You Sure Look That Way to Me!
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Indie List Digest!
May 31, 1994
Volume 3 Number 34
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A correction
Polvo, Versus, Magnetic Fields, et al.
Garage Shock
Blaise Pascal & Pavement, pt 1
Bedlam Rovers, Heavy into Jeff, Stone Fox, Bunny
Praxis
ANNOUNCE: Inland Empire List
ANNOUNCE: Big Star Zine
ADV: Jersey Beat
Another issue of Indie-List. Unlike the subject line of
the last issue, this REALLY is number 34 of Volume 3. My fingers
slipped along on the keyboard a bit to blithely.
We've got quite the backlog here at I-L-Ed-quarters, but keep sending
your stuff along. It all works through the pipeline, and submissions
up until the last few days have been a bit, well, pokey. But issues
may be coming out a little more often than they have been until we get
caught up - if your mailboxes start groanin', drop me a line. Also on
the way should be the revised FAQ, which I'm sure you've all been
waiting for...
Thanks to all for the comments we've received. This list is reader
driven, from the submissions to the inflections of editorial style.
We appreciate every bit of advice we can get!
This issue begins a serialization of sorts from Marcel Feldmar
(marcelf@wimsey.bc.ca), who drums with Blaise Pascal. They hopped
along with Pavement for a five days of their recent tour, and Marcel
has been generous enough to share his diary from this time with us.
Since the piece is so long, we're splitting it up by city. This
edition gets us to Portland...
-es
------------------------------
From: barney <robertg@chemres.tn.cornell.edu>
insignificant correction
In discussing cute-band Cub, a contributor apparently referred to
"Killed by Death" as a Metallica song. In fact, I believe the song in
question was originally spat out by the ugly guys in Motorhead.
Because this is the Indie-list and not the Lemmy-list, though, I
really don't see that it matters all that much. -Barney G.
[Scott Faulkner (scottfau@microsoft.com) sent along the same
correction! Thanks! -es]
-------------------------------
From: spaceboy@s-griffin.com (Spaceboy)
reviews: polvo, versus, magnetic fields, etc.
hello!
first some recorded stuff:
the magnetic fields _the charm of the highway strip_ **1/2
my first experience with this band. i love it! references: if the
lead singer of joy division was around to front new order. at some
points in this record, the instrumentation reminds me of alphaville
(remember them? --- "big in japan"). anyway, these are just
references; the magnetic fields are really quite unique and very
refreshing for me to hear stuff like this at this point. there seems
to be a theme of travel to this album. i won't say any more though as
i'm too tired to go off on some literary critique. pick it up.
polvo _celebrate the new dark age_ ** (nothing less than 4 by
default)
<heh heh>
well, maybe i'm a little disappointed because this thing is so short
(clocking in at, i believe, 25 min.) but i don't think this lives up
to the greatness of _today's active lifestyles_. not that this new
one is weak by any stretch, just hasn't triggered my "oh my gosh! oh
my gosh!" reflex. i can't wait to hear them with the sitar they sing
about in "every holy shroud" though. that would be amazing! maybe
i'll be more into this after a twenty or so more listens.
pointless anecdote: the night before _dark age_ was released, i had a
dream in which polvo covered CCR's "looking out my back door." now,
that's something i'd kill to hear in real life!
versus _the stars are insane_ **1/2
well, it seems they are steering towards a small factory pop sound,
away from the infatuation they seemed to have with sonic youth's
sister (although the riff to "river" sounds like it was nicked from
"schizophrenia.") the songs are quieter and flowing and less explosive
than their brilliant ep _let's electrify_ while at the same time
catchier and more hook-ridden (if this is conceivable). more vocal
melodies between richard and fontaine too. all-around great record a
la beatles school of pop. buy this and sigh a lot.
show review:
versus, kicking giant, purple ivy shadows @ last call, providence, ri
pis: great. i was told that all the members of small factory were in
the lineup this evening, but i wouldn't know since i still haven't
seen them yet. great set! loved every minute. thought running
through my head during the show: hank williams meets spacemen 3!!!!!
probably not good description at all, but that's me.
kicking giant: at first i was annoyed, but after about five minutes, i
was very impressed. someone wrote a better review in a previous
issue, so i'll leave it at that. very worthwhile.
versus: well, all through the set i repeated "they're only a
three-piece?" while standing mentally slack-jawed/ physically bouncing
up and down and grinning like an idiot. ...and they played "silver
vein" too! yay! excellent show all-around.
over and out,
michael.
spaceboy@s-griffin.com
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From: Jill Emery <llje@utxdp.dp.utexas.edu>
Garage Shock
Garage Shock Send-Off: Cryin' Out Louds, The Dropouts, Jack O'Fire &
The Inhalants @ Emo's Austin, TX May 22,1994
The Cryin' Out Louds started the show off with menus being passed
around the audience...I could excerpt it here but it would take up too
much space. It is a spicy list of hot, hot tunes that were delivered
with vengeance of any galloping gourmet. Having said that, I'll stop
the punning now. To date, they still have not released anything but
they might make tapes available at Garage Shock?!
