Toronto Music Scene -- 06.30
eye WEEKLY
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eye WEEKLY June 30 1994
Toronto's arts newspaper ...free every Thursday
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MUSIC MUSIC
Items in this post:
preview -- KING SUNNY ADé AND THE NEW AFRICAN BEATS
preview -- YOUSSOU N'DOUR
preview -- ZAP MAMA
preview -- N.O.M.A
hi & outside -- THEY'RE NOT BOOIN', THEY'RE LOOIN'
feature -- ALICE (COOPER) THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD
indie eye -- DISAPPEARER -- LILITH NERVOUSLY HEAD
TOWARD THE BIG TIME
quick fixes -- MUSIC NEWS
preview -- COMMIE ROCK -- KILLDOZER'S
UNCOMPROMISING WAR ON WIMP ROCK AND
WAL-MART
killdozer sidebar -- CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION
review -- FRAGMENTS OF A HUMID SEASON
review -- MARK BURGESS AND THE SONS OF GOD
concerts -- JUST ANNOUNCED
Note: Usenetters using rn newsreaders
can hit ^g to skip from item to item.
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Subject: PREVIEW PREVIEW :Subject
KING SUNNY ADé AND THE NEW AFRICAN BEATS
Thursday, June 30, 8 p.m.
Molson Place, Harbourfront Centre, $17.50, 872-1111
YOUSSOU N'DOUR
Tuesday, July 5, 8 p.m.
The Palladium, 635 Danforth Ave., $18.50, 870-8000
ONCE AND FUTURE KINGS -- TALES OF A BATTLE-SCARRED
VETERAN AND THE NEXT HOPE FOR THE AFRICAN CONQUEST
OF THE WORLD'S POP MUSIC
by
NICHOLAS JENNINGS
They represent two sides of the same coin. One is a king, the other a
crowned prince. One a big name in the '80s, the other the great hope
for the '90s.
This is a tale of crossover dreams, of African ambition and western
disillusionment, of cultural tradition and pop innovation, of artistic
integrity and record-company cynicism.
It's the story of African music and its attempts to break into the
competitive pop market. The protagonists, King Sunny Adé and Youssou
N'Dour, have much in common. Both were talented superstars in their
respective West African countries (Nigeria and Senegal) before being
signed to London-based record labels (Island and Virgin). And each was
launched with much fanfare before then being dropped unceremoniously by
those same companies.
But there the similarities end. The English-speaking Adé, who was
hailed as the "African Bob Marley" back in the early '80s, stumbled
badly on the road to Babylon. Although he made a huge impact initially,
he failed to live up to expectations that he could make juju music a
successor to reggae.
The younger, French-speaking N'Dour, on the other hand, has been as
surefooted as some of the World Cup's African soccer heroes. First, he
found himself a useful sidekick (some would say guardian angel) in
Peter Gabriel. Then he joined Amnesty tour teammates Sting and
Springsteen as a pop understudy. Even after being dumped by Virgin,
N'Dour bounced back to score a lucrative deal with the considerably
larger Sony Music.
Adé's fall from fame has been near tragic. A skilled guitarist and
charismatic singer, he retreated home to Nigeria to lick his wounds,
turning to business pursuits while touring less frequently (he last
played here in 1988). His only widely available albums since 1985 have
been two live recordings, including the current Live At The Hollywood
Palace (IRS).
Several years ago, Adé retired from music altogether. Then came rumors
about the state of his health, after he collapsed on a Lagos stage.
Happily, reports about the 48-year-old King's death were greatly
exaggerated. And his appearance tonight (June 30) at the Downtown Jazz
festival, with his 18-piece band the New African Beats, is a welcome
return for the man who first introduced juju's spellbinding rhythms to
the world.
Speaking mid-tour from Nashville (a fitting locale given his love of
country music -- Adé introduced the pedal steel to juju's sound), the
soft-spoken artist acknowledged his role as a groundbreaker in African
music. "I was the door-opener," said Adé. "After my success, the big
acts here like Paul Simon came along and wanted to discover the roots
of rock and jazz for themselves. Eventually, everyone wanted to hear
African music."
Adé spoke frankly about his conflict with Island Records, which left
him disillusioned. After recording three albums produced by Martin
Meissonnier (Juju Music, Synchro System and Aura), Adé recalled, Island
wanted a new producer and he let them have tapes of some new music he'd
recorded. "When it came back," he said, still incredulous, "I couldn't
recognize it as my music. It sounded like a cross between rock 'n' roll
and African music. I couldn't even hear the talking drum."
Surprisingly, Adé insists he's not bitter. A Christian family man with
12 children, he says that Island simply made one mistake: "They wanted
to change my music to make money. I couldn't allow them to do that
because I'd lose my roots."
N'Dour's music, meanwhile, changes with each album, blending elements
of western and African music into what is becoming a seamless global
pop sound. The difference is that the gifted 35-year-old vocalist, who
co-produces his albums, makes these changes of his own volition.
