I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa comin' for you...
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Indie List Digest!
October 20, 1995
Volume 4 Number 42
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Labradford, Chisel, Mt Goats, Squirrel Nut Zippers, et al.
Half-Cocked
Ben Folds Five, Menthol, and other stuff I like...
Destination CLEveland
QUERY: Catpa? Katpa? Cappa?
ANNOUNCE: Carrot Top tour info
ANNOUNCE: Pere Ubu Tour & Web Site
ANNOUNCE: Jaboni Youth...
AD: Contest
howdy:
this would be your latest Indie-List Digest, so read it carefully &
follow the instructions.
we have received, in the past couple of weeks, some queries about the
production "schedule" and when submissions are likely to appear.
here's the deal: if you send us a submission & it doesn't appear in
the next digest, that usually means we didn't have room for it this
time. we try to keep each issue at a certain length so as not to
break people's mailboxes. but if you wait for the next digest and you
still don't see your piece, you might check back with us and make sure
yr thing was received and didn't, by some horrible error, fall through
the cracks.
we apologize for any delays, and we really appreciate everyone's
continued patience with our somewhat erratic publication habits.
we're trying to keep to our once-a-week schedule, but since we don't
have regular schedules in our daily lives, this can sometimes be
problematic. keep writing, please, and we'll keep publishing, we
promise.
az
In our mailbag....
A polite plea from PLEASE to tell folks to check out their website
at http://www.please.com/ for details on them, their touring, and
so forth...
-es
<------------------------------>
From: silverst@ils.nwu.edu (Steve Silverstein)
Labradford, Chisel, Mt Goats, Squirrel Nut Zippers, et al.
As if last week's wasn't enough, more reviews of mostly new-ish things
that I've bought recently.
Labradford--A Stable Reference LP/CD (Kranky/P.O. Box
578743/Chicago, IL 60657)--A step forward from their first album with
the addition of bassist Bobby Donne (x-Breadwinner) and a reduction in
guitar effects. Stripped-down, sparser, a lot more "song-like" in
some sense, but you still wouldn't mistake it for anyone else. If
anything, better (though a bit more challenging a listen) than
Prazision LP. Their best yet, which should be all you need to know.
Chisel--Nothing New EP #4 12"/CD (Gern Blandsten/no address listed,
Chisel/P.O. Box 21365/Washington, DC 20009)--Chisel continue to
move away (some) from their simple, Jawbreaker-like roots, on their
latest EP. Side B is from the same sessions as the Sunburn 7", side A
is newer recordings with Guy from Fugazi. Still sound somewhat like
Jawbreaker, but also like the Jam, Mission of Burma, etc. The mod
fashions are right out front (in the pictures on the front cover), but
they're coupled with simple-ish punk songwriting, melodic basslines,
the works. Essentially, not hardcore, not really punk, not mod, very
catchy, very very strong.
The Mountain Goats and Alistair Galbraith--Orange Raja, Blood Royal 7"
(Walt/ 89 Fairview Avenue/Port Washington, NY 11050)--To be honest, my
first reaction was "Yeah, it's good, but..." Then, after a lot of
listens, I started to get it. 2 songs by each writer (though their
voices sound REALLY similar, so its hard to tell). They complement
each other's styles perfectly. Simple, melodic pop songs, with really
intricate arrangements (for a 4-track especially). Even better than
you'd expect, if anything, though it does take a few listens to
totally sink in.
Thee Hydrogen Terrors--The Erotic Adventures of Thee Hydrogen Terrors
12"/CD (Load/P.O. Box 35/Providence RI 02901)--Since I'm thanked on
this one, I'm a pretty un-objective source. Kind of a more fragmented
take on Crime, featuring 3/4 of Von Ryan's Express, whose 7" on Sub
Pop you've probably seen. Unsurprisingly, I like it, but don't trust
me on this one. Recorded in rural Vermont with John Williams
(x-Volcano Suns).
