Believe me, you haven't seen Hawaii until you've seen it with Jim
Nabors.
#############################
Indie List Digest!
August 6, 1995
Volume 4 Number 36
#############################
Austin Rawk: Speed Queen, Teen Angel
Nerdy Girl, Kat Rocket, Plumtree at the Ultrasound
Gary Clark, JD covers, EC
Factory Too Showcase
ANNOUNCE: Jersey Beat #54 out (finally!)
ANNOUNCE: gigbOT
ANNOUNCE: Mountain Goats Discography Update
ANNOUNCE: Guide to indie rock WWW sites now up!!
AD: Follow the Bouncing Ball
People have accused us of taking a vacation, but nothing could be
further from the truth. Instead we have been frantically trying to
finish our jobs, pack our overstuffed house, and relocate our lives to
Chicago, city of diner food. So the net connections have been a
little...sporadic. But we're back now, and unemployed, and will have
little to do but review shows and records and write them up for you,
the happy reader.
Uh. Yeah. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy.
az
Despite our move, the submissions and subscription addresses as listed
in the mast-tail of each issue are unchanged at present.
ILIJ legend K Lena Bennett sent along a copy of Ron Ih's Internet
Musician Survey. While it's 15 questions and 200 some lines make it a
bit long for inclusion in this issue of the Indie-List, I'd be glad to
send a copy along to any who might want it.
-es
<------------------------------>
From: Jill Emery <llje@utxdp.dp.utexas.edu>
Austin Rawk: Speed Queen, Teen Angel
July 16, 1995--Emo's---Austin, TX---Speed Queen & Teen Angel
Speed Queen are a local act that have been out and about a lot in the
past 3 months or so. Made up of two guitars, bass, and drums, this female
quartet is a refreshing change in the punk scene here. The front
woman, Deborah J. Wolfinsohn, is also the local punk/indie label
reviewer for our 2nd infamous weekend revue showcase: X L Ent, which
appears every Thursday in the Austin American Statesman (and let me
tell you, the publishers of this publication really know their way
around an EXCEL program, but I digress). The first time I saw Speed
Queen, I was really excited. They have a pretty complete sound going
for a new garage band and it is belted out with amazing consistency
and overall effect. This show though, they weren't as into it as
they have been at others so let's just call it an off night--it was
Sunday after all. They are a garage/punk band, play some covers but not a
whole lot and like songs that speed up-slow-down-speed up, etc. Their
songs tend to last a little longer than your average garage band song
but I tend to like that...sounds more complete at least when Speed
Queen are doing it. As far as I know they don't have any singles out
yet.
Teen Angel were up next. They're from Seattle and a SUB POP band. I
had never heard them before and was pleasantly surprised. They had a
solid pulsating sound that was skillfully performed. A trio comprised
of bass, guitar & drums, they were immediately impressive. The only
complaint I had about them was the screamed-throat wrenching vocals of
the lead vocalist/guitar player. I tried to quip to a friend that the
lead vocalist needed to get over the Courtney Love vocal antics and
was quickly reprimanded...apparently, the lead vocalist had been the
singer for Dickless and thus predated Ms. Love.
The bass player looked like a Wisconsin dairy maid and had the most
wonderful sarcastic sneering smile that I have seen in a while and
also seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself which made the music
sound that much better. The drummer has to be one of the most
energetic people I have ever seen. With her head bent down and
pigtails flying she was a sight to behold. I can defnitely see the
mass appeal of this band. Their music was quick, angry and extremely
controlled. It reminded me of Jale in some ways but they were louder,
noisier and more up-tempo than Jale so the comparison doesn't really
work.
I look forward to seeing both bands again.
Jill Emery
<------------------------------>
From: Michael Ligon <ai227@freenet.toronto.on.ca>
Nerdy Girl, Kat Rocket, Plumtree at the Ultrasound (Toronto, Canada;July 15, 1995)
As my friend and I took refuge from the heat that all of you on the
East coast are familiar with by now, we settled in the `ultra-cool'
air-conditioned Ultrasound with a tall cool one in hand and waited for
the show to start.
It was the intimate performance of Nerdy Girl that started off the
night. However tonight it was only Cecil, the vocalist, accompanying
herself on electric guitar. Nerdy Girl specializes in a similiar
brand of minimalist pop songs that Lois fans might enjoy. I enjoyed
her performance for awhile but then I realized how short some of her
songs were. She tended to play each song one right after another and
before you knew it her set was over and it had seemed like she had
only been playing for twenty minutes. The only unexpected incident
was when one of the members of Plumtree went to the front of the stage
to take a picture of Cecil, which ended up distracting her and
screwing up her song. Cecil apologized to the audience for her
screw-up and we all had a big laugh about it.
