Indie-List_V2_N13
Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport! The
thrill of victory! And the agony of defeat! The human drama of
athletic competition! This is...
<------------------------+
the INDIE-LIST DIGEST /
<---------------=======================--------------->
/ Volume 2, Number 13
+------------------------>
"Putting the Punk back in Cyberpunk!"
This week in Indie-List:
ANNOUNCEMENT #1: Indie-List First Anniversary Thingamajig
Michael Bolton Mailing List: Operation Mindfuck...
New Zoo Reviews
Lou Comes Through
Pope Joan live and other stuff not live...
A.R. and Bill's
ford facts - indie list submission -
Electric "Soulmate"
Indie list submission
INDIE-LIST: Two Live Kiwimusic Reviews
Elepant's Piss with Milk and Sugar
Hoka Hoka Hey it's review time...
OK, who left the lights on?
Babylonian gods conquer Portland
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Mark
Subj: ANNOUNCEMENT #1: Indie-List First Anniversary Thingamajig
Indie-List turns one year old this October, and we're celebrating with
a variety of (beat) happenings, the foremost being the first-ever
paper issue of Indie-List. The paper edition will be very strictly
limited to fifty copies, will probably have hand-letterpressed
covers, and will feature special articles, artwork, photos, etc. It
will be a keepsake item to will to your grandchildren someday. :-)
More details on this as we get it together.
All Indie-List subscribers are invited to submit to this project.
We're interested in articles, artwork, photos, etc.; they do not need
to be related to our first anniversary, but should somehow be
appropriate to acelebration of it. Artwork should (of course) be
two-dimensional, and easily reproducible in B&W (camera-ready art is
a plus.) Photos must be B&W.
Articles go to <cornick@delphi.com>. Artwork, photos, and other
things not e-mailable go to Mark Cornick, 324 S Cherry St, Richmond
VA 23220. All submissions will be reviewed by the staff. If we decide
not to use your submission, we'll let you know (and return it, if
applicable.) We would like to have everything in by October 1, 1993,
with the zines coming out in the middle of October. The zines will be
sold by mail at cost (plus postage), which hopefully will be around
two bucks. Once all 50 copies are sold/given away, we will make the
text available over the net. (But no graphics or nifty covers. :-)
No title yet... I'm thinking maybe _Making Dan Koretzky Happy_ or some
such.
We will keep you up to date on the progress of this project. (Yes,
it's obvious KolectorSkum bait... it's mainly a means to thank some
people who've been good to us, while at the same time celebrating 12
months of something or other. If you don't want to buy one, you're
not expected to... as was said, there will be an electronic/free
version.)
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Lena & Mark
Subj: Michael Bolton Mailing List: Operation Mindfuck...
> From: ai411@yfn.ysu.edu (Lu Ann Johnson)
> Newsgroups: rec.music.info
> Subject: MAILINGLIST: Michael Bolton fans online
>
> We are in the process of developing and testing a list for Michael
> Bolton fans. We encourage Bolton's fans to post to the list and add
> their name to the distribution. We need Michael's fans to help us
> test the list and work out the bugs. Email
> bolton@pro-woolf.clark.net
[ IMPORTANT: Indie-List Infotainment Junta Unltd, does NOT condone
abusive, bobc-esque behavior. Have fun with this, but don't be an
asshole. At least not with your own account. :-) ]
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Mark
Subj: New Zoo Reviews
The highlight of my week was seeing what will probably be the last
Slow Loris show for a while (Jenny's poetic muse is taking her to
Philadelphia.) Slow Loris, you'll remember, are Jenny Drummey (ex-
Hassan Chop!), Mike Kasenter (HC!/Friendly), and Rick Holden
(Jettison Charlie.) They played Saturday night in Rick's backyard at
a multi-purpose party (Jenny's birthday, Mark Melts' birthday, bon
voyage Jenny, etc.) The band sounded GREAT under the stars -- no
tape or building can fully contain Diva Drummey's voice and the
evening outdoors was the perfect setting for her utterly passionate
vocals. There were some songs from their self-released tape -- "Shiny
Black Eyed Beauty" was particularly memorable -- as well as some new
ones which I guess might be on a new SL recording. As usual, the
music was enigmatic -- acoustic without being folky, affirmative
without being rockish. Definitely not something that can be
pigeonholed. There are few bands I would call unique, but I don't
know anyone who's doing what Da Loris are doing -- all I can say is
you really should write Mike <eng1mgk@hibbs.vcu.edu> for information
on getting their tape. Hey, it's $1.00 or less, what're ya waiting for?
(Speakng of $1.00 or less tapes, read on for the Tenderette reviews.)
- FUNKAHOLIC, "Junglesque (Rock To Da Rhythm)" (Down South City Noize,
PO Box 14708, Richmond VA 23221): Funkaholic opened up for
indie-salsa legends Bio-Ritmo recently, so I checked out their
cassingle. Was pretty pleasantly surprised by their funky hip-hop
(yes, I hate the word "funky" too, but we're talking P-Funky, not
RHCP-funky.) Not much original happening vocally -- the vocals are
good but the lyrics are just average -- but the tracks are Beyond All
That. Nice loops, nice beats, nice nice. I read an interview where
they were asked about their influences, and they mentioned that they
liked Nevermind a lot; this might not be cool to you, but it's good
to see some crossover coming from the rap side. I'm looking forward
to hearing more from Funkaholic. **.
- FUR LINED THROAT, ILL, DIE-PEARS cassingles (Tenderette, PO Box
5242, Richmond VA 23220): Tenderette is a new cassingles project from
those loveably noisy folks at Tenderizer Records. There are about
seven of these tapes out right now, each around 10 minutes and each
costing under a dollar. (Wow!) I'm still working on getting the tapes
from Bay of Pig, Chip Jones, Pan American and Chris Murphy, but I did
get the three listed above. All three tend towards the lo-fi side of
things, which of course is just fine with us treble kickers, right?
My favorite so far is the Die-Pears, who do a gospel tape loop on
side one with a Negativland/Kingdom Scum-ish no-fi-hip-hop groove on
the B. Amusing answering machine messages show up in the mix, too.
