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==== ISSUE 147 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [July 1, 1998]
Editor: Bob Gajarsky
Internet: gaj@westnet.com
Sr. Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Joann Ball, Bill Holmes, Tim
Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Sean
Eric McGill, Tim Mohr, Al Muzer, Joe Silva,
Lang Whitaker
Correspondents: Tracey Bleile, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott
Byron, Jason Cahill, Patrick Carmosino,
Krisjanis Gale, Emma Green, Paul Hanson,
Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Robin Lapid,
Linda Scott, Scott Slonaker, Chelsea Spear,
Simon Speichert, Jon Steltenpohl, Simon West
Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann
Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gaj@westnet.com
==================================================================
All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s).
Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the
editor.
==================================================================
.------------.
| Contents |
`------------'
INTERVIEW: Monster Magnet - Al Muzer
CONCERT REVIEW: Cornershop, San Francisco - Robin Lapid
REVIEW: Paul Kelly, _Words and Music_ - Emma Green
REVIEW: Pizzicato Five, _Happy End of You_ - Robin Lapid
REVIEW: Colin Newman, _A-Z_ - Eric Hsu
REVIEW: The Why Store, _Two Beasts_ - Emma Green
REVIEW: Sand Rubies, _The Sidewinder Sessions_ - Bill Holmes
REVIEW: Debby Schwartz, _Wrongs of Passage_ - Chelsea Spear
REVIEW: Moxy Fruvous, _Live Noise_ - Jon Steltenpohl
REVIEW: Dana & Karen Kletter, _Dear Enemy_ - Chelsea Spear
REVIEW: Five Easy Pieces, _Five Easy Pieces_ - Linda Scott
REVIEW: Belle Academe, _Shimmer_ - Chelsea Spear
NEWS: Bauhaus, Ian Astbury, Northside / Nordic Roots,
Gary Numan, P.M. Dawn
TOUR DATES: Black Crowes, Blue Oyster Cult, Deni Bonet, Cravin'
Melon, HORDE Tour, Iron Maiden, Joan Of Arc, Chantal Kreviazuk,
Lilith Fair, Ziggy Marley & Melody Makers, Metallica / Jerry
Cantrell / Days of the New, Plastikman, Swervedriver / Spoon,
Third Eye Blind / Our Lady Peace / Eve 6, Josh Wink
Back Issues of Consumable
---
INTERVIEW: Monster Magnet
- Al Muzer
"It's important for me to remain simple in rock 'n' roll,"
Monster Magnet's Dave Wyndorf diplomatically replies when asked
how he thought his band's new A&M Records release, _Powertrip_,
stacked up against what was on the charts at that moment, "because
it really is a physical thing that works best live. If it gets
into anything more than that, well, then, to me it's just a waste."
"Ya' know, if what we do is looked at as nothing more
than simple, knuckle- dragging stuff," he says in an attempt to
explain the appeal of his Red Bank, NJ, four-piece's eighth (see
discography) release, "well, then, I like that! It's okay. Really.
Although for me, it's almost evangelical. That's what Monster
Magnet is to me, [chuckles] It's like I'm an evangelist or something."
"I like a lot of different music and I listen to everything,"
the guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, band founder and guiding light
continues as he zeroes in on what makes Monster Magnet Monster
Magnet. "But, as far as the group is concerned? It all keeps coming
out of the same place for me. Stuff that I heard when I was really,
really young that my brother would play, Blue Cheer, Frijid Pink,
Steppenwolf, Hawkwind a lotta Hawkwind Black Sabbath, ."
"When it comes to down to me looking at my limitations and
at what I can do and how I can put my message across in the shortest
period of time, well, then," he says as if he never seriously
contemplated any other answer, "that means being really physical
which is why I'm such a big fan of the guitar."
"I mean, the guitar is an instrument that you actually
wear. It becomes a part of you. If you don't like someone, you can
hit them with the thing, ya' know?" offers the man who sings, "I'm
squeezed out in hump drive and I'm drowning in love," on "Space
Lord." "I can go over and stab somebody with the motherfucker. I
can fuck it. It can do anything, I just love it! I love the guitar."
"It's [music] gotta be a human experience," Wyndorf says
with finality, "Something's gotta be connected. The instrument has
to be connected to the body the body has to be an extension of
the penis all that stupid shit, ." [laughs]
Propelled by a super-tight, amazingly heavy blend of
Sabbath-informed power riffs, crunched out hardcore beats,
swirling psychedelia, frequent-flyer space travel miles, a late-'60s
garage-rock looseness and an intense, skull-crushing blend of barely
harnessed energy coupled with an insatiable demand for more noize
Monster Magnet has worked its furrowed-brow magic on folks hungry
for lunatic-level, full-body mosh contact as well as it has those
in the throes of slack-jawed acid flashbacks since the group's
first self-released cassette, _Forget About Life, I'm High On
Dope_, way back in 1989.
Committing it all to tape between 1990 and 1993, the band
(which featured guitarist John McBain, bassist Joe Calandra and
drummer Jon Kleiman) checked in with another cassette-only blast
of cannabis-fried freak-outs, a German label CD release, the
wonderfully toasted _Spine Of God_ and _25............tab_, a
three-song, 49-minute acid romp through a brain- imploding metal
and drone mix that was as psychotically perfect as anything they'd
done up to that point.