An ambitious artist who once said he wanted to be as popular as Elton
John, N'Dour represents a generation of Africans anxious to move into
the modern world. His latest album, The Guide, was recorded at his
state-of-the-art Xippi Studio in Dakar. A stripped-down rootsy record
that moves smoothly between a Bob Dylan cover ("Chimes Of Freedom"), a
trilingual (English, French and Wolof) duet with Neneh Cherry ("7
Seconds") and sounds ranging from ambient and dance to Afro-Cuban and
his indigenous mbalax, it's a bright, engaging affair and his boldest
crossover attempt to date.
Does he worry that such moves might threaten his popularity at home,
the way they did for Malian singer Salif Keita, another festival
performer? Not in the least, said N'Dour, who appears here next week
with his crack band, Super Etoile de Dakar. Speaking from the road
through a translator, he said: "If you keep on doing things in Africa,
you stay close to your roots. My fans at home understand that I have
the possibility of doing something different, combining the best of
both worlds."
N'Dour recognizes it's a delicate balance keeping one's music rooted in
tradition while trying to reach for a wider audience. "It is much
simpler to make music that is either traditional or modern," he says.
"The challenge is to put them together."
As confident as he is ambitious, N'Dour may become the first African
artist to do just that -- realizing the crossover dream without
abandoning his cultural roots.
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Subject: PREVIEW PREVIEW :Subject
ZAP MAMA
Saturday, July 2, 8 p.m.
Rendezvous Air Canada (corner of King and John Streets)
ZAP MAMA FIND A GLOBAL VOICE
by
NICHOLAS JENNINGS
Based in Brussels, Zap Mama needn't worry about alienating fans back
home with its global fusion of a cappella music. The five-member female
group refuses to be pinned down to any one culture.
Although leader Marie Daulne is originally from Zaire, the other four
are drawn from Europe and the African diaspora. And the group takes its
influences from sources as diverse as pygmy music, Arabic pop,
Afro-Cuban rhythms and American soul and gospel. On its second album,
Sabsylma (Luaka Bop/Warner), there's even a nod to Australian
aboriginal music and the Far East on the track India.
"It's more urban than our first album," admits Daulne, who brings her
group to town this Saturday. "The reason is that we've travelled a lot
since then. And we wanted to reflect the many different sounds we
heard, at festivals and on streets around the world."
A fan of Sweet Honey In The Rock and Bobby McFerrin, Daulne also
conceded that the new album includes some non-vocal instrumentation.
But she insisted that the group will never tour with anything more than
voices and a little percussion.
"We want to demonstrate the capacity of the human potential," she
explained. "The old men, the pygmies, told me, 'You don't need
instruments -- you can be free and happy without materials.'"
And what does Daulne think of Deep Forest -- an experiment combining
Euro dance with pygmy sampling? "It's like fast food and I don't eat
fast food," she said. She added: "The same guy who produced Deep Forest
(Dan Lacksman) mixed our new album and I told him so."
Was he offended? "No, he eats fast food," she deadpanned. "We just have
different tastes."
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Subject: PREVIEW PREVIEW :Subject
N.O.M.A
Friday, July 1, midnight.
The Rivoli, 332 Queen St. W., $10 adv., $12 door. 872-1111.
BLOWING YOUR MIND OR CRUSHING YOUR HEAD
-- IT'S ALL THE SAME WITH N.O.M.A
by
TIM POWIS
"You know what happens when they pure-breed animals? One of the side
effects?" asks Tom Walsh rhetorically. "It's called narcolepsy."
We're seated at a table in Capriccio, between sets by a special Toronto
edition of Walsh's Montreal-based, somewhat acid-jazzy band Royal
Jelly. The trombonist has worked himself into a rant, albeit one that's
laced with more bewildered amusement than genuine anger. Narcolepsy, by
the way, is a form of sleeping sickness.
"That's what's happening right now in music," he continues. "It's
starting to fall asleep. There's this in-breeding that's going down.
People are cross-pollinating one thing that's so close to another thing
that, like, why the fuck do you wanna bother? Then they say that this
is a great new thing."
And that's where N.O.M.A comes in. It's Walsh's pet project, a musical
undertaking Walsh launched in 1987 a few years before he moved from
Toronto to his current home, Montreal. It's an eight-piece (or
sometimes nine-piece) little-big band which, by necessity rather than
design, draws from a pool or a dozen or so Montreal- and Toronto-based
players.
Though it's nominally a jazz group -- one that will appear in an
eight-strong edition as part of the Downtown Jazz fest's Next Wave
Series -- in truth N.O.M.A roams jubilantly (and at times chaotically
or, if you prefer, harmolodically) all over the musical terrain. And
why the heck not? Like many musicians of his "impure" ilk, Walsh loves
jazz but bridles at the ascendance of the bebop-or-begone orthodoxy
that has smitten the post-Wyntonian jazz scene.
"Anyone who tells me that I have to be a bebop trombone player in order
to be legitimate is an asshole, for want of a better word," says Walsh.
"I'm from Newfoundland, for chrissakes! [He was born and raised there.]
What does bebop have to do with Newfoundland? I grew up listening to
the radio."
And what did you hear?
"Bob Dylan. The Who. Led Zeppelin. Rolling Stones. Guitar. It's all
about guitar. That's part of why I started N.O.M.A, to work that stuff
out of my system. Years ago I was fooling around with the radio and
tuning between two channels so I could mix and match, y'know. That's
sort of what N.O.M.A'S all about -- two channels at once. Or more."
