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Cosmic Debris 1995 12
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I S S U E # 7: D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 5
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DJ Johnson.................Editor
Louise Johnson.............Assistant Editor
Jim Andrews................Web Site Editor
coLeSLaw...................Artist/Mad Scientist
- The Cosmik Writers -
Jim Andrews..................Urbania
Drew Feinberg................Drew's Views
Steven Leith.................Political & Between Zero & One
Steve Marshall...............Music & Record Reviews
The Platterpuss..............Record Reviews
Scott Wedel..................Music
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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
EDITOR'S NOTES - DJ can't seem to find some of his writers.
LABELLED: BOMP RECORDS - An interview with Greg Shaw, one of the pioneers
of the "rock press" in the 60's. For the past 21 years, Shaw has been
putting out incredible music through Bomp and Voxx records.
THE WIVES IN '95 - An interview with Sue Horwitz, guitarist and singer
with one of the hottest melodic punk bands in the biz, The Wives.
MAN OR ASTRO-MAN?'S EUROPEAN TOUR DIARY - Get inside the mind of one of the
most interesting aliens assigned to earth, Birdstuff, drummer of Man Or
Astro-Man?. See what happened and when as MOA cruised through Europe
earlier this year. Next month, part two: the western US.
THE COSMIK DEBRIS GUIDE TO CHRISTMAS CD'S - Steve Marshall offers some good
suggestions for holiday music shoppers.
RECORD REVIEWS - Everything from punk to pop and even a touch of jazz.
BOOK REVIEW - Guitar Stories, a great new book from Vintage Guitar Books.
DJ'S FIRST NON-STICK COLUMN - Not wanting to award a sharp pointed stick to
an entire network and the people who watch it, DJ decided to simply
rant and rave about TNN instead.
BETWEEN ZERO AND ONE: BUY OR DIE - Steve Leith takes on a subject near and
dear to us all: TAXES!
THE DEBRIS FIELD - Another random scattering of poems, quotes, lyrics and
basically anything that doesn't fit elsewhere.
HOW TO CONTACT US WITHOUT PUTTING YOURSELF IN ANY IMMEDIATE DANGER - Our
e-mail addresses.
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EDITOR'S NOTES
Has anyone seen my staff? Boy, does that sound like a twisted pick-
up line, or what!? I'm serious, though. After half a year of Cosmik Debris
things continue to change. We no longer have the services of Art Fridrich,
aka THE OLD MAN, who has been entertaining you with his Old Man Radio Hour
Interviews. He took a job in Washington DC that doesn't involve a radio
station. That means the only punks he has access to are the ones running
the country, which are the wrong KIND of punks, I'm afraid. We're sure
going to miss his interviews.
Last month, we erroneously reported that Jim Andrews, our "Urbania"
columnist, had been abducted by radicals of the political right. In truth,
Jimbo had simply slipped out for a pack of Marlboros, leaving his TV on and
Rush Limbaugh on the screen. Apparently it follows The X Files. Honest
mistake. Actually, Jim is taking X amount of time off from the column to
concentrate on the HTML work on the new and improved Cosmik Debris homepage.
As you've probably noticed, he did an incredible job, and he's still at it,
coming up with a new modification just about every day. As soon as it all
settles down to some sort of routine, Urbania will return. We sincerely
hope that our irresponsible reporting didn't cause anyone any discomfort.
It won't happen again. We've grown up a lot since last month.
In an unrelated story, Drew's Views columnist Drew Fienberg has been
abducted by bible-thumping members of the Religious Right, who demand that
Cosmik Debris turn Jim Andrews over to them immediately. As an unfortunate
result, Drew's Views will not appear in this issue. But when we get our
hands on the creeps who are responsible for this...well...something will
happen to them. Something bad.
We hope you enjoy this issue of Cosmik Debris DESPITE the black hole
in our columns section. In another unrelated story...we're looking for a
few good writers. Columns, music, poli-social, etc. If you want to write
for us, and you don't mind hysterical editors who are terribly demanding
about the deadline...and you don't mind not being paid, send e-mail to
moonbaby@serv.net. If you have what we're looking for, we'll have a golden
key to the executive washroom made up for you. You'll love it in there.
I actually have my office in there. Hand blowers and the works.
DJ Johnson
Worry-wart
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WHO PUT THE BOMP...
An interview with Greg Shaw of Bomp Records
By DJ Johnson
It has become a tired cliche to say "he has seen and done it all."
It's been applied to just about everybody who has spent more than ten years
in the record business. When speaking of Greg Shaw, however, there is no
hesitation in saying he has seen and done it all. Immersed in the San
Francisco underground music scene in the mid 60s, Shaw, an avid record
collector, began writing about rock and roll at a time when the rules for
such writing had yet to be defined. Since that time, he has travelled every
corner of the music business from artist management to label boss. His
main label, Bomp Records, has released some of the most influential and
important music of our time. Bomp's younger sibling, Voxx Records, has
provided many lesser known but deserving bands with a chance to be heard.
Shaw has survived over twenty years of ups and downs in an industry that
eats people alive, but there has been a toll. Any rose tinted glasses that
he may have worn in the past have long since been removed in favor of
clearer vision. It's not always pretty when someone tells it like it really
was, but then revisionist history isn't particularly educational, either.
This is a look at the past, present and future of the music business from a
man who truly has seen and done it all.
* * * * * * * * *
Cosmik Debris: How would you describe your musical education?
Greg Shaw: I don't have any. I was a record collector from childhood and
as I got into my 20s I got serious about digging into the stories behind
my favorite records. In the early days of Bomp I was guilty of writing
some hideously ignorant stuff.
Cosmik: Ignorant how? Can you give us any examples?
GS: Well there was a lot of writing about bargain bin discoveries in those
days. Most of the bands now considered classic were then completely
unknown. I remember once in Bomp dismissing an early Bob Seger album as
pointless piffle, not realizing that he was a Rock God to people in
Detroit. Even worse, in a 1966 issue of Mojo Navigator, we published an
editorial excoriating Bill Graham for his rumored desire to book Paul
Revere & the Raiders at the Fillmore. Man, Bill, those guys just weren't
hip! Little did I know how I'd change my tune in years to come...
Cosmik: You had your first magazine before Rolling Stone came along, is
that right?
GS: Yes. The modern rock press "as we know it" was dreamed up ca 1965-6
by two guys, Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) and myself. We both started
publishing stuff around the same time, within the circle of sci-fi
fandom. He branched out with an all-rock zine a bit earlier than I did,
though I never saw his until after mine, Mojo-Navigator Rock & Roll News,
was going. He was based in Boston and also covered the NY and UK scenes.
I was in San Francisco and concentrated on profiling the local
bands/scene. Lenny Kaye was also around. I have one of his fanzines
from 64-5 where he was talking a lot about rock. Mojo was also the
first underground zine in SF, we were veterans by the time The Oracle
came along, and Jann Wenner, who started Rolling Stone, used to come by
our teenage hippie apartment to watch us turn the crank on the mimeograph
machine and ask how it was done.
Cosmik: And you had to go and show him. What was the underground scene
like in those years before the "Summer of Love?"
GS: I thought it was the ultimate in cool. The Haight-Ashbury, and other
areas of San Francisco like North Beach, were in the late stages of the
beat scene. You could still see guys like Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg, and
Brautigan walking the streets. Other than them, the streets were pretty
empty except for guys who were in the first few bands on the scene...
Dead, Quicksilver, Charlatans, Big Brother, Mystery Trend, Great Society,
Airplane... A couple little struggling shops, mostly mod clothing places
but also the Psychedelic Shop. And every week an underground party at
somebody's house, or a benefit at some workers' hall, or some artsy scene
where a cool band was playing. It felt like a real community, although
admittedly I, at 16, didn't feel much a part of it. Everybody was l0
years older. I was amazed to see guys walking around with hair down to
their waists... at school, I was getting shit for mine being a half inch
too long... The Psychedelic Shop was a great place to hang out, they
played ethnic music, Indian tribal chants, etc, had a meditation room,
weird publications, you'd run into guys like Leary there. But this is
1965 I'm talking about. 66 was very cool too. The Fillmore and Avalon
were holding 2 dances a week, and other venues had them frequently too.
It was a solid music scene. The bullshit didn't start till '67, as you
say, the Summer of Love. I'm sure glad I was there. It gave me a benchmark
that's served me throughout my life, of just how it feels when an
important scene is in its formative stages. For me, being there when it's
starting to happen is the Holy Grail of pop culture. If you have to wait
to read about it somewhere, it's already too late. I was fortunate again
to be in the same position, only more experienced, more capable, when
Punk started to happen. If there is ever another cool scene again, I
could see myself being one of those elder-guru types. There were a few
around the Haight, even then, though I couldn't imagine what they'd been
doing the previous few decades... There is nothing to compare with
being involved in a scene that matters, that transcends personal
ego-trips and obvious cultural vectors... where it feels like the human
spirit has broken free and loosed the winds of Chaos... it happens
periodically, but it sure hasn't happened in awhile. I was expecting it
in the 90s, but the death grip of consumer culture just seems too strong.
I think LSD had a lot to do with freeing up creativity in my teenage
years, and while I know it's around again now, people are taking very
wimpy doses.. 50-80 micrograms typically. We had it in 500 or 1000
microgram capsules, and maybe that makes all the difference. I don't
think people necessarily need drugs to be original, but I think it helps
a lot of folks get past the "surface tension" of conventional culture.
The forces of conditioning are so strong these days that I suspect we
need an equally strong deconditioning agent... if not LSD, then something
of equivalent power. Personally, I think the revival of ancient ritual,
magical empowerment of the TOPY variety, and neo-shamanism may fill the
gap. But hey, that's a question you didn't ask. Sorry!
Cosmik: I may have asked, eventually. But it's always a little scary to
ask people how they feel about that now. Getting back to the magazine
biz, was "Who Put The Bomp" the predecessor of "Bomp?" Or were they one
and the same?
GS: After the Mojo folded in 67 (RS and its commercial style sorta took
away my enthusiasm for awhile) I stopped writing, and came back to it
after a year or so with a series of zines that were circulated mainly,
again, in SF fandom. One of these, which was devoted to music, had a
different title every issue, always the title of some old song I liked.
For some reason, I stopped doing so with issue 4 or 5 and just kept the
current song title, which was "Who Put the Bomp". There is a story in
Greil Marcus' first book about a number of people in an elevator, one
starts singing this song, and the others all join in one at a time;
proving I guess that rock was some kind of universal cult language. I
liked the way he told it, I think that was why I used it. While I've
always been a huge fan of the Brill Building, this was hardly my idea
of the best song to come out of there. (In fact, I think "Da Doo Ron
Ron" was another of my early issues. I don't have 'em handy to check,
sorry).
Cosmik: You had some major league writers over the years, like Greil Marcus,
Lester Bangs, Dave Marsh... It's probably an unfair question, but who
would you say was the most important writer of the era?
GS: A lot of these name writers wrote in Bomp because it was the only
alternative to the professional zines; and in the early days we talked
quite a bit about the music press and various arcane areas of interest
to such working writers. Marcus wrote a very good piece on Buddy Holly
for Bomp but the best had to be Lester Bangs and his "James Taylor Must
Die!" piece on the Troggs. He was staying at my place for a couple weeks
and in the course of that visit I played the Troggs for him; he'd never
heard anything but their hits, and I have something like 9 albums by
them... so he was inspired to do his rant. In general, I think Lester
was the best writer of his time, or maybe ever, in the rock field (he
also wrote a novel that was not about music, and it was pretty damn good
too; I read it in manuscript [form] and I guess it must've disappeared
because when he died, none of his literary executors knew about it...).
With him, the top of my list would include Nik Cohn, Nick Kent, John
Mendelssohn, and Nick Tosches. (I wonder what it means that most of them
are named Nick?) I think I'd also include Paul Williams, but not most of
the other Crawdaddy writers (Meltzer, Pearlman, Landau, etc) who never
impressed me that much.
Cosmik: When you see what has become of the mainstream music press, how do
you feel? For example, can you read Rolling Stone?
GS: I haven't liked RS since the early '70s... or Creem, since Marsh and
Bangs left. I don't read the rock press, I don't think it has anything
much to say these days. I find out more useful info on bands from the
Internet. Though I like some things about some zines (like Forced
Exposure, or Ben is Dead) I think the whole field is pretty pointless.
Cosmik: Looking back, when do you think the music press really ran out of
important things to say?
GS: Sometime in the early 70s. The whole context of some kind of "rock
culture" died along with all the other "pretentions" of the 60s and I
think it was that sense of shared community that brought out the best in
the writers of the period. At the same time, the most gifted writers
tended to move on...the rock press was pretty unrewarding, financially
and otherwise. I'm sure Nik Cohn was much happier writing "Saturday Night
Fever" than "Rock From the Beginning", though it was rock's loss. In the
absence of an entrenched aesthetic system, new writers who came along
ended up just being flacks or fanzine jerkoffs. And in some way, I think
writing for fanzines deprived writers of the benefit of a wide audience
and good editing, factors I'm sure made a difference for me.
Cosmik: You were writing for a lot of other publications, including Rolling
Stone...What kind of writing interested you the most at that time? You
know, what were the cherry assignments, as far as you were concerned?
GS: Honestly, I was never much interested in writing as a creative medium.
I'm not talented enough. I did it to make money and to keep getting free
records and to feel a part of the music community. I mostly wrote $10
record reviews, not very many major pieces. My favorite gig was doing an
album project because I generally had some input on picking the songs,
structuring the thing, designing the packaging, etc. That's why I
eventually ended up becoming a record company, I guess, so I keep doing
all those parts of it. The writing alone is simply a chore.
Cosmik: So it gets back to the music and the record collecting again. Is
record collecting something that still motivates you?
GS: Oh yeah. Even though most of my records are packed away where I can't
get to them, I'm avidly collecting US garage and UK records of the 60s.
To me it's like a big jigsaw puzzle, figuring out where all the bands
were from, who was on the same labels, the odd names or producers,
songwriters, etc that turn up in unusual places, etc. When I meet people
who were active in those days I always dream of writing up their story
for Goldmine or something, though I rarely have the time. It pissed me
off that I was turned down by Discoveries on a series I wanted to do on
semi-obscure behind the scenes people, such as Kim Fowley,
Gottehrer-Goldstein-Feldman, Jonathan King, etc. I had a whole bunch of
articles & discographies worked up. This is the kind of shit I love.
But I should've done more of it years ago, when I had the energy to be
really thorough. I've turned into a lazy old fart I fear.
Cosmik: So is US Garage the main genre that you collect, or is it a little
of everything?
GS: Well as I said I'm trying to complete the garage and psych areas, but I
also still semi-avidly collect girl groups, Brill Building, surf, and
instrumentals. It's hard for me to collect 50s stuff because there's no
way to be sure what I already have. I probably spend $1000 a month on old
records but at the same time it's getting really hard to find stuff I
don't already have, or when I do, it's insanely expensive and I just
won't pay those premium prices. The real fun has always been finding
some unknown record at a swap meet, buying it on a hunch and it turns
out to be great. Much more fun that paying $500 for something that's on
"Back From the Grave".
Cosmik: I'm sure your collection is pretty amazing. Is there anything out
there that you dream of owning but haven't found yet? You never know...
Somebody reading this might have your holy grail.
GS: Nice offer, but nothing comes to mind. There are a few odds & ends, but
out of tens of thousands of things I'd like to have, it's really not
something I lose sleep over. I have something like a million records;
many I've never heard and never will. After awhile it's not that exciting.
Cosmik: Does your collecting ever rekindle your excitement for making
records, even briefly?
GS: Sure, all the time. I always keep in mind what I, as a collector, would
enjoy having. While I don't go for the authentic packaging style of, say,
Norton, I try to make the kind of records somebody would enjoy collecting.
Cosmik: Let's put aside, for now, the things that were desperately wrong
with music in the early to mid 70's. What did you think was good about
music then?
GS: Well, somewhat in retrospect, there was actually quite a lot of good
stuff in that, and any other period you could name. At the time it's hard
to see it, often because the good stuff is obscure and only comes to
light when collectors dig it up. In the early 70s you had the beginnings
of punk with the Stooges, MC5, NY Dolls, etc, you had some fine pop bands
like Blue Ash, the Raspberries, Elliot Murphy, Todd Rundgren, etc etc,
and there was a cool scene in England after about 1971, starting with
glitter and going on thru pub rock and the early stages of punk. Mott
the Hoople was fun. Etc. There was also a record industry that hadn't
become completely mega-corporate yet, there were still guys like Neil
Bogart and the fellow who did Bell who released tons of oddball singles,
one-off studio projects, etc. A lot of the most creative studio guys
from the 60s were still working thru the mid-70s, not having hits, but
getting stuff released anyway. And another great thing about the early
70s, it was a wonderful time to start building a record collection.
