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Consumable Online Issue 054
==== ISSUE 54 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [September 22, 1995]
Editor: Bob Gajarsky
Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net
Sr. Correspondents: Jeremy Ashcroft, Martin Bate, Al Crawford,
Dan Enright, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi,
David Landgren, Tim Mohr, Joe Silva, John Walker
Correspondents: Dan Birchall, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron, Tim
Hulsizer, Daniel Kane, Stephen Lin, Sean Eric McGill,
P. Nina Ramos, Jamie Roberts, Linda Scott, Ali Sinclair,
Jon Steltenpohl, Courtney Muir Wallner,
Scott Williams, Britain Woodman
Also Contributing: Eric Neumann
Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann, Damir Tiljak,
Jason Williams
Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@pilot.njin.net
==================================================================
All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s).
Permission for re-publication in any form other than within this
document must be obtained from the editor.
==================================================================
.------------.
| Contents |
`------------'
REVIEW: Blind Melon, _Soup_ - Linda Scott
REVIEW: G. Love & Special Sauce _Coast to Coast Motel_ - Sean Eric McGill
REVIEW : For Love Not Lisa _Information Superdriveway_ - Martin Bate
REVIEW: Gladhands, _From Here To Obscurity_ - Bob Gajarsky
REVIEW: Lisa Gerrard, _The Mirror Pool_ - Lee Graham Bridges
REVIEW: Phranc, _Goofyfoot_ - Ali Sinclair
REVIEW: Toenut, _Information_ - David Landgren
REVIEW: Baby Chaos, _Safe Sex, Designer Drugs & The Death of Rock and Roll_
- John Walker
REVIEW: The Fleshtones, _Laboratory of Sound_ - Jamie Roberts
REVIEW: Craig Chaquico, _Acoustic Planet_ - Ali Sinclair
NEWS: Boingo, Jeff Buckley, Planet Megadog Tour, Victor DeLorenzo
TOUR DATES: Bloodhound Gang, Cravin' Melon, God Lives Underwater / KMFDM / Korn
Letters to Cleo, Medicine / Long Fin Killie, Oasis, (Oingo) Boingo
Farewell Tour, Joan Osborne, R.E.M. / Grant Lee Buffalo
Shinebox Tour (Mike Watt + Crew of Flying Saucer)
ERRATA
THE READERS WRITE BACK!
Back Issues
---
REVIEW: Blind Melon, _Soup_ (Capitol)
-Linda Scott
_Soup_starts and ends with a New Orleans brass band and in the middle
are 14 tracks with musical style hard to categorize. Interestingly, this
is Blind Melon whose self-titled debut album in 1992 was simple,
old-fashioned rock. _Soup_ 's sound is heavier and jazzier than its
predecessor. Fans of "No Rain" and the ubiquitous Bee Girl won't find
much to relate to on this album where the closest thing to a hit single
is "Galaxie". _Blind Melon_ had an upbeat, easy going style while _Soup_
has murkier ingredients. Three strange tracks look at violent, suicidal,
murderous death - "St. Andrew's Fall" (suicide by jumping off a building),
"Car Seat (God's Presence)" (South Carolina child murder case), and "Skinned"
(serial killer Ed Gein).
Obviously, Blind Melon has changed a good bit from its LA
formation in 1990. Mississippi natives Rogers Stevens (guitar) and Brad
Smith (bass) joined with Christopher Thorn (guitar), Glen Graham (drums)
and Shannon Hoon (vocals), produced a demo tape and began to tour even
before their first album was made. The band toured for two years
opening for the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Lenny Kravitz; _Blind Melon_
was pushed to the top of the charts with intensive, 300 days a year
touring. "No Rain"'s single success enabled the band to move into
headlining small shows and gained them a spot at Woodstock '94. After a
much needed vacation, Blind Melon reassembled to cook some _Soup_ with
each member bringing contributions. The variety of input contributes to
the title as well as the mixture of musical styles.
_Soup_ is a hodgepodge - hard to classify. Its different
styles make it an album to be listened to several times before forming
an opinion. No huge singles, no bee girls, no great riffs or hooks, but
still an album that draws you back for another listen. The most serious
problem with _Soup_ is the lyrics which are frequently incomprehensible
and unintelligible. Hoon's vocals have a sameness of phrasing from track
to track and his continuing desire to sing in a too-high register detract
from the lyrics that can be heard. Second thoughts on buying the album
are inevitable but it is recommended as an odd charmer for your collection.