Nifty. *1/2. Fur Lined Throat start their tape with a
sample-collage before lurching into a strange VU/Sonic Youth hybrid
piece, then falling off a bit with a vocal/tape-manipulation bit that
doesn't quite work. Obvious Pavement influences here. *. Ill didn't
really do it for me; drum machine/metal-guitar stuff that sounds like
Trouble With Larry/Slack Attack outtakes. (What is it about Richmond
that breeds drum-machine/guitar bands with really awful singers?
Gwar? Bill's BBQ? Kepone?) Poop. **. All in all, despite the missteps,
I like the idea, and some of the future releases look interesting,
such as E.N.E. and Portastatic. (When's that Bio-Ritmo 45 coming out?)
- IMPROVIJAZZATION NATION #8 (Dick Metcalf, HQ, 19th SUPCOM, Unit
15015, POB 2879, APO 96218-0171, <dmetcalf@freenet.scri.fsu.edu>):
Well-done indie-improv-o-jazz zine (apparently available on paper in
addition to the e-text copy I got...?) LOTS of reviews (nearly 70K
of text!) of new improv stuff. Rotcod Zzaj (as he prefers to be
known) knows his shit; I don't listen to a lot of improv myself, but
there does seem to be a very wide range of stuff mentioned. This
would make a good companion to our publication for the jazz fans out
there (I know you're there.) The whole thing is written in sort of a
Pogo-esque language ("Let's FLOOD th' market & the airwaves with the
volks music! Shut the whole corporate muzak-mo-chine OFF!") whose
nuances are somewhat lost in electronic text, but it's fun anyway.
It's a jazz thang, and if jazz is yr thang, this is it cats! **1/2.
I must say you readers are coming thru in a big way with those
articles! Thank you! Thank you! (Is it just because the students are
heading back, or...? :-)
Lena had an idea to start doing this here thing twice a week. Not
sure if this'll happen or not... if you have any opinions, why not
send 'em to me with a CC to her. Yr input is important.
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Lena, Queen of Seattle
Subj: Lou Comes Through
Sebadoh, 8/19/93, Crocodile cafe, Seattle, WA
This show was everything Monday's show was not: small, comfortable,
good audience, good vibes, great music. It was unadvertised, so the
goons who made the first show miserable were not there. The Fastbacks
opened (who I hadn't heard before) and they did sweet, playful
3-chord pop music that was nice but didn't inspire me. I'm getting
sick and tired of cheesy 70's covers and did not appreciate the set
closer of "Please Go All the Way." Maybe if I had heard the songs on
record I would appreciate what they do more. (P.S. Liz, I asked Kurt
about the "Queen of Eyes" single and he said they didn't have any
more but there were probably a few in circulation out there
somewhere.)
Anyway, on to Sebadoh. They played for about an hour and fifteen
minutes, and except for one or two songs it was the Lou Barlow show.
He was having amuch better relationship with the audience, quite a
bit of non-antagonistic (although sometimes playfully teasing)
banter going back and forth, and he played really wonderfully. You
could tell he was into it. It was the last show of the tour and he
had allergies and his voice was tired, but it was enjoyable for all.
The band worked together really well and it was tight in a loose kind
of way (if that makes any sense). He broke strings on two guitars
and was kinda ticked about that but he let it slide.
He played a lot of Weed Forestin songs because the remaining guitar
was on the open tuning he used to write those songs. Plus he did
almost all of the songs he wrote on Bubble and Scrape, Two Years or
Two Days, Soul and Fire (with the last line changed to say something
about "start again" instead of "coming to an end"), Cliche, Sacred
Attention (wow), Homemade, and one more. These songs have never
sounded so good to me as they did last night, and I love them. He
also did "It's So Hard To Fall In Love," which was again a wonderful,
heartfelt, rocking rendition. Also "Brand New Love." And "Poledo."
And a bunch more. At the end he ran out of songs he could play, and
led the band in one I think must be new, something like "Sweet
Mystery of Love" or "Together Forever" (positive, I would even say
"romantic" about love). Anyway, the Crocodile is a very small club,
and there was a good gender balance in the audience and they were all
very cool, so it was great. Plus I met the talented and charming
Doomgirl, our very own Christine Sievanen, for the first time (and am
a better woman for it now). I talked to Lou for a little while after
the show, and it was cool. I was wearing my "Bitchy Bitch" T-shirt
and he said it was one of his and Kathleen's favorite comic books
(yay!), and we talked about email for a little while (Kath has an
account). Much thanks to Kath for telling me about the existence of
this show -- it was wonderful!
P.S. One more thing: we saw Peter Buck there. For some reason I was
unimpressed.
P.P.S. What have I been listening to this week? Not much new stuff.
Taped the latest Gas Huffer off of a friend, and I think I'll like it
a lot for a housework tape. Got something from the Cakekitchen,
listened to it once so far, maybe a review later.
P.P.P.S. I heard from Josh this morning, he's back in net-land, so
hopefully we'll be hearing from him soon. Although I guess he
doesn't get alot of new records where he is now :(
Lena keb@u.washington.edu
doors don't close behind me
they fall off their hinges -- Tsunami
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Douglas Wolk <dbcloud@panix.com>
Subj: Pope Joan live and other stuff not live...
Pope Joan - Knitting Factory - 8/13/93
The show was advertised in the paper as "Members of God Is My
Co-Pilot play music of Peter Solowka and others." At the actual show,
Sharon Topper stressed repeatedly that this was not God Is My
Co-Pilot, it was Pope Joan, a whole other band, even though it
included all the members of GodCo. Uh, whatever you say, Sharon.
(Well, it was sort of true - they only played a couple of GodCo
songs, and they were all unreleased things like "Tantsukolena" and
"55,151.") The lineup was Laura Cromwell (drums), Siobhan Duffy
(drums), Christine Bard (drums and some kind of weird Chinese giant
tambourine), Craig Flanagin (guitar), Sharon Topper (vocals, clarinet
and electric cello), Alex Klein (bass), Fred Lonberg-Holm (electric
cello and mandolin) and Anthony Coleman (sampler keyboard).
