Indie-List_V3_N15
I want to throw up at your feet,
But you're such a clicheed punk,
You'd probably think it was real neat.
############################
Indie List Digest
March 2nd, 1994
Volume 3, Number 15
############################
Smears/Veruca Salt/Scrawl in Indiana
Nadine (an on-line zine)
review (live and album) of sugarsmack and tour dates!!!
free show in houston
handfuls of reviews
Taking Eric's Trip
--Shellac of North America--Live review
cool noise from new zealand
YLT single, Helium/Dambuilders live review
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
ANYWAY RECORDS "SOUND OF POVERTY" RELEASE PARTY TWO NIGHT STAND!!!
Radio KOOP In Austin Needs Music
Sonic Bubblegum returns
Attention Band Members: Seeking Weird Tour Tales
===============
Quick notes from the editor:
1. as always, the list mails when we all get our collective butts in gear
and make it happen. don't stress if you're not getting it like clockwork.
2. if you receive this list but don't want to anymore, please send your
request to Liz at <lclayton@uhuru.uchicago.edu>. (I had done some
quick-fixes to bloofga, but Liz did full list maintenance over the
weekend and so some messages may not have made it from me to her in
time...)
3. As to the Orchids review from a few weeks back (which someone asks
about in this issue): I've finally listened to the new CD a few times,
and I'm really confused... part of me thinks it's washed out
Manchester-beat crapola, the other side sees sparks and glimmers cutting
through the omnipresent Ian producer-and-keyboard-guy-but-not-a-real
full-time-member-of-the-band noodlings. The highlight so far is "A
Living Ken And Barbie" but I think I'd rather listen to Epicurean
again. **3/4, but I'm still not sure... (and the last time I was this
confused about a record, it was _Perfect Teeth_...)
4. SHOW ALERT - for those in the Philadelphia-NYC belt (or will just be
visiting), Sebadoh will be playing at the world-famous Solomon homestead
on Monday, March 21, along with Totfinder and possibly Vita Pup or
Pitchblende. Mail me directly for more info. (And if you think that's
good, just wait 'til the May 12th show... hee hee hee... "company, you
can't buy company...it's a state of mind")
Hell on earth continues, Aligheri-style.
Sean
skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu
===============
From: Anne Zender <AZENDER@ucs.indiana.edu>
Smears/Veruca Salt/Scrawl in Indiana
Greetings from Bloomington, Indiana!
For as long as I've lived here, Bloomington has been a little bit off the
beaten track, band-wise, meaning that lots of tours will opt to head for
Chicago, Columbus, or Cincinnati without detouring through here. At the
same time, few of Btown's many bands turned up in any of the CD or 7"
reviews (obligatory plug: Arson Garden, Speed Luxury, El Nino, The Smears,
Antenna... Can I go now?) I've read here, so I was excited a while back
(Vol 3 No.7) to see someone asking about The Smears, who opened for Scrawl
and Veruca Salt on Feb. 19 at Second Story.
The Smears have played around here for about a year and have given the
local media an excuse to pick up on the 'riot grrl' tip. Although The
Smears themselves don't refer to themselves as 'riot grrls' probably fans
of Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Babes in Toyland would like 'em. (You can
find a Smears interview in a fairly recent Flipside--can't remember which
one.)
Their shows have improved mightily with a new drummer, although guitarist
Kathleen was singing with what sounded like a painfully raspy throat.
Musically, they're into short, quirky-yet-punky songs with singsong
choruses and often abrasive vocals. Unfortunately, they never announce
their song titles ("Nutbag" "Crystal Meth" "Stoopid Chicks with High
Voices"). There's a Smears single (on Hell Yeah!) and a CD due out this
spring, I believe, on a Cargo offshoot.
Veruca Salt is a band from Chicago who really sound like the early
Breeders. (This is not necessarily a bad thing.) I had trouble adapting to
the reedy sound of Louise and Nina's voices, and I wished for a little
more melody in the guitar-rock-laced-with-feedback sound, but there was a
lot of energy to this performance, and the audience really liked it.