---
REVIEW: G. Love & Special Sauce _Coast to Coast Motel_ (Okeh/Epic)
- Sean Eric McGill
When I was first told of G. Love & Special Sauce, I was worried.
Very worried. "It's this white guy" a friend of mine told me "and he
kinda raps." Visions of Vanilla Ice and Marky Mark danced in my head, and
it was with great trepidation that I listened to the first single of
their debut album, "Cold Beverage".
Thankfully, my worst fears weren't confirmed. G. Love *is* a
"white guy" and he *does* "kinda rap," but instead of weaving his lyrics
over the constant thud of bass and samples, he is backed by a drummer and
bassist (G. Love himself plays guitar). This gives the music a bluesy
feel that results in one of the most original acts to come around in some
time.
Now, I must warn you, this album isn't for everyone. My mother
hates it, and my future bride threatened to throw it out the window. But
there is something wonderfully intoxicating about G. Love & Special Sauce
that certainly warrants attention.
G. Love's "raps" (for lack of a better word) flow smoothly from
his lips and the album has much more in common with John Lee Hooker than
it does with Dr. Dre. Love's songs are well-written and deal with issues
close to home for him. In fact, "home" is one of the key issues on this
album, with "Tomorrow Nite" and "Comin' Home" both dealing with the
age-old favorite topic of being on the road. Likewise, "Soda Pop" deals
with G. Love's desire for...well, a soda pop.
And if some of these song topics sound mediocre, it sure beats
the hell out of some white guy from suburban Dallas claiming to be a
hard-core player from the streets. G. Love *is* from the streets, just
not the streets of Compton. On _Coast to Coast Motel_, nobody gets shot,
and nobody's "packin' a nine" which certainly makes it a refreshing
change of pace from most rap albums. Unfortunately, it's that same lack
of violence that will possibly keep this album from finding a large audience.
If the music industry insists on calling this a "rap album"
(which is where I've found the debut located in most stores), then so be
it. But more than anything else, this is a blues album. It's comforting
to see the blues being played by a younger generation, because at the
rate we're going, after the deaths of the legends, there aren't going to
be many more left.
---
REVIEW : For Love Not Lisa _Information Superdriveway_ (EastWest)
- Martin Bate
For Love Not Lisa's debut _Merge_ came out to critical praise a
couple of years back but seemed to get lost in the post-Seattle glut of
guitar albums. The inclusion of "Slip Slide Melting" from their debut on
last year's _The Crow_ soundtrack seemed to have finally earned them a
bit of attention and now it's time to capitalise.
This is a hard album to review. First let me say that I like it.
I like it a *lot*. But it's hard to talk about the songs without things
degenerating into simply a list of component parts and influences.
FLNL take the Seattle/grunge/call-it-what-you-like sound and both
temper it with a classic-rock edge and grind it up a few notches with the
machine-like precision of hardcore. But much as the influences are blended
seamlessly and this album rocks, rages and drifts beautifully there's too
many steals, unconscious or otherwise, from the people they listen to.
Now, this can work both for and against, as several UK Britpop bands - in
particular Elastica - have found out. While lending your songs an instant
degree of familiarity and comfort, it will have people who know the
originals trying to work out where they heard a riff or a vocal line
before and finding themselves unable to get lost in the music. Elastica
almost get away with it since they're lifting from the early 80's but
people remember the early 90's a whole lot better. If anyone doubts these
accusations then I'm quite happy to go through my record collection
naming bits (I'll be starting at my Helmet albums) but when something like
"AAA" starts off with me absolutely positive that I'm listening to a cover
of Fugazi's "Exit Only" then there's obviously a problem.
So - minor chords, crushing riffs, plaintive and snarling classic
rock vocals (think Kurt Cobain meets old Bruce Springsteen for starters),
measured anger, soaring Cheap Trick-esque harmonies - closest single
comparison would be that of a King's X for the mid 90's. A huge compliment
incidentally - no-one switched between crushing riffs and floating
harmonies so effortlessly and beautifully as King's X, one of the most
under-rated rock bands of the late 80's/early 90's.