Everything was available for about a nickel, or if you wanted something
really cool like a Standells album or a Charlie Feathers 45, you could
go up to a quarter...
Cosmik: What about the "scene" at that time? You were somewhere inside it,
working for record labels and magazines.
GS: From my perspective the "scene" was great. There was always some record
company party where I'd get flown halfway around the world to eat lobster
and listen to, say, the Marshall Tucker Band. That was my scene! There
were no local music scenes, but there was a network of people everywhere
who stayed in touch thru zines like Bomp, resulting in a real sense of an
underground community, a unique and precious thing that I don't think has
been possible since. It was a bit like the monastic world keeping
classical literature alive thru the Dark Ages... rotten times, but many
of us were doing cool things in obscurity!
Cosmik: Do you see the Internet as something that can nurture a whole new
underground scene?
GS: In a way. It's a new medium that I think has much in common with the
"DIY" aesthetic of fanzines. But the potential of hypertext has only
begun to be explored and I think that's the real core of it. I can't
predict where it'll go, but already online newsgroups, mailing lists
etc are way more fun and participatory than any printed medium I know of.
Cosmik: The reasons for the punk revolution are pretty well documented.
Were they YOUR reasons for the direction you were taking, too?
GS: Only to a small extent. Like Johnny Rotten, I wanted to "destroy" Rod
Stewart and Fleetwood Mac and their ilk, but I certainly didn't share the
"no future/no past" rhetoric. I liked the spirit of the young bands (I
was in my mid-20s and felt like an old man even then) and hoped to see
something like the rebellious social movements of the 60s arise from it,
but it soon became obvious there wasn't enough behind it to go very far.
Cosmik: Do you think that was because there was nothing like a Viet Nam
war to gang up on, or maybe because the punk attitude was too selfish?
GS: It's hard to isolate one element of the 60s, like Vietnam. That was a
particular generation, that had grown up with parents of a certain
generation, a certain degree of affluence, and other cultural events
that were unique to the time. And as I said, the prevalence of
psychedelic drugs in the context of a culture of Kennedyesque optimism
was also vital, though not repeatable. The fact that mainstream music
was also pretty lame was so far down on the list that I don't think I
ever heard anyone complain about it...but by the mid-70s, that was
pretty much the crux of the issue. I wouldn't call punk "selfish" but
its horizons were certainly narrow.
Cosmik: You got into artist management for a while as well. You've just
about done it all, I think. Was your experience as manager of The
Flaming Groovies a good one?
GS: It wasn't something I wanted to do, and I can say categorically it was
the worst job I ever had. Sire forced me to come in as manager if they
were gonna sign the band. They were of course unmanageable. They did just
as they wanted, and I took the blame and ended up paying the bills.
Later, I also let myself get talked into managing the Dickies for a year
or so; all I really wanted to do was make a record with them, but it
seemed the only way to get them out of bed. It was horrible.
Cosmik: Did the Groovies gig open a lot of doors for you later on?
GS: I don't think so. I met a lot of people while touring with the Groovies,
but they were people who knew me already through my writing. Indeed, at
times it felt like I was better known than they were (which they didn't
much appreciate!) Occasionally someone sees my name on "Shake Some
Action" and gives me some undeserved credit for being involved in the
production of it (I wish!) and I guess my efforts were important in
getting it done, but nobody will ever know the real story behind all
that.
Cosmik: So this all leads to Bomp Records. What was the starting point?
GS: It was the Groovies. Cyril [Jordan] visited me when I was working at
United Artists, which was their label in England at the time (I was sorta
the L.A. counterpart to Andrew Lauder, the guy who signed them). They had
been turned down by every label in town, despite having these amazing
unreleased songs with Dave Edmunds. Finally he said to me "why don't YOU
put it out?" and after objecting that I didn't know shit about making
records, I let him talk me into doing it. After that, I was travelling a
lot with the band and seeing a lot of scenes emerge around the world, so
it was good to have an outlet for the occasional music project. I didn't
start taking it seriously as a business until almost 1980.
Cosmik: Did you have a lot of help or advice along the way? Putting out
records and promoting them is tricky business, not exactly instinctual,
right?
GS: I had some help and advice from Seymour Stein, who was my mentor at
Sire. But mostly it was just a matter of watching how others did it and
trying to copy. I never did any "promotion", it's not something I'm good
at, and that is probably the biggest problem I've had in this business.
Most people who start labels are their own best promo men. My big desire
was just to add more cool records to my collection!
Cosmik: Bomp was pretty much the voice of punk in America, early on. That
was probably exciting as hell, but did it ever feel like that was a huge
amount of pressure on you?
GS: I don't really know if that's true. I was one of the first people who
"believed" in punk in America; for 2 or 3 years the industry thought it
was a stupid fad that would go away. As a consequence I had the advantage
of being welcomed into a lot of scenes where I otherwise didn't belong,
and hanging out with some people who might otherwise have preferred to
beat me up for my "long hair". It gave me first shot at some great bands.
I remember getting calls and demo tapes from a lot of people who became
very famous a year or so later. But it was never a matter of "pressure".
The pressure I felt was to get some major label financing so I could
afford to make records with all these folks. I was constantly on the edge
of insolvency, just trying to put out the few singles I did. With a
little support, I could've made Bomp into something like what Sire or
Stiff became, and it kinda drove me crazy that I wasn't given the chance.
But now I'm just as happy it didn't turn out that way.
Cosmik: Just as happy because you wouldn't want to deal with the industry
types on that level and join that rat race?
GS: Yes. I think once you get involved with them to that extent, you have
to adjust your way of doing things to theirs. It's like the old saw about
honest people going into politics... you get co-opted. Look at Howie
Klein, for instance. He was running 415 records at the same time I was
doing Bomp. He got a deal with CBS and I didn't. He's now running Sire
(the job I was slated for at one time) and whenever I run into him, he
looks haggard, tired, etc. There's nothing exciting, no creative challenge
in being a corporate cog, even if you are making $300,000 a year. For me,
every new project is an adventure. I don't envy Howie at all, yet in some
ways his path shows where mine might have gone. Of course, I admire and
respect him. People like Howie have made the industry a far better place
than it was 10 years ago. But he is trapped in it, like a fly in amber.
I'm still free to buzz around any old pile of shit that comes my way....
Cosmik: Were you surprised to find your label was almost alone in the
punk field? There you were, like Noah's Ark with all these amazing
bands, floating alone...
GS: Well, yes and no. Knowing as I did the major labels, I didn't really
expect any of them to get behind it. I steered as many of the bands as
I could to Sire, for awhile. But there were also a number of smaller
local labels that allowed bands to get their stuff out, so I didn't feel
quite so Noahlike.
Cosmik: What was the fan support like at the time?
GS: Not sure what you mean.
Cosmik: Well, at that point in time, was there a healthy domestic scene
full of fans that went out and supported the bands?
GS: There were fans for English groups who came to town, but for a long
time only a couple hundred people cared to support local bands, at least
here and in many other cities I visited. In part this was due to the fact
that the radio never played any of it. But once things started to gain
momentum, say by the end of '77, the whole thing got pretty big.
Cosmik: Were you making a dent in England, or Europe in general, as well?
GS: Not me personally; Bomp didn't have any bands that anyone particularly
cared about, except Iggy and the Iggy stuff was licensed out (or, more
properly, stolen) for release in other countries. American punk in
general was slow to catch on overseas, except for a few of the New York
bands who did very well in England right from the start.
Cosmik: When was the breakthrough, then? WAS there ever a breakthrough?
GS: My recollection is that the "breakthrough" for punk came after punk had
stopped being violent and started sounding more like disco. When was
that, 1980-82? At the same time, the really poppy bands like the Go Gos
and The Knack had hits, then everybody got signed. Personally, I don't
think anything really challenging ever "broke through" the media filter
to the point where it could be heard without some effort. This is still
true today (unless you think Green Day is revolutionary...)
Cosmik: Did the magazine and the label co-exist well?
GS: Yes, from 1974 into early '79. At that point it became financially
impossible to do both.
Cosmik: At that time, as you've said before, you could have had just about
anyone you wanted on Bomp. Who were the bands you took a pass on that you
wish you had snagged?
GS: More than I can remember! For starters, Blondie, the Go Gos, the
Pretenders, Devo, the Dickies, X, and Dream Syndicate.
Cosmik: The Bomp roster was amazing, though. Can you narrow down all that
talent to the one or two most important Bomp acts ever?
GS: Important to whom? Everyone seems to have different faves. I guess one
would have to say Iggy and the Stooges, though they were never really "on
the roster". For me, it would have to be the Plimsouls and Spacemen 3.
Cosmik: Is it true that you even had an early Devo record? They seem so
un-Bomp. Not to put them down, they're great, but I mean most Bomp bands
seem to either have beauty or power or both, and Devo doesn't really fit
either description.
GS: Maybe not, but on the basis of originality and conceptual sophistication,
I found them impressive. And their early stuff was quite raw after all.
This was one of those cases where Bomp was "the only game in town". They
needed to get a record out and nobody else was interested. I probably
should've insisted on having it on a Bomp label but ended up letting them
put their Boojie Boy label on it. But we pressed and distributed it, and
it had a really lovely (now super rare) picture sleeve.
Cosmik: You once said that punk music had "built-in obsolescence." What
exactly did you mean by that?
GS: I don't remember saying it, but perhaps I meant that any style built on
a specific attitude was bound to go out of fashion because these things
change all the time. Whether punk has gone out of style is debatable;
punk in the 80s, which I always preferred to call "hardcore" was, to me,
a completely different music from, say, the Ramones or the Damned.
Cosmik: Of the bands that are out there today, who would you say is the
best example of powerpop?
GS: I haven't heard enough to say, but a lot of what I've heard is very
good. It has to do with a delicate balance between energy and melody.
Cosmik: When the powerpop era started, and you had bands like The Plimsouls
on your label, how were Bomp's original fans responding?
GS: One of the advantages of having a label as well as a magazine is that
you can use the zine to explain to people why they should like the
records. But for us, there was never any inconsistency. Bomp wasn't
really a "punk" label. People who liked Iggy liked the other stuff too.
Now, if I'd ended up signing Black Flag, it might have been a different
story... (they were actually signed to Bomp under their previous name,
Panic, but we never released anything).
Cosmik: You put out "A Million Miles Away," by The Plimsouls, which is
considered by a LOT of people to be one of greatest singles any indie
label ever put out, and it didn't put them over the top. Did that shock
you, or at least mystify you somewhat?
GS: No, because I believe that if it had stayed on Bomp, we would have had
a big hit with it. It was already on virtually every station in the
country when the band's manager decided to go with Geffen. Instead of
re-releasing and promoting it immediately, they let it die and didn't
release anything at all until the album was done a year or so later. But
yes, at the time I thought everyone involved must've lost their minds.
Cosmik: Did it shake your confidence in the power of the indie label in
general? Did it make you think "What the hell does it take?"
GS: No, in fact it confirmed my belief that an indie label never stood a
chance. The only way that song got on the radio was because we put every
penny back into promotion. We may have sold 100,000 copies of the single,
but we also spent $100,000 on promo. And that was only the beginning. It
might have taken half a million to push that record into the charts.
That's why you needed major labels. But it sure shook my confidence in
the major labels as knowing what the hell they were doing.
Cosmik: In the liner notes to the Destination Bomp 20th Anniversary CD,
you mentioned that Geffen signed the Plimsouls and basically let them
die of neglect. You also mentioned that you wouldn't trade your world
for David Geffen's. Little hints of animosity. Is that based on what
they did with The Plimsouls, or does it go deeper?
GS: No. While he is no doubt a major jerk, I've never had any contact with
Geffen and no specific gripe against him. That comment goes equally for
anybody in that business; they're all a bunch of lying weasels whose
lives are devoted to power politics, bullshit, lust for money, etc. Their
days consist of endless meetings with other weasels in suits... this is
no way to live, in my book. I much prefer my life, even if I don't have
billions in the bank. I guess I make the comparison because there have
been several times when I was offered such a life, and I'm so glad I
didn't take it.
Cosmik: Looking through the list of bands you've worked with and realizing
how many of them were basically stolen from you by major labels, I wonder
how you were able to keep your heart in it the way you did.
GS: Well not many were actually "stolen". If I'd had contracts and the
labels used their legal muscle to break them, that would be different.
But mostly I had the bands for one record and then they got a better
offer. I thought one of these labels should have invested a fraction of
the money in Bomp that they'd later spend to sign just one of the bands.
For instance, if I'd had $100,000 development money in 1977 I could've
delivered maybe 10 bands capable of having hits. Instead, they all waited
a year or two and paid millions for each of those bands. This bugged me,
but it also reaffirmed my sense that you have to be self-sufficient in
this life, nobody's ever gonna lift a finger to help you. It was a lesson
I needed to learn.
Cosmik: While we're still talking about the not-so-happy stuff, let me ask
you what happened with The Romantics...
GS: When I met the Romantics they'd done one single on their own label. I
thought they were great and offered to put them in the studio. I paid an
experienced producer to come to Detroit, paid for a good studio there,
flew in myself to supervise the session, put out and promoted the single,
and was pleased when it helped get them signed to Nemperor. I wasn't
quite so pleased a year or so later when they sent lawyers to threaten
years worth of litigation I couldn't afford unless I gave back the
masters. Since I had hung out, partied and been pals with these guys, I
thought it was kinda shitty, and probably the reason they never had
another hit.
Cosmik: Have you had any contact with them since, or heard their side of
the story?
GS: No. In many cases, Bomp bands who went to major labels came back to me
later and thanked me for being the only guy who was ever straight with
them. I've also been accused of being the only label that ever pays
royalties. I do pay regularly the bands whose records sell (DMZ,
Barracudas, Miracle Workers, a few others) but unfortunately most of
them don't. As for the Romantics, I don't think they even knew what had
been done, I'm pretty sure it was their managers. Fuck you, Arnie Tensor,
wherever you are!
Cosmik: Let's talk about the fun stuff now. You've done some amazing
promotional stunts. What's the farthest you've ever gone to promote a
record? I've heard real quick summaries of the story about Josie
Cotton's "Johnny Are You Queer" record. What's your version of that one?
GS: While I think we did more promotion for the Plimsouls, this was a case
of really creative promo. The record being somewhat controversial, we
decided to fan the flames so as to create even more interest in it. A
guy who worked for me belonged to some Christian group, so he went to
them and spread the story that this record was encouraging faggotry among
young Americans, and the bible bozos duly turned out to picket KROQ where
it was being played. This made the national news (20/20?) and as a result
it started getting played all over the country. We also had a gay promo
guy (he called himself a "promosexual") working the record in the dance
clubs. We did everything possible to work every angle. We believed this
song could become the "Monster Mash" of the 80s. Unfortunately, it was
taken away from us by Elektra just as things were getting interesting...
Cosmik: So is that the farthest you've ever gone? Or would be willing to
go? Does pulling a caper like that help keep the fun in the business for
you?
GS: Well I don't think that was going so far. I'm a prankster at heart
and I don't think there's anything I'd stop short of, unless it involved
hurting someone. As you say, such capers are fun. They used to be quite
normal in the record business, before it got taken over by lawyers and
accountants.
Cosmik: Around this time, indie labels were being snapped up by the major
labels, and let's face it, Bomp was a hot property and plenty of majors
were trying to get a piece of you. What happened? Didn't you want to
go that route?
GS: It's not like I didn't try. We actually had deals with 6 or 7 majors at
various times, including Motown! None of them ever panned out however.
Some never got signed, others got signed but new guys came in (like Bob
Krasnow replacing Joe Smith at Elektra) and decided not to honor the
deals made by their predecessors. My deal at Polygram was made by the
president of the whole German conglomerate, but by the time it trickled
down to their local office, the A&R guys were offended at the idea that
an outside label could make better signings than them, and since the deal
called for them to approve whatever I submitted, nothing ever got picked
up. Etc, etc, etc.
Cosmik: When and why did you decide to start Voxx Records?
