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w^^BtLh DiSCORDER
Vancouver Hardcore Scene Report by Sean O'Leary p.l 5
Sahara Hotnights by Christine Gfroerer p. 19
Art Spread: Women Are From Venus, Men Are From SARS
by Gareth Gaudin p.20
Paper Lanterns by Chris Eng p.22
Broken Social Scene by saelan p.23
Geoff Berner by Val Cormier p.24
Stephen Malkmus by Merek Cooper p.25
Ben Kweller by Natalie Vermeer p.26
fepfe
Music Sucks p.6
Airhead p.7
Panarticon p.7
Fucking Bullshit p.8
Vancouver Special p.8
Over My Shoulder p.9
Roadworn and Weary p.10
Riff Raff p. 12
Strut & Fret p. 13
Screw You and Your Pointy Shoes p. 13
Under Review p.28
Real Live Action p.32
Leprechaun Colony p.34
Charts p.35
On the Dial p.36
Kickaround p.37
Datebook p.38
■5f»
Lori Kiessling took the picture that graces our front
cover this month. Look familiar? It should. And if
not, go and check your Ramones collection again.
Yeah, that's right, you just go over to that shelf and
pull all of those albums or CDs out and you have a
look. Then savour the goodness.
Editron:
Chris Eng
Deputy Editor:
Merek Cooper
Ad Master:
Steve DiPo
Art Directors:
Chris & Merek
Editorial Assistant:
Donovan Schaefer
RLA Coordinator:
Gabby De Lucca
Website Design:
Esther
Layout and Design:
Chris & Merek (Like Smokey and
The Bandit, but way cooler and
without the moustaches.
Production:
Keith "Strider" Turkowski, Esther,
saelan, Julie C.
Masthead Photo:
The Skinjobs
On the Dial:
Bryce Dunn/The Limey
Charts:
Luke Meat
Datebook:
The Limey
Distribution:
Mart Steffich
US Distro:
Frankie Rumbletone
Publisher:
Linda Scholten
© "DiSCORDER" 2003 by the Student Radio Society of the University of British Cc
rights reserved. Circulation 17,500. Subscriptions, payable in advance, to Canadian residents are
$15 for one year, to residents of the USA are $15 US; $24 CDN elsewhere. Single copies are $2
(to cover postage, of course). Please make cheques or money orders payable to DiSCORDER Magazine.
DEADLINES: Copy deadline for the May issue is May 14. Ad space is available until May 21 and can be
booked by calling Steve at 604.822.301 7 ext. 3. Our rates are available upon request. DiSCORDER is not
responsible for loss, damage, or any other injury to unsolicited manuscripts, unsolicited artwork (including but
not limited to drawings, photographs and transparencies), or any other unsolicited material. Material can be
submitted on disc or in type. As always, English is preferred. Send email to DiSCORDER at discorder@club.a
ms.ubc.ca.
From UBC to Langley and Squamish to Bellingham, CiTR can be heard at 1(
as through all major cable systems in the Lower Mainland, except Shaw in Whiti
CiTR DJ Tine at 822.2487, our office at 822.3017 ext. 0, or our news and sports Ii
ext. 2. Fax us at 822.9364, e-mail us at: citrmgr@mail.ams.ubc.ca, visit our web site at www
up a goddamn pen and write #233-61 38 SUB Blvd., Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, CANADA.
I got mad at The Cheat for screwing up the Jumble Caper. I hope I don't see his name in the paper ir
obituaries, because that would mean he's dead. The Cheat is not dead. I'm so glad The Cheat is not dead.
printed in canada
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Thursday, May 22 @ The Purple Onion
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Saturday, May 24
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6 May 2003
milAIC AMC
editorializing by Chris Eng
Okay, here's how it is,
and I know it hurts, but
you have to hear it and
you have to acknowledge the
inherent truth in what I say:
CONCERT TOURS ARE ONE
OF THE BIGGEST LOADS OF
BULLSHIT EVER VISITED ON
THE GENERAL PUBLIC VIA
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.
They are crap. All crap. Loads
of crap. Mountains of lumpy
smelly feces baking on the tarmac of a converted speedway
for an afternoon, near the $5
hot dog stand and adjacent to
the booth selling $40 t-shirts.
A chance for people to shell out
idea with Lollapalooza I, back
in '91.1 mean, it was kinda cool
that they had bands like Ice-T,
Siouxsie, The Violent Femmes,
and Fishbone playing on the
bill, but who did they get the
next year? Soundgarden, The
Red Hot Chili Peppers, and
FUCKING PEARL JAM! One
year—one single year—and a
semi-decent idea was twisted
into a flaming bag of turds. A
flaming bag that over the next
decade spawned other horrific
flaming bags like The Family
Values Tour and Ozzfest. I
mean, how badly do we need
to witness a bunch of senile
geriatrics shambling around
vacantly on a massive plat-
u
/
< mi
L t
*
■'h,
i J*>%. ■
^■B
:M
h&
Wt, >^?aH
.
• -".$
m
their Big Chill-sty\e tours this
year? The Allman Brothers,
Meat Loaf, James Taylor, Duran
Duran, KISS, Aerosmith, Joe
Cocker, King Crimson, Ringo
Starr & His All-Starr Band,
Santana, Rolling Stones, The
Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Paul
McCartney, The Yardbirds, and
Steely Dan. STEELY DAN!
"Hey guys, 'Rikki Don't
Lose That Number' is the
surprise hit of the year! We're
putting the band back together
and heading out on the road!"
Christ, these guys were
"Reelin' In the Years" back in
1972—1 can only imagine how
the intervening 30 years have
treated them.
Hang it up! GO HOME!
Retire! All of you! If you want
to make a fast buck, sell
autographed press photos of
yourself on eBay! And while
you're at it, make sure they're
pictures from 1979, because
we really don't care what you
look like nowadays. Actually,
worse, we fear what your
saggy, wrinkly ass looks like
today! It scares us. Debbie
Harry on 1990s Escape From
New York Tour scarred me for
life! And that was more than a
full decade ago! Thirteen years
past that point, The Eagles
are probably forced to wear
KISS-style makeup simply to
hold their faces in place and
keep their jowls from sinking
toward the ground like Droopy
in an old MGM cartoon.
$60 for the privilege of seeing
their favourite band play a
half-assed, hung-over, 20-min-
ute set in the blistering heat; a
chance for them to pay for
heat-stroke because there's no
shade and they can't afford the
$12 Evians to keep themselves
hydrated—a chance to break
the bank while simultaneously
having a shitty time.
How shitty? So shitty that
everyone has to spend ali their
money on all of the aforementioned junk, because if they
spent all that money they must
have had a good time, and they
couldn't have had a bad time
because they
Concert tours are mountains of lumpy
smelly feces baking on the tarmac of a
converted speedway for an afternoon.
.nths
ind
onths
t and Beck was awesom
, you (
ally see
away, but you could sort of
hear him through the crappy
PA and just knowing you were
in the same auditorium as him
was cool enough—and besides,
they got some rad stuff like
the Sum-41 glow-in-the-dark
keychain and they met the
chick that played Lara Croft's
stunt double and that's pretty
wicked, isn't it? Well, isn't it?
NO, IT ISN'T. It wasn't even
a REALLY good idea when Perry
Farrell kick-started the whole
form and trying to pass themselves off as Black Sabbath? I
think it's somewhere right in
the area of "not at all." And
that's just the outdoor festival
shows!
Summer is also the time
when all of the sad, old codgers who have spent the winter drinking and reminiscing
about their glory days dust off
their guitars and trudge out
to GM Place and the Pacific
Coliseum and the Commodore
and Studebaker's. The time
when people that haven't
played anything remotely
decent in over two decades
try to shimmy into their old
leather pants and hold a crowd
captive for over an hour.
"Uh, the guitarist is going
into arrest. Set off another
pyrotechnic explosion and
throw a Pepsi ad on the overhead display or the crowd will
get bored."
And which Top 40 Rock
Combos ran their savings
dry, and are having
So, what 1
> the
tives?
t Well, there's only one
in all of the aforementioned
cases: DON'T FUCKING GO.
Stay home and spend $60 on
a decent CD, a flat of beer, and
a lawn chair. Put your stereo
speakers in your front window. Put the CD in your stereo,
press repeat, and turn it up
really loud. Set up your lawn
chair on your front lawn (or
patio or whatever you've got).
Set the flat of beer down next
to the lawn chair. Sit in your
lawn chair, and start drinking
your beer. Wait for the police
to arrive. Voila! Automatically
more fun than you'd have
packed into a grassy mud-
pit with a bunch of hooting
Void monkeys punching each
other in the head for a chance
to stand within ten feet of
Coldplay. Then again, smashing your CD collection with a
ball-peen hammer is more fun
than that. And so is seeing your
favourite local band play an all-
ages show. Just FYI.« dear a
iniiiiir
A BUNCH OF TWISTED HACKS
dear discorder:
thanks for the utterly charming review of the new flare
record (Under Review. April
2003). i hope whovever this
Ig beghtol person you seem
so violently opposed to (who
seems to be impersonating
me!) is enjoys it as much as
i. as for the self-professed
"twisted hack" who penned
the screamingly funny review
in question, maybe if he had
a better vocabulary he'd get
to write for a real publication
someday, and then his/her
prose might find its way onto
a cd cover...
kisses,
Id beghtol
(who, incidently, loathes belle
& bloody Sebastian nearly as
much as you)
Well, just be pleased you're not
LG Beghtol—I fucking hate him.
"Screamingly funny": thanks,
1 do try.
merek
(BTW, 1 actually quite like Belle
and Sebastian, especially that
song Chickfactor. Do you know
Chickfactor?)
A BUNCH OF HACKING TWITS
Somehow in the last issue,
Natalie Vermeer got identified
as "Natalie Gordaneer." We
have no idea how this happened. Does this mak<: sense?
No, not
t ah
like our fingers couid have
slipped, making us accidentally
type that; it's a completely different word. On the other hand,
I swear I went back and double-
checked the names, and Merek
thought it was some joke or
nom de plume. So, it went to
press and then Natalie sent us
an email very politely pointing out our egregious error.
So, we would like to apologise
to Natalie. APOLOGISE FOR
THE CRAZY-ASS GREMLINS
THAT ARE APPARENTLY
RUNNING AROUND UP HERE,
TYPING ZANY CRAP INTO OUR
COMPUTERS AND GENERALLY
RUINING OUR PEACE OF MIND
AND THAT OF OUR WRITERS!
I swear that after we leave, an
army of weird, scaly-skinned
creatures breaks into the office
and boots up our computers,
changing our stuff and corrupting the files. I mean, the
only other option is that the
computers are breaking themselves! Really—do you have
any conception how pathetic
they are?!' They break down
all the time! It's like they've
got SAD and they're all, "It's
gloomy outside. I don't wanna
work today. Muhk Well, FUCK
THE COMPUTERS! This is my
last stand, my Waterloo, my
Death Star: they either start
working or I go all crazy on
them like Linda Hamilton in the
Terminator movies. Seriously, if
I keep getting "Out of Memory"
messages and bomb symbols,
I'll be fully psyched to dust off
my Phase Plasma Rifle in a 40
watt range and take on a fucking army of Macintosh Hunter-
Killers powered by Win2K. Are
they laughing at us? Have they
been secretly imbued with
sentience and have nothing
better to do than yuk it up at
the antics of a couple of poor
slobs trying to put out a local
music/culture magazine?! I
bet that's it. Hey, computers—1
know you're buoyed by the
impending arrival of T3: Rise
of the Machines, but you'd still
better remember that T2 was
Judgment Day, and that day
can arrive twice. Especially
if you push the staff, or keep
spelling our writers' names
wrong. Believe it. •
a northern chorus
i
I
s ■
lanarticoii
the sound of spectacle by tobias
As / write this Hussein
has nor been found,
nor is there even talk
of finding him. Once again,
speculative writing as woric
events much larger than we
yet understand unfold in the
Middle East.
The Cruelty of Whiplash
Scenario- "I told you so." The
US "finds" chemical weapons,
or plans thereof (a single, smali
missile, a crude and dated
schematic—it doesn't matter,
simulacra or actual treasure).
The whiplash of the international press (notably the
"Military Cheerleader" CNN):
"France and Germany should
be ashamed." The EU is split;
the US dollar regains control
as Iraq oil is given the "freedom" it deserves. (Amnesty
International has already
complained that oil pipelines
have better US military support than hospitals, water
supplies, and food convoys.)
Although unlikely, the US
makes a move for Syria, and
complete control in the region
is established not through an
iron fist, but through chaos.
What is occurring right now
in the Middle East—looting,
ransacking, widespread vio-
Massumi claims, devoid of
affect, a televisual black-hole,
a centre of nothingness that
calls upon the nation to fill
its frightening crevices with
meaning, a Face that ultimately desires the image of
the nation-state to overlay its
wrinkles, in the formation of
a despotic leader-father (the
US Flag, the Twin Towers),
then Pfc. Jessica Lynch's face
is the blue-eyed tra
ind dis.
n of
despotic warlords, the increasing influence of religious
power—is the prime condition for a cruel control not of
territory, but of corridors and
movements: pipelines are the
links between strategic points
(oil wells, port cities, airports);
regional areas provide blanket
ethical cover ("Baghdad is back
of the International community) while vast expanses are
given over to local totalitarian control (fund various theo-
despotic factions; let them
destroy each other, or better
yet, let them continue the hunt
for Bin Laden, Hussein, etal. in
Syria or the mountains, further
dividing the Muslim communi-
ss).
i the
UN is irrelevant. While in mid-
March Blair was offering assurances as to the involvement of
the UN, the short-memoned
media has already embraced
the "propositional future"
forecasted by Rumsfeld and
the Bush Administration: that
the US-UK unilateral forces
will control the region through
force and appointed regional
puppetry.
Lynch (-) Bush
If Bush's face is, as Brian
sthat
sthes,
ing grace to American aggression. Infamously backdropped
against the American Flag
(see Time), Jessica's face is the
stand-in for Bush, a substitution that serves as classic white
beauty in the face of (Arab)
terror. A transvestite doubling:
LynchBush. Already conjoined
with patriotism, heroism, and
the uniquely American yearning for the naive innocence
of war ("support our (poor,
young, innocent) troops"),
Lynch's eyes are nonetheless
devoid of the same meaning:
they remain empty, a hero who
did nothing but survive, who
saved no one—a "hero" with
no substance to the nominalism: "An American Hero." What
happened to women of colour
Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson
■ed) and Army Pfc. Lori
i (dead)? They are in
the news, but barely present in
the image banks, and certainly
not on the cover of Time. NBC
is already making a movie of
Lynch's life: live like her, young
children of the McWorld (Be
all you can be...). But avoid
ending up like Piestewa—she
was no hero, nor like Johnson
(she doesn't look like a hero).
The next model of Barbie—
"Jessica," the Convoy Support
Was there ever a War?
After Gulf War I, Jean
Baudrillard published a rather
infamous book: The Gulf War
Did Not Take Place. Widely misunderstood, Baudnllard's analysis was pertinent and precise
in its hyperbole. A showdown
never took place. Bush I walked
out at high noon, cowboy style,
to the Main Street shoot-out,
but Saddam was nowhere to be
found. Hide and seek. Perhaps
even an orchestrated war, with
blanks and backdrops. Saddam
was comfortably reinstalled
in power a few months later,
and attempts by the Southern
Iraqi people to overthrow the
government were ignored by
the US and international community (hence their reticence
in acting today), while sanc
tions against Iraq simply re-
strengthened Hussein's regime
and disastrously decimated
the population and its access
to health supplies, food, etc..
Come Gulf War II: Bush II really
means to get Saddam this
time—or so we think. Have we
found Saddam? For that matter, have we found bin Laden?
Have there been any links
uncovered between bin Laden
and Hussein (never mind that
bin Laden named Hussein's
Iraq as also a potential target, for its "secularism")?
This time something did take
place—but a "War" proper it
was not. A slaughter would
perhaps be a more appropriate word; a crime would be
another. Long live Salam Pax
<dear_raed.blogspot.com>.
Re-Code Disinfopedia
Did you know that Wal-Mart is
the second most sued organization in the world behind the
US Government? In any case,
hacktivists Re-Code.com have
been shut down by a combined assault from Wal-Mart,
Price Chopper, and Kellogg's
lawyers. Re-Code set out to
realize a little known portion
of US law: that when you buy
something, the price is negotiable. Attacking chain stores
for their consistent practice of
overpricing, Re-Code assembled a database of alternative
barcodes that could be pasted
over supermarket originals. '
Re-Code claimed it was all for
satirical intent—after all, it's
the equivalent to publishing
instructions and not actually performing any illegal
act—but the Lawyers didn't
think so. Cease and Desist!
Kudos are due to Nathan
Hacktivist and Re-Code.com.
Oh—and know your propaganda: <www.disinfopedia.org>.
Disinfopedia.org is "a collaborative project to produce a
directory of public relations
firms, think tanks, industry-
funded organizations and
industry-friendly experts that
work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf
of corporations, governments
and special interests." In the
world of Total Information
Awareness, we need total
inforr
tho«
who
control and produce it. The site
includes close to 700 articles,
and a dedicated section on
Gulf War II entitled "Weapons
of Mass Deception."
Total Information Awareness—
and We Know Nothing... •
7 DiSCORDER fucLma bulULit
bullshit by Christa Min
va mco live r adic iq
local reviews by Janis McKenzie
I don't think I'm violent. I've
never hit anyone before.
I don't know what happened.
I was at this party a couple
of weeks ago, at a certain
someone's hotel penthouse.
There were 50 people there,
maybe more. I was talking to
some pals, drinking way too
much unsweetened grapefruit
juice, and I noticed this guy
staring at me from across the
room. This happens all the
time, so I didn't think much
of it. He was pretty ugly, and
he kind of looked like a girl.
Anyway, he kept getting up,
walking into me on purpose,
and apologizing. After the third
time, I said something because
1 was getting sick of it. I said,
"Hi. What are you doing?"
"Sorry, I'm really clumsy,"
he said. It looked like he was
going to cry, so I introduced
"What's your name?" I
asked. He looked at me as if I
should've known who he was.
"Boner."
it was a loud party, so I
was sure I'd heard him wrong.
"What?"
"My name's BONER," he
said. "BONER O'BURST."
I thought it was the greatest name I'd ever heard. Too
bad it belonged to such a pussy.
He started to braid his eyelashes, as his eyes started to water.
"What's the matter?" I said.
"Oh, nothing. I just played
get
ke babysitting any more, sc
told Boner that I had to gc
ake a whiz, but he wouldn'
of the way. He tried tc
ng some whispery garbage
ito my ear. Something abou'
lolins and crying. It was seri
usly the worst thing
i/er heard. It was so bad that
had
/ told Boner that I had to go take a
whiz, but he wouldn't get out of the
way. He tried to sing some whispery
garbage into my ear. Something about
violins and crying. It was seriously the
worst thing I had ever heard. It was so
bad that I punched him in the face.
JOEL
Return of the Fucked
(Flyer Records)
"Joel..." I thought to myself as
I approached the stereo—a
little warily—with this CD.
"He's pretty bleak, isn't he?"
As it happens, the artist was
expecting just such a reaction.
"Bleak? I'll give you bleak,"
he sings on the second track.
And over the course of fifteen
songs he does ji
(pretty often), a:
from the dead, z
and people sinkir
ghosts, rust, rot
t that,
irith
of death
imbies, cities
; into the sea,
bombs, war,
a show, and I didn't think it was
very good." I asked him what
his band was called, and he got
really huffy about it. "We're
called Bright Ass. Haven't you
heard of us?" I couldn't hear
him very well, so I asked him
to speak up. "BRIGHT ASS," he
said. I was so confused. How
could this ponce be in a band
with such a great name?
After that, 1 didn't feel
punched him in the face.
I kind of felt bad about
it after. I probably broke his
nose, but I figure I did him a
favour. He won't get beat up
as often now that he has a
crooked nose. Maybe he'll be
less of a cocky asshole, too.
I've asked a few people, and no
one's ever heard of Bright Ass
or Boner O'Burst. It must be
because he sucks shit. •
coffir
graves, and—gasp!—unions.
No, art is not life, but anyone
who's taken Psychology 100
might be a little worried about
Joel's well-being after listening to Return of the Fucked.
(Apparently, being prepared
for this reaction too, Joel protests in his liner notes that his
songs are also about optimism
and valour, and that "zombies
are fucking cool.") Parts of the
CD rock, and parts are beautiful, but it is all in a threatening,
simmering, volcanic kind of
way that isn't likely to keep
you in a sunny r
<liquidcreature.com>
THE WET SPOTS
Ribbed for Pleasure
(Wet Spots Music)
Spring is in the air, the birds
and the bees are out and about,
and here is The Wet Spots'
debut, carefully positioned to
capture horny listeners who
aren't already looking at web
porn, watching Sue Johanson's
sex show on TV, or otherwise
successfully amusing themselves. What the soon-to-be-
married Cass King and John
Woods do is intentionally
anachronistic naughty cabaret, with songs that sound like
something you might almost
hear on an afternoon CBC
radio show at a particularly
campy moment. The production and performances are
excellent; Cass has the right
type of warm and somewhat
thin voice and there's even
ukulele where it's appropriate.
One imagines that the visuals
must be quite entertaining and
that the principals mug shamelessly for their live audiences
as they sing lines like, "Do you
take it in the ass?" or "Never
put a vacuum in your bum."
This would be just the sort of
live theatre for a risque first
date, but are you randy enough
to it at home?
