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Steve Drake
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The Nerve Tubes
DiScORDER
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866 GRANVILLE STREET, VANCOUVER. B.C. V6Z 1 K3 • (604) 669-6644
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Jncludrng a vast selection of danc^oriented twelve inch singles
tout
imports,
Hp DiScORDER
a guide to CITRcZToo,
May, 1985       T
Vol. 3 No. 4
Editor
Chris Dafoe
Contributors
David Firman, Dave Watson,
Jay Leslie, Nancy Smith,
Steve Robertson, Julia Steele
Pat Carroll, Jason Grant,
Don Chow, Steve Edge,  Garnet Harry
Photos
Ross Cameron, Dave Watson
Cartoons
R. Fi I brant
Productu n
Dave Ba,
Layout
Dorothy Cameron,
Ross Cameron, Harry Hertscheg
Program Guide
Fiona Mack ay
Typesetting
Dena Corby, Dorothy Cameron
Cover
Steve Drake by Ross Cameron
Advertising/Circulation
Harry Hertscheg
228-3917
Subscribe to
DISCORDER
$9 in Canada
$12 outside Canada
6138 SUB Blvd., Vancouver, B.C.
In This Issue
6... Shindig
10... Dave Boswell
14... SLOW
16... Paul Dolden
Win, Place and Show— a look at (he
winners of the April 8th battle
CITR's David Firman talks to the creator of
Reid Flemming, World's Toughest Milkman
Dave Watson discovers a frenetic explosion
of loose, fun adolescent energy
Jay Leslie interviews one of Vancouver's
finest composers, musicians and performers
In Every Issue
T» • •    AirilCdil feedback from the listeners and readers
12... CITR Program
vjUltlv a new easy-to-understand format
10 • • •     T Iflj I    T villi VI David Moss, Enigmas, Poisoned, plus...
LI   % % %    13111 illvd Madonna, The New Christs, and more
LL % % %   UvlllU   jLJvl Uj local bands expose themselves on tape
DOWNTOWN
A&A Records 4 Tapes
Arts Club on Seymour
Black Market
Bronx Clothing
Cafe Zen
Camouflage Cutting
Collector's RPM. Records
Concert Box Offices
Confetti
Discus Music World
(Pacific Centre)
Duthie Books
The Edge
F 451 Books
The OanoVdancer
Kelly's Electronic World
luv^A-Fair
MacLeod's Books
Montgomery Cafe
Odyssey Imports
Railway Ctub
Revolutions
Studio Cinema
Vancouver Ticket Centre
The Web Clothing
Wbfttaker's Oo Seymour
GASTOWN
Afterimage Photo Service
Basin Street
BeBop!
Stack Cat Accessories
The Block
Cabbages & Kinx Clothing
Cue Hair Studio
Deluxe Junk Clothing
Fireball Theatre
Golden Era Clothing -
John Barley's Cabaret
Metropolis
Minus Zero Leather Works
M.SR Records
Phunk 'n Hair
Pow-Wow Clothing
Re-Runs Recycled Apparel
The Savoy Nightclub
Sissy Boy Clothing
Smiim" Buddha Cabaret
Track Records
Video Inn
The Waterfront Corral!
Zstei Records 4 Tapes
ZZ. .West
EAST StDE
Bikes On Broadway
Camosun Aquaria
Changes C^onsighmeot
Clothing
Collector's R.PM. Records
Cut Price Records
Highlife Records a. Music
Kelly's Electronic World
{Oakridge)
Neptoon Collectors'
Records
New York Theatre
Not Just Another
MusscShop
Octupus Books East
People's Co-op Bookstore
Store No. 1
Vancouver East Cinema
Vancouver East Cultural
Centre
Vancouver Folk Music
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vtions
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A Piece of Cake
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Video Stop
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RICHMOND
A 4 A Records & Tapes:
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Cubbyhole Books
Ke8y 3 Electronic World
(Lansdown)
Pauls Music Sales 4
Sam the Record Man
NEW
WESTMINSTER
Courthouse Studios
Kelly's Electronic World DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
May 1985
Dear Airheads,
"CITR is the only campus radio
station in Canada that does not
have any on-air commercial revenues."
"Survey" DISCORDER
Feb. 1985, p. 19
If ignorance is bliss, then the
CITR staff must be a group of really
happy guys and gals. If the self-
proclaimed defenders of commercial-free rock would just look past
their egos, then they would notice
CFUV 105.1 FM broadcasting glorious, non-commercial programming from the besieged towers of the
University of Victoria.
Our dedicated volunteers self-
lessly sacrifice themselves on the
altar of freedom to fight a never-
ending war against commercial
radio by putting forth quality
underground, independent music,
only to have a lot of self-interested
defenders of the faith claim that
they are the ONLY ONES. The insult really grabs us where we live.
In sum, CFUV's 50 watts of gut-
wrenching, ear-splitting power also
operates with no intake of commercial revenues.
Non-commercially yours,
Lynne Curry
Dale Starr
Sincerest apologies. Our mistake.
Dear Airhead,
Congratulations on covering the
musical bases with the March '85
Article on Old & New Dreams.
There are, however, a few necessary adjustments to be made to the
content.
First off, that's Ornette Coleman,
PLEASE! Any intentional pun regarding the state of Ornette's art
would reveal the author's lack of
sense of his current work. (Check
out "Dancing In Your Head" from
Jamaaladeen Tacuma's latest LP
Renaissance Man; or better yet,
catch Ornette live!
Historically speaking, Don
Cherry (that's a pocket trumpet by
the way) and Ed Blackwell first
began working out with Ornette in
L.A. around 1954/55. At that time
they were challenging conventional
bebop structures on the way to
Free Jazz, recorded in 1960. Dewey
Redman did not appear on Free
Jazz, the other horn player of the
double quartet was Eric Dolphy.
Dewey hung out with Ornette during high school days in Fort Worth,
Texas, but did not begin playing
with Ornette's band until 1968.
I could go on about the music
being neither atonal nor dissonant
but altogether blue. . .Yes, these
musicians are undisputable masters of their art; an art form that will
progress with or without Wynton
Marsalis. Ornette stimulates Old &
New  Dreams;  the question  is,
when will Vancouver wake up?
Sincerely
The Last of the Hipmen
Dear Airhead,
JUST LISTENING TO THE
"NEW" EXTENDED PLAYLIST
SHO (AND THE STATION AS A
HOLE)
OOHOOHOOHTOOCOOLTOBEB
ELIEVED.YEAHUHUH.CUMCUM
CUMCUMCUMMERCIALTOOT
OOTEDIOUS.PROGRESSIVECO
NSERVATIVEMUSIC.CONTRADI
CTIONINTERMS.STALECONSER
VATIVEBEATBEATBEATBEATITIN
TOTHEGROUNDPSEUDOFUNK.
ARENTWESORADICAL.NONO
NONOKNOWITALL.EVERSOWO
RLDYBUTBEHOMEINTIMEFOR
DINNER.OOHOOHOOHIMSOAF
RAIDOFTHINGSIDONTUNDERS
TAND.ALTERNATIVEHYPOCRIT
ES.HOWCANIUNDERSTANDTHIS
THINGCALLEDNEWMUSIC.IFAN
DONLYIFITDOESNTTAKEANYEF
FORT.G ITGITGITGITG UITARWAN
KANGSTWANKSTREMEMBERKI
SS IWANNAROCKANDROLLALL
NIGHTCONNECTTHE DOTS.WHY
DOYOUBOTHER.HOWDOYOUD
AREWHENYOUJUSTDONTCARE
.YOUREJUSTTHERETOBECOOL
DJS(SIC(K)).GOODTHINGTHATYO
USUPPORTLOCALMUSIC.BUTO
NLYIFITFITSINTOYOURINCREDI
BLENARROWVISIONOFWHATAL
TERNATIVEMUSICIS.ASSHOLES
.LETSDANCEORREADTHEENEM
Y(NME).FEEDTHEENEMYHIGH
POWERMERGINGWITHTHEFOX.
CUTCUTCUTPOWER.SAVEUSF
ROMTHISMASTERBATIONONTH
EAIRWAVESWEGOBLINDBLIND.