Apropos of all this, consider that N.O.M.A usually plays with three
guitarists: Torontonians Nilan Perera and John Gzowski (because of a
conflicting gig with the Space Trio, Gzowski will be replaced at the
Next Wave gig by Eric St. Laurent) and Rainer Wiens, another former
Torontonian now based in Montreal. (At one point, for a tour of Western
Canada, Bern Nix of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time filled in for Wiens.)
"The way I see it, there's three different kinds of guitar in N.O.M.A,"
explains Walsh. "There's the modern-style guitar with all the effects,
like Bill Frisell or John Abercrombie. That's Gzowski, or Eric St.
Laurent. Then there's the more blues-rock guitar. That's Nilan. He grew
up listening to, like, Gun Club, to Howlin' Wolf and all that other
deep blues. And Rainer grew up listening to Wes Montgomery and all
those guys. He doesn't play like that, but he gets that pure-toned
thing, no effects, just that bright, clean sound."
The current N.O.M.A line-up also has two bassists (Rich Brown of Noise
R Us and Chris Gardner of the recently folded Look People) and a pair
of drummers (Pierre Tanguay and Great Bob Scott, another former Look
Person). "I've always been interested in what jazz drummers do," says
Walsh. "The cross-rhythmic things are incredible. But I've always
needed the bottom, the low drums. Like when you listen to Duke
Ellington, in a way he felt the same. All that jungle-beat rhythm stuff
that he had, if you look at some of those orchestras there's tympanis
or, like, big drums, man: monster-big, like marching bass drums. You
got a boom almost like a dance club now.
"N.O.M.A'S really a laboratory where I work on everything that I like.
I'm tired of definitions. N.O.M.A'S just N.O.M.A music. We could just
as easily play a really funny, happy song, or a heavy-metal-sounding,
free-for-all, crazy, Sonny Sharrock blowout, or something that sounds
harmolodic."
The catch to all this isn't musical; it's a matter of logistics and
economics. N.O.M.A'S Next Wave gig will be the first time the band has
played in public since last summer. As Walsh points out, "It's an
eight- or nine-piece band. You don't just go playing around the
corner." Especially when the members hail from two cities.
For a time, however, things went rather swimmingly for N.O.M.A. Gigs
were far more frequent. A couple of years back, the band brought out an
independent album, Climbing The Waltz. Then the grant money dried up.
"I don't want to define my career by grants any more," says Walsh,
"because if it's hit-and-miss then that's what my career's gonna be
like. When the grants started disappearing, all this momentum we had
after the CD disappeared. Then all of a sudden the bottom dropped out.
N.O.M.A stopped playing regularly. So I realized that I would have to
start making connections in the real world. If I'm gonna keep a project
like this going, I have to get out there and really shake it up."."
Hence the move to Montreal. "Montreal has got a name for itself in
Europe," says Walsh. Europe, he believes, is the key. "If we don't get
to Europe, I know we're gonna die in Canada."
It may sound like a long shot, but Walsh is driven by a tenacity that
sounds almost like optimism. "I'm a stubborn fucker," he proclaims.
"I'm gonna fight to the last breath. I'm gonna get out of this country
so we can come back and play Roy Thomson Hall. They won't book us
there, and I'm sick of it."
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Subject: HI & OUTSIDE HI & OUTSIDE :Subject
THEY'RE NOT BOOIN', THEY'RE LOOIN'
by
DAVE BOOKMAN
For most of us on the planet,the first insight into the eccentric mind
of Lou Barlow came on the last track of Dinosaur Jr.'s 1987 album
You're Living All Over Me.
The song? "Poledo" was a behind-closed-doors soul-searcher whose
inclusion on the record proves that J Mascis and Barlow were friends at
one time.
Since leaving Dino after 1988's Bug, Louis has kept busy with the band
Sebadoh. Along with bassist Jason Lowenstein and drummer Eric Gaffney,
the trio have become the ultimate in indie co-op rock.
But with Gaffney's departure after last year's breakthrough album,
Bubble & Scrape, Barlow's recording future was left up in the air. He's
recently returned to the forefront, however, with three new recordings.
Sebadoh's 4 Song CD is really a 10-track EP that introduces new drummer
Bob Fay and serves fans a heaping smorgasbord of Sebadoh, while Winning
Losers: A Collection Of Home Recordings 89-93 features more couch
sessions as Lou scours his brain and cleanses his soul.
But both of these trips are mere appetizers for Bakesale, their new
full-length album to be released by Sub Pop Aug. 23. Here Barlow and
Lowenstein show off their uncanny ability to mask angst and pain with
uncompromising melodic intensity. Be prepared to inhale all of the
above when Sebadoh plays their first Toronto show in September.
OH CANADA FAX & FIGS
With 29 of the country's finest set to rock on Friday (July 1), let's
take a moment to honor them all with assorted pertinent facts and
trivialities:
EDGEFEST, MAIN STAGE
Killjoys (1:10 p.m.) -- New CD Starry out-Lemons the 'Heads with 11
songs in 28 minutes. The release party is July 13 at the Horseshoe.
Breit Brothers (1:45 p.m.) -- Invited to party as guests of The
Proclaimers.