BARON SAMEDI ESQ
s/t
(Libertine Rex)
What a relief to discover that
the ESQ stands for Ecstatic
Soul Quintet, and isn't that
meaningless abbreviation some
silly lawyers put behind their
names. Because, as far as I
can tell, these are not lawyers,
but urban instrumentalists
whose goal is to find a dance-
able groove and stretch it out
for longer than most of us
would think possible. The CD
was recorded live, and the
arrangement is distinctive—
organ, baritone sax, bongos,
etc.—with different tracks
putting different types of spins
on things. The first track, "The
Sarnedi Strut" is rollicking to
the point of being frantic; the
last, "The Libertine Blues," is
almost opium-drenched and
noir in comparison. Exactly
half-way through, the brief
"Mullet Dude Interlude" is
exactly that, an amusing
little break. Whether this is
your kind of thing or not may
depend on just how much you
like to dance (or, I can't help
thinking, to get stoned and
dance) and whether or not you
can appreciate a lot of free-
form baritone saxophone,
'.bsesq.ci
8 May 2003 over mv
book reviews by Doretta
THE MONTH IN TWO PARTS
The cruellest month is over.
It's now time for short skirts,
knee socks, three shows in one
weekend, and so many spring
titles that a girl with a full
time job gets dizzy just thinking about it. This is the time of
year when you can go to Zulu
Records and watch Sheila Heti
read from The Middle Stories,
then skip over to the Aquatic
Centre and catch The Beans in
Liquid Suspension.
But the sunshine and fun
activities are a momentary
reprieve from the bullshit
that's been going on in the
world. As we emerge from
hibernation, many Iraqis are
trying to make sense of the
violence that has gone on in
their own country. Many North
Americans will be trying to do
house. Maybe I'll even read a
book or go to the beach and
make faces at the buff people
playing volleyball. Yeah, I just
love the Canucks and I know
so much about hockey. Ask me
how to call an offside sometime and I'll surprise you with
the depth of my knowledge.
Speaking of offside, the
past month has made me
realize that being offensively
ironic in front of strangers is
a bad thing. Example one: do
not make jokes about bulimia
in front of girls you've just
met. Example two: do not
at a party with a long story
about how the Laserdisc was
invented to momentarily
throw Chinese people off the
scent of the real prize, the
DVD player. Being offside for
The past month has made me realize that
being offensively ironic in front of strangers
is a bad thing. Example one: do not make
jokes about bulimia in front of girls you've
just met.
the same, but it's easy to talk
about the human cost of war
in abstract terms.
For me, it wasn't until a
few days ago that the human
cost of war became a concrete
fact, a specific detail in the
line of an epic poem. A bit of
admissions office for a university dentistry program. So
I was answering phones when
a woman called and said,
"My sister is in Iraq. She was
three months from graduating when the bombs fell. Can
she finish her degree at your
university?" 1 tried my best
to.be helpful, as the university doesn't allow for transfer
credits for its undergraduate
dentistry program. We figured
out that her sister could probably apply to the graduate
program in order to secure a
student visa.
When I hung up, I had
visions of a woman in a university dental clinic, drill in
hand, and the loud sound of
a building nearby exploding.
Three and a half years, the
work of a life, all put on indefinite hold. And yet she is alive.
How will any of us here on
earth make sense of the tragedies that we've created?
As the rest of the city
congregates on Robson Street
and Fourth Avenue, cheering
when the Canucks win some
important game, I'll be busy
trying to return movies to
Videomatica or hanging out at
the E-Z Mart near my parents'
kicks is a dangerous sport.
Contrary to what your mother
might have said, it's a game
best played indoors, in the
safety of one's own home. I've
discovered that the reason
behind this is that not everyone indulges in irony, or even
understands it. Folks, sarcasm
is not irony. I am not a sarcastic girl. Ironic: yes, sarcastic:
no. Sarcasm is like, so grade
seven. And irony, as everyone
keeps reminding me, is dead.
(Dude, is this something like
what Nietzsche said?")
BARBARA GOWDY
The Romantic
(HarperFlamintjoCanada)
Louise Kirk, the protagonist of
Barbara Gowdy's fifth book,
mentions irony several times
in The Romantic. I wonder
what she might have said
about the giant picture of
Gowdy that graces the entire
back cover of the book. We
see Gowdy with her Mona Lisa
smile and perfect hair that
must be blond (though the picture is black-and-white). Yes,
Gowdy is a vision, a woman
who will be forever cute, who
will command the word "elfin"
into her eighties and nineties.
But what about her writing?
The back cover is usually
reserved for high praise from
esteemed authors, secured
by a diligent publicist. I imagine intrepid young men and
women hunting down Salman
Rushdie, saying, "Excuse
me, sir, do you love (insert
name of author here)? Can 1
quote you on that?" On the
back cover of The Romantic,
a picture is supposed to be
enough to sell us on the book.
The name "Barbara Gowdy"
and her image are supposed
to stand alone as recommendations. Though Gowdy is a
literary star, I think that this
sort of treatment sells her
work short. It is as though
her work itself is not enough
enticement. Why do we need
to know on such a great scale
that she's a woman worth
looking at?
Onto the book itself. The
Romantic begins with young
Louise Kirk telling us about
the death of her first love, Abel
Richter. In the same chapter,
we are told that her mother,
a Grace Kelly look-alike, has
left Louise and her father with
no explanation more than
"Louise knows how to work
the washing machine." (A skill
that Louise doesn't have.)
So we enter into Louise's
search for perfect, unconditional love. First, in order to
fill the void her mother left,
she develops a crush on Abel's
mother and hopes that Mrs.
Richter will adopt her. Then
she begins a life-long (she's
only in her mid-twenties by
the end of the novel) obsession with Abel, who morphs
from a quiet little boy into an
alcoholic musician. (A character, dear DiSCORDER readers,
that you probably know too
well and love with the same
kind of self-destructive passion.)
Gowdy skillfully jumps
back and forth in time and her
clear, direct prose prevents us
from becoming caught up in
trying to map out the chronology of Louise's life. One
moment Louise is a young
girl, the next she's reading
encyclopaedias in a law office
to simulate the appearance of
being busy. But her one desire
is to be with Abel. This kind
of single-minded determination fascinates me, and it
makes the book a compelling
read. Obsession—though not
romantic—is always entertaining. When obsession
tor sport that rivals playoff
hockey.
The moral of the story:
don't let the use of a glamorous photograph fool you into
thinking that The Romantic
is a trashy read. Don't judge
a book—or author—by a dust
jacket cover. And, finally, I
must add that the use of "The
Romantic" as a title is ironic.
But not offside. •
ptiai© visfffm|i
!»^^^X
f6y24^fratkAna1dg
j | pius
k ":"m'm" ~"*>**
a*^I^M^6M^Rcver1r.Ch^^rf^
orcmail- studio@vagranttccords.com
ra
Celebrating 7 0 years of DMC in Canada!!!
^ TIX 1i1fl ^Ticketmaster
^ oresents JTldL ▼'U 604.280.4444
presents J^^B www.ticketmaster.ca
<«|r > On Deck (416 W Georgia)
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I 1 BCllIllCS $ : FFn020 Granville St)
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t> IVI CL y. O VI arrive early
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DJ Exacto
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j^fnail: twelvehundredpounds@yahoo.com or
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IIIIIIIIIIHMH
Tour Diaries
SKINJOBS TOUR DIARY
Live and Recruiting
March/April 2003
By Lee Hendon
DAYt
unbearable—a red eye that
turned me cross-eyed from no
sleep. After renting a van and
gear, we find ourselves doing
an interview.for The NewMusic
walking down Church St. It's
ali a Dlur. Walking into Lee's
Palace that night made me
excited because of the HUGE
line-up out front. Vazeleen is
THE place to be in Toronto.
Hundreds of freaks, queers,
pervs, boys, girls and trannys
• filled the room. A hanky code
DAY 3
Back in Toronto by 5pm, just
in time to set up and play
the Fruit Market queer arts
festival. We were so tired. We
played as Skinjobs-Light (no
make-urj no dancers). We
played all the siow songs first
(the sun beaming in, like a sign
from god). The banter was
extra iong and nonsensical.
Me want bed. No time. Mimi's
bass is sick (must fix), and we
must talk to strangers about
rainbows and music on
tape recording machine.
's drug
ttie
to be beside Kurt Cobai
dealer. I'm so glad to
rental van. Last time ! went
on tour, we had a shitty van
that broke down a lot. Chad
Kroeger from Nickelback actually changed our tire once. I
wonder if he remembers that?
DAY 6
Got up to a breakfast and a
short jaunt to the gay bookstore where I quickly befriend-
a chunk outta my hand. Bitch!
Drove to Portland through rain
and sleet. Hail arrived when we
did. Had enough time to kill in
the best independent book-
Kim ponders the hard questions, like: "Boxers or briefs?"
contest was being held (it was
hard to go on after the winner—you can't follow anyone
who wins for her fetish for
puke). Holding a ziplock bag
ful1 of what resembled vomit,
she collected her $100. "And
now—The Skinjobs!!" At the
end of our set, the stage was
packed with our guest Go-Go
Dancers; Ponyboy's underwear will live long in Mitch's
memory.
DAY 2
Morning is too early! Drove to
Ottawa to play a Triangle Trash
Darty with Sophomore Level
Psychology and meet our guest
Go-Go Dancers—Philodoxa
and Jake. Met an FTM youth
questioning his transition and
asking advice about starting
a support group. An amazing conversation ensued that
made me think that it isn't all
about rock n' roll. Cool.
we must not stop! Stayed at
my friend's new house. Greg
and Mike happen to be the
sweetest gay boy couple EVER!
After shopping for photo shoot
props, we strip down naked
and test hair removal strips in
a bubbling Jacuzzi for Fab magazine. Barely a moment to dry
off, <
the n
: gear
and get lost on the way to the
airport. With seconds to spare,
we board the plane. There's no
place like home.
DAY 5
A short time at home before
heading down to Seattle. Short
set, big sound, small crowd
and broken drum kit. Shared
the bill with Madame Morte,
Alan Wiley, Touchdown and
Enemy Kite. Greeted by
store, Powell's Books. After
finding out that the owners
of a burrito place had recently
perished in an accident, closing the restaurant, we downed
some food somewhere else and
headed to the ounk rock house.
Shared the bill with Rocki la
Rock, Pom Pom Meltdown and
Who's the President. Played
as Skinjobs-Light. No time to
sleep—out on the road after
the show to gain some time.
just
r-so-
ithusia
:ic Seattle
Go-Go Dancers—Crzz, Kink
and Kandy with a 'Z', crashed
at Kink's pad, which happens
DAY 7
Yeah! San Francisco! I
realized that 1 have
seen a real palm tree, i am
reminded of Gilligan's Island.
Played tne Eagle Tavern with
Pansy Division, and Raunchy
Reckless And The Amazons—
what a great show. A taste
of home arrived in the form
of Darlene The Ambassador's
Wife and band-girlfriend Amy.
Yum. Got to stay at a new 'Never drop the soap in the Skinjobs' bathtub."
;akfast
friend's house, which i
having a hot tub in th<
ing and a wicked br
made by our hosts Sailor and
Jesse. Are all queer punks this
nice? Fuck, I hope so.
DAY 8
Arrived in LA to meet Ryan and
Bill from Spitshine Records.
It's true: all queer punks are
nice. They joined Darlene The
Ambassador's Wife as #1977
and #23 to Go-Go Dance for
us during Freakshow at the
Gauntlet II (Gay Leather/S&M
bar). How
that? We
■ed the stage with New
Yorker Cazwell and LA local
Dylan Kelly.
DAY 9
A day to relax, finally. We
walked around Venice Beach
and Veronica Lipgloss and The
Evil Eyes. Set up in the kitchen
with dirty underwear hanging
over us. I had to alter my drumming style just so I wouldn't hit
the dangling crotches over my
head. Day shows are always
so weird—and so another
show as Skinjobs-Light, but
it gave us time to get dinner
and say our final good-byes
to our fabulous Go-Go Dancer
Darlene The Ambassador's
Wife. Being together 24-7 can
really change relationships for
the good. I love it.
DAY 11
Portland. Another queer youth
centre show with Call The
Police, Hingham & Hull, and
spoken word by Contagious,
fun but exhausting. Thanks
to our guest Go-Go Dancer—
Tina! The calluses are pretty
big on my hands now. Kim and
Mimi are sick and we are all
really tired. Only one show to
go. Stayed at Zana's house and
had the best thrift experience
of my life! The Bins rocks. Only
$1.29/lb for clothes. I'm movin'
to Portland.
DAY 12
I'm just so tired and home
seems so close. I can smell my
bed from here. Last show in
Olympia with Madame Morte
and Rad Community, and
then on the road towards the
border. Good news: 1 still love
everyone in this van; bad news:
1 can't feel my hands. •
vich
from Spitshin
crazy outfits ;
The show we
to play got ca
of the recen
best friends
, and tried on
t a thrift store.
■ were supposed
incelled, because
t fire code scare
due to the tragedy at the Great
White show. So, we played
an eviction party at a loft.
Never played a set with people
punching through walls and
spray painting everywhere. It
was intense, very memorable.
Got to rock out with our label
mates Iamloved as well as
with Hot & Heavy and The
Sharp Ease.
DAY 10
Driving on the 1-5 to San Fran...
Oh my god, I'm so sad. We just
drove by a slaughterhouse. The
stench had been creeping up,
and the conversation in the
van came to a halt. Hundreds
of cows standing upon mounds
of shit awaiting their death.
What a cryptic sight. I'm craving a salad right now. Last show
in San Francisco was a dirty
underwear party at a queer
Dunk house with Pantv Raid
The Skinjobs unveil their beachwear line.
gossip 'movement' lp/cd
in stores may 6, 2003
on tour all summer long
the decemberists 'castaways and cutouts' cd
in stores may 6, 2003
on tour right now
for free mp3s, updated tour dates, news etc:
www.killrockstars.com
]
120 ne state ave pmb 418
olympia, wa 98501 usa
DO YOU THINK THIS WAS
DESIGNED BY AN ART DIRECTOR?
NO. NO, IT WASN'T.
THAT'S WHY WE NEED ONE.
You can be DiSCORDER's Art Director. If you know
InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator (with at least a passing
knowledge of Quark), and are willing to put up with dumb
people who don't know design and will make you stay long
into the night listening to their dumb jokes, then this is the
position for you.
It may not pay much, but it will give you an unparalleled sense
of superiority.
Call 604.822.3017, ext. 3 or email discorder@dub.ams.ubc.ca
11 DiSCORDER sa)aiiuM3^
FROM GUM ROCK TO TRfiSK ROCK AND PUNK TO POP!
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I time, readers, as we
J—Idive right in and get
to the nitty gritty of the itty
bitty vinyl wonders we call
seven-inch records. First up,
a pair from the thunder from
Down Under—The D4. In town
recently to rock the socks off
appreciative fans, their merch
table was rife with offerings
and I picked two platters that
demonstrated their garage-
rockin' prowess—"Party" b/w
"Gir1" being the first. The A-
side of this single is exactly
that—a weekend anthem
that blasts off like a rocket to
Russia and detonates big time,
with the flip being a slow yet
gritty ode to a mystery female.
Not to be outdone, their other
single ("Get Loose" b/w "John
Rock") unleashes still another
fist-pumpmg monster, coupled with the souped-up twelve
bar blues of The Dogs' classic tune. Their full-length
has the topside cuts, but,
for the completists among
you, the bottom sides are a
must. (Infectious Records,
www.infectiousuk.com).
Another band that
breezed through town last
month were Swedish sirens
Sahara Hotnights. Helping
to relive the bubblegum
punk experience is a sweet
treat from a 'zine called Stop
Smiling. How can I though,
when visions of drummer
Josephine dance through my
head and the tunes "No Big
Deal" b/w "Now Tonight" ring
in my ears? "No Big Deal"
is off the debut record, but
"Now Tonight" is an unreleased, mid-tempo gem reminiscent of the best moments
of Blondie. (Jetset Records,
www.jetsetrecords.com).
Anyone out there familiar
with Hasil Adkins? Dexter
Romweber? Bob Log III? Well,
now you can add BBQ to the
one-man band list. We'll try to
keep his identity a secret, but
we will tell you he's a member
of Montreal's premier party
hounds, Les Sexareenos, and
he handles guitar, drums and
singin' duties all by his lonesome. What a racket this cat
makes! "3 Days" and "I'm The
One" are two fine floorboard
shakin', J.D.-sluggin', back
porch hootenannys that'll
make ya swing and sing,
brothas and sistas! (Goodbye
Boozy Records, Villa Pompetti
147, 64020 S. Nicolo A Tordino,
Teramo, Italy).
Anyone out there familiar
with the term "sophomore
jinx"? Well, it sure ain't happening to Maximum Rock
by Bryce Dunn
And Roll, who, with their
second DIY effort hitting the
turntable this month, take a
page from the Supersuckers
songbook for "D.F.F.," a song
talking about three things
any self-respecting rock fan
should indulge in. If you wanna
hat I'm preachin',
listen to the song, lunkhead!
"Lucky Charm" is the other
tune, and sports the cryptic
line: "So you dance and you
prance / But you can't remove
those unsightly air pockets."
Thinkin' man's rock, eh? The
mix is loud and proud, thanks
to the steady production hand
of Bionic's Ian Blurton, and
yours truly is waiting patiently
for the third and final (?)
installment of the Maximum
R'N'R trilogy to unfold.
And the award for Most
Consistently Amazing Label
Right Now goes to—In
The Red Records! (1118 W.
Magnolia Blvd. P.O. Box 208
Burbank, CA, USA 91506).
Bands such as The Deadly
Snakes, Dirtbombs and
Cheater Slicks (just to name
a few) have all found a home
with ITR and put out incredible left-of-centre records,
so we can proudly add The
Modey Lemon and The Clone
Defects to the list. The Modey
Lemon are a guitar/drums duo
outta Pittsburgh, PA, and they
provide a double dose of noise
that sounds like the Immortal
Lee County Killers on a bad
acid trip. With the addition of
a Moog synth on tracks like
"Six Minutes Of Blackness,"
there's a little more depth ■
to the stripped down sounds
that other combos tend to
tread and me likes. Detroit's
Clone Defects take the traditional punk formula and put it
through the proverbial ringer
on "Shapes Of Venus," which
sounds like they strangled
The Stranglers, while "Stick
My Knife" is nasty, brutish,
and short and only contains
the lines: "I'm gonna stick my
knife in you / and I'm gonna
watch you die." Not for the
faint of heart, 1 tell you.
Lastly, San Francisco
takes aim and fires The Deadly
Weapons' four-song salvo of
pissed-off punk. Fronted by a
pissed-off Tina Lucchesi (ex-
Trashwomen, Bobbyteens,
Tina And The Total Babes)—a
woman who has covered a
lot of musical ground in her
years, and has yet to disappoint—this vinyl missile was
released DIY-style on her
own label. Good for her! 1 got
a kick out of looking at the
inner sleeve of gig flyers, and
seeing one where they opened
for The Briefs as early as this
past February! File next to all
yer Rip Off Records stash...
(Lipstick Records 1154 Powell
St. Oakland, CA USA 94608).
As always, 1 thank you for
reading this far... now go kick
out the jams! •
DEADLY
WEAPONS /strut and fret
performance/art by Penelope Mulligan
CHICK SNIPPER
SLAB
Friday, 14 March
Vancouver East Cultural
Centre
As a meditation on the human
body, slab is both harsh and
exquisite. Choreographer Chick
Snipper was moved to create the piece by images of
the body in various stages of
deconstruction: the classi-
mcal dra
of
Vesalius and Albinus, the wax
figures in Florence's Museo la
Specola, and the plastinated
corpses of the Body World
exhibit which has been touring Europe and Asia. Through
her dancers, Snipper animates
these subjects—not in a danse
macabre, but through a scenario which played out like the
final chapter in the relationship
between spirit and flesh.
The setting was a dissection laboratory where two
fresh cadavers (Anne Cooper
and Susan Elliot) awaited the
ministrations of a scientist
(Kathleen McDonagh). Their
souls, however, seemed unwilling to relinquish their bodies.
Whenever McDonagh exited or
turned her back, the corpses
moved—anxiously, laboriously
and luxuriously—as if spirit
were savouring flesh in one
last waltz. At times, they also
appeared to be practicing for
what was to come: in one of
her solos, Elliot contracted
her torso as if vomiting up her
guts
3ther,
be pulling open her ribcage to
display her entrails.
For her part, the scientist
showed an equal reluctance
to get to work—handling the
corpses tenderly, loath t
lat
them
nth s
s knife.
Unlike her naked subjects, she
only had brief, tentative bouts
with nudity, during which she
may have been re-evaluating
her analytical approach to the
body's wondrous complexity.
In terms of music and
production design, slab could
almost have coasted through
on atmosphere alone. Andreas
Kahre's simple set had the
• of J
SC;1C(
Empty jars
sat in red and blue-lit alcoves
(one imagined the organs they
would contain) and live musicians were backlit behind a
huge scrim, mingling strangely
with the anatomical stills that
were intermittently projected
on it. James Proudfoot's lighting suggested the spooky decorum of a museum after-hours
as composer John Korsrud's
doleful, string-heavy arrangements pushed through the
thick, cool air.
The final capitulation came
when the cadavers lay side by
side on the table and exhaled
their souls in one deep, long
breath. But instead of being
left in gentle contemplation, I
was deeply rattled because, at
that moment, a gang of power-
hungry maniacs was preparing to launch an operation
corpses... disemboweled, skinless, truncated. Ridiculously
vulnerable, the body is war's
most horribly messy casualty.
The notion sits quietly in my
stomach like an undigested
wodge of muck.
