Tell me why love is like a ball and chain....
#############################
Indie List Digest!
March 6, 1995
Volume 4 Number 19
#############################
Administrivia and Non
Guilty Pleasures and ECO-ROCK.
royal trux; GoNuts/Bamboras/Highlander 2s LIVE
basketball? basketball??!! aaaaaaaauuuuugggghhhhhhh!!!!!!
Slide guitar...
A Notables list
GbV and AOL plus more
ANNOUNCE: WSBF Spring Concert
ANNOUNCE: Stinson Memorial Fund
AD: Seeking Bandmates
AD: Mommyheads
AD: Special Pillow 7"
<------------------------------>
Administrivia:
Anne and I have had a bitch of a time keeping a consistent release
schedule for the I-L over the past month or two - chalk it up to
personal time commitments and dwindling computing resources at my
workplace. One of those is resolved now, and the other reworked, so
you should expect a more regular fix. Our goal is to release a
complete issue each Monday, and if there's a great overflow, an
off-week issue on any given Thursday.
Undoubtably we'd like to have more submissions than we do now (with a
subscription list well over 1000), and we invite all readers to
consider lending your own spin on things musical, as the Indie-List is
as much about dialogue and community as it is about reportage.
Personally, I'd love to be "forced" to put out two issues a week
again. If there are other elements of the IL you'd like to comment
upon (but not for publication) please drop myself, Anne or Sean a
line.
All this is well and good, but there may be one more hiccup in the near
future. Anne and myself are travelling south - to New Orleans for a
few days, and I'll be in Austin a few days later. If anyone has
goings on for N.O. from the 11th through the 14th, or non-SXSW
events for the 18th-21st, please get in touch!
Non-administrivia:
Pat M. (patrickm@mcs.com) had a blurb for Carrot Top records and the
Coctails in the last I-L, and in doing so, he serendipitously reminded
me of the sweller things I've heard over the past year, the Evergreen
7" on HiBall Records (POB 61-7522, Chicago IL, 60661). Evergreen are,
I believe, a Louisville band in most respects; what with the
involvement of Britt Walford, they'd almost have to be. This 7"
is a fine melding of the Louisville sound with some more melodic, yet
tricky, bits. If you've enjoyed the structural elements of King Kong
and Television, I think this one is up your alley also...
-es
<------------------------------>
From: Sean Murphy <grumpy@access3.digex.net>
Guilty Pleasures and ECO-ROCK.
Urp. Feel like a proper response is in order to Aaron Schatz's
remarks in I-L v4n17 (which were a response to stuff I chipped in
at the end of a post a little while back). Please note up front that
I'm not mad at anyone (except myself, maybe). But some clarification
isn't such a bad thing from time to time.
Mr. Schatz took the time to express some thoughts about a number of
"major" bands who are commonly heard on the radio today but have some
variety of kinship to the independent music scene. I agree with much
of what he said, particularly about people being more open-minded in
reference to the means of production vs. musical quality concept that
eludes many converts to the "indie scene."
We part ways, however, somewhere around Weezer. While I may laugh in
recognition at recycled Cheap Trick sound effects, and my friends and
I mock the horrible butchering of inner city slang (homies DON'T dis
your girl, g, even if they are fronting, unless they like the taste of
your gat), the fact of the matter is that "Buddy Holly" is not a good
song. "The Sweater Song" is a pale imitation of another song of
highschool years, "Gigantic." (But we'll get back to Mrs. John Murphy
in a moment...) And I'm certainly not the first to note the remarkable
resemblence of Weezer's CD cover (they're not cool enough to demand
12" vinyl yet) to a truly groundbreaking LP, the Feelies' _Crazy
Rhythms_. In sum, this band is merely dressing up in daddy's
clothing, raiding an older sibling's record collection, and having
some fun in the process. If you choose to have fun with them, go
ahead. I'd rather have fun at their expense.
Furthermore, nobody's going to convince me that Veruca Salt is a good
band. I've got to come to that conclusion myself. So far, based on
exposure to 2 songs (seether and #1 blind), I think they're pretty
fucking bad. They've remembered what Charles Thompson forgot right
around 1989: Kim Deal could sing. This is not what the media told me
- this is what I think after hearing the band.