Anyone who likes the alternative-rock thing will like this fine,
fine album but like me a fair few of you may have problems totally
embracing it with open arms - its influences being just that little bit
*too* transparent for you to relax and let it grip your soul. Great
album. I'm confused. Can you tell ?
---
REVIEW: Gladhands, _From Here To Obscurity_ (Big Deal)
- Bob Gajarsky
There's hundreds of bands that wind up getting looked over
in the press because of their being affixed to some indie label or other,
and in many cases, this is deserved. These indie labels are often the
stepping stone while a band gets their act - and sound - together. However,
one band that has their stuff together, now, is the Gladhands.
Based out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the three man band
have released one of this year's masterpieces in the spirit of 70's AM
radio meets 90's rock and roll. Thanking the Posies and Jellyfish in
their liner notes is an introduction enough - but it seems like every
corner band nowadays is paying homage to these late 80's bands.
It's when listening to the disc that the realization that there's something
magical occurring in their music.
The album opens with "Do You Have A Reservation", a single
formerly released on Indelible Records, which perfectly captures the spirit
of vocal harmonies and addictive riffs. As on all of their tracks, each
member of the band contributes vocals, whether background or lead; Joe
Caparo, Doug Edmunds and Jeff Carlson each take the forefront on at least
one song.
But it's not just one song or track that makes this such a special
album. Imagine Joe Jackson meeting Matthew Sweet, or if you were one of
the few to catch them, the Grays recent _Ro Sham Bo_ album. The Beatles
on their _Magical Mystery Tour_ album, spiced with liberal doses of
addictive choruses...any comparisons make it seem that the Gladhands
might be some second generation derivative band. But in reality, they
use their ancestors' music only as an influence, and not as a ripoff band.
Other standout tracks on the album? Nearly every one could fit
well into the format of a modern rock station; the current single, "Memory
Box", is actually one of the weaker cuts with multi-part harmonies
fading in and out of the picture.
I just can't give this album enough praise. If you're a fan of any of
the above artists, search high and low to find the Gladhands. It's well worth
the trouble to make sure this one *doesn't* wind up in obscurity.
---
REVIEW: Lisa Gerrard, _The Mirror Pool_ (4AD/Warner Bros.)
- Lee Graham Bridges
Without being situational or whimsical, Lisa Gerrard's solo debut,
_The Mirror Pool_, is a beautiful exhibit of musical and lingual nostalgia
made palatable to modern listeners. It explores the spiritual, cultural,
and other essential paths of existence that we have taken once before, and
demonstrates what made them invigorating for some, and excrutiating for others.
Dead Can Dance (the name under which Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry
have recorded for fifteen years) has taken a break for a while to allow
Gerrard and Perry to do solo albums. _The Mirror Pool_ reflects many of the
most beautiful aspects of Dead Can Dance while serving as a showcase of her
own unique talents, such as producing the album and composing the bulk of
the tracks.
Gerrard's sonic sculptures are more diverse than those of DCD's
work, which is at least sometimes marked by lyrics in English. She utilizes
many of DCD's best musical devices in good taste (particularly the
characteristic lament and typical themes of sorrow and loneliness). Yet
_The Mirror Pool_ presents Gerrard as the more radical side of DCD, as she
has stepped outside the borders within which DCD have experimented so far
through her total use of mostly self-fabricated tongues, which she calls
"shapes". In effect, this universal language of emotion can easily become
the focal point of attention for the listener due to Gerrard's phenomenal
vocal talent.
Still, Gerrard's vocals also take a backseat to _TMP_'s many
fantastic instrumentals, particularly "Nilleshna", "Werd", and so forth (not
to mention significant non-vocal sections within songs). She deserves ample
praise for exploring different musical avenues; most tracks have strong
classical and ethnic motifs. And it is the emphasis on the musical, not
lyrical, strength of the album that makes it so magnificent. Orchestral
music was composed by Gerrard on computer, and performed by the Victorian
Philharmonic Orchestra, to be recorded live with Gerrard's vocal pieces.
The acoustic pieces (done with such instruments as the Greek bouzouki, yang
chin, derabukkas, bass tablas, and Indian elephant bells), as well as vocal
and sampled works, were recorded in Gerrard's home studio.
Gerrard called the album _The Mirror Pool_ because "it is suggestive
of the abstract properties that exist within the entity of music--the
properties being those that permit reflection." As the cover indicates (one
side of the reflected landscape is sunny, the other cloudy), the album
strikes a balance between anguish and rejoicing, order and chaos, beauty and
deformity, and proposes that what is seen in a reflection is not always what
is expected.