It would be unfair and
self-indulgent of me to load
Snipper's work with such intentions, but when Art speaks in a
time of crisis, it often does so
more potently if it hasn't been
tailor-made for the occasion.
slab felt way more timely than
any of us would have wanted.
SEVENTEENTH FLOOR
PERFORMANCE COMPANY
SHHH...
Thursday, 27 March
Studio 16
Like a lot of new companies,
seventeenth floor still wears
its aesthetic on its sleeve. But
it's one that I find appealing,
so I spent a charming hour
savouring the troupe's barrage
of visual and verbal imagery.
Shhh... was driven by a
simple, strong story: twelve-
year-old Penelope hasn't
spoken since she witnessed
her older sister Greta fall
through the ice and drown at
the same age six years previously. We, however, only see
the mute child's three dolls as
they re-enact the trauma. In a
particularly rich bit of writing,
one of them laments, "I collect
anguish in my mouth and it
rots my teeth because it won't
come out."
Although the dolls could
be regarded as stand-ins in
a psychological landscape, it
was much more satisfying to
experience them as beings in
their own right who had been
waiting for a chance to replay
what they'd seen—kind of like
Genet's maids, only less bitchy
and self-serving. These dollies
to break up their mistress's
emotional log-jam and get her
started on puberty. With two
of them in white corsets and
bloomers and one in a virtuously buttoned-up wedding
dress, the atmosphere was
both repressed and sexually
charged.
Performers and co-creators Andrea Donaldson,
Heather Lindsay and Laura
Quigley had a nice physical
handle on dollness as they
moved about like Pierrettes
and Raggedy. Anns. The set
props minimal, but with the
help of Technical Director and
Lighting Designer John Popkin,
they were used in lovely ways.
A big suitcase full of pink light
was opened like a story book,
teacups had tiny lightbulbs
in them, and a swag lamp
Greta's inert body. The dolls
then used its bowl-like shade
to try and defibrillate her.
The talking part was somewhat problematic, though.
Like children who regurgitate
the adult world in their games,
the dolls often spoke in oddly-
tilted chunks of Dada: "the
dishes are smiling," or, my
favourite, "put on a sundress,
have a lemonade and watch
your breasts grow." Language
like this needs careful handling and only Donaldson, as
the doll who played Penelope,
preserved its fragile strangeness with her unselfconscious
delivery. But this was nothing
Director Paolo Ribiero couldn't
have fixed if he'd had a mind
to.
My nagging problem was
with the conventional theatre setting. It was distinctly
unsympathetic to the company's impressionistic way with
narrative and I longed to airlift play and audience to some
shit-hot performance site—a
room in an old house, say, or
the waterfront at night.
The final verdict? I liked
where this crew was going
and look forward to its next
production—wherever it's
performed. •
SCREW YOU
and your pointy shoes.
Ooooh... that didn't sound
good...J
KRUNCHH!
Jesus Christ!...
it's a tongue barbell1. I
What the @*#% is that doing
in my hotdog?!
Well, Marcel... you'll tind that and so
much more in "Squee-Gee Franks"...
They're a tasty new treat from the
makers of "Kitty Bum-Yums"!
Every "Squee-Gee Frank" is made with only the
freshest of ingredients... French-speaking street
kids! First, they're lured away from cleaning cars
with a combination of Poutine and a mix tape
featuring the hits of Roch Voisine and Mitsou...
Once distracted, they're
easily "subdued" and
are taken away, ready
to be processed!
"Squee-Gee Franks" are carefully
prepared using state-of-the-art
Weiner technology, thanks in part to
being generiously subsidized by the
Canadian Government!
...Plus, there are always new kids
showing up here in the summer, so
we'll never run out! Now that's quality
you can see... and taste!
13 DiSCORDER STILL HARDCORE AFTER
ALL THESE YEARS
SEAN OIEARY'S STATE OF THE UNION UPDATE ON
THE NORTHWEST HARDCORE SCENE
PF
BLUE MONDAY: "I shed that sweet goatee and I can honestly say that I am the hardest mosher in Western Canada." (Photo by Andrew Dennison)
Twelve years after I returned to Vancouver, I'm still enamoured of the hardcore scene. I've watched it shoot up and drop back down, but right now it's in a really
great "up" phase. There are a number of good bands right now, and some really active people running great record labels and websites, putting out zines, and
promoting shows. With any luck, this overview will stand as a halfway comprehensive compendium of what's going on in the Northwest, and feature interviews
with some of the major players in the scene.
You will notice that the same challenge is posed to most of the people interviewed: to counter the statement that hardcore is exclusionary, jock-music; that it's
a little boy's club; that it's sophomoric and played out. This was done because statements like this are uttered all the time, and nothing could be further from the
truth. Vancouver and Seattle have for years been the most open and welcoming places to be a part of the HC scene, and while there are negative elements to it, it is
important to try to combat this lapse in communication.
There is no way that everything going on could have been acknowledged or included, but if you have a different take on things, feel free to rebut or submit
something to DiSCORDER (discorder@club.ams.ubc.ca). If you have any feedback, go ahead and email the author at: seanolearyhatescops@rednecks.com.
WE ARE THE CHAMPION: Seattle's Champion Damn the Critics
Seattle's Champion are currently the darlings of the NW scene, and
have plied their brand of melodic-yet-heavy straightedge hardcore
all over the continent. Their mini-album Count Our Numbers is
a testament to the building of a healthy, vibrant hardcore scene,
and anyone who has watched them grow as a band has watched
the Seattle (and Vancouver) scene grow along with them. Guitarist
Aram Arslanian chatted with us in March and April of 2003.
DiSCORDER: Hardcore is in a bit of a renaissance, right now.
By that, I mean that lately there has been a push towards more
traditional forms of HC, but with lots of bands reaching back to
those traditional forms and making something fresh and new
with them. Where do you guys see yourself as fitting in this?
Aram: Well, anyone who listens to Champion and is at all familiar
with the late '80s early '90s hardcore scene would definitely be
able to pick out a definite Chain of Strength and Turning Point
influence in our song-writing. COS is my favorite band across
all genres of music, so 1 know that I bring an extremely heavy
influence from them into almost every musical situation, but I
definitely feel that we bring our own ideas to the table in terms
of songwriting on a musical and lyrical level. Basically, we try to
build on the foundations that bands like COS and TP have laid,
while also introducing completely new ideas and sounds. With
hardcore—especially old school hardcore—it's really important to
look at the past, but also to try to move toward something new,
and that's what we're striving for in Champion.
You've been on Bridge Nine Records for some time now. Bridge
Nine has quickly replaced Revelation, Victory, and Trustkill as
the most prestigious hardcore label in the world. Do you want to
comment on the rise of Bridge Nine? What's it like being on B9?
In regard to working with any label, it's important to realize just
how much the "business" end of hardcore has radically changed
over the past few years. Things like promotion, marketing, and
sales tracking are now just an unavoidable part of being on any
successful label, so, when we sat down to discuss who we wanted
to work with, the most important questions we considered were,
"After the business side—behind all the bells and whistles—is this
a true hardcore label? Does the person who runs it believe in and
support hardcore?" We had started looking into a few options and
talking to people when Chris Wrenn, owner of Bridge 9, contacted
us out of the blue. We were already big fans of the bands on the
label and really impressed by the way he ran the B9; after a few
conversations with Chris, we were convinced that this was the
15 DiSCORDER label for Champion. What Wrenn cares about is building the
best HC label he can and supporting his bands to the fullest. He
puts out bands that he loves and believes in, most of which are
HC—although the label is not limited to that—and makes sure
that their records are everywhere. There's no other label that we
see eye to eye with and trust as much as Bridge 9, so we couldn't
be happier with the situation we're currently in. So far we've
released the Count Our Numbers CDEP/ 7" on B9 and Wrenn is re-
releasing our first CDEP/ 7", Come Out Swinging in April; after that,
we'll be recording our full-length that will be out on B9 in the fall.
Seriously, so far being on Bridge 9 has been nothing but amazing,
and I can only imagine it's going to get better.
Aram, you're from Calgary, you've lived in Vancouver for the
past five years or so, and you've spent more time in Seattle
"What I believe in
isn't up for debate.
I've seen and done
enough to know
exactly what HC
and sXe mean to
me, and no one
can tarnish that,
so there's no need
to defend it."
■—Aram Arslanian,
Champion
to be the center of the rebirth of an amazing Vancouver HC scene
in the next year.
"Straightedge Hardcore is exclusionary, white-bread, violent
jock music." "Hardcore is dead, rehashed, sophomoric crap. It
was good when I was 14, but I grew out of it." How would you
counter these statements?
I've heard countless—no, seriously, countless—people say things
like that over the years, and it's completely stopped fazing me.
Honestly, I almost never answer any type of criticism about
hardcore or straightedge for a few simple reasons:
1) I'm not interested in anyone's insights about HC and sXe
(straightedge), unless they're actively involved in what's going on
in the scene today. The type of criticism you've mentioned almost
always comes from people who are completely outside of the
(Photo by Mike Witherspoon)
since you've joined the Champ than most people who live there.
Vancouver and Seattle have vastly different HC scenes. What do
you think are the major differences?
Well, the most notable difference is the American bands that hit
Seattle obviously don't want to deal with the hassles involved
with trying to get into another country illegally, so they just
pass Vancouver up. That's absolutely the biggest reason for the
difference in the size of scenes between the two cities. Seattle not
only gets far more touring bands rolling through town, but it also
gets more of the "bigger name" bands, which means larger draws
to the shows, which then leads to more and more kids realizing
that there's actually a local scene of bands that they can get
involved with. But I don't think that has to mean a slow death for
Vancouver and Victoria at all. What we need to do is rethink our
situation—bands can get into Canada legally and with very little
hassle if the proper paperwork is filed and the border fee is paid;
promoters need to organize a circuit of three cities that bands can
play (i.e., Vancouver, Victoria, and Kamloops), do the paperwork
for the bands, and then split the cost of the border fee between
the three shows. If promoters will take the chance, and kids will
pay slightly higher door prices, then we can make Western Canada
a regular stop for touring bands and that'll be a big step in turning
everything around.
Furthermore, most healthy scenes basically revolve around
a few great bands that go all out and really try to commit
themselves to their music. These bands eventually get bigger
on a national level, which brings attention to their city, draws
people out to local shows, and inspires kids to get involved—and
that leads to the formation of bands, zines, distros, and labels.
Vancouver had a great scene when Strain and Sparkmarker were
active because there were two amazing bands that were not only
blowing the roof off every show in the city, touring like crazy, and
putting out quality records, but were motivating people by making
them realize that they could make it happen for themselves. I
think that, until recent times, Vancouver's been lacking those
types of "flagship" bands which scenes are built around, but Blue
Monday, Burden, End This Week With Knives, and Deadsure are
absolutely starting to change that. These bands have all recorded
great records, played countless shows, and are really dedicating
themselves to giving it their all. I firmly believe that they're going
16 May 2003
scene, and I'm not going to waste my time arguing with someone
who not only has no current experience with HC, but who also has
nothing invested in the things I believe in.
2) The hardcore scene doesn't need the approval of any kind of
"underground consortium" in order to exist, so why would anyone
involved in HC feel that they should have to answer critics? I'm
not making excuses for HC, or asking for anyone's permission to
be involved, so there's no reason to argue with anyone about it,
especially anyone who's already so dismissive of something so
important to me.
3) Finally, what I believe in isn't up for debate. I've seen and
done enoughto know exactly what HC and sXe mean to me, and
no one can tarnish that, so there's no need to defend it. End of
conversation. Listen, the world is full of critics and I could defend
hardcore and straightedge for hours on end, and it wouldn't make
a difference, because people don't care about the truth—they only
care about proving themselves right. The heart of the matter is
that you have to define HC and sXe for yourself, and in your own
way—damn the critics.
<www.xchampionx.com> or <www.bridge9.com>
HOW SURE? Vancouver's Newest HC Combo are Deadsure.
Deadsure is both a new and old band featuring the former
backbone of Samsarasevin and In The Endtime, Greg Dinardo
(guitar), Leo Sepulveda (bass), and Emilio Porco (drums), who
has sadly departed for the University of Toronto. With the newish
addition of former Sparkmarker vocalist/lyricist Ryan Scott, they
are barging into your hearts and minds with a fresh, heavy, and
rhythmic sound. Their six-song demo CD (which you can get from
the band for a pittance) is being remixed and released by No Idea
Records, the original home of Hot Water Music and others.
DiSCORDER: Ryan, you've been somewhat absent from the
"scene" since you left Sparkmarker. Now you're back, and all
evidence shows that you are hell-bent on creating something
special this time. Do you want to comment on what was up when
you were "away"? What happened? You seem like a little kid
with a bag full of Halloween candy right now.
Ryan: Hmm, I could write a novel on this subject, but if I did there
would be a big chapter on how I can't believe I'm interacting with
the world through art and this fucking novel! I guess this is an
example of how tension and contradiction can motivate action.
In some respects, the reason I'm back creating art for public
consumption is because it's the last motherfucking thing I feel like
doing! And therefore (if you're still following me), it's what I need
to be doing in order to survive (i.e., not killing myself) and grow as
a human. If you see me rolling on the ground and generally acting
like a jackass on stage, it might be hard to believe, but I'm really
quite a conservative, non-risk-taking kinda dude. And so if I'm
not really pushing through those introverted, non-participatory
boundaries by taking part in fairly overt and urgent art-making,
then I'm virtually comatose and, in turn, of absolutely no use to
society. So, uh, yeah—why am I back? I guess it's some bizarre
attempt to be a vital being, and to be of use to the world around
me. Oh, yeah—as to where I was when I wasn't a part of the
"scene," I guess I was just building weapons.
Greg, Emilio and Leo have been playing together for a long time
in Samsarasevin, Texasisthequickmarker, In The Endtime, and
Deadsure. One would think that your sound might be rather
tired, but I hear a freshness and enthusiasm in the music that
you get only from young bands—"young" meaning the band just
started, not young like DBS.
Ryan: It really seems like all four of us are in the same stage of our
creative development. Sure, Leo, et al., were playing music while
I was writing hideous things like, "Leo, et al.," in term papers, but
all of us were hibernating to one degree or another. Now, we're
gleeful and fairly well rested little kids with tons of energy. I'm
sure I was an energy boost for them, but Greg, Leo, and Emilio
have each individually inspired and rejuvenated me, as well.
School is out and we're ready to party!
Leo: Once again, that touches on our being together for a long
time and the want to play together knowing that we would find
someone who could put the same energy into the songs as the
music. With Ryan joining us, he had this huge amount of pent-up
energy that is coming out like a bursting dam, and we all feed off
of each other's exuberance.
You guys all come from different bands, with varying degrees of
success and/or notoriety. Regardless, they all made an indelible
mark on Vancouver as a musical city, and were all distinct and
special. What from your previous bands are you retaining and
what are you doing differently? This relates to not only sound, of
course, but attitudes, aesthetics, whatever—toss 'em all in.
Ryan: From a music/songwnting/performance perspective, I would
say that what I hold on to from the olden days is the emphasis on
raw intensity and urgency. You know—plugging in at rehearsal
or on a stage, and creating art that is structured, but intuitively
composed. However, a major divergence lies in my philosophy
about what a studio is and can be. I spoke of this earlier, as well.
During my tenure with Sparkmarker, the prevailing theory seemed
to be that if we couldn't do it live, then we shouldn't do it in the
studio. Thus, the studio is simply a place where things are recorded.
To me, this idea has always been insane. Thankfully, more people
in punk rock have come to view things a little differently. I don't
care if you're in a "hardcore" band—the studio is a tool. Whether
you're on a stage, at practice, or recording—if you're inspired by
the surroundings and the weapons at your disposal, then you go
for it. "No, we don't do that live?!" or "Put that saw away Ryan,
we're a hardcore band!" FUCK ALL THAT. I might not be using a
space echo for my vocals on stage anytime soon, but on record it
increased the intensity and impact. You see? The goals don't even
have to change but, because they are two very different mediums,
the methods are going to vary. If they don't, the result is a bunch
of songs that lose their teeth when you take away the sweat and
collective energy of live performance.
Leo: For myself, it is the thing of putting energy into songwriting,
time-wise and recording-wise. In the studio, use the tools
at your disposal, while still keeping the live energy; outside
of the studio, take time to work on a song until it is ready—
don't just write three or four songs a rehearsal and keep
them, even though they have 20 zillion parts, and you need
a computer in order to keep track of what part comes next.
You just played Rock For Choice. How was that? Are you guys
a political band, or just political people? Also, I've noticed
a decided downturn in political action from HC bands since
the early '90s. My personal assessment is that people were
tired of the hyper-PC attitudes flowing around back then
(that few of us were immune to), and the blind toeing of party
lines. Care to comment? Where do you fit in that? Can you
think of a way to balance being a rockin', fun band that people
can dance to while also having something powerful to say?
Ryan: Playing Rock For Choice totally ripped! It was really fun and
political, and it reminded me that the two can feed off each other
beautifully. Since there was an overt political stance involved, I
found that the energy and sense of urgency was heightened. It
wasn't "just another show" and that's what helped make it fun and
very memorable. Dogmatic, always stern, one-dimensional politics,
quite frankly, bore me to tears, whether it's in art, conversation, the
media, the classroom, or whatever, but so does stance-less, noncommittal rock music. What I tend to need is active and reflective
discourse that's both personal and adventurous. And, oh yeah, FUN! QUIT YOUR CRYING: Blue Monday Mosh Harder Than You
If Eric FlexYourHead's opinion means anything to you, then pay
close attention to Blue Monday. He likes them; he likes them a
lot, and thinks they've got the chops to be one of the important
upcoming bands. Well, Blue Monday are that new, up-and-
coming band. With a sound that hearkens back to the more raw
punk of SS Decontrol while having their feet firmly planted in
modern straightedge hardcore, their new recording promises to
be a NWHC classic. Their vocalist—the man they call Danzig Mac
(a.k.a. Dave Macdonald)—spoke to DiSCORDER on a Blue Easter
Monday.
DiSCORDER: What's up with Blue Monday?
DxM: We are pretty much just chilling, eating lots of all-you-can-
eat-sushi, getting stoked on a short West Coast tour that we are
doing at the end of April, and shopping around a new recording
that we finished up last month.
What labels are you looking for?
We have been sending off to small and mid-sized hardcore labels
in the US. We don't have a specific label in mind; we are looking for
someone who has decent distro, and can get our stuff out to kids
who have not heard it before. We would be willing to change our
sound to something more poppy, though, if Virgin or BMG would
e us a
lolmillio
I'm asking this of all my hyper-jockoid, angry, white, male
hardcore dudes—here's a couple of statements I want you to
counter: "Hardcore, especially sXe, is exclusionary, white-bread,
male-dominated, jock music," and, "Hardcore is immature,
sophomoric and just played-out."
Statement A: "Quit your crying." Seriously, this is something that
I hear from indie-rock fucks, who are just pissed off because they
can't stand up front at hardcore shows and look like a hipster. And
please don't judge what you obviously don't understand.
Statement B: There is a spirit to hardcore that can't be
surpassed, and even if the bands are sub-par at playing their
instrument, most of them are in the music for the music—because
they love it. You can't fuck with that. Plus, just because a band
isn't Dillinger Escape Plan or Radiohead or something, doesn't
mean they aren't good musicians—there is something to be said
for simplicity. And every type of music is played out—nothing is
new these days. Just because you have some electronic sounds or
some shit, it doesn't make you a genius.
I remember when I started seeing you at shows—you came in
some time around '96-97 when there was a lot of new blood in
the scene. What brought you to hardcore?
Well, I first went to a hardcore/punk show in the summer of '96
to see my friend's brother's band Reserve 34. Man, did they ever
suck then, [laughs] But I loved the energy at that show, plus AFI
headlined, and I was kind of blown away by them. 1 started to
seek out more punk shows, and one day found myself at a Strain
reunion at a tiny coffee shop called the Java Joint. That show made
me a hardcore kid.
And you have since learned how to mosh properly?
Yeah, I shed that sweet goatee, and I can honestly say that I am
the hardest mosher in Western Canada.
Is there a specific reason that hardcore and straightedge
appealed to you?
I had a serious drug and drinking problem from the ages of
12-16 and, just before I turned 17, I went through a live-in drug
rehab program. 1 started going to shows just after I got out of
the recovery house, and I was immediately drawn to the sXe
aspect of it. I had never heard of anything like it before, and it
complemented my lifestyle change quite well.
Explain the Vancouver/Seattle Hardcore connection.
Personally, I probably wouldn't have lasted very long in the
hardcore scene if it wasn't for Seattle. The local Vancouver scene
has always left me desiring something more. I think I would have
gotten sick of going to shows where 20 kids showed up and just
stood around all bored if I couldn't have gone down to Seattle,
where shows were much bigger and all the kids were totally
amped on the music. Plus, my first two favourite hardcore bands,
Botch and Trial, were from Seattle.
As a band, we have a lot of friends down in Seattle that have
helped us and supported us from the get-go. When we first got
together, we figured we would play Vancouver infrequently,
and focus on playing shows down in Seattle more. This was not
because we don't like our hometown, but because we didn't really
expect much from Vancouver when we first formed. Like, just over
a year and a half ago, a good hardcore band like Strike Anywhere
would play here and 20 kids would show up. We have been really
surprised by the way Vancouver has been coming around lately,
though. Our shows have been great, and the reaction and the
support of the kids has been growing steadily.
So, what do you think is changing that? Obviously you and Kyle
[the guitarist] have a lot to do with that—I have seen you on
many occasions with a stack of posters and some wheat paste—
but what more can we do?