Local lore has it that the group (which now featured former
Daisycutter guitarist Ed Mundell in McBain's place) blew
Soundgarden's mind when they opened for the Seattle grunge-meisters
at The Fastlane in Asbury Park, NJ. One truly amazing performance,
so the story goes, led to a Soundgarden-arranged meeting with A&M
Records, which, in turn, led to 1993's brutally uncompromising
_Superjudge_ and 1995's surprisingly subtle (yet just as
completely "out there") _Dopes To Infinity_.
With Beavis and Butthead, Howard Stern and a huge chunk
of America taking to "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" in a big way; a
video in rotation on MTV; another song, "Look To Your Orb For A
Warning," that actually received a bit of radio play; and a truly
relentless touring schedule that helped turn the band into
headliners overseas and major attractions here, _Dopes To Infinity_
set the bar pretty high as far as follow up efforts was concerned.
Rising to the challenge, Wyndorf took his creative muse
to new heights of decadence and explored brand new lows as far as
the humanity that inspires it goes by venturing deep "into the
belly of the beast," when it was time to write the songs that
wound up on the Matt (Porno For Pyros) Hyde-produced, Randy
(Metallica, Veruca Salt) Staub-mixed _Powertrip_.
"I booked myself a flight to Las Vegas, the heart of the
failed American dream," the singer has said, "and got a hotel room
about 10 miles outside of town. I would watch 'Vegas from the
balcony of my room, it looked like a big nuclear sunset in the
distance. I made myself=
get up every morning and complete a song before I let myself go
into the city to watch naked women and see everyone lose all
their money. I did this for 21 days and, by the end of 21 days,
I had 21 songs. I was pumped nightly by all this artificial
craziness."
Exposed to a bizarre array of middle America gone bug-eyed
and freakish with greed, glitz, glamour and the surreal glow that
comes from a lack of sleep, too many vodka and tonics and a few
new dark secrets to file away; Wyndorf matched weirdness for
weirdness by stepping back from his 'Vegas experience and coming
up with songs such as "Crop Circle," "Space Lord," "Baby
Gotterdammerung," "3rd Eye Landslide," "Bummer," "Your Lies Become
You," "19 Witches," "Temple Of Your Dreams," "Tractor" and "Goliath
And The Vampires."
"I was as honest as I could possibly be when I wrote those
songs," he says of lyrical observations such as, "When you get
tired of their crap, baby move over here and maybe buy some of
mine," "Some people go to bed with Lucifer, then cry when they
don't greet the day with God" and "Cashing Satan's check with my
dick in my hand." "I wrote 'em all really quickly I don't think
any one song took me more than say, an hour-and-a-half to write.
I just said to myself, 'I'm not gonna try to polish them and I'm
not gonna try to do anything to them.' I wanted this album to be
an honest statement of where I was in Las Vegas and the way I
felt while I was there."
"I guess that could be me," Wyndorf agrees when asked if
he was the "lame dope sucking little slacker" addressed in the
title track, "or, it could be somebody I met on the road
somewhere. Some poor American fucking bead-person, ya' know? With
a tam on his head goin' [imitates dumb stoner], 'Hey man! When's
the show gonna start?' "
"Hey! It's 1998! Maybe you wanna stop smokin' pot for,
like, two fuckin' seconds," he yells, " 'cause the world's gonna
eat you up alive, kid!"
"Oh, I still do it occasionally," he adds when it's
mentioned that a big part of A&M's Monster Magnet sales-shtick
evolves around a dope-friendly band image. "Not nearly as much
as I used to. It kind'a stopped doin' it for me after a while.
It's really sad. It's just not growin' with me and I wish it
did! It's not like wimmin! ya' know? Like, wimmin? Always! The
pot thing, [sighs] when I was a teenager, man, it was, like,
smoke pot every single day. It was 'Drug Athlete Time.' Too bad
they didn't give out awards."
"I'm very serious about not being serious," Wyndorf says
of his off-beat creative muse and the spaced-out stoner image his
band has accepted as their own. "Within one song there'll be
elements of total wish fulfillment, delusions of grandeur,
moments of terrible despair and moments of flat-out rock out with
your cock out stuff. So it actually gets pretty complicated. I
just never thought anyone would be interested in knowing that
kind of stuff about me or, if they would buy it if I explained
it that way to them [laughs] so, I always tried to keep it [the
public perception of the band] really simple, which is, you know,
like, 'Fuckin' take a lot of drugs and fuckin' freak out!' "
The most unsettling track on _Powertrip_ and a song that
has absolutely nothing to do with sanity, Wyndorf's 'Vegas
adventure, drug athletes, band image or the law as we know it is
the Farfisa organ-driven, Question Mark & the Mysterians-meets-
Strawberry Alarm Clock-surf-throb of "See You In Hell." A
pleasant musical counterpoint to the rest of the album, the song
sounds a little like something even mom would enjoy until she
figured out the lyrics, that is.
"That's such a weird, ," Wyndorf begins before pausing a
moment to collect his thoughts. "I took a bus from the Port
Authority (New York City) to Red Bank just before I left for
'Vegas and I got on with this freak! This, like, total hippie guy,
who starts telling me this story about how he and his hippie wife
killed their baby. Like, they had a baby and they couldn't handle
it?!?"
"The guy said he buried the baby in the Meadowlands,"
Wyndorf says in awed wonder before continuing. "He went down the
whole thing like [imitates dangerously insane dumb stoner], 'You
know, I didn't do it. She was the one who killed it, but, I had to
bury it. She wouldn't do it, so I had to do the right thing and
take it out and bury it.' I was, like, 'Holy fuckin' shit! Holy
Christ!' I got off the bus."
