From gajarsky@pilot.njin.netSun Feb 12 21:21:29 1995 Date: Sun, 12 Feb 95 20:38:48 EST From: Bob Gajarsky To: cc: ; Subject: Consumable, 2/13 ====================================================[February 13, 1995]= __ | __ _ _ ___ | || ___ | __ __ (__ | | | \/ | ____) |___ || |___) |__ (__) | | ___) |___| | | | |___| |___) || |____ Editor: Bob Gajarsky Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net Sr. Contributors: Jeremy Ashcroft, Martin Bate, Al Crawford, Dan Enright, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Tim Mohr, Joe Silva, John Walker Other Contributors: Kelley Crowley, Tim Hulsizer, Melissa Pellegrin, P. Nina Ramos, Michelle Richmond, Linda Scott, Ali Sinclair, Jon Steltenpohl, Jorge Velez, Scott Williams 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: Slash's Snakepit, _It's Five O' Clock Somewhere by Linda Scott REVIEW: Simple Minds, _Good News From The Next World_ by Melissa Pellegrin REVIEW: _Higher Learning_ Soundtrack by Jorge Velez REVIEW: Various Artists, _Punk University_ by Joe Silva REVIEW: Fun^Da^Mental, _Seize The Time_ by Martin Bate REVIEW: Shampoo, _We Are Shampoo_ by Tim Mohr BOOK REVIEW: John Lydon, _Rotten: No Blacks No Irish No Dogs_ by Tim Kennedy REVIEW: Shudder To Think, _Pony Express Record_ by Martin Bate REVIEW: Happy Patch, _Oleander Land_ by Martin Bate NEWS: Van Halen WWW Page, Oglio Reissues, Orcesta de la Luz, Dodgy, Joyrider TOURS: Letters To Cleo, Maynard Ferguson, Quicksand/Offspring, Shirk Circus, Smithereens The Readers Write Back! Back Issues of Consumable --- REVIEW: Slash's Snakepit, _It's Five O'Clock Somewhere_ (Geffen) - Linda Scott The cover says "Slash's Snakepit". Finally! A new Guns N'Roses release?! No, not quite. _It's Five O'Clock Somewhere_ is a hard rock/ blues release from Snakepit, a new band put together by Slash, lead guitarist for Guns N'Roses. Guns is well represented on what Slash likes to call a personal release or a side project rather than a full-fledged solo outing. The band, consisting of Matt Sorum on drums; Gilby Clarke on rhythm guitar; Dizzy Reed on keyboards, Teddy Andreadis on harmonica and Slash on guitar (lead and rhythm) all have Guns N'Roses backgrounds. What keeps this release from being pure Guns is the musical style and the flavor added by Mike Inez, the bassist for Alice in Chains and Eric Dover, lead vocalist for Jellyfish. _It's Five O'Clock Somewhere_ originated at the end of the long GN'R _Use Your Illusion_ tour. Matt Sorum and Slash started getting together at Slash's studio to write and record some songs. Gradually, Gilby Clarke and Mike Inez got involved. Without the pressure of producing for Guns N'Roses, the band could write and jam for fun, and before they knew it, they had a record. At this point the music was done, but there were no lyrics. Slash's search for a vocalist resulted in auditioning some forty singers, but he couldn't seem to find the right one for Snakepit. Years before, Slash had the same problem with his Road Crew band, and that long search turned up W. Axl Rose. This time, Slash found Eric Dover, Jellyfish guitarist and backup vocalist. Dover and Slash worked so well together that lyrics and melodies for thirteen songs were completed in one day. Finding album cover assistance was easy with Slash's brother taking over the drawings and his father (respected album designer Tony Hudson) doing the overall supervision. The album title, _It's Five O'Clock Somewhere_, came from an experience Slash had at an airport bar. He wanted a drink but didn't think he'd get served since it was just 10 A.M. The bartender told him, "It's five o'clock somewhere". This has become not just a drinking phrase to him but also a way of looking at life. No matter what life is like where you are - boring, depressing, aggravating - it's five o'clock somewhere, and at that place, things are different. You just have to get there. Do you like hard rock-blues guitar music? Then your Five O'Clock Somewhere could be here. All tracks show the blues influence, but some are pure blues. These really showcase Slash's roots as a blues guitarist which aren't seen as clearly in Guns N'Roses. In fact, in one of the early iterations of Guns, Slash wasn't hired because he was "too bluesy". This outing