THATS ALL
HEATHER VACHON
RS.IAMWORKINGONATIMEMAC
HINESOTHATICANTRANSPORT
AGOODMANYOFYOUBACKTOTH
EMID60S,ATIMEPERIODINPOP
HISTORYTHATSEEMSTOBEYOU
RGOALINRECREATING.
After countless hours of rumination and intensive research, we
have come to the astounding
conclusion that Heather doesn't
like us very much. We felt com-
RH6aJ>
ssssssssssssss&ssssssss
c/o CITR Radio
6138 S.U.B. Blvd.
Vancouver, B.C.
V6T 2A5
pelled to probe further. To our
amazement, we discovered that
the Vachon series had originally
been manufactured and programmed to spew out verses for
numerous greeting card companies, but were recalled en
masse when it was discovered
that the units were spending a
good deal of their time sending
hate mail to random individuals
and organizations. Efforts to
reprogram the units for use in
automated radio stations were
also a dismal failure and several
cases were reported in which the
unit ceased playing music and
simply repeated "It's all shit"
over and over again.
Dear Airhead,
Hi guys! Hey, it's great to see a
Heavy Metal show on the airwaves.
Finally CITR tosses away it's pretense and musical discrimination
in order for the radio to become an
open forum for neglected musical
styles. Oh by the way, my uncle
Herb wants to know if he can host
an all-Polka show. Also, can you
please start up an all-Country show
('WX doesn't cut it...)? My mum
wants to hear a show of stuff that
CHQM won't play (because they
think Percy Faith is too radical).
Please start to cater to these listeners as well.
Thanks
Steve Backer
In deciding whether or not to air
a heavy metal show, our programming committee was faced
with a dilemma. They could
either sanction the show, thereby affirming its legitimacy as
specialty programming (i.e.
reggae, classical, folk, African
shows, etc.) or they could reject
the show based upon the widely-
held notion that heavy metal is
a worthless genre. That would be
a judgement call, predicated
solely upon personal taste and
I'm sure you'll agree that it would
set a dangerous policy precedent for the station. So there it
is, a large can of worms...now
EAT!
March 30, 1985 — CITR sent its
application for an increase in
power to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications
Commission. Included in the application were the reasons CITR
thinks it deserves to have its wattage increased from the present 49
watts to a potential 4900 watts.
1.) The University of B.C. has
one of the lowest percentage of
students living on or near campus
in the country. Of the 25,000
students attending UBC there is
housing for 3,400 singles in the
residences, and 390 family housing units. This means there are a
significant number of students living off-campus who may or may
not be able to pick up our signal.
2.) Because of the topography
of our listening area, the hills and
valleys of Vancouver, reception of
CITR's signal in many parts of the
city is either impossible or sporadic. We often received calls from
people who would like to tune us
in but are unable to receive a good
quality signal. And while CITR is
available on a number of cable
systems the distance between our
transmitters and the cable systems
head end, where they pick up our
signal, means that the cable signal
often is not significantly better than
that available through the air.
CITR needs your help to convince the CRTC that we are deserving of a stronger signal. The Commission pays attention to the letters
it gets from the community in support of an application. You can help
by writing%iendly letters of support
to the CRTC.
Your letters should
be addressed to:
Fernand Belisle
Secretary General
CRTC
100 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N2
and should refer to
Application #851106500.
Things you might want to mention in your letter include:
•any reception problems you might
have had over the last four years;
•why you like listening to CITR (i.e.
music, public affairs, specialty
shows, news, sports, no commercials, fund-raising drives, or bake
sales);
•if you a student and cannot receive the station, you might mention that you are currently paying
for a station you cannot receive.
It would be greatly appreciated
if you could send us a duplicate of
your letter for our files. We're
always interested in what our listeners think of us. BARGAIN MATINEES EVERY DAY
ALL SEATS
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JOHU~SAYLE'S FILM IS A TRUE
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FROM OUTER SPACE.
HIGHLY IMAGINATIVE, SCI-
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ROCKY HORROR
POSTERS and the
official ROCKY
HORROR BOOK
are now available
at the Studio.
Soundtrack
available at
Revolutions.
M SUBJECT TO CMAWQg WITHOUT NOnCI |
Mew
1985^
MMIK]
DOUG McKEON
CATHERINE MARY STEWART
Iv^frTOlTOfSATl
All he needed
wes a lucky
break.  Then one
day she moved in.
MATTHEW MODINE
LINDA FIORENTINO
&^
VISION QUEST - GOOD PERFORMANCES IN THIS TALE ABOUT A VIRGINAL
HIGHSCHOOL WRESTLER AND A 21 YEAR OLD EXPERIENCED DRIFTER.
MISCHIEF - SMALL TOWN COMEDY NOSTALGIA SET IN THE 50s.
MARK HAMILL • HARRISON FORD • CARRIE
FRANK: A BRILLIANTLY COMIC SEND UP OF
THE GOTHIC FABLE WITH OUTSTANDING
PERFORMANCES BY THE ENTIRE TROUP.
Exclusive! First Run Engagement!
STARTS WEDNESDAY
Maq is
"LUST IN THE DUST," the new comic western
offers enough amusing horsepucky to fill a small box canyon.
He rode the west...the girls rode the rest\[
Together they ravaged the land!
T'uvth^U
TAB HUNTER • LA1NIE KAZAN
Ninfa: The hooker
with the chest of gold.
Hardcase Williams:
They called him
garbage wrapped in
human skin.
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DIRECTED BY PAUL BARTEL
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.mm^m M talking heads in raft*
Saturday I ST°P MAKING SENSE UIH
THF
MAY 18TH DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
May 1985
IMAGINE, IF YOU WILL, returning home one day to discover
that tragedy has struck your quiet
life. Yes, your cretin roommate has
left your favorite album leaning on
a HEATER. The unfortunate result
is a half-melted  piece of disc
shaped vinyl. Heartbroken you
place the still-cooling artifact on
your turntable, put the needle to
vinyl and ...your ears perceive
something that sounds like a
musical cage match between the
Sex Pistols and the Archies (with
Reggie, Jughead, Vernonica, et al.
getting badly curb stomped). This
is something close to what Shindig winners the Nerve Tubes
sound like.
Fronted by Steven Drake (a man
with a predilection for appearing
on stage clad only in a red polka-
dot transparent raincoat and his
trusty six-string guitar) and backed up by Onimod on keyboards, Oz
playing the bass, and Mr. Bob
drumming, the Nerve Tubes are
more fun than a bag of plastic
hammers. With songs like "Sex-
ville" ("sex without love is sex without love is sex without love..."), "HI
I.Q." ("I've got a high IQ, do you
understand? Maybe you don't understand? I've got a high IQ...") and
"Back From the Grave" ("our Easter song"), you'd get the impression these guys don't take anything
too seriously. Drake, who writes
most of the songs, finds inspiration
for his ditties everywhere (i.e. "Kiss
Me Carl" was written after overhearing a conversation on the bus),
everywhere but in the usual stomping grounds of 'alternative' bands
...politics. The whole attitude of the
band on this topic could be summed up as something along the
lines of "Reagan doesn't effect the
way I get up in the morning." It's
therefore little wonder that the big
hairs have expressed some fairly
vocal doubts about this band. Primarily that these guys are just a
bunch of (gasp!!) experienced
musicians (double gasp!!!) who're
out to take the piss out of the whole
Shindig / hardcore / alternative
scene.
This, according to the band, is
somewhat incorrect (but only
somewhat). First, they genuinely
like the idea of being in a band
which stands or falls solely on its
live shows. They say they wrote
their songs "in the time it takes to
play them," and the results are
often fairly precarious and only
manage to 'cut it' because of the
sheer exuberance with which the
band plays them. Which is, of
course, what the whole 'alternative
scene' started out as...a reaction to
the over-produced drivel served up
by the major record labels. On the
other hand, as Drake pointed out
on stage, the 'alternative scene' is
becoming, in its own way, as conservative as the Top 40 music
thing. It seems there is an idea that
you've got to have spiked hair, ripped T-shirts and black leather, or
else (as shown by the somewhat
violent reaction of the more extreme Death Sentence/NG3 fans to
the announcement of the Nerve
Tubes victory). Finally, so what if
these guys play in other bands? In
the words of the man in the rain- DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
coat, "We've got to make a living
too" (if it makes you any happier,
think of them as people who've got
day jobs they don't mind, but who'd
much rather play in their band).