It was absolutely incredible. The set list was five pages long--most
of the songs were totally unrehearsed, so Craig had drawn diagrams of
how their structure worked. Anyone who didn't know would never have
guessed that it was unrehearsed, though--everything was totally tight
and non-self-indulgent. They played some Ukrainians cover (hence the
Peter Solowka reference), "Hernando's Hideaway" (with Anthony
singing!), a couple of Korean folk songs (which Sharon had learned
phonetically), and duck duck goose (not a song--played with
musicians, it was very similar to the "cartoon trades" in John Zorn's
Cobra rules--it eventually segued into an amazing new one called
"Quiney Q"). And, of course, the whole thing had total rock power
behind it. Having three drummers will do that.
Anyhow, I thought it was one of the best shows I'd ever seen. Of
course, it turned out that the DAT recording the band was making of
it didn't turn out. Friday the 13th and all that. What a pity.
Okay, so here's my addendum to the Trumans Water note in last week's
Indie-List: I don't know what Sonic Youth song "Aroma of Gina Arnold"
sounds like, but does "Speeds Exceeding"'s melody remind anybody else
of New Order's "Mesh"?
Indie-folks should also be advised that, despite being on Elektra,
the forthcoming Stereolab album, _Transient Random-Noise Bursts With
Announcements_, is their best record yet. And Elektra's issued an
extremely nifty promo single on lovely clear vinyl (actually the
sea-foam color that United uses).
Very high thumbs up also to _Lipstick Traces_, the soundtrack to the
Greil Marcus book, on Rough Trade UK. I've talked about it at greater
length on alt.music.alternative, so I won't repeat myself much, but
it's got a ton of wonderful old punk-rock singles and rarities.
Liliput's "Split" is one of my favorite songs ever, and it's great to
see it on CD at last. And besides, you get Marie Osmond reading a
poem by Hugo Ball.
Very-near-miss of the week: Free Kitten's new single. The concept of
Yoshimi from the Boredoms singing "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" is nearly
enough to make me like it, and I love the way that instead of going
for the high note at the end of the chorus she just SCREAMS, but the
negligible B-side and the sheer general suckiness of Free Kitten sink
it. Barely. Supposedly, there also exists a tape of Yoshimi singing
Growing Up Skipper's "Teenage Boyfriend"...
Very-solid-hit of the week, single-wise: World of Pooh's _A Trip To
Your Tonsils_ EP. Yeah, you might just know them as "Barbara
Manning's old band," and the two songs she sings here are as good as
you'd expect, but Brandan Kearney was a terrific songwriter too
(probably still is), and the whole thing's a distinguished capper to
a small but seriously-loved-by-me-anyway oeuvre as a band.
Whatever. I'm off--anyone who has a copy of the cassette version of
World of Pooh's _The Land of Thirst_, let me know.
Douglas D. Wolk dbcloud@panix.com
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: burck@nyplgate.nypl.org, burck@carson.u.washington.edu
Subj: A.R. and Bill's
Hello. I just got my first Indie-list. Anyway... I write record
reviews for the swell 'zine Animal Review (Hard Music-Soft Animals).
Issue #3 is just out and includes, among other things, Steve Albini's
views on lemurs. Send $2 cash/stamps to Nell Zink, 81 Grand St. #4,
Jersey City, NJ 07302. (or e-mail me for more info:
Burck@nyplgate.nypl.org)
Cool records to check out: Today is the Day 7" on AmRep (I keep
telling everyone this) and Superconductor lp (I forget what it's
called -- 6 guitar players!) on Boner.
Finally, in regards to the comments on Bill's Bar-B-Q : Sure Bill's
isn't very good Bar-B-Q (it's not altogether terrible either), but
you cannot suggest that the happy dancing pigs motif is anything but
cool. The best Bar-B-Q in my experience (limited as it is) is to be
had at Pierce's Pit near Williamsburg, VA.
[ Ah yes, Bill's logo is a pair of Porky-esque pigs who are, er,
having a BBQ. Suggested caption: "Hey! We taste great!" :-) - Mark ]
- Ben
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Tim McGinnis <tim@vestek.com>
Subj: ford facts - indie list submission -
>From: Matt Kelly <MATTKELLY@antioc.antioch.edu>
>Subject: Indie List contribution
>
> 8-12-93 Sebadoh/Smog/Ford at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco.
>
> I dissed Ford pretty bad in my last review of them. And I'm gonna do
> it again. I don't like them one bit. (Sorry Kath) They played an ok
> (I guess) short set and started to leave the stage. I was kind of
> surprised, but glad because I wanted to see the other bands much
> more. But they played an encore for some reason, and about 1/2 way
> through the first song in the encore the guitar player/singer grabbed
> her face and I thought she might be crying. Then she puked all over
> herself. It was truly strange.
I went to school w/ the lead singer, michele f-----. don't be alarmed
she's a puker from way back... comes from a long line of pukers. if
anyone is familiar w/ the apts. above nemo's in kenmore square
(boston), she was always, well, doing her puking thing all over that
place (poor nils). she was pretty bizarre, getting high and riding
the red line between harvard and government center all night.
but enough of that, i kinda like ford - loud guitars, vocals lost in
the mix, frenetic tunelessness (the later two have always been under
rated in my book).
catch ford at the bottom of the hill, chameleon club, or brave new
world opening for someone else ... soon!
tim
tim@vestek.com
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Steve Silverstein <ST201268@BROWNVM.brown.edu>
Subject: ha;ehf;jziksc;
Lots and lots of news this week (including a bit of catching up, I
think).