Perhaps I'd rather have 12 year olds listening to Green Day than
Mch*l Bltn. But I'm not gonna say that a radio station should run
out and play Green Day or Weezer. Radio isn't about instant
gratification - that's what CDs are for. Or cassingles. Radio is an
opportunity to hear a million different things that can't possibly be
contained in one CD or even one perfect mix tape. Radio should make
you constantly go "oh yeah!" or "wow! what the fuck was that?" or
"shit, i don't get that man" while your best friend says "shut up and
listen - hear that second bass weaving in and out?" (Now why couldn't
I have said this in Finley #1?)
I think a lot of radio stations are abdicating their responsibility to
inform and educate the public in the name of the almighty dollar.
It's possible to keep a commercial station (no government or school
funding, no listener pledge drives) on the air playing challenging and
creative music. It's not easy (think "volunteer staff"), but it can
be done.
Stations which think they make a true difference or contribution to
their audience's musical knowledge by playing Green Day/Stone Temple
Pilots/Weezer/Stone "Zeppelin" Roses in 1995 are kidding themselves.
Played as part of a bigger mix, to offer a slight sense of familiarity
- fine. As the truly adventurous material in one's programming mix -
no fucking way.
Let's hope that the listening public shows its awareness of the true
range of music out there.
Those who'd like to continue this discussion can do so in private
e-mail to me (or post it to the I-L, if you'd like).
On to the new stuff....
Gamma Rays / Air Miami / Spectrum, Princeton, NJ.
Last time I saw Spectrum, everybody in the room was severely fucked up
(I was incredibly drunk, and others were wandering around with joints,
acid, and even peyote). The part I remember was a drone which
supposedly lasted 45 minutes, though I only remember it being about 10
at most. Mr. Kember was as frail looking as ever, with his bangs all
down in his face. This was 2+ years ago, right around when Soul Kiss
came out.
Last time I saw Air Miami, they had decided to head back into
well-worn territory, led by songs like "Airplane Rider." First time I
saw them, it was amazing - like grafting little parts of Galaxie 500
and Stereolab onto the venerable Unrest tree-trunk. Second time
looked like donor-tissue rejection to me... this was at the end of
July, before their 7" came out.
This time: ECO-ROCK. Why write a new song when you can recycle an old
one?
The show opened with a set by the Gamma Rays. They're a new band on
TeenBeat, and started out playing 3-4 songs that sounded EXACTLY like
Blast Off Country Style, except with weirder instrumentation. They
got more interesting near the end of the set, but still not too
captivating.
Air Miami: Long-time Indie-List readers know that I basically adored
Unrest. Mark Robinson has done very little wrong in the recording
arena, to my ears. Air Miami essentially picks up where the final
Unrest LP left off, but with a few twists. Bridget sings a bit more,
and plays guitar, and the rhythm section was new from the last time I
saw Air Miami, with Fontaine Toups (of Versus) on bass. Minus points:
"Airplane Rider" (which is the latest in the Cherry/Suki/Cath Carroll
selection of songs), and the song which blatantly rewrote "Make Out
Club." Big plus: the final song of their set, which made me all warm
and fuzzy and kinda sad at the same time, because it's sorta like
Galaxie 500 and Stereolab (slow-song version) rolled together into
this beautiful thing that always ends about 5 minutes too soon.
Re-treads, yes. But very entertaining.
And then Spectrum hit the stage. Started with a song which is
essentially "Walking with Jesus" but happier. Then they played Red
Crayola's "Transparant Radiation" which made me very happy. Then
another song which sounds exactly like transparant radiation. This
scared off most of the crowd. Droned for a while, but the conclusion
was spectacular: a cover of Mudhoney's "When Tomorrow Hits" followed
by "Revolution" and then "Suicide." So the highlights were all
Spacemen 3 oriented. But that's fine with me - never saw Spacemen
together (they couldn't get into the US back then...) so this will do
nicely.
Overall - a decent night. I'm still trying to reconstruct that last
Air Miami song in my head right now... 4 days later... it was almost
a Dean Wareham guitar lead, but when I plug in that style in my memory
it doesn't sound right... argh...
