumbing are from Philly, with former members of Monkey 101 and Ashtray. OK, but not too inspiring. Sludgy sound - I'm bound to see them again soon in Philly, so maybe I'll like them better next time. Hurl - Pittsburgh, PA's finest slow-rockers took over and just blew me away. Wow. They played stuff from their new single on DeSoto, they played the track for the upcoming WPRB compilation CD, many other great songs, and they concluded with Turnip, the a-side to their first single - wow. Now I'm really jealous of people who got to see Slint play live. Rodan got into a nasty free-punk groove after some initial technical problems - some definite full-body-rocking action with these folks. I need more music from them, NOW. Pitchblende delivered their usual fine combo of wired punk and noise, even if Patrick kept knocking over his microphone. Yee-haw. Codeine just did what they do best - everyone was ready to fall asleep by the end of their set, but that's the point. Beautiful, sad, epic, slow, simple. Everything you've come to expect from these guys. And DO NOT challenge them to basketball - they're damn good! Doug (the drummer) was schooling people on the court both off the dribble and on the pull-up jumper. Surprise special guests to end the evening were the Swirlies, and their set was smooth, without any major problems, but it wasn't as powerful as the last time I saw them. Certainly good, but not as great as their show-stopping performance at the Indie 500. Yes, I'm substantially rocked out right now...time to go. One parting shot - buy the new Terminals CD, "Touch". It's on a German label, Raffmond, but distributed by Cargo. Most of the songs are studio versions of the live stuff from the "Disease" cassette on Xpressway, but don't let that stop you - it's essential. What the Clean did for 60's pop revivalism in NZ, the Terminals are doing for 60s psych/punk brooding garage music. Wonderful and necessary. **1/2 Sean Murphy skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu ********************** From: LePageL/MF <lepagel/mf@hermes.bc.edu> Subject: A Dambuilders fan reports I'm beginning to feel a bit like a Dambuilders cheerleader but they're so great that I'm forced to forgive myself. Saw them twice this month, to my great joy, and they were inspirational both times. Dambuilders, Smackmelon, etc at the Rat in Boston, July 9 The legendary Rat in Kenmore Square has been newly redecorated in a classy white-on-black skeleton motif, and Joan Wasser, the Dambuilders' violin player, fit right in with a wide white Bride-o-Frankenstein stripe in her long dark hair. She complemented the look with a paper and glitter tiara that fell off 10 seconds into the set due to her highly vivacious playing style. But enough about cosmetics. The Dambuilders delivered a furious set that did not let up for 50 brief but glorious minutes. It's rare when all the noisy minimalist details add up to something, but this band makes everything count. For as much as they have going on in their music, they're incredibly tight live, and appeared to be having a fine time in the bargain. As for Wasser, she is an exceptional player, with great chops and energy. Violin in pop bands usually winds up sounding folky but Wasser really rocks. They played all but "Dose" from the new ep _Tough Guy Problem_, including a very tough "Heather." Of the state songs, they ripped through "New Jersey," "Kentucky" and "Wyoming" in addition to the two from the ep. Live, "Louisiana" was the stand-out with much frenetic screaming and sawing. They played a number of other tunes, some new, some old, all great--I wish I could find those 7"s I keep hearing about. At any rate, if these folks come to your town, what can I say? Also, rumor has it that a 16 track cd is in the works featuring state songs. Judging from this gig, it should be very worthwhile. And still more good news, for Boston anyway-they'll be playing the Middle East on July 29 with the much touted Swirlies! Later that month: Dambuilders at the Middle East, Cambridge, July 29 This time, Joan appeared with one of her teeth blacked out, a novel approach to glamor-busting that didn't deter her adoring fans in the least. The band played another great set, with fewer state songs and more older material (I think) than at the Rat show. My favorite was "Antisceptic" which was anything but. They also did "Dose," my least favorite song on the ep but killer live, and finally closed with a very scronking "Louisiana." Now, I have to admit that the Swirlies headlined and I didn't stay. My excuse is: my ride was leaving, with or without me. Since the Middle East is hardly walking distance, I walked to the car. Sorry. I would have liked to have heard them. From: Lise in Boston ********************** From: eck@syl.nj.nec.com (Brian Eck) Subject: Indie happening in the Delaware Valley... It's been a busy few weeks, so on with the news 'n' reviews... Plumbing/Hurl/Rodan/Pitchblende/Codeine/Swirlies, Jon's Living Room, Princeton I'm sure there were other indie-listers there, but I didn't meet any of them. ;-( All in all, the day was wonderful - great bands and great FlavorIce! The length was a bit extreme, but the price was right; five bucks got bands and food. Yay for Jon and his parents! Plumbing