They're on Chicago's Minty Fresh label. Look for them in a shaker near
you.
Lots has been said about Scrawl here already, and I don't want to say much
more, except I'm glad I gave them another chance (I saw them about 5 years
ago and was underwhelmed.) Lots of the songs seemed to be about the same
tempo, producing a swaying, hypnotic effect on the crowd. And yet "Go Girl
Go" and "Green Beer" (the only two song names I know) were as intense as
anything I've seen. A friend of mine stared worshipfully at them the whole
time. Once he leaned over to me and said, "They're just...SWELL!"
One caveat: Between songs, an awful lot of dickering with the sound man
went on (although it sounded fine to me). Eventually Marcy got so
frustrated with the monitors that she went into a tirade about how it was
a shame that "there's been three bands with women singers tonight, and
it's a shame no one can hear the words" or something to that effect. Would
I be a traitor to my sex if I pointed out that in Bloomington clubs, we
often can't understand what men are singing, either?
That's all (did I mention I think the Indie-List is swell? I do, oh yes).
anne zender (azender@indiana.edu)
===============
From: snow@minerva.cis.yale.edu
Nadine (an on-line zine)
I just wanted to tell everyone that Nadine, which is a sort of fanzine
that I write for, is now available on-line. I doubt any of you have ever
heard of it, but you might find it interesting. We do reviews, interviews
(including Heavenly back in October), cartoons, etc. Nadine is available
online via the World Wide Web (you can view it with NCSA Mosaic among
other programs) at URL
http://www.cis.yale.edu
(you'll see a menu option for Nadine).
I hope you enjoy it.
Matt Snow <snow@pop.cis.yale.edu>
==============================================================================
3+2+1 is 6
I think I'm gonna be sick
===============
From: hit me like you did the first time <beastie@gibbs.oit.unc.edu>
review (live and album) of sugarsmack and tour dates!!!
sugarsmack is a band that have been around for about 3 years hailing from
charlotte, n.c. two of the members are from the defunct band fetchin'
bones (vocalist hope nichols and drummer aaron pitkin). but sugarsmack is
a completely different type of band from fetchin' bones. to describe
sugarsmack's sound is to describe getting hit by a semi tractor trailor
truck. they are one of the most aggressive bands that i have heard in many
years, and they put on a very intense show.
***********
2/24 (thursday) sugarsmack at the cat's cradle, chapel hill, n.c.
grover was the support act this evening, but unfortunately i missed them
on account of tardiness. they are a great band though, i must say. they
either have a new seven inch out or will soon be releasing one as i
understand it, which i've heard is supposed to be very good.
anyways, this being the third time i've seen sugarsmack, i feel pretty
knowledgable of their sound and style (both live and studio). this show
was by no means a let down. their sound is very raw and punk-ish. yet
they are very unique about it. they don't fit the cliches of the "typical
punk" band. hope nichols has one of THE most distinct voices i've ever
heard. it's raw and energetic. on stage, she is one of the most intense
performers i've ever witnessed. for instance, when they played "pissed
off" (from top loader), hope nichols got right in front of the audience
and screamed in our faces with the most focused energy in the line (a take
off on helen ready's song) "i am woman hear me roar!" she practically
pierced my ears and scared the shit out of me. on stage, hope is very
intimidating. and i wasn't sure if i was glad to be close to the stage
because at every moment i thought she was going to come out and kick my
ass. she really gets into what she does and she puts on a show within the
show.
but what makes them a lot different than most other punk bands is the
guitaring. chris chandek uses this weird sort of devise that creates
really strange effects while playing. it makes the guitar echo-y and
wavy. in a way, it reminds me of the flaming lips guitar pioneering. but
the aim of the band is much more aggressive oriented than the flaming
lips.