Sean Murphy
sometimes known as "one of the I-L staffers"
grumpy@access.digex.net
<------------------------------>
From: Jay Babcock <jay@DrMemory.nuc.ucla.edu>
royal trux; GoNuts/Bamboras/Highlander 2s LIVE
ROYAL TRUX: "Thank You" LP (gasp.... Virgin)
"Thank You", the big-league debut from former Drag(city)sters Royal
Trux, has to be somewhat of a disappointment to longtime Trux
followers. Right from the opening boogie-rock notes of "A Night to
Remember," it's clear that we're hearing Royal Trux Mach III -- and
it's also clear that much of what once made this band so special has
been jettisoned.
This is not to say that "Thank You" is a radical departure from
recent recordings... after all, discounting the early, totally
inaccessbile stuff like the _Twin Infinitives_ double album, Royal
Trux have always exhibited classic rock leanings; songs that appear on
"Thank You" could easily have been recorded for 1993's "Cats and Dogs"
album, and vice versa.
But "Thank You" finds Royal Trux curiously morphed into a Band with a
capital "B," complete with a ridiculously hyperactive bass player just
graduated from the poodle-hair Guitar Institute. The production is
beefier... the songwriting more linear and straightforward... and
the vocals, while still far from conventional, are not so out-of-
phase and off-balance as they used to be. The Royal Trux noise-to-
solo ratio has now shifted entirely to the the solo side -- all riffs,
no whale sounds. Neil Haggerty's guitar sounds like Keith Richards' -
- which is fine by me -- but it's lost the signature Royal Trux guitar
of being gone. The music is energized instead of drained.
That said, there are some good songs -- and some great moments --
here. Jennifer Herrema's vocals come off as harsh accusations, choked
out during a teenage sob session; when she says "when I was twelve and
my ass was up for grabs" she's testifying in some strange way. And
when Jennifer and Neil trade off vocals, as on "Map of the City," they
sounds like a coupla alley cats being backed by a too-competent bar
band. "Fear Strikes Out" is very catchy boogie-rock with a guitar
bridge that will strike you as either awesome or impossibly cheesy,
depending on your classic rock tolerance.
Best are "(Have You Met) Horror James" -- apparently about the
neighborhood drug dealer with the "animal bones and electronic joints"
-- and the closing "Shadow of the Wasp," a real jaw-dropper that
builds slowly on some gentle guitar work and a hushed vocal bridge in
which Neil wonders "maybe we were living under a good sign all that
time." Sometimes, at moments like this, they still are.
The Go-Nuts, The Bamboras, The Highlander 2s
Jabberjaw/Los Angeles/Feb. 17
Although hampered by a new bassist reduced to playing from sheet
music, a lack of prior rehearsing (most songs began with the decidedly
non-standard "1-2...no, wait..."), a lack of songs (I think they had
two -- a theme jingle and another song they played at least seven
times in a row), and, for a surf band, worst of all -- _no customized
vehicle_, the kilt-clad Highlander 2s' performance was a
primitive-surf-garage rock blast... if only because of their superior
between-song banter/audience pandering. Example: when an audience
member exclaimed "you rock!" the singer quickly replied "No, we do
not rock -- we are merely the conduit for your rockedness." Amen.
The Bamboras emerged from what seemed to be a raucous glue-sniffing
session in their sporty white Helms Bakery vehicle long enough to play
a rather dull set. The band looked good, especially the dude with the
Urge OverKato haircut, but the Bamboras only have three songs (played
2-3 times each) and their between-song banter needs work. Extra
points are awarded to the Bs, though, for their use of the
always-charming Farfisa organ.
And then there were the eagerly-anticipated Estrus-label Go-Nuts.
Dressed up in bizarre costumes -- kinda what the Mighty Morphin Power
Rangers would look like if they were Junior Shriners and were really
into snack foods -- and armed with a great schtick, the Go-Nuts, um,
dominated. They've got everything -- solid, double-competent
musicianship, a simple, catchy theme song ("Go-Nuts! Go-Nuts! They're
your favorite band! yeah yeah yeah yeah"), a "snackzooka" that
catapults Cheetos into the audience, a fully-stocked concession stand
(Go-Nuts donut holes, Go-Nuts cereal, etc.), an amazing vehicle (sorta
green and bronze truck with a delicious logo on each side), and a
singer with a cheesy, velvety (velveeta?) voice. See 'em on an empty
stomach, but stay away from those Go-Nuts corn dogs.