So what's next for the Nerve
Tubes? First, they, like all the Shindig finalists (Red Herring, Rhythm
Mission, My Three Sons, Death
Sentence and NG3) will all be on
the Shindig: Live At The Savoy
album due out in June. With the
time they've won they'll probably
release a cassette, and there are
rumours of a backing gig at the
Commodore.
—Pat Carroll
final tainted by controversy, but
they are by no means bitter.
"They were looking for a commercial band, but we didn't expect
to win anyway, so we're pretty content with second place," bassist
Tim said later when I horned in on
their practice time (they wanted to
watch the NHL playoffs) at the
Plaza, home of the hitmakers. We
discussed hardcore in the marketplace for quite some time, and I left
feeling that Death Sentence is
eager and committed enough to
break to the front of Vancouver's
hardcore ranks.
Their music is aggressive, loud,
Steve Drake of The Nerve Tubes
THE SCENE OF the Crime:
The Savoy
Suspects: Death Sentence Fans
and Friends
The Charge: Physically Assaulting
a Helpless MC
Death Sentence pleads not guilty, charging provocation on the part
of the judges. "By making their
decision, the judges insulted the
audience in a way, but we realize
as a hardcore band that we tend
to get overlooked." 'Nuff said on
that touchy subject. Death Sentence finished second in a Shindig
and full of idealistic energy. Drummer Doug and guitarist Pete burn
with indignation when we talk
about money, the upper classes,
and Top 40 bands. They all talk at
once when we discuss hardcore as
a music form, the art of being poor,
and skateboarding.
"This Death Sentence has been
around as a three-piece since late
October. Before that we were a
four-piece, and we did a tour of
California like that last summer.
Before that it was different people
except for Pete," says Tim. Pete
adds that "the name Death Sen-
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Friday May 10
Karambe Part 2
A Tribute to
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featuring
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doors open at 7:30 p.m.
$10.50
TICKETS May 10 Vancouver Ticket Centre & outlets, Zulu Records
Highlife Records, B.K. Printers, Indo-Caribbean Spice Mart &
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For more information call 684-8494.
Saturday May 11
Spring into Summer
with
• 54*40
• Family Plot
• Red Herring
• Bob's Your Uncle
\joors open at 8 p.m.
$7
334- P&Jp&lvC DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
tence has been around about three
and a half years, but before we met
Sid, our old guitarist, we had no
connections, so we just fucked
around in town, spinning our
wheels so to speak. We worked
harder then, but now we're more
musically sound. Since Doug joined the band, our drum sound has
totally changed, and we're working
on more complicated rhythms."
"Like jazz-rock fusion," ventures
Tim, only half-joking. At their show
April 12th at the York, Pete was on
shaky ground, the cold so much in
evidence during our interview,
practically knocking him out. Still
the band's set was so solid, so jam-
packed with thrills, spills, and
tempo-changes that I, for one, will
attend the next show with bated
breath. As Pete says, Doug is an
excellent drummer and he spiced
up their sound tremendously, flowing smoothly in and out of difficult
speed shifts. I was also impressed
with Tim's bass playing. At the
speeds Death Sentence plays the
bass player's timing and accuracy
are crucial; Tim came prepared.
The band plans to use the studio
time they won in Shindig to re-
record three songs from a demo-
tape and hope to release the result
as an EP. They are also working on
a song for a local single to benefit
the Food Bank. Success, in Death
Sentence terms, is coming.
"You have to make some money
in order to live, but my idea of success for Death Sentence is when
people come out to see us and say
'Man, you guys kick ass, you really
shred when you play live. . .'. That
is really important to me," says
Doug.
Peter and Tim offer some friendly, yet earnest advice to upcoming
hardcore bands. "The thing with a
lot of hardcore bands is—and there
could be more of them, and good
ones too—that somehow they figure, 'Oh, we're not going to get far
anyway' You can't expect things to
happen right away, it takes a long
time. Look at DOA, they've been
around a while and it's taken them
seven or eight years to get where
they want to be. People go into it
for the studs and mohawks, but
that wears off very quickly. You've
got to work so hard, because hardcore is picking up, and only the
best bands are going to make it."
Death Sentence look like they
are going to make it. It would be
almost criminal if they didn't.
—Jason Grant
NO MORE MALLS!
THERE  IS AN   ALTERNATIVE
CORDOVA STREET
.* DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
IT WAS A cold Thursday night
when I ventured out to interview
NG3—No Gods, No Guns, No
Government. I'd forgotten the address, but I sort of know the general area they lived in. So I knocked on this door, and an elderly man
opened it as far as he could without undoing the ten or twenty
chains bolted to the door and the
adjoining wall. He thought I was a
granny basher. I could tell, anyway,
that it wasn't the house.
The door of the house next to it
was answered by this non-English-
speaking Italian woman whose
hairy huband leered at me from
across the hall. They didn't know
where NG3 lived either.
I found the house eventually, but
most of the band had gone out to
buy beer. So I just sat around talking to Neil Burns, who plays guitar
and sings. He told me that the
band was: Jime Nicholson on
bass, Oddnoxious on drums, and
John Frymire on the guitar and
vocals.
Jime and Odd returned with
beer in hand, and the interview
began. NG3 didn't seem to have
much to say about anything. They
did, however, give great descriptions about drinking and lying on
the beach.
Q: So what did you guys think of
the whole Shindig thing?
A: "I feel completely ripped off."
"Yeah, according to what you
heard, although I never heart that."
"...It's just a rumour...Perryscope
was going to pull out their prize if
a hardcore band won and stuff like
that, eh..."
"I thought Death Sentence
should have won..."
"I thought we should have come
in second..."
"We'll never play a competition
again."
"It's just like a beauty contest,
some girls do different songs better."
Q: What about politics?
A: "John's a lot more political than
we are."
I found out that John wouldn't be
present for the interview. He was
off tree-planting on Vancouver
Island. I asked the remaining
members of the band about their
songs and if they had a particular
favorite. They hemmed and hawed
and then Neil started singing:
" The amount of food we throw
away is enough to feed the world.'
It's sort of a message song, eh?"
Q: So you guys are real careful
about your food intake.
A: "What food intake?"
"Kraft Dinner and beans."
Q: So you guys don't throw stuff
away then?
A: "This girl gave us this box of rotting vegetables..."
"We threw that away."
"It was a nice gesture..."
Neil adds, "They wouldn't touch
them, but I ate them. Well, some
of them."
What I find incredible about this
band is the fact that they've only
been together since October, and
have only played seven live gigs,
including their three Shindig appearances. They are still a really
young band, and seem pretty
enthusiastic about the hardcore
scene. With a little bit of time, I
believe they could become a fairly
decent hardcore outfit.
—Julia Steele
CITR & THE SAVOY presents
HIGH POWER
LOW BUDGET
A CITR Benefit
highlighting 24 of
Vancouver's best
independent acts.
Eight evenings
Mon.-Thu. May 6-9
Mon.-Thu. May 13-16
Each night
Three Big Bands
for only
Two Low Bucks
Featuring
POISONED   •   ENIGMAS
A CAST OF THOUSANDS
HOUSE OF COMMONS
DEATH SENTENCE
NG3•GO FOUR 3
NO MEANS NO
and many more
Tkes., May 14:
Fast Forward
presents
EXPERIMENTAL
MUSIC NIGHT
savov
6 Powell St.
Doors open at 7:30
Listen to
CITR
for details ,
DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
Latin Lovers &
Mangy Milkmen
111 want to thwart all expectations with Reid
I Flefning," says comic book artist David
Boswell.-And indeed, even the concept of Reid
Flemingsounds like a bad joke after an all-night
party. What kind of character can live up to the
billing: "World's Toughest Milkman"?
Fleming manages to fill the role quite nicely.
He is short, squat,
an interview with
Dave Boswell
CMOM, 51.06-DCfciT
HIDE BEHIMD THE
LRDY^S  CORT-TailS
and ugly. He is invariably late with deliveries, and a complaint is likely to result
only in a couple of bottles emptied into the
goldfish bowl. Bos-
well's creation is not a
very selective guy. He
picks on everyone, the
weak and the strong,
and he has no redeeming feature. He's
IM NOT
so horrible you have to like him, at least a little.
In contrast to Reid, Boswell is lean and lanky.