Monster Magnet Discography
1989 _Forget About Life, I'm High On Dope_ [cassette] (Cool Beans)
1990 _I'm High, What're You Gonna Do About It_ [cassette] (Cool Beans)
1990 _Monster Magnet_ [German release] (Glitterhouse)
1992 _Spine Of God_ (Primo Scree/Caroline)
1993 _25............tab_ (Caroline)
1993 _Superjudge_ (A&M)
1995 _Dopes To Infinity_ (A&M)
1995 _I Talk To Planets_ [CD-ROM] (A&M)
1998 _Powertrip_ (A&M)
---
CONCERT REVIEW: Cornershop, San Francisco
- Robin Lapid
There were a lot of good things going for Cornershop's
performance at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre. It's always nice
to hear the echo of sitar rise through a cavernous concert hall and
the dance-friendly chants of Cornershop's latest release, the
groove-laden near-masterpiece _When I Was Born for the 7th Time_.
Singer Tjinder Singh's voice translates perfectly live, with a funky
lilt that melts from English to Punjabi, half-rapping and half-singing.
Singh and his bandmates delivered faithful renditions of their music,
sort of a cross between psychedelic English pop and Beck on acid, but
with nowhere near the stage presence of an artist like Beck.
Singh stood stock-still, occassionally drifting out of the
microphone's range to watch the stage screens (alternating between
pictures of various European women in traditional garb and guys
break-dancing), or to stare at his bandmates. I'm reminded that
Cornershop recently opened for the equally-stoic Oasis on their last
U.S. tour. With bongo drummer and sitar and keyboard players in tow,
the five-piece dove into their most recent work, starting with the
smooth grooves of "Sleep On the Left Side," and getting their biggest
hit, "Brimful of Asha," out of the way as the third song of the evening.
Near the beginning, a computerized Stephen Hawking voice
intoned, "People in the Bay Area, raise your hands in the air like you
just don't care." That bit of amusement aside, the evening was
punctuated with good dance grooves that went down well with the crowd,
and a seemingly endless psychedelic wankout for an encore, with Singh
absent throughout most of the finale. The audience didn't seem to
mind (although I did spy three yuppies get up and leave, followed by a
group of anxious club kids without backpacks - there's a difference).
It was more like going to a dance tent at a rave, where you're not
really meant to direct your attention toward any stage, but just slip
into the vibe as befits your mood. Cornershop the band were a
success, as the evening brimmed with sample-heavy dance beats, but
Cornershop the live act faltered in the charisma department, leaving
a bittersweet aftertaste at show's end.
---
REVIEW: Paul Kelly, _Words and Music_ (Vanguard)
- Emma Green
He may be one of the industry's finest musicians, a true
Texas-style songwriter capable of defining universal truths and
holding the respect of millions worldwide (all this despite his
Australian roots). So why does his name seem as unfamiliar as
your second cousin twice removed whom you met for the first time
last year in a drunken stupor at Uncle Bob's fortieth birthday
bash?
It's remarkable that such a capable and prolific songwriter
could exist in a commercial no man's land outside his own country,
forever destined to suffer through stagnant indifference and
squandering sales. As much as America loves to export and
replicate its cultural image overseas, things rarely work the
other way around. The sad truth is that Paul Kelly doesn't
really fit with the commercial vision of U.S. radio, except on
those rare dialstops on the overcrowded ether (which Rolling
Stone noted earlier this year as "Radio Stations That Don't Suck").
If Paul Kelly is an unfamiliar name, it's time to learn
something about the man who the Australian Recording Industry
Association (roughly equivalent to the US Grammy Awards) recently
inducted into the pretigious Hall of Fame. A steady, reliable
cultural icon, Kelly consistently experiences success in the
Antipodes, but his commecial viability never quite makes the
enormous leap across the Pacific on to crumbling American shores,
even after releasing eight full-length albums over the past decade
or so. While this latest effort only legitimizes his legendary
status, commercial success stateside is probably not in the cards
for Kelly, though he continues to fertilize a dedicated
international fan base with globetrotting tours and consistently
original releases.
While initially his songs seem fairly innocuous, even
(dare I say it?) unmemorable, Kelly is one of those artists who
attacks from the inside. On _Words and Numbers_ he sheds some of
the chord-driven familiarities , this time favoring a style he
describes as "built more from the groove up." Featuring two duets
("Lazy Bones" with Rebecca Barnard and "Melting" with Monique
Brassard), Kelly effectively pays tribute to all his influences,
ranging from Bob Dylan ("Gutless Wonder") to Edgar Allan Poe.
"Nothing on My Mind" begins with, of all things, the accelerated
drumbeat of Prince's "Sexy Motherfucker," over which Kelly narrates
in a fuzzy, humidified voice digressing on a barroom scene (and
still he somehow manages to pay tribute to Ernest Hemingway in
the process). By far the most appealing track ("How to Make
Gravy") tackles the emotional burden of homesickness during
year-end holidays, and hops around on a surprisingly nimble beat
(complete with wah-wah guitar tracks) considering the depressing
subject matter. Always a thoughful lyricist, Kelly imbues strength
through deeper meaning and visionary purpose. He sings as though
he really has something to contribute to the world with Neil
Finn-ish vocals, and his product really reflects his can do
troubadour attitude. Given enough time, his lyrics and songs
grip the heart, but strike without warning on the third or fourth
listen.
---
REVIEW: Pizzicato Five, _Happy End of You_ (Matador)
- Robin Lapid
Why do a remix album? I sometimes find this especially hard
to fathom when it concerns artists like Pizzicato Five, whose
pastiche of grooves, beats, and samples make them a sort of
self-contained remix band, dubbing and looping pop as a Warhol-ian
artform. On this remix album, artists ranging from Dimitri From Paris
to the High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan to St. Etienne stamp their signature
sound on tracks from P5's _Happy End of the World_ release, with
varying degrees of success and excess.