Jay Babcock
jay@drmemory.nuc.ucla.edu
<------------------------------>
From: DLM94001@UConnVM.UConn.Edu
basketball? basketball??!! aaaaaaaauuuuugggghhhhhhh!!!!!!
a delayed coursing thru th wires. yeah. or something like that.
-"th greatest of all time" one of th best archers songs ever, from
advance tape fr "vee vee" (out in early march)
-th justin valli trio; "th truth" on real world
-igor brill and his soviet jazz all stars live @ th village gate cd
-mix tape from my friend abby w/abby lincoln, aretha franklin ("th
weight"), th muffs, blondie, old unrest, weird ska and sesame street
songs, etc.
-"his indie scene" from m.l.lord's nu cd on kill rock stars
-team dresch cd, "personal best" on chainsaw/candyass. duh.
-medeski martin & wood's nu cd on ryko, "satrday afternoon..."
-"pucker" by air miami, off of sum 4ad compilation
-th bracket song on "fat music fr fat people" comp + sticky fingers 7"
oh, and i think that this song "spot th setup" off of this older loud
family cd is really funny. me and my roomate make faces to it and air
guitar and techno trance to th ending. i only briefly heard, but
enjoyed, th nu cub and free kitten albums, as well as on older curve
and sheila chandra tape. lucky acquirement of th week: brand new
heavies "brothersister" cassette.
um. looking forward to seeing danielle howle and juliana leucking
(whom i'm putting on fr free here @ uconn) in a couple of weeks... if
yr interested, email me or whatever. best recent show either robert
black (avant garde double bass genius resident teacher here) or th
count basie orchestra. i wanna hear th nu compilation/tribute to th
minutemen a lot too.
enjoyed reading gerald durrell's "my family and other animals" fr my
nature writing class, currently soaking up good words from edward
abbey ("desert solitaire") and adrienne rich ("fact of a doorknob").
avoided coffee during my flu spell, but really came to appreciate (and
thus recommend) good- not cheesy corporate instant- oatmeal w/maple
sugar and raisins. yum. indie rock.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox...dlm94001@uconnvm.uconn.edu...xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"i've been here 23 years, and i can't remember a better day fr th overall
national image of uconn" -president harry j. hartley
<------------------------------>
From: Popowicz Alison <popowicz@sappey.grenoble.hp.com>
Slide guitar...
[a bit off topic, to be sure... But as one who liked some old
sixties album called "Rainy Day Raga" (all performed on guitar,
oddly), I felt compelled to include it. -es]
Hi! Greetings from Grenoble, France!
I wondered if you had heard of - and heard - music by the guitarist
Richard Peikoff, who lives in Marin County, CA? He plays very
wonderful, very beautiful, acoustic fingerpicking-and-slide guitar.
Did a two-hour show on San Francisco's KALW's "Acoustic Journey" in
August 1994 and is featured on the Spotlight page of January's
"Guitar Player" magazine. I think those of you in the States can dial
in and listen to a sample 900-740-3210 with option 1512...
Wonderful sounds...
His latest recording is a cassette entitled "Made In India": one side
is solo guitar, the second side is Richard playing guitar, together
with a young Indian musician playing tabla and tamboura. You can
get a copy from Richard Peikoff; 775 East Blithedale, Suite 141;
Mill Valley, CA 94941.
Alison
<------------------------------>
From: DromDary@aol.com
A Notables list
I've been seeing a lot of "Top 10" lists for 1994 in various places,
and I'd like to point out some great music that not everyone is
talking about, for some reason:
Gapeseed - "Lo Cell" CD (Silver Girl) - Gapeseed is a fantastic NYC
band that blends dissonant guitars, driving rhythms, a little Polvo,
a little Sonic Youth, and a little melody into this throbbing
monster of tension that grabs you and pile-drives you into a puddle of
mud. Anyway, this is their new (and debut) CD, on a great little San
Diego label (coincidentally, this is THEIR first CD after a host of
great 7"s). So this record hasn't appeared on ANYBODY'S top 10 list
except mine, where it rests firmly at #1, and so everyone should
probably do whatever they can to find this record and listen to it.