Brendan Perry's solo debut should be out in early '96, and a new
Dead Can Dance album is slated for the summer thereafter.
---
REVIEW: Phranc, _Goofyfoot_ (Kill Rock Stars)
- Ali Sinclair
Phranc: imagine a mix of Michelle Shocked and the Beach Boys with a
touch of George Formby and sixties folk and seventies punk, and you might
just get the idea. She's also very vocal about her sexuality: "I'm not trying
to be a man / I'm just being who I am / And that's a very very very butch
lesbian..." ("Do the bulldagger swagger")
This EP-CD from Phranc contains a nice variety of tunes, five in all:
"Surferdyke Pal", a very South-Californian surfing song: a cover version,
complete with banjo, of Herman's Hermits' "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely
Daughter", with the twist of being sung by another woman and not a by a male
suitor: the afore-mentioned "Bulldagger Swagger": a classy cover of "Ode To
Billy Joe", and the title track "Goofyfoot".
I hadn't heard - or heard of - Phranc before reviewing this CD,
and I basically enjoyed it as a light entertainment. While Phranc's interviews,
lyrics and reviews all emphasise the Jewish-American-Lesbian-Punk-Folksinger
image, (one gets the impression that Phranc enjoys confounding people with her
appearance and lifestyle) I didn't find any forceful message in the music.
My first impressions were of sing-along, light, folky-pop. Almost "bubblegum"
pop. Fun music!
Phranc shows a (very) similar style to Michelle Shocked, and genuine
sense of humour. Her music and lyrics are not as intense as Ms. Shocked's,
(I found them rather lightweight in comparison), but entertaining all the
same. Worth a listen...
---
REVIEW: Toenut, _Information_ (Mute)
- David Landgren
This band used to be called "Big Bone". Get your mind out of the
gutter, it's nothing phallic, we're talking about a girl's spine here. The
band decided to change their name. And came up with Toenut. Yeah well,
whatever it takes. I can't stop thinking about an old Hipgnosis album cover
done for a group named Toefat. But I digress.
A youthful, energetic sound out of Atlanta with ringing guitars and
soaring vocals, Toenut are not afraid to unleash waves of noisy guitar from
time to time, nor to let anarchy roll all over the songs, and yet manage
deftly to keep things under control. This idea of destabilising the
listener is very much reminiscent the early (rock-ish) XTC albums and That
Petrol Emotion albums. The opening track "Seizure" annouces the shape of
things to come. Reminds me in many ways of earlier That Petrol Emotion
records. Other similarities include Sonic Youth meets the B-52's, or a
grungier version of The Go-go's. Kate, the vocalist, has a voice that at
times sounds like Helen Fraser (vocalist of Cocteau Twins).
One of the more bizarre songs is "Hookworms". Yep, the chorus is a
sample of a mad scientist exclaiming "There they are... hookworms!". Also
"Dinnerbell", which appears to be the recording of someone shrieking into
an intercom.
Personal favourites include the title track ("information/32nd theme
song"). It uses samples from cult TV show _The Prisoner_. Although the
canonical use of _The Prisoner_ in a song must be Colourbox's "Just give
'em whiskey", give 'em credit, for they're the first group that actually
bothered to *pay* for the usage. I just like the way the song see-saws
between thrash, grunge and peaceful guitar strumming. "Trilogy" is another
track that gives an insight to just how sharp these people must be on
stage. A chance for everyone to rock out, time changes to keep you off
guard, and then before you know it, we've moved into the very smooth
"Heyward" which is definitely my favourite. Or maybe the instrumental
"Leviathan", with its rampant signature changes. Then again, there's their
debut single as well, a "Mouthful of pennies". Or...
Lots of good stuff here. Under the cover of inherent silliness,
there are some pretty slick musicians. You've got to be sharp to be able to
carry off this kind of music live. I'm sure that's where their strength
lies. Hopefully, people will be able to take the opportunity to see them.