Next, The Dropouts took the stage & I took a break from videotaping
the show. If you like the British Invasion sound, this is the San
Antonio equivalent. I never really followed that vein and have
absolutely nothing to compare them to nor can I make any attempt at
criticism.
Jack O'Fire took the stage next & I was right next to the monitor
videotaping away. This was perhaps the best show I've seen them put
on. They're really incredible: Tim Kerr on blues guitar, Walter
Daniels doing vocals & the meanest harp in the whole state of Texas, a
stand-up bass player whose name I always forget & a drummer whom,
again, I'm unable to name. They do everything from old blues to Joy
Division to Sun Ra etc. Their CD The Destruction of Squaresville came
out on Estrus sometime in March & a new single also on Estrus was
released shortly after that and apparently has been selling really
well in town. Their mixture of blues, funk, & intensely controlled
rage is something that really has to be seen as well as heard. I
prefer them in performance to recordings but recommend whatever venue
is open to you. (OK, so this whole review is to feature them, I admit
it, but they are one of my personal Austin favorites).
Last but by far means least was The Inhalants. The Inhalants are
garage rock. They're incomparable by my standards to anything else in
this area of music. They have some locally released singles but
nothing even on a minor indie label yet...maybe Garage Shock will
change that. Three members: bass, guitar, drums with the vocals
mainly by the guitar player but on a rare occasion by the bass player,
which is quite a treat. Like I said, they are Garage Rock; everything
right on the money but no polish anywhere...I also highly recommend
seeing them if you get to go Seattle or find yourself in Austin for a
weekend.
--je
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From: marcelf@wimsey.bc.ca (Marcel Feldmar)
Blaise Pascal and Pavement Tour Diary, pt 1
Travellin' the Paved Road & worshippin' the Sev
by Marcel "tap the sticks" Feldmar
Blaise Pascal & Pavement April 25th - 30th 1994
7:30 am Monday morning.... we meet at the practice space & there's
only 1 important word in the English language.... Coffee.
7:30... sure... not fer all of us. It's 8 a.m., Nick's not here
yet, & Andrew & Mike went to get the van. now i'm able to think of 2
things.... coffee & movement.... yeah. travel. i just wanna GO!
well, 9 a.m., music blasts from a home job shock treatment jumper
cable cigarette lighter/tape deck courtesy of Andrew... 10 a.m. & we
hit the border like a bad movie. the guard plays a hunch & decides he
doesn't trust us.... 12:30 & we're still at the border, trying hard
to get across, using Andrew's phone card to call everyone we know on
the entire west coast fer possible help.
thank god fer cigarettes
we drive down to Campbell River's store, grab some munchies, take over
the phone booth & continue w/ our quest to cross that elusive
borderline.
Dave, our guest on this trip, decides that from now on he will be
known only as Agent 13... i am Agent 23, & Michael is Nest Egg....
this is project Pascal, & we attempt to contact others of our small
but powerful organization (Bob Swirlie, Mike Roadcone) to fax us
copies of letters that contain some proof of intent... but it's just
getting complicated & time is running out.... we gotta be in Portland
soon. & in the words of Agent 13 ..... " all we need is a super 8."
Alright... here's the scene, w/ Dave & i sitting on the grass, almost
touching the diesel-stained road, smelling the semis in some haunting
all- American glory traffic feedback rush ...quintessential fumes in
the nicotine wind...
i'm calling the shots... fade in, zoom out, tilt camera, fade to
black... Agent 13 holds the camera steady... Nick's in the phone
booth, voice low, pacing, heated conversation. Mike runs back &
forth. fax to phone to bus to us... holding an impressive sheath of
documentation, official lookin & marked w/ the sign of the eagle.....
i keep forgettin we're not in America yet
... Andrew plays the part of the secret service, white shirt black
sweater dark sunglasses, standing watching waiting... in that
light-toed steady stance of the bass player.
quarter to 2 & we're back at the border w/ our fax & we're trying this
again. Tom Waits fills the bus, & i think i'm happy.