First, Friday, Edsel/Eggs/Tribe. We missed Tribe. Yeah! (I didn't
Sunday, but I'll get to that). 9:30 Club in DC. We walked in, and
Eggs was just starting "Sexual Tension". Fun stuff. Rob started the
wrong song one time. He had no playlist. The song has all 3
non-drummer guys marching in sync wherever they stand, and Rob was
marching all alone until Andrew clued him in that it was the wrong
song. A humorous incident. They all wore Verve T-shirts (the cheesy
band on Virgin's new Vernon Yard subsidiary, whose ugly logo filled
the shirt's back). Andrew said they'd never heard them before, but
like the shirts. They're quite lucky. The show included a lot of
stuff from the new album, Eggs Teen Beat 96, including the first
variation of the title track, "Eggs Teen Beat 96 Let's Go". Edsel
was on next. They came out with the Verve T-shirts over their normal
clothes and imitated "Sexual Tension"'s beginning, then said "Oops,
wrong band." They were good, but rendundant and a bit dull. I was a
bit tired, though, and probably didn't give them a totally fair
chance, but the slow songs are too fast, loud ones too soft, and the
reverse, to create enough variety. Good, just not at all amazing.
Sidenote: I just picked up the "Sexual Tension" 7", and like it.
It's on purple marble vinyl on Jade Tree (2310 Kennwynn
Road/Wilmington, DE 19810). The B-sides are "In State", a fairly
normal pop tune with a flute, and "Fever", a musically sort of
straight cover of the '50s (?) tune with varied lyrics.
Sunday, Odds, Tribe, and Suddenly, Tammy! at Max's on Broadway in
Baltimore. Max's is a very nice place to see a show, even if
yuppified and run by guys who veer far too far from indiedom. This
was a pretty good booking (though how did Tribe get on either of
these bills?). Anyhow, Suddenly, Tammy! are the indie band, so I'll
start with them. The bass/keyboard/drum trio bring jazz and folk
into slightly complex pop tunes. Not very indie sounding, but solid.
The CD, on spinART is supposed to sound quite close to their live
sound. I thought it was good, but was unimpressed. Next was Tribe,
whom I'm trying to forget, despite their very nice guitars. Finally
was the Odds. Not indie (on Zoo), but a damn fine pop band whose
'70s influences never show up on their albums. They sound a lot like
Sweet, and one song even veers into Bay City Rollers territory.
Great songwriting, pure pop. Lots of fun. If this is your taste,
see them, and check out the albums (Neapolitan is the better-produced,
though both are nice, and neither captures the live thing entirely).
Tuesday, Swoon, Planet X Coffeehouse in College Park MD. A nice
show. The first few acoustic covers were wacky, but nice. "Punk Rock
Girl" acoustic was a new experience. The set as a whole was slow,
but I liked it this way (I don't think they did as much). Perhaps
the heat slowed them down. Some dude accompanied them on saxophone
with basically no warning. He just asked and started. Odd. He
wasn't too much of a nuisance. I think they were a tad loud for the
venue's style, but it was a good show. They're a fairly new DC area
band, if you wonder.
Releases. I wanted to mention Engine Kid's Astronaut EP. I don't
think I had yet. If I had, sorry. It's got 4 songs, including "The
Needle", a reference both to the Neil Young song covered and to the
long section of record needle noise between the cover and the noise
coda. The EP is quite solid, with very complex songs, in melody
rhythm and texture, which are still memorable melodies A talented
Seattle trio with an LP due soon. On C/Z (1407 E. Madison #41/
Seattle, WA 98122)
Finally, Baltiore: The City That Breeds, a new comp on Reptilian
Records (the local underground store released it). It's mostly
noisy, generally rough, and solid, but unspectacular more often than
not. The highlights are clear, though Candy Machine contributes the
wonderful and short "Auto-Republic". Powerful, yet melodic. Far
more memorable than anything I heard on the album. The second are
local goofs Berserk, who contribute their typical mix of catchy but
loud pop with weirdness and humor. This truly unique bit is called
"Kamen Rider". The rest is far less memorable. At $10, though, I
found it worth owning. (403 S. Broadway/Baltimre, MD 21231)
Enough already.
-Steve
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Douglas Wolk <dbcloud@panix.com>
Subj: Electric "Soulmate"
Besides the _Freed Weed_ version, there's an electric recording of
"Soulmate" that appeared on _Sebadoh Vs. Helmet_ in the UK, and on
the Sassy/Sub Pop 7" in the U.S. Hope Kathleen posts her
comprehensive Sebadoh discography soon, because there's a lot of
stuff floating around out there-- I mean, I put out a Sebadoh record,
and I'm still missing a couple of things!
Douglas D. Wolk dbcloud@panix.com
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: The Stupidity Patrol <lim7@midway.uchicago.edu>
Subject: soulmate
About where to find "Soul Mate," Mark forgot to mention the
rerecording on the Sassy 7" here in the states, which is the same
version as the one on one of the 2 import ep (Seb v Helmet, and
Rockin the Forest or whatever). Not the same as the one on the Freed
Man, although I like the rerecording better- kinda sounds like the
job they did on Brand New Love
cheers and jeers,
rob
[ Well, Doug 'n' Rob, I've only seen the Sassy 45 once... much less
heard it... and I can't afford imports... but thanks for the update.
- Mark ]
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Bill Whitson <bill@booster.u.washington.edu>
Subj: Indie list submission
Well, for my first submission to this list I've got a show review and
an interview. The interview comes from my magazine, Die Cast, which
is currently making its debut as a "real mag" (it used to be a one
page 6-point newsletter). If anyone wants more info., mail me
<bill@booster.u.washington.edu>.
Last Friday; Hazel, 10:07, Undertow, and Sparkmarker at the Redmond
YMCA.
I like Sparkmarker _a lot_. In fact, they pretty much stole the show
for me. This is the second time I've seen them and both times
they've disappeared before I could talk to them. All I know is
they're from Canada, they have a heavy beat, and their lead singer
has as much stage presence as I've ever seen.
Undertow put on a good show. That's pretty much a constant. I'm not
a huge fan of their music or their strict straight-edge preaching but
I went to school with a few of 'em so I wish them the best. They've
improved after their west coast tour and it's probably about time
some Seattle label signs 'em.
I didn't like 10:07. They were the embodiment of teen suburban
alternapop. They had a guy on stage throwing tortillas into the
audience and it became a huge food fight. That was the highlight of
their set.
Hazel put on a good show but Fred (the guy who dances) is out with a
broken leg so they were a little sterile. The crowd wasn't real into
'em (this is Undertow's home turf so they were the real headliners).