Next on the bill was Kat Rocket. I saw them once before and was very
impressed with them. Featuring the strong, pretty vocals of Stella,
Kat Rocket play a brand of noisy melodic pop that includes creative
guitar effects as well as the talent to make a good transition from
fast to slower songs. There wasn't much stage presence to them which
wasn't helped by the fact that the stage was not really that big
enough for them to move around too much. By now I am getting
familiar with their songs and I am hoping that they have some new
songs if I ever get to see them again. I particularly liked their
second last song. It started out funky with some guitar work a la
James Brown before it settled into more familiar indie rock terrain.
Excellent song. Excellent show.
And now the headliners quietly take the stage. They are Plumtree who
are four girls whose average age is about 17 or 18 I've read and are
from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They seemed kind of shy when they took the
stage but once they got into their performance there was a lot of
energy in the show. They are competent musicians and they play great
pop songs at times sounding like Heavenly, but their songs are usually
more varied. Vocal duties were exchanged throughout the set which
kept things interesting. They played a great set and I'll definitely
see them next time they roll into time. Had I been 18 again I
definitely would have had a crush on them, especially one of the girls
on guitar. She was just too cute the way she bopped her head side to
side. (Hey I'm only 24 by the way, not some dirty old man! hehe)
Mike
<------------------------------>
From: Stuart_McHugh_at_ADOBEEDI@mv.us.adobe.com
Scottish reviews - Gary Clark, JD covers, EC
Gary Clark, Edinburgh Venue: First a word for the support, Shane.
That word is funk. No, FUNK. Despite having a bassist who has
evidently been thrown out of Kajagoogoo for displaying a lack of
fashion sense (well, I think that's where I recognised him from), this
six-piece actually display a good line in funky grooves, as I think it
would have been ok to say in the '70s. Which is fine, as they are
essentially a '70s soul/funk band, from the singer's silk shirt split
to the navel, medallions swinging, to his platform shoes which are
brushed by swinging flares. And though this sounds like some sort of
pastiche act, they are in fact a very nifty band in the style of
Commodores, Stylistics or any of those Motown acts. Though the whole
band play their part in laying down the groove (man), it's the singer
who steals the show with his moves and overtures towards the ladies in
the audience. He definitely has soul and isn't afraid to show it.
Gary Clark could also be described as having soul, though in a
different sense, but fans of Danny Wilson or his solo work will
certainly attest to the fact that his songwriting comes from the heart
and sings with a heartfelt voice. Though the production was always
clever and the instruments well played, there were never any nasty
guitars getting in the way of what the fans wanted, namely the songs.
Until now, that is. In every singer's career there comes the time
where they really want to be the Rolling Stones instead of the
Beatles, and basically rock out a bit. This is fine when it works,
but Gary's new band, even with a good pedigree (ex--Bible guitarist
Neil McColl is there) seem to want to self-indulge a bit too much. So
what we get for the first half of the set is really ham-fisted pub
rock, with the bizarre twist that with Gary's resonant voice ringing
out we have the UK's answer to the Crash Test Dummies. Things get
worse with subsequent stuff sounding like mid-American trash like the
Jayhawks, or when things get whimsical, the Eagles. A large
percentage of the audience seem bored by this, chatting among
themselves, which is unfortunate as the band do actually play some
better stuff, characterised by the grind of guitars abating enough
that so we can hear Gary's voice. There are a couple of tracks which
restore more of an atmosphere in the club, including a version of
Billy McKenzie/Shirley Bassey's Rhythm Divine which is more like it,
though it's ironic that he best tracks played are covers or oldies.
As you would expect, the likes of Mary's Prayer are aired, and just
bring the audience back from the brink of being lost forever. There's
also a version of the Bible's Honey Be Good, which stands high above
most of the new stuff. A return to form with the encores too, as Kit
Clark is wheeled onstage to supplement his giro, and indeed supplement
the unholy racket with blasts of his accordion. Looks like Mr. Clark
will have to return to his true roots if he's to make a success of the
new band...
Permanent - Does the world need another Joy Division compilation?