Each of the 13 tracks pretty much sounds like it could be a
b-side of the artists that remixed them. The Automator's remix of
"Love's Theme" starts the album off on a high note. The cool
scratches and sparse beats jell with 60's-style Japanese pop,
punctuating its Dr. Octagon vibe with Maki Nomiya's airy vocals and
a spacey bass beat. From there, the remixes hit peaks and valleys.
The tracks dip into the deconstructive sound of club-style grooves -
the heavy house and jungle of DJ Dara's "Porno 3003" remix renders
the original track barely discernible in a moderately enlightening
way, while Dimitri from Paris's "old skool flava" remix of "Contact"
makes me feel as if I'm dancing at Manchester's Hacienda club back
when New Order was just hitting its stride.
The High Llama's Sean O'Hagan turns "My Baby Portable Player
Sound" into a mellow keyboard game of Stereolab-y bleeps and burbles.
Oval refracts "Happy Ending" into an ambient prism of hollowed-out
chimes followed by an accumulation of organized chaotic noise, all
strung together by a P5 pop refrain, "da da dum dum..." And Saint
Etienne's track sounds like, well, Saint Etienne -- they turn in a
summery, groove-pop version of "Love's Theme" that climaxes with funky
guitar lines.
It's highly possible that I will end up hearing this album
filtered through a sound system at my local record shop or vintage
clothing store. _Happy End of You_ isn't completely essential unless
you're a hardcore fan of Pizzicato 5 or a completist of any of the
featured artists, but it would make for a more enjoyable shopping
experience.
Featured Artists: The Automator; 808 State; Daddy-O; DJ
Dara; Gus Gus; Sean O'Hagan; Oval; John Oswald; St. Etienne;
Momus; The Shooter; Dimitri From Paris; Daniel Miller & Gareth Jones.
---
REVIEW: Colin Newman, _A-Z_ (Beggars Banquet)
- Eric Hsu
By the time Wire recorded _154_, Colin Newman had clearly
become tired of pop and touring and the life surrounding it.
Having exhausted the punk idiom with the amazing _Pink Flag_, he
wanted something new and didn't know how to get there, so all he
could do was sabotage what he knew. On the strangely compelling
single "Map. Ref. 41N 93W" he came up with the most unmemorable
single title in history and insisted on sneering "chorus" everytime
the chorus returned. Wire struggled for a few months longer, but
collapsed into self-indulgent experimentation before eventually
reuniting (and recovering) in 1987 with _The Ideal Copy_.
_A-Z_ was Colin Newman's first solo album, released in
1980, and in some ways the fourth Wire album after _154_: drummer
Robert Gotobed and producer/keyboardist Mike Thorne from Wire play
on it, and Graham Lewis even contributes words. But instead of
providing any kind of missing link, between _154_ and _The Ideal
Copy_, it feels more like the logical progression down the spiral
from _154_. The record is a collection of sounds, the sound of
Newman trying to tear things down to find something new in the
ruins. "I've Waited Ages" begins with a one chord new wave groove
that Newman undercuts with strange distracting noises, a mishmash
of competing atmospheres and "the most stupid words I could
possibly write" as he later reflected.
The song "& Jury" exemplifies Newman's style of creating
through negation and contrariness. Newman sings the chorus as oddly
as possible: "you are the judges too" by emphasizing and holding
the syllables "-ges too". Of course the title never appears
literally in the song, only noticible in its absence and the fact
that the chorus appears to refer to it. A strange effect, slightly
unsettling, but at best a formal effect. Newman's urgent and
desperate singing communicates only its own tone in the absence
of supporting music. The same inflection that was so effective
interrogating "How many dead or alive?" on _Pink Flag_ sounds like
just another effect singing "Order in order".
His self-destructiveness extended to refusing to tour to
support the record and his vetoing their single choice of "Order
for Order", which had some kind of cohesiveness in its sheets of
looping cries, and insisting on "B" which is a new wave groove,
again sabotaged with unsettling noises and screams, like a riot at
a disco, but not nearly as fun. Beggars Banquet, who had just had a
massive hit with Gary Numan's "Cars", were feeling receptive and
indulgent towards bizarre approximately new wave music, and let
Newman have his way. Of course it bombed critically and commercially,
and his solo career never recovered.
The piece I find most affecting is the bonus track of Newman's
piano demo for "Alone", which was atmospheric enough to inspire This
Mortal Coil to cover it. It's telling that this simple piece gets
straight to the heart of that feeling of lonely yearning that's
swamped by the full soundscape version on _A-Z_. This re-release
collects a couple of singles "The Classic Remains", which sounds
like a carnival with indigestion, and "This Picture", actually a
not bad horror movie soundtrack piece, and tacks on a couple of
Wire-ish sounding demos. Every song has something interesting about
it, which is usually immediately crushed by other overdubs. In the
end, this record is interesting more as a document of decadence and
musical confusion than as music in isolation. It's the sound of new
wave being cut up from the inside as it swallows up punk.
---
REVIEW: The Why Store, _Two Beasts_ (Way Cool Music)
- Emma Green
Swiftly overstepping the perilous canyon of one-hit
wonderdom, roots-rockers The Why Store announce their arrival with
a fifth album, only the Indiana group's second major label release.
