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INDIE EYE: Subtractor

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Feb 1, 1995, 11:51:00 AM2/1/95
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eye WEEKLY February 2 1995
Toronto's arts newspaper .....free every Thursday
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INDIE EYE INDIE EYE

NEW DAY RISING
Subtractor blah, blah

by
CHRIS O'CONNOR


Dave McX, button jockey, Cosmodemonic Video Network: In his defence,
all he could offer was the line dropped from the lips of visiting
celebrity freaks like so much senile spittle: "You know, I'm not 18 any
more ... it's different when you do it for a living ... Captain
Beefheart/Zappa/Raffi did it all before, anyways ... niche marketing...
commercialism." Oh, he still liked music (well, except for those clowns
in Green Day -- did they actually think they could fool him? He who
discovered punk rock in grade school?!), it's just that sitting here 40
hours a week punching buttons made him see it, uh ... realistically.

So what the hell did that Derek Raby guy over at console No. 2 think he
was doing, goofing around with that bass and talking that Keffer kid
(John, wasn't it?) into playing guitar for that power trio of his? What
were they called, anyway? Subtractor?! Jeezus ...

"Well, I still get excited about music to spite the people there who
don't get excited any more," says Raby, fresh from a day twiddling
knobs in the bowels of The Nation's Music Station. "I mean, the reason
they probably got the gig in the first place was that they loved music,
and to lose that joy just from working around it seems a real shame."

"We're seen as `the guys at work with the band,'" John deadpans. "It's
kinda like having your dad as the school principal, cos you've just
gotta work harder to impress him."

"OK, there are still a couple people around work who still run in
going, `Man! I just heard the best album EVER!!' who make it fun
working there," allows Derek, "But there's this one guy who, anytime
any of us admit to liking anything, goes `Ah, I saw 'em back at Larry's
Hideaway. Pffh!' So we always try to top him before he can get it out
-- `Oh yeah? I was into them prenatally!' "

* * *

Fred Y, garage punk leftover: The Troggs, man -- it all went back to
them. Four chords, blues scale, a nasal whine and a couple blats on the
ol' harmonica and that was punk rock, Jack. The Ten Commandments
(Toronto's! Finest! Garage! Punks!) understood. So what the hell was
Raby doing jumping ship; taking a drummer like Vash Mochoruk and
pressing that primal wallop into the service of (choke!) Alternative
Pop? Christ, man! Didn't they know they had a tradition to uphold?

"Yeah. Like Beatle boots. And square haircuts." Vash snickers. "Thing
is, we couldn't wait to get out and into something with less limits."

"And I wanted to go with the three-piece," adds Derek, "because the
trio's almost the perfect configuration. A lot of bands I loved growing
up -- like The Jam -- were three pieces, and that goes right up to
bands I'm into now, like Nirvana and Buffalo Tom and ..."

And, so I hear, H sker D ? Vash must've heard this one before ...

"It's not like we went, `OK, let's capitalize on the fact we're a loud,
melodic trio and our singer sorta-kinda looks like Bob Mould.' People
say that all the time about Derek, but ... well, look at him!"

For Derek, currently, is modelling a distinctly non-Mouldy scowl.
Uh-oh...

* * *

That Theory Which Is Mine: Subjected to limits unknown to most other
bands, Subtractor explore creative freedoms those others never even
knew they had -- Carte Blanche, Tabula Rasa, Year Zero. Rock 'n' roll's
just one big inflatable punching bag, so go nuts, Cujo. So they did ...
even to the point of writing "Spiral And Flames," which bears an eerie
resemblance to, ah, Burt Bacharach.

"The bands I've been listening to this past year," says Derek, "really
manipulate your emotions, and I really get into that. My favorite album
of '94 was the Jeff Buckley CD: he just takes it down to where you can
hear a pin drop, then suddenly shoves you onto this emotional
rollercoaster. You get excited, sad, angry ... I just love that sort of
thing."

And if all that stuff still matters to you in some deep, important way,
well ... you're gonna love Subtractor.

The release gig for Subtractor's Bullitt CD is Feb. 7 at the Horseshoe.

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QUICK FIXES QUICK FIXES


ů NEBULA ENTERTAINMENT: The mighty Suckerpunch have officially enlisted
Zadia Lenders (ex-A&R Coordinator/International Marketing Director at
BMG Canada) as their manager. (Jon Brooks of King-Sized Entertainment
will in fact be their road-manager, contrary to earlier reports).

Suckerpunch become the first band signed to Lenders' new indie-band
consulting firm, called Nebula. Operating as an all-purpose handling
company, Nebula will provide "any kind of information or help
independent bands need," says Lenders. "If they want help getting
shows, putting together press packages, sending out press releases,
arranging media interviews or anything similar, we can help them with
that: there's a lot of knowledge I gained from doing A&R at a major I'm
just waiting to put to use."

Inquiries should be directed to Nebula at TKT-TKTK.

Finally, Suckerpunch's debut CD, Carols From The Canyon, is released
St. Patrick's Day on Chemical Sound/Denon.

ů SxSW: Get yer band's beloved CDs and cassettes fed to the heathen A&R
men at Austin's SxSW Music & Media Conference this March by "seasoned
professionals." For the truly low price of "free," Canadians Showcasing
Internationally will promote yr material from the dreaded Canada Booth,
then provide you with a contact list of just which ponytail scarfed
your merchandise. Send your stuff (50 piece minimum, 100 max) by March
1 to: Greg Blackmore, c/o CSI, 125 George St. (Floor #2), Toronto, ON
M5A 2N4, phone 368-8678 or fax 363-5021.

ů JOHNNY TRASH: The auteur behind "Take Back My Johnny Cash Records"
releases his Carnal Knowledge CD this Wednesday at the Ultrasound.

ů SPINY NORMAN: Hedgehog-derived pop gnomes release their new Garbology
CD tonight (Feb. 2) at the El Mocambo. Says singer Rob Reedijk: "The
album packaging is quite nice to look at." Ah. For more exciting
details, call the Spiny Norman Hotline (!) at 410-NORM.

ů KAT ROCKET: Stella's dwellas are said to be working on a new CD, with
some touring in the Boston area around March.

ů MORE GOTH HUMOR: And I quote, from a fax sent by "Nancy Drew, PI."
"No less than three separate fights broke out at Lee's Palace this
Saturday [Jan. 28, at the Parade/Furies/New World Disorder gig]. Chaos
reigned, beginning with a preliminary scuffle between Furies bassist
Jeff Riley and Lee's security. During NWD's set, an over-enthusiastic
fan (?) repeatedly threw lit cigarettes, glasses of ice and, during
their final number, heaved a chair onto the stage. Lee's security
seemed completely absent, so the leather-clad champions dived off the
stage and tackled the neanderthal, who was eventually escorted out.

Finally, after all the bands were finished and packing up, another
fight broke out as two vixens went at it at the back of the club,
somehow resulting in yet another Furies member being pounded against
the wall by club security ... Maybe this is an indicator of the `new
punk' I keep hearing about."


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