GS: I guess it was about 1980-81. After the Plimsouls and Josie Cotton
projects Bomp had gained this image of being a ready stepping-stone to
the majors, so we were inundated with cynical "new wave" hustlers looking
for deals. After awhile I got real sick of it, and started looking for
better excuses to get these jokers off the phone. My favorite became some
variation on "sorry, we're only signing psychedelic merseybeat combos
these days" and after awhile, it became more than an excuse. When I heard
the tape of the Crawdaddys' first album, it became a plan that started to
make a lot of sense. We'd make records for people who loved a pure rootsy
sound, with low budgets and no promo, and say goodbye to all that industry
bullshit. And it worked out pretty well.
Cosmik: Did you feel like you were making records you'd want to collect
again?
GS: Not specifically. As always, I tried to make them from a purist
mentality and of course the main criterion was always "does this turn
me on?" so it's sort of a self-defining process.
Cosmik: The garage scene was exciting if you knew about it, but at the
time you were starting Voxx, many people didn't. And the instro surf
thing had been dead forever. How big a promotional challenge was it
to get people listening? Or did you let that take care of itself?
GS: We never did much promo. Our instro surf band was Jon and the
Nightriders and it just happened they were the favorite opening band
for all kinds of groups, so they got a lot of exposure. When the first
"Battle of the Garages" album came out, we helped the bands organize a
sort of package tour around the east coast. This is about the most we
ever did to promote the stuff. By 1983-4 there were local garage scenes
everywhere.
Cosmik: What are the main differences between what was "garage" then and
what is "garage" now?
GS: Unfortunately I have no idea what the scene is like now, though I'd
imagine it's pretty similar.
Cosmik: Do you think there's anyone out there today that can hold a candle
to The Tell-Tale Hearts or Gravedigger Five and the best from that era?
GS: Probably not. The modern garage I've heard is far more derivative, and
shorter on genuine personality, at least to my ears.
Cosmik: Your "Battle Of The Garages" comp CDs do a great job of documenting
that 80's period. Is that the last word now, or will there be more from
the vaults?
GS: There is no more in the vaults. There will be no new garage comps.
Cosmik: What's going on with psychedelic music these days? I'm not finding
anything I'd call an active "scene."
GS: Hmmm, I don't know what kind of scene there ever was, since the late
60s. Everyone has a different definition of "psychedelic" tho. Perhaps
you'd like some of the many Grateful Dead tribute bands out there? (No,
I didn't think so.) As usual, the nearest thing to a scene is probably in
England; at least, a lot of interesting sounds keep coming from there.
But I think the same people go to see whatever band is playing in a given
week. That's not really a "scene". I suspect a lot of the folks who'd
otherwise make up such a scene have become "ravers" instead, which
although musically limited, is at least an alternative cultural scene
with its own customs and costumes. As these kids develop more of a taste
for live music, maybe it will come together.
Cosmik: All these years later, instrumental surf music is all the rage
again, bands like Mermen are getting signed by the majors, TV commercials
are using surf music, Jon and the Nightriders are in the studio for the
first time in over a decade...Even Tin Machine did a surf song. Are you
surprised by all this?
GS: Totally! I have no idea how long it will last, but probably not more
than a year or so at this level. But then we'll have a healthy crop of
local bands keeping it alive for another decade or so. Best part of it
for me is all the reissues that have been sparked by it.
Cosmik: Yeah, like what Sundazed Records has done with all the old instro
bands?
GS: Yeah but not just Sundazed. Look at the revival of Del-Fi for gods
sake. Jim Pewter has done a couple of good comps. Some unknown bootlegger
has put out great comps of Gary Usher, Surf Girls, etc. Everywhere you
look there's cool stuff.
Cosmik: What direction is Bomp going in right now?
GS: Bomp isn't particularly busy these days. Mostly we're reissuing old
stuff, repackaging the Pebbles series, etc. There is one new band on
Bomp, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, that I've been working with for a
couple years. I think they could do great things and I'll be doing
another record or two with them I hope. I'll probably release some more
English stuff too, in the Spacemen 3 vein. I'd like to do more
contemporary space/drone music, if I could find more that I liked. (The
best stuff seems to already be out on Kranky!) The Voxx label will be
coming back soon with a new album by the Laughing Sky (Dino Sorbello's
post-Blacklight Chameleons band) but that's a rare exception. I consider
the '60s revival pretty much dead, creatively. I'm hoping some new trend
will come along that I'll feel like getting behind.
Cosmik: Do you still actively seek out new artists?
GS: Not as much. They have to seek me out. I'm too tired to go out looking.
Cosmik: If someone asked you to put one Bomp or Voxx record in a time
capsule, and you knew that future generations were going to learn about
your label from that one example, which one would you choose?
GS: I wouldn't do it. In the future, nobody will be able to find a
turntable (or, probably, a CD player) anyway. Besides, what did
posterity ever do for me?
Cosmik: We always ask label owners if they can imagine themselves doing
this in twenty years. You actually are doing it twenty years later.
Is the drive still strong? Can you handle another twenty years in this
business?
GS: There is no drive and I can barely do it now. But, if I liked
something, I suspect it would give me a kick to come back and do it
again, even after 20 years. Sometimes I have trouble maintaining my
interest even for the rest of the day. But you never know what's around
the corner...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WIVES IN 95
An interview with Sue Horwitz.
(By DJ Johnson)
1995 was a hell of a year for Sue Horwitz, Mary Dunham and Tracy
Almazan of The Wives. After making a name for themselves in New York City,
the band moved up to the national scene with a fantastic 7 inch, inclusion on
a pair of compilation CD's, and finally a CD of their own, "Ask Me How," on
Go Kart. Filled with thoughtful, sometimes dark lyrics accentuated by a
powerful sound and great hooks, "Ask Me How" is one of the year's best
albums.
Singer/guitarist Sue Horwitz talked with Cosmik Debris while still
catching her breath after returning from The Wives first tour. As 1995
winds down, there is a lot to talk about.
* * * * * * * * *
Cosmik: You used to be a folk singer? Is that true?
Sue: My deep secret has been revealed! Yeah, it's true, I was a teenage
folkie, strumming along at coffeehouses and open mike nights. I wrote
a couple of really sappy songs that I luckily can't remember.
Cosmik: Who were you into listening to at that point?
Sue: The obvious. Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, CSNY. I went through a
pretty big southern rock phase around then too -- I saw the Outlaws a
bunch of times during high school. I never really liked Lynyrd Skynyrd
though. I was listening to punk then too, even though you never would've
guessed it.
Cosmik: And then...what...you slipped into the punk side due to the
unbearable amount of peer pressure?
Sue: I was too old for peer pressure by the time I started playing the
hard stuff!
Cosmik: It's hard to imagine you as a folkie, though. I listen to
"Grinding" and it's such a powerful kick in the snout. Did you always
have the punk sound in the back of your mind?
Sue: I always listened to all kinds of music, and when the whole punk
thing happened, I always thought, hmmm...I could do THAT too! I got
tired of the folk stuff for a bunch of reasons, but I think the main
one was that it was too SENSITIVE. I started feeling really uncomfortable
standing up in front of people and being all earnest. So I laid low
for awhile, then, after I actually started writing hard, fast songs, I
realized that that was the way for me to go.
Cosmik: But your songs with The Wives can be very "sensitive." Sure, the
music sounds like thunder, but you're singing about sensitive subjects.
Sue: That's true, but having a gazillion decibels behind the words gives
them a totally different effect. Not to sound too cliched, but it's not
as naked.
Cosmik: How did The Wives get together?
Sue: Mary and I met through mutual friends, went to some shows together,
and became fast buddies. She had been in a few bands in Connecticut and
here in New York, and she had this idea in her head that I had also been
playing in bands for awhile. Little did she know that I hadn't ever
written anything worth making public, that the only band I had been in
before was a country outfit, and that I had only touched my cheapo
electric guitar a couple of times! I wrote some songs, we found a
drummer, and we started playing out pretty quickly. After about six
months, Mary and I realized that we wanted to play fast, hooky punk
stuff, but the drummer we had then wasn't really into it. So we parted
ways. Mary and I had a brief stint with a wacked-out, smelly, dreadlocked
pothead who liked to piss in the kitchen sink. He was a phenomenal
drummer, but what a freak! We quickly realized that it wouldn't last,
so we put an ad in a local paper and Tracy answered it. She came to a
gig to check us out, but freakboy didn't show up. We gave Tracy a really
crappy tape of me and Mary playing all of our songs, and she actually
liked it! That was 3 years ago, and we've been together ever since.
Cosmik: When you put the ad in the paper, were you looking specifically
for a female drummer?
Sue: Nope. In fact, we deliberately didn't include in the ad that we were
women. Oddly enough, Tracy told us that she probably wouldn't have
answered an ad for a "girl band." We weren't trying to be an all-female
group, but it turned out that way.
Cosmik: I haven't heard The Wives live, but I don't hear any obvious
overdubs in your recordings, so I assume you play it pretty straight.
Sue: When we recorded the CD and the Vital 7 inch, which we did at the same
time, we played all the basic tracks live. No patching allowed! I
refuse to record multiple guitar tracks, because I want an authentic live
sound, but to beef things up, I recorded on three tracks at the same
time. Our producer, Dean Rispler, has a really cool guitar setup. Three
mikes, one head, and two cabinets, one 4 x 12 and one 2 x 15 bass cab.
We kept mostly first takes, and some seconds. Guitar leads and vocals
were all done separately. In the past, we had recorded on ADAT, which
is great if you're a perfectionist. Personally, I hated it. It sounded
way too sterile, and I always felt like we could never live up to that
level of precision live. I hate cheating.
Cosmik: What do you do when you play live to reproduce that guitar sound?
Sue: I just play really loud, with alot of overdrive. I don't do much
single-string stuff, and power chords make a ton of noise.
Cosmik: Do you ever feel limited by the power-trio thing, or does it
challenge you?
Sue: I never feel "limited" by it. In fact, we once had a friend come
along to a practice to play second guitar, and we all quickly realized
that there was no room for it! But there are times when I'd like to be
able to concentrate on one thing a little more -- either singing or
playing -- and I guess another player would let me do it. At the same
time, though, there are some things that we do that would be much harder
with another instrument, like really, really short stops and really,
really fast songs.
Cosmik: Plus, there's a distinct feel trios get that a 4-piece can't
touch, a whole different kind of power.
Sue: I can't really compare the two since I've never played in a two-guitar
band. But maybe there's a tightness that you just can't get with any
more than the bare minimum instrumentation.
Cosmik: What would you say the Wives main strengths are?
Sue: Our songwriting and our tightness. I get bored real easily, so I try
very hard to write varied, interesting songs that have more going on than
the three-chord punk anthem thing. Not that I don't love that stuff, but
I love other stuff too, like darker, slower, moshy tunes and quirky
off-time shit, like "Grinding." [Ed. Note: "Grinding" was The Wives first
single.) We play with dynamics a lot, which is pretty easy to do with a
trio, so we're not just bashing out one hardcore thrasher after another.
Live, we're really tight, which comes from playing and playing and
playing. We've gotten to the point where it's intuitive. We don't have
to look at each other to know what's going on at any given moment during
a set. This quality has made us the undisputed Queens of Recovery when
confronted with the occasional mid-set meltdown!
Cosmik: That feeling when the three of you are playing and it feels like
one mind...can you compare that to anything else in life?
Sue: Is this the sex question? That's the obvious answer, of course!
Cosmik: Sounds about right. How would you describe your music and your
sound?
Sue: You tell me! I guess melodic punk is what I usually tell people.
Cosmik: Verging on hardcore, from time to time, maybe. Your first record
was a 7 incher on Redd Records that had three tracks, but the two on the
b-side segue like they were written together. Really cool songs, too,
by the way. Did you write them to be recorded together?
Sue: No, but we always played the first song, "Back," into something fast
and catchy live.
Cosmik: What kind of response did that record get?
Sue: It got great reviews everywhere except Maximum Rock and Roll, who
wrote some unintelligible nonsense that had nothing to do with the
record.
Cosmik: Do negative reviews get you down?
Sue: Fuck 'em. I guess if we got a terrible review in a publication or
from a writer that I really, really respected, then I'd be disappointed.
Or, if we got nothing but shitty reviews on a record, I'd be pretty
bummed out. But you have to expect to not be able to please everybody,
and I actually feel incredibly lucky that we've gotten so many good
reviews. Hopefully the luck will continue with the CD.
Cosmik: Was the 7 incher on Vital Records your second release?
Sue: Yeah, and it's selling really well. Must be that limited-edition
white vinyl.
Cosmik: Tom Cassar [Vital Music Records owner] can't be as cool as he seems.
Sue: He is! I swear!
Cosmik: Got any good dirt on him?
Sue: I swear to God, there isn't any! He's the best!
Cosmik: That was where I caught on to your band. "Paper Trail" is a great
song. What IS it about, though? It's kinda surreal and vague.
Sue: It's funny that you say that, 'cause I think Paper Trail's one of the
more obvious songs I've written! It's one of them songs about some idiot
or another blowing me off, and about me just not getting it.
Cosmik: Are most of your lyrics about real experiences you've had?
Sue: Some of them. A good number of them are totally fabricated stories,
though. One of them from the CD, Rosa, is about an agoraphobic girl.
I have NO IDEA where it came from. Suddenly I thought, hey, how 'bout a
song about someone who won't leave the house?
Cosmik: Kind of an optimistic agoraphoic song, though, unless I'm hearing
it wrong. Sounds like she's just at the point of trying to kick it?
"Done waiting - Rosa?"
Sue: Yeah, that's right. Even though she's terrified, she's walking outside.
Cosmik: Pardon me for harping on your lyrics, but I think a lot of bands are
putting less and less emphasis on that, and here comes The Wives with
a bunch of songs that make you want to dig and decipher and understand.
How do you feel about lyrics in general? How do you approach writing
them?
Sue: No problem. There aren't a lot of people who ask about lyrics, to be
honest with you. I used to write lyrics first, then figure out melodies.
After awhile, though, I switched. Now, I come up with some kind of chord
progression, then play it and play it and play it, either alone or with
the band, and see what pops into my head lyrically. I like writing this
way because it makes the lyrics very rhythmic. As for content, more and
more I like the idea of story telling, like in Rosa. Pick a character,
describe her, and off we go. But, if I really want to "say something,"
I don't want to be that obvious about it, so I'll write a little more
obscurely. Vague and metaphorical is good, as long as the words
themselves have a good rhythm and sound cool together.
Cosmik: Do you think a lot of people pay attention to what you're saying,
from what you see at your shows?
Cosmik: I doubt it, since people always complain that they can't hear the
vocals. But then again, sometimes people actually sing along, so maybe
they ARE listening!
Cosmik: You said earlier, before we started, that you kind of like it when
people can't figure out what your songs are about.
Sue: Like I said about the folk stuff, I don't want to be that obvious if
I'm talking about something personal. Plus, to me, lyrics should be
like poetry -- give the reader or listener some clues, but let him come
up with his own interpretation of what's really going on. You should
hear some of the crazy shit people come up with, including my own
bandmates, to explain lyrics sometimes.
Cosmik: Do you usually just say "Oh yeah, very astute!" and let them be
happy?
Sue: "Whatever you say!" If they wanna know if they're right, though, I
tell 'em the truth.
Cosmik: How did the Go Kart deal happen?
Sue: We sent them a package of stuff and started bugging them! Chloe was
instrumental in convincing Greg that we were worth signing.
Cosmik: Who's Chloe?
Sue: She's the second-in-command over there ...She had seen us a few times,
and we got to be friendly with her while we were sending stuff around.
We really wanted to work with Go Kart because they've put out some great
stuff -- Lunachicks, Black Velvet Flag, Buttsteak -- plus they're local
and still small enough that we get plenty of attention.
Cosmik: How does having a full length CD released change things for The
Wives? Besides generating some income, that is.
Sue: Income schmincome! Having a CD makes it much easier to book shows
in out-of-town clubs. You get some level of respect that even the best
demo tape or even 7 inch won't bring. Whether this is legitimate or not,
I can't say. There are plenty of great bands around with no CD releases.
Cosmik: Who are some of the better ones?
Sue: Well, until a couple of months ago, I would've said Simon and the Bar
Sinisters, but as you know, they finally have a CD out. Actually, most
of the bands that we've played with through the years have put out CDs
in the last few months.