gives him a chance to show you his true roots. There are more tracks that are traditionally hard rock and rock, and all these are delicious to those hungering for a taste of Guns N'Roses. Listen past the vocals to hear some familiar phrasing every now and then. Even the totally unfamiliar arrangements rock hard enough to be reminders of Guns but are different enough to be interesting on their own. The music and the arrangements are extremely well constructed. Slash's Snakepit's only weakness, if it has one, is the vocals. When Slash heard Dover sing with so much force, he said it made his own throat hurt. The vocalist sings with a great deal of force on every track, so every track has this same gravelly, pushed to its limits vocals. Still, the band as a whole is well worth listening to. Certainly, Guns N'Roses fans will want _It's Five O'Clock Somewhere_, but anyone who likes hard rock, from Skid Row to Aerosmith, should give it a try. Snakepit's future is a little hard to predict. The band will tour starting this spring and going through next summer in support of the album. Commitments to home bands take precedence, and Slash is determined to only tour with the original band members. Venues will be 1,000 to 1,500 seat clubs starting in the eastern States moving west. The tour most likely will go overseas, and Slash definitely wants to go to Japan. If the album and tour are successful, Snakepit may do it again. Slash still puts Guns N'Roses first with Snakepit a side project. Long term development of Snakepit may be slower or this could be its first and last outing. Hopefully Slash will find time for both Guns and his Snakepit, because _It's Five O'Clock Somewhere_ gets you rocking and screaming for more. --- REVIEW: Simple Minds, _Good News From the Next World_ (Virgin) - Melissa Pellegrin It has been four years since Simple Minds have released any new material; in 1992, the band released a compilation of their greatest hits called _Glittering Prize_. This compilation closed a chapter in the band's history and their new release, _Good News From the Next World_, represents a new and uplifting chapter. Currently, Simple Minds are comprised of Jim Kerr on lead vocals and Charlie Burchill on guitar and keyboards. It is interesting to note that _Good News From the Next World_ was produced with Keith Forsey. Keith is the same person who wrote and produced the band's most memorable song to date, "Don't You Forget About Me." Along with the work of several session players, the band is able to generate a fresher sound with a heavier rock beat. It is definitely a refreshing break from today's more popular sound. Many of the songs deal with the theme of gaining a new direction in life and doing some self re-evaluation. Songs like "She's a River" and "Hypnotised" describe a muse who has given a lost soul new hope and direction. "Great Leap Forward" explains that in order to move ahead, one must take chances. Other songs, "7 Deadly Sins," "This Time," and "My Life" illustrate a re-evaluation of things going on in the world today. _Good News From the Next World_ proves that the band can do more with less musically. Since the band is down to two members, more emphasis is placed on Charlie Burchill's guitar work. He does a wonderful job throughout the new material. There is a noticable difference on this album from other Simple Minds' albums. The use of keyboards has been done sparingly. Rather than being the basis of each song, the keyboards have been used to give each song a bit of texture. "Criminal World" illustrates this in that keyboards are used in the beginning, then as the song progresses, the keyboards fade out slowly. Not to be left out, Jim Kerr out does himself on the new material as well. He gives a lot of strength and emotion to the songs. A more seductive sound is generated in songs like "Night Music" and "Hypnotised." However, Kerr provides powerful vocals in songs like "She's a River," "Great Leap Forward," and "And the Band Played On." _Good News From the Next World_ contains a positive feel and driving rock beat. It also provides a back to basics feel and not a lot of noise. This makes the new material a welcome change from today's more popular sound. Simple Minds are back and sounding better