Moviola - "Convenient Store" 7" (Ratfish). My favorite new band from
my favorite label. Moviola have put together a beautiful recording
here, kinda Guided by Voices, kinda Galaxie 500, a well-recorded
four-track (or poorly recorded 8-track) record whose lazy melodies
and slowly rolling rhythms remind me of springtime.
Toast - "Georgia Alaska" 7" (Mag Wheel). I'm friends with the band
and all, but this 7" features six low, mid, and hi fi recordings of
their back-porch pop that's pretty well known in the Northeast. Their
third 7" EP, this one carries a theme with it of borders and
boundaries and is overall a pretty fascinating record. At a time
when EVERYONE has a 7", it's nice to see a band that breathes new life
into the format by trying something a little different. Nice
packaging, too.
-Al/dromedary
DromDary@aol.com
PO Box 17
Boonton, NJ 07005
<------------------------------>
From: "S.D. Charlesworth" <sdcharle@indiana.edu>
GbV and AOL plus more
Both Anne Z. and Mike F. (he wrote about Mule, the Coctails, and
other bands a few issues back) have commented here about the scarcity
of good shows by out-of-town bands in Bloomington, so I won't go off
on a rant of my own about it. Some light was shed on the problem when
I found out from Mike F. that the guy in charge of booking acts at
Second Story was skeptical that a show by Guided by Voices would make
money. Apparently he hadn't heard of them.
Guided by Voices, Jan. 27, Second Story (with Velo-Deluxe)
Fortunately, many people did show up for the Guided by Voices show,
dispelling his fears. There was a substantial crowd before the
opening act, locals Velo-Deluxe, started playing.
Velo-Deluxe are well-loved in their hometown, and they were received
well by the crowd. They played mostly material from their noise-pop
album Superelastic, and in addition played some new material. A few
of the newer numbers seemed to drag on somewhat, but overall I enjoyed
the set.
Guided by Voices followed this up with a very fine set. I wasn't sure
what to expect from them...for some reason I was worried they'd be
really mellow and sloppy, but one guitarist was doing Townshend-like
jumps, to my surprise and relief (cool detachment can make for one
hell of a boring show). Robert Pollard came out in his Matador
t-shirt, which was either tongue-in-cheek or a sign of newfound
'company loyalty' on his part, but I didn't feel like analyzing it at
the time. He put away about a case of beer over the course of the
show, which was impressive in itself, but what was more impressive was
how good it all sounded. They played material from _Bee Thousand_,
plus some older stuff including 'Shocker in Gloomtown,' and also
played new songs. Mr. Spin, in his really toned-down Sgt. Pepper
get up, did OK on the bass, but lagged far behind Pollard in beer
consumed onstage, so his days with the band are numbered.
Archers of Loaf w/ Bolgani, Thursday, Feb. 10, Second Story
The opening act was Bolgani, a trio that plays pop-punk in the
All/Descendants vein (they covered a Descendants song, to help me make
those rock-critic comparisons). They played well and skillfully
defused minor problems (like having the bass fall off the strap in the
middle of a song) with self-deprecating humor, but the set ran a bit
long. There was a reason those Descendants albums were all about 20
minutes long, I suppose.
The Archers of Loaf have spent a great deal of time on my turntable
lately, so I was looking forward to seeing them, Friday morning be
damned (this was a Thurs. night show, and I have a job). I saw them
a year ago, but due to the fact that the show was outside and the PA
was not very powerful, their impact was blunted somewhat.
At this show they came across much better, sounding much more powerful
and playing with much energy. The bassist was his hyperactive self,
and I was a bit worried that that vein on the guitarist's neck was
going to explode and he'd die onstage. They played mostly newer
material from _...vs. The Greatest Of All Time_ and the
soon-to-be-released album, but also played 'Web in Front' and closed
the show with 'Wrong'. By this time everyone up front was bouncing
around, self-consciousness cast aside like a bulky winter coat. It
was a fun show, Friday morning be damned.