Squirrel Nut Zippers--The Inevitable Squirrel Nut Zippers LP/CD
(Mammoth)--I think I'm the only person who has heard this record and
doesn't hate it. They reproduce a series of styles (jazz, country,
etc.) somewhat faithfully and, more often than not, unspectacularly.
But, I think they somehow bring their own charm to a lot of the songs
that makes the whole better than the sum of its parts. Brian
Paulson's engineering is first-rate, as is the packaging on the vinyl
(with elevated letters). Not life-changing, but fun.
The August Sons--Plants, Planets and Insects LP/CD (El Recordo)--The
latest album from these talked-about farm residents from Mississippi.
Certainly stronger than the one other record of theirs I've heard
(Sonnets and Parables), and more audible than their live shows. It's
really fairly profound music with neat use of electronic drum pads and
other odd noises. Sort of like a rural Built to Spill (in terms of
guitar style and arrangement in some odd way)? I don't know how
exactly to describe this, but it's actually pretty interesting, even
if there are songs titled "Wasp" (the "ambient" one) and "Jupiter"
(the rocking opening track). So, for reasons I can't entirely
explain, I listen to this a lot more often than I'd expect to.
Eggs/Pitchblende--Balls! Balls! split 7" (Jade Tree/2310 Kennwynn
Road/ Wilmington, DE 19810)--Surprisingly, the two sides fit together
as a coherent whole. Eggs contribute what sounds like a failed effort
at a math rock song (failed in a ridiculous and entertaining way as
you might expect from Eggs) which stops when it shouldn't and changes
parts when it shouldn't and such. Pitchblende contribute a more
successful effort at a math rock song which sounds, uh, like
Pitchblende, which is a good thing. I like this 7".
The Vanpelt/Radio to Saturn--Radio The To Vanpelt Saturn split 7"
(Sudden Shame/2 Cypress Lane/Essex Jct., VT 05452)--NYC's The Vanpelt
contribute "His Saxophone is My Guitar", which reflects their
combination of Superchunk, the Poster Children, and a more raw punk
intensity. Their live sound is probably better than this track, but
it's still quite strong. Radio to Saturn contribute 3 very short
songs (spinning at 45) of their intricate 3 guitar/no bass rock. The
strongest of the 3 is "(She Likes the Part) About Wolves" which sounds
sort of like an updated Troggs rocker? Another 7" that I like.
Lambchop--Your Life as a Sequel 7" (Mute America)--Many-piece, usually
down-trodden, country-influenced band that inspires me to use lots of
hyphens. A strong 7" with an interesting pair of songs (the B-side is
a bit more up-beat) that, while good, doesn't quite capture their
amazing live intensity. I don't have anything else of theirs
(unfortunately) so no comparisons here.
Razor 18--P Street Beach 7" (Popfactory/1010 25th Street NW/Apartment
706/ Washington, DC 20037)--Not the newest 7", but hard enough to find
that it's new enough. DC's Razor 18 (now known, after some recent
line-up changes, as Cosmo DNA) sounded REALLY dense with 2 very thick,
effects-heavy guitars, pretty female vocals, and a simple punk-ish
rhythm section. I'll leave out some of the obvious comparisons,
though I think Boyracer is a less obvious one that gives some idea.
Add female vocals and a sort of "dreaminess" (esp. on the B-side) and
you get the idea maybe?
More coming...
-Steve
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From: "Harris, Terry J." <HARRISTJ@f1groups.fsd.jhuapl.edu>
Half-Cocked
Half-Cocked: The Movie
(or: Okay, Kids! Let's put on a show!)
On a local print-media recommendation of the soundtrack, I went to see
Half-Cocked, the (new?) indie-rock movie by Suki Hawley and Michael
Galinski. The film is a deadpan depiction of all things indie, in
which a group of indie-kids steal a van full of instruments and
equipment and go "on tour."