overall, the show took on three forms. at first they played much more
aggressive songs (like "pissed off" and "boomerang"). "boomerang" by the
way, is a great example of how they use the circular guitar sound and fit
it in with the aggressive punk sound. then they started playing in more
of a poppy way. well, it was an attempt at pop, which failed, but was
nonetheless great. here, they played "zsa zsa" and "pop" which are
somewhat danceable tunes with harder chords. then the show just got plain
weird. sugarsmack went on to play the great song "bring on the ufo's"
which is a strange song to begin with. but during the show, they got off
on a tangent and just were doing weird things and experimenting a lot with
feedback and distortion. after a while i wasn't sure if they were going
anywhere or if they were just fucking around. so after about ten minutes
the drummer kicked in and the band finshed the rest of the song.
the point of all this being that sugarsmack is an awesome band. they are
truly unique and very experimental in their own way. when you see them,
you can never be sure what to expect a la hope's box-o-tricks. she always
brings this box that has all these neat toys and children's musical
instruments. and you can never know what will come out of it. they are a
fun and surprising band to see.
they have one lp (top loader) on invisible records and an earlier ep (zsa
zsa) on three am records. both are very good. zsa zsa is more poppy,
while top loader, strangly, has a very industrial element embedded in the
material. the now four-peice band (deanna gonzales left on account of
personal reasons, no conflict) is a jewel that is waiting to be
discovered. i talked with hope after the show. and she's one of the
nicest people i've met in a band (quite a contrast to the hope on stage).
she's down to earth and just plain cool. in our conversation, i
discovered that deanna left the band because she wanted a more
"extravagant" touring schedule. but hope said that her (and the other
band members') aims were different. she said that the thing she liked
most about touring was seeing and staying with friends while being out on
the road. she thought that staying in hotels and having big buses was a
waste of money. to me, this is what being an indie rock band is all
about.
go see sugarsmack!! they are on a five week tour currently and i promised
hope i would post their dates here. so if they're playing in your town...
3/3 lost horizon syracuse, ny
3/4 grog shop cleveland, oh
3/5 frankies toledo, oh
3/6 st. andrews detroit, mi
3/7 club soda kalamazoo, mi
3/8 off
3/9 (maybe) champaign, il
3/10 lounge ax chicago
3/11 (maybe) lacrosee, wi
3/12 first ave. minneapolis
3/13 off
3/14 cub dewash madison, wi
3/15 sudsy's cinncinati, oh
3/16 the cannery nashville, tn
3/17 antenna memphis
3/18 gumby's huntiington, wva
3/19 nhiabing dance hall morgantown, wva
3/20 (maybe) lexington, ky
3/21 off
3/22 bridge florence, al
3/23 w.c. don's jackson, ms
3/24 endzone tuscaloosa, al
3/25 tip top huntsville, al
3/26 lucy's records nasheville, tn
3/27 jeff's building shrevport, la
3/28 jimmy's new orleans
3/29 sluggo's pensacola, fl
3/30 off
3/31 masquerade atlanta, ga
4/1 the nick birmingham, al
4/2 (maybe) columbia, sc
quite a hellish schedule i should say.
===============
From: Erik Jon Benke <ejbenke@owlnet.rice.edu>
On Saturday March 5, KTRU (Houston) will be putting on an absolutely FREE
outdoor concert on the Rice University campus at Anderson Courtyard. It
starts at noon and should last until around 6:30. The headlining bands
are Trenchmouth and NOMEANSNO. Local acts Dyn@mutt, Israel McCloud, the
Suspects, and D.R.U.M. will start the show off. If you need more
information about it, call KTRU at (713) 527-4050. Also, as an added
bonus, Archers of Loaf will be playing at the Shimmy Shack here in Houston
that same night.
===============
From: Timothy Alborn <alborn@husc.harvard.edu>
handfuls of reviews
I'll start this off with a U2 trivia answer, which may or may not make it
into Incite! in some form or another... Apparently United Airlines has
this big plan to compete with micro-airlines like Southwest by setting up
a lean, mean airline machine within the huge United collossus, which they
paln to call... U2. I sure hope Bono's pants pockets are deep enough
after that Negativland suit to take on a major airline as well...