Where the self-titled Way Cool Music debut was disjointed and tended
to drift off into digressive jam sessions, _Two Beasts_ showcases a
wonderfully coherent collection of songs as the group shuffles a
little closer than usual to the line of mainstream alternative modern
rock. While "Lack of Water" became a bona fide radio hit in 1996,
alternative and modern rock radio station never really embraced the
band with so much potential.
Front man Chris Schaffer commands an unforgettable presence
through a deep, throaty voice, occasionally recalling a chain-smoking
Jakob Dylan. As the singer pens most of the songs himself, his sound
advocates melody as expressive, both vocally and instrumentally. If
one common factor bonds the album, Schaffer's tunes are infectiously
hummable and full of memorable hooks and lines.
Working class roots-rock to the core, _Two Beasts_ opens with a
tribute to hard work ("Working") and serious guitar driven rock grooves on
"No Matter," where Schaffer blatantly thumbs his nose at skeptical critics.
Title song "Two Beasts" defines the essence of the band, exploring the
inherently schizoid thoughts we all experience from time to time through
beautiful arpeggiated acoustic work.
While the band has established itself though energetic live
shows, building a fanatical grassroots following of so-called "Whomheads"
through the 1990s, it struggled to find a pulse in the sometimes
unsympathetic music press before inking a record deal in 1996. Rumored
to be flirting with late night television host (and fellow Hoosier)
David Letterman more than once, the group fought an uphill battle for
attention, mainly relying on word of mouth to build a fan base.
Following in the tradition of live experience bands like Blues
Traveler and Widespread Panic, The Why Store is surprisingly adept at
multiple playing styles, which may ultimately benefit them through
cross-genre radio appeal. After announcing the frat party festivities
of "When You're High" and "Everything" (both released on previous
independent albums), Schaffer proves capable of churning over the
heartfelt ballad on "Who Is Your Love," a fairly corny love song,
and "She's Broken," which softly layers some unexpected country guitar
influences on a set of Jeff Pederson's jangly keyboards.
More subdued than the previous self-titled release, _Two
Beasts_ almost seems a retrospective of the entire Why Store ouvre.
The deliberate inclusion of a few older tried-and-true tracks introduces
some interesting stylistic comparisons in Schaffer's evolving
songwriting talents. On the closing "When You're High," in case the
listener wasn't paying attention, Schaffer brashly interjects the rock
star persona into the music as he ostentatiously proclaims, "The Why
Store's got what it takes to get everybody high." This comes after the
lyrics invoke images of gallavanting naked through the woods and feeling
grass poke up between one's toes. While it might be floating on a
little more than pure optomism, The Why Store is a solid band with a
refreshing dedication to their art and vocation, as is evident on this
latest effort.
---
REVIEW: Sand Rubies, _The Sidewinder Sessions_ (Contingency)
- Bill Holmes
The Sidewinders and The Sand Rubies are actually the same
band, but after their first two albums (_Witchdoctor_ and _Auntie
Ramos' Pool Hall_), The Sidewinders had the double insult of being
unappreciated by their label AND losing their name to an obscure bar
band from the East coast. But the nucleus of the band stayed intact,
rechristened themselves The Sand Rubies, released another great
album....and still remained a cult favorite at best.
Now, the band has reformed with the original members and
has cut a new record set for June release. To summarize the past,
and perhaps show the world what they almost threw away, the band
has assembled their favorite cuts from the two Sidewinders releases
(1988 and 1990) and added one new track under the name _Sidewinders
Sessions_.
The band in any incarnation is centered on the fluid and
dynamic guitar sounds of songwriter Rich Hopkins, whose textured
work could only be compared to the inspired licks of Neil Young
when he jams with Crazy Horse or the extended vibes of a Built To
Spill record. The early songs are emotional passages; titles like
"Doesn't Anyone Believe" and "What Am I Supposed To Do" should nail
it for you. But in the hands of vocalist David Slutes, the vocals
are the perfect match for the gut-wrenching guitar. Slutes croons,
begs and howls like a fourth instrument, his interpretive skills as
impressive as his vocal range. Hopkins and Slutes are one of those
great pairs in rock and roll who make each other better.
Don't mistake this band as some carnal exercise, though -
with better luck they could and should have been as popular as
fellow desert mates The Gin Blossoms. "Sara's Not Sober" is a highly
charged melodic rocker, and the lyrical "We Don't Do That Anymore"
has a hook that is as strong as its appealing verse. The pleading
"If I Can't Have You" would be as effective as a slow blues tune
as it is here in its more Byrdsian mode. There's a lot of great
bands being touted with handles like "Americana" and "No Depression",
and you could vault these guys to the top rung of those lists as well.
The new record is exciting and shows that the band has not
lost a step, but this document captures a magical era that somehow
slipped through the cracks in most people's lives. If you appreciate
songs that move you lyrically as well as stimulate you musically,
you owe it to yourself to catch up with this band. To find out more
about the Sidewinders/Sand Rubies legacy, or to get this CD if your
local mom&pop doesn't have it, surf over to the Contingency web site
at http://www.contingency.com and dive in. This is essential
American music at its finest.
---
REVIEW: Debby Schwartz, _Wrongs of Passage_ (Mercury)
- Chelsea Spear
Early in this decade, Debby Schwartz made a name for herself
as the guiding light behind garage-pop sensations the Aquanettas.
While the band mined appealing ground by grafting a singer/songwriter
approach onto the chunky surf-n-turf rhythms and simmering dynamics
of the Feelies, their albums reached a limited audience, and the
band seemed to disappear after showing up on the high-profile
soundtracks to Amateur and Kissed. Before you can say "whatever
happened to...?", Schwartz bounds back into the spotlight with her
solo debut, _Wrongs of Passage_.
