====================================================[January 30, 1995]= __ | __ _ _ ___ | || ___ | __ __ (__ | | | \/ | ____) |___ || |___) |__ (__) | | ___) |___| | | | |___| |___) || |____ Editor: Scott F. Williams Managing Editor: Bob Gajarsky Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net Other Contributors: Jeremy Ashcroft, Martin Bate, Al Crawford, Dan Enright, Tim Hulsizer, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Tim Mohr, P. Nina Ramos, Michelle Richmond, Linda Scott, Joe Silva,John Walker Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann, Damir Tiljak, Jason Williams Address all comments, subscription requests, 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 sought from the managing editor. ======================================================================= .------------. | Contents |-. `------------' | `------------' REVIEW: Soundtrack, _Dumb and Dumber_ (RCA) by Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Charlatans, "Crashin' In" (Beggars Banquet Import single) by Tim Mohr REVIEW: Nik Kershaw, _Anthology_ (One Way) by Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Sharkboy, _Matinee_ (Nude) by John Walker CONCERT REVIEW: Tom Jones by Tim Hulsizer REVIEW: Ween, _Chocolate and Cheese (Elektra) by Martin Bate REVIEW: The Cogs, _Absolute Ween_ (Bear) by Martin Bate NEWS: Morrissey, Del Amitri, Rake's Progress TOUR DATES: Barenaked Ladies, Cranes, Oasis, Suede INTERVIEW: Echolyn by Dan Enright THE READERS WRITE BACK! Back Issues of Consumable --- REVIEW: Soundtrack, _Dumb and Dumber_ (RCA) - Bob Gajarsky Jim Carrey's latest big screen vehicle is _Dumb and Dumber_. For its soundtrack, executive producer Ron Fair (_Reality Bites_) has put together a diverse assortment of today's up-and-coming groups to yield one of the best soundtracks in recent memory. The first single, Deadeye Dick's "New Age Girl", is a throwback to the catchy 1980's offshoot songs that never succeeded. Times have changed, and with those, this kind of song becomes more accessible to the record-buying mainstream. Don't let the song's commercial popularity dissaude you from appreciating its wit and irresistible chorus. Mary Mo, indeed. Echobelly, one of England's hottest new groups, makes an appearance with "Insomniac", while the Primitives, who once *were* on the covers of the hip UK rags, have their late 80's hit "Crash" remixed slightly for 1995 consumption. Willi One Blood's "Whiney Whiney" gets its influence from Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk" and the Kinks "You Really Got Me" to produce a radio-ready pop/reggae smash. Although true reggae fans won't be able to stomach this, it should prove irresistible to the pop crowd who danced to Ini Kamoze's "Here Come The Hotstepper" and Shaggy's "Oh Carolina". Two of the cover songs have mixed results: Crash Test Dummies (featuring Ellen Reid) faithfully cover XTC's "Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" with surprisingly good results, but the Proclaimers fall short of recapturing the Motown song on Rare Earth's "Get Ready". The highlight of _Dumb and Dumber_, in both the film and the movie, can be found in the Gigolo Aunts harmonious and infectious "Where I Find My Heaven". This top notch quality soundtrack also includes tracks from Green Jelly, Deee-Lite, Butthole Surfers, Pete Droge, the Lupins and Bret Reilly. It is heartily recommended to any alternative music fans; its diverse quality, even if the tracks are unknown to your ears, will immediately find a home in your disc player. --- REVIEW: Charlatans, "Crashin' In" single (Beggars Banquet) - Tim Mohr For a band currently busy disavowing their last record, the new single sounds remarkably similar to things on _Up to Our Hips_. Once again the Charlatans allow louder, more raucous guitars into the mix than on their first two albums. Steve Hillage returns on production, underscoring the point that the song-writing, not the sound, on _Up to Our Hips_ disappointed the band. "Crashin' In" sounds like a cross between Oasis and "Can't Get Out of Bed" from _Up to Our Hips_ . Bending and dragging words out more than ever before, retaining the flair of the best parts of _Up to Our Hips_, this single is a solid platform from which to launch the forthcoming album. The lyrics present a mildly threatening, slightly acidic point of view, also reminiscent of Oasis: "I can see you've got a solar report/keeps you in and keeps you boring I can hear you snoring/one of these days/you'll hear the sound of speed/i'll come crashin'in your flat and/say hey it's too late..." The two b-sides are also strong. "Back Room Window" drags out the big 70s guitars that characterized portions of _Up to Our Hips_. "Green Flashing Eyes" is classic Charlatans, finishing