I just had to get that one off my chest. There are, of course, far more
important things in the world besides transportation conglomerates, such
as the new Flophouse EP (4-song CD) on Stickshift (63 Pitt St. 5r NY NY
10002). It's called Oh Fuck, and if you're one of those privileged few
this one comes with a hilarious band biography by America's funniest home
record executive Gerard Cosloy (Technical merit 5.9, Artistic Impression
6.0). Each song on this CD sits stretched over a cauldron of joyfully
burbling chaos, like a 3Ds song or Batman right at the end of the first
episode of a TV two-parter. And on the last song, "Mr. Rosewater" (the
only one written by Tony Rojas, whose uncle Cookie won all those
gold-gloves with the Kansas City Royals), they perform this burbling
cauldron act without once losing track of one of the darndest melodies
I've heard in ages.
TECHNICAL MERIT: 5.5
ARTISTIC IMPRESSION: 5.7
----------
Eggs has a new CD out on Teenbeat, and it's real big, like the joke about
sitting around the house. The only thing bigger than this CD is the sense
of sheer warmth and politeness that eminates from these three down-and-out
DC waifs. Right off the bat in their liner notes they say: "We realize
that this is a long album and we apologize in advance for any discomfort
it may cause you." And they even made it easier for people who buy the CD
to avoid the inevitable numbness (pleasant, but still numb) that listening
to twenty eggs song one right after the other would surely produce, by
putting a bunch of space -- NUMBERED space, no less -- in the CD where
it's time to turn the record over in the double-LP set. Now, about this
time in a record review people often start wondering what exactly the
record sounds like. To which I'd have to say: somewhere between
"Fantasia" and Freddie Mercury. "March of the Trumphant Elephants," for
instance, reminds me of nothing so much as Mickey Mouse in that wizard-hat
of his, directing traffic as all those pink pachyderms trundle by. And
there's a definite "Night at the Opera" quotient in there for those of you
who think Queen only made it as far as Aurora, Illinois or wherever Wayne
and Garth did that TV show of theirs. But in between button-nosed Mickey
and buck-toothed Freddie eggs squeezes in enough grumpy sex, pained pangs
and Sammy Davis Juniorosity to confirm in triplicate their long-awaited
admission that Mark Robinson taught them everything they know. Well,
everything except one brief moment between track 16 and track 18 when they
tip their hats to Wimp Factor 14 in their cover of "Rebuilding Europe,"
which they lovingly render with scratchy record noises and (for the true
insiders) roaring train sounds coming out of nowhere right on schedule.
And except for Rob's trombone virtuosity, which has "natural talent"
written all over it. Between that Christiansen kid and Will Ryker, I
wouldn't be at all surprised if the next generation of teens trade in
their big sisters' guitars for serious brass, and we see a big band
revival.
TECHNICAL MERIT: 5.8
ARTISTIC IMPRESSION: 5.9
---------
To move from a band all of you probably know about to one none of you
might: The Time Lodgers, who hail from Norway and just haven't seemed to
be able to translate all that publicity their country's been getting into
a major-label deal stateside. For the time being they'll have to settle
with a psace in the catalogue of Perfect Pop Records (c/o John Wahl,
Lilleakervelen 62B, N-0284 Oslo, Norway), and a fine catalgouse it is,
too. The Time Lodgers have two releases out on Perfect Pop, including a
single called "Envy" and a CD called "Slanted." The CD features one
thoroughly exhilarating song, "In the Supermarket," which brings back fond
memories of all those chiming sounds that used to ring from the Soup
Dragons' guitars. The rest of the CD, unfortunately, paints mainly by the
numbers, and when all the spaces are filled in it's the usual graven image
of Dan Treacy before which so many European pop bands seem destined to
scrape.
TECHNICAL MERIT: 5.8
ARTISTIC IMPRESSION: 4.5
"Envy" is a much better bang for the Kroner. The A-side is a gleeful
tongue-in-cheek venting of narcissistic spleen -- "It should have been me,
and nobody FUCKING else" -- packaged in a three-chord arrangement tight
enough to break all their skate-laces at the same time. And the flip,
"Suburban Spiritual," bounces along postmodern-fashion in the tradition of
the Multicolored Shades.