---
REVIEW: Baby Chaos, _Safe Sex, Designer Drugs & The
Death of Rock and Roll_ (East/West)
- John Walker
Baby Chaos - a great name for a band. And on this album, they live
up to its implications. Actually, the swagger of these guys bugged me
at first; who do they think they are, debuting with such a tight,
nasty, self-satisfied little record?, I wondered. No victims of
grunge-era's whiny self pity, Scotland's Baby Chaos would just as soon
victimize: they even have a song called "Hello Victim" to emphasize
the point.
If the album title sounds conceptual, that's because, "Everything
we were writing had to do with drugs or sex" according to singer Chris Gordon.
Nothing new in the annals of rock thematics, but this band does give
those well-worn topics an enthusiastic workout. To haul out the
ever-helpful historical reference points, think of an amalgam of
glam-metal of The Sweet and Alice Cooper (the band, not the singer)
jacked up to a punkish 90s level of exuberance.
Smooth anthemic harmonies often collide here with hard-rock
riffing and a smirking sensibility, as on "Sperm", which leads off the
album with a narrative seemingly written from the point of view of
that sticky life-substance, a la John Barth's short story "Night-Sea
Journey". "You can call me Daddy / that's what I am", sings Gordon,
who aptly sums up his own rock aesthetic as "screaming with a big
smile on your face." Reducing himself to a organism blindly driven to
procreate before he dies, Gordon makes a metacommentary on the
cliched role of the "Super-Potent Rock God" even as he sounds happy to
personally partake of the mythos.
"Saliva", the next tune, continues the hard-rock assault, with a
spiraling main riff that sounds like Black Sabbath on amphetamine.
The coy lyrical stance continues: "Everybody loves you / I don't
have to love you too" Gordon exclaims in a sneering put-down of a
clinging lover. He's even more direct in the next song, unambiguously
titled "Go To Hell" (didn't Alice have a song called that?), with its
suspenseful musical build-up, bratty sing-song vocal, and explosive
chorus. What other band would follow up the sentiment of the song's
title with the words "everything's alright." For Baby Chaos, in a
fucked-up world being fucked-up is a soothing sign of normalcy.
My personal fave on the album is "Breathe". "I bought her flowers /
when she was dead / It was the first time / that I did that / It
was pretty bad." The singer's stark lament for a dead lover here
moves briefly into blackly humourous self-pity before mutating into in the
all-consuming, futile desire for immortality--" I want to live forever
/ But I'm not that clever"--expressed over a wall of thunderous
guitars. Tracks like this one make you realize that--despite the
album's (ironic) title--there is still life in seemingly played-out
motifs of hard-rock--Baby Chaos make air guitar seem once again a
viable form of amusement.
Other highlights on _Sex, Designer Drugs and The Death of Rock
and Roll_ include the aforementioned "Hello Victim", which humorously
mocks our sad era's victim-obsessions; the laidback wah-wah riffery
and almost Beatle-esque harmonies of the album's non-PC single,
"Buzz", ("I'm taking a buzz / to see what it does ... I don't wanna
stop / I like it a lot / I think everyone should do it"); the
gut-wrenching Nirvana grind of "A Bullet For The End", which mocks the
helplessness of Cobain youth ("I'm so pathetic"); the lovely
neo-psychedelic feel of "Camel" with its hilarious depiction of a
self-obsessed, shallow Lothario: "You were everything to me / for
twenty minutes / Now I'd rather you would leave / don't forget me."
The album ends on a very high note with "Superpowered", which,
over a monstrously funky backbeat, again both exalts in and
self-consciously mocks the desire for sovereignty which so often
animates the male rocker, as seen in songs like The Who's "I Can See
For Miles". As on the rest of the album, these sneering, naughty
babies of chaos seem to cry out here for a good spanking, only to
smirkingly remind you that such child abuse is illegal, reveling in
the contradictions of our age. If you want old-styled hard-rock
delivered with a new sense of panache and elan, Baby Chaos is your
band of smart-asses.
---
REVIEW: The Fleshtones, _Laboratory of Sound_ (Ichiban International)
- Jamie Roberts
Savoring all the camp and style of this CD is one of its finer points.
The Fleshtones have always had that alternative, in-your-face thing going on,
and it is no different on this new effort.
The utter sarcasm of the lyrics, and brashness of their unique brand
of Rock-N-Roll (the word is capitalized for a reason) hook you in by the second
note of the first track. _Laboratory of Sound_ is a wild ride in a car with no
brakes. The tracks veer from an almost-rockabilly sound on "Let's Go", to a
Blues tilt in parts "Train of Thought".