Well, actually, I don't feel right taking any credit for it; I think it is
more about Steveston Mike. He is the guy who puts on all the all-
ages hardcore shows in Vancouver, and he has been doing it for
some time. I watched him put on a couple shows where he lost a
lot of money—a few hundred dollars at least—but he just kept on
putting on shows.
Kyle and I started postering for every show we were on the
bill for about a year ago. The first show we did it for was the last
Reserve 34 show. We put up 700 posters for that show alone, and
the turnout was great—obviously for 1,000 other factors as well,
like The Red Light Sting, and because Reserve 34 were the best
hardcore band from Vancouver ever, but we figured maybe the
flyers had something to do with it. So, we have put up at least
300 flyers every time we are on a bill. I think that what people can
do, too, is keep coming out to shows,to support local and touring
bands, and I especially stress this for people who are in bands, I
watched too many bands in the past just support the scene when
it had something to do with them, and that just sucks to see.
You guys have plans to tour down the West Coast. Do you plan
to go bigger than that? You seem to be in one of those situations
where if you don't have something out, you can't tour, but if you
do have something out, you must tour to support it. What are
your plans?
We started this band with the intention of getting out of
Vancouver and touring, yet all we have been able to do is three
short West Coast weekend tours. We have one record out now
and we are in the process of getting our second one pressed, and
our plan, as it always has been, is to get out and tour and play to
as many people as we can. We all have tight schedules that have
prevented long trips to date, but we are all going to be freed up in
the near future.
Who is the cutest baby in the VCHC?
Eric Adam Mitchell, aka XBaby DiegoX. [Eri
bassist's son. —Sean]
s Adam, the BM's
END THIS WEEK WITH KNIVES: Catch Them If You Can
by Stephen Fallis
End This Week With Knives is a hard band to pin down, and it's
not just because they are busy guys. Started just over a year ago,
this band has been one of the most active in Vancouver, having
completed in excess of fifty shows, and with a summer tour in the
works. In addition to the constant touring, they have also released
a demo, completed a music video, and have begun work on a full-
length recording.
LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE MOSHING
A POINT-FORM GUIDE TO THE HC SCENE by Stephen Fallis
Here's a quick look at what's
going on in the Vancouver
(and area) hardcore scene. I've
tried to include every band/
magazine/website/whatever
that 1 could, so please don't hit
me if I missed your project.
A Bond Still Strong: A
new hardcore magazine
co-started by Jason from
Burden. Coverage of what's
going on in hardcore, and
concentrating on the NWHC
scene. First issue to be out in
the early summer. Contact:
abss_hczine@yahoo.com
Anchor Records: Rocking
both The Edge and The Core
simultaneously, this label
has so far issued releases by
Stay Gold, What Feeds The
Fire, and Allegiance. Contact:
anchorxrecords@hotmail.
com or (new website soon)
www.anchorxrecords.com
Bistro Distro: A little known
distro that sells a mix of
music and printed material.
Many releases from No Idea,
G7, and Combat Rock, and
a great selection of zines.
Contact: www.geocities.com/
bistrodistro/
Blue Monday: Just released
their first 7" entitled War
Wounds, and recently finished
recording another 7". Tentative
plans are being made for a late
June/Early July tour. Contact:
xbluemondayx@hotmail.com
Blueprints As Weapons: A
new band in the ATDI/Newer
Fugazi/Dischord records vein.
Contact: ala86699@telus.net
Bombs Away!: New hardcore
band from the Fraser Valley.
They've just recorded a CD
entitled To Whom It Won't
Concern, but are putting things
on hold for the summer. Contact:
everseenme@hotmail.com
Breaking Away: New hardcore
band with ex-members of
The Attack. They bought a
van and are looking to play
out of town shows. Demo
out very soon. Contact Norm:
xnormx@antisocial.com, or by
phone at 604-254-1630.
Burden: New CDEP soon, and
a second Euro tour. Contact:
www.vancouverhardcore.com/
burden/
Champion: July tour with
The Promise and Death
Threat, possible August
tour in Europe, new record
out in the fall. Contact:
www.xchampionx.com
CITR 101.9 fm: Lots of hardcore
and punk shows. Are you
listening to it? If not, why not?!
This is the program guide!
Confusion: Members of The
Attack, Fucked Up Kid, and
Chuck Norris doing a raw,
hardcore/punk band along
the lines of Talk is Poison or
No Parade. A demo should be
out in May or June. Contact:
markplam604@hotmail.com
Deadsure: Lots of buzz
surrounding the newest No
Idea Records band. Contact:
yancot@hotmail.com
Dissent: Just finished a new
CD, engineered by Shawn
Thingvold (Strapping Young
Lad, Lamb Of God), and
were recently featured on
MuchMusic's Going Coastal.
Contact: www.dissent-hq.tk
End This Week With Knives:
Doing the screamy/melodic/
heavy/rockin' hardcore thing.
Contact: www.endthisweekwit
hknives.com
Ethics: A combo record
label/promo and design/
booking/management
company run by two of the
guys from ETWWK. Contact:
www.ethicsindustries.com
Fast Times Photography: Fast
Times offers photography for
both music and non-music
related subjects. Photographs
included in the layouts for such
bands as Champion, Terror,
and Himsa. Contact: www.fas
ttimesphotography.com
Flexyourhead: The radio
show, the website, the
lifestyle. See the full interview
to read more about Eric
and what he does. Contact:
www.flexyourhead.net
Go It Alone: Ex-members
of Reserve 34, The Attack,
September, and Carry On.
Demo out already; look forthem
to start playing shows soon.
Plan to be in the studio late
summer, with an early summer
West Coast tour. Contact:
xxradxx@hotmail.com
Rosary: Based out of the
Seattle area, but with Lucas
(ex-Reserve 34 and Carry On)
handling the drums. Demo
out now, and new recordings
in the works. Summer touring
is planned as well. Contact:
rosary/
Ripped To Shreds: These
honorary Vancouverites (who
call Bellingham home) have
already completed a West
Coast tour, released a tape
(Beneath the Pavement... The
Beach), and should have a
split 7" record out soon with
unreleased Attack songs.
Contact: rippedtoshreds.frees
Strain: Strain: THEY ARE
BACK!!! Even if only for one
show. 6/28/03, a benefit for
Impact Teen Substance Abuse
Program, in celebration of
Sean Spear's (Burden guitarist,
Dissent vox) ten year drug
free anniversary. Guests:
Champion, Burden, Dissent,
Blue Monday. Seylynn Hall,
605 Mountain Highway, North
Vancouver.
Submission Hold: Not too
much happening right now.
Possible touring in September,
and a new record is slowly
coming together. Contact:
www.tao.ca/~submissionhold/
Tough As Nails: Heavy
hardcore from Vancouver
Island. They're doing what
they can to revive the hardcore
scene over there, so if you
need a show, contact them.
Second demo and West Coast
tour in the works. Contact:
www.toughasnails.org
VancouverHardcore.com: Not
as busy as it used to be, but still
worth a look if you want to see
the old Strain and Reserve-34
sites. Contact: www.vancouver
hardcore.com
Other things of note in the
Northwest hardcore scene:
1-2-3-4 GO! Records: Out of
Seattle, this label has released
the Spitting Teeth 7" and
co-released the Power of 10
compilation with Excursion
records. Contact: www.singles
goingsteady.com/gorecords/
Excursion Records: Seattle's
long-running record label is
now more active than ever.
Many new releases on the
way, including a re-release of
the NWHC movie The Edge
of Quarrel on DVD. Contact:
www.excursionrecords.com
Hardcoremusic.com: Reviews,
message board, photos, etc.
Lots to keep you busy, if you
have some time to kill. Contact:
www.hardcoremusic.com
NWHardcore.com: TH E website
to stay up-to-date on all the
goings-on in our hardcore scene.
Message board, show dates,
pictures, etc., etc., etc. Contact:
www.nwhardcore.com
Odeum: A design group from
Portland, Oregon, specializing
in music-related projects.
Contact: www.odeum.org
Wordsasweapons.com: Run
by Greg Bennick (ex-Trial). A
political site with some hardcore-
related content; definitely
worth checking out. Contact:
www.wordsasweapons.com
17 DiSCORDER Still, despite all this activity, the band seems to have generated
more interest outside of Vancouver than in their own hometown,
evidenced by the fact they have a split release with Morse Code
Heartbeat scheduled for Portland's Grey Sky Records. "The US has
been great. The shows haven't been huge, but the response we get
is totally rad," says Cody Robinson, the band's singer and leader.
"Our Western Canada tour was good, we always get good crowds
on Vancouver Island."
Perhaps this is a result of the band being hard to fit into any
specific musical category, or that they are very different than
most bands in Vancouver or the NWHC scene in general. This may
be a blessing in disguise, as it gives them a chance to play to and be
accepted by many different audiences. Either way, you can form
FLEX THIS: Fifteen Years of Eric Flexyourhead
For almost a decade and a half, Eric "Flexyourhead" Thorkelsson
has been one of the most constant boosters of all-ages
Vancouver/NW hardcore. His weekly radio show Flex Your Head
(heard Tuesdays at 6pm on CiTR 101.9 FM) is a constant source
of new music from around the globe, and can be a good way for
newer kids to learn their hardcore history. Eric has been around
longer than most, and it's a safe bet he'll be around for a lot longer,
outlasting those of little faith.
DiSCORDER: You've been around since the days of tape trading
and writing letters to people in the classified section of
Maximum Rock and Roll. Do you think that's still a phenomenon,
"The most
important thing we
share is the same
passion. I don't
care how old people
are—if you are 60
and you have the
same passion for
punk rock I do, I'd
probably hang out
with you."
—Eric Flexyourhead
ur own opinion, as no doubt there will be a chance for you to
tch one of their many live shows in the near future.
<www.endthisweekwithknives.com>
BURDEN: Rebirth
by Stephen Fallis
The last year or so has been tough for Burden—and having lost
a long time member and songwriter, auditioned many drummers
without success, and not released or recorded any material since
mid-2001, you can see why. But finally, in 2003, things are looking
up.
After about a year of searching, Burden finally has a
permanent drummer. "The drummers we tried were punk and
metal drummers; they couldn't get the hardcore style down,"
says Jason Kolins, the band's singer (known to most as Jason
Burden). So, after many unsuccessful attempts, they finally found
a qualified candidate—he just had to move out from Eastern
Canada. Jason Kehoe (ex-Day of Mourning, and Rise Over Run)
emailed Burden, saying he was thinking of moving out to BC, if
he could be introduced to people within the hardcore scene, and if
there were any bands looking for drummers—an opportunity that
Kolins leapt at.
Now, with their secure line-up, Burden has big plans for the
coming year. They are set to enter the studio in June to record the
follow-up to their full-length, // You Don't Stand For Something,
You'll Fall For Anything. This will also result in a new 7" EP on
Germany's Dead Serious Recordings, with six new songs and a
possible cover or two. Also in the works is a second European tour
this August, as well as probable West and East Coast tours.
<www.vancouverhardcore.com/burden/>
(Photo by some kid from Germany.)
or has the Internet totally taken over that?
Eric FlexYourHead: I don't know if people still trade tapes. 1 know
people still trade records, but it's not the same as it was back
then....
What is good about the internet taking over that part of
hardcore?
Everything. It is an unparalleled communication device. With the
Internet, I can know what went on in Boston two hours after it
happened. That didn't happen before.
Now we can hear a new band two days after they've recorded
their new demo. One of the good things about punk rock and
hardcore is that most people will search things out, and so it's
given even more ability to hear new things; it's made it easier for
a young band to have people hear them. No one has to send three
dollars and postage for a home-recorded demo—you can just grab
an MP3 from the website. Also, the zine phenomenon—print is
great, but have you ever gotten what you think is a new zine, and
the record reviews are a year old?
Any drawbacks to the internet?
I think the one drawback is that there's too much shit-talking on
the internet. All of the internet's great scene-building ability can be
undermined by people that feel comfortable and confident, while
they anonymously sit behind a computer, putting down other
people. It's difficult to confront someone face to face, and those
people will go to a show together and never talk to each other.
What's your favourite era of Vancouver Hardcore?
I would actually say that now is a good era. The scene is very
vibrant currently, and there are a lot of good bands. A lot of kids
who have been on the periphery of the scene for the past five
years or so have grown to the point where the stuff they are doing
is much higher quality, more mature, and it's at the point where I
really want to hear it.
Blue Monday is a prime example of that: kids who have grown a
little and are doing a great band....
Well, those are kids who have been going to hardcore shows for
the last six years or so—I recognize Kyle from the Strain days
in '96, and these kids are totally involved, totally dedicated, and
they're putting out quality material. They're doing good stuff,
whereas six years ago, you could definitely tell that while there
was promise, they just weren't there yet. They're part of this big
group of kids who have grown up a bit, and the stuff that they are
doing now is crucial.
I would consider the very early days—like '79-'81—to be
the obvious cornerstone. The people involved then laid down
the groundwork for everything to follow, and opened up a lot of
avenues for punk rock in Vancouver. '86 was another time when
the scene really opened up, and things were really, really awesome
in Vancouver. Lots of kids were going to shows—it wasn't bizarre
to go to a punk rock show, even a show with local bands headlining
at the New York Theater, and have 400-600 kids show up. Death
Sentence or DOA could be headlining, and you'd have almost 1,000
kids coming out for a show.
Why do you think that doesn't happen now? [A big show nowadays,
by Vancouver hardcore standards, is 200 people. — Sean]
There's too much for kids to do nowadays. There's the internet,
Playstation, hundreds of cable and satellite TV channels—all
that stuff wasn't really around back then. Back in the 1980s, you
skateboarded, you listened to punk rock, and you went to shows.
There weren't as many distractions. You didn't just say, "I'm
staying home tonight and playing Tony Hawk."
You're always championing Euro bands and talking about the
European scene. What's so great about it?
Kids in North America just don't have the same political
orientation as they do in Europe. We, as Canadians, are so not
separated from American culture that it's almost like we live
there, whereas in Europe, they're so not American. They look at
things differently, and the thing that makes European hardcore
so crucial is that those bands sometimes try really hard to be
American, but because they're not American and don't have the
same perspective on things, something gets screwed up in the
translation. It makes it not American, totally European, totally
its own, and a lot more interesting. There are a lot of American
hardcore bands that I think are totally paint-by-numbers; so
many of them sound the same. A European hardcore band, trying
to sound like an American hardcore band, may have that paint-
by-numbers aspect, but something gets lost in the translation.
Early Refused is a lot like that. They were definitely influenced by
American hardcore, but what came out was very un-American.
You're older than a lot of people in the scene. You've always
boosted all-ages shows, and I can't recall the last time I saw you
at a bar show. What do you say to people who ask you, "Why do
you hang out with a bunch of fucking kids?" What is so good
about hardcore shows? I get questioned all the time, and I'm 31.1
don't know how old you are...
I'm a little older than you. [laughs] A lot of people my age have
gotten to the point where they're kind of boring, to be totally
honest. And I hang out with kids that aren't my age, not because
1 don't want to be boring, but because, well, we obviously share
a common interest. It's as if people my age have lost the passion
for things that were important to them at one point in time, and I
haven't lost the passion for punk rock yet. I don't want to lose it.
I also think that people of all ages can learn a lot from each other.
I'm constantly being surprised by people half my age, by things
they say and things they do. A lot of people have some really
interesting ideas, and I'm constantly finding new perspectives on
things. The most important thing we share is the same passion.
I don't care how old people are—if you are 60 and you have the
same passion for punk rock I do, I'd probably hang out with you.
"Hardcore is exclusionary, male-dominated, white-bread
crap. It's sophomoric and played out." How do you counter a
statement like that?
Well, I wouldn't say it's played, because it's managed to keep my
interest for 23 years. There's obviously enough innovation, and I'm
not bored yet. I think a lot of the people who would say it's white,
male and exclusionary are....
White males?
No, they're most likely people who would feel excluded wherever
they went. I would say that, on a number of levels, yeah, hardcore
is definitely white and male. But it's not a racial or cultural thing;
it's just that there are a lot of white males involved. No one is
saying you're not allowed to participate because you're a girl. Hell,
yeah—I love "girl hardcore." F-Minus in particular are amazing
and kick ass. I'm also totally stoked on this band Zinc from Spain,
right now. Both are awesome bands, so I'm like "bring it on." I
don't care if you're male, female, purple, pink, or if you play with
Teletubbies—bring it on.
And places like Malaysia have huge hardcore scenes. Not a white
person in sight.
Yeah, it's just easy to point out the negative. If you ask me,
hardcore is still pretty fucking progressive. • HOT SWEDISH NIGHTS
SAHARA HOTNIGHTS KICK IT OUT FOR THE
NICE BUT CREEPY OLD GUYS
Interview by Christine Gfroerer. Photo by Bryce Dunn
ff
Oh, to be young and Swedish! Sahara Hotnights are an all
girl four piece from Umea, Sweden—an "absolut" cocktail
of Suzi Quatro and the more raw side of The Runaways.
These women maintain the Spirit of '77 with one foot and a half in
early punk and a toe or two dipped in loud, bellbottom rock, while
most of them weren't even born until 1981! They keep up with the
boys easily; they are fierce and, dare 1 say, pretty sexy too.
During the soundcheck of their last Vancouver show, I met
up with the surprisingly amiable and well-spoken sisters, Jennie
(guitarist) and Johanna (bassist) Asplund. Big sis Jennie did most
of the talking, while poor Johanna, with a cold, coughed away
quietly, but added some comments here and there.
DiSCORDER: I heard you started playing at a very young age. How
old were you when you started the band?
Jennie and Johanna: I (Jennie) was 13, and the others were 11, but
at the time I played synthesizers.
You apparently started the band because you were bored, but
why did you really start it?
From the beginning, we were all friends, and all interested in music
and played instruments. Since we were friends, we all thought we
should try playing in a band together—and we are sisters, too. We
never played with any other people but us. I don't know how it
would be if we had played with anyone else. That would be bad.
Were you self-taught?
Yeah, pretty much. We took lessons in school, too, but we didn't
really do our homework—we just sat around talking to the teacher
about how cool it was going to be to have a rock band and to be
on tour.
What were the first records you bought?
I really liked Roxette as a kid. They had really sleazy pop songs.
When I was little my dad gave me a Dire Straits cassette. I didn't
like it then, but I like it now!
Being an all-female band, do you hope to encourage other girls to
get out there and start bands, too?
Yeah, well, of course—if they are a good band. I hope that [all
the] people [will], whether it's boys or girls. And it's of course
fun if there are more girls doing it, but there are so many other
female bands who push for girl bands because they are girls and
not because they're good. It kind of makes it a bit weird, because
it's perpetuating the idea that girls can't be good musicians. You
have to make it the same deal for both: just start a band, see what
happens, play as much as you can, and then when you're ready,
you're ready—not just [putting] it out because it's cool that it's all
girls. A lot of record companies think it's going to sell more records
because it's girls and then sign them, but then it's way too fast,
because sometimes it's not that good. It's pretty weird, because,
when we got popular in Sweden, all the major labels wanted to
sign us because we were an all-girl band and they thought it was
some kind of trend, but we sounded awful back then.
People ask us, "I want to start a band, too, with just girls—what
am 1 supposed to do?" And I don't really have a good answer for
that, because I just think you should start a band with people you
hang out with and who have the same interests. So, if it's three
guys, why should you look for three girls? We never thought it was
a weird thing that we all were females. When we started, we didn't
think that much about it, but then the media started reacting to it
and made it seem unusual, and then only focused on that.
Have you been approached by any feminist magazines trying
to get statements from you and to support the idea of being a
feminist band?
Of course we think of ourselves as a feministic band, and I would
presume that all girls are feminists to a certain point, but just
playing music proves that. But whether it's boys or girls, it doesn't
matter—we don't have to shout "go girls" or "girl power"—it's
more about just having an interest in playing music. But of course
more girls should pick up instruments, because everybody can do
it. But we don't think about it too much; we just play and have fun
and it works out in the end.
It's obvious that perseverance and dedication have no gender bias.
Yeah, exactly. It's not like someone can just say, "I want to have a
band and I want to be famous." Maybe it does help a bit that we're
girls; it's just that sometimes it pushes us back. There's so much
manufactured shit out there, and so many put-together bands,
that it kind of destroys it for the bands that have actually built up
a reputation for being good live.
A lot of rock bands today are convinced that image is really
important, and more effort is spent on that and the marketing,
rather than the music itself. What are your thoughts?
Well, of course you want to look good on stage. But yeah, it's true,
[the labels] always want to change the band and hire a stylist.
But, in fact, the bands have something unique to begin with, and
that's part of the reason why people like them—because they do
dress in a certain way. We've made so many mistakes, because
sometimes we get free clothes and get all excited and put them
on and then realize that we normally wouldn't buy that stuff. And
now we know to think twice about wearing some of the clothes we
get. We have to do our own makeup, because sometimes we go to
photo shoots and they always want to do us up and make us look
like real "rock chicks" with loads of makeup, because they think it's
cool. It's the "girl" thing again—because we're a girl band, there's
always this huge wardrobe with a stylist saying stuff like, "I know
exactly what you like, girls! I'm going to make you look so cute!"
So, there's the "rock chick" look and then there's the "cute look"
to attract boys. And the labels and magazines always have to put
us in one of those categories. We are never allowed to just be in
between somewhere.
If someone never heard you before would you tell them to listen
to your record first or go see you live?
[emphatically] Definitely see us live!
What were some of your favourite live shows and what other
bands have you enjoyed being on the same bill with?