with a long organ note. The song- writing on this effort is definitely solid, and bodes well for the new record. The muddy sound of _Up to Our Hips_, rather different from the light clarity of the first two albums, is largely retained but the unsatisfying jamming found in parts of the last album has been jettisoned in favor of traditional pop songs. The cover photo, unlike that of _Up to Our Hips_, capitalizes on the old Charlatans indie-cool: a wide-angle shot of the band lounging on a street- corner with their Hammond plopped down in front of them. Hopefully all of this means that the Charlatans are back on track; rather than straying ever further from their indie-pop roots (ala Stone Roses) the Charlatans seem to be preparing for a spring offensive utilizing, and expanding upon, their proven strengths. - Tim Mohr --- REVIEW: Nik Kershaw, _Anthology_ (One Way) - Bob Gajarsky Briton Nik Kershaw shot to the top of the UK charts with four top 20 hits from his debut album, _Human Racing_. Despite being lumped in the good looks/no talent musical class, Kershaw went on to record three more albums and, most recently, played guitar on several Elton John releases. One Way Records covers most of the early half of Kershaw's career with their Kershaw reissue, _Anthology_. Nik Kershaw only released two albums on MCA in the United States - _Human Racing_ and _The Riddle_. These album covers serve as the front cover and the inside sleeve for One Way's effort. "Wouldn't It Be Good", Kershaw's only U.S. hit, still stands the test of time today by being a favorite selection of "80's Flashback" disc jockeys. Other tracks, including the title tracks from both of Kershaw's first two albums, his #2 UK hit "I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", "Dancing Girls" and "Don Quixote" bring all the power of early 80's synthpop to a wider United States audience. Flaws? The album does only cover his U.S. releases, and it unexplicably omits "Wide Boy", which was one of his UK commercial hits. Still, the chance to get the now hard-to-find UK _Human Racing_ CD, plus five additional tracks (from _The Riddle_) at a mid-line price makes the Nik Kershaw Anthology a must-get for any fans of alternative 1980's music. --- REVIEW: Sharkboy, _Matinee_ (Nude) - John Walker Cross-pollination between the Anglo and American rock music scenes has resulted in some potent mutations: Britain's Sex Pistols took the energy of America's New York Dolls and Ramones, mixing it with their own working-class angst to create punk rock; the American grunge scene owes its entire existence to the music created by the original line-up of the U.K.'s Black Sabbath. And now we have Britain's Sharkboy, latching on to more Americana in the form of The Velvet Underground--with some overtones of Miles Davis--creating yet another heady brew worthy of serious attention. Suede, it seems, is not the only great band on Nude records. Led by the striking female singer/songwriter Avy, whose lack of surname puts one in mind of the Velvet's late, great Nico, Sharkboy's debut album _Matinee_ creates an languid atmosphere which is comparable to Mazzy Star minus the junkie nod-out vibe, replacing that with an ominous, edgy atmosphere that suggests much more than it states. "Subtlety" hasn't exactly been a hallmark of the 90s so far, but Avy and company do their best to inject some into a scene filled with chest-beating grungers and rappers of either gender. _Matinee_ is an impressive debut because it avoids the recent postmodern plague of the "quotation" (i.e. ripping off) of one's influences in favour instead of their emulation. Thus, the Velvets riffs which appear here sound fresh, and are invigorated by the addition of brass, notably trumpets and saxes, which often appear in place of the obligatory guitar solo. Lou Reed has often noted the influence of jazz artists such as Albert Ayler on the V.U., and has employed ace trumpeter Don Cherry on his own records; Sharkboy takes this idea and runs with it, extending a singular and most worthy line of rock and roll into the 90s. And, of course, Shark_boy_ is most notable for the talents of lead _girl_ Avy. It's her show, backed though she is by an ace supporting crew. As I said, she's subtle--no Courtney Love victim histrionics to be found here; no Madonna "wait, let me get my tits out again" juvenile attempts at transgression. Instead, we get Avy intoning "I'm sure I can hide/The milky waste I keep inside/I wish I was safe from/The way I feel tonight" in "Crystaline," and it's a million times more effective than anything I've heard from a "female rocker" since the last PJ Harvey album. If we must situate Avy within an artistic lineage (and of course we must) it's Nico, Patti Smith, Marianne