Cosmik: So now, besides having a full length CD in national distribution
and a 7 incher on Vital, you're on a pretty cool compilation CD called
"Picklemania NYC," [Riot Records - See review in this issue] with bands
like Sea Monkeys, Iron Prostate and Hot Corn Girls. That's a CD of indie
stuff that
I've seen in several non-indie type music stores. Has it
had any visible effect so far? Like bigger crowds, more sales of the
Go Kart disc, stuff like that?
Sue: People mention the Picklemania thing quite a bit, but I don't know if
it's really gotten around enough to have too much of an effect on us.
We've put "Mempho" back in our set though, after a long hiatus. You know
that Tom from Vital is in the Sea Monkeys, right?
Cosmik: Oh yeah! I loved Sea Monkeys' version of "I Can See Clearly" on
that CD.
Sue: We're also on another compilation that came out in '95 called "Step on
a Crack, Volume II." It was put out by Go Kart and Sound Views, which is
a fanzine out of Brooklyn that you MUST get hold of if you haven't
already. It's got tons of NY bands on it, some of the same ones as on
Picklemania, and some others too.
Cosmik: 1995 has been a big year for you.
Sue: Yeah, I'd say so. Tough one to beat, considering the number of
releases we had! Yikes!
Cosmik: There may be something to that, you know? How DO you top 1995?
What would it take?
Sue: If you have any suggestions, let me know. At the risk of sounding,
well, like the stinking capitalist that I am, MORE MONEY would help.
Cosmik: What kind of crowds do you draw, generally speaking?
Sue: Pretty mixed. We seem to draw a lot of post-college, been-listening-
to-punk-since-day-one types, along with the obligatory handful of young
crusty kids. The gender ratio is usually pretty even, which is great.
Cosmik: Had you expected more of a female following?
Sue: I didn't expect anything at the beginning, although we actually had a
nice little riot grrl crowd going on about two years ago. We did a
couple of shows for them, and they definitely helped us along. They seem
to have disappeared around here, at least as an organized, identifiable
thing.
Cosmik: Do you think there's still a macho attitude in the punk scene that
might cause the crowd to see you as a novelty? The "Oh, look! Chicks!"
crap?
Sue: We've been pretty lucky with this. As we've gotten better known, the
macho shit has pretty much disappeared. At the same time, though, I know
that if we're playing somewhere new, outside of New York City, there's
bound to be assholes in the crowd who will assume that we're gonna suck.
Cosmik: How do you handle that when you know you kick ass with the best of
the male bands?
Sue: I relish it, because I know that they're gonna be blown away as soon
as they hear us. It's the greatest fuck-you ever!
Cosmik: Do you ever get that attitude from the bands?
Sue: Not so much from punk bands. They're usually either really cool and
friendly, or just indifferent, which is fine too. Other kinds of bands
though... I gotta tell you this story. About a year and a half ago, we
played on a bill in Boston with three other bands from New York. The
promoter thought it would be cool to have a "New York Night" -- like
anybody in Boston gives a fuck -- so he booked us all together, even
though the other bands were boy glam rockers, feather boas and all! We
all decided to rent a bus to get up there, and the whole way up, the boys
and their girlfriends listened to bubblegum pop and primped. They spent
more time on their hair and makeup than any woman I know. I'm sure they
thought we were freaks, since we were, like, reading books for five hours
on the way up and just generally spending time by ourselves. So we got
up there, and a couple of them immediately tried to con the soundman into
making us play first, which was not the deal that we had with the club.
Luckily, Mary walked into the conversation at just the right time and got
it all straight. They weren't too pleased. So they continued to ignore
us, and we set up for soundcheck. As soon as we started playing, it was
like a naked woman had walked by -- all of their heads swiveled, in
unison, toward the stage. I swear, I saw it with my own eyes! Needless
to say, we didn't have to do much equipment lifting at the end of the
night!
Cosmik: From arrogant snots to drooling fans and instant roadies in one
easy lesson. There's a certain sense of justice in that. The bands
that do maintain the attitude, though, do you think it might be that
they resent you for sounding more powerful than they do and being a
better band than they are?
Sue: Some of them undoubtedly do, which I can understand. More often,
though, most band guys seem to get pretty sheepish after they've given us
attitude and then realized that we've kicked far more talented asses than
theirs! Not to sound too 70's, man, but maybe we've enlightened a few
neanderthals along the way.
Cosmik: Which bands have HELPED The Wives along?
Sue: Iron Prostate, Sexpod, Wighat, Ff. The Voluptuous Horror of Karen
Black gave us some really great shows in the last year. Dean, our
producer, is their bass player.
Cosmik: I was trying to figure out from the pictures on your records...what
kind of guitar do you use? Gibson what?
Sue: Les Paul Junior. One pickup, two knobs. Very easy to manage. I also
have a Melody Maker that I stuck a P-90 pickup in, so it's like a
mini-Junior. They look exactly the same -- cherry red double cutaways.
The Junior's about twice as thick, though, and you can really hear the
difference that all that wood makes.
Cosmik: Did you use the Melody Maker on any of the songs on the CD?
Sue: No, just the Junior. It's really just a backup for when I break a
string live.
Q; What do you use for amps?
Sue: I had a Marshall JCM 800 for awhile, but it sounded tinny. I fell in
love with Hiwatts after we recorded, so I hunted one down. It's a newish
model. Although it has two channels, I never use the clean one. I like
the Sovtek 60 watts and hope to pick one up if I ever get any extra cash.
Cosmik: Do you just go for a little overdrive, or do you run any effects?
Sue: I use tremolo on a couple of songs, usually just a little bit during
quiet spots. On one song, though -- Fish, from the CD -- I max it out
and set it to square wave for a lead. It sounds really strange, and
although I don't usually like overdoing the effects, it works out really
well for that one spot. I just bought a micro amp to boost my volume for
leads. I tried a few different overdrive pedals, but they usually just
cut my signal instead of boosting it.
Cosmik: Don't mind me, I always ask those questions. It seems like half of
Cosmik Debris' readers are musicians. Hey, I hear Blackie, from Simon
& The Bar Sinisters, is your amp guy.
Sue: King of Tubes! Check out his web site at
http://www.users.interport.net/~blackie. I love talking shop, but my
knowledge is pretty limited. I have no interest in any guitars that
ain't Gibsons, and any amps that ain't got no tubes running 'em. Guess
I'm just picky.
Cosmik: You just did your first tour. A short one, but a "get your feet
wet" experience. How did it go?
Sue: We had some really amazing shows and some really lame ones. We played
with 7Seconds in Austin, which was bliss. They are undoubtedly the nicest
guys in hardcore, and they still crank after all these years! We had
another great show with Tanner in Atlanta, and an out of control, insane
night in Madison, Wisconsin with Teengenerate and the New Bomb Turks.
It was a punk rock extravanganza!
Cosmik: Has it been kind of fun for you, as a fan, to be hanging out with
some of these guys?
Sue: Oh sure. I always like playing shows with bigger touring bands.
Cosmik: Right now, you've got your first full length CD out [on Go Kart
Records] and you've got the first tour under your belt... What's the next
step? Are you looking at an extended tour?
Sue: Maybe in the late spring. For the time being, we're going to try to
cover the east coast during as many weekends as we can manage it. We'll
be writing some new songs over the winter, and maybe we'll get back into
the studio before too long.
Cosmik: What's the highest aspiration you have for The Wives?
Sue: In real life or fantasy land? In reality, I'd like to pretty much
keep on doing what we've been doing -- write, play and record cool,
interesting, fun rock and roll. In fantasy land, I'd like to sell 2
million records and retire young. Only time will tell.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAN OR ASTRO-MAN? - THE EUROPEAN TOUR DIARY
By Birdstuff
(With intro by DJ Johnson)
Attention all Astrofans! The hardest working band of space aliens
(as opposed to the kind of aliens Pete Wilson worries about) in the the
universe are on the road once again. They only landed long enough to
record yet another album, then they were off to concertville. This is
a diary of the events that took place during the European tour earlier in
the year. Next month, we'll have the US tour diary for you. Enjoy.
* * * * *
Tuesday, June 27
Venue: Paradiso
City: Amsterdam, Netherlands
In traditional Astro-style, we arrived to play on the same exact day of
entry into this foreign land. In traditional Birdstuff Fashion, I spent the
entire previous night doing the normal, useless, obsessed things like ironing
the money I was taking and covering my drum cases with stickers. Customs was
as simple as CoCo's mind. We all had stuffed "Destroy's" and "Is It's" in
all our bags and were kind of worried. I guess that hypno-beam still works.
The show was probably a 4.89 out of 10. The venue was way too large (we had
350 people in it, and it looked only a fourth full), plus we still felt like
naked Roswell aliens without our fourth bretheren, the Captain.
Wednesday, June 28
Venue: LVC
City: Leiden, Netherlands
One great thing about touring Holland is the short drives. (Of course we
drive, using jet packs is just way too intimidating.) The club was long and
narrow with the proper size stage (small!). We're getting treated way better
than our earth or space parents have ever allowed. I think I'm going to have
groceries for the next 5 months just from what's been left over in our
dressing rooms. The show was amazing! The 3 piece brain collective read
through with crystal clarity. Star Crunch is now mandating the club as a
ship and making the soundman and monitor man the captain and co-pilot.
Tomorrow's show is with the mighty Doo Rag!
Thursday, June 29
Venue: Effenar
City: Eindhoven, Netherlands
On the way out of the Hotel, I snagged a brochure for the Noordwijk Space
Expo. So, we headed out to see what "Space" in Dutch actually meant. The
facility was small but was layed out really spectacularly. After buying a
gaggle-load of space paraphenalia, we took the 12 guilder tour in order to
receive our official(?) European Space Agency certificate. Star Crunch
wanted to see if they would let us capture a few Kodak Space Moments. They
actually let us shoot 5 roles of film around various rocket and lunar models.
Note: You'll probably be seeing these photos around for the rest of our
career on earth. The show was really acceptable. Doo Rag were uniquely
superb and I interviewed them for the Man or Astro-Man? Rocket Reader.
Friday, June 30
Venue: Basement (Nitetown)
City: Rotterdam, Netherlands
It was the morning after the show. We had been staying in some large office
building/hotel (I think the club rents out one floor for the bands to stay
in.) Anyway, I had been cursed with the earth disease you guys refer to as
Insomnia. Technically, it's different because we Astro-men actually recharge
instead of sleep, but as always we've found that simplification has been the
best policy when dealing with the earth mind. Okay, so it was 7:00 a.m., and
I went to get breakfast. The problem: no one is around - at all. I mean
it's like Vincent Price's "Last Man on Earth." Curious. So, being from
another planet, I persue every nook and cranny of the joint. Starving (my
gastro-sensors were reading the big 'E'), I head for the kitchen. But to no
avail. Alas, Coke and Saltines...a breakfast fit for a - well, fit for an
absolutely morsel-drained space boy. This was getting to be rather fun, as
my inhibition programming ebbed with each slurp of my 1 Liter Euro-Coke.
However, The Apron was to be the major flaw in my non-plan. I should never
have put it on. Busted! I was caught red-handed in the act of Coke and
cracker thievery, and while wearing an orange chef's apron...No wonder
Europeans think Americans are so stupid. I think it would take only about 17
episodes like this for the entire continent to think citizens of the United
States are complete stark raving morons. Oh, well. Yesterday's show was
really in sync. It was a great maximum-energy-released, 40-minute-space-punk
set. The crowd was really into it, and everybody left after we played, so
the rave DJ's had no one to play Moby for. What a shame.
Saturday, July 1
Venue: Atak
City: Enchede, Netherlands
To get in this place you had to state your business to this drive-thru-type
speaker system and then some unseen controller would cause the road spike to
go under the ground. Once inside, this top secret area turned into a strange
circle of cafes, movie theatres, nite clubs, and bowling alleys. Weird?
Needless to say, the references to our being trapped inside The Village from
"The Prisoner" TV series abounded. The show went well, but I think my space
comrads are getting frustrated without a 4th robojock in the mix. We all
agreed that if Hayden (ex-Supernova guitar player) would join us, then we
would teach him the ways of the Astro-clan...
Sunday, July 2
Venue: Mark Hall
City: Hamburg, Germany
Ah yes, Germany - a wonderful de-evolutionary step in American cultural ease
and acceptance from that of our European home-away-from-home, Holland. Lots
of fucked up people trying to use their 2 years of required English on you.
The Mark Hall is a huge venue with one large and one small room. Tonight
Soul Asylum and Man or Astro-Man? were poised against each other in the two
halls. Can you guess who was in which room? The show was absolute space
sludge. We sound checked for an hour only to have the sampler channel and
entire monitor system go. Good punk rock effort by CoCo, but those kind of
shows are satisfying me less and less. No posters - No promotion - Germany
sucks space dick. I did call Hadin, though. He's in. I guess the
collective brain cell goes back to a four piece when we return home.
Hmm...I kind of like the name Dexter X: Man From Planet Q. Whaddya think?
Monday, July 3
OFF DAY
City: Hamburg, Germany
Being my normal Space Calvanist self, I never like the thought of having
days off. I mean we're away from home base and our earth loved ones - why
not work our Asstros off? Truth is, we probably wouldn't survive foreign
atmospheres if not for the off day phenomenon. I'll be brief: Space Suit
gets washed. Star Crunch and I buy rad rocket shaped lava lamps. Band buys
matching solar glasses (even the fourth pair for Mr. Dexter X), we visit the
Hamburg TV Tower (cheap German copy of Seattle's beloved Space Needle).
Ashley Atomica and I eat at its revolving restaurant. I try to buy a
Residents CD, but find out the CD's at this shop are only to rent, I get 3
new books to read including "Is There Anyone Out There." We go to the
Reeperbahn and I buy dirty postcards for Bookman and Estrus honcho, Dave
Crider. Hey, where'd all my tour money go?
Tuesday, July 4
Venue: Huxley's
City: Berlin, Germany
The Fourth of July in Berlin, can it get any more patriotic than this? We
did a TV interview before the show and this drug crazed cocaine dealer came
up to us while we were recording and kept trying to take his shirt off.
Dinner was amazing as most our earth consumption units have been so far.
With any other crowd the show would have been out of control, but of course
we became Man or Astro-Fish? and everyone stared at us like we were in an
aquarium. Still much smaller crowds in Germany than we expected - Hey, why
are those tour posters on your desk and not in the city?
Wednesday, July 5
Venue: Kerosin
City: Augsburg, Germany
Small club, but propaganda visuals (posters!) in place! Massive amounts of
Huevos Rancheros stickers were up, giving one a strange sense of Canadian
wallpaper. We are currently battling Huevos for attendance, not that either
Huevos or us were getting calls from Guiness for our German show-going
attendance figures. The man providing the stats was Steven "The Invisible
Tour Manager." Steven always seems to be there just when you need him. He's
probably the nicest, most humble tour guy in the history of music. He's done
the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur, Jr., and he still treats us
like a band instead of the bumbling space fools that we proved ourselves to
be with a pretty weak show.
Thursday, July 6
Venue: LGB
City: Nuremberg, Germany
Nuremberg, the trials and tribulations of the 3rd reich...what an excellent
place for humor from outer space. We showed up to this open-air,
post-apocolyptic beer garden with 2 strange art buildings to either side.
This place looked like the brain child of Martin Denny and Goebbles. First
off, Mr. Disorganization and Supreme Untogetherness (that's me, for those of
you keeping score in your astro-logs) locked our only set of keys in the
van. Luckily, thanks to Star Crunch's wire fishing capabilities coupled with
the stroke of genius we had in leaving the sun hatch unlocked, we again had
escape possibilities. Andrea from Semaphore, Germany picked us up for an
interview at Radio Z. The station was above a belly dancing club, and the
interview was fun and short. Maybe belly dancing and good radio interviews
are direct casualties. Somehow we all got back to the club with promotional
copies of a CD where Henry Rollins interviews Wayne Kramer of the MC-5. Now
that's weird. A friend from Empty Records took us to the 3rd reich meeting
area. It was dilapidated but still ominous. The main field dwarfs
Jordan-Haire Stadium (which holds 80,000) in Auburn. It was eerie standing
where Hitler spoke. For half an hour none of us cracked any jokes. The
show was excitement packed but we were by no means "tight." The sound guy
was a Rastafarian and I kept thinking that we were playing in Jamaica.