I liked touring with The Soundtrack of Our Lives, because they're one
of my favourite Swedish bands, and they're really good songwriters
and amazingly good musicians. It's pretty scary how good they are!
Another band we really like and toured with is a Swedish punk rock
band called Randy. They've toured Canada before with Propaghandi,
and they have a new album out on Epitaph.
Are Sahara Hotnights working on a new album already?
We're finishing this tour first. We'll be home for about a week,
and then we're off to Australia and Japan and maybe come back
to North America and do a few TV shows and then we're through
with this album. I mean, it's been two years since we released
Jennie Bomb in Sweden and we really want to put out some new
stuff. They've been screaming for a new album from us in Sweden
too. So we're going to dedicate the whole summer to writing new
material.
I can't resist asking if you ever get male groupies or any guys
approaching you?
Guys are usually pretty shy—it's so hard to tell if they want to
sleep with you or not. [lots of giggling] There are sometimes really
obsessed guys coming up to us, but I don't know if it's because
they like the music, [or are] collecting autographs and pictures,
or they just think we're cute. There are a lot of older men at our
shows (especially here) that listen to bands like The Runaways.
They compare us to that all the time; we always see them wearing
Donnas shirts and stuff. They're always nice, but it's kind of
creepy. We usually prefer kids in our audiences, because they're so
enthusiastic about the music.
Okay, more gossip about guys!! I heard a rumour that one of you
is dating the singer from The Hives—is that true?
Yes, it's Maria, our singer. They've been going out for about one
and a half years. It's funny, because one time we met this band,
and they said, "We heard all of you are married to the people in
The Hives!" What?
Is to continue making records a long-term goal, or do you just
want to have fun for now and see where things take you?
Yeah, right now we're not planning anything more than this next
record, and just enjoying making a record and touring with it. We
don't see ourselves in this band in 10 years, but we have fun and
we want to keep having fun. It's been working out pretty good so
far, actually, which is nice! •
19 DiSCORDER WHAT MT/fABOUT
POP-PUNK?
PAPER LANTERNS WANT YOU TO DANCE AND
GROW A BEARD
Interview by Chris Eng, Photo by Lori Kiessling
PP
Pop-punk's not a serious music genre. I mean, it's kind of fun,
I guess, but it's just, 1 dunno. Not serious. Not like emo or
anything."
People say this, you know. A lot. More often than you'd think.
And if you happen to be one of the people that says this, and I
catch you saying it, I'm gonna steal your cardigan and break your
Buddy Holly glasses, and you can cry and write an emo song
about that, okay? Because pop-punk is as serious as any other
music genre—it runs the gamut between happy (Green Day),
angry/sarcastic (Screeching Weasel), and lovestruck/lovelorn (Mr.
T Experience)—it's just fun. It makes you want to dance and sing
along to it, and that's no bad thing from a music scene wherein
standing around and looking affected or brain-damaged has
become de rigeur.
Well, Vancouver's Paper Lanterns are fun. They are fun and
people like to dance and sing along at their shows; they wear
matching outfits—but make them look playful as opposed to
played-out—and their lyrics run the gamut from happy to angry
to lovelorn. There is no pretense or attitude, just beer and beards
and good times. And, best of all, you don't have to wait for them to
come to your town—they're already here.
I am going to ask you all of the most stereotypical interview
questions I can possibly think of. So, who are you, and what
instrument do you play, and what's your favourite kind of
drink?
Dan: I'm Dan, I play bass and sing, gin and tonic.
Andrew: My name is Andrew, and I play guitar and sing. And
my favourite drink is... I like all drinks, I think; I don't have a
favourite.
Metal Steve: My name is Metal Steve, and 1 play the drums. I like
drinking just about anything.
Falsetto Metal Steve: My name is John Young, and I play the guitar.
AND I'M STRAIGHTEDGE!
How did the band start, and if you don't make it interesting, I'll
just rewrite it and turn it into the introduction.
Andrew: Okay. So, as I was scaling the Swiss Alps with me and
my sherpa from Nepal... no, just joking. 1 was playing with Bart
Newman from Painted Youth and Norm Druillard, who played in
The Attack before, and we were just jamming, but it didn't really
work out, because we were busy with other bands, so we broke up
and I was just going to quit everything and take my bags back to
Smithers! Become a lawnmower for the rest of my life! And then
Metal Steve said:
Metal Steve: "I heard you need a drummer."
Andrew: And I was like, "Bro, dude! 1 totally need a drummer!" And
then I met Dan through our friend Winnigreg, and John Young also
said, "Oh, I really wanna play in your pop-punk band. And I heard
you guys were breaking up or whatever, so I can play." And then I
22 May 2003
asked Dan if he wanted to play bass, because he doesn't normally
play bass. And thus, the creation of the Paper Lanterns was
complete. That's pretty much it. Anything you guys want to add?
Dan: Uh, you didn't make it that interesting.
Metal Steve: Sorry.
Andrew: Well, that's how we were formed! Oh, yeah! And then we
got into a fight with another gang! And, uh....
Dan: Shut up.
Metal Steve: I just keep thinking that people are going to read
this.
What does "punk rock" mean to you?
All: OH NO! OH, MAN!
Andrew: Dan can go first.
Dan: I guess it's just about fun and doing what you want t(
Metal Steve: Givin'er.
Dan: [laughs] Givin'er, but having a conscience about it.
Andrew: Yeah, I'd like to think it entails some sort of
conscience, but it doesn't really have to be embedded
music. I think punk rock means choosing to do what you
best for your world, and having a social
So, how are the Paper Lanterns contributing to the betterment
of the world?
Andrew: We're making people happy.
Metal Steve: Pop-punk!
Dan: Play pop-punk, make people dance.
Andrew: Yeah, because, if you've noticed: at Vancouver shows
no one dances whatsoever! It's a complete lack of involvement
between the performer and the audience, and I think that simply
by dancing you can really connect with the performer. And that's
what we want: people to dance and have fun.
What kind of crazy tour stories do you have?
Dan: There was the pizza mosh.
Andrew: [laughs] Oh yeah! You can tell that one!
Dan: We've played one out-of-town show in Comox, and it was
in the living room of this house and it was packed—it was really,
really hot in there—and everyone was dancing and having fun. I
look up and there's this guy crowdsurfing with a slice of pizza—
pointing it at my face! So, I just kind of ate it while I played, and
that's the "pizza mosh."
What are your three desert island records?
Andrew: That's a great question!
Dan: It's a rough question. I have problems whittling it down to
three albums, 'cuz 1 like everything.
Metal Steve: Cat Power—Moonpix, Tom Waits—Rain Dogs, and
Green Day—Dookie.
Dan: I'd have to say probably... uh, three?! I'd have to say...
NoMeansNo—Wrong, Tom Waits—Swordfish Trombones, and The
McCrackens—Back To The Crack.
Andrew: Okay, for me I think: Screeching Weasel—How To Make
Enemies and Irritate People, The Beatles—Abbey Road, and Green
Day—Dookie.
Metal Steve: Nice.
What was the first album you ever bought for yourself?
Dan: Michael Jackson—Thriller.
Andrew: For me... this is so bad. It was either—actually one of
them is really good... it was either the Ashley Maclsaac album
called Hi How Are You Today?— it has a rad punk rock song on
it—and then the other one was 12 Inches of Snow. [Andrew and
Dan hi-ftve.]
All: [laughter]
odo.
Which one was the good one?
Dan: Yeah!
Andrew: Dude, Ashley Maclsaac's awesome!
political
Dan: Hmmmm... that's debatable.
in your
Andrew: Well... "Devil In The Kitchen" is a rad song! At least give
think is
me that much....
What is it about pop-punk?
Andrew: What isn't it about pop-punk?
Dan: It's just fun.
Andrew: It's pure!
Dan: It's just simple and fun. 1 can't describe it.
Andrew: I think the fact that you can make music that sounds
amazing out of three chords and just a bit of harmony and okay
singing and a couple of solos—it just rules. I really like the idea of
making pure music and I think pop-punk is pretty pure.
Metal Steve: It doesn't need to be over-produced to sound good.
Dan: A demo recorded on a ghetto-blaster can sound just as good
as a studio recording.
Aren't beards emo and not pop-punk?
Dan: No, Mike Kirsch has a beard—he's been in lots of pop-punk
bands.
Metal Steve: Beards are sweet.
Dan: Beards mean you don't have to get up as early to go to work.
Metal Steve: I don't go to school on time, anyway!
Andrew: If I could grow facial hair, I'd probably agree, but since
I can't, 1 think beards are emo and not pop-punk, and you guys
should shave!
Dan: Just because you can only grow a perv-stache. Sorry,
nonono—a molestache.
Andrew: It's a FrencJiman's moustache!
Dan: Yeah, my point exactly! •
(Paper Lanterns have a demo tape available at Teenage Rampage.
They are playing North Van at the Seymour Community Centre on
May 9th. Visit them on the web at www.paper-lanterns.com.) HUM A FEW BARS
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE ON THEIR LIFE.
LOVE AND INFLUENCES (WHICH SPAN FROM
GLENN CAMPBELL TO ZIMBABWE FOLK)
Interview by saelan
In 1999, Brendan Canning of By Divine Right and Kevin Drew
of KC Accidental and Do Make Say Think decided to record an
album together. Since then, their pet project has blossomed
from two musicians to a full ten, all of them veterans of the eclectic
and experimentally-oriented Toronto scene. Broken Social Scene
now boasts members of Stars, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The
Metric, Treble Charger, A Silver Mt. Zion, and Mascott, just to name
a few. Their album, You Forgot It In People, released late in 2002,
has been getting such spectacular rave reviews for its diverse
approach, dense layers, and stunning blend of experimentalism
and killer pop hooks that the album has just now received a wider
release—and the Juno award they just won for Best Alternative
Album isn't going to hurt their popularity, either.
I had a chance to talk over the phone with Brendan Canning
while the band was having lunch at Cafe Deux Soleils the day after
their show here in Vancouver. This is what he had to say about
touring with a huge band, the Arts and Crafts record label started
by the band and their friends, and the benefits of success.
DiSCORDER: I guess my first question is, how did Broken Social
Scene go from a couple guys to such a sprawling collective?
Brendan Canning: Well, Kevin (Do Make Say Think) was in a band
called KC Accidental with Charles Spearin, so when me and Kevin
got together, those two brought a lot of people along, and when we
started touring, some friends of mine joined us....
So you were kind of a collective right from the start, then? How
many people played on your first album?
Umm... I guess it was about ten people.
Okay. I wanted to talk about the production on You Forgot It In
People. It's really amazing, but I looked up the producer, Dave
Newfeld, and I can't find him on anything except a Mean Red
Spiders album from '98. Where did you find him?
Well, he's done a lot of stuff around Toronto, a couple of hits in the
'80s, actually... how did that one go? [hums a few bars] You know
that one?
Umm, no. I don't really recognize that.
Yeah... well, it was kind of big for a little while. I think, probably,
he's going to be known a bit more now for the stuff he did on our
album.
Did he have a big part in the way you put your songs together?
The production seems to be really integrated into all the parts of
your songs—and how about just size: is it hard for you to write
songs with so many people?
Actually, writing songs is the easy part for us. It's a very collective
process. Somebody will just come up with an idea and everyone
contributes their parts. After that, it's just a matter of knowing
How was South By Southwest?
Oh, it was great. We had a really good response. It was funny—ten
minutes before we went on there was hardly anybody there, and
by the time we finished our first song it was sold out.
There's been quite a buzz circulating about you guys. How do you
feel about the possibility of becoming a flagship Canadian indie
band?
Well, obviously we're all for it. It's exciting. I mean, really, just
being able to be heard is what we've all wanted, so we're really
happy with the way things are going.
Whose idea was it to put five separate positive reviews on the
slipcover of your album?
Ugh. Well, that was a marketing decision, and there's obviously
some downsides to it and the way it looks, but it really does make
the difference to, say, a person who's never heard of us. If they see
that, they're a lot more likely to pick up the album.
I've heard that your record label, Arts & Crafts, is really
interested in changing the way the music business model
works—like you want to include photography and film and stuff,
as well as music. What kind of things do you have going on with
that?
It's really simple, actually—we just have friends that do art, and
friends that take really great photos, and Kevin wants to start
doing films, and we want everyone to be involved and get their
work seen. It's just a matter of keeping things under this family
wing, more or less. Nothing more than that. As for stuff coming
out: Andrew Whiteman, who plays with us, is putting out his solo
project, the Apostle of Hustle; Jason Collett's putting out a solo
album; and another Broken Social Scene album is almost ready to
go. That should probably be out by September.
Speaking of family, you dedicate the album to your "friends,
families, and loves," and you sing on "Almost Crimes": "We've got
love and hate, it's the only way." So, what inspires you? What are
the loves and hates that make you want to make music?
The same thing that makes us want to live, I guess. To feel good,
and to try and do something positive. That line you're speaking
of, that's Leslie, that's just the first thing she sang. That's sort of
our approach to it, seeking initial inspirations, sort of getting to
io grand scheme or
sthinggood and and
the source of the matter that way. There
anything, it's just a matter of trying to do s
include our friends, families and loves.
Influences are kind of hard to pin down for Broken Social Scene.
You don't really sound too much like anyone other than just
combinations of the other bands you're all in, so I'm curious—
what do you guys listen to?
Well, oddly enough, we listened to an old Dinosaur Jr. tape as we
were filling up—I mean, that's kind of an obvious one. There's a lot
of stuff we listen to: a little bit of Afro-Cuban stuff, jazz, because I
mean, everyone in the band has extensive record collections. Lots
of hip hop; too... and if it's not hip hop, it's Glenn Campbell or it's
Neil Young, or it's Pavement or the Stand-Bys, or, you know, it's
some disco tracks. The amount of tapes we have in the van really
spans all your favourite indie rock, all your favourite hip hop,
some really excellent Afro stuff. Andrew's roommate grew up in
Zimbabwe so we've got a lot of really good Zimbabwe stuff....
Alright, that's about all I had to ask you. Was there anything else
you wanted to say?
Umm... well, I'm not that good at talking about myself, sometimes.
I just think... what do I think? I have a guitar player walking by
me... I have all these people walking by me as I'm calling you from
the laundromat. It's a nice feeling—it feels sort of like home. It's a
really good floating caravan we have going right now.
I guess it must be a really good atmosphere to have such a big
community like that on tour, having all your friends around with
you all the time.
Well, it definitely makes this kind of trip more bearable. Whereas if
you're with four people and two of the per pie aren't talking... juct
all of it—if you stick people together for a long period of time-
even with this crew it's difficult as well, tut I think we're making
the most of it. Everyone is conscientious. It's a little easier once
you start getting all the support that we've got, so when the pins
start falling in your favour you can get angry and disappointed
that your van cost $4000 to fix and you missed your ferry to
get over to Vancouver, but it's still really positive. Next time we
come to Vancouver, we'd like to be playing the Commodore or
something. Well, maybe not next time, but the time after that. I
just want to play music for people. I think everyone does, and to
try and keep it as interesting as possible for everyone, including
ourselves primarily. If we're not interested, then it's hard to
translate anything. I guess that's all. •
23 DiSCORDER NOT JUST ANOTHER
ACCORDION PLAYER
GEOFF BERNERS FIVE YEAR PLAN TO
FORTUNE AND GLORY
Interview by Val Cormier
PP
Geoff Berner plays the accordion, and makes no apologies.
Despite the resurgence of Tex-Mex and Cajun music as
relatively cool music genres, the accordion, for many, is
linked to the soundtrack of many a bad Oktoberfest. But the times
they are a-changin', and the fact that a solo accordion player can
draw a packed house at the Railway Club should make us all sit up
and take notice. Geoff pulled this off a few months ago with his
release party for new CD We Shall Not Flag Or Fail, We Shall Go On
To The End. His acerbic writing, twisted worldview and take-no-
prisoners delivery combine for an experience pleasing to punks
and folkies alike.
Geoff spent a good chunk of the '90s with local band Terror
of Tiny Town, and since commencing his solo career in 1999 has
toured extensively, playing both club and folk festival gigs. He'll
be spending most of May touring Norway and the UK, including
several opening spots for Billy Bragg.
DiSCORDER caught up with Geoff during a break from his
recent tour with the Corb Lund Band.
DiSCORDER: When did you start playing accordion?
Geoff Berner: As a teenager I learned to play bluesy, honky-tonk
piano. Memphis Slim, Pinetop Perkins, Art Tatum kind of stuff. I
was at a party once and somebody mentioned that I should play
accordion. Somebody else said, "Hey, I got one you can have," and
that was it. We were drunk at the time.
But then it made more sense as time went on, and when the
band disintegrated, I had been playing boozecans and after-hours
parties with the accordion. A lot of my friends liked what I was
doing solo with the accordion better than the full-on electric band,
partly, I guess, because they could hear the words.
Would you ever want to tour with a full electric band?
No, the direction I'm going in is toward dirty village klezmer music.
Any band I'll be playing with in the future would be more towards
that sound.
You're Jewish, so is this a way of connecting with your heritage?
Playing accordion did lead me to listen to more klezmer. At first I
thought I didn't like it, because I heard a lot that was crap. Most
klezmer music is terrible. I'm only just starting to find things that
1 like. The stuff that I do like really speaks to me more than other
music. We weren't terribly religious, but I had a Jewish education,
and that included music in prayer and music in celebration. In
the community where I was growing up here, it's mainly Eastern
24 May 2003
European Jews. So it's music I'd been hearing my whole life, and we
incorporated bits of it into Terror of Tiny Town from time to time.
The more I played the accordion, the more it made sense for me to
be moving towards that style.
I don't know what the best way to say it is other than that
I'm drifting effortlessly into klezmer. I think you can hear it in the
difference between my first EP and this new CD. The next CD, the
transition will be even further. But it'll be my kind of klezmer,
and hopefully it will be seen as blasphemous to the klezmer
establishment.
It's more important to get the emotional expression of the
music right than it is to get the music perfect or "authentic."
When it was being practiced before the Holocaust in Eastern
Europe, it was a constantly mutating organism. There was never
an "authentic" period of klezmer. This is partly why klezmer music
speaks to me so much: in many ways it was the punk rock of its
time and place. These were the knockaround, hard-drinking,
travelling people that you didn't want your daughters to meet.
These were not the classically trained musicians, and they were
not always technical masters. They had something else to offer—
they had guts in their playing.
I've been hearing some stuff that makes me think that's
possible, and that's the kind of klezmer I want to play. To really
play it, I'd have to keep borrowing from everything around me.
That's what they did. The klezmer bands were not exclusively
jews, they had lots of Slavic and Gypsy—or Romany—musicians.
At the same time, 1 really hate a lot of the jazz-klezmer-fusion
stuff. It's just gross.
You wrote "Light Enough to Travel," which to me was the best
song on the Be Good Tanyas enormously successful album Blue
Horse. Was that a boost for you?
Yeah, and a lot of other people have covered that song, too. Now
every time I play a show there's several people who are there
because they found out 1 wrote that song.
The Be Good Tanyas create this incredible mood, they have
fantastic voices, and their taste on everything else they've
recorded is impeccable. So it's kind of hard not to feel like I must
have done something right there. The first time I heard their
version of my song was one of the greatest moments of my life.
It's turned out to be the single break that really led to everything
that's happening now.
People come up to me in different parts of the country and
say about that song, "Yeah, I lived in Vancouver for, like, three
years, and I had to get out. That's the kind of loneliness you feel
in Vancouver." In the Be Good Tanyas version, a lot of people get
a jump out of it—it's a much more upbeat and hopeful song when
they do it. I don't think it has less depth at all; it just has more of a
positive spin. Which is odd, in a way. That was one of my slowest
and saddest songs, yet it's the happiest song on their record.
How did you get hooked up with Billy Bragg?
I ended up in a workshop with Billy Bragg at the Calgary Folk
Festival in 2001. Afterwards, this English guy came up and
said,"That was really good. I'd really like to have a record of yours
and a card." I didn't know until later that it was Billy Bragg's
manager. He wrote to me and asked when I was coming over to
England. As it happened, I'd just got a Canada Council grant to go
over the following April, so I did some shows then. I'm going back
to the UK in May, and Norway as well.
What's your connection to Norway?
There's this band over there called the Reelones, and a guy here
who books me, Cameron Noyes, brought them over to do some
festivals in 1999. They saw me play and said that I should go over
there. So I did and I had a really great time. Everyone was so nice
to me there.
And they make up their own damn minds about things. I
was on Norwegian national radio long before I was on Canadian
national radio. You drive through the mountains, the way you
drive through Rogers Pass, and there's those gas stations, you
know? The ones with the bad tapes and CDs in the racks? Over
there they have Leonard Cohen CDs for sale in the gas stations.
Where do you see yourself in five years' time?
Well, I think I'll be selling millions of records, there'll be a host
of imitator solo accordion players, and commercial radio will be
jammed with the ubiquitous sound of accordion and voice. My
many acolytes will find a more commercial way to do the solo
accordion sound, surpass me in record sales, and successfully
topple me from my throne.
And then when you're really old they'll come to you looking for
words of wisdom?
That's right. And then I'll sleep with their women! [laughs] I AM THE MALKMUS
A CONVERSATION
WITH
STEPHEN
MALKMUS
AND
JOHN MOEN
Interview by
Merek Cooper
PP
How do you become the voice of a generation when no one
can understand what you're saying? Simple: you speak
for a generation that doesn't know what to say. Just ask
Stephen Malkmus. For years, his band Pavement was the musical
embodiment of disaffected '90s slacker youth. Ramshackle in both
appearance and sound, the band was a mirror for a generation that
had a voice, yet struggled to find anything meaningful to say. While
behind him the rest of the band trod an unsteady musical tightrope,
Malkmus' lyrics were the perfect expression of postmodern ennui—
free-floating signifiers and non sequiturs that could be bent by the
listener into whatever meaning they wished.