The new album represents a growth and maturity since the last
Aquanettas album. Though her former bandmates join her on a handful of
tracks, _Wrongs_ takes the band's sound in a more song-based
direction, with influence coming less from the Glenn Mercer side of
the equation and more from Aimee Mann. The press release states that
Schwartz isn't afraid to rock out, but she's equally unafraid of
pinning her heart directly on her sleeve and loosing a vulnerable
ballad like "Revelations", which ends Side 1 with a rainy-day vibe.
Lyrically, Schwartz is also found in a contemplative, mature
mindset. If the Aquanettas albums detailed a night in the life of a
nerdy girl experimenting with sex and drugs, _Wrongs_ looks at that
girl as she grows up, learns from the mistakes of her youth and tries
to make a better life of herself. The infectious one-two punch of
openers "Venus Again" and "Never Come Down" finds the protagonist of
these songs not only contemplating love with the proper old boyfriend,
but proving herself sane enough to be worthy of such love. More
complex tunes like garage raveup "Tribe" look at her relationship at
large with the opposite sex.
While all of this information might add up to a ponderous
sounding album, Schwartz imbues this growth with a terrific sense of
humour and biting observational skills. Not every bug-eyed balladeer
can punctuate a series of goosebump-inducing slow songs with "Because
You Don't Love Me", a Zombies-esque four-on-the-floor rocker with a
hummable analog-synth riff and the hilarious line, "I'm joining a
convent because you don't love me!" The album ends with the gossamer
waltz "Mousecraft", which makes the observation that "the cat is in
a coma" during a spooky monolouge about a lonely night drinking at home.
The entire package is wrapped up with a nifty production job,
giving the songs a candy-apple lustre while staying true to the dark
themes at their core. Unless Syd Straw releases her much-threatened
third solo LP by the end of this year, the exemplary _Wrongs of
Passage_ could be my favourite girl-with-a-guitar album of 1998.
Hooray for a chick who can rock, think, laugh, and write a gorgeous
melody -- sometimes all at once!
---
REVIEW: Moxy Fruvous, _Live Noise_ (Bottom Line)
- Jon Steltenpohl
Moxy Fruvous is one of those bands whose fans will tell
you that the only way to really experience them is to see them
live. These former buskers (street musicians) from Toronto have
built a cult of fans throughout Canada and the United States
based on nonexistent stateside airplay and an endless series of
live shows. Their studio albums have been decent examples of
their tight four part harmony and unique blend of both smart-ass
humor and solemn emotions.
And while their studio albums hold their own, Moxy Fruvous'
legacy is drawing in people on a street through sheer force of
musical energy. Somehow, they've managed to carry that directly
into show after show in front of larger and larger audiences.
_Live Noise_ is the result of their fans' prodding. If "live" is
the only way to see a band, then logic dictates that "live" is the
proper way to record an album. This album, recorded at various New
England dates during the fall of 1997, is without a doubt a live
album. There is banter and fan participation oozing at every turn.
Often, the sound of the crowd singing and shouting is louder than
the band. Fortunately, Moxy Fruvous fans are generally also folk
music fans, and they've learned to only sing loud on the choruses.
_Live Noise_ carries out its duty of capturing the band live
fairly well. The choice of songs is nearly perfect. The best
songs from all points of their career are represented from "King
of Spain" to "Michigan Militia". The biggest omission is probably
their rap version of Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham_" but that is
only due to copyright issues. In addition to their favorites, a
cover of Talking Heads "Psycho Killer" is thrown in for good
measure, and a second version "King of Spain" is added on. Dubbed
the "Cranky Monarch Version", this "King" sounds a bit like David
Bowie, Bono, and Bruce Springsteen tossed in a blender and forced
to sing Moxy Fruvous covers on puree.
The banter between songs is generally a good thing. One bit
called "Kasparov vs. Deep Blue" is a bit boring, but it's a little
forgivable given the fact that it was news at the time and they
were playing at M.I.T.. Fortunately, the rest is much better.
"Nature Sounds" is funny, and the discussion on "Naked Puppets"
ends with them speculating about how Oscar the Grouch would be much
more realistic if the first word out of his mouth each day was
"Motherfucker". "The Lowest Highest Point (Improv)" starts out as
a trivia question, but ends up as an off the cuff rap with all four
guys trading beats and shout outs while keeping up a discussion with
the crowd. Of any track on the album, this one shows what a Moxy
Fruvous show is all about.
The only fault of the album is tuning. A fourth of the songs
have points where the 4 part harmony turns a little sour. On "B. J.
Don't Cry" and "Boo Time", there are times where it's slightly cringe
inducing. Likewise, "Horseshoes" and "I've Gotta Get a Message to
You" are nearly perfect except for a few lapses. In each of these
songs, they guys find their pitch back before the end of the song,
but it seems like the incessant touring might be take its toll a
bit. As is common with many live and folk artists, the album is
proudly _not_ overdubbed. Regardless, for a live album recorded
over multiple dates, you'd think these songs would have been
replaced with more in tune versions.
Regardless of the minor problems with the tuning now and
then, the entire album is engaging and exciting. _Live Noise_ is
exactly what a Moxy Fruvous fan would want and expect out of a live
album. They've picked out a bunch of favorites that everyone loves,
and crammed 70 minutes of them into a single CD. _Live Noise_ can't
replace a real Moxy Fruvous show, but, if you can't wait until they
come back to town, it's the next best thing to being there.