They played some of their new songs and I could tell I'm going to
like the album. Pretty much more of the same but it seemed catchier.
Jody (the drummer) gave me a quick interview after the show...
(excuse the all-ages bent but it's from an all-ages 'zine)
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MORE, PLAYING ALL-AGES OR 21 AND OVER?
All-ages, I don't like the smoke. You know, I have to admit aging
alcoholics and high school kids both have their problems but it's the
smoke that really gets to me. I fall somewhere in between so I can't
say.
HOW DO YOU LIKE SUB-POP?
Our record's coming out next week and I haven't even seen it. I
mean, we tried to talk to them every day trying to get the art like
we wanted it more than anything else and I have no idea what it's
going to look like. That should give you some idea of the
communication problem between us and Sub-Pop. Like, I have no idea.
I have no idea - your guess is as good as mine what the fucking thing
is going to look like. And that's personally too commercialized.
And there's nothing I'm going to be able to do about it. I'd rather
just not see it. I'm going to hate it - at best and at worst I'm
just going to be like - fuck it.
HOW'S THE NEW ALBUM?
It's all-right. The songs are good. You know, we're better than we
were.
HOW HAVE YOU LIKED THE PLACES YOU'VE BEEN PLAYING? YOU MENTIONED
DURING THE SHOW THAT YOU DIDN'T LIKE PULLMAN TOO MUCH.
No. Pullman was great. It was just different, really small. We
were playing in someones basement. It was really fun and the people
were really nice. But we played in a vertical line facing the
audience. It was me and then Brady and then Pete. It was really
cramped. We've played like that a bunch of times though so it was no
big deal.
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO NEXT MUSICALLY?
I think that we'll be doing more joint songwriting. What happened is
that we just got started so fast. Brady and Pete have known each
other for a long time - they've been friends. And they knew Fred -
longer than they've known me. I met Brady's girlfriend and I was
still in school when the band started. We played a few shows but I
was still in school and then we started playing right after I
graduated last summer and so we've been playing like four shows a
week ever since then. We don't practice very much at all. And so we
like co-write songs - sort of - but you know we need to be more like
that. So, I think like the sone song where me and Pete share on
vocals - things will get more towards that as we spend more time
after tour - after we tour for like six months and then take a few
months off.
WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO TOUR?
Well, from like here through Idaho, Salt Lake, Wyoming, and Colorado,
and all the way to Chicago doing all ages shows like this. Then the
east coast is like more regular stupid bar shit - that's the way it
is. And then through the south.
WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY WITH THAT YOU HAVEN'T YET?
Well, I'd really like to play with Firehose. Everyone would. Other
than that, I don't know, it's hard to say.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF PEOPLE MOSHING AT YOUR SHOWS?
Well, the thing is - overall I have to say that I don't like it.
There are times when it can be fine and I've done it a million times
myself. But generally it's like if there are even two people who are
fucking assholes it pretty much ruins everything and chances are
there are going to be those two people. So, it's pretty much
hopeless. I think at smaller places like schools or whatever where
everyone knows each other its a much mellower environment and
everyone can really have fun. I also think dancing is much more
interesting - but you know you do the old fucking thing. No one wants
to try something new. It's not really very expressive to mosh. Maybe
it was like ten years ago but not anymore. That was pretty cool
tonight I thought - like watching everyone earlier. I couldn't
really see what was happening when we were playing, but the beginning
bands, everyone was really dancing and not moshing.
SO, WHAT'S YOUR GOAL AS A BAND? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?
My goal is like, my secret goal is to finish our Sub Pop contract and
then not sign with any other labels. Like put out stuff on our own
label - I've got my own label in Portland.
RIGHT. CANDY ASS.
Right, we're going to put out Thirty-Odd-Six's album in the winter
and hopefully we can start putting out albums. So we're not in
business and can just do out own thing. My personal goal is like
economic freedom.
SUB-POP'S GOOD FOR MARKETING.
That was just like, you know, it's hard when you just start out. You
know, I just graduated from school and it was fast. I would have
made really different decisions than I would make now... I want to
smash the phallic capitalist empire. That's my personal goal. I
mean, why fucking settle for anything else.
Wow, that was long. Maybe I should have cut the "like"s and "you
know"s. :*)
-Bill <bill@booster.u.washington.edu>
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: Ralph Brandi <ralph@mtunp.att.com>
Subj: INDIE-LIST: Two Live Kiwimusic Reviews
Hi. I suppose a short introduction would be in order before the
reviews below. My name is Ralph Brandi, and I've been a lurker on
the Indie List for six months or so, ever since Liz Clayton asked if
I wanted to be added to the mailing list. I've been on the net for a
little over six years, since I started working for a Large Corporate
Megalith (the net barely existed when I was in college.) I share
Liz's interest in kiwimusic, and was one of the people involved in
starting the New Zealand Music mailing list (subscription requests to
kiwimusic-request@Athena.MIT.EDU). I worked in college radio in a
previous life, and hate talking to people my age whose taste in music
ossified in 1985, which seems to be happening more and more often.
Spiedies and Real Philadelphia Cheesesteaks are the best food in the
world, IMHO, and it's a shame that you can't get them outside of the
Greater Binghamton Metropolitan Area and the state of Pennsylvania,
respectively.
That said....
[I only want to add apologies for subscribers to the kiwimusic list,
who've probably already seen these.]
The Noisyland Tour: The Bats and Straitjacket Fits, the Fast Lane,
Asbury Park, New Jersey, Friday, August 13th (!), 1993
The Noisyland tour finally made it to the Jersey shore (sans JPSE),
but you almost get the idea they would rather not have. No
reflection on the bands, but the audience for this show was not what
one would have hoped. The bands played well and with passion, but the
audience, what there was of it, didn't respond very well. I was very
surprised at how small the turnout was, especially given the review
of the show at Maxwell's printed acouple of weeks ago and that the
show was the cover story in the Asbury Park Press' weekend
entertainment section on Friday.