Friday, July 7
Venue: Perron 55
City: Venlo, Netherlands
The band apartment we were suposed to be staying at in Nuremberg wasn't all
that appealing, so we decided to tackle the 6 hour journey to Venlo as a
nocturnal task. My first rememberance of the night was hearing whoops and
hollers to the ongoing mischief of a drunk driver. We were all cheering
this guy on to smash into another car or to run off the road and over the
guard rail. Sick? Maybe, but you've never been on the road wearing a
sweaty space suit for a solid week, now have you, earth squat? You take
entertainment when and where you can get it. The show in Venlo was both fun
and technically smooth. Final Note: if you ever ask for a free t-shirt you
will be told to suck Astro-Peter along with the 10 or so people at this club
who asked for theirs.
Saturday, July 8
Venue: Tivoli
City: Utrecht, Netherlands
This ended up being a space extravaganza like no other. The club had spent
a week decorating every inch of the place in aluminum foil and space scenery.
There were even several stuffed astronauts hanging from the ceiling. The
Tivoli is a large landing hangar for our tiny spacecraft and crew. Last
time the place was full of Dutch denziens because we were the opening act
for Mr. John Spencer himself. But this night the Astro-men rang the ears of
over 600 suckeroonies all by our lonesome. The live musical experiment went
just dandy and there is professional videotape to prove it. To top the
night off, the club made us blue space cake for a post-show treat. Umm,
umm Good!
Sunday, July 9
Venue: Vera
City: Groningen, Netherlands
The world famous Vera. If you've ever played there or talked to a band
who's toured Holland, you know the history of this volunteer-run club. I'm
now supposing that you've read another band's tour diary of their European
tour, so instead of spending this whole entry telling you how great the club
is, I will merely reaffirm that it is indeed one of the best, if not thee
actual thing. After solving (or at least half-solving) one of the greatest
amp buzz mysteries of all time, we suited up and were ready to take "the club
that's seen it all" by meteorite crashing status. The show was pretty
strong, but everyone wanted an encore. Small problem: we never play
encores. In miniscule earth terms, they're just stupid. I mean, unless
you're a "Naked Gun"/"Police Academy"/"Airplane" freak, you don't start
stomping your feet to get an extra tidbit after the credits. I'm sure
there's some history to it. Okay, we're ruining some age old traditions
started by the Greeks or something, but who cares. We play our best songs,
put on our little space side show for 1 hour, and then we head back into the
great beyond. Anything else is anti-climactic. Anyway, the crowd at Vera
was going nuts. We had no choice. Sell outs. Hypocrites. So we did it.
"Here's one more song that won't be as good as the last one because we
already played our best song last!" "Never again," I vowed. At least not
on the instruments we know how to play.
Monday, July 10
Travel Day to Sheffield, England
Today's Equations
* Oriental Food From Previous Day = Puke in sink next morning
* Six Hour Daytime Drive Thru Belgium = Unbearable Venusian
planet-surface-type heat
* Near Absolute Boredom = 70 pages read and tour diary entries
* Ferry Ride to England = Reflections of "alternate universe" with an
Oxford-graduated Love Boat crew member
* Duty Free Shop Aboard Ferry = New socks and underwear, "Pet U.F.O." Game,
and cool space-age looking silver notebooks
* Female Dover Customs Official = Proof of British hatered for Americans
(squared!)
Tuesday, July 11
Venue: Leadmill
City: Sheffield, England
Okay, so my one day-off puke session turned into some kind of Alien
Intestinal Death Rot. Also the combination of the off season and the
festivals have made for very poor ticket sales. Finally, Star Crunch's amp
was sounding like the musical equivalent of Catherine Hepburn's voice. I
felt like walking off the stage when the amp coughed in a White Flag way
during our opening song "Sferic Waves." But, lo and behold, due to my good
Karma from making this my "recycling not littering" tour, everything suddenly
turned around. CoCo did some excellent stalling antics, and the amp "fixed
itself" after a good flogging by Star Crunch's boot. Weird, though entropy
is way more common than revitilization in Astro-land. Don't call it a
comeback.
Wednesday, July 12
Venue: The Brittania Rowing Club
City: Nottingham
What ***thexit really was a rowing club that this girl had rented out for the
show. The inside, however, ended up being really cool. The ceiling had a
cave-like texture with cool, white stalagtites protruding from every odd
angle. But once again adversity comes quick. I twisted my foot while trying
to keep kicking a shitty bass drum pedal, so the rest of the night I had to
hit it on the side of my bare foot. You do not know agony until you have
experienced this bit of musical torture. I felt like a character in Harlan
Ellison's "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream." CoCo did a good job of
anchoring the craft into orbit, though. This show, because of the trial by
kick pedal, was one of my least favorite shows of all time.
Thursday, July 13
Venue: The Garage
City: London
Okay, this was the show that was being covered by the wonderful British
music press. I could see the headlines now: Shit or Bull-Shit? You Decide.
With a new pair of Converse Low Tops, a newly improved (due to added patches)
space suit, and a headlight (excuse me, torch) attachment for my space
helmet, I was set to shake some cosmic fabric. Star Crunch had fun foot
sliding across monitors and CoCo played really well. After the show, the
crowd went bo-zonkers and tried to steal our tubes and inflatable rockets.
It was great! Okay, maybe we're not Oasis, but as soon as we perfect our
pouty faces, who knows?
Friday, July 14
Venue: The Roadhouse
City: Manchester
Mike Noon, the head cheeze grater at Moral Sense Fanzine, put on this show
for the band. Proof is in the payoff. Having someone who digs the band do
the promotion works out a lot better than having some crusty Dead Head staple
a few posters outside the club. Thanks to Mike we had about 300 people in a
room that comfortably held 200. Due partly in fact to this "squeezing humans
by the force of a crowbar phenomenon," Manchester was the hottest show of the
tour. After a sweat-filled (we still haven't built adequate sweat retainers
for CoCo's armpits so we can later sell as cologne) set we headed to Mike's
Godzilla-filled domicile and watched "The Cake" a short film by the BBC that
used 3 of our songs as background music. It was actually pretty cool -
surreal but with a rather warm, farcical edge. Geeze, get me out of this
country, I'm starting to talk like them.
Saturday, July 15
Venue: Phoenix Festival
City: Strattford-Upon-Avon
Alright, I know what questions are in the great interior of your mind's
shell, but no, Shakespeare didn't show up for this one. Phoenix was the
reason this tour was planned. A really big deal with lots of bands, music
press, and (of course) bull shit. After nearly being strip-searched to get
to the Melody Maker Back Stage, we got a chance to take in the atmosphere.
Lots of hippies, lots of people with Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine
T-shirts, and a complete plethora of take-away food places just in case you
felt the need to dam up those fine arteries. After relieving organ #1, I
almost bumped into Ice-T who provided a soon to be overly quoted
Astro-Phrase: "You wanna scream like Henry Rollins or Pantera? That shit
comes from that place inbetween your dick and your asshole." Our show ended
up being excellent. No broken strings, a finely tuned sampler, and a
mega-blast of space energy. The promoter said we were the highlight of the
weekend for the middle stage. After we played I caught a band called the
Cardiacs - they were supremely nifty. They sounded like Devo meets Wire and
had some of the thriftiest choreographed moves this side of synchronized
swimming. Then we were off to do a live interview with none other than John
Peel. The interview was hilarious, but I'm not sure how Mr. Peel took our
Dick Dale irreverance. Public Enemy was on the main stage and they were
great. Flavor Flav could show CoCo a move or two. Chuck D said that this
was going to be one of their last shows; at least I was there. After P.E., I
caught a second of the Verve. They were booring wah-wah, slap your ass with
a tambourine Brit-Pop, not my thing. Finally, I caught Robyn Hitchcock at
the acoustic tent. He was in excellent form, running on with bizaar
inbetween song wonderings and also providing a decent bit of material that I
hadn't heard before. All in all, Phoenix was a diverse experience personally
and a beneficial experiment for the band. Gak! How boorish of an ending
should be allowed?
Sunday, July 16
Venue: Schrikkel Pop Festival
City: Near Brussels
All night drive and breakfast on a ferry - I hoped that this wasn't routing
its way into my normal alien existence. Belgium makes me think of archaic
historical events that I never did consider pertinent to take note of. Like
the "Gallic Wars" for instance, they probably happened in Belgium. Anyway,
we showed up to a baseball field-type outdoor event with a bunch of shitty
Belgium deathcore bands. Daisy Chainsaw minus the chick singer, Cop Shoot
Cop and us. Fucked? Slightly. The saving grace was that inside the main
building there was a "Space Station" pinball game that Star Crunch and CoCo
got to work on 2p in Brit moula. Needless to say, infinite pinball play
could make almost any day survivable. One of the bands ended up being late
so we opted to receive and went on 2 hours early. I was kind of worried
because everyone was exausted and indifferent being that this was the last
day of our official active European Duty, but the tour went out in Big Bang
style. Even demure Belgian frowns can't resist that Astro-charm. Even our
claims of being the controllers of the weather were finally fulfilled as it
began to rain seconds after our last note. Now, as in the end of any
overseas tour, the "unleashing and devulging of the sacrement of the Holy
Holding-togetherness in Air Cargo, the substance and ritual from which the
blood of Astro flows and the ceremony therein" (the Time of Taping the Shit
out of everying with all the duct tape you have or can steal) commences.
Packed, strapped, and ready to jet we all went our separate ways, just like
in the Journey song. CoCo hung out with Jim Rose; I headed for the Eiffel
Tower; and Star Crunch headed for Houston Control. We had the Future in
front of us like the lights of an oncoming spacecraft crashing, control plate
first, into our present. Is Dexter X flying this mysterious vehicle? Find
out if and when I take the time to do a U.S. Diary of the 1995 West Coast
Tour.
Congratulations on your Theory of Relativity Earth Saparoos,
B.Stuff, esq.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE COSMIK GUIDE TO CHRISTMAS CD'S
By Steve Marshall
Welcome to the Cosmik Debris holiday music buying guide for 1995. With
the Yuletide season now in full swing, this is the perfect time to check out
some of the holiday music available. The selection of new (good) Christmas
music over the last few years has been slim at best. This year however,
there are several new CDs that deserve a listen. Ranging from the traditional
favorites, to punk, and everything in between -- 1995's holiday releases
have a lot to offer. We'll start off with some of the newer releases, then
move on to a few of the better titles from years passed. We'll wrap it all
up with some things that are a bit harder to find.
One of this year's most eagerly awaited holiday releases is the third
Christmas CD from Mannheim Steamroller, "Christmas in the Aire" (American
Gramaphone). Combining 16th century instruments with modern electronic
instruments, Mannheim Steamroller has created some highly entertaining music
over the years, in both its Fresh Aire series and its Christmas CDs. The
sound quality is impeccable, with lush orchestration throughout. 11 of the
12 songs on this CD were selected by fans who mailed in their requests.
Though the CD includes several of the old classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed
Reindeer, Jingle Bells, etc), the two highlights are "Pat a Pan" and an
instrumental version of the traditional Spanish carol "Los Peces en el Rio".
Gipsy Kings contribute a vocal rendition of "Los Peces en el Rio" to
a new CD from Atlantic called "Winter, Fire & Snow". The CD includes tracks
from Clannad, b-tribe, and Andreas Vollenweider. In addition, you get songs
from Jewel, Phoebe Snow, and Jane Siberry, as well as the hard to find
Robbie Robertson track, "Christmas Must Be Tonight".
While "Winter, Fire & Snow" features mainly artists of the new age and
"world music" genres, "You Sleigh Me" (also on Atlantic) concentrates more
on pop/rock artists. Tori Amos contributes her live rendition of "Little
Drummer Boy", and Collective Soul does an interesting take on "Blue
Christmas" (with a riff similar to "Willie & the Hand Jive"). Several of the
tracks on "You Sleigh Me" were available last year on a promotional CD from
Atlantic called "So This is Christmas". The promo CD also contains
traditional carols performed by Hootie and the Blowfish, Evan Dando, and Bad
Religion.
Capitol released one of the best all-around compilations of traditional
Christmas songs this year, "Superstars of Christmas 1995". This one contains
11 Christmas standards including John Lennon's "Happy Xmas", The Beach Boys'
"Little Saint Nick", and Frank Sinatra's "The First Noel". The CD also
includes a new recording of Willie Nelson's "Pretty Paper", and Diana Ross'
rendition of "Silent Night" (available for the first time in the US).
If you're looking for a wide variety of musical styles this holiday
season, look no further than Rhino Records. With the new releases available
this year, the label now has over 30 Christmas titles in print. Need to add
a bit of humor to your holiday festivities this year? Check out Rhino's new
"Holidays in Dementia". The songs were hand-picked by Rhino's musical comedy
expert himself, Dr. Demento. With tracks like The Waitresses "Christmas
Wrapping" & "The Twelve Pains of Christmas" by Bob Rivers' Comedy Corp,
"Holidays in Dementia" is sure to please those with a slightly bent sense
of humor. Not to be missed on this CD is Joseph Spence's hilarious version
of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". See if you can keep from laughing when
you listen to this one.
What if you're really not into the traditional style of Christmas music,
and the Sex Pistols are more your style? No problem. Pick up a copy of
Rhino's new "Punk Rock Xmas". Sure to please the hard-core fans out there,
"Punk Rock Xmas" includes several songs available for the first time on CD.
You get The Dickies rocking version of "Silent Night", The Damned's classic
single "There Ain't No Sanity Claus", and Stiff Little Fingers' live version
of "White Christmas". If that's not enough, you get new tracks from The
Frogs, surf-punk band Bouquet of Veal, and (even though he's not really
punk) Mojo Nixon, doing "Christmas, Christmas" to the tune of "Louie,
Louie".
Also available from Rhino this year is Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "I
Believe in Father Christmas". The new EP features Greg Lake's original
single version of the title track, plus ELP's rendition as well. It also
includes the single's rare B-side, "Humbug" (available on CD for the first
time), and two more tracks.
When it comes to holiday music that's been out for a while, there are
several good titles to choose from. As far as pop/rock artists, there are
now two volumes of "A Very Special Christmas". Both CDs have their moments,
with songs from the likes of U2, Sting, Eurythmics, The Pretenders, John
Mellencamp, and a classic version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
performed by Frank Sinatra & Cyndi Lauper. Another good one to look for is
the IRS release, "Just in Time for Christmas", featuring original tracks by
Squeeze, The dB's, Wall of Voodoo, Dread Zeppelin, and many others.
Also worth checking out are the various Christmas albums by Elvis
Presley (all on RCA). The most popular one is probably "Elvis' Christmas
Album" from 1957. If you're lucky, you may be able to find a digitally
remastered mono copy on green vinyl. Be sure to check out "Elvis Sings the
Wonderful World of Christmas" for The King's great renditions of "Merry
Christmas, Baby" and "Winter Wonderland".
For the traditional standards, Rhino can't be beat with its two volumes
of "Billboard's Greatest Christmas Hits". The only thing bad about these
(and this is a problem with a lot of Christmas releases) is that they're too
short. Rhino should combine the two volumes onto one CD. With classic tracks
like Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock", Elmo
& Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer", and Eartha Kitt's classic
"Santa Baby", these two CDs are essential.
For those of you who might prefer your holiday music in the classical
vein, there are several versions of the perennial favorites, Tchaikovsky's
"Nutcracker Suite" and Handel's "Messiah". If you're looking for something
a little more contemporary, check out "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas"
(American Gramaphone). It keeps things in somewhat of a classical style, yet
has enough of a modern sound to keep it interesting.
If you're into jazz, you can check out the three volumes of "A GRP
Christmas Collection". With the likes of Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Patti
Austin, and Tom Scott, you can be sure to please the jazz aficionados on
your list. If you want something with more of a traditional jazz sound, try
"God Rest Ye Merry Jazzmen" (Columbia) with artists like McCoy Tyner and
Dexter Gordon. If acoustic jazz is more your style, try the Vince Guaraldi
Trio's soundtrack to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (Fantasy). This is another
essential Christmas CD.
For those of us with a sense of humor, there are a few more must-have
Christmas CDs - although these may a bit harder to find. Pat Godwin's
"Reindeer Games" (Rage'n Records) is a great source of laughs over the
holidays. Listen to "Grandpa Got Worked Over by a Mobster" or the continuing
"12 Days of Rehab".
Can't find that Pat Godwin CD? Try the second release from Bob Rivers &
Twisted Radio, "I am Santa Claus" (Atlantic). Imagine a Christmas song to
the melody of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". Fans of The Wizard of Oz will want
to hear "The Magical Kingdom of Claus". The CD's closing track, "O Christmas
Tree" is classic. You can't go wrong with this one.