One (2:20 p.m.) -- Brand new disc Smokin' The Goats now out on Virgin.
Wild Strawberries (3 p.m.) -- New single Betcha Think I'm Lonely
crossing over on radio.
Lost Dakotas (3:45 p.m.) -- Bassist Greg McConnell from Simcoe, Ont.,
home of my old college pal Jim Pepper.
King Cobb Steelie (4:30 p.m.) -- Is that the shadowy figure of Don Pyle
manning the sampler?
hHead (5:15 p.m.) -- New LP Jerk ready to go. Contribute lone studio
track to upcoming Bob Snider tribute album.
Watchmen (7 p.m.) -- Brand new album In The Trees hits stores July 13.
Will this prairie cross the Mersey?
13 Engines (8 p.m.) -- Have begun demo-ing songs for follow-up to
Perpetual Motion Machine.
EDGEFEST, SIDE STAGE
Adam West (1 p.m.) -- Debut album on the way on Sabre Toque Records out
of London. Release gig July 9 at Call The Office.
Wooden Stars (1:30 p.m.) -- Guitarist Mike grew up in Moncton with
Eric's Trip.
Venus Cures All (2 p.m.) -- Recent sessions at the Gas Station studio
of premium quality.
Inbreds (2:30 p.m.) -- Weeping Tile and Change Of Heart among bands
covering their tunes. Will take part in Post Edgefest Blow Out on
Saturday (July 2) at Ultrasound.
Project 9 (3:15 p.m.) -- Video release party July 9 at the El Mo with
guests Groovy Aardvark and Hockey Teeth.
U.I.C. (4 p.m.) -- Also preparing for video release of the anthem
"Summertime."
Bender (5:30 p.m.) -- Ian Blurton-produced full-lengther on the way.
Play all-ager with Halifax's Thrush Hermit July 17.
Gandharvas (6:15 p.m.) -- But can they play road hockey?
MOLSON PARK
Treble Charger (1 p.m.) -- Rob Sanzo-produced LP, NC17, released on
Sonic Unyon any day now.
Mahones (1:40 p.m.) -- Philosopher Finney had a reckoning they'd be
successful.
Eric's Trip (2:20 p.m.) -- Vinyl version of Peter EP comes with cool
poster.
Change Of Heart (3:10 p.m.) -- Album No. 5, Tummysuckle, to be
celebrated Aug. 6 at Rivoli. All black-hole sons are welcome.
Rheostatics (4 p.m.) -- Songwriter/bassist Tim Vesely recently met
David Letterman on a plane.
Jane Siberry (5 p.m.) -- Opens for Indigo Girls July 7 at Ontario
Place.
Odds (6:05) -- Now recording for Warner.
Daniel Lanois (7:10) -- His song "Jolie Louise" was featured on an
episode of Northern Exposure.
Spirit Of The West (8:40 p.m.) -- Been a fan since Geoff Kelly wore a
Smiths "Panic" T-shirt in the "Political" video.
Tragically Hip (10:10 p.m.) -- Thanx Gord!!!!!!!!
SPEAKING OF BIRTHDAYS
Want to celebrate the U.S. of Eh's B-day July 4? Catch the fireworks at
Ultrasound with an unplugged session by known border-crossers the Dave
Rave Conspiracy, along with Bob Snider. No questions, no cover.
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Subject: FEATURE FEATURE :Subject
ALICE THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD
by
MARC WEISBLOTT
The Last Temptation, the 22nd Alice Cooper concoction, is what happens
when Vincent Furnier's unassailable alter ego collides with modern-day
mass counterculture -- which means the well-hyped collaborations with
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) and Don Flemming (Gumball) collide and
coalesce with input from Jack Blades (Night Ranger) and Tommy Shaw
(Styx).
But Alice is still Alice, enshrouded in the egregious on record and
never failing to impart his gregarious grin with tales of his
capricious career.
At 46, Alice has become quite candid about his battles with the bottle
and his pernicious period in the early-'80s (it's not like he disowns
all those records, it's more that he doesn't remember making them).
Where with 1989's Trash he cunningly adopted Bon Jovi-provoked
pop-metal, The Last Temptation is an unabashed concept album, where
Cooper's conceptions of fantasy vs. reality have never been more
thoroughly defined. From the outset, Alice was intended to be
comic-book compatible -- even if the type of comic has evolved from the
stuff of crude R. Crumb-style doodlings to Heavy Metal bombast to the
ornate gothic graphic interpretation of his latest project by Neil
Gaiman.
Still, with all the misconceptions, his latest visit to our 'hood
provided a prime opportunity to gauge where he's at and where he's
been. Let the debunking begin!
HIS NAME IS NOT ALICE
Well, it actually is, but... "It could've been Mary Thompson, it
could've been Brenda Starr, but the first thing that came to mind was
Alice Cooper, and it stuck. This was part of the image we wanted to
project, wearing smeared makeup, ripped-up dresses and combat boots --
nobody in the group was gay, we were just trying to look like this gang
from the future.
"On those early albums, I was still Vince, but I've legally been Alice
since Love It To Death, because it was apparent I would never again be
recognized as anything besides Mr. Alice Cooper."