Faithfull, and PJ Harvey: women in touch with the darker side of themselves, and more importantly, who can turn that darker side into something meaningful artistically. There's an _aesthetic_ at work here, one evolved far beyond mere adolescent bellyaching, finger-pointing, or posturing. Avy's the real thing, and that's gonna frighten some people. Ahhhh, but what about the songs?, you say. They're good. Very good. The highlights are here are many: "Sacramento Child" starts things off with a kind of ominous beat bongo shuffle, listless and engaging all at once. "Do you want me to tell you something I'm not sure of?" queries Avy of the "drifter" referred to in the song's title, thus setting a tone which will characterize the rest of _Matinee_. "I could never lie to you." Is she going to ask him to come closer, or tell him to piss off? You're not sure, but you want to find out-- and in this sexy ambivalence lies Sharkboy's appeal. The next two numbers, "My Star" and "Forest Fire," introduce us to the rest of the band. Both songs start quietly and then build towards Velvets rifferama for their resolution. The former song imparts the feel of an impending climax, an upwards spiral toward a heavenly body, while the latter features Avy "climbing trees in a forest fire" (Freudian sexual overtones noted), with David O' Neal punctuating the guitar squall with some inspired, John Coltrane-inspired blowing on the saxophone. "Razor" gives us sex as an anecdote to boredom. Avy's plagued here by "car wash music" in her head (a great image), and the song itself approximates something close to pure pop heaven. 'I got a razor thin skin/But I keep on touchin' you" sings Avy with a combination of lust and consternation. Get too close and you'll get kissed - cut - or both? Don't piss this woman off, buddy--just give her what she needs. Avy's evocation of a slightly dangerous Karen Carpenter here is quite effective. "Don't Walk Run" is aural sex, continuing the air of curious ambiguity which haunts this album. Run from what, or toward whom? The band gets a chance to extend things here, and the result is some of the best Neo-Velvets drug trance-rock heard since the mid-80s heyday of The Dream Syndicate and The Feelies. "How did the sky get so blue?" asks a blissed-out sounding Avy. And where can I get some? Adding to the Velvets feel here is some very Cale (as in John) sounding viola courtesy of Adrian Oxaal that works a treat, as the number builds toward a ferocious climax, and then lets you back down again, gently. The aforementioned "Crystaline" would be a hit single in a better world, an upbeat ode to the Dionysian drives of nature and biology which today's politically correct types would have us deny. "Road" features thick guitar lines that bring to mind the guitar work of Ry Cooder on the soundtrack to _Paris, Texas_, a great road movie in the American tradition. Some fine Miles Davis-influenced trumpet work here from Nick Wilson as well. Still, the sound ends up being pure Sharkboy--emulation, not imitation. "Sugar" (_not_ a tribute to Bob Mould) features Avy's purest, most impassioned vocal of the album, while the dirge-like "Carrying Some" ends _Matinee_ on a sublime note, the arrangement calling to mind John Cale's work on Nico's classic _Marble Index_. So there you have it. A most impressive debut for Sharkboy, almost entirely avoiding the usual pitfalls which befall a fledgling outfit. Only in this way are they similar to their better-known label mates, Suede. Don't walk, run, to your local record shop to buy _Matinee_. --- CONCERT REVIEW: Tom Jones - The Avalon, Boston, Jan 18, 1995 - Tim Hulsizer Say what you like about Tom Jones, his Vegas history, or the size of the bulge he grabs during the biggest numbers at his shows. The fact is, this guy well into his "golden years" just keeps getting better. He puts more raw, ferocious, crowd-pleasing energy into one set than an army of Green Days. From the moment he took the stage, the crowd was ecstatic, as T.J. boomed his way through a brilliant mix of 60's classics, new album songs, and his signature covers. "What's New Pussycat," "It's Not Unusual," and more were all greeted with deafening cheers, as Tom wiped the sweat from his brow with a grin. He did a Black Crowes hit and the Jackson Five's "ABC," finishing two sets with the crowd begging for more. It was impossible to get away from all the TJ Wannabe's who felt it their duty to "accompany" Mr. Jones on each and every song, but he drowned them all out, flashing an amused smile as wave upon wave of panties flew onto the stage. After the band blazed through the 007 theme, Tom belted out "Thunderball" with the appropriate karate punching action on the word "strikes." He finally wound things up