than ever. --- REVIEW: Soundtrack, _Higher Learning_ (Epic Soundtrax) -Jorge Velez According to the press release, the people behind the soundtrack to John Singleton's (Boyz n' The Hood) new film Higher Learning wanted "to create a musical atmosphere similar to what you might hear on any college campus in America today". Well, I'd have to give them an A for effort - and that's it. The _Higher Learning_ soundtrack falls short of providing the kind of schizo variety one really encounters in today's dorm CD player, relying instead on hip hop,r&b and alterna-whatever to mold its idea of diversity. The album opens with Ice Cube's "Higher", which is one of three hip hop tracks, along with the contributions of fellow West Coasters Mista Grimm and Outkast. Cube's track is an example of one of his many current lapses in musical and lyrical energy. The rhyming is particularly pedestrian, and one can only hope that his upcoming _Helter Skelter_ project with Dr. Dre will prove that he's still got it in him. Not here, though. Outkast and Mistah Grimm fare a little better, with Outkast the better of the two as a result of the flowing, creepy track that supports the rambling rhyme. Mistah Grimm is, essentially, some ol' West Coast Mack Daddy Player rhyming which is probably all that out there in CA but bores these East Coast ears. Tori Amos, pitches in two tracks: a cover of REM's four-year old classic "Losing My Religion", and an original entitled "Butterfly". The cover tune is a piano/voice rendition. And, you know, I would much rather have had Kate Bush doing this - though how many college kids in '95 listen to Kate Bush, huh? - because she would've at least thrown in a few good shrieks. As for Tori's version: it's just there. "Butterfly" has Tori singing in a quivery voice about kittens, a dead man, a running girl. It grates, kids. As do Rage Against The Machine and their wack rap metal (ugh!) sloganeering on "Year Of The Boomerang". Liz Phair shows up with the poppy, pissed off "Don't Have Time". Short and to the point, with great "seagull" effects to boot, it's one of the few worthwhile tracks on the album. Add to that Me'Shell NdegeOcello's "Soul Searchin'", with its smooth circa 1979 Quiet Storm feel and a groove that, for some reason, makes me think of The SOS Band from back in the day. Also, "Ask Of You" by Raphael Saadiq, which, along with The Brand New Heavies' "Higher Learning/Time For Change" proves that when retro is done right, it can (almost) save the day. Definitely a "hear it before you buy it" sort of deal here. --- REVIEW: Various Artists, _Punk University_ (Oglio) - Joe Silva Oglio continues to lead the charge back through the pre-120 Minutes playlists of college radio with this disc. Pulling together some already well celebrated tracks and a couple of obscuros for that flourish of authenticity, this compilation plays OK from start to finish, if not just a little unevenly. Oglio hits almost all the milestone moments of the safety pin set, gravitating from the early UK (Buzzcocks) and US (Ramones) takes on the punk subject, to the last hurrah's on the west coast (Suicidal Tendencies). Asides like Vandals "Ladykiller" is the kind of catchy dud new wave that's kept buried way deep in your vinyl collection and only gets played when no one's looking. The Bible for most of this stuff (read: The Trouser Press Record Guide) cites the Adolescents as bit players from Agent Orange and Social Distortion talented enough to slow down some just as Oi was revving up. Their inclusion ("Amoeba") as well as Redd Kross's "Annette's Got the Hits" point you to the old Rodney on the (Los Angeles radio station K)ROQ collections where they were lifted from and historically speaking, are probably better tours of the era gone by. Most out of place is the Killing Joke selection, "Eighties"; no doubt a peak point in their career, but a weird way to round this all up. Anyone who has any number of these tracks, probably wouldn't string them back to back for listening's sake, but they do show what a blissfully mixed bag the left end of the radio dial was in it's nascent days. --- REVIEW: Fun^da^mental _Seize the Time_ (Mammoth/Atlantic) - Martin Bate Fun^da^mental are "Aki Nawaz (Propaghandi) and David Watts (Impi D) and