This Steve Albini-produced CD also contains a lot of the straight-ahead
grungy rock that one might expect. Peter Zaremba's vocal stylings just
manage to pull off even the more questionable numbers (such as the
too-generic-sounding "Accelerated Emotion" or "The Sweetest Thing").
The Fleshtones make the whole CD work by using the hit-em-and run
technique. The punchy, short numbers don't give you enough time to think
about what you actually liked about the tracks; you just remember that they
rocked. The longest track, "Hold You", is a whopping 3:43 on the CD clock
(although "The Sweetest Thing" seems infinitely longer). All in all,
_Laboratory of Sound_ does not make a devastating creation, but it concocts
a rather pleasant Camp-Rock potion.
---
REVIEW: Craig Chaquico, _Acoustic Planet_ (Higher Octave)
- Ali Sinclair
I'd waited impatiently for this CD after seeing all the
advertisements and posters in California. Not that I'd
heard Craig's first solo CD, _Acoustic Highway_, but I'd heard that
it had been well received - and being someone who likes to listen
to almost-any well played acoustic guitar, and who also has a well-
battered copy of _Red Octopus_ stashed away somewhere among the
old Pink Floyd and Led Zep vinyls, I thought that this was obviously
a CD for my collection.
It took ten minutes to set the CD free from its super-strong shrink-
wrap. Why can't CD manufactures take cigarette packs as an example,
and include a tear-strip so that you don't have to fight to get the
music out? I guess they've all given up smoking...
So we have the CD out of its packaging. The cover illustration shows
Craig, one naked knee showing through a tear in his otherwise-immaculate
blue jeans, playing a shapely acoustic guitar against a backdrop of
howling grey wolves, the planet earth and a tree-filled skyline. The
sleeve notes are full of words like "dazzling" and "virtuosity" and
"celebration of planet earth". And messages to extra-terrestrial beings.
Nice images. Nice looking instrument.
So I put the CD on the player, expecting some wonderful acoustic
guitar. Well...
It just _might_ have been an acoustic guitar once-upon-a-time, but
there's so much processing ("stereo guitar sound effects" say the
credits) that it just doesn't sound anything like "acoustic". Most
of the tracks start off with a few very-promising bars... and then
break into the sort of music that sounds programmed, and not played.
The sort of thing that you hear in hotel lobbies and elevators.
The sort of music that I definitely wouldn't want to be playing if
I was stuck in an elevator for fifteen hours between floors. And I
could hardly tell one track from the next.
I can understand why _Acoustic Highway_ and _Acoustic Planet_
have sold well - Craig Chaquico has a commercially-sound
pedigree - lead guitarist with Jefferson Starship - "acoustic"
is the word-of-the-moment, and, even if you take an immediate
dislike to the tunes, they have the annoying tendancy to
stick. You find yourself humming them in the bath. Or on
the bus. Or in the elevator...
I'm not saying _Acoustic Planet_ is _bad_... I'm just saying that
I was disappointed. And that it doesn't fit my tastes in
listening. And that I wish it hadn't been given so much
"acoustic" hype, because it _isn't_ acoustic. It's as
repetitive as techno dance music, without the drive.
I'd like to hear a truly-acoustic version of "Gathering of the
tribes" or "Just one world". Then maybe I'd appreciate it
more, and feel less cheated by the commercial hype of this CD.
---
NEWS: > After this Halloween, the legendary Los Angeles band Boingo
is calling it quits. For the past 17 years, the band has created its own
unique brand of uncategorizable music, tinged with bits of pop, alternative,
and new wave, which was best known in their hits "Weird Science" and
"Dead Man's Party". Their current "Goodbye, Goodbye" tour (see dates
elsewhere in this issue) will conclude, appropriately enough, in their hometown
of Los Angeles.
Lead singer Danny Elfman (who has already penned the themes and
scores to more than 30 movies and television shows, including The Simpsons),
stated that, "The time is right (for the end). After 17 years, it finally
occured to me that we had survived about 16 years longer than I expected.
It's been good, crazy times and I am always amazed how loyal our fans have
consistently been, but I think it's better to let things go before they turn
sour."
Online fans can check out the newsgroup alt.fan.oingo-boingo,
subscribe to the newsletter at oben@boingo.com, or write to
Boingo Secret Society, P.O. Box 10815, Beverly Hills, CA 90213.