after at least four encores including Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way." As the crowd began to disperse, a guy in his 50's remarked, "Seeing him up there on stage like that gives me new hope. My life is just beginning." Uh yeah pal, sure. Anyway, Jones also expressed his surprise at seeing so many young people turn out for the show. I guess there's something to say for a man who's been putting 100% into entertaining people for four decades. Some may say he's not "alternative enough" or perhaps his new album is a little too hip for his older fans - the fact is that Tom Jones can win you over on the strength of his concerts alone. It's not hard to imagine throngs of screaming women tossing hotel room keys onto the stage...they're still doing it. And Tom is still flashing that grin. --- REVIEW: Ween, _Chocolate and Cheese_ (Elektra) - Martin Bate Major label debut time again, this time for those bedroom maestros of weirdness, Ween. For the unitiated, Ween sound exactly like what you would imagine two young men brought up on junk culture, left to their own devices with a 4-track tape recorder will sound like. Except this time they've gone and built themselves a *proper* studio with their record-company advance. The result is Ween's most consistent album to date, with all their trademark eclecticism and weirdness embedded in a more polished, deeper sound. Stylistically theres everything here - cheesy country and spaghetti western, bubblegum pop, toytown melodies, overblown 70's rock, stoned synth- funk, latin percussion and more. The lyrics swing between serious and not so serious comments on relationships to surreal and/or sick humour. In the latter category, "Mister, Could You Please Help My Pony ?" and the cartoon voice and upbeat chorus of "Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)" are both hilarious and unsettling and guaranteed to offend everyone without a sense of humor. Ween's humor is both their strength and weakness. They can explore numerous different styles in the knowledge that should they get anywhere near embarassing territory, such as the Lenny Kravitz sound-a-like "Freedom of 76", that they can chuck in a few daft lyrics, arch an eyebrow and claim they're being ironic. But they also run the danger, as shown by their 1993 hit-single "Push Th' Little Daisies", of being perceived as a novelty act - a sort of Weird Al Yankovic for the hip. There's less discordant weirdness and personal in-jokes than before, making the whole thing more accessible to the outsider than previous outings but the 40 buck guitar and bossanova auto-rhythm keyboard remain to frighten off anyone coming in here expecting the professional weirdness of someone like Frank Zappa or Mr. Bungle. The simplistic nature of the songs means there's always a danger that they won't bear up to too many repeated listens - it's all very well writing catchy little ditties but a bit of depth to the arrangements helps keep the interest. But for the meantime, with the exception of a couple of unfunny jokes claiming to be songs, this is another fine and varied album from Dean and Gene Ween. --- REVIEW: The Cogs, _Absolute Ween_ (Bear Records) - Martin Bate Making your first release a 5-track EP of Ween covers is a gloriously stupid idea worthy of someone like.....well Ween actually! New York band The Cogs decided that being a two piece and recording in their bedroom, that it would be a good idea to put out an EP of songs originally recorded by their heroes Ween, a band who operate under similar circumstances. So, they picked their favorites - two apiece from _God, Ween, Satan_ and _The Pod_ and one from their 'hit' album _Pure Guava_ - recorded them and put them out. The songs chosen are some of Ween's more straight-forward musical moments - pretty much 70's rock meets 80's trash-pop with a Zappa-esque approach to lyrics - and the performances here are straight readings, give or take the occasional tweak in the pace. Stand-outs are the T-Rex tongue-in-cheek gasp of "Captain Fantasy" and the slack-as-hell "Birthday Boy" which is lo-fi with the best of them. The big question though is, why make your first release a cover of some other, in particular almost a cult, band's songs ? Sure it's liable to draw attention but aren't they running the risk of being seen as "that band who did the Ween covers EP" for at least the near future ? The Cogs have now extended to a five-piece and will be putting out some of their own material in the near future, so it's best to wait for that. For the meantime this is a good little EP which unfortunately may only amount to little more than a curio for Ween fans. If you can't find _Absolute Ween_ in your local store, it can be ordered by mail for $7 from: Bear