whoever else cares!". They are a product of the collision between western and eastern cultures - where hip-hop and dance beats and rapped vocals (everything from laid back monologues to aggressive rants) mold with Indian and Asian music, instrumentation, and percussion. To say this album sounds awesome, scary and beautiful is an understatement. To point out that *this* is an album which takes rap, maybe even *music*, another step forward in nothing less than 90 minutes, is probably justified. Fun^da^mental exist to educate and instigate support against the right-wing organizations trying to gain a hold in the UK (and further) today. Their songs are cut with sampled speeches from politicians, leaders and everyday people, from both sides of the fence and (as someone somewhere else pointed out) bring this album close to Chuck D's (Public Enemy) vision of rap being used as a CNN news broadcast to disseminate information to youths everywhere. Yet the band are so much more than the 'rap' tag - they know when to back off and let the *music* talk. In addition, they often let the tracks relax into a flow, and grow and expand in a way that the best ambient and trance does. This album opens with a vitriolic answerphone message a BNP/Combat 18 (UK fascist organisations) supporter left for the band and illustrates exactly why this band exists and what fuels them. In particular, the centerpoint of the album is two non-rap pieces: "Mother India" which is a soothing pro-woman monologue over a backing of sitars and dub bass; and "Bubbleman" which is a hypnotic, repetitive babble over tribal drums. The album ends abruptly with the anxious ticking of a clock...but with this outstanding album, time won't be running out for Fun^da^mental. --- REVIEW: Shampoo, _We Are Shampoo_ (Food/Parlophone - Europe) - Tim Mohr Shampoo congealed when Jacqui, now 19, and Carrie, now 17, founded a Manic Street Preachers fanclub together. They put out a single, "Trouble," that sold in excess of 150,000 copies and led to a full-length album. "Trouble" is the opener on their debut album, which has hatched several other hit singles. The album is unabashed trash-pop, collecting punky guitars, synths, sing-along choruses, and peroxide-blonde hair. Transvision Vamp offers a hint as to what Shampoo sounds like; kooky early 80s singles from Cyndi Lauper or Toni Basil might help as well. The infectious melodies and teeny lyrics make questions about musical worth totally irrelevent. It's too fun and catchy for such questions to occur to you. Singing with undisguised cockney accents, Shampoo immediately cajoles you into singing with them on "Trouble": "Uh-oh, we're in trouble. Something's come along and burst our bubble." The verses consist of ranted accounts of how the girls missed the last subway and ended up staying out all night. Shampoo is a female band, but as for their social politics (Viva La Megababes), "Hippy chicks are sad and super models suck. Riot grrls, diet girls - who really gives a fuck?" Shampoo on the charts: "It's a dirty old love song, saying `Hey baby, let's get it on.'" Ironically, Shampoo's lack of pretensions works against them when it comes to their choice of cover songs. Their version of East 17's "House of Love" is the lowpoint of the album simply because all the other songs are better. Jacqui and Carrie wrote all the rest, and their junky guitar chords - reminiscent of fun, trashy bands like KISS or Slade or Gary Glitter - propel the songs with a giddy energy unmatched only by the East 17 cover. The oddity of the album is the inner sleeve, photos of trash culture memorabilia presumably much cherished by Jacqui and Carrie. But the objects - an Incredible Hulk doll, Thunderbirds collectables, Jetson's candies, a Wonder Woman badge, you get the idea - are all from a period during which Jacqui and Carrie were still unfulfilled evolutionary impulses in their parents. Has the 70s revival reached such heights that kids who were only 2 or 3 when the decade ended go to yard sales to stock up on this junk? Is this record being consciously marketed to people who might actually have walked to school with a Happy Days lunchbox, or huddled in the basement listening to KISS 8-tracks? The thing is, _We Are Shampoo_ is undeniably