He has been interested in comic strips since he
was six. By the time he was 12 he could see
something was beginning to happen when he sat
down to draw. His first solid attempt at a strip was
called Jack Coal—Detective. Lazlo, the star of
David's latest release, Heartbreak Comics, bears
some resemblance to Jack Coal.
Boswell decided that comic strips might be
worth a go, and he attempted to improve his skill
by applying to the illustration course at Sheridan
College in Toronto. He got sidetracked and, after
enrolling in a general course, he started working on a film. He finished college, and the film,
in 1974.
Lazlo emerged from the sketchbook on July
2nd, 1975. He is a lover in the European tradition, because, as Boswell quips, "you never hear
of great Canadian lovers."
Boswell's two leading men are cut from radically different cloth. It is impossible to compare Reid
and Lazlo. Though they cross paths, they exist
on completely different planes, and move in
markedly different settings. Reid Fleming operates in simple geometric sets that emphasize
action through understatement. Lazlo lives in a
world full of gradiations of shadow and line.
After Lazlo's appearance Boswell was forced,
of economic necessity, to work as a darkroom
technician. But in 1977 he heard that the New
Yorker was paying $600 for a cartoon. He submitted comics to the New Yorker, Playboy, Esquire
and the Village Voice, but without success.
As for the Georgia Straight, David claims "I had
never heard of it." Nevertheless, a one-page
Lazlo strip was accepted for publication in the
Straight on November 1st, 1977. Lazlo enjoyed
some success and Boswell did nine or ten strips
before finding the money too little, and the work
too much, and quit the paper.
It wasn't long before Boswell was back at the
Straight doing a column under the name Bud
Larsen. He also did a compendia with Rand
Holmes, creator of Harold Head, and Doug Bennett, who these days plays a lot with slugs. They
did a number of columns and Lazlo reappeared,
soon to be followed by Fleming, who appeared
in June, 1978, some nine months after he had
emerged from Boswell's sketchbook.
Reid Fleming was an immediate hit and ran
in the Straight for nearly a year. Boswell quit the
Straight to concentrate on finishing what he
hoped would be his first full-length comic book,
Heartbreak Comics. But Heartbreak Comics
proved too demanding, and Boswell quit before
it was more than a quarter done.
Meanwhile, there had been a coup at the
Straight and Boswell found he could not return.
In desperation he decided to do a Reid Fleming
book, and in the fall of 1980 he released World's
Toughest Milkman.
For Boswell, the year spent on Fleming was
an invaluable experience. "I published it myself,
in total ignorance. I learned quickly though, and
I broke even six months after it was released."
Boswell printed 10,000 copies, and the run was
all but sold out by 1983. In the meantime, Boswell
spent some time relearning perspective before
again tackling Heartbreak. The plan worked and DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
,Lfi5ZLO
. THAT,
last spring Lazlo appeared in his first book. Since
then, sales have been steady.
The release of Heartbreak brought out a bunch
of old and new Fleming fans. The demand has
been such that the World's Toughest Milkman will
be reprinted. As well there is a new Reid Fleming in the works and that should appear in about
a year.
Boswell's attention to perspective and his
experience behind a camera have given him the
tools to set up his unique view of the world on
paper. Although the new Fleming will maintain
its style, it will benefit from Boswell's new ap-
Boswell is stoic about the whole thing. "I was
kind of relieved. I didn't really like the script. They
wanted Reid to be more sympathetic. That's just
not Fleming. He's a complete asshole."
That wasn't Fleming's only flirtation with fame.
In 1982 the L.A. Times Syndicate indicated an
interest in running Fleming as a daily strip. Again
the milkman's uncanny abrasiveness got in the
way. "I couldn't see Reid staying tough in the
dailies. My main interest is in the full-page strip."
It appears the idiosyncracies of his characters
may keep Dave Boswell out of the mainstream
of comic strip creators. And with the demise of
"They wanted Reid to be more sympathetic.
That's just not Fleming. He's a complete asshole."
proach to perspective. "All the panels will be the
same size. You can't fake it, you have to plan the
set to be able to project it, especially the size of
the figures. I see the strip in a parallel relationship to film, in fact 1 to 1.33, which is the original
35mm film size. You can create a perspective
equivalent to that offered by any lens focal length.
In essence^ I'm shooting the book with four
lenses."
Fleming nearly had a direct relationship with
movie making. Dave Thomas of SCTV took an
option on Reid Fleming. A script was written and
a provisional cast was planned. Thomas was to
play Fleming, with cohort Katherine O'Hara as
Lena and Dan Ackroyd as Mr. Crabb. The whole
thing went to New York where it did well until
MGM head honchoes Freddy Fields and Frank
Yablan got wind of it. And that was it for Hollywood.
head shops, underground comics have lost one
of their major outlets. Fortunately, in the U.S. at
least, the alternative distribution channels are
beginning to establish themselves. Reid Fleming
and Heartbreak Comics are being distributed by
Last Gasp and Bud Plant in California, while
Capitol City Distribution of Wisconsin concentrates on Mid-West and Eastern alternative
markets.
In Canada, most distribution services are
monopolized by a very few companies, which
makes it tough if your comic creations are a bit
bizarre. But whatever the pressure, Boswell fans
can rest easy. Reid is not going to stop being a
jerk, and Lazlo will continue to practice his sleazy
love life. And, as always, the last word belongs
to the World's Toughest Milkman:
"I thought I told you to shut up."
—David Firman
May 2
The Itals
Don Carlos
Roots Radics
May 3-4
Mango Dub
May 15-18
Rock Angels
May 24
Etta James
May 25
Barney Bentall
May 27-29
ZULU REVUE
Enigmas
Go Four 3
Slow
May 30-June 1
Twinkle Bros.
.    HU>JC.«S>P-I    Ul*f£ DISCORDER     a guide to CITR tm 102 cable 100
May 1985
O
R
WEEKDAY
PROGRAMMING
Program titles in
boldface have descriptions below schedule.
7:30 am
Sign-on
5:00 pm
Powerchord (Tuesday)
Isomatrix (Monday)
6:00 pm
Dinner Magazine
8:00 am
Wake-Up Report—news, sports and weather.
6:00-6:10       Dinner Report—news, sports and weather
10:00 am
Morning Magazine (Tuesday to Friday).
6.70               Generic Review
10:00-10:10   Breakfast Report—news, sports
and
6:73               *lnsite
weather.
6:22-6:35      Daily feature: comedy, poetry, UBC issues
70.70            Generic Review
and lots more
70:25            *lnsight editorial feature
8:00 pm
High Profile—Music feature.
10:40-11:20    'Public Affairs
9:00 pm
Jazz Show (Monday)
1:00 pm
Lunch Report—news, sports and weather.
*Where The Action Is (Wednesday)
2:30 pm
Skipping Out
11:00 pm
Random Cacophony (Tuesday)
4:30 pm
Afternoon Sportsbreak
Mel Brewer Presents (Thursday)
4:35 pm
Party With Me Punker (Wednesday)
4:00 am
Sign-off
WEEKDAY PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS
AN ASTERISK BESIDE THE NAME OF A SHOW INDICATES COMMUNITY-ACCESS
PROGRAMMING. IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS OR
WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE DROP US A LINE.
CITR RADIO
*233 - 6138 SUB BLVD., UBC
VANCOUVER, B.C.
OR CALL US AT 228-3017 DURING OFFICE HOURS
Isomatrix
Monday, 7:30 - 10:30 am
A magazine format show devoted to poetry and music.
Generic Review
Mon. - Fri., 10:10 am & 6:10 pm
The lowdown on local entertainment: movies, theatre, dance,
literature - you name it, we review it.
"Public Affairs
Tues. - Fri., 10:40 - 11:10 am
Two 15-minute features each day, presented by groups such as
Students for a Democratic University, Students for Peace and
Mutual Disarmament, Amnesty International, and by CITR independent producers.
Skipping Out
Tuesday & Thursday, 2:30 pm
Lectures that you were too lazy to sit through yourself, from UBC
and around Vancouver, presented in their entirety. This month you'll
hear:
May 02 Prof. Samuel Ho on "Possibilities for Foreign Trade in
China"
May 07 Dr. Paul Marantz on "Peace Issues and the New Soviet
Leadership"
May 09 Beverley Anderson-Manley on "Women and Development"
May 14 Joseph Latakgomo, editor of the 'Sowetan', South Africa's
largest daily newspaper
May 16 TBA
May 21 Ruth Mompati, vice-president of the African National
Congress
May 23 Ruth Mompati, Pt. II
Powerchord
Tuesday, 5:00 - 6:00 pm
Vancouver's only true metal show, featuring the underground alternative to mainstreammetal—local demo tapes, imports and other
rarities, with weekly album give-aways.