> Jeff Buckley was recently invited by producer Lenny Kaye to
contribute to the New York City sessions for an upcoming album of new
material by Patti Smith. Buckley has contributed a brief vocal part to a
song with the working title "Southern Cross" and may contribute to other
selections as well.
> The Megadog tour which was mentioned in a previous
issue of Consumable has been postponed until Spring 1996.
> Violent Femmes' founding member Victor DeLorenzo will
be chatting online in Delphi's "Music Fandom" conference room
on Friday, October 6 at 10 p.m. EDT. Prizes and giveaways, including
autographed copies of his forthcoming disc _Pancake Day_, will
be awarded to lucky online participants.
---
TOUR DATES
Bloodhound Gang
Oct. 3 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre
Oct. 4 New Orleans, LA Howlin' Wolf
Oct. 5 Orlando, FL Sapphire Club
Oct. 6 Fort Lauderdale, FL Squeeze
Oct. 8 Melbourne, FL Our House
Oct. 12 Charleston, SC The Acme
Cravin' Melon
Oct. 5 Rock Hill, SC Silver Dollar
Oct. 6 Charlotte, NC Amos'
Oct. 7 Greenville, SC Piazzo Bergamo
Oct. 12 Chapel Hill, NC Cat's Cradle
God Lives Underwater / KMFDM / Korn
Oct. 1 Reno, NV Easy Street
Oct. 2 Salt Lake City, UT Salt Air Pavilion
Oct. 3 Denver, CO Paramount
Oct. 5 St. Louis, MO American Theatre
Oct. 6 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
Oct. 7 Milwaukee, WI Rave
Oct. 9 Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre
Oct. 10 Detroit, MI State Theatre
Oct. 11 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
Letters to Cleo
Oct. 1 Washington, D.C. 9:30 Club
Oct. 3 Richmond, VA Flood Zone
Oct. 4 Chapel Hill, NC Cat's Cradle
Oct. 5 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy's
Oct. 6 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
Oct. 7 Statesboro, GA Legends
Oct. 8 Charleston, SC Music Farm
Oct. 10 Nashville, TN 328 Performance Hall
Oct. 11 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Oct. 12 Houston, TX Numbers
Medicine / Long Fin Killie
Oct. 5 Grand Rapids, MI Intersection
Oct. 6 Chicago, IL Double Door
Oct. 7 Madison, WI Club Dewash
Oct. 8 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
Oct. 10 St. Louis, MO Other World
Oct. 11 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
Oct. 12 Denver, CO Mercury Cafe
Oasis (Unconfirmed - PLEASE VERIFY before going to shows)
Oct. 4 Miami Beach, FL Cameo Theatre
Oct. 5 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing
Oct. 6 Orlando, FL The Edge
Oct. 8 Doraville, GA Int'l Ballroom
Oct. 10 Baltimore, MD Hammerjack's
Oct. 11 New York, NY Roseland
(Oingo) Boingo Farewell Tour
Oct. 20 San Diego, CA Open Aire Theatre
Oct. 21 Las Vegas, NV Aladdin Theater
Oct. 24 Salt Lake City, UT Delta Center
Oct. 26 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre
Oct. 27-28,30-31 Los Angeles, CA Universal Ampitheatre
Joan Osborne
Oct. 6 Lexington, VA Washington & Lee Univ. (with Widespread Panic)
Oct. 12 Norfolk, VA Naro Theater
R.E.M. / Grant Lee Buffalo
Oct. 3 Boston, MA Fleet Center
Oct. 4 Providence, RI Civic Center
Oct. 6 East Rutherford, NJ Meadowlands
Oct. 7 Long Island, NY Nassau Coliseum
Oct. 9 Hampton, VA Coliseum
Oct. 10 Richmond, VA Coliseum
Oct. 12-14 Philadelphia, PA Spectrum
Oct. 16-17 Largo, MD Capitol Center
Oct. 20 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena
Oct. 21 Cincinnati, OH Riverfront Coliseum
Oct. 22 Ann Arbor, MI Chrysler Arena
Oct. 24 Ames, IA Hilton Coliseum
Shinebox Tour (Mike Watt + Crew of Flying Saucer)
Oct. 1 Champaign, IL Blind Pig
Oct. 2 Grand Rapids, MI Reptile House
Oct. 3 Louisville, KY Brewery
Oct. 4 Columbus, OH Stache's
Oct. 5 Ann Arbor, MI Blind Pig
Oct. 6 Pittsburgh, PA Graffiti's
Oct. 7 Buffalo, NY Show Place
Oct. 8 Albany, NY Bogie's
Oct. 10 Providence, RI Lupo's
Oct. 11 Boston, MA Paradise
Oct. 12 New York, NY Irving Plaza
---
ERRATA: The article on Eskimo in the Sept. 14 issue of Consumable
inadvertently stated thaeir last recording was on Swan Song; it should
have read Prawn Song.