To give you an idea of how the show went, about halfway through their
set, the Fits played a song, composed just that day, called
"Straitjacket Fits Plays Asbury Park for 35 People and Chases 15 of
Them Away". That was halfway through the show, so there was plenty
of opportunity for the remaining 20 people to leave, and a little
over half of them did before the end. I think there were nine of us
there for the last song. At one point, Shayne asked everyone in the
audience to introduce themselves so we could get to know each other
better. They played astonishingly well for the few people who cared
(there were about three that I noticed who seemed to really enjoy the
show, counting myself.) Shayne also suggested at one point that we
just stop the show and all come back to their hotel, and they would
play us acoustic versions of everything. If I felt better (I've
still got this nasty sore throat hanging on), I might have suggested
that after the show.... :-) The music was a mix of stuff from the new
album and older songs, pretty evenly mixed, maybe a little more of an
emphasis on the new one.
The Bats went over somewhat better, even getting a two-song encore,
but even for them, the crowd never got over about 40-45 people. I
talked to Robert briefly after the show, but he seemed a little
preoccupied. I really liked their set. Paul is simply an incredible
bass player, and Malcolm is rock steady as a drummer. The sound mix
was kind of poor, but what the hell. They played a mix of older
stuff and stuff from the new album, although when someone from the
audience requested "Green," Robert replied that they couldn't as they
hadn't played it in a few weeks. Nothing from the first three EPs,
either.
I talked to Shayne for a while after the Fits' set. He's a really
nice guy. Needless to say, he was kind of disappointed at the
response of the show. From what he told me, the only other show that
had such a bad response was Boston, which is kind of strange, since
Boston has always been a relative hotbed of Kiwifans. He also told
me that FN is thinking of rereleasing the old Bored Games EP. I told
him I thought it was a good idea, that I liked what I'd heard of the
band.
Anyway, I thought you might be interested in hearing what the show
was like. Depressing. The music was great, but almost nobody heard
it, and most of the few that did didn't get it. Philistines. I
doubt I'll ever get a chance to see them on the shore again.... :-(
The Not-so-noisy-land Tour: Peter Jefferies and Alastair Galbraith,
Maxwell's, Hoboken, New Jersey, Friday, August 20, 1993
If this is August, it must be New Zealand month in the U.S. For the
second Friday in a row, I got to see some of my favorite musicians
from Aotearoa perform just a few short miles from my home (although
Hoboken isn't as close as Asbury Park....) In contrast to the well-
publicized Straitjacket Fits/Bats show that flopped so spectacularly
in Asbury Park last weekend, promotion for this show was pretty low
key, with mostly kiwiphiles being the only people who knew about it.
So the audience was much more in tune with the musicians, and this
made a significant difference in the show.
Alastair Galbraith played first. I don't wear a watch, so I don't
know how long he played for, but it seemed to last about forever, and
wasn't quite long enough. Galbraith paced the stage with his
Telecaster playing his quirky, herky-jerky melodies to an audience
that didn't quite know the songs or where they ended, but seemed to
like them plenty fine just the same. Watching him was kind of like
watching a teenager pacing around his bedroom as he figures out what
sort of weird sounds he can coax from this hunk of wood in his hands.
The constant need to retune the guitar to alternate tunings was a
dead-giveaway to the origins of the songs. I suppose any eccentric
singing songs solo with only the accompaniment of his guitar is going
to summon the specter of Syd, but that doesn't quite do justice to
the show. The intensity of his playing, the constant dynamic shifts
in volume, the sometimes goofy looks on his face, his appearance
hinting at that of an escapee from a 19th century lunatic asylum, and
his voice-with-a-hint-of-danger made the set a compelling experience.
I'm not sure I'd want to share a seat on a cross-country trip with
Mr. Galbraith, but sharing an hour+ and some songs was mighty fine.
Peter Jefferies' set was a revelation: this man can sing, and in a
way that his records and tapes really only hint at. He really knows
what he's doing with his voice. He sat behind a Roland digital piano
and made beautiful music. The pictures on his records seem to
present someone with a dour countenance, very serious and ponderous,
but the Peter Jefferies who jumped up on the stage last night was
anything but. He seemed like a thoroughly pleasant man, and
genuinely tickled and amazed by the reception he was receiving from
the audience, who seemed to know his material better than they had
known Alastair Galbraith's. His stage patter was more of a
conversation with the audience than anything. I'm not sure how to
really get this across, but it was like having a friend over to play
for a while, more so than any show I've seen outside a friend's
living room. I think the definitive word here for PJ's attitude is
"delight." He seemed delighted that people really enjoyed his music
here.
The musician who came to mind when he played the piano was Roger
Miller and his Maximum Electric Piano, although Peter wasn't as
aggressive as Roger. Call it Moderate Electric Piano. And I can't
say enough about that voice. Clear, strong, compelling, and
spellbinding. The records just don't do the man's voice justice.
Live performance is where he shines. He played most of my favorites,
like "On An Unknown Beach" and "Guided Tour of a Well-Known Street",
many fairly radically re-interpreted from the records, a necessity
due to the difference in instrumentation.
After his set, he announced that after a short break, he and Alastair
were going to play about a half-hour together after a short break. I
guess Alastair got a little impatient waiting for Peter to finish his
conversation out in the dining area with Hamish Kilgour and Shayne
Carter, because he got on stage and was treating the audience to what
he called "little ads", some of his shorter songs, "to fill the time
until Peter comes up." When Peter did come up, he mentioned that it
was a shame that there weren't any drums on stage, otherwise Shayne
could come up and they could jam. Missed opportunities.... Peter
and Alastair traded off on their songs, and at one point, Peter
convinced Alastair to play a ragged version of "Iron Tender," I think
it was, which apparently Alastair hadn't played live in about four
years. Peter just sat down at the edge of the stage and watched.
The show ended with Alastair switching to violin for a few songs with
Peter back on the piano, including an amazing version of "The Other
Side of Reason" (again, this is from memory, so I think that's what
was played), which, as Peter put it, was "kind of tough since the
record didn't include either of these instruments, so you know we're
kind of ad-libbing this." I don't know that I'll ever forget the
sight of Alastair stalking the stage and sawing away like a madman
and Peter banging on the piano.