You want something that will satisfy the kids' sense of humor over the
holidays too? Bring home a copy of Ren & Stimpy's "Crock O' Christmas"
(Epic). With songs like "Cat Hairballs" and "Happy Holiday Hop" you'll have
no trouble entertaining the little ones.
There are several Christmas songs that are only available on singles.
Most of these are hard to find, but are worth your money if you happen to
see them. Try to find a copy of Eagles' "Please Come Home For Christmas"
(Elektra), or Pearl Jam's rare fan-club single "Let Me Sleep (It's
Christmastime)" (Epic). Other singles to seek out are the Bruce Springsteen
B-sides, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Merry Christmas, Baby" (both
on Columbia). Daryl Hall and John Oates released a single of "Jingle Bell
Rock" that was only pressed on green vinyl. Another good one to search for
is Natalie Cole's 1991 version of "The Christmas Song".
While we're on the topic of hard to find Christmas music, check the
cutout bins for a copy of Jon Anderson's "Three Ships" (Atlantic). This
excellent album (it's only available on CD in Japan) has been out of print
here in the US for years. Add this one to the list of essentials. Another
hard to find collection of Christmas music is the Warner Brothers promo-only
release, "Winter Warnerland". The double-LP package (one album is red, the
other is green) features exclusive tracks from R.E.M., Los Lobos, Peter
Cetera, Daniel Lanois, Throwing Muses, & several others.
Here's a couple more interesting Christmas CDs, if you can find them.
"Yule Tunes" (Black Vinyl) has exclusive cuts from the likes of Material
Issue, Matthew Sweet, The Cavedogs, and 13 others. "A Lump of Coal" (First
Warning) is also a good one to buy. Henry Rollins' take on "The Twelve Days
of Christmas" is worth the price of the CD by itself. Plus you get
traditional carols respectably performed by Hoodoo Gurus, Crash Test
Dummies, and more.
There are a lot of instances where there may be only one Christmas song
on an album or CD. Such is the case with Pat Benatar's bluesy version of
"Please Come Home For Christmas" from her "True Love" CD (Chrysalis), and
David Bowie/Bing Crosby's classic rendition of "Peace on Earth/Little
Drummer Boy" from his latest singles compilation on Rykodisk. Virgin
recently released a new King Crimson CD single with the rare 1979
Frippertronics version of Silent Night. The Alarm recorded a cover of
"Happy Xmas" for their IRS compilation, "Standards".
As you can see, there is quite a bit of good Christmas music available.
You may have to do some hunting to find some of it, but that's half the fun.
Happy holidays!!!
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DAVID BOWIE - Outside (Virgin)
In 1992, David Bowie rekindled his working relationship with Brian Eno
and began collaborating on his latest album, "Outside". It was clear from the
start, the chemistry between the two had not diminished. Bowie explains,
"When Brian and I first got together to work, neither of us had the foggiest
idea of what we'd do. But we both instinctively knew what we wouldn't do".
Herein lies the magic of the new CD.
"Outside" is the first in a series of albums planned to chronicle the
fictitious diaries of detective Nathan Adler. When the time came to pick the
musicians to play on the CD, Bowie recruited a few of the people he's worked
with in the past. In addition to Eno on synthesizers and "various gizmos",
"Outside" features Reeves Gabrels and Carlos Alomar on guitar, Erdal Kizilcay
on bass, and Soul Asylum's Sterling Campbell on drums. Recording sessions
began in March of 1994 with "Lodger" engineer David Richards.
The CD's first single, "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" and "Hallo Spaceboy" (with
its Nine Inch Nails influence) are but two of the highlights on "Outside."
Mike Garson (who played on Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" album) contributes some
hypnotic grand piano to "The Motel". Other standout tracks include "I'm
Deranged", "Thru' These Architects Eyes", and possibly the best song on the
CD, "Strangers When We Meet".
"Outside" finds Bowie treading in some new musical territories, at times
covering several musical styles within the same song. Each of the songs on
the CD segue into each other with atmospheric narratives to create an
eclectic, yet focused, 75 minute performance. - (Steve Marshall)
THE CAR THIEVES - 7" EP (Planet Pimp)
This EP definitely gives new meaning to the word lo-fi as this sounds
like it might have been recorded in a shower stall using a walkman. With
song titles like "Steers & Queers" and "Ass Ass or Ass, Nobody Rides For
Free" I was kinda disappointed to discover that these songs were
instrumentals. Nevertheless, if you're a fan of all those surf-instro
records that Estrus Records seems to be selling so much of in their
catalogues these days, then you oughta dig this as well.
(1800 Market St., #45, San Fran. CA 94102) - (The Platterpuss)
JUDE COLE -- I Don't Know Why I Act This Way (Island)
When Jude Cole released his second album, "A View From 3rd Street", he
showed great potential as a guitarist & songwriter. His follow-up album,
"Start the Car", turned out to be a disappointment -- both critically and
commercially. With his debut CD for Island, "I Don't Know Why I Act This
Way", Cole seems stuck firmly in adult contemporary mode.
Like his last album, there are only a few songs that really reach out
and grab you. "Move if You're Goin'" has a funky, acoustic blues hook going
through it that's guaranteed to get your head moving to the rhythm. The
psychedelic "Lowlife" and "Madison" are fairly decent songs, but the rest
are standard MOR fare at best.
With King Crimson drummer and long-time bandmate Pat Mastelotto, Lyle
Workman on guitar (ex-Todd Rundgren & Bourgeios Tagg), & Steve Porcaro on
keyboards, Cole has put together a tight band on the new CD. Unfortunately,
they don't get the chance to stretch out on any of the material here.
Fans of Cole's earlier work will probably be disappointed with his new
CD. It's not a bad CD, but not a great one either. - (Steve Marshall)
CUCKOOLAND - Pop Sensibility (Damaged Goods)
If ever an album title were a perfect indication of what was inside,
this is it. At their best this mixed gender sextet reminds me of a more
Rock & Roll version of Abba, with those exquisite harmony vocals and their
classic, hook-filled tunes that just beg to be blasted out of car radios
everywhere. I can't imagine anyone hearing songs like "As Good As It Gets",
"Radio Friendly", "Here She Comes", "Across The Border", "(I Don't Know)
Why" and their sped-up, Ramones style rendition of Carole King's "It Might
As Well Rain Until September" without totally diggin' each and every note.
As far as feel-good power pop albums go, this is all anyone could ever
ask for. - (The Platterpuss)
CUCKOOLAND - As Good As It Gets/Richard Jobson Dance - 7" (Damaged Goods)
The A-side is this really nice poppy punk track that's taken from
their ultra-fabulous debut CD which is also reviewed this issue. The
flip is a quaint accoustic ballad that's kinda poingnant in its own way,
scoring some extra points for all of its amusing Punk Rock references.
- The Platterpuss
Ff - Lady Shoe (Double Deuce)
If you like melodic, Husker Du styled punk rock with the guitars
mixed way way up, this will really put you in your glory. While this is
not necessarily my usual musical fare, beneath the hoarse, shouted vocals
and feeling of barely controlled chaos, lurk some really nifty hooks and
melodies. I almost threw it into my reject pile after one listening and
that would have been a big mistake as this is one of those albums/discs
that just seems to grow on me the more I play it. Now I can't imagine
anyone not really diggin' it.
(PO Box 515, New York NY 10159-0515) - (The Platterpuss)
GOB - s/t (Landspeed)
Fans of classic Punk Rock will definitely get off on these 9 blasts
of short (the longest track is 2:01), sweet, adrenaline-fueled rama lama.
Featuring some pretty impressive chops and hooks galore, I don't know
where these guys have been hiding all this time but I sure hope that this
isn't the last we'll be hearing form them. What more can I say except
get off your asses and drop these guys a line and check 'em out. You'll
thank me for it later.
(Box 386, 1027 Davie St., Vancouver BC V6E 4L2, CANADA) - (The Platterpuss)
PJ HARVEY - To Bring You My Love (Island)
When Polly Jean Harvey sits down to write songs for a new CD, she takes
a slightly different approach to things. This time around, she literally
locked herself in a room for several weeks. The results, however, were
nothing short of spectacular. Ten of the songs written eventually made it
onto the new CD, with several of the remaining tracks popping up as B-sides
(outside the US).
"To Bring You My Love", the band's third CD (the fourth if you include
"4-Track Demos"), was released this spring to rave critical & commercial
reviews. With songs like "Long Snake Moan", "Meet Ze Monsta", PJ will
satisfy the rockers out there. Other songs, like the dark & brooding "Teclo"
or "Working for the Man" show a more intimate side of Harvey. The CD also
includes songs that are more radio-friendly, like "Send His Love to Me" or
"Down by the Water".
1995 is shaping up to be a stellar year for the charismatic Polly and
her band. Following a high-exposure tour this summer with +Live+, as well
as two short headlining tours on their own, PJ Harvey has just been named
Spin Magazine's 1995 Artist of the Year. The band has the potential for
greatness, and if this CD is any indication, they're well on their way.
- (Steve Marshall)
THE HORMONES - Sell Out Young/You Can't Win - 7" (Unclean)
Fans of crude '77 style punk that sounds as if it could've come
straight off a "Killed By Death" compilation will want to waste no time
scoring a copy of this little biscuit for themselves. While it may sound
like a whole lotta other records that have come and gone over the last
18 years (has it really been that long ?!?!) there's no denying the power
and appeal of some good old fashioned snotty Punk Rock with a bad
attitude. - (The Platterpuss)
HUEVOS RANCHERS - Dig In! (Mint)
Over the last few years one of the least interesting trends in Rock &
Roll has been the popularity of all these surf instrumental bands. While
I have nothing against instrumentals, most bands don't have the chops or
the balls to be able to play a whole set of 'em without sending me straight
to snoozeville. Notice that I said most, 'cause just like The Trashwomen,
these string twangin' madmen have more cojones than a whole roomful
of Dick Dale wannabees. Perhaps it's because rather than concentrating
on the surfy stuff, these guys take more of their inspration from Link
Wray, especially in that nice thick fat and juicy guitar sound that they
get. Songs like "Secret Recipe", "Rockin' In The Henhouse" and "Gump
Worlsey's Lament" have that same wonderful totally fuzzed-out sound that
Link always had. Even when they play surf music as in "Whiteout In Wyoming"
and "Where's The Bathroom" they still pack a helluva lot more punch and
wallup than most other bands. I've talked a lot about their guitar sound
but equal credit must be given to the crack rhythm section that, whatever
style their playing in, always drives things along with maximum intensity.
If you're into guitar instrumentals or just totally kick-ass Rock & Roll,
nobody does it any better than these guys. - (The Platterpuss)
HUEVOS RANCHEROS - 64 Slices Of American Cheese/Telstar - 7" (Roto-Flex)
I just love that thick and meaty, fuzzed-out, Link Wrayish guitar
sound that these guys get. The A-side (an original I presume) is OK, if
nothing all that special but their take on the old Joe Meek/Tornadoes hit
is simply superb and more than reason enough to shell out your hard-earned
cash for this. - (The Platterpuss)
JAVA MEN - A Letter To St. Paul - CD - (Self-released)
I've never tried to review jazz before, so this should be kinda weird.
Jazz, for me, is usually an all or nothing proposition. Love or hate. No
middle ground. THIS CD is firmly in the "Love" column. Java Men are
Todd Hildreth (Hammond Organ), Craig Wagner (Guitar) and Ray Rizzo (Drums),
and they hail from Louisville, Kentucky. Hildreth covers the bass parts on
the Hammond, as well. He's not exactly a rookie, either, having played with
The Platters, Martha And The Vandellas and the alternative band King Kong.
All three are outstanding musicians. If you are familiar with the sound
of a Hammond organ in a jazz context, imagine how it would sound within
dream-like and mysterious compositions, backed by guitar and drums.
While there are several pounding and turbulant passages, the music generally
leans toward the mellow side, but never disintegrates into muzak, as so much
modern jazz tends to do. Instead, Java Men manage to keep it mellow while
playing intricate parts within songs that actually GO somewhere. It'll be
interesting to see if the band goes somewhere, as well. They certainly
deserve to, and apparently they're a hit in their home town. Now they're
ready to be heard elsewhere. To get a copy, send e-mail to thayes@iglou.com.
They also have a WWW site at http://www.webcom.com/~groove/java/java.html
that you can check out. - (DJ Johnson)
THE LYRES - Give Your Love To Me/Security - 7" (Norton)
Yet another masterpiece from Boston's finest. "Give Your Love..." is
in more of a ballad mode than what we're used to from these guys and it
features some incredibly soulful vocals from Jeff. "Security" is the old
Otis Redding stomper which they pound out with wild abandon, pulling out
all the stops. Neither track is on their latest CD, making this a must-own
for any fan of the band. - (The Platterpuss)
M.O.T.O. - Midnight At The Guantanamo Room/Skinny Head - 7" (Mind Of A Child)
M.O.T.O., which stands for Masters Of The Obvious, have been around
for at least 6 or 7 years, playing some gigs here and there and
releasing the occasional limited edition cassette. This duo (guitar and
drums) play slightly skewed, quirky power pop that's as witty, charming
and irresistable as any I've ever heard. There's a kind of roght-hewn,
low-budget (though not low-fi) aesthetic going on here that adds an
anything-can-happen feeling to the proceedings. If you're into bands
like Big Star or Guided By Voices, you really oughta give these guys a
listen.
(PO Box 1586, Findlay OH 45839-1586) - (The Platterpuss)
PINK LINCOLNS - Sumo Fumes 2 EP - 7" (Stiff Pole)
On the A-side we're treated to 2 chunks of rough and ready punk rock
that both have the perfect combination of melodic hooky smarts and snarly
aggressive energy. The flip is a version of P-Furs' "Pretty In Pink", a
song (and band) I never had much use for and even though PL rock it up
considerably, I would've preferred another original. Still, 2 out of 3
is definitely good enough to make this worth your hard earned cash.
(PO Box 20721, St. Pete FL 33742) - (The Platterpuss)
PRIBATA IDAHO - Sueroine (Munster)
If I had heard this without already knowing what it is, I might have
easily thought that this was some 70's Byrds or Roger McGuinn album, so
similar is his voice to that of lead singer Ernesto Gonzalez on this 11
song collection. And open up the CD booklet and there's a picture of ol'
Ernie playing a Rickenbacker. Surprise, surprise! Actually, all sarcasm
aside, this is an extremely pleasant listen and, if it is kinda on the
predictable side, well at least they're stealing from one of the best.
While not every song measures up to the high standards set by McGuinn and
Co., there are a good half dozen or so that really manage to hold their
own. On the Platterpuss Scale of Rock & Roll, this one rates a solid not
bad at all. - (The Platterpuss)
BONNIE RAITT - Road Tested (Capitol)
After a career of almost 25 years in the music industry, Grammy Award
winner Bonnie Raitt has just released her first live album. The new double
CD, "Road Tested", contains 22 songs recorded this past July. Ranging from
singles like the CD's opening track, "Thing Called Love" (with Bruce Hornsby)
or "Love Sneakin' Up On You", to ballads like "Matters of the Heart", Raitt
covers a wide spectrum of her music - and its influences. "I've been wanting
to do a live record for a long time", says Bonnie.
One of the things she wanted to do with the album was to include songs
that are performed "in a way that is significantly different from the studio
versions". In addition to two songs performed with Hornsby, "Road Tested"
includes duets on some of Raitt's personal favorites with Kim Wilson (from
The Fabulous Thunderbirds), Jackson Browne, and Bryan Adams.
Most of the material on the CD comes across very well. One of the
highlights is the solo rendition of Chris Smither's "Love Me Like a Man".
Bonnie's live take on "Three Time Loser" sounds better than her original. On
the funky "Never Make Your Move Too Soon", Raitt is joined onstage by R&B
veterans Ruth Brown & Charles Brown.
There are times, mainly on the ballads, where Raitt seems uninspired.
It's almost as if she's succumbed to MOR for part of the set. But then, just
to throw you off guard, she dishes up a respectable cover of the Talking
Heads classic, "Burning Down the House".
The CD ends with an all-star performance of John Prine's "Angel From
Montgomery". If you're a fan of Bonnie Raitt, you'll like the new CD. If
you're not a fan, pick it up anyway. You just might be surprised.