Party With Me Punker
Wednesday, 4:35 - 5:30 pm
A solid hour of 100% punk tunes, live cuts and info from the
earliest punk to the latest hardcore. With host Mike Dennis.
This month:
May 02 History of L.A. Punk, Pt. II
May 08 Frankie Goes to Surf City
May 15 Locals Only
May 23 Ramones
May 30 "Suburbia" Soundtrack
The Jazz Show
Monday, 9:00 pm - 12:30 am
Vancouver's longest-running prime time jazz program, featuring all
the classic players, the occasional interview, and local music news.
Hosted by the ever-suave Gavin Walker. This month's 11 o'clock
features:
May 06 Pre-Weather Report: the last two solo LPs of Joe Zawinul
and Wayne Shorter
May 13 Elmo Hope, Neglected Genius: his first sessions with trio
and quintet
May 20 Miles Davis' "Porgy and Bess"
May 27 Art Blakey's "Free For All": the last session of the Wayne
Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Hubbard, Curtis Fuller
band
* Where The Action Is
Wednesday, 9:00 pm - midnight
Each week a Vancouver record collector presents the cream of his
or her collection. At 11:00 pm: a feature album selected by the
guest.
Random Cacophony
Tuesday, 11:00 pm - 1:00 am
The second radio show in the history of civilization dedicated to
solving all of the world's problems.
Mel Brewer Presents
Thursday, 11:00 pm - midnight
CITR's resident nice guy, Jason Grant, delivers the scoop on the
local music scene with the newest demo tapes and record releases,
interviews and general chitchat on the state of Vancouver music.
This month The Actionauts, Phil Smith and The Animal Slaves will
be among Jason's guests.
A guide to CITR DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
M
U
I
WEEKEND PROGRAMMING
Saturday
7:30 am - noon *
The Altered Alternative Show
CITR proudly (hesitantly) presents a record-breaking 41/2 hours
featuring interviews with local celebrities, man-in-the-street opinions
and lots and lots of requests. Rated general.
Noon - 12:08 pm
The Brunch Report - news, sports & weather.
12:08 - 4:00
The Playlist Show
Join CITR's music directors for a taste of the newest and hottest
releases from around the city, the country, the continent and the
world. CITR's top 40 demo tapes, singles, EPs and LPs are
counted down, plus new releases that have just arrived.
4:00 - 6:00 pm
The African Show
A program featuring African music and culture with hosts Todd
Langmuir, Patrick Onukwulu and Dido. Tune in for the latest news
from Africa, plus these special features at 5:00 pm:
May 04 Mandingo with Herbie Hancock
May 11 African Reggae
May 18 Unknown Nigerian Bands
May 25 Franco and the T.P.O.K. Jazz Orchestra
6:00 - 6:30 pm
Saturday Magazine
News, sports & weather, plus Generic Review, analysis of current
affairs and special features.
6:30 - 9:30
Propaganda!
An eclectic mix of interviews, reviews, music, humour, spoken
word, Today in History, High Profile, and other features. This
month's highlights include: an interview with Allen Ginsberg (May
5), Parts 5-8 of "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," features on
the Asia-Pacific Festival and Radio Picnics (live poetry readings).
9:30 pm - 1:00 am
Pajama Party
Your hosts Mike Mines and Robin Razzell present the not-so-often-
heard aspects of the CITR musical spectrum: ambient music for
snoozing, upbeat tunes for making popcorn or pillow fights. At
11:00 pm: CITR's #1 Playlist Album.
1:00 - 4:00 am
Tunes 'R' Us
New and Improved? Featuring How-to with Handyman Bob and
Goove-Jumping.
Sunday
8:00 - noon
Music of Our Time
20th Century music in the classical tradition—Mahler to Mederna,
Scriabin to Xenakis, all styles, media and nationalities. Summer
hosts: Bill Hobden and Lynn Price. May highlights:
May 04 Villas-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5"
May 11 Philip Glass' "A Gentleman's Hour"
May 18 Preview of "Kalends," Cassation Group's new opera
May 25 Luciano Berio's Vissage"
Noon - 12:08 pm
The Brunch Report - news, sports & weather.
12:08 - 3:00 pm
The Rockers Show
With 10 years experience under his belt, George "Reggae Family
Man" Barrett brings you the finest in roots, rockers, toasting and
dub, from Jamaica itself and from England and North America.
Reggae High Profiles at 1:30 pm:
May 05 Linton Kwesi Johnson
May 12 Bob Marley & The Waiters Memorial
May 19 Steel Pulse
May 26 Black Uhuru
3:00 - 4:30pm
Soul Galore
Focusing on Black-American popular music of the 20th century, this
program takes you from the birth of the blues through doo-wop, soul
and funk, from Massachusetts to California and everywhere in between. This month:
May 05 New Orleans' Minit Label
May 12 The History of Harlem's Apollo Theatre
May 19 Female R'n'B Singers
May 26 Brooklyn Doo-Wop  *
6:30 - 8:00 pm
Neither Here Nor There
Relevance? What Relevance? Music, interviews, comedy, and
readings of prose and poetry. Hosted by: Chris Dafoe and Paris
Simons.
8:00 - 9:00 pm
Sunday Night Live
Jacques Major presents your favourite vinyl heroes captured on tape
in their truest element - the live performance. In May you'll hear:
May 05 Peter Hammill
May 72 U 2
May 19 Miles Davis
May 26 John Cale
9:00 pm - 1:00 am
Fast Forward
Yet another alternative to CITR's general "alternative" sound, Mark
Mushet gives you the latest and most exciting in the world of experimental, independent, minimalist, electronic, avant-garde sound by
non-mainstream musicians. This month's features:
May 05 Paul Dolden previews his latest electro-acoustic work
'Veils", studies in textural transformations.
May 12 Trevor Wishart's intense and innovative soundscape
"Red Bird", a 1977 tape composition, described as a
political prisoner's dream.
May 19 TBA
May 26 Crammed discs - a look at this Brussels-based eclectic
music label. ♦
1:00 - 4:00 am
Ken Jackson's Early Music
Music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, presented at an
appropriately early hour. May's features:
May 06 Purcell; Palestrina; Mozart; De Lassus; Muffat; J.S.Bach
May 13 Monteverdi: Orpheus (complete opera)
May 20 Frescobaldi; Dufay; Byrd; J.S.Bach; an interview with
Edward Turner, harpsichord builder
May 27 Vivaldi; Destouches; Holborne; Purcell; J.S.Bach; Part II of
Edward Turner interview
guide to CITR DISCORDER     a guide to CITR tm 102 cable 100
May 1985
What does Slow mean?
Slow (slo) adj. 1. not fast or quick.
2. sluggish; naturally inactive.
3. dull, not interesting.
4. a frenetic explosion of loose, fun adolescent energy
not necessarily confined to a concert stage;
a spontaneous noise.
Tthe answer is 4. An analogy may help to
explain. Imagine, if you will, test tube jumping beans raised on a diet of amphetamines by
a team of punk rockers with psychedelia virus,
locked in a room with a record collection featuring The Jackson Five, Bad Attitude, Iggy Pop,
Alice Cooper, the Ramones, AC/DC, and the Rolling Stones. Then take those same addled beans
and give them musical instruments cranked up
to 11. Five or six times a week let them practice
in the "Terrible House of Sickness." What you'll
end up with is fast and scary enough to be a ride
at the PNE.
When they're sitting still the members of Slow
don't look like much of a menace to society.
All are between 17 and 20 years old and look so
normal that they could walk through Whalley
without being beaten on. Tom Anselmi, the
singer, has long, curly blond hair that any Led
Zeppo freak would be proud of. Steve Hamm is
the biggest band member, the better to reach
those low bass notes. The drummer is Terry
Russell. He looks just like someone you went to
high school with, but you'll be damned if you can
remember his name. The guitaring duties are
shared by Russ, a recent addition to the group, DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
and Christian. Neither plays lead or rhythm; they
both just play guitar.