At two in the morning, I stumbled out of the club after probably
two-and-a-half amazing hours of music, clutching my newly-acquired
copies of Alastair's record and CD, exhausted, sated, and utterly
convinced of the genius of the two men on the stage. I would say it
was probably the best concert I'd seen in years, maybe ever.
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: L Jason colton <ljason@wam.umd.edu>
Subj: Elepant's Piss with Milk and Sugar
Howdy. A recent subscriber and new poster to Da List, this in fact is
I. Raised on Hall and Oates and Duran Duran, this magical world of
Thousands of Obscure Bands on Non-Big Labels is a wondrous and
confusing one for the likes of myself. But dammit, I can handle it.
I'm a growing boy. Just give me my earplugs, and I'm a happy boy,
sweating and jumping maniacally about to groovy D.C. pop. This week
included some desperate repetition, but it's all for the best...
--
Friday 8/13, 9:30 Club, D.C. EDSEL - EGGS
Wednesday 8/18, 9:30 Club, D.C. SHUDDER TO THINK
Friday 8/20, The Rev, Baltimore EDSEL - EGGS - SHUDDER TO THINK
Ah yes, dear friends, redundancy in it's most luxurious form.
First, I gotta say, until last week, I had never seen nor heard Eggs
before in my long and sheltered life. I had spent some time with
"Rob Eggs" before; he produced my band, Swoon, about a month ago at
the American U. studio. I knew he was a cool guy; I knew he had a
sense of humor. What I didn't know was how bloody odd this sense
of humor was. As we arrived, we heard some odd howling going on,
coming from the stage area. We ran inside, and there was mr.
christiansen, goofy, skinny guy that he is, singing the opening
eunuch-like sick moaning howls of "Sexual Tension" (which you can
find on their purple marble Jade Tree single from earlier this year).
They were all wearing t-shirts from the band Verve. Identical, brand
new, stark-white shirts, and they were hooting "ahhhhhhhhh", in
intentionally poor harmony, like a buncha sick donkeys.
>From that moment began my first true Eggs experience. I doubt I'll
be quite the same again. There was this smile glued to my face the
whole time. I had seen funny, goofy bands before; but none who
featured a trombone half the time, and who didn't really appear as if
they knew what they were supposed to be doing on stage. It was
really beautiful. The whole time, I was going through this internal
battle: one large part of me wanted to really enjoy it and have tons
of fun, but the other half couldn't help wrestling with the
professional jealousy of HOW CAN THEY GET AWAY WITH THIS?? Whenever
my band pauses between songs and offers some snappy banter during the
silence, it's always met with, well, more silence. With Eggs it's
just as vital as the songs. This difference from one "type" of band
to another was seriously evident when Edsel appeared. They were
great, but...well, they just didn't have the life and the fun that
Eggs had. They were just a good pop band. Good, for a while. About
halfway into the set, the songs get a bit slower, and you feel like
you're hearing the same things all over again. The high point was
easily their entrance, which took me by surprise. I wasn't paying
attention, and I began to hear the opening geese-mating-call opening
of "Sexual Tension" again. AGGGGH! What was it? Was Eggs playing an
encore? Did they forget that they had already played that night?
Maybe they had a collective memory lapse. But sure enuff, I look up,
and there they are: all four of them, dressed in the same Verve
t-shirts; it was Edsel, with Eggs' borrowed shirts, mimicking the
"Sexual Tension" entrance. My gosh, truly amoment for the rock 'n'
roll archives. Call Rolling Stone, man.
Geeeezus, I haven't even gotten to Shudder. Anyhoo. Edsel was good,
but tiresome. Rob didn't think that he and Eggs had put on a good
show at all. Apparently his mood wasn't the best. I thought they
were probably as perfect as they can get, for a bunch of guys who
seem to occasionaly forget which song they're supposed to be in the
middle of. ("No Rob, not that one. We play that later.")
A few nights later, at their premier hometown venue: Shudder to
Think, the World's Next Big Friggin' Band. They've lost and replaced
their original guitarist and drummer, and frankly, I never thought
they'd really sound as good again. But in the past year, Shudder has
managed to tighten themselves up to an incredible extent. They are
fierce. Nathan, the (relatively) new guitarist, is still lacking
here and there, but he's no longer hiding behind a lack of talent or
skill that he used to. Now he's perfectly comfortable getting in
your face. Perhaps too much. He's very showy, very theatrical.
It's obtrusive. Craig Wedren, Shudder's falsetto-y lead singer, is
theatrical and angst-ridden enough for two or three bands. We don't
need Nathan the rock-star flaunting along also. Either way, there he
was. A sampling of semi-old and new stuff, including some new songs,
"My Ex-French T-Shirt" and "Kissy Penny", that they recently
recorded. Shudder is continuing further down that path of
avant-cute-noise-cheese, and my impression was "this stuff is just
too WEIRD." But of course, I said that the last two times they
premiered new stuff, and it always grows on ya eventually. They also
played their tune from the _Sweet Relief_ Victoria Williams tribute
(how did they get on that, anyway?) Wild, crazy, frenzied,
rambunctious. They don't know if their new material will be released
on Dischord or not. Supposedly, there's discussion going on with
lots of different folks.... If you've never heard them, go far out
of your way to do so.
Anyway, these bands were all at their best in their natural habitat,
the annoyingly smelly and notoriously un-ventilated and ill-designed
9:30 Club, which is unfortunately D.C.'s biggest and best-known. May
it soon be outseated by someplace with real air conditioning.
fare thee well;
ljason. ljason@wam.umd.edu
O-|--< ljason@eng.umd.edu
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: BOB <dayt@ucs.orst.edu>
Subj: Hoka Hoka Hey it's review time...
Surfacing for air, the grad student checks his watch and decides to
fire off a couple reviews. Stuff that has impressed me lately:
Royal Trux _Cats and Dogs_ LP (Drag City)
Yahoo, minimalist boozed out bar rock for whie trash junket-heads
like me. But seriously folks, within this vinyl resides some serious
squallin and slidin from ex-Pussy Galoraholics Neil Hagerty and
Jennifer Herrema. Yup for your well placed cash you get Jaggeresque
vocalisms and song structures straight outta the Stones songbook.