- (Steve Marshall)
THE RAZZELS - Booger (Earthtone)
Fans of the Vacant Lot or The Parasites will really get off on The
Razzels intense yet breezy brand of melodic punk that sounds as if it's
equally influenced by bands like The Beach Boys and The Raspberries as
it is by The Buzzcocks and The Ramones. Eight songs on this little mini-
disc and they're all gems. With the exception of the one lone ballad
this is all pure Jolt cola, as in gobs of sugar and caffeine aided by huge
dabs of youthful adrenaline and enthusiasm, not to mention a slew of catchy
tunes. What more can anyone really want? I only hope that these guys can
make it down to New York City for some gigs and that they stick around
long enough to make a second album. In the meantime, drop 'em a line, send
'em some cash and give yourself a treat.
(1077 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo NY 14222) - (The Platterpuss)
SCHLEPROCK - Out Of Spite (Dr. Strange)
The 5 songs on this CD EP are so damn catchy I think I could continue
to play this thing over and over all day long and never get bored. Like
their labelmates Rhythm Collision and Face To Face, these guys play
some of the most intense yet melodic punk rock you're ever gonna hear.
I've heard other things by them but this has got 'em all beat by a long
shot. I can't recommend this highly enough as all 5 tracks here are
certifiable classics. - (The Platterpuss)
SIMON AND THE BAR SINISTERS - Look At Me I'm Cool - CD (Upstart Records)
My beliefs about Simon And The Bar Sinisters were based on one record,
a split-7 they did with The Shitbirds. It was very surfy, and I just
assumed that was what they did all the time. Imagine my surprise when I
popped "Look At Me I'm Cool" in the changer and got a boot full of
rockabilly right in the face. Rest assured, the volume went up and the
headphones went on.
Simon Chardiet has been around some. He was the leader of Joey
Miserable and the Worms, which was a damned good gig, but Simon had a
problem. He was an addict. Eventually The Worms went it alone, even
though they still did Simon's tunes. Simon got more miserable for a while
and finally went cold turkey, spending three months withdrawing. What has
all this got to do with his debut album, you ask? It has everything to
do with it, because Simon has seen and survived it all, and some of those
experiences are reflected in the songs on this album.
These three guys (Simon Chardiet - Guitar/Vocals, Eric Parker -
Drums, Blackie - Bass) don't give a damn whether they get mass acceptance
or not, so they don't dwell on one style. They play a powerful brand of
rockaboogie on songs like "Woodpecker Rock," "Speed, Weed & Whiskey,"
and the hilarious "Thinkin' With The Wrong Head." They're no less adept
at hard edged blues, as songs like "Dirty Mean" and the title track will
prove. They can shift it into punk mode, as they do on "Drag Blues" and
"Things Have Changed Now," and they actually DO some surfy instro stuff,
like "Mr. Pickle" and "Surf The Wild Gowanus." It all sounds straight and
honest, with no gloss, thanks in part to excellent and subtle production
by Eric Ambel, a former member of The Del Lords. When Simon and company
swing you can almost hear the cowboy hats, and when they kick into R&B
mode, ZZ Top leaves town in shame.
Picking a few highlights from an album this jammed is next to
impossible, but if I could only pop one on a tape to show everyone, it
would be "Speed, Weed & Whiskey." It's one of the swingier rockabilly
tracks. Happy dancing music is matched with tragic and true to life lyrics.
"Before me lies the dregs of my life
On the mirror is my last rail
One last roach lies in my clip
And within me, the knowledge that I've failed
Speed, weed & whiskey
Have caused me to lose what's left of my mind
And when I checked into this cheap hotel
I left my dearest dreams behind"
It reads like a sad ballad, but the music moves your feet and you're
compelled to yell "Yeeehaw" at least once, no matter how inappropriate it
may be. The overall effect is something like what Warren Zevon achieved
with "Excitable Boy," with its happy music and lyric about a murderous
mental case kid.
After leading the listener from style to style and back again, Simon
downshifts for the final track, "The Drunken Hiccups." Simon plays it alone,
dazzling with incredible acoustic guitar work. In the end, you hear him say
"That's that" and the ride is over. Rock and roll this pure is extremely
rare. Simon And The Bar Sinisters have managed to take the ultimate bar
band sound and capture it on CD. If you're looking for straight forward
kick-in-the-face rock and roll, look no further. - (DJ Johnson)
SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS - Dirt Track Date (Geffen)
HOT! Hot, hot, hot! It's hard to find words that do justice to this
incredible three piece band. Rick Miller plays guitar in so many styles
that it's impossible to label him. Just when you think you hear a strong
John Fogerty influence, in kicks a guitar part more reminicent of Link
Wray. The result is that Southern Culture never ever gets boring. Mary
Huff provides excellent bass, great vocals that remind me of one of the
ladies in the B52's (I can never remember which one is which) and occasional
keyboards, which she's pretty impressive on as well. David Hartman is the
perfect drummer to balance the two up front, playing in a solid groove that
reminds me a little of Frank Beard in the early years of ZZ Top.
"Voodoo Cadillac," the opening song, sounds a bit like "Born On The
Bayou," by CCR. The rhythm guitar part is quite similar. The rest is all
S.C.O.T.S., and the song ambles nicely into the fast soul track "Soul City."
"It don't matter if your teeth are shiny
If your dick is big or your dick is tiny!"
Political statements. Gotta love 'em. "Greenback Fly," "Fried Chicken and
Gasoline," "Firefly," and "Dirt Track Date" are all kickass boogie tunes,
some of them verging on rockabilly. "Skullbucket" is a great instrumental
tune. On "Nitty Gritty," Mary gets the spotlight for a cool lead vocal.
"White Trash," with evil distorted vocals by Miller, is damned nearly a
punk song. The band has more sounds than Rick Nielson has guitars.
The CD came with a bottle of Barbeque Sauce! No, I'm serious! GOOD
sauce, too. And if all this isn't enough, they're intellectual, to boot!
They ask tough questions like "Baby? Will you eat that there snack cracker
in your special outfit for me, please?" It does set ones mind to wandering.
- (DJ Johnson)
SWINGIN' UTTERS - The Streets Of San Francisco (New Red Archives)
I can see that I'm gonna end up taping a lot of these songs and
playing
them on my walkman on my way to work in the mornings. Whatcha
got here are a bunch of angry, snotty young punks with rotten attitudes
and a knack for writing catchy, hummable tunes that'll make riding on
the subway packed like a sardine next to some sweaty smelly jerk almost
bearable. What more can I ask for?
(PO Box 210501, San Francisco CA 94121) - (The Platterpuss)
UPPER CRUST - Let Them Eat Rock (Upstart)
On first listen, "Let Them Eat Rock" sounds like a fairly precise
ripoff of "Let There Be Rock" vintage AC/DC. On closer examination, Upper
Crust turns out to be a lot of good fun. Yup, it still is an AC/DC robbery,
but they aren't trying to hide it. Instead, they put on powdered wigs and
17th century garb, and sings songs about their rock and roll butlers and
Little Lord Fauntleroy.
"Rock And Roll Butler" seems like a natural single. Great instrumental
AND vocal hooks, power to spare and more than a little bit of snotty winking
humor. As I understand it, though, "Let Them Eat Rock" is the first single
from this album, most likely because it sums up the schtick so well. Since
the songs here are deceptively catchy (you think it sounds common but you
can't get it out of your head), and since the world loves schtick, these
former members of great Boston bands like The Lyres, The Flies and The Bags
have a good shot at making a dent in the mainstream.
Fans of fast 80's rock and roll will love "I Got My Ascot 'n' My
Dickie," a title which demonstrates their behind-the-hankie-giggling sense
of humor. Those of you who actually like to listen to lyrics will probably
enjoy Upper Crust a whole lot more than those who don't, because songs like
"Friend of a Friend of the Working Class" are pretty damned funny, in a
twisted way. If aristorock catches on as a new genre, they've got it made.
- (DJ Johnson)
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Artcore (Tooth & Nail Records PO BOX 12698 Seattle, WA
98111-4698. E-mail to Tooth1Nail@aol.com)
See, this is why the Internet is so damned cool. This doesn't seem
to be a CD with a PR machine pushing it. I got ahold of it because someone
sent me e-mail casually asking if I wanted to hear it. I love this job,
because I just don't know if I ever would have heard Lance Alton Hemingway's
"Evangaline" without it. Besides that unknown classic, there are several
other good songs, and a few great ones.
Let's talk about the aforementioned Hemingway first. "Evangaline" is
a very simple tune (something this comp is filled with), the main sounds
being acoustic guitar, accordian (or well disguised keyboards), and sparse
bass and drums that are so subtle you hardly notice them, though they are
vital to the sound. And Hemingway's voice. It's his voice that gets you.
He sings with deep desperation, sounding like he's cried all night before
pleading with his Evangaline. It's a very slow song, and it's got a stark
DIY feel to it that only adds to its desperate mood when he sings "If I
breathe - she holds her breath. - She speaks of life - I drink to death."
There are so many artists out there trying so hard to do emotional music,
and most of them fail on one level in particular - it feels forced. This
was real.
The Sirago 17's "Bedspins (Mustang Version)" is another great one. The
wall of sound effect is created by Chris Reid on everything (guitars, drums,
bass, keyboards..jeez, even Autoharp!) and Elli Bartsch, who sings with
a beautiful and fragile voice. Her multi-tracked self-harmonies are the
icing.
Other highlights include Rose Blossom Punch's "Sowing In The Sun,"
which sounds kind of like a 60's beat band on acid, Julie Band's "A Little
Nothing," which sounds almost like a little girl singing with a dixiland
band on Vaudaville, and Superchrome UK's "Going Down," a spooky little song
with a strange lyric about a guy who doesn't want to kill his girlfriend
only because she might come back to haunt him. What a together guy.
Several other good songs fill this CD. Very strange music, very hard
to catagorize. The quality runs from lofi DIY to very clean studio work.
With so many sounds and styles, though, you're bound to love SOME of this.
Here's the talent list: Joy Electric, Rose Blossom Punch, Starflyer 2000,
Lance Alton Hemingway, Julie Band, Deer, The Way Sect Bloom, The Sirago 17,
Luxury, Havana Rail Company, MXPX (Magnified Plaid), Superchrome UK, and
Almonzo. All in all, an unusual compilation that I'm listening to a lot
lately. - (DJ Johnson)
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Dr. Demento 25th Anniversary Collection (Rhino)
In 1970, disc jockey and ex-roadie, Barry Hansen made his first
appearance as Dr. Demento on Los Angeles' legendary free-form radio station,
KPPC. Twenty-five successful years later, Rhino has issued a 36-track
double-CD compilation commemorating the occasion. The 25th Anniversary
Collection contains several rare and hard-to-find songs, many available
on CD for the first time.
This is the latest in a series of several Dr. Demento compilations
released by Rhino. The double-CD covers several musical eras, from Benny
Bell's classic "Shaving Cream" through Green Jelly's "Three Little Pigs".
This time however, the label focuses mainly on more recently produced material.
Disc one gets things off to a rocking start with "Weird Al" doing
"Smells Like Nirvana". From there we jump back to 1956, and Stan Freberg's
echo laden single, "Heartbreak Hotel". One of the things that keeps things
interesting on the collection (as if the material itself wasn't enough), is
the way the songs jump through every era of music from the last 49 years.
Where else will you find such artists as The Happy Schnapps Combo, Spike
Jones, and Julie Brown all in the same package?
Also found on disc one is "Fast Food", by ex-St. Louis disc jockeys,
Ron Stevens and Joy Grdnic. Anyone who's ever gone through a restaurant's
drive-thru can relate to this one. Of course, no collection like this can
be complete without a track from Leonard Nimoy. However, rather than the
obligatory "Proud Mary", this time we get the mundane "Highly Illogical".
Spike Jones is represented by the ever-popular "Dance of the Hours", and
nearing the end of disc one, we get Tiny Tim's famous rendition of "Tip-Toe
Thru' the Tulips With Me".
Moving onto disc two, the selection is a little disappointing. While it
definitely has its moments, like Bobby Pickett & Peter Ferrara's hilarious
"Star Drek", or 1972's classic drinking song, "In Heaven There is No Beer"
by Clean Living, we're left to sit through Larry Verne's whining on "Mr.
Custer", and 1954's "Song of the Sewer" by Art Carney. There are also some
glaring omissions here, such as Napoleon XIV's "They're Coming to Take Me
Away, Ha-Haaa!", Allan Sherman's "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh", or Barnes &
Barnes' "Fish Heads" -- the latter being the most requested song ever on the
show. Plus (and maybe this is a blessing in disguise), there are no William
Shatner songs. Then again, those were all available on previous compilations.
As is the case with most Rhino releases, the packaging on The 25th
Anniversary Collection is excellent. It contains a 28-page booklet with
photos of several of the artists on the CDs, along with an extensive essay
written by Hansen, and full label credits for each track. While this is not
the definitive Dr. Demento collection (that would be Rhino's 6LP "The
Greatest Novelty Records of All Time), it is certainly a great place to
start. - (Steve Marshall)
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Hodge Podge and Barrage From Japan Vol. 2 (1+2/Barn Homes)
I'm not sure why the "..From Japan" is in the title of this thing as
at least half the bands on here are from the U.S. Nonetheless, like Vol.
One, this is the ultimate trash Rock & Roll compilation as it features
tracks by The 5.6.7.8's, Jackie & The Cedrics, The Makers, Jack O' Fire,
Great Mongoose, Fireworks and Roy Loney plus a whole slew of others.
Some of my favorites include a wild version of "Bip Bop Bip" by Great
Mongoose, The Titans' "Speedqueen Mama", "Nut Rocker" by Golden Balls
where the melody is played on guitar instead of piano like on just about
every other version of this song I've ever heard, the 2 instrumental tracks
by Jackie & The Cedrics and "Everybody Else" by The Mortals. Truth be told,
there's nothing on here that I don't really like a whole bunch. If you're
searching for the ultimate drunken party disc, look no further.
(avail. thru Get Hip) - (The Platterpuss)
VARIOUS ARTISTS - A Perfect Pop Compilation (Perfect Pop)
Those of you who've been reading this mag for awhile are, no doubt,
familiar with this excellent Norwegian pop music label. Their forte is
producing bands who tend to favor a lighter approach to pop, very often
with a mid-late 60s early psychedelia/flower power feel. This 27-song
compilation features songs by every one of their artists and 11 of the
tracks are previously unreleased in any form. Some of my personal favorite
PP bands are The Time Lodgers who play some of the most optimistic and
upbeat psych pop I've ever heard; The Blind Bats, a Flatmates/Primitives
inspired girl group whose records are propelled along by generous helpings
of lush organ chords and their version of The Monkees' "I'm A Believer"
is truly wonderful. The Silly Pillows, The Bartlebees, Astroburger, King
Midas, The Release Party and others round out this fine collection. If
the prospect of discovering a whole new world of incredibly lovely pop
music is an appealing one, you really oughtta drop these folks a line.
- (The Platterpuss)
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- A Saucerful of Pink (Cleopatra)
There has been an enormous amount of tribute albums in the past few years
-- some good, some not so good. One of the worst is the new Pink Floyd
tribute, "A Saucerful of Pink". The songs range in scope from fairly
faithful renditions to unlistenable to unrecognizable. Unfortunately, most
of the songs on the CD fall into the latter two categories. Very few of the
tracks on the CD show any hope of listenability whatsoever.
From Controlled Bleeding's take on "Another Brick in the Wall"
(unrecognizable until the vocals come in), to the techno version of "One of
These Days" by Spahn Ranch, you quickly begin to wonder if this is someone's
idea of a cruel joke. You say you want to hear what a house version of "On
the Run" would sound like? Look no further than Din's take on the song
ending the first disc. Yes it's true, there are enough bad versions of
classic Floyd songs to occupy two CDs.
Moving onto the second disc, we find two of the only songs that bear
any resemblance to the original versions at all -- "Hey You" by Furnace, and
Pressurehead's rendition of "Let There Be More Light". Penal Colony's techno
attempt at "Young Lust" is horrid.
If you're a fan of the trance remix CDs, then this is the CD for you.
However, if you're a fan of Pink Floyd, avoid this one at all costs.
- (Steve Marshall)
WIVES - Ask Me How (Go Kart Records)
This is the first full length release by New York's outstanding punk
band Wives, and it's one of the strongest debuts you're ever likely to
hear. This isn't surprising, since it was recorded during the same sessions
that produced "Paper Trail" and "Double Think," which were released as a
very strong single on Vital Records this year.