fun and really doesn't need to associate itself with that earlier heyday of trash in order to justify itself. --- BOOK REVIEW: John Lydon _Rotten - No Blacks No Irish No Dogs_ - Tim Kennedy This is the long-awaited autobiography of the Sex Pistols' singer and lyricist. It is mainly written by him with frequent and sometimes lengthy contributions from people Lydon trusts of those days - Chrissie Hynde, Cook, Jones, Steve Severin of the Banshees, Billy Idol, Nora who John eventually married, his Dad and even Richard Branson. Lydon/Rotten begins with his poverty-stricken childhood, and of his terrible illness as a boy. Much emphasis is laid on his Irish roots being a factor and although he squashes all militant Republican arguments, he dwells on the prejudice he felt as a boy in London. He shows regret at the insurmountable distance (emotional as much as cultural) that lies between him and his parents' homeland but quickly dispels this by categorically describing himself as British despite his scorn for that country and his self-imposed exile. Lydon's family evidently supported him totally in his career and he is depicted as extremely close to his mother. His father contributes much to the book and the bond between them is obviously still solid. Lydon tacitly admits that his initial lack of interest in relationships had a lot to do with his closeness to his mother (who died in 1980). Steve Jones' description of his childhood is still more heartening than Lydon's. Typically John has little that is charitable to say about anyone. He has made peace with Steve Jones and Paul Cook (guitar/drums) but he is more snide than ever about Matlock (original bassist and co-writer). He gleefully describes appalling pranks they played on the hapless bassist - one anecdote concerning a sandwich is particularly revolting. The rest of the band despised Glen too. He grudgingly admits eventually that the musical success of the band was down to the friction between the contrasting styles of Matlock and himself. Lydon predictably reserves some of his deepest scorn for Malcolm McLaren and his works. Sid Vicious gets plenty of putdowns, mainly for being an airhead and a fashion victim. His dishevelled appearance of legend contrasts sharply with the character of his teenage years who'd spend all his money on the latest shirt and cared more for his appearance than anything else. Lydon regrets Sid's passing and rates his initial impact on joining the band as surpassing Matlock's contribution. He admits Matlock was hired as sessioneer on the _Bollocks_ album and even admits hiring Vicious was down to him. Interestingly John's parents were critical of him for getting Sid in the band, believing Sid to be a danger to himself even then. Vicious was part of a gang of cut-throats and cultural terrorists Lydon/Rotten collected around him even while at school, including John Wardle/Jah Wobble - the bassist who distinguished himself on the early PIL albums. This gang is described as the first 'punks'. The tastes of this gang were broad enough to encompass seventies disco soul amazingly, and they often went to soul clubs dressed in their proto punk rags drawing gaping astonishment from the assembled 'smoothies'. The disco influence became evident in the momentous second PIL work, _Metal Box_ (now available as _Second Edition_). Although gleefully recalling the beatings Sid dished out to McLaren, Lydon admits that Vicious was useless after the initial purple patch during which Belsen, Holidays etc were written. Heroin and Nancy Spungen were the culprits, but Sid apparently developed an ego problem. Lydon's, indeed everyone's, disgust with Spungen and her incessant whining is made clear. Lydon implies that he and Sid would have got together musically had he lived, and makes vague claims of conspiracy concerning Nancy's and subsequently Sid's death. Heroin entering the scene is blamed on the arrival of the Heartbreakers and their entourage in mid-77 and Rotten claims that virtually no one admired Thunders except for the ever-gullible Sid. In fact Rotten disclaims any influence of the New York scene on the Sex Pistols, but does mention the Stooges _Funhouse_ album. He says his pre-Pistols diet was mainly Can and Hawkwind. These influences