Think of it as a _Beggar's Banquet_ for the Slacker Generation X
types (if you believe in that sort of thing). Slide geetar,
mumble-stumbled vocals, and lyrics that speak volumes about the awful
world we live in. Side 1 closes out with a pretty number called "Turn
of the Century" complete with piano and phased out late night guitar
- somewhat reminiscent of Sonic Youth's Providence w/o the feedback.
The record finishes with a song about driving --- is that Daniel
Johnston in hell. Get this record and have a hoedown.
Dick Dale _Tribal Thunder_ live (Hightone Records)
Somewhat leery of the title: "King of the Surf Guitar" I ambled
warily down to Eugene (Oregon for the Dead-impaired) to a
fifties-revival bar of all places to catch Mr. Dale's act. About all
I knew about Dick Dale at this point was he was big in the sixties
and had a new album out that was being ballyhooed by all the college
stations - thousands of college kids can't be wrong can they? So I
gets up close to the stage after the opening act vacates and check
out Mr. Dale's rig-- a gold '54 Fender Stratocaster-- I'm impressed
already. Dale took the stage with the revamped Deltones (bass and
drums) and by god if he wasn't left handed (more points in his
favor). He opens with Nitro (from the new album) and proceeds to
burn it up. I have never seen anyone play a guitar so hard and sound
so damn good -- he was picking so hard that he literally melted his
picks. He did several numbers in minor keys to get that Middle
Eastern flair ---just exquisite (can see where the Sun City Girls get
some of their tricks). So he has me in his clutches by now and I am
in bliss ---stacatto lead lines with a rumbling bass line underneath
all surfing in asea of reverb. Ok, so this guy is a guitar god and
I'm not. After his set, Mr. Dale had an autograph signing in lieu of
an encore so as to get personal and meet the fans. People brought
guitars, clothing, body parts, and even children to be blessed with
his touch-- it was like the Pope had come to town or something.
Anyways, I'm a believer and I got the cd to prove it--- also check
out his cd on Rhino for a little history. Surf on.
Stuff that I been listening at ( besides the above) , as if it made
any difference to you:
Sun City Girls _Live From Planet Boomerang_ dbl-LP (Majora)
The Fall _Slates, Slags, etc../A Part of America Therein_ cd (Dojo)
Dead C _Trapdoor Fucking Exit_ cd (Siltbreeze)
_Making Losers Happy comp._ LP (Drag City)
_Xpressway Vision_ video (Drag City)
The Sonics, Wailers, Gate (aka Michael Morley-Dead C) etc....
That's all for now jerky boys and girls,
t-bob
<----------------------------------------------------->
From: The Stupidity Patrol <lim7@midway.uchicago.edu>
Subj: OK, who left the lights on?
(or another indie submission from the crab capital of the world)
Hey there, all! It's been a pretty slow week here in lovely
Gaithersburg, Maryland, but we manage....
I'm not sure how much these release have been covered, but here are
some brief reviews of early summer acquisitions:
Tiger Trap- debut LP on K records: Rather disappointing- they can't
seem to find any more good pop hooks after their first two singles.
Drummer Heather does kick some serious ass in places, and their
rerecording of "Words and Smiles" is good, too. A punk Heavenly.
Buy cheap.
Pitchblende- Kill Atom Smasher, Truman's Water Spasm Smash XOXOXO and
Ass (or whatever): I'm putting these two together because generally
what holds true for one holds for the other. I would rate the
Pitcheblende slightly higher, just because it actually has one song
that I would actually want to hear over and over again ("Flax", if
you must know), plus they have a much better sense of dynamics than
most other of these new noisy bands. Interesting guitar
experimentalism, unfortunately it still kind of falls apart in my
book due to a studied absence of any concept of melody for the most
part. Truman's Water has an inadequate grasp of dynamics (in my
opinion) to sustain their sort of guitar ramblings. To their credit,
they pull off some good tricks from time to time, but is it worth
going through 60+ minutes of inconsistency to find it? Pitchblende's
disc doesn't live up to their great live show, unfortunately. If you
feel bold, pick it up by all means.
Spacemen 3- Dreamweapon: Ah, yes, the infamous two song LP that is
seldom seen and even less heard. I do't deny any fetish for the
drone team of Boom and Spaceman, and this record does not disappoint
on any expectation, even if only their material is so erratic as to
defy expectation. "Dreamweapon" sustains interest relatively well, at
least better than any other 30 minute song (sorry, "Dazed and
Confused" off the live Zep LP bites) I've heard. Jason throws
various takes off of simple guitar riffs over a buzzing drone. The
flip, "Ecstasy in Slow Motion" is less cohesive and more of a jam.
It's ok, but the gimmick of tracking from the label out is more
interesting.
No appropriate shows for y'all this week- (the indignity of having
Mercury Rev and Velocity Girl open for Porno for Pyros added insult
to the high ticket price and long drive to that show) however coming
up this Saturday is an Unrest acoustic in-store and of course the
Peter Jefferies + Alastair Galbraith show (with very special guest
Kenny G), which if anyone out there has real info about the Beta Punk
Warehouse, I'd love to know. (the fliers don't even list a time) ALso
coming up is a 3 day indie fest in Northern VIrginia over Labor Day
weekend that showcases approximately 20 indie bands from Fudge to
Tsunami to Coral to whomever your favorite indie band is.
Unfortunately, my impatience for lengthy concert spectaculars will
sadly prevent me from going. For more info, harrass the nice people
at Vinyl Ink, cos I certainly don't know.
[ the indie-pop festival thing Rob refers to is actually happening
several miles south of No-Va, in my wonderful antebellum town of
Richmond. The proper person to harass would be Dave Moore at
Brilliant Records; it's his balliwick. - Mark ]
Until then,
The Stupidity Patrol o o "...although the ratio of news to
lim7@midway.uchicago.edu > drivel in many newsgroups compares
12XU! o unfavorably with the back of a
(Temporarily residing in DC) cereal box..." -Cecil Adams