2:30, we're on the hiway. 108 miles to Seattle, but we're going
straight to Portland. we're speedin'.
pitstop fer drinks & a phone call to the promoters to say "hey... we
made it, we're on our way" & the first thing i buy in the
states....Cappio. RAH!
we're freewheelin in the carpool lane & the sun hits my arms in some
semblance of a slight remembrance of dazed hallucinogenic heat, & i
feel like i'm almost home. Seattle is now just a passing lane memory
that we'll hit tomorrow like deja vu.
6:30 & we're cruising around small town no name gas stations,
searching fer propane on exit 67. All i can hear in the back of my
head is Joey singing "i wanna be sedated..." Yeah... just get me to
that show... Centralia, Onalaska, Snookumsumthinchukum or
whatchamacallum river, well, i don't know where we are. We're
learning gas tank geometry. the mathematics of mileage & we got 74
miles to go. we'll fly on fumes if we have to.
PORTLAND LA LUNA MON 25 1994 (Full Moon)
okay.... we get to La Luna just after 8 & find out that we have about
15 minutes to set up & play. It's alright if we use Rollerskate
Skinny's amps & drums, so, much to Dave's amazement, we get out of the
van, throw down a bit of guitar tuning, & walk on stage, swelling into
Circuit, our Dream Syndicate cover (which went over well) &
Flattened.... & that's it. Portland blinked, & Blaise Pascal had
finished their set.
Watched the Skinny & Pavement hurtle through their sets w/ my friend
Ted, who just moved to Portland.... wasn't too impressed w/
Rollerskate, but i think it was the sound, & i was in a kinda bad
mood.
Pavement.... ROCKED! The most amazing version of Fight This
Generation went thru the crowd like a slacker switchblade, & it cut
deep. A couple of guys from SNIPeHUNT showed up & wanted to interview
us, so we said if they took us to somewhere we could eat, we'd let
them talk to us, & we ended up in teh Space Room, drinkin beer &
answering some pretty inane questions... kinda interested to see if
it makes it to print. Afterwards we took some ROCK photos against the
wall- cool, eh? & then headed to the Montage & devoured a year's
supply of Spicy Mac & just yer plain old Mac. (best deal in town, i
hear.)
we crashed at the home of Mike from Roadcone Records (well, three of
us... Michael & Andrew slept in the van) & late mornign we found
ourselves wandering around old bookstores & used record stores & then
headed to where Ted works to grab breakfast (good eats!) From there we
went to pick up Ben (ex of the Swirlies) who was accompanying us to
Seattle.
Turns out Nick & Dave were in the process of selling a CD after teh
show, talking about the border hassles, & this guy says, "what
happened? Drugs?" & Dave kinda looks at the ground, looks up, & they
tell him that the guard discovered a bad record on the computer....
he looks wide-eyed, askin what kind of record.... & Dave goes, "The
drummer just got off a manslaughter charge." Man.... the rumours are
beginning to fly now.
Nothing much happens between Portland & Seattle, except i discover,
fer the first time, the wonders of Annabelle's Big Hunk (a good chew)
.... & this massive chunk of nougat lasts until Calgary.
Portland, man...... everyone's a hipster.
[to be continued... -es]
------------------------------
From: GREGS@SLC.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU
Bedlam Rovers/Heavy Into Jeff/Stone Fox/Bunny/Lucky plus CD reviews
May 20: Bedlam Rovers/Heavy Into Jeff/Stone Fox/Bunny/Lucky at DNA
Lounge, SF
This was one venue of as many as 25 during a weekend event titled
"SFO1" -- a first attempt at a pretty sizeable-yet-small music
conference in San Francisco. The target was unsigned bands, and
though SXSW or CMJ it is not, it was a good showcase of local talent.
Remember I said this after you read my review of the DNA Lounge show.
Five bands, $6 -- yet with all the people wearing yellow "SFO1" cards
around their necks, I was convinced that my friend and I were the only
paying customers there that night. To open there was Lucky: a band
that could have made quite a few bucks working on soundtrack themes
down in L.A. for mid-80s Teen B movies starring Andrew McCarthy, but
that sound really doesn't work in a club at all. On the back of the
Mats' (read: Westerberg's) _All Shook Down_ there's a sign that reads,
"Have you seen Lucky?" Well I have, and believe me -- afterwards you
wish you hadn't. But then I think I actually watched the movie
"Mannequin" in lieu of the Super Bore this year, so hey -- maybe there
is hope for Lucky yet.