Louisville, Nashville, and Chattanooga are the nominal backdrops for
the film, but the indie club, record store, and group/band house are
the actual and fairly universal settings. In this fictional account,
our disaffected indie-rocker screen heros are played by real-life
indie heros like Jason Noble and Tara Jane O'Neill. (Real people,
indeed.) Anyway, they sleep on what appear to be real floors. They
play to what seem to be real fans. The soundtrack, which I do not
have, includes previously released songs by Unwound, Slant 6, Versus,
Polvo, and Helium. In the film, the Grifters play themselves, play
live, and they contribute (I'm told) an unreleased song to the
soundtrack.
Although obviously amateurish in both production value and acting
talent, the true-to-life-ness of the existence, at least, kept my
interest. With Jarmusch-isms galore, the black and white docu-deadpan
style worked fairly well for the serio-comic despair of our accidental
indie-rocker protagonists. Indeed, the amateur auteurs' film about
amateurism captures the state of those-darn-kids much more accurately,
I think, than the other black&white movie this summer with
real-life-like young actors and a cool soundtrack.
Anyway, I suspect bigger fans of the Louisville/indie scene will get
more of the in-jokes than I did. If for no other reason, bigger
indie-rock fans will probably recognize more people on-screen than I
did. Nevertheless, the movie gets one Ebert-sized thumb up from this
reviewer -- but don't miss a live show to go see it.
terry.harris@jhuapl.edu
<------------------------------>
From: Aaron_Schatz@brown.edu (Aaron Schatz)
Ben Folds Five, Menthol, and other stuff I like...
Hello, I haven't written in a while, so I thought I'd give some
reviews of bands you may or may not have seen.
The WBRU Birthday Bash was a festival of mershness but there were some
indie-type bands playing. Shudder to Think put on the usual great
show, mostly stuff from Pony Express Record but they played "Red
House" also. Suprisingly warm welcome from the BRU crowd. The new
band I like the most is Ben Folds Five. This is a piano-bass-drums
trio on Caroline, very '70s-influenced in a Jellyfish style. The big
single "Underground" is now #3 requests on my station, showing that
our listeners have some taste. It's a paean to the indie scene, with
great falsetto harmonies, happy pop hooks, and lyrics like, "We'll be
dressed in all black, slamming the pit fantastic." Great great, and
even better live, where Ben Folds jumps around at the piano, and at
one point leaps over the piano and lays across the top to play a solo
with his microphone.
New records I like - Love Jones "Powerful Pain Relief" with the
leading track, goofy funk number "The Thing." It's on Zoo, okay that's
a major, I'm sorry. I love this kind of cheesy stuff. I picked up a
CD by a band called Menthol on Capitol Records, but I hadn't heard of
it anywhere. This one was produced by Brad Wood at Idful Music in
Chicago, and I'm beginning to believe that anything he is associated
with is good - Sunny Day Real Estate, Liz Phair, Veruca Salt. (Okay,
I like them, even if you don't). Menthol is a trio which musically
sounds a lot like SDRE without all the quiet parts. The singing is
much different though, much more upbeat, maybe something like Ed from
fIREHOSE. And the lyrics are classic. For example, from the song
"Francis Scott Key:"
"Verses collide in the New England sky, lord help the wise men
exercising their outright melodious reinvent clause our forefathers
clawed from the jaws of the redcoats ... The captain looks over and
screams at the writer, Hey don't stand there idle. Have you know
shame? Get your fanny back in battle!"
I like this album more and more every time I listen to it.
Also good is the new Son Volt, "Trace." these are the other guys from
Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar and original drummer Mike Heidorn, the ones
who didn't form Wilco. Typical Tupelo fare, country-folk mixed with
harder rock. The rock songs are harder than the Wilco album. I put
both of them in my CD changer and let it randomly switch between the
two, and it was just like an Uncle Tupelo LP.
Okay, I'm going for now. Maybe next time I'll write about my musical
explorations in Israel, including great bands like Tipex (7 piece
ethnic pop) and Machsefot (a lesbian punk trio, Israeli style).