TECHNICAL MERIT: 5.9
ARTSITIC IMPRESSION: 5.7
----------
Noise Museum is a new-ish band from New Jersey who sent me what I think is
their second single, "Syx." The A-side, "Home Looked Easy," is as gangly
and awkward as the back-up center on the JV basketball team who grew 6
inches the year before and still doesn't know where his knees belong. It
shambles around lots of almost-profound aspects of suburban life, with
almost-Embarassment proclivities. Turn the record over, and it doesn't
get any less unassuming, but it does all fit together in a pretty
delightful combination. "Dodge" could easily pass for a top-of-the-line
Biff Bang Pow song, and "Top of the Day" is about as breezy and innocent
as my 29-year-old nerves can handle. As they claim in that song (and I
have no reason to doubt them), they've got their shoes tied: better watch
out!
TECHNICAL MERIT: 4.4 (but who's keeping score?)
ARTISTIC IMPRESSION: 6.0
----------
I don't know if anyone else besides me and the always-up-to-date radio
staff at WMBR know this, but one of the best singles of 1993 was by a man
named Jan Burnett, who lives in Dundee, Scotland and records under the
name Spare Snare. And oddly enough, the reason he's such a well-guarded
secret (or at least I think he is) is not that no record label stateside
bothered to pick him up -- instead, it's because the label that did pick
him up is Prospective (Box 6425, Minneapolis, MN 55406), which unless you
like the Third Eye a whole lot hasn't tended to have "cool" written all
over it in past years. "As a Matter of Fact" relentlessly inches to the
finish line with the help of a monotone drum machine, one-note keyboard
and the lowest of low-fi guitar riffs -- while the singer accuses some
unnamed malefactor out there, over and over until you have to believe him:
"I know you're lying." I told my friend Steve this reminded me a lot of
that Bricks song about skin disease but he didn't agree. But I still say
when this Spare Snare person stretches his voice around the pronoun I
(before "know you're lying" relieves the pressure) it brings back to me,
Vietnam flashback-style, the second syllable of "Eileen." I'll let Sean
Kerrigan Murphy be the final arbiter of this one. Anyway, I still haven't
mentioned the B-side yet, which is FUNKY.
TECHNICAL MERIT: 98.6
ARTISTIC IMPRESSION: 666
----------
First there were The Few, then the Pounding Serfs: Anacortes rock for the
wind cancer generation. Now John Lunsford (brother of Bret from Beat
Happening) has moved south to Eugene, where he's paired up with his
woman-friend Lisa, and where the both of them answer to The Crabs. When I
picked this one up in the store and put it on, it sounded enough like the
slightly-tragic folksmanship of John's earlier bands to make me suspicious
even before an informant filled me in on the TRUTH. But on the other
hand, the spare sound that comes from just a guitar and a drum means new
wrinkles too: "Dreamboat" floats up and down on the waves of an angushed
call of S.O.S., with references to Davey Jones and the ocean floor thrown
in for good measure; and "Riptide" doesn't interrupt the sense of hanging
on to a plank in the midddle of shark-infested waters. Maybe growing up
five miles away from a shipwreck and watching various pieces of wood and
rusted iron yearly give way to the Pacific makes me especially
appreciative of what John and Lisa manage to do on this single, but I'm
willing to bet you'll understand a lot of this too.
TECHNICAL MERIT: Chen Lu
ARTISTIC IMPRESSION: Al Larsen
Well, enough of all that. The Crayon CD will be out Wednesday, but none
of you will be able to buy it for another month to let all the important
journalists out there feel good about getting there first. I don't make
up the rules, honest.
Tim Alborn.
===============
From: Joanne Merriam <ILION@ac.dal.ca>
Taking Eric's Trip
Three bands from Moncton: Bad Luck #13, the Monoxides, and Eric's Trip
Double Deuce, February 26, 1994
Bad Luck #13: Started off the evening. They were serious Sex Pistols wannabees
and spent a little more time insulting the audience than I liked.
However, they had a lot of energy on stage and I liked their
first song, the main lyric of which was "except I never liked
her anyway". Overall they were good background noise but not
very inspiring.
