Indie-List V2 N4

INDIE-LIST VOLUME 2 NUMBER 4

(NOTE: My Macintosh is in the shop, so I can't get at the files which
I ordinarily use to print the headers, etc. for Indie-List. Also, my
article for this week is on the Mac hard drive, which naturally I
can't access without the Mac, so this is a rare issue indeed: one with
no article from me. Aw, c'mon, you'll live. :-) - Mark )

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From: Sean Keric Murphy <skmurphy@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>

Back to the old-school and happy about it... :) A few shows, a few
records and some general confusion as usual.

Thursday June 17 - at Jon Solomon's house (another one of our special
not- too-secret parties) - Sleepyhead, Lorelei, Purple Ivy Shadows,
Grit, Over Easy, and special bonus guests Joey Barnaby and Apple-O.

The first of what could be two or three shows at Jon's house this
summer, and it was a good one cosidering the hurried nature (the
original line-up got scratched on Monday night and so all of Tuesday
was spent finding bands who could make the drive to Princeton on
really short notice...).

Over Easy is the Jiffy Boy (sponsors of the Indie 500) house band, and
they were entertaining if not the tightest of bands.  Grit hails from
New Brunswick, NJ and is a two piece - Tony on guitar and Mark on
drums and vocals.  Their best stuff had a definite Codeine feel to it,
but all was quite good, especially the song from "DeGrassi Junior
High" (not the theme song, but another song from the show).  Purple
Ivy Shadows was a two-piece for the night - just Chris and Erik
playing guitar and singing.  Cool covers of "Speeding Motorcycle" and
"Hey Lucille" and some extended guitar noodling made for an
interesting set - they now have a new drummer and are planning to move
south (destination TBA) soon.  Joey Barnaby wanted to try out his new
guitar, so we let him play a few songas with Wally from the Lilys as
his drummer - he stuck to Barnabys stuff for the most part, with a
Lilys cover at the end.  On to Sleepyhead, who rocked out and sported
more sweet outfits - Mike wore a dress that Jon's mom had worn in 1969
(!) and Chris took his turn with the odd leather thing that Mike wore
in Providence a couple weeks ago.  Another solid set from Sleepyhead -
their cover of Minor Threat's "Salad Days" is excellent.  Apple-O is a
member of Over Easy and has done some solo home recording, and he
played a few songs to kill time until Lorelei arrived and set up.  (I
missed his stuff while driving people back into town.)  Lorelei had
just started when I got back, and they absolutely rocked.  The
Slumberland single is from an old line-up, so the only point of
reference is the song "Mimesis" from the "One Last Kiss" compilation.
These guys smoked - it's MBV-ish, but in a non-derivative way.  Very
enjoyable.

Saturday, 6/19 - Maxwell's - The Coctails, Lois, and Tiger Trap

2/3rds of what was the original line-up at Jon's house (thanks to
Calvin Johnson for fucking up big time) and a great band from Chicago
who blew my socks off.  Tiger Trap had the Sassy kids out in full
force - I felt old at this show, and I'm only 21.  The set was nice,
but I would have preferred a better audience and a better sound-mix.
I'll probably see them again soon.  Neat moment - Angie (guitar
player) stands up on Heather's bass drum while playing.  Heather then
stands up and starts pounding on all the drums, and then gets her
drumstick caught in her high-hat (the top cymbal was sorta broken),
and has to fight to pull the drumstick free.  Very nice, momentarily
diffusing the Sassy-cuteness thing.  Lois is a goddess - nothing more
has to be said.  Her set (solo acoustic) was beautiful.  And then
there were the Coctails.  Half the set was up-beat jazz which really
got people moving, the other half was 60's garage rock in the
tradition of the Wailers (not Bob Marley, but the Tacoma, WA Wailers)
and the Lyres.  I loved it all, and so did the crowd - people were
dancing and swinging and having a great time all around.  A solid
night all around, although I'd like to see Tiger Trap in a more
intimate setting (or just a 21+ club :).

Records:

Dead C - Trapdoor Fucking Exit (Siltbreeze - also available from Ajax)

Recordings from 1989 and 1990 that yielded the Siltbreeze "Helen Said
This" 12" and demos for the Forced Exposure and Siltbreeze singles.
Buttkicking stuff from New Zealand's masters of noise.  I'm eagerly
anticipating their visit to the US next year, and this is a fine
warm-up.

Well, my computer is blinking, so I better run...maybe more later...

Sean

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From: enriquk@xanth.CS.ORST.EDU (everyday oozer)


Greetings from the Pacific Northwest (Corvallis to be more precise)!
First off...a quick word about my silly idea to compile a top 10 radio
playlist for the Indie List. Basically, I got no responses...so I gave
up on that idea.  pretty short lived...oh well.

now on to a few reviews of shows and music...