I've met people who hate this band, and for
a very good reason too: they just make a bunch
of noise. What these people don't grasp is that
Slow make great noise. To make great noise the
members of a band must be locked in on the
same wavelength to the extent that the band as
a unit has its own consciousness, separate from
each of the individual members. Slow's mind is
ideally suited to playing 'stupid music' The (early)
Ramones come to mind as the most obvious
band of this type.
Slow formed over a year ago, although the
band's roots go back to almost the beginning of
time. Steve, Terry, and Christian have known
each other since kindergarten. Tom has lived in
a variety of locations throughout North America
before settling in Vancouver's East End. Apparently the group came together on the beach,
which the guys describe as their real home.
Slow's first paying show was in February 1984,
Stalag 13. Rumours immediately began.to spread
about their stage presence, which the word
'manic' doesn't begin to describe. Slow manage
to stay in touch with their audience by leaping
into the midst of them as often as possible. This
is facilitated by a low stage like the Commodore
Ballroom's. At the York Theatre only Tom was
able to leap off, even though the guitar players
took several runs at the edge. They always
managed to stop in time, although not before the
audience moved back and tensed up for the impact that loomed. Naturally the drummer has to
stay put. The rest of the band reportedly shackle
him to his seat, so he takes out his exuberance
on his drums. "Half of the thrill of performing is
not knowing whether you're going to make it
through the set." The members of Slow all display that lack of concern for personal safety that
is basic to adolescence and central to pure rock.
With all the energy the group expend jumping and lurching around, their sets usually don't
extend to more than 45 mintues or an hour. This
is probably just as well because too much of a
good thing is never healthy.
A band with this type of independent existence
can play as sloppy and loose as they like—if
someone makes a mistake, everyone else follows
along. The Rolling Stones are probably the
"Sounded just like
Robin Hood kind of music."
world's best at this. Coincidently, Slow currently
perform a cover of "Gimme Shelter" during their
set, and they deliver it with a vitality that Mick
and the boys lost years ago.
The band does few covers, but those they do
perform are carefully chosen. Alice Cooper's "I'm
Eighteen" is one of the better songs written about
adolescent angst, a subject that all of Slow's
members seem aquainted with. The band also
loves Motown and soul (Steve described the
recent James Brown concert as a "religious
experience"), so their cover of "Heatwave" is not
surprising (even thought it is a treat).
The band members all collaborate to write
songs. (There's that collective consciousness
again). Their method of songwriting suits the
band's style: they keep jamming until a riff pops
up that everyone falls into. Each song then
develops to its proper length. Songs that don't
quite click—or worse yet—are boring, are rapidly
turfed out to be replaced by another. Slow is
always in a constant state of development. As
Tom says, "Life is too short."
Slow's first recorded work, "The Night Before"
(not the Beatles song) was included on Undergrowth 84. The band now hates that song and
no longer performs it, although they recall the
recording session that produced it fondly. A four-
track cassette deck turned someone's living
room into a studio for a session that would have
lasted longer if the neighbours hadn't become
irate.
"I Broke The Circle" is Slow's latest recording,
on the Zulu label. It begins with a spastic, lurching instrumental thrash that "sounded just like
Robin Hood kind of music." The song then
breaks into a heavy and funky riff that is reminiscent of the Troggs, as in Tom's vocal track. The
single is backed by "Black is Black" (not the Los
Brovos song), which indicates that, although
Slow can write songs never before known to mankind, their titles have a certain familiarity. The
band hopes to record an EP in early May, using
the proceeds from their live shows to pay the
costs, with help from Zulu. What if there still isn't
enough money? "We'll take back our empties,"
says Steve.
Slow plans to tour this summer, heading South
to find bigger and better beaches. Try to see them
perform before they go. You may be stunned and
overwhelmed or you may be revolted (if you're
the delicate type), but you won't be bored.
—Dave Watson
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Paul
Do/den
This month we continue our look at some of Vancouver's
young composers with Paul Dolden; musican, composer
and member of new music ensemble, The Cassation Group.
At 29, Dolden has already received a number of
national and international accolades for his composition:
CAPAC's Hugh Le Cain Award, 1982, 1984; the only prize
given in the electronics category of the 1984 CBC
National Radio Competition for Young Composers; First
Mention at the 1984 Bourges International Electro-
Accoustic Festival.
His pieces have been performed in Canada, Australia
and France, and broadcast on CBC's "Two New Hours,"
on CFRO, and on both "Music of Our Time" and "Fast
Forward" on CITR.
—Jay Leslie
DISCORDER: When and why did you first take up an instrument?
DOLDEN: When I was twelve years I took up the electric guitar
because I was excited by the music I heard on the radio. My brother
and I also got a reel-to-reel tape recorder about this time. However,
music for me was just a hobby, not something serious.
DISCORDER: When did you start getting serious with your music?
DOLDEN: Around the age of fifteen, I was taking lessons from
various people who introduced me to the art of improvisation,
especially in the Blues. Later, I began playing rock music in high
school bands. After a while, I became bored with rock music so I
started listening to jazz.
DISCORDER: When did you start listening to classical music?
DOLDEN: By the age of eighteen I was listening to the music of
Bartok, Stravinsky, and Schoenberg. Originally, I listened to them
with the idea of just expanding my knowledge of music in general.
Slowly, I started to become excited about composition rather than
performance, and I started listening to composers such as Xenakis
and Penderecki, whose sound I could identify with.
DISCORDER: When did you decide to devote your life to music?
DOLDEN: By the age of twenty I knew music was going to be my
life's work. At this time I was halfway through a liberal arts degree at
Simon Fraser University so I decided to finish the degree, and do
music on the side. I took some courses with Barry Truax of the
Communications Department at SFU so I was able to work in the
Sonic Research Studio and on the Computer Music System.
DISCORDER: What did you do after receiving your degree?
DOLDEN: I produced a few finished compositions, and I laid the
groundwork for returning to SFU for a Master's degree in Contemporary Composition. SFU didn't formally offer a degree in composition, so with the encouragement of Barry Truax, Owen Underhill,
David Maclntyre and Martin Bartlett (Ed. Note: these people are on
the staff of SFU's Centre For The Arts) I designed, a Master's degree
program "by special arrangement." A degree by special arrangement refers to a program of study that doesn't formally exist but the
facilities and personnel to complete the program are available.
DISCORDER:  What areas of composition does your degree cover?
DOLDEN: My degree covers computer music, analog synthesis,
acoustic composition, and psycho-acoustics. Psycho-acoustics
involves the study of acoustics and the perception of sound, which
made it one of the most important courses I studied. DISCORDER     a guide to CITR fm 102 cable 100
'serious' or 'art' music has lost touch with any sense of the
physical—that is, how sound affects our bodies, ears, and minds-
while 'popular' music lacks any intellectual substance. In both cases,
the structures and ideals are out of touch with the realities of our
mind and bodies. In my music, I am trying to use forms in which a
deeper understanding of hearing, touch, vision, speech, and perceptions of time and space are fused with intelligent structures. These
structures transmit my music with force and directness so both mind
and body are moved.
DISCORDER: How do you view the role of technology in art?
DOLDEN: I think the role of technology in the arts is not understood
by most artists. So far, the tape studio, audio, computer, film, video
television, and radio technologies have been used as complex toys
to seduce or mystify the audience or as a passive medium. For
example, many artists only use microphones to make sound louder. I
view contemporary communication technology as a TOOL for
facilitating human play, and creative potential. This tool has specific
limitations, biases, and potentials; moreover, technology can not
replace human intelligence. It is up to the individual artist to come to
terms technically, and aesthetically with technology so it becomes a
tool for the artist's personal expression.
DISCORDER: What ideas does technology emphasize in your music?
DOLDEN: Technology emphasizes two important ideas. The first is
that audio equipment or the sound system can be used to present
sound with a directness and power that is unattainable with alternative sound sources such as acoustic instruments. Likewise, the
sound system can shape acoustic space with a precision that can
never be achieved by other sound sources. The second idea is that
electronic music is not an extension of any instrumental idiom. I
think electronic music requires new ears, new structures, and a new
understanding of sound production and perception. I know electronic
music can create musical experiences we have not yet imagined but
almost all electronic music is just an imitation of the gestures, structures, and sound of acoustic music. For electronic music to have any
validity as an art form it should expand our sonic imagination, and
our sense of structure.