Monoxides: This is band to look out for. Still a little immature in terms of
stage presence, and man! did the lead singer ever look young. But
they played excellently and really got the audience primed. Now I
want their tape.
Eric's Trip: They RAWKED. I like them live better than recorded (the
production values on Love Tara aren't that great). They were
a-mazing. Julie (the singer) seemed a little distracted at the
beginning though, something about setting something on fire
but they never explained that comment. They did some new
material that was really good, and they apparently have a new
single out as of last week. If you can, pick up something by
these guys (now a gender neutral term), or better yet, see them
live, because that's when they really blow you away.
[Note: please don't use paragraphs like the ones above because they are
impossible for me to justify. Thanks. - Lena]
Over all the show was really good. The mosh pit got a little vicious at
one point, but then I've never seen a really good pit at the Deuce. The
d.j. played excellent stuff between the bands and a good time was had by
all. Probably the comic high point of the evening was when the lead singer
of Bad Luck #13 pulled out a plastic dildo and invited the audience to
carress it. (whatever)
===============
From: Moo-Town Snacker <mc21@midway.uchicago.edu>
--Shellac of North America--Live review
CHICAGO--(27 February 1994)--Shellac played a free show at Ajax Records
this afternoon. They began with an instrumental number (except for what
sounded like Bob Weston periodically yelling "Todd"), and then asked the
audience how the sound was. Some wiseacre said the vocals were a little
low to which Weston replied "vocals are optional." The rest of the show
proved Weston was not kidding as the vocals were always low in the mix.
Perhaps Steve Albini intended it that way so no one would confuse Shellac
with the Beatles.
The performance lasted about an hour and included "Billiard Player Song"
and "Rambler Song" from the first 7", _The Rude Gesture (a pictorial
history)_ (Touch and Go). Other songs were "Admiral", "Dog and Pony Show",
and "Botch's Dick", another instrumental with a couple of Big Black-like
progressions (Albini explained the name by saying that it used to be their
shortest song). The final song was "Wingwalker" from the second 7",
Uranus. It was quite a finale with each member of the band assuming the
aeroplane pose desribed in the song. The humorous result caused Albini to
struggle to keep from laughing as he sang.
The show had the feeling of an open practice. Maybe it was the venue. Or
maybe the extremely quiet audience (clapping appropiately only at the end
of songs) had something to do with that--it was as if we were all voyeurs
trying to remain inconspciuous. The behavior of the crowd prompted Weston
to ask if we had been to Tokyo, because we all acted like it (well, except
for the above-mentioned wiseacre who attributed the audience's reaction to
the extreme "cool" of its members).
Todd Trainer appeared to go all out on the drums with an aggressively
physical style of drumming. I was impressed by the intensity as well as
the proficiency of his playing--better than a drum machine.
If Shellac comes to your town, definitely go see them--even if you have to
pay money. Not only can Albini tell you what (he thinks) is wrong with
music today, but he offers an example of what it is to do things right. It
may not be the only answer, but it seems to be a correct one.
--Martin Coleman
mc21@midway.uchicago.edu
===============
From: DDBAN203G@UNIVERSITY-CENTRAL-ENGLAND.AC.UK
cool noise from new zealand
this week's record review, not that i have received an indie list
for days so who knows if this will ever be read?
JPS Experience - Bleeding Star (Flying Nun)
===========================================
That Flying Nun sampler i got a few months back was ace, it introduced
to me this really cool band called the JPS Experience, the two sampler
tracks are on this CD and unfortunately are the best tracks on it, but
there is plenty of other cool stuff here too.
"Into you" and "Breathe" are well worth a kicking sorry listen. Though
i prefer the rocked-up remix of the former that appeared on the sampler
(single remix one presumes). "Spaceman" is another cool track with weird
guitar noise, they like a nice rich texture the JPS with plenty of guitar
pedel fun. They sound oddly like the Smashing Pumpkins at times, though
there are 2 main differences between the JPS and the Pumpkins: (1) - the
JPS are good, (2) - the JPS will never reach #11 in the UK top 40 singles
chart, no much higher one day we hope.