were only to become apparent on _Metal Box_ as the rest of the band were simple rock'n'rollers. Lydon is somewhat apologetic on this score. Rotten stands by the more chaotic songs the Sex Pistols did; "Submission" and "No Fun" come in for particular mention. It is interesting to read how Matlock had intended "Pretty Vacant" to be a nice melodic number with the emphasis on 'Pretty', only to see his creation besmirched by Rotten - 'Va-cunt-ah' - and by Jones' primaeval riffery. This was a pattern that emerges in the book - Matlock trying to drive the band in a melodic, pretty-boy direction and Rotten continually courting controversy with his lyrics and delivery. The story of the cliques who followed the band is detailed here. There were the trendies from Bromley, art-school poseurs. There were the football hooligans from Finsbury Park, the scruffy North London district where Rotten grew up. Rotten incidentally knew most of them personally, being a loyal Arsenal fan and veteran of a few terrace scraps himself; being a football fan does not automatically make you a thug, I would emphasize. Rotten uses this mix of class backgrounds to put across his theory that the Sex Pistols were trying to break down class/race barriers in Britain. I found this lengthy idealistic passage amusing and wondered what kind of shrift he'd have given a hapless interviewer for suggesting this was their principal motivation back in the thuggish, foul-mouthed days of '76. As a punk myself at the time, I can concur with his comments about bringing races together - the wholesale adoption of reggae music by punks was of enormous importance. He doesn't mention it, but in addition, punk briefly united the youth of the six northern counties of Ireland. This is a fascinating book, with countless priceless anecdotes. Given the recent resurgence of bands namechecking the Sex Pistols, it is good to see that Lydon has reserved some venom for the likes of Nirvana, comparing them to the clueless metal bands they were up against in the seventies. The style is virtually Lydon verbatim and contains some excellent subtle wordplay. --- REVIEW: Shudder To Think, _Pony Express Record_ (Epic) - Martin Bate Let me try and explain Shudder To Think to you..... OK, imagine REM jamming with Julee Cruise and discovering the pleasures of structuring their basic guitar-rock like freeform jazz. What happens is that for the first maybe 10 listens all the bits of the songs seem to be falling against each other and creating all these impossible angles. Then, every now and again, everything clicks and there's these beautiful melodies which just soar...only for the rug to be pulled from under your feet seconds later, leaving you dizzy and disoriented. These thrills become addictive and after repeated listens you learn where to expect the twists and turns and everything comes into focus. You realize you're in love with the songs and spend days wondering why all bands can't be like this. Singer Craig Wedren and his lyrics are equal part falsetto angel and chilling cool. He sings about love and everyday people in dark situations with a cut-up lyrical style that seems nonsensical until you stare at the words for a while, then like the music, you can almost feel the stories shimmer into focus and your imagination starts to fill in all the bits he's not mentioning, In comparison with their previous albums on Fugazi's indie label Dischord, the sound here is drier and even *more* obtuse than before. The crisp production just serves to enhance the feeling of displacement and there is *nothing* here that will have any chance of getting played on the radio more than once. Not that anyone, except maybe Epic, cares. It's been too long since I've encountered a band that forces you to work a little for your enjoyment. My prediction is, that they'll have have a freak hit single down the line with an unrepresentative song, people will rush out and buy the album, flick through it on their CD players and sneer "This sucks" while the new converts and those who've been listening for a few years now will just smile knowingly in anticipation and press the 'PLAY' button again. If Michael Stipe was David Lynch, REM would be Shudder To Think. === REVIEW: Happy Patch, _Oleander Land_ (Lazy Baby - Australia) - Martin Bate Happy Patch shine like a too-beautiful gem in the glut of pedestrian jazz-funk and stodgy heavy guitar bands which make up too much of the South Australian music scene. They've got the love-lorn indie-guitar thing down to a tee on this, their first outing, with a 5-track EP that mixes the sounds and emotions of bands like Swervedriver, American Music Club, The Smiths and Husker Du into one fluid whole. Take the title track for instance - like a warm summer night that you know will finish too soon and the feeling you get when you see a beautiful girl across a bar and know you'll never talk to her. It can't just be me that feels that way about this. I'm not pretending this is perfect. The production mars things now and again with the drums getting the 'cardboard-box' effect and the guitars not shimmering and slamming the way they do live. Also, singer Dale Covett tends to take a similar approach to each song - but with a voice this heart-breakingly beautiful its easy to forgive him. In a just world, they'll go on to soundtrack a few more romantic idiot's summer nights but with little or no national music press in Australia and a scene where so many bands seem to spend their whole lives playing the same places every week, its not going to be easy. Wish them luck. For further information on Happy Patch, write to the band at: 46 Blackler Street, Semaphore, South Australia 5019. --- NEWS: Van Halen is another in the growing number of artists to have a fully dedicated WWW (World Wide Web) site. Warner Brothers is putting it together at http://vanhalen.warnerrcrds.com/Balance --- NEWS: Oglio Records, contrary to published reports, has not cancelled the Translator and Flash & The Pan reissues. These records will be released at an as-yet unspecified date in 1995. --- NEWS: Orchesta de la Luz, the 12 member Japanese salsa band from Tokyo, has been nominated for a Grammy in the Tropical Latin Performance vategory for their fourth album, _La Aventura_. The group went from learning their craft by imitation (copying style and grammar from Latin salsa stars) to garnering number one gold and platinum records on their own. The Japanese group is helping Kobe earthquake victims as well. A 900 number has been started in their homeland where fans can call in to hear a sampling of the band's music. Monies raised from the calls go toward relief programs to help earthquake victims. The number, which costs $3 a call for Japanese callers, has already had more than 10,000 calls. --- Dodgy's new British single, "Making The Most Of", includes extra tracks. Part One contains a French version of "Spent All My Time Running" and "All The Time In The World", while Part 2 includes extras "Watch Out What You're Doing", "This Is Ours" and "Get Off Your High Horse". They will be touring Europe with Shed Seven (previously reviewed in Consumable); U.K. dates are as follows: March 1 Hull University March 2 Liverpool University March 3 Strathclyde University March 4 York, Fibbers March 6 Manchester Boardwalk March 7 Bristol Fleece & Firkin March 9 Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms March 10 Glamorgan University March 11 Wolverhampton, Wulfren Hall March 16 London, Astoria --- Joytown, an up-and-coming four-piece from Portadown, Northern Ireland released their third EP _Seven Sisters_ in the U.K. on the Paradox label. Tracks are "Seven Sisters", "Something New", "Fear" and "They All Hate Me". Suitably upbeat, this is issued as 7" coloured vinyl and CD formats only. Tour dates are: Feb. 13 Sheffield, University Park Feb. 14 Norwich, Oval Feb. 16 Stoke, Wheatsheaf Feb. 17 Leicester, Charlotte Feb. 19 Bristol, Fleece & Firkin Feb. 20 Newport, TJ"s Feb. 21 Derby, Wherehouse Feb. 23 London, The Garage Feb. 24 Dudley, JB"s Feb. 25 Chelmsford, Army & Navy Feb. 27 Nottingham, Rock City Feb. 28 Hull, Adelphi March 1 Ayr, Jones March 2 Buckley, Tivoli March 4 Glasgow, King Tut"s Wah Wah Hut March 5 Edinburgh, Venue March 6 Newcastle, Riverside March 8 Manchester, Boardwalk March 9 Leeds, Duchess of York March 10 Corby, The Works --- TOURS: Boston's Letters to Cleo will be on tour in support of their debut release _Aurora Gory Alice_ on Giant Records Feb. 15 Killington, VT The Pickelbarrel Feb. 