---
THE READERS WRITE BACK!
I was crawling the web the other day and found out about
Consumable by accident. Being new to all of this , I thought I would subscribe
to your service just to see what it was all about. Much to my suprise I found
Consumable to be insightful and well written . I do have a few
questions if you have the time to answer them for me.
1) Where do you get your reviews and interviews? Do you
have a staff , or are they compiled from other sources?
2) Would you consider using some kind of rating system on record
reviews?
3) What are your writers backgrounds\writing histories . Have they been
published ?
4) What is the criteria for regional acts that you review ? I live in
the Great Lakes area and would like to see what you thought of acts that play
in my area.
If the first edition that I received is any indication of issues to
come, consider me a longtime reader. - T.G., Michigan
(Bob responds):
First off, thanks for the kind words. The questions you ask are common
ones, so it's only fair to answer them for all.
1) The reviews and interviews are done by our staff (as seen
at the top of each issue), with periodic guest contributors appearing.
If a writer finds a particular artist interesting, we may arrange to conduct
an interview with them. If the interview goes well, we'll publish it.
2) Each writer is allowed the flexibility to choose how they want
to write the review; however, we generally don't use a 10 or 5 point rating
scale because it's very subjective. If you think only one or two albums have
ever gotten a "5 star", it's a vastly different rating system than if someone
else thinks that there are 20 or 30 albums this year that have gotten those
same 5 stars. We usually include some sort of recommendation, "If you like
(this artist/this music), this album would be for you."
3) Our writers have varied backgrounds. They range in age from 20
to 38, with some being in college and most having "day jobs", both white
and blue collar. We have also included materials from people who
work for some of the "big" paper publications, as well as people who work
in the music industry, and still enjoy the challenge of writing informative
reviews.
Our writers get published once every 10 days or so - in Consumable!
4) The criteria for reviewing regional acts is "If the reviewer thinks
an act is outstanding, we'll review it". It almost always has to be available
on disc; however, we're still very hesitant to run reviews on many of the
indie/local bands that are out there. Why?
One of our main goals, when writing reviews, is to help our readers
make educational and informed decisions when buying music. If a release is
only available to 50 or so people in Boonsville, U.S.A., it doesn't serve much
purpose to review it around the world. Don't forget, the Internet is a very
powerful tool - just via our E-mail base, we have subscribers in 25 countries
in 6 continents! With our limited space per issue, we just can't cover all of
them.
In addition, there are plenty of them that sound awful - and we won't
include a negative review of an unknown artist. That space could go to any
of the other artists that DO sound good, and DO catch our ear. We'll have no
problems critiquing the work of a well-known artist, and knocking them if it
doesn't stand up to their past efforts; however, there's no point in doing that
to a lesser-known act.
Hope this answers your questions, and that you continue to enjoy
Consumable! - B.G.
---
To get back issues of Consumable, check out:
FTP: eetsg22.bd.psu.edu in the directory /pub/Consumable
ftp.etext.org in the directory /pub/Zines/Consumable
Gopher: diana.zems.etf.hr
Engleski Jezik/Music/Consumable or
Hrvastki Jezik/Glazbena Rubrika/Consumable
(URL) gopher://diana.zems.etf.hr:70/11/eng/Music/Consumable
http://www.westnet.com/consumable/Consumable.html
(WWW) http://www.westnet.com
(CIS) on Compuserve Notes: GO FORUM
(Delphi) Music Fandom forum; GO ENT MUSIC
Web access contributed by WestNet Internet Services (westnet.com),
serving Westchester County, NY.
Address any written correspondence to Bob Gajarsky, Consumable Online,
409 Washington St. #294, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
===