With all the old factory stuff still available, Still covering the
deleted stuff and Substance giving you all the hits and more on one
handy bite-sized package, Permanent can't really be described as
essential, unless you're a Joy Division completist. Which many are,
of course. But the choice of material on this album will probably
mean it will languish unplayed in the racks when Unknown Pleasures or
Closer are available. The lp opens and closes with Love will tear us
apart, the track on the end of side 2 being the Arthur Baker remix,
which really is pretty unlistenable next to the original. The other
tracks included are spread pretty much evenly from the 3 lp releases,
plus B-sides such as Novelty and These Days, just in case you never
bought the singles. Probably quite a lot from Closer, their biggest
lp, but not the obvious choices. In the absence of a fan club who
would take a poll of JD favourites, we can look at the Festive 50s of
the early '80s to gauge what might make sense on such a compilation.
High up apart from the singles, and New Dawn Fades, The Eternal,
Decades and Isolation. So what tracks are missing? You got it. The
opportunity to at least make the whole thing worthwhile by including
something obscure, such as the tracks from Earcom 2, or the Komakino
flexi, isn't taken. This kind of marketing exercise usually sucks as
it exploits people too sad to resist the temptation of owning
everything by their favourites, and there are no redeeming tracks to
make it worth the bother, but this compilation also fails by not
giving the casual, younger buyer the chance to hear Joy Division's
most important work stuff. For that it should be buried.
Classical Punk- an odd and varied lp - Odd, well, the whole idea is
odd, but though it might be slated immediately, it might be worth a
listen. Unfortunately, it's probably necessary that if you don't
enjoy classical music, you will at least have to be broad-minded, and
not hold any of the tracks sacred, as sacrilege might be your first
thought. What you do learn from the lp though, is that a lot of the
punk tunes have more depth to them than just 3-minute bursts of noise.
The tracks seem to fall into a few categories, the most interesting is
when you play the game of listening to the lp without looking at the
sleeve. Then try to guess what a track is. Maybe it's just me of
course, but I had no idea at all what some of the tracks were on first
listen. Teenage Kicks for instance, is a bizarre take on John Peel's
favourite track ever - it's almost impossible to find the original
tune, and the energy has been replaced with something more sedate.
Not unpleasant, but... The Damned's Love Song (at least, I think it
was Love Song) again is unrecognisable. But what you get is a quite
pleasant instrumental with a nice tune. If the Captain and Rat were
alive today they'd be revolving in their graves... Other tracks are
instantly recognisable, as the orchestra stick rigidly to the tune
that the vocals follow. Holiday In Cambodia is one such example, and,
though a fascinating experiment, could have been much better - the
cataclysmic nature of the subject matter could lend itself very well
to a treatment akin to 'Night on the Bare Mountain' (ok, that's the
Maxell ad to you philistines). Still, cranking up the volume does
work wonders. So what you get is a batch of varying tunes, and an
interesting experiment. But the alarming thing is that your mother
couldn't object to these tunes now they're stripped of vehement lyrics
and anarchic attitude. While that might disprove what your parents
always said ("Call that music?!?") it won't make the old punks feel
any better that their tunes have been made responsible enough to join
the classical music set and The Establishment.
Elvis Costello - Kojak Variety.
[decidedly mersh, but still, you know, somehow.... -es]
Being an EC fan is a bit like being a doting parent. When he comes up
with the goods, sure, there's fulsome praise, viz last year's Brutal
Youth. We offered encouragement on his collaboration with the Brodsky
Quartet. But when he turns odd then we're all concerned, as in the
Beard years, where only a mother could love the face, and only a
blindly devoted fan could listen to the music. Our concern may
manifest itself in different ways - we can ignore him as it's just a
cry for self-indulgent attention. Or we can punish him - by not
buying his records is one way, or by giving him a good hard slap.
Unfortunately he hasn't listened to the warnings that his fans gave
him. Our El has a tendency to be self-indulgent at times - see the
admittedly well-received Brodskys lp and Almost Blue country project.
These show that sometimes going out on a limb can have good results.
But he really goes off at a tangent and ignores criticism at times,
which takes us onto the Beard again. His mother would have surely
said 'you're not going out dressed like that'; we would have said
'surely this isn't the Elvis we once knew?'