are a four-piece; two guitars, bass and drums. They are kind of a friendly cawledge-rock kind of deal, fairly tasty. The non-singing guitarist, John, lived in Bryn Mawr (outside of Philly), but I'm not sure where the band is based... Hurl are from Pittsburgh, and have five members. Considering how young they are (I think the oldest member is 20), they're very accomplished, but they seemed awfully like Codeine. Still, they certainly have plenty of time to develop their own sound. Plus, the singer looks like a mini Steve Albini, which is always a plus. Rodan were very cool; noisy, fun rock stuff. I can't really say who they're like, but I dug their set a lot. Does anyone have any info on their recorded material? Pitchblende were, of course, amazing. Their set was short (six songs, Ithink) and insanely loud, but muy bueno nonetheless. I pity anyone who still hasn't picked up _Kill Atom Smasher_ - imagine Sonic Youth plus a dash of Superchunk and with generous helping of raw power, and that's PitchB. I just love 'em. Anyway, I heard they have a new single coming out on Compulsiv, but I could be wrong. I would have enjoyed Codeine's set much more had it not been so late on a Sunday night...by the end, about half the crowd was sitting down, some nearly asleep. Their music is full of splendor, but avoid them if you're sleepy and have to drive an hour and then get up early the next day, as I did...;-) I left before the Swirlies, as it was already past eleven. Did anyone stay? Nothing Painted Blue/Archers of Loaf/Trumans Water, Khyber Pass, Philly I realize this show was on a Wednesday, but it was still one of the most sparsely attended shows I've been to in a long while. Nothing Painted Blue are a three-piece from Southern California; they played twenty-something alternative stuff, but they did it pretty well. I prefered the distortion-less songs - reminded me a bit of Big Dipper. I think I just didn't get Archers of Loaf. They were loud, and they certainly seemed to be all worked up about something, but I just didn't get it. Hmm. Five minutes into the Trumans Water set, I thought they were complete and total wankers. Ten minutes into the set, I thought they were amazing. By the end, I think I reached a middle ground - they are very silly and I'm not exactly humming any of their tunes, but they play with such energy and sheer abandon that you can't help but be impressed. It's good to see a band with zero commerical potential doing it their way once in a while. Someone at Caroline must be awfully open-minded...;-) Distorted Pony/God and Texas/7 Year Bitch/Unsane, Khyber Pass, Philly I missed the first band, but I never did find out who played first, so... The second band (God and Texas, I think) were noisy and raw, kind of like Scratch Acid minus Yow. I didn't find anything really wonderful about them. 7 Year Bitch, for me, were the stars of the show. With the Gits tragically out of the picture, the Bitches are easily the best band on C/Z these days. Pro-woman punk rock, and they're great live. They have a bunch of new songs, so hopefully there will be a new album soon; maybe this time the production won't be so awful. ;-( Unsane were disappointing. The music is cool; heavy noise, definately NYC-style. But live it got old really fast, especially with all the violence in the pit. whew Haven't purchased anything but used discs lately, so no news there...upcoming Philly shows include Rev. Horton Heat, Tsunami/Small Factory, Original Sins, Sleepyhead, and the (rescheduled) Fall. Until then... brian -- Brian Eck NEC Systems Laboratory Princeton, NJ eck@syl.nj.nec.com Anyone who can see through a woman is missing a lot. ********************** From: enriquk@instruction.CS.ORST.EDU (everyday oozer) Subject: Millions of Damned Concerts Once again...greetings from the Pacific Northwest! It looks like it'll be a happening summer as far as shows go...several shows in the last month or so. So I have a few reviews...of course. 6/30/93 Jawbreaker and Engine Kid at John Henry's in Eugene We arrived late...so Engine Kid was already playing by the time we got there. They were ok...nobody seemed to be paying much attention to them and neither did I...so I don't have much to say about them. Jawbreaker was great! You could tell they were all tired (the bass player kept sitting down between songs and didn't look like he wanted to get up)...I guess it was close to the end of their tour. But they were still very good...played for about 45 mins...and a couple of songs for an encore (though they didn't leave the stage in between sets...just sat there looking at each other like "do we really have to play more songs"). A fun evening in Eugene. 