ALICE COOPER HAS NEVER SLAUGHTERED A CHICKEN IN TORONTO
Still, his notoriety was secured 25 years ago this fall, while
performing at the Varsity Stadium festival headlined by the Plastic Ono
Band.
"In every show, we'd tear open a pillow and just let the feathers fly.
One pillow was enough to cover the entire Madison Square Garden -- for
this show, we had 10 pillows. Then, while the whole stadium looked like
it was blanketed in snow, somebody threw a live chicken onstage. And
I'm from Detroit, I figure a chicken is a bird, it can fly. I whipped
it into the crowd, and then it came flying back at me, piece by piece
-- and it was the handicapped people who were sitting at the front of
the stage who tore the chicken apart.
"The next day I got a call from Frank Zappa. He asked, 'Did you kill a
chicken onstage?'
'No.'
'Well, whatever you do, don't tell anybody that.'"
ALICE NEVER WANTED TO BE LOVED
Not really, anyway. "When the press wanted a particular question
answered, they'd ask Nixon, then Kissinger, then Alice Cooper. We spoke
for an entire generation. After a few years of that, the idea became to
put Alice in all the wrong places -- we had five hit ballads in a row,
then I went on Hollywood Squares, and then The Muppet Show. This was
the only way I could've maintained an outrageous image.
"I figured the public would just have to get the joke. They didn't get
the joke."
ALICE COOPER'S GREATEST MOVIE CAMEO WAS IN WAYNE'S WORLD... NOT
In 1978, he performed a blazing disco number in Sextette, to the
apparent delight of its senile star, Mae West. "At the time of that
movie she was 84 years old, and she had to wear this receiver in her
ear, feeding all of her lines. The director would say, 'Darling, I love
you,' and she'd repeat, 'Darling, I love you.' And then he'd tell her,
'OK, take two steps to the left,' and then she'd say, 'Take two steps
to the left...'
"After we did our scene, she actually looked at me and said, 'Why don't
you come up and see me sometime?' -- and she was very serious. But here
I was on the same set as Tony Curtis and George Hamilton, and I was no
match for those guys, especially when I was made up to look like a
sleazy Italian waiter."
THE LAST TEMPTATION ISN'T ALICE'S FIRST RECORD
TO BE ADAPTED INTO A COMIC BOOK
... But it's the first where Alice's clothes stay on
In 1978, his diary of dementia, From The Inside, was transformed into a
one-off issue (Marvel Premiere, #50). "The best thing about Marvel
Comics is that they draw you with a much better body. I was given these
great abs which I'd never had to work for. And actual muscles --
muscles where I'd never had muscles before."
ALICE COOPER DOESN'T COLLECT COMIC BOOKS
However, his current interest in the medium was sparked by Sandman
creator Neil Gaiman (author of the three-act graphic interpretation of
The Last Temptation). "Until I met Neil I didn't realize there were
17,000 comic characters out there that I'd never heard about. Now, I'll
drag Neil into a comic store and get him to explain everything. 'Hey,
who's this guy?' 'What does this guy do?' 'Hey, here's The Crow -- hey,
how come he's got all my makeup on?'"
ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE
But he did spend a copious amount of time in Toronto, recording here in
the mid-'70s with producer Bob Ezrin, in between babysitting duties for
the family who occupied the lower floors of his temporary habitat. "I
stayed in the top floor of this big Japanese house owned by this woman
whose little grandson was always hanging around. And this boy's name
was Keanu. Actually, just last night I went to see Speed, and as I sat
there I thought, 'Aah, I know that kid.' "
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Subject: INDIE EYE INDIE EYE :Subject
DISAPPEARER -- LILITH NERVOUSLY HEAD TOWARD THE BIG TIME
by
CHRIS O'CONNOR
Lilith -- that Old Testament hell-mama who came sometime between the
Big Nothingness and Cain braining his bro over some sacrificial
kumquats -- was Adam's first wife, a woman so unbecoming to the Church
elders' idea of Jehovah-fearing servitude they immediately banished her
from scripture for supposedly birthing vampires, glugging babies'
blood, doing the dirty with Mr. D and several exorcism manuals' worth
of other freakery. Behavior, in fact, absolutely nothing like what
Lilith -- meek-mannered indie band -- are up to...
"OK, I'll try not to mumble so much," Jeen O'Brien mumbles shyly,
addressing any viewers who might be clinging to the side wall, stage
right. She's small aiming for tiny, all 5-foot-3 of her trying to
disappear beneath baggy clothing and into a constantly huffing chain of
cigarette smoke -- she's just found out she's allergic, but hell, it
calms her down. The band suddenly, noisily, rumbles into "Where's The
Bullet?" Jeen, almost oblivious, is still staring down the wall. Then,
she opens her mouth and near-as-dammit knocks it down with a voice
bristling with the force of Sinéad, the expression of Slick and the
purity of St. Peter's Personal Seraphim Choir, Thrones Division. Three
minutes of rapture and then Jeen's obligingly back to the business of
being nervous.
"Well, shy more than nervous," she later corrects. "I don't want to get
caught up in everyone else, otherwise I'll screw up. So I don't look at
anybody, but right now that's the only way I can get through it."
"She moves now, and that's a big step," bassist Colin Crawford adds. "I
nearly shit my pants a couple times, too."