On this lp, Elvis has decided to treat us to his interpretations of
some of his favourite tracks from his formative years. Unfortunately
the Costello paternal home didn't resound to the sounds of David
Bowie, or Leonard Cohen, or Joy Division like so many of us - think
what Elvis's voice put to some of these artists would be like -
interesting for sure, and potentially essential listening. But no,
most of Elvis childhood memories are of the likes of Screaming Jay
Hawkins, Little Richard and the like. And if their stuff at least
promised something, and come with some street cred, what do you make
of someone who covers Bob Dylan and Randy Newman? And try as you
like, if you take a Little Richard song and cover it in the same
style, what you tend to get is a morass of boogie-woogie pub rock.
Even the big band sound of his dad, a stalwart of Joe Loss's band,
would have been a fascinating experiment, but though he does an old
standard - The Very Thought of You - it doesn't really rise far above
the mediocrity - in fact, the only decent stuff on here are the
Supremes track Remove this Doubt (the soul sound having been pursued
successfully before in the Punch the Clock era) and the Kinks 'Days'
which though a good song, isn't really anything special.
So the midterm report would read 'must try harder'. And Dad would
give him a good thrashing until he came up with something that didn't
blacken the family name.
<------------------------------>
From: Steve <S.J.Almond@bradford.ac.uk>
Factory Too Showcase, Hacienda, Manchester, England
Factory Too Showcase, Hacienda, Manchester 24th July 95
(East West Coast/The Orch/Italian Love Party/K-Track)
===================================================
An 80-mile journey was in order last night as I drove across this
green and pleasant land called England to my old stomping ground of
Manchester. This was the first time I'd been back to the Hacienda in
about 5 years, but a showcase of four bands newly signed to the
Factory Too label was reason-a-plenty to make the trip. And as the
original Factory label was wont to do in the early '80s, this event
was even allocated its own catalogue number Fac 2-12.
First band on was K-TRACK, a new guitar band with an enjoyable sound but
maybe lacking in menace somewhat. ITALIAN LOVE PARTY started off rather
shakily, but managed to impress by the end of their succinct set. ILP
featured some housey-piano keyboard sounds which complimented the guitars
well. One of their better songs also reminded me of Oasis.
THE ORCH played confident luscious soundscapes with drum-machine backing
and featured guitar and keyboard players along with a singer. Well, I say
singer, but really he spoke, chanted, told stories over a mystical,
hypnotic maelstrom, that shares some similarities with Tricky and Massive
Attack. If you enjoy music that picks you up and takes you on a magic
carpet ride to a land of brilliantly vivid senses (with a slight sinister
undertone), try THE ORCH. Finally EAST WEST COAST took the stage. My first
reaction was of astonishment and shock. I just couldn't believe it. Why
was Factory Too signing up a rock/thrash band? Could it be the singer's
Nirvana-esque good looks? Or maybe it's Anthony H's plan to bamboozle us by
creating a new label without an single recognisable global image. Whatever,
I was certainly not impressed by EAST WEST COAST. Anyway, overall an
excellent night, and it looks like Factory Too have got a potentially
rosy future. Long live Factory Too.
Steve Almond
*********************************************
Steve Almond (S.J.Almond@Bradford.ac.uk)
-dj, and scientist, and thinker...
but not necessarily in that order
Moooo!!!!
}:0
[=
[=
"Only clever peeple come up with clever quotes" - godstar '95
***********************************************************
[it's worth checking out the Factory Too web site at
http://www.u-net.com/factory/, if you have the time. Nice images
and PR -es]
<------------------------------>
From: JimJBeat@aol.com
ANNOUNCE: Jersey Beat #54 out (finally!)
Who says punk is dead? Jersey Beat #54 celebrates Do It Yourself-ism
with a special report on the DIY underground - putting on shows in
your basement, recording an album in your garage, and chats with some
semi-famous folk who Do It Themselves better than most (Jack Rabid of
The Big Takeover, Tom Cassar of Vital Music, and more.) Plus a long
talk with the long-lived NJ hardcore band American Standard (a band
that never did play hardcore - figure that one out,) and a ton of
reviews. All for just two bucks to Jim Testa, Jersey Beat, 418
Gregory Ave, Weehawken NJ 07087
<------------------------------>
From: Landslidius Marxamis <markjr@shmooze.net>
ANNOUNCE: Indie Bands: post yer gigs for free to the gigbOT
At about 11:30 a thursday morning past, Private World Communications
plugged in their new Web site - their new Web Server and with it, what
we call the gigbOT.
We developed this so anyone on the net can post their gig listings and
tour dates, free of charge, via a WWW form or thru email.
People browsing the listings can run searches for a search term, be it
a band, club, city whatever.
We think it'll be pre