Records, JAF Box 444, New York, NY 10116 Canadian orders must send $11. --- MORRISSEY NEWS The new Morrissey single, "Boxers", has an American release date of January 31. All songs on the single, including the B-sides "Have-A-Go Merchant" and "Whatever Happens, I Love You" will appear on his forthcoming compilation album, _The World Of Morrissey_. _World_, which has a release date of February 21, also includes several live tracks from the European import, _Beethoven Was Deaf_; several B-sides from other U.S. singles, and a few other (previously released) songs. Plans for an American vinyl release of _The World Of Morrissey_ were cancelled at the last minute. Morrissey will be playing some European tour dates in February and is planning a more complete worldwide tour in conjunction with a brand new album, tentatively slated for late summer/early fall 1995. --- DEL AMITRI NEWS Del Amitri, best known in the U.S. for their hit song "The Last To Know", are releasing their new album, _Twisted_, in the U.K. on February 27th. The first single, "Here and Now", will be issued on February 6; the followup, "Driving With The Brakes On", is scheduled for a March 13 release date. --- RAKE'S PROGRESS NEWS New York City's The Rake's Progress will be playing a gig previewing their new album on AlMo Records on February 22 at New York's Irving Plaza. --- Canada's Barenaked Ladies are out on tour in support of their second Sire album, _Maybe You Should Drive_. Here are the dates: Jan 31, Pittsburgh, PA Metropolis Feb. 1, Grand Rapids, MI Calvin College Feb. 2, Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theater Feb. 3, Cleveland, OH Odeon Feb. 4, Chicago, IL Park West Feb. 7, Rochester, NY Rochester Auditorium Feb. 8, Jamestown, NY Jamestown University Feb. 9, Genessee, NY SUNY-Genessee Feb. 10, Boston, MA Berklee Theatre Feb. 11, Portland, ME State Theatre Feb. 14, New Orleans, LA House Of Blues Feb. 22, Capistrano, CA Coach House Feb. 23, Los Angeles, CA Wadsworth Theater-UCLA Feb. 25, Ventura, CA Ventura Theatre Feb. 26, San Francisco, CA Fillmore Theatre Jules Shear is no longer an opening act on the tour. --- Arista recording artists the Cranes will be on tour in support of their latest release, _Loved_. Tour dates are as follows: Feb. 7 Providence, RI Lupo's Feb. 8 Boston, MA Middle East Feb. 9 New York, NY Tramps Feb. 10 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Feb. 11 Augusta, GA Post Office Feb. 13 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Feb. 17 Austin, TX Liberty Lunch Feb. 18 Dallas, TX TBA Feb. 20 Tempe, AZ Gibson's Feb. 21 Los Angeles, CA Whiskey Feb. 22, San Francisco, CA Slim's Feb. 23, Las Vegas, NV UNLV --- The hot British band Oasis will be on tour in support of their Epic debut album, _Definitely Maybe_. Opening acts for the first half of the tour will be local bands; Velvet Crush will support Oasis during the month of March. Jan. 28 Seattle, WA DV8 Jan. 29 Vancouver, B.C. Starfish Room Jan. 30 Portland, OR Roseland Theatre Feb. 1 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore Feb. 3 Los Angeles, CA The Palace Feb. 4 San Diego, CA Club Soma Feb. 5 Mesa, AZ Nile Theater Feb. 7 Salt Lake City, UT Bar & Grill Feb. 9 Denver, CO Bluebird Theatre Feb. 11 Dallas, TX Deep Ellum Live Feb. 12 Austin, TX Liberty Lunch Feb. 13 Houston, TX Urban Art Bar Feb. 15 Memphis, TN New Daisy Theatre Feb. 17 Carborro, NC Cat's Cradle Feb. 18 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade March 3 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony March 5 Virginia Beach, VA The Abyss March 7 Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of Living Arts March 8 New York, NY The Academy March 10 Providence, RI Lupo's March 12 Montreal, Quebec Club Soda March 14 Toronto, ON Phoenix Theatre March 15 Cleveland, OH The Odeon March 16 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's Hall March 18 Indianapolis, IN Tyndale Armory March 19 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre March 20 Grand Rapids, MI Orbit Room March 25 Milwaukee, WI The Rave at Eagle's --- Columbia recording artist London Suede will be on tour to support their latest release, _Dog Man Star_. Opening act American Music Club has cancelled off the bill; no new support has been named at press time. Feb. 6-7 London, UK Feb. 10 Washington, DC WUST Music Hall Feb. 11 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts Feb. 12 Providence, RI Lupo's Feb. 14 New York, NY Manhattan Center Ballroom Feb. 15 Boston, MA Axis Feb. 17 Toronto, ONT RPM Warehouse Feb. 18 Montreal, Quebec Club Soda Feb. 20 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall Feb. 21 Chicago, IL Cabaret Metro Feb. 22 St. Louis, MO TBA Feb. 24 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Feb. 