5/21/93 Pain Teens, Brutal Truth, and Boredoms at the Satyricon in
Portland

Just a quick review on this one...it seems so long ago.  Boredoms
opened this show...and they were incredible.  They're a noise band
from Japan.  I really wish they were headlining...but oh well.  They
had a lot to set up (2 complete drum sets plus everything else)...so I
guess opening was the smart choice.  Besides the show started pretty
late, so there was a good size crowd by the time they started.
Anyway...like I said...they were great!  Incredible amount of energy.
And they were very tight...highly reccommended that you see them if
given the chance.  Brutal Truth played 2nd...I don't really like that
kind of music (thrash)...so I'm not going to say anything about them.
Pain Teens were last...they were good.  Slow-industrial...too mellow
for my taste...but it wasn't bad.  Boredoms definitely stole that
show.

5/28/93 Hazel, Jigsaw Seen, Petemiser and the 5 Fingers of Funk in
Corvallis

This was an AIDS/KBVR benefit...outdoors in a nice park.  Too bad the
weather didn't behave...it rained.  So not too many people showed up.
I missed the 1st band (I can't even remember their name...oh well).
Petemiser & the 5 Fingers of Funk are a rap band from Portland.  Very
good...kind of rap/reggae with horns and drums and guitars...good
stuff.  Jigsaw Seen are from LA...they were pretty basic
alternative...not that impressive.  After they played we had a little
trouble with Officer Friendly (Corvallis PD) trying to shut us down
before Hazel played (it was about 9pm at that point and we had a noise
permit 'til 10p)...after about 15 minutes of discussion we were
allowed to carry on ("But if I have to come back, I'm writing out
citations") So Hazel got to play for only about 40 minutes.  They were
great...And confirmed in my mind that they are the best thing to come
out of Portland lately.  If you haven't heard their single
(Jilted/Truly) you should really check it out.  They're kind of
garage-pop...if you know what I mean.  Anyway...they are
amazing...even when their dancer (Fred) is getting attacked by a dog
on stage.  (a not-so-friendly dog decided to takeover the stage).
More fun in the big city of Corvallis.

6/5/93 Poison Idea, Les Thugs, Napalm Beach, and Digby at La Luna in
Portland

This was supposedly Poison Idea's last show ever.  Digby opened pretty
early.  They're from Portland...basic grunge/alternative not bad...but
not quite right for this show.  Napalm Beach were good...I'm not a
huge fan of theirs...but a lot of people in the audience seemed to
like 'em (slamming starts now).  Les Thugs played next...they're a
pop/punk band from France.  I liked them a lot.  They played for about
an hour.  Very danceable (slam-dance that is) fun stuff.  Poison Idea
of course came last...they were really good.  They played for a little
over an hour.  Did part of a cover of "Bela Lugosi's Dead" and played
all of "Blitzkrieg Bop"...as well as old and new PI songs.  The
testosterone levels of some of the crowd was a bit too high (several
bloody noses).  But the music was very high energy...and it was their
farewell show...  All in all it was an incredible evening of music!  I
guess Les Thugs is touring the west coast...so see 'em if you can.

Face to Face, "Don't Turn Away" (Dr Strange Records, PO Box 7000-117,
Alta Loma, CA, 91701) This record is excellent...I actually have the
cd at home...but the vinyl version is blue.  Face to Face is a
hardcore band along the lines of Pegboy...  but better.  Kind of
melodic hardcore.  Powerful stuff.  I'm not quite sure where they are
from (California?).  Highly reccmmended.

Guttermouth, "Full Length LP" (Dr Strange Records) Fast and fun
hardcore music.  Guttermouth are from Huntington Beach, CA.  This
album is a lot of fun...with songs like "Bruce Lee vs. the Kiss Army"
how could you go wrong?

Red Red Meat, self titled (Perishable Records, PO Box 57-8804,
Chicago, IL 60657-8804) Red Red Meat are one of the latest conquests
of Sub Pop records (they'll be releasing an album on Sub Pop later
this year ).  This is their 1st release.  They are kind of an
experimental/grunge band from Chicago.  Most of the songs are fairly
mellow...but they're very good.  One song has a sample from Evel
Knieval...pretty funny.  It's an interesting collection of songs.

well that' all for now...lots to look forwards to. I'm going to San
Francisco next weekend...lots of possible shows to attend (Bratmobile,
Rancid, Pansy Division...decisions decisions) So look forward to more
reviews...plus I was given about 12 Sub Pop cds and 5 7"s (including
new cds from The Dwarves, Six Finger Satellite and Love Battery) lots
of new music to listen to...funfunfun

bye,

Kelly

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From: Steve Silverstein <ST201268@BROWNVM.brown.edu>