DISCORDER: What are you presently working on?
DOLDEN: Right now I'm finishing two pieces. One piece will be for
solo tape and the other for recorder with tape. These new pieces
involve an increased concentration upon developing a musical
language based on timbral or tone colour evolution. This evolution of
timbre is achieved by using a large number of tracks—between two
and three hundred. Each track changes timbral direction independently; however, the overall colouristic goals for the entire
sound mass is also determined. The net result is a constant evolution of sound in which the listener can immerse himself, and enjoy
the subtleties of colour change. In fact, both pieces are inspired by
the idea of entering a new world—in this case, a sound world—that
surrounds and bathes the listener. Like all environmental stimuli, the
listener can freely drift from one part of the sensation to another.
However, the sheer density of sound stimuli prevents the listener
from dealing with all the details simultaneously.
DISCORDER: Any local performances of your music in the near
future?
DOLDEN: I have produced a cassette of The Melting Voice. . .,
Turning and Turning in the Widening Gyre, Asthenosphere,
Chiaroscuro, and Chiaroscuro II. The cassette runs about eighty
minutes, and includes program notes for the five pieces.   You can
get a copy of the cassette by sending $8.00 to:
Paul Dolden, 3123 Daybreak Avenue, Port Coquitlam, B.C., V3C 2G5. DISCORDER     a guide to CITR tm 102 cable 100
May 1985
VINYL
VERDICT
David Moss
Full House
Moers Music (FDR)
Who, exactly is this Moss man? I'm not sure
myself, but he certainly keeps heavy company.
Assembled on this crisp disc are some of New
York's most creative players—among them,
bassists Jamaaldeen Tacuma and Bill Laswell,
percussionist David Van Tieghem, Freds Frith
and Maher, and also Arto Lindsay, to name six.
The record consists entirely of duets between
Moss and each of his guests, and thus, we have
nineteen pieces from eleven musicians. Fifteen
of these are recorded live in the studio, i.e. with
no overdubs, and the result is forty minutes worth
of fun.
There's nothing here to whistle to, but plenty
to listen to: caution, not to mention song structure, are pretty thrown to the wind. What we do
have, is not so much a set of songs as an eccentric collection of brilliantly playful (and brilliantly
played) textural exercises. Most of the album
sounds a lot like bubbly babbling; indeed, overall, it has a distinctive and surprisingly homogeneous sound. This, I suppose, we can attribute
to our host, Mr. Moss, who serves up tasty tidbits of wood, water, metal, plastic, pods, small
electronics, and Bertoia Sound Sculptures (?) as
well as more standard fare such as drums, percussion, and voice.
Hearing this record is a joyful experience
although, should you do it at loud enough levels,
your neighbours, once they figure out that it's a
record, might want to have you locked up—if not
for seeming insane, then perhaps for scaring
their pets away. But seriously, I think you'll like
this disc. I know I do. Just don't expect anything
conventional. Interesting, inventive, and also
amusing, Full House is a chaotic delight.
—Don Chow
Poisoned
EP
It's hard to believe that a year has passed since
Poisoned first emerged in Vancouver with their
ten-song demo tape. Since then the band has
trimmed down to four members and tightened
up through live performances and frequent
rehearsals. Now, finally, a new six-song EP has
been released.
The most outstanding feature of the new
record is its production, which is much cleaner
and punchier than the first release. The drumming comes off particularly well, giving Taylor
Nelson Little's hard work the prominence it
deserves. Art Bergmann's voice is much more
distinct as well.
Three of the songs on the EP are new, while
the other three are re-recorded versions of songs
from the demo tape. Let's do them first. Be warned that my fondness and familiarity with the first
tape makes an isolated and impartial judgement
highly unlikely.
"Emotion." Although this is a pretty good alternate version of the song, the first recording remains of the definitive version. It has a little more
(ahem) emotion.
"It Won't Last." Despite the loss of some of
Bergmanns' throaty growl and the substitution
of synth for guitar in the break, this version's clarity and drive make it about equal to the original.
"Yellow Pages." I like this version better for the
same reasons and with the same reservations
as "It Won't Last," although, obviously, in different
proportions.
That takes care of those versions. Fortunately,
the new material comes off much better, matching or surpassing the best off the first tape.
"Pretty Beat." Tom Upex's synth playing is
great. A really effective merging with the equally
great guitar would be aided by a slight increase
in the volume of the latter. Other than that, I love
this one. Lyrics and drumming are grade A too.
"Yeah I Guess." I love it when Art is angry, bitter and cynical all at the same time. Voice and
guitar dominate the mix and variations on them,
and expand the song, which has few lines. (But
they're good ones.) "Yeah I guess I've got the
time to make a loan/How much interest is there
if I take you home?" I'm going to buy a car so
I can drive around fast listening to this one all
summer.
"Guns and Heroin." This one is great too. Tom
Upex plays an abstract jazz-like grand piano
altered with heavy echo effects (somewhat like
Bowie's Alladin Sane album) that rises above the
other instruments perfectly, and Art does some
great screaming.
"Guns and Heroin" and "Yeah I Guess" would
be worth buying the EP for, even if all the other
songs were Gregorian chants performed on kitchen appliances.
I think it's obvious that I really like the EP. Still
I have a few negative comments. 1.) Murry An-
drishak's basswork is usually so buried that it
only works subliminally. 2.) For some reason Art's
guitar work seems mixed down a little (with
"Yeah I Guess" being the exception that proves
how much more effective it could have been).
The alternate versions of the earlier release in
particular seem slightly over-produced, perhaps
because I prefer Poisoned when they're basic,
raw and angry.
Other than those quibbles the new EP has a
great beat and you can dance to it. I give it an
85, which means you should buy it. Immediately,
if you aren't busy right now.
—Dave Watson
Richard Thompson
Across A Crowded Room
Polygram
The Scene:
A recent Fairport Convention reunion concert
in Wolverhampton, England. An avid Richard
Thompson fan meets his hero backstage:
John: 'When are you going to play Brum,
Thommo?' (N.B. Brum = Birmingham).
R.T.: 'Probably in May, John.'
John: 'Fuck off! We'll all be dead by then.' Exit
John in disgust.
Obviously an artist who commands such
respect form his most loyal fans is worthy of DISCORDER     a guide to CITR 1m 102 cable 100
attention.
My own introduction to Thommo's music came
relatively recently, when I was given a tape of the
Hand of Kindness albums, together with an insistence upon my attending one of his concerts
at the earliest opportunity. This arose in February 1984, at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre
where his solo show was superb, culminating in
his rendition of Duke Ellington's "Rockin' in
Rhythm," making the acoustic guitar sound like
the whole orchestra. To sample the excellence
of his solo shows, listen to his Smalltown
Romance album.
The new album contains much of the usual
Thompson fare, with many melodic dirges expressing, in his customarily articulate manner,
the futility of "love" on such tracks as "When the
Spell is Broken:"
'The love letters you wrote
are pushed back down your throat
and leave you choking'
and "Love in a Faithless Country," and delving
deeper into bitterness on "She Twists the Knife
Again."
There is some light relief, too, with "Fire in the
Engine Room," "Little Blue Number," and the
delightful, light reggae beat of "You Don't Say."
The album closes with the appropriately haunting "Ghosts in the Wind." Perhaps we will all
be dead by May. ..
—Steve Edge
Enigmas
Strangely Wild
Zulu
"Sure, I understand. No problem, I'll have it
ready next month. Bye."
#x=t@$/§t editors! My first rewrite! I knew I
should have checked my bio-rhythms this morning. How the hell am I supposed to write a critical
Enigmas review?
Three weeks later. . .
Alright. I've locked myself in a room with the
Enigmas' EP for over 98 hours. How come I still
like it? Is it because of the "hey-man-like-far-out"
album cover? Is it because of the comprehensive lyric sheet, written in Enigraphy by guitarist Mike Davies (and incidentally, pilfered from
an album by 70's nobodies Babe Ruth)? No. It's
because of the great music. Purely and simply
put, it's a quality album.