26 Houston, TX Numbers Feb. 27 Dallas, TX Trees March 2 Tempe, AZ TBA March 3 Los Angeles, CA The Palace March 4 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore --- INTERVIEW: Echolyn (soon to be released on Epic) - Dan Enright I'm fortunate enough to live in an area with a remarkable public radio station. A weekly show called Homegrown music, hosted by George Graham, brings the best original musicians from around this region (Northeast US) to perform at WVIA (89.9 FM). Once a month the program features two hours of live music, usually divided between two bands or musicians doing one hour performances. When George told me that Echolyn, a band from Philadelphia, would be performing on January's live show, I knew I should check them out - George is NEVER wrong). They're a five piece ensemble, featuring Chris Busby on keyboards and vocals, Tom Hyatt on bass and midi pedals, Paul Ramsey on drums and percussion, Brett Kull on guitar and vocals, and Ray Weston doing the singing. George had teased me - they'd just been signed to Epic, they played progressive rock and roll (names like Gentle Giant, and Happy the Man were dropped), and the last time they performed live on his program they tore the roof off the studio. That was enough for me. I immediately made arrangements to interview a couple members, to help get the word out locally about the show. In the process, I learned they'd already released three albums on their own label (Bridge Records - now out of print), the new album would be released in late February or early March, and I'd be able to talk to Brett (Kull) and Ray (Weston). Musicians working in the progressive genre are few and far between. I rarely hear them on the radio (even the so called alternative/college stations) and most of the bands, it seems, are from overseas. Thinking, maybe that's because progressive music is more popular in Europe than the United States, I asked them what kind of audience response they were getting. Ray disputed my theory, "There's been strong pockets down in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, out in Michigan, and we have people here in Philly and up in Canada. The people are intense. They're finding out our style of music is very refreshing to hear. I'd like to do this in the United States before we even worry about going over to Europe, although it's very alluring. We'd have a good time." Brett added, "I agree with Ray. It always seems like the grass is greener elsewhere. It's always hard work doing this sort of thing, like "Wow man, if we play over there it's going to be easier to get some success." The thing about the United States is, it's spread out as far as the people that are potentially into what we're doing. Whereas in Europe, the density of the population and everything, it's not as spread out so maybe that's why it seems like it would be easier for the people to dig what we're doing, over there." I figured that it must be a love of the genre that inspired them. Brett quickly straightened me out. "To be completely honest, myself and Paul are the only ones that really listen to anything like that. I really dig early Genesis, Yes, and the Gentle Giant stuff but at the same time I grew up listening to Zeppelin, the Beatles - all that. But the other guys didn't listen to anything at all like that, really." "We figured whatever pushes our buttons, as far as songwritting, let's just do that. It comes out as being eclectic only because there's five people contributing to the music. As far as the progressive thing goes, we definitely are progressive. But our definition of it is, having no boundaries - in a sense of we'll do whatever the hell we want. Whether it's jazz, classical, a combination thereof, or rock and roll. A lot of those "progressive" bands back in the '70s killed themselves because they got into a regimented formulae, rather than doing what the true sense of the word was - breaking down barriers and just playing and exploring the potential of the music." I had heard Brett and Chris were the main songwriters, but now it seemed like the band wrote as a whole. Brett clarified the procedure for me. "Whether it's a basic outline for a whole song or a little riff and then it builds from there, a person will - whether it'll be Chris or I - present it to the rest of the band and we'll spend the whole afternoon bashing it out, seeing what happens. It comes down to everybody contributing. Ray will be "Man, this is something I really want to work on lyrically," so he'll take over on it. We all make tapes, take it home, try to come up with ideas, and work on the arrangement. It's cool because we all get along that way..." I interrupted him, "You do homework? That's really rare for a band..." Brett