Bit of filler but not much, buy!
(*3/4)
"Sculpture Is Dead. You Are Fascist."
"Do I Not Like That?" - Grahem Taylor
"Yes Boss, Bold Move Boss! Bold Move!" - Phil Neale
this mail was from: c.davies@uce.ac.uk
at the: university of central england in birmingham
===============
From: "LePageL/MF" <LePageL/MF@hermes.bc.edu>
YLT single, Helium/Dambuilders live review
I've been buying lots of music but it's either all wrong for Indie-List
(De La Soul's _Buhloone Mind State_ rules!) or it's old, or something.
But I did buy a good single and see a good show, so here goes.
[erm...uh...have we created that exclusionary an atmosphere? Hell, half
of what I buy (and talk about) is older music, and I'd personally love to
see more rap or hip-hop reviews here, just for variety away from the
"limited edition 7" colored vinyl" tag that so many people throw at
"indie-rock" - it's NOT a genre unto itself... just a state of
mind... - Sean]
But first, a question: Did someone recently review a record by a British
band called the Orchids? Cuz if they did, I would love to hear from them
since I recently checked out their 1991 (?) single Thaumaturgy which
contains some of the most decadently lush pop I've heard since the mid
eighties. I want to hear more.
Yo La Tengo:_From a Motel 6_ (Matador) For YLT fans who must have it all,
this cd4 is plenty worthwhile. Along with the single from Painful, you
get two new tunes and an unreleased demo version of "Motel 6." "Ashes on
the Ground" is a cover, and I'm guessing from the writing credit to
Fair/Jickling that Jad Fair had something to do with it. It's one of
those slow pretty ballads that Ira and Georgia croon so well. The
instrumental "Nutricia" is a slow building anthem with a spiraling melody
that hooks painlessly but irrevocably. Finally, after 59 seconds (or so)
of silence, the demo version of "Motel 6" kicks in, a dreamier, weirder
version with more overtly strange guitar and a gentler vocal.
Finally, if you buy this disk, you'll be able to puzzle for yourself
whether that really is the band snowmobiling through the wilderness in the
cover photo.
Live at the Rat in Boston: Helium, Dambuilders, Quivver
I'll start with Quivver, a pop-punk girl trio with a DIY approach, some
appealing if not particularly accomplished tunes, and a funny camp
princess of a lead singer. They sound just fine when they keep to the
rockers, and even their bluesy "The Saddest Thing in the Whole Wide World
(Is Seeing Your Baby With Another Girl)" is gender-bending fun. Except for
one wicked bad set-closer of a ballad, Quivver were a lot of fun. They
won't change your life, but they were entertaining.
Helium, up next, had the set of the night. To me, Mary Timony is the
quintessential spooky girl. Eyes focused sightlessly over her mic stand,
she stares into a private vision that we can only guess at from her
explosive bursts of guitar noise. Timony plays feedback against silence
like nobody else, and on this occasion, her solos were spellbinding. She
looks like a little lost girl until she sings a line like "you're gonna
pay me with your life." Then you wonder if she doesn't have a razor blade
in her mouth. "Lucy," already one of the best songs of last year, was
even more thrilling live, and the new material sounds at least as good.
I'm with Sean, this band live makes their records pale by comparison (I'm
sure I'll get over it). Now if Matador would just release that ep . . . .
The headlining Dambuilders played a decent set for about the first 20
minutes before degenerating into a "let's-get-this-over-with" headlong
slide. I blame Dave, who sings most of their songs and plays bass, and
who was in one shitty mood. Maybe Helium scared him. Maybe success is
making a failure of his home. I don't know. In any event, as a result of
his lousy attitude, the band played a less convincing set than I have come
to expect. Still, the rest of the band rocked as always, and to tell the
truth, I kind of enjoyed violinist Joan Wasser's banter about penis rock,
even if Dave didn't. Don't get me wrong, the Dambuilders are still
generally consistent and well worth seeing, so don't let my negativity in
this isolated incident scare you off. And as most of you probably already
know, they have a new album coming out in early March, entitled
Encendador so a tour seems likely. Go see `em. Maybe Dave will have
cheered up.