Zulu Records and the Enigmas have invested
plenty of time and money into this, and even now,
the effort is paying dividends. The Zulu Revue
bolstered the Enigmas already solid position as
cont. ►
fort CouUCfoRf frP.M.
r*
*y fittr* Srtftp Wit*. May 1985
from p. 19
one of Vancouver's top two or three live acts, and
the EP is well into its second pressing at the time
this is being written. The Enigmas aren't really
competing with anybody for the psychedelia
market in Vancouver, and consequently, they are
a BIG THING.
But wait! I'm gushing again—that's why this
review is in May instead of April—let's talk about
the Enigmas one big liability: the 60's-psyche-
delic-revival-tag. The band unabashadly admits
that they want to expose people to the psychedelic sound of the 60s, and they want their
original music to reflect this. Most so-called
"Paisley Underground" bands disassociate
themselves from the term psychedelia and, as
such, critics take milder shots at their derivitive
rock and roll.
Psychedelia, in my books, is merely a word.
It conjures up visions of bands like the Seeds,
Jefferson Airplane, and the Misunderstood, playing in smokey halls, or equally smokey parks,
with the crowd drinking electric kool-aid and aural
anarchy swirling through the air. That's psychedelia to me. The Enigmas are more a rock and
roll band and, while the music is infinitely better
than even your above-average bar band, they
could better serve themselves by calling a spade
a spade.
Psychedelic sounds do creep into this EP, especially on the title track, but all-out speed
sounds like "Windshield Wiper" and "A Bit Too
Far" are my personal favorites, and carry the
band's style to the hilt. The Enigmas are a good
band, under any name or description, and this
EP should serve as testimony to one of Vancouver's finer musical moments.
—Jason Grant
MUSEUM
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/ DISCORDER     a guide to CITR tm 102 cable 100
O.K. So the David Lee review
was not acceptable (well at least to
one particular U. hill student who
probably has nightmares about
Van Halen taking him off on a lost
weekend and fixing him up with
Darby Mills and her pet German
Shepherd). Well anyways, I'm back
and you can bet that I'm trying to
do better by each and every one of
you this time around.
MADONNA - Crazy For You
Many years ago a few friends
and I had a saying, "When in doubt
about making out, put on  "
Then you'd fill in the blank with
your favorite love song or romantic
ballad. I think the new Madonna
single "Crazy For You" fits this
mould quite well (if you're aged 14
to 16 and live in Slurry, sorry, I
mean Surrey). Simply a beautiful
melody blended with Madonna's
l'll-sleep-with-your-boyfriend-if-you-
won't vocal style. Quite frankly
though, I'd say keep your distance.
If you see her up close you just
might blow chips.
STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE -
Michael Who Walks By Night
Let's get serious. Are we really
getting so lame that stuff like this
actually occupies our airwaves?
Welcome to the Peppermint
Lounge indeed. Beautifully breathy
female vocals backed with melodic
but repetitious music is what we
have here. It's so incredibly limp
that you almost feel sorry for them.
Sounds more like Strawberry Care-
bears, at least to these ears.
TOY DOLLS - She Goes To Finos
Now I know a lot of people are
going to hate me, but God the Toy
Dolls are annoying. Even more annoying is the re-release of "She
Goes to Finos." I guess they want
to get the people they didn't bug
the first time. What we have here
is a cross between the cast of Star-
struck and Tony Basil. It should be
called "She Goes To Tofino." Sorry,
I can't stand to go any further.
THE NEW CHRISTS - Like a
Curse
OK, now we're smokin'. Some
more Australian boys, trying to
break the North American market,
and they just might do it. Raw
vocals oversee the garage band
sound of this import. The record's
got a very "live" sound, direct from
the garage next door, and the band
is tight without being overly slick.
As Howie Meeker would say, "You
gotta like that."
BLURT - White Line Fever
This song could have been great
if only it had been shorter. I'm getting awfully tired of 12" extendo
mixes and bonus singles. Sorry,
I'm straying. Anyways, there are
some great sounds on this single.
Excellent, off-beat sax solos mixed with sporadic, but well placed,
guitar leads and rhythms. All of
this, including the screaming
vocal, is held together by a natural
rhythm section (no Linn drums
here kids). Although it's a song that
could be at home in any seamless-
mix discos, it's better than most.
—Garnet Harry
Get into radio
CITR-FM is now accepting volunteers who are interested
in becoming DJs. We are looking for men and women
who have a good working knowledge of alternative
music. No previous radio experience is necessary—
you just need the desire to do something new and
interesting. Act now! We can only accept a limited
number of new DJs.
228-3017
9 AM - 5 PM
MON - FRI
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CITR - FM
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Vancouver, B.C.
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202 • 1789 Davie Street, Vancouver, Canada V6G1W5 (604) 689-5027 DISCORDER
ROOM NINE - Six Song Demo
I had not heard anything of,
never mind anything by, this Seattle band before this tape was dropped into my lap. At this point I'm
looking forward to hearing more.
Room Nine managed to put together an interesting tape, full of
light and dark, blending stately and
sombre rhythms with ringing guitar
and harmonies. What emerges
from the shadows is a vaguely psychedelic sound with enough hooks
and bite to stand up to repeated
listening.
The tape features four studio
tracks and two live recordings. In
the studio Room Nine have developed a carefully layered sound that
contrasts the two sides of the band.
On stage they seem more straight
ahead, as the sound is stripped of
backwards guitar, and punctuating
percussion, and catchy vocal effects, and as the layering breaks
down and is replaced by a more
direct, intense attack.
This tape reminds me of the first
REM LP, not for any real similarity
in sound, but because both have
enough up front to encourage further investigation, and enough
depth to make that investigation
worthwhile
ROCKY CRAIG - Boppin' Tonight
/What You Got Is What You See
It was during the rockabilly revival—six months of Brylcreem, tattoos, and rockin' and boppin—that
I first saw Rocky Craig. It was the
night the Stray Cats first played
Vancouver, and after Brian Setzer's
WOMBAT.'-
mangling of the sweetness of the
country roots and the soul of the
blues roots of rockabilly with overblown guitar—hero histrionics
Rocky Craig was a breath of fresh
air: sincere, unassuming, able to
bring the heart of the music out
without becoming a cartoon manifestation of the Myth of American
Teenage Rebellion.
A couple of years have passed
since then and, while the pompa-
doured and leather jacketed pretenders have scuffled off, Rocky
Craig is still at it, albeit with a new
band.
"Boppin' Tonight" is fuelled by
a vaguely sinister guitar line laid
over a standard 'billy dance beat.
Craig is relatively restrained,
instead of whoops, howls or
screams (why do so many rockabilly bands want to recreate the last
30 seconds of "BeBop A Lula" ■
over and over?) he lets the tension
in his voice give the song its edge.
"What You Got Is What You
See" is more country-tinged, and
nicely accented with some sonorous slide guitar.
On the whole, a pretty good
effort.
DUANE BARRY - Statements of
Sound/Style
The results of the one-man
basement tape (or bedroom tape,
for all those apartment dwellers)
are always interesting. A mixed
bag, but always interesting. With
nobody around to edit out the excesses and idiosyncrasies, or, for
that matter to tell the person that
they are singing off-key, these
tapes have a small, personal quality. Glenn Scott comes to mind as
a   bedroom tape success.
Mr. Barry does not fair as well.
May 1985
On both songs his excesses and
idiosyncracies come off as more
annoying than endearing. The
Barry voice is both limited and
tuneless, and manages to come
across as pompous as part of the
bargain. It's a pity because it
sounds like there is voice there that
could be, if not spectacular, at least
effective.
Musically, Barry takes a bunch
of cliches and magically transforms them into. . .a bunch of
cliches. Especially irksome is the
whip-crack syndrum track on "Statements in Sounds," a totally unnecessary addition which manages to exacerbate the rising and
falling keyboard cliche that ornaments the song.
"Style" is a little more promising,
as it demonstrates that Mr. Barry
might be taking himself a little less
seriously than he does on the other
track.
Duane, relax. And try again.
FIRE BOYS - There Ain't No
Beach in Calgary
This song goes a long way towards explaining why there are so
many Canadians in Miami Beach,
as the Campfire Boys bemoan the
lack of any place to surf in Cow-
town. May I, taking a page from the
songbook of the late Los Popularos, suggest bus surfing. That's
right—in the middle of the aisle, no
fair grabbing the poles for support,
extra points for not being sober. For
further instructions see the Los
Pop's "Victoria Drive."
Glad I could be of assistance.
—CD
$Wtt'' ]
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