Next for a 20-minute platter of sonic ecstasy was Bunny. Two members
are formerly from the Sextants, and their drummer is ex-American Music
Club -- neither of which I'd go out of my way to spend money for. I
can't point my finger on it, but though Lucky was forgivably cheesy, I
wasn't as forgiving with Bunny. Their vocalist, Lori Hester, warbled
her voice as if to veil an inability to carry a note for more than 0.4
seconds. Not poor sounding as much as it was annoying. Worse yet was
their bassist, who with his dress and persona embodied every comical
nightmare of what happens when a reclusive South Bay engineer (like
myself of course) learns all about "American cool" from an assortment
of Japanese comic books and advert-ridden culture mags ... and yet
STILL fails miserably at even that. As goes Mary Hart's voice, so
goes Bunny in my ears.
Stone Fox was necessary relief. They've been called a sort of
Runaways for the '90s, and I can understand the comparisons. They
amused the hell out of me. The music had a solid guitar sound in a
garage punk/pop way -- mildly good, but not great. Their bassist
supposedly toured with Bash and Pop, and their lead vocalist (pulling
something of the flapper look in a silk slip with a faux [as in toy]
fox stole around her neck and purple feathers in her hair) made body
motions that I haven't seen in years. Nothing musically special, but
the best band I saw that night in terms of a live performance.
God forbid, if they ever make a BATS (Based on a True Story) movie
from the bio of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Heavy Into Jeff should get
the nod for the soundtrack hands down. Too bad. No, I actually
really like Nirvana. And in their own way with the amazing likeness
of the vocalist's voice and the uncanny sound and arrangements of a
few of their songs, they could quite possibly fool some of the
uninitiated. However as that brain-pierced mouthbreather said in
those pre-Lupo Converse Chuck Taylor commercials (that ironically
tried to be "anti-commercial" while trying to market the hell out of
"Gen Xers"), "The important thing is to be yourself." For Heavy Into
Jeff, I'm not sure they know who that is.
I've been a fan of the Bedlam Rovers for a couple of years now: their
smooth vocals in a sort of Natalie Merchant vein (which is amazing
since I really didn't like 10K Maniacs), their use of violin, and
their steady rhythm section. Some of the band members are quite
active in other musical causes in the area. This time they looked
very tired though -- as if after playing for years as unsigned and
unknown talent they've gotten discouraged and a little lazy. Maybe it
was an off night, but they played no new songs and seemed somewhat
uninspired. Perhaps this is the fallout of going unrecognized for so
long.
I've heard other sites for SF01 had better talent/events (and I know
for a fact there is better unsigned talent in the area), but even
still -- this event in the conference was still worthwhile for what it
tried to accomplish, even if I was one of only two paying customers.
REVIEWS:
New stuff (since I buy a lot of used CDs, I'll rate them by the bottom
line -- what I think they are worth paying for):
Superchunk - Foolish: Better songwriting still, some mellower songs.
Suits them well at this point in their career. Pretty cohesive.
Perhaps one of their best albums, though they are all pretty
darned good in my book. Worth full price ($12 in my case).
[...and if you buy the vinyl in this first (only?) pressing, you get
a cool etched 7" to boot. Much fun... -es]
Drive Like Jehu - _Yank Crime_: Reis is one of my favorite musical
influences of the past couple of years. This release has the loud,
dueling guitar sound of their premiere, but it also includes some
slower, mellower sections that are reminiscient of the
ebb-and-tide sound of Fugazi in their exploitation of tension and
release. Nice subtle change, though I do find myself appreciating
the relentless sound of their first a little more. Like Slint,
Rodan, etc., they seem to also contribute to something of a trend
I've noticed in some corners of the post-punk world: the turnabout
from punk minimalism (e.g., 50 cuts in 30 minutes a la the
Minutemen) towards the epic 9-minute songs that punk originally
sought to demolish from the days of overwrought classical wannabes
like Yes and Rush. We all could do without a punk cover of "In A
Gadda Da Vida," but it probably is about time for those areas to
be reexamined after nearly 20 years. Powerful stuff -- still one
of the best albums of the year. A steal at $12; buy it for $15 if
you have to. (p.s.: By all means buy pre-DLJ Pitchfork's
_Eucalyptus_ -- $12).
Chune - Burnt: Some elements of DLJ, yet with more emphasis on the
periods of quieter, distortion-free interludes between noise
bursts. Not as dense as Jehu, but it has its moments. Worth a used
bin buy at $7.