chuckled, "Yeah, we have a blast doing that. That's the one thing I like doing the most, just workin' on new songs. It's great to have that finished product. It's like "Ahh, we're finally done!" I figured they must produce a lot of material! Brett confirmed it, "It seems like we write all the time. When I play guitar at home I'm constantly working on new stuff. I should be practicing the old songs [we all laughed], but I know Chris is the same way. With Ray, every time I see him he's jotting things down in his note book..." Ray broke in laughing, "Not that they make any sense!" Too much material, maybe? Brett agreed, "You know, you've got a point there. We always want to do as much as we possibly can. And the album... there's so many different things on there, it might be confusing to people. But to us, it's cool there's such a variety of things. We wrote the songs for *As The World*, how long ago?" he asked Ray. "All of them are a year old by now..." he replied. Brett continued "Now we're finally getting a chance to play them, which is cool, but we want to start writing again. We're probably not going to get to another album for at least a year because the album will be out... March 7th is the new date and from there we'll be on tour, trying to promote the album. Guess we'll be workin' on stuff in hotel rooms. [they both laughed]" Since I was going to see them perform before I heard their albums, I asked if the live versions were the same as the recordings or if there was room for improvisation. Brett replied, "As far as improvisation, we keep everything the way it is on the album . I mean, it's written a certain way to... get a... point across. Whew! [they both laughed] For pre-production and shit we were working on the songs for about a month trying to get 'em tight. Then we spent three months recording them. So they turn out a certain way." "But it's amazing because you get out on the road, you start playing, and these other emotional things start happening with the songs. It's pretty cool. There are some spots where different things are happening - slightly different - but other than that, we spent a lot of time making the songs as good as possible and we really try to capture that vocally and musically." I was also curious if their albums differed from one another. "We keep trying to go forward as far as pushing ourselves." explained Brett, "Like on this new album. We did a lot more stuff with vocals, harmony wise, which is another whole step ahead. We really pushed ourselves a lot in that direction. I know Chris wanted to use more piano on this album, we did that. There's B-3 on this album, which we wanted to use. That's about it really. We do try to do different things on every album." Ray explained, "We had the opportunity to have more things because Sony helped foot the bill for us." Brett gave me an example, "We kind of experimented on the last three albums with strings - real string players - but this time we had a chance to use a whole ensemble, I think there was an 11 or 12 piece ensemble, which is really nice." I interrupted, to ask if they could perform those songs live. Brett warmly replied, "I'm glad you brought that up. Chris' parts... what he's doing is layering piano parts with string parts, so you don't miss it at all. We made sure the songs stand on their own in the live versions before we went to the studio versions. So by taking something away - in a minor sense - it's still going to work. There's two songs we used the whole ensemble on and they're great live. They have their own characteristics and, like I said, Chris layers his piano with some string stuff so you don't miss it at all. When we were writing this, we wanted to play these songs out." "There is one song we don't play out, the intro to the first song on the album - *Always the Same*. Chris specifically wrote it with vocal part, accompaniment, and strings. We knew we weren't going to play it live. It's about 45 seconds long and it's cool, because you pop it on the DAT machine and come out to it. It's pretty intense." --- THE READERS WRITE BACK! I've been an American Music Club fan since the release of _California_ and have seen them live about 8 or 9 times. I saw them at (New York City's) Knitting Factory sometime in mid-December and was disappointed for the first time. Everyone is trying to "rock out" now, and the nice thing about AMC was that they acheived the same goal as those who do rock out, without actually doing it. I missed Bruce Kaplan, I guess. Oh well, maybe next time. Alan, New York City --- To get back issues of Consumable, check out: FTP: eetsg22.bd.psu.edu in the directory /pub/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 (on 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 ===