Steve Charlesworth
<------------------------------>
From: MGORE@clemson.edu
ANNOUNCE: WSBF Spring Concert
WSBF, Clemson University's college radio station is sponsoring our
second annual Spring Benefit Concert. The concert is March 10 at
Edgars' Bar on Campus. The show will begin at 5:00 pm on the tenth.
We have booked Depravity, Seven Foot Politic, Luxury, Tony Tidwell
Trio, Silly, Picasso Trigger, Self, and Lay Quiet Awhile. Tickets are
$8.00 in advance and $10.00 the day of the show. We hope to get a
large crowd since the station can use all the money it can get. 10
March, 5:00, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina.
<------------------------------>
From: mansonls@netcom.com (Scurry)
ANNOUNCE: Stinson Memorial Fund
Many people have requested information regarding a memorial fund for
Bab Stinson. A memorial fund has been set up primarily to offset
funeral costs and to benefit Bob's family, namely his son Joey.
Contributions can be sent c/o Anita Stinson Kurth at 3204 22nd Ave.
S., Minneapolis, MN 55407.
One of many tribute concerts has been tentatively scheduled on March
23, at the First Ave. in Minneapolis. No bands have been announced
yet. Call the club at 612-338-8388 for info.
At the suggestions of Bob's mother Anita, plans are being developed to
set up counseling center that will assist artists, musicians and
others who have problems and are unable to find help through regular
channels. In the near future an Art & Object Auction will be arranged
to benefit the counseling center's development. To contribute any
items, assistance or further information call Sunshine at Fiasco
records at 612-379-1485.
Feel free to post this elsewhere.
End of message,
Les
<------------------------------>
From: Apple-O <adelucia@remus.rutgers.edu>
AD: Seeking Bandmates
Looking for musicians in NJ into WIDE variety of stuff, including
Tuscadero, Pixies, Spacemen, Meat Puppets, DKs, Roger Miller's
Exquisite Corpse, Dead Can Dance, Guided by Voices, Beatles, Blast Off
Country Style, Blues Explosion, early Yes, Dead Milkmen, Bauhaus/L&R,
Mudhoney and Police.
First and foremost another guitarist/vocalist/songwriter like myself
who wouldn't mind switching off w/me on bass or whatever & learning my
songs and I could learn theirs... Male or female. Ability to double
on other instruments (keyboards,etc) a plus.
I have a track on a CD called "Ten-cent fix" and several cassettes
under a few different bands, but none have played out much or toured.
I'd like this project to be more in that direction as well.
<------------------------------>
From: DromDary@aol.com
AD: Mommyheads
I've been lurking here a while and thought I'd try something: I
run a small label called dromedary records, and we just released a new
CD by the Mommyheads called "Flying Suit." You may remember them from
their last CD, "Coming Into Beauty," on Simple Machines. Anyway, if
you're into the band and you'd like to know more about the CD, please
e-mail me.
We've also got stuff by Melting Hopefuls, cuppa joe, Footstone, and
some more stuff, and our catalog includes great music from Mag Wheel,
Ratfish, Pop Narcotic, Simple Machines, and more.
-Al/dromedary
DromDary@aol.com
PO Box 17
Boonton, NJ 07005
<------------------------------>
From: HDonahue@aol.com
AD: Special Pillow 7"
Really Fast Racecar Records has a brand new 7" out from Dan Cuddy
(Hypnolovewheel), James McNew (Yo La Tengo), and Cindy Broisma
(Splendora). Its called Special Pillow its the sweetest slab of
string-laden pop since "Walk Away Renee." Hi-fi lo-fi.
E-mail me for more info, or send me a stamp for the catalog, or three
bucks in well-concealed cash for the record. RFR, P.O. Box 73335,
Washington, DC 20056. Thanks!
<------------------------------------------------------------>
The Indie-List Digest is published weekly (Mondays) or more often by
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What Who Where
Editors Eric Sinclair esinclai@indiana.edu
Anne Zender azender@indiana.edu
Mailings Sean Murphy grumpy@access.digex.net
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<-------------------------------------->
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