16 Northhampton, MA Pearl Street Feb. 17 Providence, RI Living Room Feb. 18 New York, NY Mercury Lounge Feb. 19 Asbury Park, NJ The Saint Feb. 20 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Feb. 21 Hampton, VA N-Sect Club Feb. 23 Pittsburgh, PA Graffiti Showcase Feb. 24 Cleveland, OH Trillogy Feb. 25 Indianapolis, IN Sports Live Feb. 27 St. Louis, MO The Other World Feb. 28 Nashville, TN Exit/In March 1 Silva, NC Bailey's March 2 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy's March 3 Myrtle Beach, SC Sandpipers March 4 Charlotte, NC Amos's --- Legendary jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson has launched another tour. The 66 year old Ferguson will also be releasing a new studio album on Avenue Jazz in early 1995. Tour dates are as follows: 2/18 Hatboro, PA Upper Moreland Auditorium 3/2 Joliet, IL Rialto Square Theatre 3/3 Waukesha, WI South Auditorium 3/5 Solon, OH Solon Auditorium 3/12 Reading, PA Reading Sr. Aud. 3/17-3/18 Manchester, NH St. Anselm College 3/27 Dedham, MA Dedham Aud. 3/30-4/2 Washington, DC Blues Alley 4/5 Slippery Rock, PA Slippery Rock University 4/7 Holland, MI Diment Memorial Chapel 4/8 Palos Hills, IL Menker Theatre 4/9 Troy, MI Athens Aud. 4/11-4/16 New York, NY Blue Note --- You've heard of Offspring. Opening for them is New York City's hardcore artist, Quicksand, whose third album release (_Manic Compression_) hits stores on compact disc on March 1. It is being released on vinyl through Relevation Records later this month. Tour dates are as follows: Feb. 16 Denver, CO Mammoth Events Center Feb. 18-19 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom Feb. 20 Detroit, MI Cabo Arena Feb. 22 Kansas City, KS Memorial Hall Feb. 23 St. Louis, MO All American Sports Hall Feb. 24 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall Feb. 25 Cleveland, OH Agora Theater March 3-5 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom March 6 Radford, VA Dedmon Center March 9 Palmetto, FL Manatee Civic Center March 12 Pensacola, FL Bayfront Auditorium March 13 New Orleans, LA State Palace Theater --- Bar/None artist Shirk Circus is on tour at the following clubs. In addition the band can be contacted indirectly via the following address: shrkinfo@execpc.com Feb. 17 Washington, DC Black Cat Feb. 18 Baltimore, MD The 8x10 (8-By-Ten) Club Feb. 22 Philadelphia, PA Khyber Feb. 23 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's Feb. 25 Richmond, VA Twister's Feb. 26 Chapel Hill, NC Lizard & Snake Club Feb. 27 Athens, GA Atomic Fallout Feb. 28 Atlanta, GA The Point March 2 Savannah, GA Velvet Elvis March 3 Pensacola, FL Sluggo's March 4 New Orleans, LA Bridge Lounge March 5 Houston, TX Cactus (Record Store) March 6 Boston, MA Electric Lounge March 7 Dallas, TX Galaxy Club March 8 Little Rock, AR Juanita's (tentative) March 9 Knoxville, TN Mercury Theatre March 10 Memphis, TN Oasis March 11 Nashville, TN Lucy's Record Shop March 12 St. Louis, MO Cicero's (*** with Unsane ***) March 14 Kansas City, MO The Foundry March 15 Beloit WI Alumni House March 16 Rockford IL The Warehouse March 17 Davenport IA Smile Coffee March 18 Chicago, IL Fireside Lounge March 19 Indianapolis, IN Emerson Theatre --- The Smithereens are playing a couple tour dates. No new album scheduled - they're just out playing. Here they are: March 4 Columbus, OH Columbus Convention May 28 Denver, CO New Denver Airport June 9 Joliet, IL Joliet Memorial Stadium --- In the 2/6 issue, Tim Mohr made a little misstatement in his review of Lisa Germano in concert. Lisa technically has 4 albums out in addition to her extensive studio work with artists such as John Mellencamp. Her first album is called _On the Way down from Moon Palace_ on Major Bill records. Some CD books list it as out of print, but I ordered it a few months ago at a normal record store. It is definitely worth tracking down. Her second album is the Capitol version of _Happiness_ and the third album is the fairly different 4AD version of _Happiness_. That makes the recently released _Geek the Girl_ Germano's 4th album. Kind of picky, but crucial information for any Lisa Germano fan. Thanks, K.C. --- 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 (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 ===