Now Malkmus is two albums into a solo career, and he's still
as willfully obtuse as ever. It's not even a proper solo career; if
you ask him, he'll tell you Pig Lib is actually a joint effort from him
andTheJicks—a band consisting of Joanna Bolme, John Moen, and
Mike Clark. And while the music may be tighter, accusations of
mellowing out have little validity—since when has Malkmus not
been mellow? Listening to Pig Lib, you soon realize he's still the
same old contrarian he's always been.
I spoke to Stephen and drummer John Moen in an attempt to
pierce the enigma. I didn't get very far...
Before the interview, I was listening to loads of your songs and
trying to think of questions related to them and I couldn't. Do you
set out to make impenetrable songs?
Stephen Malkmus: Yeah, I suppose so. I try not to have them be
quite so literal. I set out to do that more in interviews probably.
[laughs] Because it's just a little didactic or preachy to tell people:
"this is exactly what that song meant to me then." In a hundred
years that won't really matter anyway, too much. I mean, you can
use, like, your hypnosis to tell people: "This is why this is good and
why these are special lyrics or a good record." But I mean, the words,
they'll exist on their own.
Yeah, I mean, I love your lyrics—but I can't explain them.
SM: Yeah, it's tough. It's bits and pieces that just come to me. I don't
know where from so 1 don't criticise it too much and I try to let it
flow.
How does the song writing process work? Is it lyrics first and then
the music?
SM: Err, it comes all together if you're inspired. But lyrics generally
do come later—the guitar figures tend to come first. Then you just
imagine yourself doing it and what would sound right and hopefully
something comes. But you can't really force that because maybe
you're not in the mood and you're like: "Oh, there's that word again,
Do you ever just go with whatever rhymes?
SM: Sometimes on some of the more sing-songy ones I do. But other
ones don't need that really, so... but they generally do rhyme a little
bit. It's just a good anchor for whatever weirdness you're doing,
y'know? It gives it a little bit of form, thankfully, because we don't
really want to do completely formless stuff. We just try and hold it
together loose enough with a rhyme at the end and some stream of
meaning that goes together maybe in your dreams.
Do you have anyone who inspires you?
SM: Not really.
Oh? I always think that your work is reminiscent of Bob Dylan
around Highway 61 Revisited.
SM: That would be good. His songs are so much wordier than
mine, even. But 1 like that stuff—it's definitely inspiring. If it's not
too pretentious, I like some poetry stuff. Mallarme, he influenced
one song—French poet, Symbolist poet. Erm, I guess 1 would lean
towards that or John Ashbery or Wallace Stevens. Guys that you
would read in college and then not tell anybody about it because it
sounds kind of pompous. My songs are still rock and roll fun. It's not
Oasis, but it's not Milton, either.
Thank God it's not Oasis.
SM: Yeah, they've kind of... you're from England right?
Yeah.
SM: What part?
A small town on the east coast that's, like, the Miami Beach of
England—lots of old people, a place to leave.
SM: Is it near Hull? We know Hull.
It's maybe an hour and a half drive.
SM: Our guitar tech is from Hull, so we spent a lot of time there. "It's
never dull in Hull," so he says. Fatboy Slim's from there. "Tigers!!
Tigers!!" [A Hull City Soccer chant]
Didn't you used to support Luton Town [another obscure English
soccer team]?
SM: Not really. The guy that ran our record label at the time was
a big Luton supporter. And, jokingly—because they were such an
absurd team—we picked them up and used it as a cheap media
thing. I've been accused of supporting Crystal Palace [Do I have to
keep explaining? —Merek] too at different times by another guy at
our Spanish label—this guy who used to live in England. I went on
their fanboy board on the Internet and they were like: "Who is the
world's most famous Crystal Palace supporter?" And my name was
on there. I'd forgot that I even said I supported them. I went there
for a press story recently and he's, like, all amped up: "We're in the
FA Cup! We're doing really well!" I'm like: "Who is this 'us1?!"
I also wanted to ask you about the Slanted and Enchanted reissue.
Did you all get together to listen to the tapes?
SM: Not really. We just sent them off with some bonus tracks and
peel sessions and b-sides that were lying around. I wrote some liner
notes. But it was more a decision of the label—they really wanted
to do it. And we were like: "Ok." I guess they were excited, so we
had to be.
I can't believe it was released over 10 years ago.
SM: It doesn't seem like that long ago. But time flies when...
You're having fun?
SM: Touring your ass off. [Laughs.]
A lot of people describe that album as a high benchmark in the
lo-fi thing.
SM: I know. But there's a lot of good lo-fi records throughout history,
y'know? The DIY punk from England and I guess Sebadoh. And the
'60s—there was plenty of lo-fi weirdness then. I guess we fit in with
that. It's not that much more lo-fi than White Light/White Heat or
something and that's err... but it is lo-fi, yeah.
Yeah, well, it blew me and my school friends away.
SM: Yeah, it was different for the time, especially the production
style of the day. We just thought: "Well, The Pixies were something
and Steve Albini recorded them and he said well you can't use any
reverb." So we were like, "Okay, no reverb."
There's almost no bottom end on that record.
SM: Weli, we didn't know that, we just didn't have a bass, y'know?
We definitely wanted to sound sort of trashy, because it was already
going to sound trashy because we did it in a bad place, so we were
like: "Why try and polish something that was already pretty raw-
may as well just leave it the way it is."
Also, I remember when Britpop hit England you guys were the
only American band that English bands would own up to liking.
SM: Yeah, I remember Blur and Pulp and stuff liked us.
You famously stayed at Justine Frischmann's house at the height
of Britpop. Do you still keep in touch with her?
SM: Yeah, she's cool, I like her. But you've gotta keep going in
England and she took a few years off just bumbling around and her
time was lost, y'know?
There were rumours that she was going to work with you on the
solo stuff.
SM: She was! She was going to tour with us at the start. It just
turned out to be too much of an ordeal and we just wanted to keep
it on the down low with Mike [Clark]—this guy that's still with us.
It was easier to rehearse with him, he lives nearer. We've got to
fly her over. That's almost Pavement-style—all living in different
places—and I wanted to keep it organic. She's cool, though. I've got
nothing bad to say about her.
They probably ask you a lot of questions about her in England?
SM: They did a bit. I probably got asked more Blur questions
because they used to say they were influenced by Pavement in the
"Song ll"-era.
You're also going to be curating All Tomorrow's Parties in New
York this September.
SM: Maybe. That's on hold, right now, because of the war, and the
fact that it's in New York City, which is kind of a hassle to organize.
But someday we'll definitely do it if they want us to.
So it's not going to go ahead for this September.
SM: I don't think so. It's getting late in the game and they should
be announcing the line-up, really. They drew a blank on the venue.
They were going to have it in an aircraft hangar...
John Moen: Or on a barge! Or in a river!
SM: No, an aircraft carrier. But because of the war it was deemed
bad karma. I don't know, I don't blame them.
JM: It's horrible. They had bad ideas. We had to pull out. They were
going to have it in a speeding bus that if you slow it down below 35
miles per hour, it exploded.
That would've brought some urgency to the gig.
SM: [toJM] That's a good one. That's from, like, Speed, right?
JM: Yeah.
SM: Good one.
JM: See—it wasn't a total waste me coming down here.
SM: Nah.
JM: I got one zinger in there.
SM: [In a supportive tone] You got a lot in.
I'm sorry I can't ask you more questions, John.
JM: Oh, no, I'm moral support today.
SM: Interviewing's not easy, sometimes 1 guess it goes well, but....
Is there anything you really want to tell me? Any news?
SM: Not really
JM: The sex change operation? You wanna talk about that? We
could talk about that. Maybe not. No, scratch that. • FREAK OUT...
BEN KWELLER EXPOUNDS ON HIS LOVE OF
BEEF JERKY AND SHIT AND STEAK
Interview by (and Photo of) Natalie Vermeer
PP
Ben Kweller sprung into the public eye when his band, Radish,
inspired buzz about being the next Nirvana or Silverchair,
back in 1996. Originally from Texas and currently from
New York, this 21 year-old anti-folk artist, whose guitar riffs seem
to dig Weezer a fair bit at times, is catchy in the sense that he is
endearing and writes quirky songs. He can croon and thrash and
play guitar and piano (and drums, for the record).
Ben is a friendly and delightful guy who loves to hug and
swear and seems like a constant juxtaposition: a concept that he
happens to love. Last year, his full-length solo debut, Sha Sha, was
released and it is slowly getting bigger and bigger. Any doubters
of his talent definitely need to check out his live show as it is
impossible not to be impressed.
DiSCORDER: My first question is whether you consider yourself
a solo artist now that you don't have a band name to... I don't
want to say hide behind....
Ben Kweller: I know what you're saying. I had Radish for so many
years and then 1 moved to New York and I was by myself. I started
writing songs that were way more autobiographical. I recorded
this album on my computer and when I looked around the room, I
realized I didn't have a band with me [so] I was like, I might as well
call it Ben Kweller!
Do you have any plans to re-release Freak Out...It's Ben Kweller!
[the self-released album before Sha Shay"?
Yep, I think so. I know it's out of print, especially in Canada. It got
to Toronto because I played some shows with Jeff Tweedy from
Wilco in Toronto. One day, one of my plans is to re-release it.
What does "dienu" mean [from "Lizzy"]!
"Dienu" is an old folk word that's Hebrew, and it means "it
would've been enough." When something good happens to you and
then another good thing happens to you, what you had in the first
place would have been enough, if nothing else happens to you. It's
all about counting your blessings and staying grounded.
How do butterflies act passive-aggressive [from "In Other
Words"]?
I really don't know. I just like saying that. I think the song is just
about how the butterflies look so beautiful, and they don't have
any worries.
26 May 2003
So who, or what, inspires you?
Everything! Life is so inspiring, anc
inspires me. I like to make up words a
It's all a big juxtaposition....
Like strawberries and skulls [as shown in his "Wasted and
Ready" video]...
Exactly! That's totally what that concept was. I'm a Gemini so I
see both sides to everything and I like everything, you know? I like
when things mix and don't match.
What's your favorite Greg Araki film?
Probably Nowhere. Doom Generation is cool, but that ending is still
too out there for me, and I don't get it. It's kind of disturbing, but
I just love that one line when she said "sex reminds me of eating
spaghetti." [A line he borrows for "Wasted and Ready."—Nat.] It was
so bizarre and rad!
What did you do for Valentine's Day?
Well, I sent a box of goodies to Liz [Hi's girlfriend, and inspiration
for "Lizzy."— Knowledgeable Nat.], so I did a good thing... we talked
this morning.
Last time I saw you, in the summer, she was selling merch. How
often do you get to see each other when you tour?
Well, this is the first tour that she hasn't come on, because she's
focusing on her own stuff. She's a designer. She's got a studio in
Brooklyn, but she's flying out to LA to hang with us. But it's so sad,
'cause the first date of the tour, she made a bunch of brownies for
us and wrote a little note: "Good luck boys, I'm gonna miss you!"
She was kind of like our mom, you know?
How did you and Liz meet?
Josh, my bass player, introduced us, four years ago, in Boston.
She went to "Mass Art" there—Massachusetts College of Art. He
introduced us the first time I met him. Me and John from Radish
needed a bass player so we had flown up to Boston to audition
[Josh], and that night he had a big party at his house. Liz was there
and we totally hit it off.
How do you feel about carrots?
Carrots? I really like carrots! They're good for your eyes. They have
lots of vitamin A, right? I need good eyesight, 'cause mine's shit.
I try to eat lots of carrots, [cough] Excuse me, I have that thing
where if you breathe in too deep, you cough—do you ever have
that? It's like this reflex—fuck! So I'm just coughing all the time,
but, yeah, carrots are cool. They're a vegetable, right? I like them
like bunny rabbits. I'm not a huge fan of carrot cake. I'm not a big
dessert person. I'm more salty than sweet! I love beef jerky and
shit and steak... I would eat more nachos as opposed to getting
a big chocolate cake. But yeah, carrot cake's all right... [laughs]
I'm taking longer to answer that carrot question than any other
question!
What's your favorite Violent Femmes song?
Oh god! Now THAT'S hard! I would probably say "Add It Up" is one
of them, yeah, [singing] "Why can't 1 get just one screw...." Yeah,
it's just like fucking SO COOL, dude! Or "Kiss Off" is sooo rad! Yeah,
fuck! And I also like "Country Death Song" about this country guy,
he goes insane and throws his daughter down the well and never
hears her hit the bottom! It's fucking demented, but he's pretty
weird!
Have you seen them live before?
Mm-mmm. Where does he live now? I think he's in New York,
actually! I want to get in touch with him somehow. I want to try to
interview him! Like, "Dude! Can I interview you?"
Formywebpage!
Yeah, exactly! [laughs] I have a website: benkweller.com. It's my
website; I love to use my name and talk about myself on it, but I
do interviews!
What about the 3 Bens Tour? Is that going to stop in North
America at all?
I think it's just Australia, but it might happen. I'm really focusing on
my own thing still, you know? [Ben Lee and Ben Folds] are already
so established. It's so much fun to write and record with those
guys. They're geniuses. And Ben Folds: he can play ANYTHING on
the piano; it's scary! It's like he has fifty fingers instead of ten. I
don't understand it, but yeah, I'm sure we'll do a North American
tour at some point.
Well, I guess that's all I have to ask... is there anything you want
to add?
I can't really think of anything, but I LOVE CANADA! • ».'. 'J -j f ■; J \ fM^AMiA
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under review
recorded media
AEREOGRAMME
Sleep and Release
(Matador/Chemikal
Underground)
The sticker on the album boldly
proclaims, Aereogramme
must be believed to be heard"
(and no, that's not a typo). As
a rule, any band promoting
itself with such a laughably
pretentious and melodramatic
platitude is either very desperate or very stinky. To say
that Aereogramme embodies neither of these qualities
would be a gross understatement; describing the band as
gorgeous, raw, gripping, dramatic, and ambitious would do
Aereogramme more justice.
Sleep and Release operates like a 50-minute mood
swing: loud and soft, beautiful and fearsome, unique
and strangely familiar. Angry
guitars, Pixies-ish bass lines,
tribal drums, an organ, and a
choir are all present here, and
that's just on the excellent
first song, "Indiscretion #243".
Aereogramme's musical genius
also shines on just about every
other track: "A Simple Process
of Elimination" combines a
spare electro crackle-and-pop
background with strings, a
harp, and echoing drums to
make a song Sigur Ros would
envy, while the very next
song, "Older", intersperses
industrial-metal guitar blasts
with relatively calm lulls that
only threaten future violence.
Throughout this musical tour-
de-force, vocalist Craig B
acts as the album's emotional
lightning rod. He's downright
scary when he screams, "Let
go!/Let go!" on "Wood" but
his high-pitched voice is fragile and angelic on the album's
centrepiece, "In Gratitude"
(an avant-indie-modern rock
power ballad!). Listening to this
schizophrenic display of talent
for the first time generates an
emotion you rarely feel when
listening to music (other than
;):suspen
As
for
the
album
sticker? Something like
would be more appropriate: Aereogramme mustn't
be believed to be heard; no,
Aereogramme simply must be
heard.
Neil Braun
AFROMYSTIK
Morphology
(OM records)
Drawing upon African and
Brazilian rhythms, DJ culture,
ambient textures, and the sort
• of slick soul stylings that are
-* ubiquitous in modern dance
music, Morphology should
prove to be user friendly to
both club culture vulture and
armchair groover alike. The CD
cover bears a striking resemblance to Miles Davis' Bitches
Brew: however, as agreeable
as Morphology is, it does not
classic, which v
bold challenge to the musical
sensibilities of its time. I highly
doubt that AfroMystik's music
will resonate as deeply or for
as long as the legend it visually
references.
DJ Satyricon
BOB LOG III
Log Bob
(Fat Possum)
To be honest, if it weren't for
the recommendations and
praise I heard about Bob Log III
the afternoon I picked this up,
there is no way in hell I would
have picked it up.
The CD cover is adorned
with a cartoon of a sort of Star
Wars-y robot/Southerner/one-
man band, with two girls on his
lap (possibly off a Jenny Jones
"My teenage daughter is a ho"-
episode). The CD itself has the
same sadistic-looking guy trying to thrust his scotch at some
naked girl's boob.
So, I pictured some fat
drunken hick singing about big
boobs in some nasty Southern
bar. The CD looked lo-fi
enough.
Well, I was right and wrong.
The music was actually fun; the
first song was good enough to
keep me listening when clearly
I was looking for anything
to bash this guy with in this
Of course, then my
moment came. The second
song ("One Man Band Boom")
was a typical introduction
piece where the singer gives his
life story and basically tells you
what the next 13 songs would
be about (i.e., "Go on, put your
boob in my scotch"). Naturally,
that song was followed by
instant bar classics like "Boob
Scotch", "Wag Your Tail Like A
Dog In Back Of A Truck", "Drunk
Stripper", and "f*hole Parade".
My personal favourite was
probably the acknowledgements, as he gives a special
thanks to the "room wigglers,
the Tit Clappers, the leg riders,
and the Boob Scratchers", and
he ends, "thanks and a boob
Back to the music. It was
the fun kind of country rock,
and his voice matched the
drunken, comical tone. The
guitar sounded identical in
all the songs: it was the same
song, just different lyrics and
slight variations. Yet Bob Log
Ml achieves his goal with flying colours: no serious or deep
music, just a good time.
Like the obnoxious yet
funny guy in the bar, if you have
any sense of humour, you'll like
Bob Log 111.
Parmida Zarinkamar
THE BURDOCKS
/ Have a Million Friends
(Out of Touch)
Are you sad about the fact that
Thrush Hermit had to break
up? Were you one of the first
wave of Sloan fans, eating up
all that great indie rock that
was popping out of Halifax in
the last decade? Well, if so,
maybe you already have this
album. But there's a chance
that you haven't yet heard of
The Burdocks, in which case it's
time you check them out. / Have
a Million Friends continues their
dabbling in the world of math
rock and near King Crimson-
esque rhythm changes and
jams, all expressed through
that good ol' Halifax breed of
indie rock. Is this going to be
a new sound to come from the
East? Probably not. There's not
really enough here to sow an
entire wave, and I might even
say barely enough to interest
someone who wasn't really
jnto the last wave of music to
come from Halifax. Beyond
the style there's also a degree
of social commentary (as with
the song "School Television"),
as well as a touch of silliness,
with track titles such as "The
Curse of Macdonald Bridge",
and "The Quick Brown Fox
Jumps Over the Lazy Dog" (the
second being a sentence which
contains every letter in our
alphabet). All the same, / Have
a Million Friends stands on its
own as a good album and will
not disappoint hardcore fans of
math or indie rock.
Soren Brothers
CALIFONE
Quicksand/Cradlesnakes
(Thrill Jockey)
For anyone who thought
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was a little
too accessible and just needed
a bit more noise and maybe a
layer of dust on top of its studio gloss, Califone has got the
cure for your ills, and it's their
best album ever. Having finally
evolved into a cohesive unit,
Quicksand/Cradlesnakes sees
Califone perfecting everything
they're known for, with results
that are both diverse and consistently excellent. Interestingly
enough, though Brian Deck has
produced Califone before (and
he's been popping up everywhere lately, showing off his
distinctive production abilities
on albums by Holopaw, Ugly
Casanova, and The Fruit Bats),
he wasn't signed on to man the
decks for this record, which is
probably for the best—Graeme
Gibson of The Boas does an
excellent job keeping these
eccentric arrangements subtle.
And make no mistake, there's
some wonderfully odd sounds
going on here—like Tom Waits
with a little more verisimilitude, Tim Rutili and his ragtag
band of minions weave tape
looping, a reverb tank, steel
drums, Cajun accordion, "duct
tape thumb piano," electronics,
"whispers through amp," and
a whole tool shed full of rusty,
bang-on-a-can percussion into
achingly beautiful desert rock
songs. This band has a range,
too: "One" is an atmospheric
soundscape that blends seamlessly into "horoscopic.amputa
tion.honey", a drawn-out country tune that unfolds blissfully
into anthemic gospel. "Your
Golden Ass" is the album's
most immediately appealing track, a broken-down,
overdriven boogie rocker that
tumbles drunkenly through
feedback-scarred guitar riff-
ing with galloping rhythms and
Tim Rutili's insistent groaning.
The twin sisters of "Michigan
Girls" and "When Leon Spinx
Moved To Town" are the sweetest gems, though—subtle, gorgeous strummers that stick
in your head for days on end.
This is the kind of album that
is absolutely indispensable for
long drives, late at night when
the stars are out and everyone
else in the car has fallen asleep.
Califone will keep you company
when the moon is out and the
endless yellow lines are making
you yawn, even if you don't live
anywhere near a desert.
Saelan
ELEFANT
CalleryGirlEP
(Kemado)
I can't help but feel sorry for
slightly second-rate bands.
All the time, sweat, tears,
and money put into it (check
out the band's website at
www.elefantweb.com; it's quite
nice), and in the end, you just
get mediocre songs that maybe
the local college station will
play and indie magazines will
plug.
Weil, there's not much to
talk about here. Three songs
and they're not all that different from one another. Elefant
is a three-piece out of New
York. After all, good-looking
guys + New York background +
lyrics passing for emo + guitar =
hit, right?