Ask Me How is a short CD, with 11 songs clocking in at 29:36, and it
leaves you craving more. Luckily for us, this band is catching on, so
there WILL be more. Susan Horwitz (Guitar/Vocals), Mary Dunham (Bass) and
Tracy Almazan (Drums) play some very complex punk which is sometimes a bit
dark and anxious. Susan's songs are populated with characters facing tough
roads, such as the agoraphobic in "Rosa," who's just about ready to make
a break for it, or the alcoholic in "8ball" who can barely get off the bar
stool to go home. It's nice to hear an album that offers a chance to do
some thinking and interpreting, and this is certainly one of those albums.
After a great year, Wives (sometimes "THE" Wives, sometimes not, it
seems) are gaining respect all around the country. There are at least three
songs on this CD that could be legitimate singles, if the indie biz operated
that way. "8ball," "Away" and "Smooth Stone" all have fantastic hooks that
should grab them a lot of fans. Keep an eye on this band. - (DJ Johnson)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* BOOK REVIEWS *
GUITAR STORIES
Author - Michael Wright
Vintage Guitar Books, PO Box 7301, Bismark ND 58507
WWW site at http://www.vguitar.com/vintageguitar.html
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Some guitarists just want to plug in and play, and those people see
guitars in the same way some people look at computers. They just want it
to do its job. They don't wish to know who made it and why. This book is
NOT for those guitarists. This is for the ones who look at a Vox Phantom
(Teardrop) guitar and feel a deep sense of longing, and the ones that see
a picture of a 1964 EKO 700 and scream "JEEZ, that's weird! Gimme!" Most
of all, it's for the guitarist who covets inside information about the
objects of his or her obsession.
The author, Michael Wright, is well known to fans of Vintage Guitar
Magazine as the writer of "The Different Strummer" column. In "Guitar
Stories," Wright has done a lot of digging into the histories of many great
(and sometimes downright strange) guitars, basses and amps. Wright traces
the evolution of guitar from the Chordophones of the ancient Middle East to
the Lutes of the late 1500's to the modern guitar. Then, beginning with
PREMIER, he outlines the histories of company after company with the help
of over 1,100 photographs that range from straight forward guitar pics to
reprints of classic advertisements. His writing style is easy and familiar,
and he speaks the language of the true guitar freak. Most of us who are over
30 years of age can get quite nostalgic when he writes "...the monumental
Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog -- the quintessential American document
after the Declaration Of Independence and the Constitution -- featured a
full line of guitars, as that remarkable mailorder retailer, with the help
of the U.S. Postal Service, set about spreading the fruits of low cost mass
manufacturing to the remotest corners of the land."
There is a chapter called "Gibson's Experimental 70's," so I looked up
the L6-S, which is my long lost love. That guitar had more sound and a
better feel than any other guitar I've owned. There it was, on page 234.
I had never known that Bill Lawrence designed the pickups, or that those
were the first "Very High Output" super humbuckers. Says right here that
they were the hottest pickups at that time. I always said that guitar was
hotter than any other. There you have it. "Guitar Stories" passes the
functionality test. I was seeking specific info, and I found it.
A chapter on Maestro effects units is included, and again there is
a ton of information to be absorbed, not the least interesting of which is
that Bob Moog was involved in the design of these cool stomp boxes. (How
cool? How 'bout a Wah/Volume pedal covered in blue flock!?) And there's
even a chapter on Dean guitars. Now, for those of you who weren't paying
attention in the 70's, Dean Zelinsky was a 19 year old kid with a knack for
building guitars with a fat sound. His axes were suddenly all the rage,
and his ads were filled with sex. Women in various stages of undress held
Dean guitars, or at least bent over near them. In one ad, a woman in a
bikini kneels in the ocean while holding a Dean. The ad reads "Feel the
difference." In another, a particularly friendly looking blond woman in a
teddy kneels on a bed, holding a Dean guitar. "Rock Your Baby All Night
Long." As I recall, Guitar Player Magazine's readers were furious, writing
letters of indignation. "This has nothing to do with guitar! Stop running
these ads or I will cancel my subscription!" Meanwhile, there was a trend
of greatly improved right-hand technique taking place. You do the math.
Happily (or unhappily, depending on your viewpoint), "Guitar Stories" even
revisits these ads.
Other high points include the four sections of color plates, which
include pics of such oddities as the 1968 Sekova Grecian (with its separate
pickups for each string), the 1967 La Baye 2x4 Six (which has no body...
kinda like The Stick, only configured just like a guitar) and the foam-blue
1967 EKO Rok, (which looks like something Bugs Bunny would travel to Mars
inside of! Honest!)
"Guitar Stories" is exactly what the title says it is. It's about the
guitars and the companies. It attempts to dispel the rumors and the
inaccuracies which abound in the guitar world, and sometimes it even offers
help to those who want to be able to tell what year a particular guitar was
built. As many of you know, that isn't always easy. What "Guitar Stories"
is best at is helping you daydream. If you love guitars, this is a great
love story.
(Next issue, I'll review "Stellas & Stratocasters," by Willie G. Moseley.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DJ PRESENTS THE FIRST NON-STICK COLUMN!
By DJ Johnson
After three or four months of writing my Sharp Pointed Stick Awards
column, I'm just a bit restless. Sure, it's fun to take pot shots at the
truly stupid people in the news, but something was missing for me. I sat
here and watched my fellow Cosmik columnists venting about whatever was on
their minds at that moment, and then I realized...that was it. I couldn't
rant and rave, and isn't that what a column is for anyway? So from now on,
this column will be...well, basically a BROADER sharp pointed stick. I'll
still give the awards on occasion, but now I can blast away at less obvious
targets, or even just whine about general stuff that is probably my own
damned fault in the first place. Hey, I feel better already.
SO! There is definitely something on my mind this month. I just spent
three mind numbing hours watching TNN, The Nashville Network. Not all at
once, mind you. I read the warning label and followed the safe dosage
recommendations. I watched it in three 1-hour bursts. The first hour was
easy, because I was laughing so hard it became therapeutic. The second hour
was when the joke wore thin. These people really act like this? They all
dress the same? And sequins are really in fashion there? And what's this
dance they're doing? IS it a dance?
The first hour was filled with country videos. YOUNG country, I hear
them calling it now. I guess "Young Country" means an endless repitition of
uniform musical structures performed by people in uniform uniforms. I'm
not a big fan of country music, I admit, but I do love certain performers
from what has sadly become the "old country" school. Johnny Cash, Doc
Watson, Patsy Cline...all are well represented in my record collection. It's
this new stuff I can't seem to get into. There are a few good tunes, sure,
but the majority of these performers are only distinguishable by which color
their sequins reflect. The subject matter of almost every song I heard in
that hour was women, but the attitude was usually prehistoric-macho. Did
they miss the battle of the sexes in Nashville or something? Were no bras
burned? Is the "Get back in the kitchen or I'll kick yer purty ass"
attitude still saleable in the Post-OJ era?
The second hour was filled with some sort of variety show. I'm not
even sure of the name of the show or the names of the hosts. A man with
short greasy jet black hair and a big mustache, and a woman who seems all
too willing to "run fetch him a beer." An endless stream of people in
sequined black outfits with oversized guitars encased in hand tooled leather
sing what I suspect is the same song for the entire hour, with plenty of
hooting and schmoozing between songs from the hosts. Gasping for air, I
switched to MTV for the ten seconds I could stand it. Then I just shut the
damned TV off and went for a walk to calm my nerves. Something was wrong
here. Something in the eyes of the studio audience folk.
Two hours later, I turned it back on for the final hour of my
investigation. ACK! It was THEM again! Greasy Stache and his pretty lap
girl! They were still on! How long IS that show? This time, there were
no sequined performers. They were spinning the top 20 country hits, and
they had a dance floor filled with people in boots. It was like American
Bandstand in the old west, y'know? Only these people weren't dancing in
pairs. No siree-bob! They were in lines, and they were doing this strange
and boring step. My wife, who is much hipper than I, has informed me that
this is called "Line Dancing," a name in keeping with the overall creativity
level of the genre. They take a few steps and turn...stomp once...take a
few steps and turn...and so on. It doesn't even look like fun. The song
ends, people yip and hoot, and the next song kicks in. The regiment on the
floor falls back into line and starts the same dance again. It doesn't make
a bit of difference if the music is fast or slow. They just keep marching
with blank expressions on their faces. This goes on for the entire hour
until the the timer I had set sounded, freeing me of my nightmare. Once again,
I turned to MTV, and of course, there wasn't a music video to be found.
Instead, some guy was sideways in the camera's viewfinder, complaining that
people don't take him seriously as a marriage counselor because he's gay.
Or something like that. Anyway, I flipped stations again, and ended up on
the Trinity Broadcasting Network, where I saw a Tammy Faye Baker wannabe
singing, with black-mud tears streaming down her face, voice squeaking every
time she sang the word "Lord," and that's when I noticed the audience had
the same expressions on their faces I'd seen minutes earlier on the faces
of the line dancers. I'm not going to draw the entire conclusion. You're
smart people.
A week after the breakthrough in my therapy that made it possible for
me to tune in TNN once again to face my demons, I made the discovery that
the Greasy Stache Guy/Pretty Woman tandem are on 24 hours a day! Well, it
seems like it, anyway. There WAS a stock car race or two, and a tobacco
juice spitting contest or something like that, but I think they were the
hosts of the latter. The best part of my therapy has been my homework
assignments, which usually entail listening to Johnny Cash or Al Caiola
very loud in the headphones. Of course, even that kind of country only
does me for an hour or so, then I have to hear some Dead Kennedys or
Basement Brats for awhile. The end result of this experiment was complete
blockage of TNN on my cable box. Locked out! I just couldn't chance it.
Only then did the "broken back - TNN on - remote out of reach - family out
of town for a week" nightmares cease. Fear conformity, please.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BETWEEN ZERO AND ONE: Buy Or Die
By Steven Leith
No one likes taxes. Yet I suggest that taxes are a very small part of
the price we must pay to live in western society. Taxes have evolved from
the simple extortion of past systems into a complex system of transactions.
The State, in keeping with the economic system, sells us services. Whether
or not the price is too high or the service is poor is beside the main
point.
The main point is that our transactions with the state costs the bulk
of citizens from 10% to 20% of their productivity. This productivity is
measured in payment for work. Seems like a lot of time spent working for
the State doesn't it? Well, if you think the other 80% of your productivity
goes to you, read on.
People have argued that paying taxes is the price of living within a
State. I contend that this is reversed. Our paying taxes is the price the
economic system is willing to let us pay to allow a state to exist. Our
paying taxes removes from possible exploitation some of our income.
In fact the 80% of our productivity that we spend on food, shelter,
transportation, entertainment, medicine etc., is the real price we pay to
live in the industrialized west. If we stopped paying taxes highways might
crumble, but if we stop consuming the entire edifice of the western economic
culture would crumble.
If you are one of the many for whom consumption is a celebration of
individual freedom you must try to see that what you call bracelets are
really manacles. Try disconnecting your phone, giving up your car and stop
paying rent. You will quickly see how your very life depends upon payment
of the hidden tax of the consumerist system. You will not be taxed by the
state for something you don't have, but you will be "taxed" for living in
the society by the economic system. If you don't pay you don't play.
The consumerist system requires you to participate. When you do, you
are participating in a redistribution of wealth on an unprecedented scale.
Wealth in terms of natural resources moves from the earth to the upper 1%
to 5% of the West's citizens. The system even borrows wealth from unborn
citizens in terms of environmental damage that will someday have to be paid
for by the consumers.
Increased productivity and lower wages creates rising profits. This is
not a hunch, it is a real trend that has been underway since 1973. It is
not an anomaly of the system, it the natural consequence of a system that
packs each transaction with more profit and less product.
A modern consumerist transaction depends upon the win / lose accounting
logic. The amount of your labor it takes to buy something must be many
times more than the labor it took to create it and get it to you. With the
advent of off shore sweat shops this equation is going up faster and faster.
If we call 1982 prices 100%, then prices have increased to 162% by
August 1995, according to the Consumer Price Index as presented by the
Bureau of Labor and Statistics (http://stats.bls.gov/). That's not even
showing the whole picture. If you take the same chart and look at 1973
costs you see they where 42.6% of 1987 costs. That means cost have risen at
least 100% since 1973. Has your pay risen by even half that? The answer
is to be found in another chart from the same source.
Data Type : AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS, 1982 DOLLARS
1982 = $ 7.69 1995 = $ 7.39
Isn't that interesting? If you add in the fact that productivity has
risen then you begin to see that a unit of production costs less to make,
but cost more to buy. So, where does this excess wealth go? Funny you
should ask.
The money goes where it always goes, from the bottom up. The
transactions of the consumerist culture are transactions of decline in as
much as the wealth of the mass of citizens it redistributed to the few who
own, manage and control the engines that drive the consumerist society.
If you dare, load this graph to see where the money is going and then
ask yourself what your real taxes are.
- * -
(EDITOR'S NOTE: For those of you reading the ascii version of Cosmik Debris,
Mr. Leith is refering, in the final paragraph, to the document that can be
found at http://www.mlinet.com:8000/bci/pages/a0q018.html.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
============================================================================
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Decembers random gathering of things, items & stuff!
(I WENT TO THE CORNER)
i went to the corner of fourth
down santa clara street
the liquor store there got closed
the drunkards who used to lie on the sidewalk
mumbling in the dead of night
and the skin-full-life-size Madonna poster
are gone
and i feel blue
H.California
1995-10-23
"640K ought to be enough for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981
Sign outside the Fountain of Youth Health Spa in Salt Lake City:
Are You Fat And Ugly? Do You Want To Be Just Ugly? Memberships
Available Now.
TULIP HEAD
----------
there were several tulip bulbs
paper thin layered
last year's peeling tan
sprouting a hint of nakedness
they were planted
behind each ear
rain watered
with absolute regularity
softly from low ceilings
whenever he went out
but mostly in the dark
when snuggled on the humous
of a dampened pillow
they began to sprout roots
scraggly, at first,
thin tendrils of presumption
curling hair's breadths
into dark mattedness
creeping, and invasive
they sought vacant hair follicles
probed their way down
sliding their slippery rout
through too narrowed crevices
down deep dark shafts
bursting through membrane
past tiny vein collapses
wavering in throbbing loops
spreading into cortex
slowly, meticulously
tracing connections
rewiring synapses
probing into the medula
the pons, the encaphalon
tapping into pituitary
to sip some exudations
it was spring
bird songs rejoicing
about big sements of worms
nests of horsehair
strings and cigarette butts
the tulips were blossoming
gushing from their buds
interjections of colour
and Tulip Head was buzzing too
buzzing upon shallow grounds
thoughts vibrated
in the looping roots
of a rewired cortex
as the tulips whispered
thoughts slowly rooted out
distorted into a knotted mass
and Tulip Head urged to vow
next year's planting
would be narcissi
instead of tulips
burgeoning their loud colours
behind each ear.
- Bob Ezargailis
(c) B.E.E. 7 January 1994.
Deadicated to every TwoLip Head !
"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not
Gary Cooper." -- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading
role in "Gone With The Wind."
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" -- H.M. Warner, Warner
Brothers, 1927.
SMOOTH STONE
There is a reason for everthing that happened today
All the reasons are clearer on the replay
Another bad scene, but it's not life or death
Another bad dream and I wake up - Where is my next breath?
Like a smooth stone
Skip it over the water
Over my heartbeat
Skips one beat
Must be the season for this kind of experience
Later with hindsight we'll realize that it makes no sense
Like a smooth stone
Skip it over the water
Over my heartbeat
Skips one beat
- THE WIVES -
(From the album "Ask me How")
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
-- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
A "Frisbeterian" believes that when you die, your soul goes up on the
roof, and you can't get it back down.
jazz
----
the blowers sweep piles of leaves from the sidewalks
they humble the loud truck engines
i set the volume higher
i listen to Duke
Descartes missed by a mile
thinking is a distant
runner up to being
thinking
overtook my time
like about
the diff
between
infatuation
and being in love
and my winter approaching fast
i know the answer
the palette
from crazy
to aching for years
the blowers on the sidewalks don't let up
and i listen to jazz
H.California
1995-10-23
"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn
better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." -- A Yale University
management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing
reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal
Express Corp.)
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