**********************************************************************
Aaron Schatz Aaron_Schatz@brown.edu
Morning Show DJ P.O.Box 3994
95.5 WBRU Providence Providence, RI 02912
The Cutting Edge of Rock (401) 863-5578
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<------------------------------>
From: ab546@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (J.R. Ellis)
Destination CLEveland
OCT.7 GROG SHOP, CLEVELAND
E.S.O. / UGLY BEAUTY / DAVID THOMAS / CRUEL, CRUEL MOON /
SWANK MOTEL / MY DAD IS DEAD / GEM / THE VIVIANS
Ian Hunter once said "Cleveland Rawks", and the Cleveland underground
hasn't seen a night like this one in almost as long. All contingents
were represented, from experi-arty weirdness to blast-the-doors-off-rnr
for the Cle Magazine resurrection party on Saturday, October 7, at
Cleveland's finest venue--the Grog Shop. For those who don't know,
CLE Magazine was a fanzine published in Cleveland from 1977-1981,
featuring all the bands of that era--Pere Ubu, Devo, The Pagans,
Mirrors/Styrenes, Electric Eels, Tin Huey, etc. They have a new issue
featuring a 64-minute cd of Cleveland underground bands old & new
(ab563@cleveland.freenet.edu for info.)
Einstein Symphony Orchestra--featuring Lonesome Cowboy Dave--started
things off. Dressed in a hospital gown (plus Cowboy hat) Lonesome led
the guitar/ bass/keys/bassoon combo through a quirky set including a
deconstructed version of Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds Of Silence" and
The old Clocks' hit "Sex In Another Dimension" (anyone remember
them?). The bassoon nicely punctuated what otherwise would have been
a standard r'n'r sound, and Dave was in fine form with insane
between-song ramblings (he's done a lot of stuff with Church Of The
Subgenius in the past.) For those in the Cleveland area who may not be
aware, E.S.O. have been playing live every Thursday night from
midnight-1 a.m. on WCSB 89.3 fm for years, but have yet to release
anything officially.
Next up was Ugly Beauty. That's the CLEVELAND Ugly Beauty, in case
you've heard of another band by that name. Andrew Klimeyk's
ever-changing line-up for this show included accompaniment from
accordian, trumpet, and drums (besides him on guitar.) Always one of
Cleveland's most poetic songwriters and abstract-expressionist
guitarists, Ugly Beauty is the perfect name for this group. Buried in
the dissonance are catchy melodies, if you listen closely enough to
find them. The highlight was his guitar solo using a street sign as a
slide.
Pere Ubu's David Thomas made the next appearance, backed by the
Vivians. David commanded the stage with arms flailing as they did
"Codex"... and though he's not touring anymore -- Ubu Jim Jones
joined the band on stage for "Down By The River" from _Ray Gun
Suitcase_. (Their US tour with Tom Herman on guitar starts this
week.)
Then Cruel, Cruel Moon played a great, loud, Velvet Underground-y,
garage-punk set. All I can say is--if you ever get the chance--check
them out! They can flip-flop from folky sweetness to bone-crushing
White Light/White Heat intesity in a snap. The highlight of their set
was their track from the CLE cd release "1,000,000 Years"--this night
with Carolyn on vocals. Then it was time for the happening Holiday
Inn sounds of Swank Motel. Featuring a stand-up bass, the Swank Motel
specialize in Valium versions of old punk "standards" like "Search &
Destroy" and "World Up My Ass", lounge-ifying them for aging punkers
and a frightening number of kids who probably don't remember the
originals.
After Swank Motel, things cranked up a bit. My Dad Is Dead opened
their set with "Chopping Down The Family Tree". Just back from a
short US tour to promote their _For Richer, For Poorer_ album, the
band was tight and well-rehearsed. With infectious melodies and hooky
pop tunes, it's hard to believe Mark Edwards has been doing this for
10 years. MDID's line-up over the years has included everyone from
Robert McEntire of Tortoise to every member of the following
band--GEM--who just released an album called "Hexed" on Restless.