This information may seem sort of scattershot, probably in part
because I've been in two cities, Providence and Baltimore, in the last
couple of months, and haven't written before, plus have been a bit
sluggish in keeping up with everything since I got home.  Anyhow, to
begin, Providence, where I was.

small factory is probably one of the city's best-known bands.  They
went in a 24 track studio with a guy who's done New Kids on the Block
and people and were optimistic and wanted to record live to the board,
as they'd done at their successful BBC sessions.  The guy proved quite
unhelpful, though, and insisted in doing everything as if this were a
huge alternative band with a huge sound.  "Hopefully" stands out as a
strong, yet humorous track.  I like it, despite the absurd production.
The band didn't like the snare the engineer insisted Phoebe use, so on
the final mix, he replaced it with a sampled snare!  Most of these
mixes have been trashed, though one of the new songs may appear on I
Do not Love You, the new album due soon on spinART.  The title of the
album comes from an old postcard, which had an assortment of fruit
pictures with silly captions.  The cover shot was a lemon.  They went
in the studio in Boston at the White Room with Eric Masunaga of the
Dambuilders to record the 16 track basis for most of the album (they
may bring in other things from other sources too).  All of this has
been decided since I last talked to Dave, so I'm not sure of
completely current details.  The overdubs and vocals were done on a
rented 16 track in Dave's basement (where they do a lot of stuff
8-track).  They're currently touring the West, and have a bunch of
stuff due soon.  This includes a 7" on Pop Narcotic, recorded and
mixed by Eric Masunaga, with "So What About Love" and "We Will".
Another 7" on Slumberland in the States and BiJoop in England (who
have been slow with the silk-screened covers, delaying release badly),
will have "Scared of Love" and another song I've forgotten.  They will
have "Theme from small factory" on a Working Holiday 7" (August with
Tsunami), a song on an AIDS benefit tape being released in
Pennsylvania ("Three Months Later"), and a song on Pop Narcotic's
double 10-inch comp ("Yeah").  "Yeah" and "Three Months" were both
recorded on Dave's 8-track recorder (as was incidentally, the new
Purple Ivy Shadows single, which will hopefully be out soon).  Alex,
the bassist, is in a side project called Halo Bit, who will have a CD
on spinART sometime.

Enough small factory news.  More on Providence next time I bother to
write.  I'll hop home for a bit of news.  First, I finally got the
first Edsel 7", released way back in '89, but I just discovered it
from knowing their newer stuff.  It's got a great brown
cordoruy-textured cover.  The A-side, "My Manacles" is very powerful,
though a tad redundant.  The B-side is acoustic and good, though
weaker than "My Manacles".  It is called "Wooden Floors".  The Onespot
Fringehead 7" is about what you'd expect from some ex-Holy Rollers.
It's on Gadfly Records.  Merkin and I think Dischord do distribution.
The stronger of the two tracks is clearly the B-side, "Fore Finger",
with the A-side, "Wish", providing the cool cover concept, of kid
blowing petals from dandelion.  And though I'm missing at least this
show :(, the Positive Force sponsored Women's Festival is this
weekend.  It started tonight with a show from Lois, Slant 6, and Tiger
Trap.  It's at scattered DC sites.  Hopefully I'll catch at least some
to report on.

Lots more will follow, but I thought I'd mentioned the
self-distributed 25 minute small factory live video, which I like and
had forgotten to mention.  It was recorded at three sites, a show at
the Middle East in Boston, Dave and Ty Jesso's fest in Providence back
in March '92 (specifically at the Church House Inn), and without an
audience at performances at AS220 specially for the video.  It has
interviews and lots of other fun stuff.  I got it for $5.

-Steve

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From: Scott Evans <gse9k@virginia.edu>

My band, Make It Stop, was reviewed by Mark a while back.  Since then
we've graduated and moved up to the DC area.  Actually, we're living
in Bethesda but looking to play around DC.  Anyway, we've lost our
singer due to various problems and are looking for a new one.
 
We're looking for a serious male or female vocalist with band (and
hopefully recording) experience.  Our music is sort of a combination
of old progressive rock (yes, king crimson, etc) and heavy alternative
stuff (primus, jane's, you know).  Lots of time changes and dynamics
and stuff like that.  Also, we're looking to practice about 3-4 nights
a week along with playing out.
 
If this sounds good to you and you're somewhere near Bethesda (we've
got a house so we'll be practicing there) email me at
gse9k@virginia.edu.  Thanks...
 
scott

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mail your submissions to Joshua: <houk@cybernet.cse.fau.edu>
better looking issue next week, I promise.


[Submitted by: Mark Cornick  (cornick@access.digex.net)
               Wed, 23 Jun 1993 06:11:13 -0400 (EDT)]