That's it for me. Gotta get this weekend rolling.
--Lise LePage in Boston
================
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
================
From: Paul J Nini <pnini@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
ANYWAY RECORDS "SOUND OF POVERTY" RELEASE PARTY TWO NIGHT STAND!!! Friday
March 4th and Saturday March 5th, Stache's Night Club, 2404 North High
Street, Columbus, Ohio 614/263-5318 (near the Ohio State University). A
two night extravaganza celebrating the release of the "Sound of Poverty"
CD on Get Hip!, which compiles Anyway releases 1 through 10. Featuring the
following bands from the Columbus "scene:" Friday March 4th - New Bomb
Turks, Gaunt, V3, Log, Bassholes, Saturday March 5th - Greenhorn, Belreve,
Vibralux, Monster Truck 005, Appalacian Death Ride. Out of townwers can
contact the club, or p.nini@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu for more
information. See ya there. --Paul Nini
===============
From: unisql!ray@cs.utexas.edu (Ray Shea)
Radio KOOP In Austin Needs Music
Radio KOOP, Austin's first real community radio station, will be going on
the air at 91.7 FM sometime this summer, filling a big hole in the notoriously
pathetic Austin airwaves. We're trying to build a music library from
scratch, and of course would like to get on the promo lists of as many indie
labels as possible. If you can help out, the contact address is:
Radio KOOP
P.O. Box 49340
Austin, TX 78765
ATTN: Carter York
(512) 472-KOOP.
===============
From: Mike Hibarger <mhibarge@chipcom.com>
New Sonic Bubblegum Stuff...
Archers of Loaf/Treepeople 2x7" featuring two new songs from each
band and each band covering a song by the other is finally available.
Get it now for $6ppd from Sonic Bubblegum, P.O. Box 35504, Brighton,
MA 02135. Write Mike at mhibarge@chipcom.com for an on-line catalog.
===============
From: "K. Lena Bennett" <keb@u.washington.edu>
Attention Band Members: Seeking Weird Tour Tales
Hi boys and grrls!
I'm writing a script for an independent-press comic book about a small
indie-rock band, and I'm interested in hearing your tales of woe and
amusement while on tour. (Stories about rehearsals or local gigs would
also be of interest.) As with all fiction, I don't expect to use any
specific anecdote in its original form - I'm just trying to get a sense of
the mood and what sort of odd things happen to people who are in bands.
For example, the tales I've already heard involve things like a driver
passing out from malnutrition, having eaten only candy bars for three days,
or a band member being interrogated by cops who thought he was a
glue-sniffer because he had a bottle of Elmer's in his backpack.
Since the band in my book is a mixed-gender, mixed-orientation band,
stories of mixed-gender bands, grrl bands, queer bands, or
mixed-orientation bands are also highly welcome.
If you have anything interesting and/or offbeat to relate, pass it along
to my email address.
Lena keb@u.washington.edu
"Trust me - Cicero wrote it all down." - Mountain Goats
<------------------------------------------------------------>
The Indie-List Digest is published a few times each week (usually
Tuesdays and Fridays) by the Indie-List Infotainment Junta, Unltd.
What Who Where
Editor Sean Murphy skmurphy@phoenix.princeton.edu
Moderator K. Lena Bennett keb@carson.u.washington.edu
Mailings Liz Clayton lclayton@uhuru.uchicago.edu
Archives Chris Karlof karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu
FTP/Gopher /pub/music/lists/indie @ ftp.uwp.edu
Consultants: Mark Cornick and Joshua Houk
Indie-List is not copyrighted. It may be freely reproduced for any purpose.
Please cite Indie-List as your source.
<----------------------------------------------------->
please send your articles for the next issue to LENA!
<----------------------------------------------------->
[Submitted by: karlof chris knox (karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu)
Thu, 3 Mar 1994 14:04:39 -0500 (EST)]