---
REVIEW: Dana & Karen Kletter, _Dear Enemy_ (Hannibal/Rykodisc)
- Chelsea Spear
For all her abundant talent, Dana Kletter has had some
heartbreaking near-misses. Her first ensemble, Blackgirls, broke up
before they could realise their true potential, and Dish were buried
under ornate production, extraneous filler tracks, and the corporate
indifference of a label refocusing their priorities. While her
abilities might be a bit too challenging for mainstream recognition,
_Dear Enemy,_ may be her most fully realised work, the one that
cements her as a compelling voice and helps her connect with new
fans and longtime admirers alike.
However, _Dear Enemy_ is the work of more than one person.
Dana's twin sister Karen, who vetoed a career in music to pursue
her Ph.D in medieval languages, comprises the other half of the
equation. The sisters united musically to create a sort of photo
album recalling their unusual upbringing. The songs on _Dear
Enemy_ show the influence of the music of their youth, the
Transylvanian folk songs of their mother and grandmother, who
survived Auchwitz, and their street-tough father's show tunes and
jazz. All this is informed by the melodic, indie-influenced pop for
which Dana is, in some circles, renowned.
Though, as the press release states, "the music sounds like
this: la, la, la, la", don't expect the kind of twee lilt that would
normally be described in such words. Nimble arrangements, good use of
cello and an able hand at the mixing table bring a beautiful low end
to light, giving the songs a rich, sonically resonant sound. The lush
melodies are countered with lyrics suggesting the inner strife of
their family during the sisters' youth - "Father Song" and "Flight
Into Egypt" suggest conflict with their father as he runs from the
law, "Sister Song" showing the conflict between twins, and the
lilting "Meteor Mom" bringing the solace and comfort they found in
their mother to the surface.
The sisters have said in interview after interview that they
are just a pair of twins with stories to tell, and that none of the
songs are supposed to be cathartic. However, the aching beauty of
_Dear Enemy,_ brings the emotional truth of dysfunctional family life,
in the days before there was a word for such conflict, to light. If
you're a fan of Damon and Naomi's dreamy folk or the spare honesty
and melodicism of Nina Simone, _Dear Enemy,_ is the album for you.
One of the year's ten best.
---
REVIEW: Five Easy Pieces, _Five Easy Pieces_ (MCA)
- Linda Scott
What we have here is another rock and roll band from Los
Angeles. But if you follow the L.A. scene at all, you know that
there are new bands hatching every week. Here's a difference -
Five Easy Pieces could actually make it out of the area and into
the national spotlight. These five musicians write radio-and
MTV-friendly songs. No heavy, rage-filled, drug songs here.
This MCA debut album has songs for us all about our loves, our
lives, our fates. The lyrics are hopeful for the most part and
are sung to bouncy melodic and upbeat tunes.
The band that put this together starts with frontman,
vocalist, and guitarist Marc Dauer. Interestingly, Dauer gave
up a UCLA surgical residency to make music, so you know he's in
for the long haul. With keyboardist/lyricist Jay Schwartz on
board, the two wrote an album's worth of material in a week.
Jason Sinay, a fine lead guitarist, and bassist Alan Wolovitch
came on next. The original drummer was replaced by Brian
Macleod, who has worked with Sheryl Crow and Paul Westerberg.
Sinay has obvious talent and should get some more solos, and
Macleod's experience as a stickman leads the band where it ought
to be on time.
_Five Easy Pieces_ gives you ten tracks from the new band.
It's easy listening, and several tracks have really catchy melodies
and lyrics. While the first track, "Lovers", was chosen as the
first single, a real standout is "Spy". It's one of those songs
that keeps playing in your head - a happy rock tune with some
irresistible hooks. The band is at its best with these light,
uptempo rockers. "Bittersweet" has lyrics more suited a tortured
vocalist like Cobain or Rose than Dauer. If Dauer learns how to
pull these songs from his gut, the band will need to change their
name.
_Five Easy Pieces_ was produced by Don Smith (Cracker,
Rolling Stones, Tom Petty). It was recorded entirely in Smith's
one room carriagehouse, jamming live. No headphones or recording
tricks were used, so what you hear on the album will be what you
hear at a tour show.
For the latest information, surf on over to
http://www.mcarecords.com or write to the band at
fiveeasypieces@directnet.com
---
REVIEW: Belle Academe, _Shimmer_ (Swingerland)
- Chelsea Spear
Listening past track four of this Los Angeles
quartet's debut proved to be a real effort for me. It's not
that _Shimmer_ is a particularly bad album - they're excellent
musicians, and the solid songs provide everything a modern-rock
radio programmer would be looking for. Belle Academe just don't
offer anything interesting to the mix. The band can crunch or
swoon when the songs warrant, and lead singer Nicole Bahuchet
has an appealing, though generic, voice - a few years older and
wiser than the baby-voiced children of Lilith, but not as
simmering with passion as Courtney Love (to whom she has been
compared) nor as gossamer-pretty as Sarah McLachlan. The songs'
majestic swirl might sound good under the spidery black light of
a goth club, and some My Bloody Valentine fan may find this a
good substitute while waiting for new material. Otherwise, this
isn't anything too special or interesting, and I find I'd rather
listen to older Lush or MBV and get the same effect with
something behind it.