Rodan - Rusty: Yeah, yeah, yeah -- like you don't know already. $13.
greg | Pro Child
gsherwin@nyx.cs.du.edu | Pro Family
gregs@slac.stanford.edu | Pro Wrestling
------------------------------
From: Drelb@aol.com
Praxis
The other day my friend picked up a tape... a band called Praxis.
They're infriggincredible, and if you see the album ("Sacrifist") pick
it up. Basically it's a lot of random-sounding hard guitar riffs
interspersed with a lot of samples and some synth movement. One of
the songs was written with famed John Zorn, and there is very few
vocals except Yamasutka Eye of "Naked City" yelling on some songs.
If you like hard distorted guitar noise (like Fudge Tunnel or
Meathookseed) or John Zorn you'll probably like this. Very sporadic.
drelb@aol.com
------------------------------
From: "K. Lena Bennett" <keb@u.washington.edu>
ANNOUNCE: Inland Empire List is a reality!
The Inland Empire list can be subscribed to by emailing
inland-request@indiana.edu. Thanks to Eric Sinclair for setting up
the software. So far we have like 8 people joined. It'll probably be
low-volume but fanatical. :)
Bands to be discussed include Mountain Goats, Nothing Painted Blue,
Diskothi-Q, Paste, Refrigerator, etc., anything on Shrimper, various
other home-taping kinds of labels, e.g., whatever.... For those who
wonder what Inland Empire refers to, it's a place in Southern
California. I've never been there - ask Peter about it, or read
Franklin Bruno's article in the latest CMJ Consumer Guide Monthly.
Lena keb@u.washington.edu
"It's a different kind of sane, a crazy kind of sane
this feeling without a name that they call love...." - Sebadoh
------------------------------
From: beeman@mindlink.bc.ca (Judith Beeman)
ANNOUNCE: BIG STAR zine
For years I've been inwardly plotting just what my zine would be:
I've considered everything from comix to music to even, snicker, a
literary zine (well I do write Subtext the book/comics column for
Discorder magazine). My fave band won:
Introducing BACK OF A CAR a Big Star exploration.
History of the group and music; solo careers; live reviews; discussion
of lyrics; profiles on bands who cover Big Star material and so on.
Also pop music and book reviews. Comics? You bet. There will also be
a 'gallery' page featuring artwork based on Big Star.
The first issue will be out in August, the Fall/Winter edition. BACK
OF A CAR will be published twice yearly.
#1 Issue will include: Current tour reviews (Halp! I need someone to
review the Japan gigs); An interview with Jody Stephens; A review of a
Chilton/Talking Heads gig @ CBGB's in 77; Ralph Wiley's review of a
recent Chilton solo show in New Orleans (double halp!! I need to get
in touch with Wiley; this was the gig he reviewed in these pages a few
weeks ago, his email address didn't work) And that's just for
starters! The mag will be digest size.
Feel free to write for BACK OF A CAR. Published contributers get a
free zine. I'm looking for personal thoughts on the band's music,
reviews of the albums or certain songs. I'm also compiling a list of
groups who cover Big Star-related material.
Thanks,
Judith (who will be present at the SF gig!)
beeman@mindlink.bc.ca
snailmail: #4636 MPO Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 4A1
--------------------------------
From: jimjbeat@aol.com
ADV: Jersey Beat
To anyone interested, the new issue of Jersey Beat is now available
for a mere two bucks. The theme is The Selling Of Punk, and there's a
lot of pro and con about bands like Green Day and Jawbox abandoning
the DIY underground for their shot at the mainstream, with both sides
of the argument getting their say. There's also a feature on Jon
Clark's band Sinkhole and lots of other cool stuff, and there would've
been some record reviews by Indie-List & Telegraph's very own riot
grrl Jodi Shapiro if she had just mailed the damn things in on
time.... Anyway, email me for details - JIMJBEAT@AOL.COM. We now
return to our regularly scheduled shmoozing...p
<------------------------------------------------------------>
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
Editors Eric Sinclair esinclai@indiana.edu
Anne Zender azender@indiana.edu
Mailings Sean Murphy grumpy@access.digex.net
Archives Chris Karlof karlofc@seq.cms.uncwil.edu
FTP ftp://ftp.uwp.edu/pub/music/lists/indie
Consultants: Mark Cornick, Joshua Houk, Sean Murphy, Liz Clayton and
K. Lena Bennett.
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 <indie_submit@indiana.edu>.
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