Ahem. But then maybe nervousness is a God-given right when your resume
runs something like this: band forms barely a year ago, average age 19
and just in from the nuclear waste sites of Oshawa; band develops
crunchy-soulful, post-plaid Jefferson Airplane sound totally
instinctively; band are demo-less and less than a dozen gigs old when
swarmed by slavering ponytails from every major label; band is given
spot on Sony's new Neil Young tribute. I'll chuck in a few more, shall
I? Lilith have been approached by John Lennon's one-time producer and
are speaking with Interscope, who are responsible for somebody named
Snoop Doggy Dogg. Wanna know how they did it?
"Me and Jeen would go out every day busking, trying to spread the
word," says Lonnie Knapp, the guitarist. "It kept us alive, kept us
motivated for months before anything happened. And now, instead of
postering we'll go out and busk, tell people to see us one-on-one.
That's how we met most of the label guys, and when we showcase for them
we usually do it all acoustically. Good songs'll hold up no matter how
you play them."
Or, indeed, where.
"We play a lot of the Yonge St. bars," Lonnie contines, "and people are
like, 'Doesn't that bother you?' No! There's a lot of good people who
come see us, and when it comes down to it I don't care if, when you go
home, you listen to Pantera or Aerosmith. It's all music, and I'm kinda
more afraid of playing Queen St., because that looks like more of a set
scene."
But Lilith -- despite the nervousness, the fear of a black wardrobe --
are resolute. Nothing will scare them, not metal-loving fans, not
lumbering corporate megaliths, certainly not something as trivial as
world-wide adoration and incipient teen-idoldom. Cobain? Vedder?
Lightweights...
"I think we all figure if you're going to be in a band and waste all
your time on it, the only focus you should have is being the best in
the whole entire world," Jeen insists, "If that really is your life,
you want the highest point you can get. And when you get there, maybe
it is a little too much.
"But it's the only place you could possibly imagine yourself being."
Lilith play Sneaky Dee's June 30 and every Tuesday in July at The
Gasworks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: QUICK FIXES QUICK FIXES :Subject
by
CHRIS O'CONNOR
DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, PT. III
July's creeping up and the purple mohicans are already in bloom -- 'tis
the season once more for Punk Fest '94, an event much like WWI trench
warfare with detuned guitars and beer flatulence instead of bullets and
mustard gas. Yes, for three days in July (15, 16, 17), you too can join
a platoon of strange examples of youth as they descend on the
unsuspecting town of Marmora, pitch tents in an 80-acre field and
embark on a campaign of ANARCHY! ANARCHY! ANARCHY! with 52
oddly-coiffed bands in support -- an event so pivotally punk it was
immortalized in Random Killing's feel-good finger-popper, "Johnny Was A
Punk" (fact!).
AND! To accentuate the overall peace/love theme, this year will see a
competition for the top three bands, where a panel of judges see fit to
endow each winner with "a substantial" sum of money (uh, keeping well
within the bounds of anarcho-collectivist thinking, of course). So
herewith, Quick Fixes presents a handy clip-'n'-safety-pin guide to
Punk Fest '94, covering all you'll need to know for your very own
holiday of hardcore. Ready?Onetwothreefour...
Main Offenders: Friday (starting 9 a.m.)─ Trunk, Octane 100, Mob
Action, Armed & Hammered, Hard Ground, Multiple Choice, Random Killing
and more, with an open stage at 2:30 a.m. Saturday (starting 9 a.m.) --
Tao, The Mad, Obnoxico, Dirtybird, Apocalypse Hoboken, Problem
Children, Superfuck, Buttermilk 5, Shrieking Violets, Ripcordz, Hockey
Teeth, Ulcer, Blowhard, The Queers, Submachine, Bitter Grin and more.
Sunday (starting noon) -- Schizofeeliacs, Anti-Jelpoor, Mr. Nobody,
Repeat Offender, Kill Core, The Cleavers, Blood Sausage, Son Of Bronto
and more.
Ticket Info: Tickets now on sale at Penny Lane Records or from Black
Scorpion Promotions at 536-6287. Price is $25, or $20 with a donation
of pet food. This is an all-ages festival.
Where Is It?: Spiderland Acres is in Marmora, on RR #2 (Shannick Rd.)
just off RR #3 (a.k.a. Highway 14), north of Highway 7. Signs to
Spiderland will be posted the day before Punk Fest.
Transport: Skateboard broken? Four buses have been chartered -- two
leaving from the Black Bull on Queen W., one leaving London and the
last (sponsored by Labatt) leaves from St. Catharines. Call Black
Scorpion at 536-6287 for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: PREVIEW PREVIEW :Subject
KILLDOZER
with Steel Pole Bath Tub and Grasshopper
Tuesday, July 5.
Sneaky Dee's, 431 College St. $10
(from Rotate This, Record Peddler), 368-5090.
COMMIE ROCK
-- KILLDOZER'S UNCOMPROMISING WAR ON WIMP ROCK AND WAL-MART
by
JASON ANDERSON
As an officer of a somewhat confused German high command once said (at
least according to Martin Rowson and Dr. Kevin Killane's Scenes From
The Lives Of The Great Socialists), "The Kaiser's compliments, Herr
Lenin, and here is your trained seal!"