7/1/93 the Gits, Agent 86 and Red Fisher at John Henry's in Eugene We got there just as Red Fisher was starting. They were really good...they're kind of a heavy sounding fast-paced band from Canada. They gave my friend,Tom, a tape and a 7" for KBVR (which I reviewed for the station...and it's really good!). In between Red Fisher and Agent 86, Tom and I played a game of pool with the bass player from the Gits and some other guy...we lost...oh well. Agent 86 is a hardcore band who recently relocated from D.C. to Eugene. They were really good...played for about an hour. I think they'd do a lot better with a new bass player (or maybe just better bass playing)...but other than that they sounded very intense...high energy. The Gits played for about 45 mins. They are great! The lead singer, Mia, has an excellent voice. The crowd response was fairly pathetic...so they didn't do an encore (they were going to...but then the bar turned the recorded music back on...fairly rude) But it was still a great evening of music and entertainment (and all for only $3...gotta love that) I just read on a.m.a that Mia Zapata was murdered. AURRGGHHHHHH!!!! anybody know what's up with that? Did they catch the asshole who did it? 7/3/93 Crackerbash, Hazel and Slot at La Luna in Portland What a great line up! And all for only $3...it doesn't get much better than that. Slot is a somewhat mellow, grungey/distortion band from Ann Arbor. They were surprisingly really good. It was quite a crowded house by the time Hazel took the stage. As always...the music was excellent. Hazel consistently puts on a great live show. And of course Fred was there to add his interpretive dancing. Some of the guys in the crowd had testosterone overloads...I don't usually mind slam pits...but this one was particularly unreasonable. Anyway Hazel played for about an hour...it was pure heaven...even if I was getting slammed in the back every few minutes. Crackerbash headlined...in a recent review I said that Hazel was my favorite band out of Portland right now...well I might have to change my mind. Crackerbash is incredible live! (And they're latest cd "Tin Toy" is pretty damn good too) The lead singer has an incredible amount of energy...it's a wonder he doesn't get whiplash the way he swings his head around. The music was just full on energy...great stuff! Yet another incredible evening of music! 7/7/93 Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy and the Creeps at X-ray Cafe in Portland The Creeps weren't in the lineup...I think they just showed up to play just because they had nothing better to do. Anyway...they were a lot of fun. The Creeps are 5 guys from San Diego...playing crunchy, disorganized, fast- paced music...fun stuff. They only played for about 20 mins. Then Heavens to Betsy played. They were broadcast live on KBOO...the dj was trying to talk with Corrinne while they were setting up...but she was giving him a lot of shit (it was kind of funny actually). Heavens to Betsy played for about 45 minutes (a lot of the time was spent while they were exchanging instruments about every other song). The singing was great...the music was worse than what I had expected (ok...I realize that they probably don't give a fuck about playing instruments...and that's ok...but it does get a little old). Bratmobile played next (Roger Nusic was actually headlining...but I didn't stick around to see him...I've seen him play before and wasn't that impressed). Bratmobile was a lot of fun...the lead singer is fun to watch (her dancing is great). Again the music wasn't all that impressive...but I guess that's not the point. Bratmobile played for about 40 minutes. Not a bad evening...not great, though. 7/9/93 Seaweed, the Supersuckers and the Meices at La Luna in Portland I got there a little late...so I missed the first band (Big F). The Meices were just starting when I got there. They're basically what you would expect from an eMpTy records band...fast-paced pop-punk Fun stuff...but nothing incredibly inspiring. The Supersuckers were fun...the lead singer kept saying that he had laryngitis...but you couldn't tell. He was able to scream without much difficulty. I hadn't seen the Supersuckers play for about a year. So I don't quite remember if they're heavy-metal-stage-antics are old or new. It was pretty funny watching them get the kids in the crowd to do the "horned hand" Anyway...they sounded great! Seaweed headlined...they were incredible. I hadn't seen them play in a long while...so I wasn't expecting them to be that great...but they were. Very high energy (almost as energetic as Crackerbash but not quite). They played for about 45 minutes and a 2 song encore. Was I hallucinating or was the lead singer from The Meices playing drums for Seaweed? Hmmm... Anyway...another great show in P-town. [ The Big F, aren't they the Cult tribute band featuring former members of Berlin, who gave us that Top Gun classic, "Take My Breath Away"? Hmmm. - Mark ] well...I guess I won't review any records this week...maybe later. Oh...I did go to a Pansy Division show in San Fran a few weeks ago. Fun stuff! I think they're coming here to Corvallis in the fall. Should be interesting. see ya, Kelly ********************** From: Sean Murphy <skmurphy@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> Subject: Indie-Label List Well, for those of you who don't read a.m.a. (and you know, you're probably better people for it - I really wonder why I waste so much of my time there), I post this little message in the hopes that you can help me in some way. I've inherited a "master-list" of independent record labels. After the better part of a week, I've weeded out the dreck, got a nice list of stuff I know about, and a long list of labels which I know nothing about. The end result, which should be ready by Friday, will be a list