They opened their set with "Suburban Girl" then played "YeahYa" and
"Figments." If you haven't heard these guys, I've got one word for
you--GUITARS. Big, soaring, blasting, driving, crunching, churning
GUITARS. These guys have been in the Cleveland scene forever, playing
in bands like Starvation Army, Prisonshake, My Dad Is Dead, and Death
Of Samantha. (Doug also still plays with Cobra Verde--who have some
new 7" vinyl out this month on Scat and Sub Pop.)
The Vivians closed out the night with one of their inimitiable
in-your-face performances. Still one of the coloest Cleveland bands
around, this was their last performance for awhile as Michele and
Steve will be touring with Pere Ubu for the next 7 weeks.
All in all, a great night. Eight bands packed into 4 hours, and not a
weak set in sight.
<------------------------------>
From: vjakushe@ra.abo.fi (Valeri Jakushev)
QUERY: Catpa? Katpa? Cappa?
I heard a very nice song here on John Peel programme for Radio Mafia
(Finland) last Tuesday, 26.9.95.
The song was Rocket by a band called somehow Cappa or Catpa or Katpa I
couldn't figure out. It's from their debut album. The band suppose
to be from N.Y. The CD J.Peel was playing was released in Italy.
This song was great, basically guitar rock, female vocal (suppose to
be a standard for success;-)), but still it turns on.
Does anybody knows something about it?
Thanx
Regards from the land of Leningrad Cowboys ;-)
Valeri
<------------------------------>
From: patrickm@mcs.com (patrick monaghan)
ANNOUNCE: Carrot Top tour info
Alright. This is it. The Coctails are hangin' it up after their 4th
Annual New Year's Eve show at Lounge Ax this year. This is their last
tour, and is more than likely your last shot at seeing them prove that no
record that they've released even comes close to how cool they are on
stage. GO SEE THEM!!
The Coctails Go East One Last Time
[various dates deleted because of the production schedule... -es]
Sun 10/15 New York Knitting Factory w/Flowchart
Mon 10/16 New York Mercury Lounge w/Mekons
Tue 10/17 Providence, RI Met Cafe
Wed 10/18 Philadelphia, PA Nick's
Fri 10/20 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
Sat 10/21 Atlanta, GA Star Bar
Out now: Samarai Celestial-Isis Sun CD. Drummer for the Sun Ra
Arkestra. Cosmic music from the next millennium.
patrick monaghan
carrot top records, inc.
chi il us
<------------------------------>
From: obo@hopf.dnai.com (Bo Orloff)
ANNOUNCE: Pere Ubu Tour & Web Site
Thought folks out there in Indie-List land might like to know that
indie pioneers Pere Ubu (who are officially an indie band again,
having just released their latest album, _Raygun Suitcase_, through
Tim/Kerr Records) are celebrating their 20th (!) anniversary as a band
with a tour and a new WWW site. The Web site can be found at:
<http://www.dnai.com/~obo/ubu/>
Tour info is as follows:
The tour band is:
David Thomas vocals, melodeon, musette
Tom Herman guitar
Michele Temple bass
Robert Wheeler EML synthesizer, theremin
Steve Mehlman drums
This is the first all-Cleveland touring Ubu band since 1979, a weird and
unsettling trivia point for when they add the Pere Ubu category to Trivial
Pursuits.
Dates are as follows:
UBU TOUR DATES IN AMERICA
[ production schedule bites again... -es]
Tue, 10/17, Philadelphia PA, Upstairs At Nick's
Wed, 10/18, Washington DC, 930 Club
Thu, 10/19, Toronto ONT, Velvet Underground
Fri, 10/20, Cleveland OH, Agora Ballroom
Sat, 10/21, Chicago IL, Elbo Room
Sun, 10/22, Madison WI, Club de Wash
Mon, 10/23, Indianapolis IN, Patio
Tue, 10/24, Minneapolis MN, First Avenue
Fri, 10/27, Vancouver BC, Starfish
Sat, 10/28, Portland OR, Berbatis Pan
Sun, 10/29, Seattle WA, RKCNDY
Tue, 10/