Glory be to comrades willing to have a chuckle at their own expense.
Another example is Killdozer's current tour poster. The band's logo is
displayed prominently above Lenin's portrait, and across the bottom,
the type reads: "WE WILL BURY YOU."
The image is not just Marxist chic -- like Rowson's hilarious cartoons,
it's at once parodic and deeply felt, celebrating the struggle for
socialism while taking the piss.
And who better to take up the cause than Killdozer? After years of
obsessing over the barbecue consumption of the white-trash proletariat,
the band take it to the next level by embracing hardline communism,
trumpeting its virtues all over their new album, Uncompromising War On
Art Under The Dictatorship Of The Proletariat (Touch And Go). And
however ridiculous this all sounds (or how funny the album is), it's
not all for laughs.
Formed by education students Michael Gerald and Dan and Billy Hobson in
1983 in Madison, Wisc., Killdozer have made some very smart and very
silly albums. It's unfair to call their music "grunge" because it is
much filthier. On albums like Intellectuals Are The Shoeshine Boys Of
The Ruling Elite and 12 Point Buck, industrial-strength guitars slunked
through knee-deep sludge as Gerald (sounding like the Cookie Monster,
if it had a part in Deliverance) sang tributes to hamburger martyrs
like serial killer Ed Gein, lupus victim Flannery O'Connor and
filmmaker Irwin Allen. They developed, as they say, a cult audience.
But in 1990, Killdozer did the unthinkable -- they entered the
workforce. Three years later, Gerald and Dan Hobson shared a
revelation: work sucks. Billy being reluctant to return to the fold,
they drafted "the Greek Jimi Hendrix," Paul Zagoras, and restarted the
revolution. On with the struggle.
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
When this interview took place, our comrades were in St. Augustine,
Fla., interrupting their campaign only to visit the Tragedy In U.S.
History Museum (the final resting home of the car in which actress
Jayne Mansfield was decapitated and the ambulance Lee Harvey Oswald
rode in after he was shot by Jack Ruby).
As he expresses in "Working Hard Or Hardly Working?" Gerald recalls his
time with the capitalists less than fondly. "I worked as an office temp
and then became a permanent receptionist. I answered phone calls and I
had to learn to be a lip reader. If someone called for someone in the
office, that person would silently tell me to tell the caller he was in
a meeting when he was actually standing in front of me drinking
coffee... The worst thing about working there is that I had to listen
to these people talk about how great NAFTA was."
Gerald and Hobson explain that something happened to political
discourse in rock since the Gang Of Four's Entertainment. Punks like
Kurt Cobain internalized the struggle of the common man and woman,
turned it into fodder for personal exorcism, but to what end? We all
know the personal is the political but how does it extend beyond the
angst toward actual progress for working people? Gerald questions the
usefulness of devoting a career to bemoaning a "shitty family life."
(In the words of periodic socialist Denis Leary, "Join the fucking
club.")
Says Hobson, "What I miss is bands like Gang Of Four and the Mekons
because they could deal with politics but have a sense of humor and fun
about it.
"We're not making fun of these ideas even if we do sometimes have a
satiric edge. We do believe in what we're saying and I don't think
having some fun with it takes anything away from that. The idea that
someone who's leftist is really dour and serious is so false. You'll
find that the best people you meet do have these opinions and they're
not these insufferable types you find on college campuses."
NOTHING TO LOSE BUT THEIR CHAINS
One must ask how many capitalists die on the new album.
"Not as many in the songs as in the liner notes," says Gerald.
Ah yes, the liner notes, there to enhance songs like "Knuckles The Dog
(Who Helps People)" -- "the tale of two brave socialists, one a
crippled boy and the other a dog" -- and "Grandma Smith Said A Curious
Thing" -- in which "the workers justifiably kill the capitalist land
owner." Killdozer also provide footnotes.
Says Gerald, "We thought why not do this instead of just printing the
lyrics? The footnotes are there for people who want to read more about
what we're talking about. All of those books [including Rosa
Luxemburg's Reform Or Revolution and Fidel Castro's Nothing Can Stop
The Course Of History] are in the Chicago public library."
Listening to Uncompromising War, it's hard not to mistake Killdozer's
version of Marxism as, to an extent, completely ridiculous (besides,
their music hasn't budged much further toward accessibility). But this
doesn't mean their vision's not potent -- they present issues in an
entertaining and enlightened way, with humor instead of sentimentality.
The struggle, they insist, is real, and if you doubt this, consider the
most pertinent song on Uncompromising War to Canadians, "Enemy Of The
People," that enemy being Wal-Mart mogul Sam Walton. Does Killdozer
have any advice for citizens of a country about to be squeezed dry by
one of corporate America's most evil tentacles?
"Yeah," says Dobson, "stop them! Just fuckin' do it. But Canada will be
taken over by Wal-Mart. That's what's going to happen because that's
where the power is going, to the big corporations. It has to reach a
point where people just have to say no. It has to stop. So when the
revolution comes, Killdozer will call the shots. Just kidding about
that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: KILLDOZER SIDEBAR KILLDOZER SIDEBAR :Subject
CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION
by
JASON ANDERSON
Killdozer's new album features the band's second tribute to Black Oak
Arkansas (the first, "I'm Not Lisa," is on 1986's Burl EP). What did
this greasy '70s rock act contribute to the workers' revolution?