of labels with short descriptions of each label and mailing addresses. If you would like to peruse the "unknown" list to help me out, please drop me a line. (I'm being polite and not posting it here since it's about 150 lines long.) Otherwise, I'll let people know when all this is ready to go. It will be posted to a.m.a. regularly, along with a few other lists (Grunge-L, maybe 4AD-list, Hypnodrone, etc.). Suggestions and ideas are welcome, as are requests for the list once it's finished. Thanks. Sean skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu P.S. obShowReview - go see the Television Personalities if you get the chance - it's not a captivating, action packed show, but it will make you feel nice and warm inside, and that's a good thing. ********************** From: Steve Silverstein <ST201268@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU> Subject: Marijuana experiments (not really) I tried writing Joshua like 2 weeks ago, but the mail got lost in his shuffle. So here's try number 2. The big thing, I suppose, is the latest news from small factory. First, the Simple Machines 7" seems to be out, though I haven't snagged it yet. They'd originally planned to put "Theme from small factory" on it, if I recall correctly, but instead chose the album outtake they ultimately used. Everything else is coming soon, so hold your breath. The Slumberland single with "Scared of Love" and the slow B-side, which has been due forever, continues to make progress. Bi Joop finally finished the covers. The big reason small factory was so excited about Bi Joop were their great silkscreened covers. But this time, they think it is terrible. It is a drawing of a sad little kid which looks nowhere near as nice as the older covers. Plus, Mike S. is irritated that they messed up the Slumberland logo. They may still redo the cover, adding more delays. Cover art has also proven a problem with I Do Not Love You, the spinART LP/CD. The guy doing the cover art complained that he had nowhere to put a UPC code, and just was a pain in general. Now that they're back from the tour and he's wasted a month, that's finally been smoothed out. So that will be out within the next 2 months also. The selections on that favor new over old (including a song Liz really liked when she recently saw them), but do have a different, rockin' "What to Want", plus, finally, "Come Back Down". "Hopefully" was relegated to 2 compilations. The first is a cassette, part of the Burning the Midnight Firefly #2 compilation ($5 + $1.50 postage, 41 Fanning Lane/Greenville RI 02828). It'll also appear on a CD comp at some later date (sorry, I missed that title). The Pop Narcotic 7" seems not to have had problems, but Helium's had to be re-mastered, slowing the release dates for both. They'll both be out soon too. (Check out Bill's cool ad in the newest Option). Finally, the big tour news are some shows with Heavenly, who are in the States 9/03 to 9/11. While small factory play the Brilliant fest in Richmond (as do Eggs, and a billion other bands I haven't had tell me they'll be there), Calvin has booked afew shows for Heavenly. The dates from about the 5th or 6th to 11th will be Lois, small factory, and Heavenly. Sounds like a Heavenly triple-bill (sorry). Also, DC is brimming with free shows, so I thought I'd alert anyone nearby who hadn't heard. By the time you receive this, you'll have missed Slumberland's Ropers with new locallers Swoon, but there are a couple of nifty shows coming up at Fort Reno Park (near the Tentleytown Metro stop, at Chesapeake between 41st NW and Nebraska). Call Natasha at Fort Reno, 202/282-0028 for more info about upcoming shows or location. Future shows include Fugazi (8/09) and Shudder to Think (8/30). Mondays and Thursdays all month. Also, Positive Force is doing some sort of Martin Luther King thing with a Salvadoran band, agogo band, and Fugazi, on 8/07, at the base of the Washington Monument. Noon to 6. Call Positive Force for more info, 703/276-9768. Finally, sorry about the title, but I have just learned that Stu from Shudder to Think administers odd testing as a job. Recently, he ran a study of sobriety tests, which a friend participated in, and he's been known to study crash helmets in the past. I just thought I'd mention that. -Steve ********************** THE INDIE-LIST DIGEST is published every Tuesday by Indie-List Infotainment Junta, Unltd. (A Non-Entity.) Editor: Mark Cornick <cornick@delphi.com> Moderator: K. Lena Bennett <keb@u.washington.edu> Mail Manager: Liz Clayton <lclayton@uhuru.uchicago.edu> Archvist: Sean Murphy <skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu> Articles for next week's issue should be sent to Lena. Questions, comments, complaints, review material, and fruit salad should be sent to Mark at the address above, or by US mail to 324 S Cherry St, Richmond VA 23220. Write for phone number. (On second thought, send that fruit salad to Liz.) "Let's do it again next week on these same stations, and you can bet your last money it's all gonna be a stone gas honey! As always, in parting we wish you love, peace and soul..." - Don Cornelius [Submitted by: Sean Keric Murphy (skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu) Tue, 3 Aug 1993 10:05:37 -0400]