The exception to my crap
impression was "Bokkie", which
would be good if it didn't sound
like something influenced by
Hot Hot Heat. The keyboard
and slightly high-pitched vocals
(Diago Garcia) at the beginning
of the song were enough to
make my hand automatically
itch for the button that would
make it stop, but the guitar
made me hesitate. Actually,
the guitar was the one element
in all the songs that makes
Elefant the kind of band that
you would tolerate on the radio
without switching to another
station. The vocals and lyrics
your change you mind about
your lenience.
If you listen to it enough,
you may grow to like it. But
it's just not worth the money.
Maybe the full-length will be
better.
Parmida Zarinkamar
EL GUAPO
Fake French
(Dischord)
It looks like Dischord dropped
the ball on this one. Yet
another arty post-punk band
wielding tinny hi-hats and vintage keyboards has descended
to compete for our attention.
The twist? Instead of focusing
on moving the ass with dance
floor rhythms, this trio make
off-kilter vocal interplay the
central element of their music.
Their two singers trade off
and harmonize on sing-song
chants while the rhythm sec
tion sits hovering in stasis and
repetitive keyboard patterns
attempt to hypnotize. It's an
interesting approach, and it
might even have worked if a)
the lyrics they chant weren't
inane nonsense and, b) the
music itself was in any way
compelling. They almost manage to cop the sound of label-
mates Q and Not U, and their
vocal stylings borrow heavily
from Shy Child, but they lack
the quirky energy of the former and the technical prowess
of the latter. After a couple of
listens, I was convinced that
this must be a debut album,
and that this band probably
has a lot of potential if they can
expand their sound—and then I
learned that they've been playing as El Guapo since '96 and
this is their fourth album (their
second for Dischord). That this
album
i the
of the lot doesn't bode well for
future releases.
Saelan
BOB HOLROYD
Without Within
(Sixdegreeesrecords)
This is Holroyd's second full-
length release for Six Degrees
Records. Much in the same vein
as his debut, A Different Space,
the music is a collection of deep
African tribal rhythms, Latin
carnival work-outs, languid
beats, and meditative ambi-
ences. The main difference is
the inclusion of a cover track:
Peter Gabriel's Games Without
Frontiers. The rather conservative remake could be viewed as
an homage to Gabriel's innovations in combining various
world rhythms with contemporary production techniques
and values (i.e., Real World
music label). Otherwise there
are no "real" surprises here.
Like much electronica being
released these days, it makes
for good background music.
Can you say 'Latte'?
DJ Satyricon
DAMIEN JURADO
Where Shall You Take Me?
(Secretly Canadian)
After Damien Jurado's heavier
release with Gathered In Song,
he returns to his Secretly
Canadian label to release a
more intimate recording. I once
saw Jurado playing solo acoustic live in Seattle, and there is
something strangely disarming
about his simple performances.
There is nothing particularly
stunning about the album's
technical display, but its impact
comes from the way Jurado's
songs stir you. Listening to this
album is like running through
an old photo album you discovered abandoned in the attic.
There's something nostalgic
about it, but it avoids senti-
There's an interesting
blend here, from straight folk
to gospel-tinged harmonies
to one rocking number
of his
/ i
Chairs album. One reviewer
commented how he did not
appreciate Jurado's occasional
studio trickery—such as the
use of "canyon-like reverb" on
some songs—but I think the
effects he uses place a unique
sonic signature upon his songs;
otherwise, they would end up
sounding like any other heart- breaker folk song. Like many
good albums, this recording
unfolds like a story, attracting
you to its narrative and making
you genuinely care about the
characters described within.
Samuel Kim
MOLDY PEACHES
Unreleased Cutz and Livejamz
(1994-2002)
(Rough Trade)
This 2 CD, 55-track collection
of rarities, covers, previously
unreleased tracks, and live
versions is not the album to
buy for an introduction to the
fabulously naughty, lo-fi, NY,
"anti-folksters," The Moldy
Peaches. This is for those of
us who crave home-recorded
music that is made for fun and
those who will digest anything
that spews from Adam Green
or Kimya Dawson! This is for
those of us who are disappointed that the Peaches have
no current plans to tour or even
make music together again.
This is for those of us who love
the clashing and crude lyrical
duets of "Steak for Chicken"
and love the phone ringing during "Nothing Came Out". (This
album's version of the latter is
the original recording, which
features a faint phone ring in
the background, making me
wonder if their last album's version was a reenactment!)
This album offers two
Adam Green songs sung with
the addition of Kimya. It offers
plenty of covers—though most
of them pretty rough-sounding—ranging from "I Wanna
Be a Hulkamaniac" to "Two
Princes". It offers a shaky-
sounding Kimya on the original
recording of "Lucky Charms"—
so much so that her voice actually cracks! It also contains the
horribly polished up "Lucky #9"
version that was used for their
video.
If you haven't heard
"Rainbows", a song previously
only available on the "Country
Fair/Rainbows" single, you
must! And if you are not thoroughly amazed and charmed
by the blunt and foul-mouthed
brilliance of the Peaches on this
incredible track, this is definitely not the album for you.
Natalie Vermeer
THE MUSIC
s/t
(Capitol)
I'm usually wary of hype like
"the most important band since
Oasis" (Oasis was important?)
or "heroic guitars," whatever
that's supposed to mean. But
in the case of The Music, the
latest hyped-up British band,
they seem to be pretty damn
good—in spite of both the
hype from their label and their
pretentious name. And it turns
out they really do sound like a
cross between Led Zeppelin
and Oasis, with some ambient
flavour tossed in liberally, the
better to blend well with their
current tourmates, Coldplay.
Usually bands put their
best songs at or near the start
of the CD. The Music however,
must do things their own way,
and therefore the CD gets better and better as it progresses,
which is to say the single, "Take
The Long Road And Walk It" is
nowhere near the best track on
this CD. That honour would be
a tie between "Getaway" and
"The Truth Is No Words"—both
of which appear to have already
been released as singles in the
UK, so maybe we'll get some
relief from "Take The Long
Road And Walk It" on our own
radios soon.
My only quibble with The
Music is that the mix is pretty
lousy and muddy, and at times
so dense that nothing is intelligible from the whole. Maybe
that's part of a new trend or
something.
Vampyra Draculea
THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
Electric Version
(Mint)
When I was 19 years old, I
attended a Smugglers concert
at the Starfish Room. Carl
Newman was standing in front
of me that night, hedonistically
dancing up a storm and kicking
me in the shins with shocking
precision. It was on this night
that I determined that Newman
was, indeed, worthy of a place
on my long list of arch-nem-
eses, and it became clear that
I would hate him and his stinky
music with all the bile in my
heart until the day I died.
I am so bad at this arch-
nemesis thing, though. Sure,
Carl Newman left me sporting
big ugly bruises (I know, I know,
I could have moved), and my
early rage helped me to spread
the anti-love where Zumpano
was concerned. But then along
came The New Pornographers,
and my venom lost its sting.
Who cared if Carl Newman was
a big, kicky jerk? Nobody—he
made good music with Neko
Case and Dan Destroyer! He
won Junos! I had nothing to
fight back with, and quickly
discovered that I really enjoyed
the music. Goddamn.
And so, lovers of Canadian
pop music, you may all breathe
a sigh of contentment and
relief. The wait is over, and the
new New Pornographers album,
Electric Version, is as good as
the last, if not better. Neko's
still kickin' it un-country-style,
and Dan's still along for the
recorded ride. And Carl? Well,
he just won't go away, will he?
We may be in for another
Juno, or some international recognition, thanks to this catchy
pop gem. I'd puke if 1 could,
but I'm too busy enjoying it. I
will, however, continue to steer
clear of all live performances
(and there's one coming up
soon—check our listings!)—
there's no way I'm putting
these sweet shins through that
horrid torture again.
Julie C.
THE PLAIN WHITE T'S
Stop
(Fearless)
Blah. Some people would say
this is a gem of an album. Some
people would describe how the
lead singer's voice is so perfectly piercing yet sweet at the
same time—and how the lyrics
are so honest and raw. Some
people would listen to this
album over and over and over
and relate every little story
it contains to their own lives.
Maybe some would even just
hear it for what it is—polished,
produced, power pop about the
fear of losing one's girlfriend.
Perhaps I'm not enough in
touch with that side of myself,
but I have to be honest: it's
albums like this that scare me
away from that crazy "emo"
label. I believe it is possible
to find a good balance of raw
lyrical honesty as well as musi-
cality, as groups such as Pedro
the Lion have demonstrated.
Or maybe it's just that I'm too
much of a sucker for subtlety,
play of words, interesting musical innovation, and challenge in
my music. Perhaps there's a
time and a place for everything.
Stop, though, shows no sign of
musical ingenuity or originality
or even spunk. It sounds like
they want to sound like Jimmy
Eat World... and they get pretty
close. On its behalf this album
will no doubt make some people very happy, which makes
part of me very happy as well.
Meanwhile, however, I don't
think I'll ever be able to keep a
straight face with lyrics such as
"What if nobody likes me?/Will
I be less smart?/No!". This one's
for the dust.
Soren Brothers
THE SALTEENS
Let Go of Your Bad Days
(Boompa)
With their second full-length,
local kids The Salteens remind
us that first impressions can be
deceiving. Their robust instrumentation is bouncy as a beach
ball, and even the lap steel on
track four sounds cheerful. But
under the sweet harmonies
and catchy pop lurks some
serious angst. If Scott Walker is
letting go of his bad days, he's
doing it through lyrical catharsis. Managing to be direct and
vague at the same time, Walker
articulates his feelings in a clear
but unpoetic way. After a few
listens, it starts to sound like
a therapy session among frustrated friends: "If I'm honest to
a fault it's nothing more than
a way to get to you." The only
time the music matches the
mood of the lyrics is in the last
track, "Home Again", where bittersweet strings and the plaintive vocals of now-departed
bassist Megan Bradfield prove
that The Salteens can do maudlin as well as they do happy.
Lyrics aside, this album witl
get you moving on slow days,
especially the should-be single
"Summer's Gone". And anyways, The Salteens know how
you should listen to this stuff:
"It's not the words that they
will heed/It's just the thoughts
you get from sound".
Kat Siddle
SAM SHALABI
Osama
(Alien8 Recordings)
Listening to Osama reminds
me of the televised protests
in Montreal last year between
university students regarding the Palestinian/Israeli
conflict. Angry, noisy, chaotic
and biased, Sam Shalabi's solo
effort continues in the tradition
of Montreal's young musicians
using sonic force as a means of
protesting the new world order.
Walter Benjamin is quoted at
length in the liner notes ("...here
the flame most readily kindled
is that of hatred..."), essentially
stating the music's confrontational sense of purpose versus
any manufactured need of art
for consumption. This is not
music for some trippy escapism as might be the case in one
of Shalabi's other musical projects, The Shalabi Effect, nor is
it akin to the sweeping sonic
grandeur of Godspeed You!
Black Emperor, more than it
is an unearthly howl into the
night, raw and brimming with
potential violence as the opening track, "The Wherewithall",
clearly demonstrates. More
journal excerpt than final
document, this album's rather
personal approach, as heard
in Mid-East Tour Diary 2002,
for instance, will most likely
appeal more to the like-minded
or especially curious listener
than those looking for the next
hip thing to consume.
Paul Clarke
[This album, unlike his others,
sucks major crap—Ad Rep]
THE SKYDIGGERS
Bittersweet Harmony
(MapleMusic Recordings)
I only chose to review this
album because Hawksley
Workman plays on and produces three of the tracks. I
think this flippant decision
may have made a Skydiggers
fan of me, if I could only learn
to love Andy Maize's voice. The
instrumentation is interesting
and complex, with songs blending into each other and lots of
little melodies that surface,
only to quickly disappear under
the main guitar lines. The best
songs make me think that you
could probably listen to this
album a couple of times over
and not get bored (and not
just because you're straining
to hear Hawksley on back-up).
The lyrics aren't bad, either. To
put it simply, this album makes
me wish I liked Maize's voice.
Kat Siddle
s/t
(Rainbow Quartz)
In just about every biography
I read about this Winnipeg
band, one of the first things
mentioned is the fact that
the name of the band is "borrowed" from Kurt Vonnegut's
Breakfast of Champions. Surely,
I thought, this band must have
a better selling point than this.
Fortunately for me and my
ears, they did.
Safely lodged in the ever-
popular "pop-rock" category,
The Telepathic Butterflies'
self-titled album is their first
full length CD. In 2001, they
released Nine Songs, and when
they signed to American label
Rainbow Quartz, Nine Songs
was repackaged and four
more songs were added. This
album is what resulted. All of
the songs are set against a
typical electric guitar, bass,
and drums background with
the occasional appearance of
the cello, like on the cool little
cover of Donovan's "Epistle to
Dippy." Though the music is not
wildly imaginative or unique,
this album is insanely catchy
and this is evident on the first
listen. "Radio Darlings" is aptly
named, since it's appealing
enough to be played on just
about every pop music radio
station in the country—while
songs such as "Flowerbed" and
"House of Smiles/It's All You've
Ever Known" are just melancholy enough for a miserable
bastard like myself.
Rejean Ricard's vocals are
pleasant to listen to and it's
obvious he can sing—which is
more than many lead vocalists can say for themselves.
Ricard's vocals complement the
melodic and upbeat tunes that
he writes. Not to be outdone,
Eric van Buren plays some
rather stirring bass lines—like
on "Serendipity"—and even
though he doesn't look like it in
the lyrics booklet, Jake Dubois
is a pretty good drummer.
These guys are touring North
America in May and they say
they're ready to conquer the
pop world. So why not help
them by buying their record?
What's the worst that could
happen? Well, you would end up
with a CD of 16 (yes, 16) catchy
and well-crafted pop songs. I
say that's not bad at all.
Wilson Wong •
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31 DiSCORDER real live acti
live music reviews
THE SALTEENS
THE YOKO CASIONOS
THE R*A*D*I*0
Saturday, March 22
The Royal
The R*A*D*I*0 would be so
much stronger as a duo. No
offence to the band, but the
ROCK Is holding back some
amazing songs. The two vocalists have a special energy that
must roam around in uncharted
waters, kissing dolphins and
collecting kelp.
The Yoko Casionos = Tom
Hanks.
If only The Salteens had
starred in the '90's TV show
"California Dreaming"... I loved
that show even though the
music sucked. "Nice Day" could
be the theme song and we could
othe
rchetypes. After the first
few chords The Royal melted
away to a beach side stage with
palm trees and a sweet smelling
wind. They asked me to touch
people, did kicks, had special
guests, and a iucky fan got a
free turtle. Letting go of my bad
days? Yup!
Captain Tony
SAHARA HOTNIGHTS
THED4
IKARA COLT
THEWASHOOWN
Sunday, March 23
Richard's On Richards
Strolling in to this show at the
early hour of 9 PM, I quickly
learned that the band I was
seeing on stage was not The
Washdown, but rather art
school punk rockers Ikara
Colt, whose lead singer bore
a stunning resemblance to
Mudhoney's Mark Arm with a
thick English accent. Sounding
gritt
(most likely du<
thai
a bass-heav\
mix), they did play a selection
of songs from their debut, Chat
and Business, and ended each
song with polite thank-yous and
ing early on, which was met by
some amateur pop-lockers taking up the task.
Who would have thought
that the tiny island country of
New Zealand would have created the motley crew of garage
rockers next up on the Richard's
stage. It took a little work, but
The D4 had won over the crowd
by the end through the antics
strut and swagger across, on,
and off said stage nearly earned
him a broken neck at set's end.
Where fellow countrymen The
Datsuns love their Led Zeppelin
and extended guitar solos, The
D4 just want to party, get loose
and find themselves an action
woman (and yes, that's my
clever way of telling you they
played songs from their album,
6Twenty, as well as an awesome
cover of the sixties nugget from
The Litter).
So as not to repeat the
almost fatal fall taken by the
aforementioned D4 guitarist,
Swedish sweethearts Sahara
Hotnights stayed grounded, not
moving a whole lot, but letting
the music do it instead. Their
brand of crunchy Ramones-
meets-Runaways rock and roll
kept the heads bobbing and
the feet tapping through their
extensive workout of cuts from
their most recent domestic
release, Jennie Bomb. I was
stoked they blasted through
"Can the Can" again (a Suzi
Quatro cover): after hearing
it the first time they visited
Vancouver they nearly blew the
roof off The Pic, so the rafters
were definitely shakin' after
tonight. Drummer Josephine is
one of the best drummers I've
had the pleasure of watching
in awhile, as she has this swinging style to her playing that
keeps your attention while she
pounds down. And not like the
rest of 'em are slouches, neither.
As most of the guys and gals in
the audience ate up the latest
offering of overseas rock, it
was truly an internationally-
flavoured affair.
Bryce Dunn
BRIGHT EYES
ARAP STRAP
DAVID BAZAN (OF PEDRO THE
LION)
Friday, April 4
The Commodore Ballroom
You wouldn't expect a triple
bill of contemplative and emotive performers would attract
a bunch of drunken yahoos
and hostile vibes, yet the
Commodore was full of them;
from the incessant screams
and catcalls throughout ("Hey,
Conor, you're a stud!," "Are
you Pedro the Lion?!?," and, of
course, "Play 'Freebird'!") to the
talkative girls near me who elicited a sharp admonition from a
guy nearby, many in the audience had things on their minds
other than what was happening
onstage. Fortunately, Conor
Oberst (a.k.a. Bright Eyes)
wasn't about to let anything
detract from his dynamic and
varied performance.
With only a six-piece band
backing him (as opposed to the
14-piece symphony he had at
Richard's last October), Oberst
had a greater personal responsibility to hold the attention of
the crowd. The lack of a large
backing band also forced Oberst
to eschew the largely
materia
frc
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COMING FALL
new Jonathan inc
2003
. full
length
[records]
k> A
his most recent album, Lifted,
in favour of older songs that
put the focus on him and his
lyrical talents. Fortunately, his
jet-black hair, hangdog expression, and tortured demeanor
perfectly embodied all his emotional songs, making him a powerful on-stage presence (one girl
even crawled up on stage to get
a better look). Oberst further
commanded the crowd's attention with his vocal mannerisms;
the audience would become
comfortable with Oberst mumbling of his pain and agony only
to be startled when he suddenly
howled his various lyrical frustrations and hurts. Oberst's
continual drowning of his sorrows with deep swigs of red
wine only brought more passion
and fire to an already compelling performance.
The opening acts, however, experienced varying
levels of success. Scottish duo
Arab Strap performed a set of
well-constructed, elegiac, and
intermittently beautiful songs.
Unfortunately, the sameness of
many of their songs and singer
Aidan Moffatt's thick and nearly
incomprehensible Scottish
brogue prevented the band
from connecting with the audience. That, and the band's lack
of movement gave the crowd
nothing to look at (other than
the pretty violinist and cellist
supporting the band...). Opener
David Bazan's maudlin and
dreary solo acoustic set fared
even less well; it's never a good
thing when a performance is in
danger of being overwhelmed
by the chatter of the audience.
Nei7 Braun
IDLEWILD
Wednesday, April 9
Richard's On Richards
Okay, I admit it. On the last day
of classes, I spent a couple of
hours taking in the spectacle
of Can-Rock mediocrity known
as Arts "Crappy" County Fair.
I arrived just in time to see I
Mother Earth take the stage
(I kept yelling "Edwin Rules!"
but I don't think they heard
me) and stayed until partway
through Treble Charger's set
(I then started yelling, "Happy
40t'1 birthday Greig Nori!"
but I don't think he heard me,
either). Rather than stay for
54-40 (here's a career idea,
guys: start covering Hootie &
the Blowfish songs!), I headed
downtown to Richard's to see
anthemic Scottish firebrands
Idlewild attempt to conquer
North America, or at least
Vancouver
Despite the high-sheen
production gloss on their new
album, The Remote Part, the
band made it clear from the
start that this was going to be
a loud, fast-tempo rock show.
The sloppy punk of "You Just
Have To Be Who You Are" led
straight into the fist-pumping
"I Am What I Am Not" that then
gave way to the thunderous
"Little Discourage." The five-
piece band never let up at any
point during the show; in particular, Colin Newton's forceful, insistent drumming and
Rod Jones' piercing guitar (and
bouncy stage maneuvering),
hit the appreciative crowd with
gale-force impact. There were
even some guys in the crowd
Fischerspooner, Commodore Ballroom.
Photo By Gaelen Marsden
behind me moshing like it was
1993! Singer Roddy Woomble
did all he could to match his
superb bandmate's intensity.
In between careening to-and-
fro across the stage, he did an
excellent job crooning mid-
tempo ballads like "American
English" and "Tell Me 10 Words."
However, Woomble appeared
to become fatigued as the set
progressed, as he was unable
to summon forth the necessary
power to elevate the mid-set
anthems like "These Wooden
Ideas." Fortunately, Woomble
used his remarkable crooning
to carry himself for a few songs
until he had recovered. The
only truly unfortunate part of
the show was the utter lack of
people who showed up. I haven't
seen Richard's this empty in
over two years. Hopefully it
wasn't because people decided
to go to 54-40 instead; I'd hate
to think anyone would choose
hearing "Baby Ran" for the
umpteenth time over a young,
intense, hungry band blessed
with loads of passion and talent
to match.
Neil Braun
THE AISLERS SET
HELLA
THE QUAILS
Friday, April 11
Graceland (Seattle)
As always, the trip into the Evil
Empire was fraught with both
delight and dread: our eagerness for snack foods unavailable in our own nation (Squeeze
Cheeze, Double-Stuf Oreos, etc.)
against our fear of the general
populace. Flag-waving patriots
dominated several freeway
overpasses, their banners
exhorting drivers to "Honk to
Support Our Troops." We would
have liked to make a stand for
peace by flipping them the bird,
but were unable to do so, our
hands entirely occupied in conveying barbecue chips from the
bag to our mouths. Our tenuous
ideological stance heightened
an already over-excited mood:
after all, we were on our way
to see Sacramento post-rock
duo Hella.