---
NEWS: > A new Bauhaus compilation, _Crackle_, will be
released on July 7. This newly remasted 16 track collection
spans their entire career, and includes the following
cuts: "Double Dare", "In The Flat Field", "Passion of Lovers",
"Bela Lugosi's Dead", "The Sanity Assassin", "She's In Parties",
"Silent Hedges", "Hollow Hills", "Mask", "Kick In The Eye",
"Ziggy Stardust", "Dark Entries", "Terror Couple Kill
Colonel", "SPirit", "Burning From The Inside", "Crowds".
In addition, 4AD will be releasing _In The Flat Field_ in
America for the first time, remastered and including 9 bonus tracks.
> Former Cult lead singer Ian Astbury has completed
a new album with collaboration from Chris Goss (Masters of
Reality) and John Roome (Witchman), which also includes a
re-recording of "The Witch". The album is slated for an
early 1999 release.
> Northside has released a 20 song compilation of
the best in Nordic Roots music, aptly titled _Nordic Roots_ ,
at a price anyone can afford - $2.98. The disc can be
purchased at many stores or through the label's web site at
http://www.noside.com
> Gary Numan fans may want to check out the Beggars
Banquet web site (at http://www.beggars.com ) for two concerts
which are only available from that label's mail order
service; _Living Ornaments '79_, now 21 tracks and _Living
Ornaments '81_ , 26 tracks from Wembley, 1981.
> P.M. Dawn's first new album in three years, _Dearest
Christian_, will be released this fall.
---
TOUR DATES:
Black Crowes
Jul. 1 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club
Jul. 3 Orlando, FL Street Festival
Jul. 4 Tampa, FL USF Sun Dome
Jul. 5 Sunrise, FL Markham Park
Jul. 7 New Orleans, LA Tiptina's Uptown
Jul. 8 Shreveport, LA Malibu Alley
Jul. 10 Dallas, TX Deep Ellum Live
Blue Oyster Cult
Jul. 3 Lafayette, IN Riehle Bros. Club
Jul. 4 Toledo, OH WIOT 25th Anniversary Party
Jul. 5 H Hobart, IN Hobart J.C.'s
Jul. 9 Dewey Beach, DE Bottle and Cork
Jul. 10 Frederick, MD Xhale
Deni Bonet
Jul. 8 Boston, MA Brandeis University
Jul. 9 Matunuck, RI Ocean Mist
Cravin' Melon
Jul. 3 Greenville, SC Downtown
Jul. 4 Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues
Jul. 10 Atlantic Beach, NC Life Guards
HORDE Tour (Blues Traveler, Barenaked Ladies, Alana
Davis, Ben Harper, and many others)
Jul. 9 Somerset, WI River's Edge Park
Jul. 10 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Theater
Iron Maiden
Jul. 1 Clarkston, MI Pine Knob Music Theatre
Jul. 2 Cleveland, OH Nautica Stage
Jul. 4 Montreal, QC Stade Du Maurier
Jul. 5 Quebec City, QC L'Agora
Jul. 7 New York, NY Roseland
Jul. 10 San Antonio, TX Blue Bonnet Palace
Joan Of Arc
Jul. 3 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
Jul. 4 London, ON Call The Office
Jul. 5 Toronto, ON Riviloi
Jul. 7 Ottawa Club Saw
Jul. 8 Montreal, QC Petite Campus
Jul. 9 Portsmouth, NH Elvis Room
Jul. 10 Worcester, MA The Space
Chantal Kreviazuk
Jul. 6 Seattle, WA Mercer Arena
Jul. 7 Portland, OR Schnitzer Concert Hall
Jul. 9 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre
Jul. 10 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre
Lilith Fair Tour
Jul. 1 Oklahoma City, OK All Sports Stadium
Jul. 2 Bonner Springs, KS Sandstone Amph.
Jul. 4 Indianapolis, IN Deer Creek Music Ctr.
Jul. 5 Columbus, OH Polaris Amph.
Jul. 6-8 Detroit, MI Pine Knob Music Thtr.
Jul. 10 Rochester, NY Finger Lakes Perf. Arts. Ctr.
Ziggy Marley & Melody Makers
Jul. 1 Detroit, MI Michigan Taste Fest
Jul. 2 Indianapolis, IN Starlight Summerstage
Jul. 3 Columbia, MO Blue Note
Jul. 4 Kansas City, MO Liberty Memorial
Jul. 7 Hyannis, MA Cape Cod Melody Tent
Jul. 8 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
Jul. 9 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom
Metallica / Jerry Cantrell / Days of the New
Jul. 1 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
Jul. 3 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheater
Jul. 4 Columbus, OH Polaris Amphitheater
Jul. 5 Pecatonia, IL Winnebago County Fair
Jul. 7 Cincinnatti, OH Riverbend Music Center
Jul. 8 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
Jul. 10-11 Clarkston, MI Pine Knob Music Theater
Plastikman
Jul. 1 Vancouver, BC Mars
Jul. 3 Washington, D.C. Buzz
Jul. 4 Gainesville, FL Simons
Jul. 5 San Francisco, CA Spundae
Swervedriver / Spoon
Jul. 1 San Francisco, CA Slim's
Jul. 3 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
Third Eye Blind / Our Lady Peace / Eve 6
Jul. 1 Muskegon, MI Muskegon Summer Celebration
Jul. 2 Pontiac, MI Phoenix Plaza
Jul. 3 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest - Old Style Stage
Jul. 5 Traverse City, MI National Cherry Festival
Jul. 7 Dayton, OH Hara Arena
Jul. 8 Pittsburgh, PA IC Light Amphitheater
Jul. 10 Cleveland, OH Nautica Lot
Josh Wink
Jul. 3 Washington, DC Buzz
Jul. 4 Philadelphia, PA Shampoo
---
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