Says drummer Dan Hobson, "Black Oak Arkansas didn't really contribute
anything to the revolution. We just liked that song ['Hot N' Nasty'] so
much we thought we'd stick it on the album. Black Oak Arkansas were
really big for a year in the '70s... but you should never trust
anybody from Arkansas."
On the B-side of Killdozer's latest single, "The Pig Was Cool" ("the
story of one young idealist's fantasy of a socialist utopia, where the
police are helpful and considerate of their fellow citizens"), there is
a cover of EMF's "Unbelievable." What have these hedonistic young
Englishmen contributed to the revolution?
"Well," says Hobson, "not everything we do has to contribute to the
revolution. That was Michael's [singer Michael Gerald] comment on a
song that he had to hear every day at work."
And what of Poseidon Adventure auteur Irwin Allen (subject of 12 Point
Buck's "Man Vs. Nature")?
"Irwin Allen just made great movies, many of them starring the late
great O.J. Simpson."
Among those listed in Killdozer's recent "Worst Enemies Of The People"
manifesto are Oliver North, Boris Yeltsin, Lee Iacocca, Rush Limbaugh
and "mealy-mouthed corporate suck-ups, the United States Congress."
Long live the revolution.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: REVIEW REVIEW :Subject
MARK BURGESS AND THE SONS OF GOD
Tuesday, June 14. El Mocambo.
FRAGMENTS OF A HUMID SEASON
by
ERIN HAWKINS
Hot sticky scene, you know what I mean?
It was the first night of a tortuous heat wave that would lock Toronto
in a full-nelson and do cruel things to my sinuses and mascara. And if
that weren't bad enough, I was at the mercy of a performer who can
trigger the Liza Minnelli effect in just one song. You know how it goes
-- laugh, cry, laugh, cry, scream, applaud earnestly... laugh.
When ex-Chameleon Mark Burgess hit the stage, I was taken aback. Here
was this man I'd always imagined as an untouchable, soothsaying
visionary, looking like the kind of guy that hangs out at a sports bar
wearing duds from Mark's Work Wearhouse. What's been lodged in the
pubescent suburban part of my brain? Black hair and cheekbones, I
guess.
Burgess is a thoroughly '80s kind of performer, and it wasn't because
he indulged us with all of the Chameleons' hits either. After playing a
couple of songs from his new disc Zima Junction (Pivot Records), he put
down his acoustic guitar, took the mike off the stand and turned into
this scary yet lovable Tom Jones of the alternative singer/songwriter
world. He twirled around, screwed-up his face up to illustrate key
emotions (like fear, rage and insanity) and shook the hands of the
rabidly enthusiastic fans lining the stage.
Interaction. You just don't get that kind of service nowadays.
At one point, he jumped into the crowd -- not to be picked up and
moshed about in an Eddie Vedder pose. Instead, he lurched up to people
while he sang. At one point he was heading towards me. I panicked and
quickly prayed: "God, please don't let him start dancing in front of
me, 'cause I can't dance -- and besides, it would be really
embarrassing to act out the end of the 'Dancing In The Dark' video
where that girl dances really badly with Bruce Springsteen, who's
dancing even worse." Fortunately, he sang to an old man who looked like
William Burroughs and then moved along. Phew!
Had the Sons Of God not been such a brilliant and energetic backing
band, I'm not sure if he could have pulled off the histrionics. Even
though Chameleons classics like "Tears" and "Soul In Isolation" are the
kind of songs that would even sound great a cappella, his band were
able to crank the noise without losing any of the sparse atmospherics
-- something you rarely hear live. Then again, you rarely skip home
humming when your nasal passage feels like the DVP during rush hour.
What more can you ask for than a working-class shaman who writes
magical melodies and prophetic prose? Air conditioning at the El Mo?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: CONCERTS JUST ANNOUNCED CONCERTS JUST ANNOUNCED :Subject
BACKWOODS FOLK FESTIVAL featuring Mighty Train Revue, Satanatras, By
Divine Right, more. Hart House Farm, July 8-10.
SINGING MELODY with DJ Razor, Sexy J.T., Country Irie. Club Paradise,
July 8.
SCREAMIN' CHEETAH WHEELIES with Southern Belle. RPM, July 9.
DOWNCHILD BLUES BAND 25TH ANNIVERSARY with Molly Johnson, Daniel
Lanois, Sidemen, more. Grossman's Tavern, July 13-17 & 20-24.
MULE with Skewver, Horshack. Sneaky Dee's, July 16.
VARGA RPM, July 16.
DEEPSPACE McLaughlin Planetarium, July 20
ALI FARKA TOURE & RY COODER Molson Place, July 21. postponed.
JACKYL RPM, July 26.
DAVID SANBORN North York Arts Centre, Aug. 7-8.
MEL TORME CNE Bandshell, Aug. 21.
LAWRENCE GOWAN with The Pursuit Of Happiness. CNE Bandshell, Aug. 23.
A CELEBRATION OF CANADIAN EAST COAST MUSIC featuring Ron Hynes, Irish
Descendants, more. CNE Bandshell, Aug. 28.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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