In the weeks leading up
to the show, several publications had sympathised with
the plight of groups sharing
the bill with Hella. The Quails
mentioned this before they
began, appearing to understand
that many in the audience were
marking time before the second act. Nonetheless, we were
impressed by The Quails' distortion-heavy, vocal-driven, New
Wave style. While the energy
was not what we remembered
from last July's show at the
Pic (sandwiched between The
Organ and Bratmobile—what
a night!), they still rocked the
house, sounding like a modern
American version of '80s British
feminist punk act the Au Pairs.
The stage darkened and
the mood intensified when
Hella took over. The two scruffy
young men shuffled awkwardly
onstage, launching into their set
without a word. Watching the
duo presented us with a conundrum: how to best express our
extreme enjoyment? A few
abortive attempts revealed
that dancing wouldn't work.
The constant tempo changes
and discordant melodies didn't
allow for the fluid motions of
our signature groovy dance
styles. Even traditional indie-
style rockin' was difficult with
Hella's music (unless, perhaps,
we had been prone to seizures).
Eventually, we opted to stand
and stare, our mouths agape in sheer awe. Hill's skill, while
incredible enough on record,
was mind-blowing live. We had
imagined that he played two
kick drums, pounding them as
if he were doing drum rolls with
his feet. But live, we realized
that he was actually playing
with his right foot alone—that
is, his right blur—we never
actually saw a foot. Seim easily matched Hill's power with
frenzied clusters of notes from
disparate registers of the guitar,
creating a sonic assault that
was disorienting, disconcerting,
and utterly mind-blowing.
The Aisler's set topped the
night off. This San Francisco
group are one of the current
darlings of the international
indie-pop scene—among
other honours having recently
earned a touring position with
Magnetic Fields and the praise
of Belle and Sebastian's Stuart
Murdoch. However, after seeing Hella, nothing else could
hold our attention. We left after
their first song. The journey
back was dark and long, but we
weathered it with heightened
perception. After seeing Hella,
we knew we would never be the
same again.
Susy Webb and Sam Kenny
ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT
THE SPITS
THE BRONX
Sunday, April 13
Commodore Ballroom
The Bronx had the unenviable
task of hitting the stage first in
a still somewhat cavernous-feeling Commodore, but impressed
those of us brave enough to
venture to the front with some
brash and loud rock and roll
much like The Tight Bros From
Way Back When or L.A. brethen
The B-Movie Rats. In a smaller
venue I think these guys would
tear it up even more—and upon
talking to them after the gig
they will return before the year
is out, so keep an eye and ear
out for The Bronx.
The same can be said for
The Spits' inaugural visit north
of the border. I've seen these
shit-disturbing, crime-influenced punks before and they
are much better in close quarters where lighting fireworks
and spraying the audience with
unidentifiable liquids has a
more lasting impression. And,
although seeing the keyboardist in a bondage mask with the
words "EAT FUCK" smeared
on his chest has its own lasting impression, The Spits gave
the crowd just a taste of what
they're capable of: here's hoping
they come back to wreak some
havoc again in the future.
Which brings us to the main
attraction and what would
prove to be yet another stellar
performance from San Diego's
finest. For those uninitiated to
the sounds of Speedo's Army,
what can I say except "Where
have you been, people?"
Tonight's show was what we
needed to cut loose, get down
and knock ourselves out. Armed
with new songs (from Live
From Camp X-Ray) like show
opener "I'm Not Invisible", "Get
Down," "Bucket Of Piss," and
"Outsider," there was ample
dancin'to be done. Past albums
were also revisited, like with the
trio of tunes from State Of The
Art Is On Fire, "Hotwired" and
"If The Bird Could Fly" from
Cut Carefully And Play twelve
inch, as well as other assorted
goodies that kept the crowd on
their feet the entire night. The
highlight came toward the end
when Rocket out-freezed The
Hives during "When In Rome,"
(show-goers may remember the
last visit by the Swedish heartthrobs being punctuated by a
motionless intermission during the song "Main Offender"),
but will this now spark debate
among hipsters everywhere as
to who started it first, and will
the Freeze Battle continue until
there is no actual show, and just
the band members standing
stiff on stage? Ah, the possibilities. All I know is, if you stood
motionless during this show,
you need to listen to more
Rocket From The Crypt and
embrace the good times.
Bryce Dunn
FISCHERSPOONER
Tuesday, April 22
Commodore Ballroom
So no, I haven't watched the DVD
nor seen all the Fischerspooner
videos. What I do know is that
Fischerspooner, like the rest
of the so-called neo-electro
movement, have finally become
popular in Vancouver. Yeah,
local DJs have been jockin' the
electro vibe for a little while, but
we have reached electro-apex
in old Vancity. Once acts like
Ladytron and Fischerspooner
plan a North American tour after
years of hype in the UK, Europe,
and the "Excited" States, then
we know this is the end. The
duo known as Fischerspooner
straddles both sides of this so-
called 'electroclash' movement.
Musically, the two make very
dancefloor friendly electro-pop
that has garnered underground
cred releasing on the German
International Deejay Gigolos
label way back in 2001. Their
album is mentioned alongside
classic neo-electro releases
(classic and neo? That just
seems wrong for some reason)
as Ms. Kitten and Hacker's first
album and anything by DJ Hell.
The Spooners also reside in the
ever-vapid image side of electro
like the manufactured crapfest
W.I.T. and any other last minute
bandwagoners.
The show that Warren
Fischer, Casey Spooner, and
their eight dancers put on at the
Commodore definitely approximated the later, more disposable
electro. Casey Spooner danced
around and acted oh-so New
York artsy while his Cabaret-
inspired dancers fulfilled the
Vegas comes to Vancouver element. Each song had its own
'80s-inspired choreography and
just fabulous costume changes.
The show was basically a bunch
of overly costumed artists
performing a lip-sync to their
album complete with playback
problems (perhaps this was also
choreographed?) and tantrum
of Casey's regarding an audience member. Maybe I'm not
artsy enough or just don't find
the obvious tongue in cheek
take on supposedly excessive
live cheese that funny, but
Fischerspooner's pop culture
art performance was wank and
nothing else. Watching Casey
take off his shirt and scream
into a fan reminded me of that
TDK guy getting blown away
by the sound of his stereo—not
the cool rock esthetic it was
supposed to be. The album
was played, the spectacle of
the band wasn't spectacular
enough, and I no longer dance
to fischerspooner by myself in
my apartment.
Robert Robot •
Rocket From The Crypt, Commodore. Photo by Mary Hosick
vfSprinf
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Rockiest
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The Dudes take the songs that earned
them comparisons to Modest Mouse
and Flaming Lips to a fever pitch in
their legendary live show.
The Neckers' rock n' roll has
elicited comparisons to The
Modern Lovers, Elvis Costello
and The Kinks, and is more
infectious than the clap.
The acidic melodies and driving rhythms of The
Summerlad prompted Stylus to call them "Barbed-
wire art rock". We have no idea what that means.
HUM 1 im
HE MARINE ti
5/3 HH (Al HI)
33 DiSCORDER "@&m® $&$$%$
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CAN To MINQC
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May Show Listings www.themainonmain.com
Thursday 1st.. Kim Barlow (Whitehorse) and Friends
Friday 2nd... The Goiden Wedding Band (20's, 30's Hokum Jazz)
Saturday 3rd.... Auburn... (Shelly Campbell with her band)
Thursday 8th.. Craig Jacks and The Jackalopes
Friday 9th... The Clay George Band with Carolyn Mark
Saturday 10th... Jack Harlan Band and guests tba
Sunday llth...Edmonton's The Painting Daisies
Wednesday 14th... Red Cat Records Night with Eldorado
Thursday 15th...Roger Dean Young and Kent Mcalister
Friday 16th....Bluegrass Sensations... Slowdrag
Saturday 17th...Amy Honey and Harry's Birthday Bash (drink)
Thursday 22nd-Saturday 24th.. New Music West ..3 band bills TBA
Thursday 29th..The Sugar Gliders with LtL* Tea
Friday 30th...Kevin House with special guest Dale Darlington
Saturday 31st...Carolyn Mark, Luann Kowalek and Wendy Mcneill
Next month, Nathan, Airhorn Protocol Cd Release& The Burnettes
4210 Main St. Vancouver BC 604 709 8555
ph. 708-9422 * email l>ud%«pedcat.ca c heart a
May Long Vinyl
May Short Vinyl
May Indie Home Jobs
1 New Porno's
2 The Dears
3 Set Fire To Flames
4 JWAB
5 White Stripes
6 Adult
7 Stinkmitt
8 Monade
9 Flaming Lips
10 Mouse On Mars
11 Cat Power
12 Wetspots
13 Whirlwind Heat
14 Sam Shalabi
15 Red Snapper
16 Skinjobs
17 The User
18 Tim Hecker
19 Andrew Duke
20 Manitoba
21 Salteens
22 Pseudos
23 NOIA
24 Sons Of Hercules
25 Spiritualized
26 Buzzcocks
27 Daniel Johnston
28 v/a
29 Gossip
30 Beans
31 Datsuns
32 Xerophonics
33 Postal Service
34 Smog
35 Aphex Twin
Electric Version Mint
No Cities Left Maple Music
Telegraphs In Negative Alien8
Pyrokinesis
Eiephant
Anxiety Always
Smell The Mitt
Socialisme...
Fight Test (EP)
Glam
You Are Free
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Warner
Thrill Jockey
Matador
Ribbed For Pleasure Womynsware
Do Rabbits Wonder?
Osama
s/t
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Radio Amor
Highest Common...
Up In Flames
Let Go...
Lost Songs...
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The Complete Works
s/t
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Dirtnap Sampler
Movement
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s/t
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1 Maximum R 'n' R
2 Birthday Machine
3 Gentlemen Of Horror
4 New Town Animals
5 Veal
6 Frog Eyes/JWAB
7 The Agenda
8 Lupine Howl
9 World Burns To Death
10 Armatron
11 Artimus Pyle
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Switchblade Independent
Direction... Top Quality R'n'R
5 Song 45 Independent
Fashion Fallout Dirtnap
I Hate Your Lipstick Six Shooter
split Global Symphonic
Are You Nervous?
Don't Lose...
Human Meat..
s/t
s/t
Remixed by...
Juke Box High
Manufacto
split
Live @ Devil's Club
Hip Hop Exp.
Orange World
s/t
Small Scale
Squid
Kindercore
Vinyl Hiss
Prank
GSL
Prank
GSL
Glazed
s. Whale
Polyvinyl
Boom Boom
Rhino
Tiger Style
GSL
k
1 The Department
2 Me
3 Antique City
4 William Hardman
5 Ashley Schram
6 Snow Goats
7 Skeleton
8 Carla Klassen
9 Threedots
10 The Feminists
11 Ilia Brown and Kut
12 The Blacklist
13 Magical Glass Tea
14 Basement Sweets
15 Psilocybinide
16Shinen
17Shitfaced
18 George Case Exp.
19 Do It For Johnny
20 The Sore Throats
Propane
But Only If You Listen
Piecemeal
Cherry Pie
Urban Rain
The Dressmakers
Like You
Here I Am
Untitled
Sad Echo Wailed
Korners Wantin' Respect
Untitled
rs These Autumn Leaves
In Tomato Town
Capsized
Excess
Live Untitled
Yellow, Yellow...
Zero Spin
Need It, Got It-
Copying Machine Music Seeland
Give Up Sub Pop
Supper Drag City
26 Mixes For Cash Warp
c
HOW THE CHARTS WORK^)
The monthly charts are compiled based on the number of times a CD/
LP ("Jong vinyl"), 7" ("short vinyl"), or demo tape/CD ("indie home
jobs") on CiTR's playlist was played by our DJs during the previous
month (i.e., "May" charts reflect airplay over April). Weekly charts can
be received via email. Send mail to "majordomo@unixg.ubc.ca" with
the command: "subscribe citr-charts." •
DiSCORDER IS LOOKING FOR A NEW OVERLORD... ER, EDITOR
Here are the things that you will have to do: organize and schedule reviews, schmooze with label reps, facilitate
CD and gig reviews, proof and edit submissions, plan the layout, coordinate volunteers, work (read: "not kill")
with other staff, participate in long-term planning of the magazine, deal with and reply to correspondence
(letters, faxes, email), harass the contributors (yes, sadly you must), help out in every conceivable area (from
inception to production), and make sure the magazine comes out (well, who else is gonna do it?).
Still interested? Because, on top of that, you should have: an excellent command of the English language and
grammar, good phone/interpersonal skills, some knowledge of computers (the more the better, because we use
both PCs and Macs, and do it up with Word, Photoshop, and InDesign), a good knowledge of music (or an
expert ability to bluff), an awareness of the music scene in the Lower Mainland, and (perhaps most importantly)
lots of free time and patience.
So, what do you get out of this? Well, $350/issue! Publishing experience! The respect of your peers! The ability
to occasionally weasel free beers! PRESTIGE! GLAMOUR! ADVENTURE!
If you're interested, please contact Chris at 604-822-3017, ext. 3 (discorder@club.c
604-822-1 242.
s.ubc.ca), or Lydia at
35 DiSCORDER on tlie dial
SUNDAY
ARE YOU SERIOUS? MUSIC
9:00AM-12:00PM All of time
is measured by its art. This show
presents the most recent new
music from around the world.
Ears open.
THE ROCKERS SHOW
12:00PM-3:00PM Reggae
inna all styles and fashion.
BLOOD ON THE SADDLE
3:00PM-5:00PM Reakowshit
caught-in-yer-boots country.
CHIPS WfTH EVERYTHING alt.
5:00PM-6:00PM British pop
music from all decades.
SAINT TROPEZ alt. 5:00PM-
6:00PM International pop
(Japanese, French, Swedish,
British, US, etc.), '60s soundtracks
and lounge. Book your jet set
holiday now!
QUEER FM 6:00PM-8:00PM
Dedicated to the gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transsexual
communities of Vancouver.
Lots of human interest features,
background on current issues and
RHYTHMSINDIA 8:00PM-
10:00PM Rhythmslndia
features a wide range of music
from India, including popular
music from Indian movies from
the 1930s to the present, classical
as Ghazals and Bhajons, and
also Qawwalis, pop and regional
language numbers.
TRANCENDANCE 10:00PM-
12:00AM Join us in practicing
the ancient art of rising above
common thought and ideas as your
host DJ Smiley Mike lays down
the latest trance cuts to propel
us into the domain of the mystic
al<trancendance@hotmail com>
THE SHOW 12:00AM-2.00AM
ANTELOPE FREEWAY 2:00AM-
6:00AM The Freeway Beckons!
Offering new vistas, exotic folk,
and old memories. With your host
Ian at the wheel. Four hours of
aged LP pleasure. Five stars all!
MONDAY
BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00AM-
8:00 AM
BREAKFAST WITH THE BROWNS
8:00AM-11:00AM Your
favourite brown-sters, James and
Peter, offer a savoury blend of the
familiar and exotic in a blend of
aural delights!
LOCAL KIDS MAKE GOOD alt.
11:00AM-1:00PM Local Mike
and Local Dave bring you local
music of all sorts. The program
most likely to play your band!
FILL-IN 11:00AM- 1:00PM
PARTS UNKNOWN 1:00PM-
3:00PM Underground pop for
the minuses with the occasional
interview with your host Chris.
SANDBOX THEATRE 3:00PM-
4:00PM A show of radio drama
orchestrated and hosted by UBC
students, featuring independent
works from local, national and
international theatre groups.
We welcome your involvement.
<sandboxtheatre@hotmail.com>
ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS 4:00PM-
5:00PM A chance for new CiTR
DJs to flex their musical muscle.
Surprises galore.
WENER'S BARBEQUE 5:00PM-
6:00PM Join the sports dept. for
their coverage of the T-Birds.
CRASH THE POSE alt. 6:00PM-
7:30PM Hardcore/punk as
fuck from beyond the grave.
SOLARIZATION (on haitus
for summer) alt. 6:00PM-
6:30PM Current affairs
with an edge. Kenneth Chan
exposes issues that truly matter.
None of that mainstream crap.
Anybody say controversy? Email:
<solarization@radio.fm>
MY ASS alt. 6:30PM-7:30PM
Phelps, Albini, V me.
WIGFLUX RADIO 7:30PM-
9:00PM Listen to Selecta
Krystabelle for your reggae
education.
THE JAZZ SHOW 9:00PM-
1 2:00AM Vancouver's longest
running prime time jazz program.
Hosted by the ever-suave Gavin
Walker. Features at 1 1.
May 5: Drummer/leader and
powerhouse jazz influence Art
Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
recorded at the legendary
"Keystone Korner" and the only
edition of this band with both
Marsalis brothers (Wynton and
Branford).
May 12: Just discovered and fresh
as tomorrow—a swinging edition
of the Stan Kenton Orchestra
recorded at the Newport Jazz
Festival in 1957.
May 19: A neglected period in
the illustrious career of tenor
saxophone giant Stan Getz,
was his working band with
value-trombonist/composer Bob
Brookmeyer. Amazing musical
chemistry, prime Getz and rare
stuff make tonight a must!
May 26: Guitarist Grant Green's
very first recording session with
Miles Davis' rhythm section:
Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul
Chambers (Bass), and Philly Joe
Jones (drums). Not issued until
2001. It proved that Green was a
major stylist right from the get-go.
VENGEANCE IS MINE 12:00AM-
3:00AM Hosted by Trevor. It's
punk rock, baby! Gone from the
charts but not from our hearts—
thank fucking Christ.
PSYCHEDELIC AIRWAVES 3:00AM-
6:30AM DJ Christopher Schmidt
also hosts Organix at Club 23
(23 West Cordova) on Friday
nights.
TUESDAY
PACIFIC PICKIN' 6:30AM-
8:00AM Bluegrass, old-time
music, and its derivatives with
Arthur and "The Lovely Andrea"
Berman.
HIGHBRED VOICES 8:00AM-
9:30AM
THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM
9:30AM-11:30AM Open your
ears and prepare for a shock! A
harmless note may make you a
fan! Hear the menacing scourge
that is Rock and Roll! Deadlier
than the most dangerous criminal!
<borninsixtynine@hotmail.com>
THE NORTHERN WISH alt.
11:30AM- 1:00PM
FILL-IN 11:30AM-12:30PM
REEL TO REAL alt 12:30PM-
SUNDAY
Monday
TUESDAY
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
[RJT
REGGAE LINKUP
9
10
11
12pm
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12am
1
2
3
4
ARE YOU
SERIOUS?
MUSIC
ROCKERS
SHOW
BLOOD ON THE L
SADDLE
I Po I SAINT I Po
I TROPEZ I
BBC WORLD SERVICE
BREAKFAST
WITH
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LOCAL
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PARTS ^
UNKNOWN
SANDBOX THEATREfTK)
ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS
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PACIFIC PICKIN'
HIGHBRED VOICESL-
THIRD TIMES
THE CHARM
BEATUPRONIN [!f.
CIRCUIT TRACING
MEAT EATING VEGAN(Ec)
BBC WORLD SERVICE
SUBURBAN JUNGLE
FOOL'S PARADISE L
EXQUISITE CORPSE
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THEDIMSUMSHOW1-
MOTORDADDY/ L_
RUMBLETONE RADIO
BBC WORLD
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END OF THE
WORLD NEWS
PLANET
LOVETRON
CANADIAN LUNCH
RHYMES &
REASONS
BBC WORLD
SERVICE
CAUGHT IN
THE RED
SKA-T'S L
SCENIC DRIVE
[Hr7"
THESE ARE THE BREAKS
LEO RAMIREZ
SHOW
NARDWUAR
PRESENTS
BBC WORLD
SERVICE
THE
SATURDAY
EDGE
9
10
11
12pm I
POWERCHORD
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QUEER FM
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HEAD
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SONG
LEGALLY HIP (Tk)
CITR NEWS AND
ARTS(Tk)
ELECTROLUX HOUR
A.S.W.
(Po/Ec)
RHYTHMSINDIA
WIGFLUX RADIO
BLUE
MONDAY
(Gi)
OUT FOR KICKS
TEi
IT
ON AIR
WITH GREASED HAIR
FAREASTSIDE
SOUNDS
TRANCENDANCE
THE
JAZZ
SHOW
^3
SALARIO MINIMO
VENUS ESCAPISM
LIVE FROM... —'
THUNDERBIRD HELL
AFRICAN
RYTHMS
~K
IK
VENGEANCE
IS MINE!
¥
HANS KLOSS'
MISERY HOUR
WORLD HEAT
[Wo
MORNING AFTER
SHOW
|Dc/Ec
SYNAPTIC SANDWICH
PLUTONIAN
NIGHTS
ANTELOPE
FREEWAY
AURAL
TENTACLES
PSYCHEDELIC
AIRWAVES
FIRST FLOOR
SOUND SYSTEM
WIRELESS
CRUELTY
THE
VAMPIRE'S
BALL
EARWAX
REGGAE LINKUP
and funky • Ch= children
Hk= Hans Kloss • Ki=Kid<
Dc= dance/electronic • Ec= eclectic • Fr= french language • Gi= goth/industrial • Hc= hardcore • Hh=
Lm= live music • Lo= lounge • Mt= metal • No= noise • Nw= Nardwuar • Po= pop • Pu= punk
jqgae • Rr= rock • Rts= roots » Sk = ska »So= soul • Sp= sports • Tk= talk »_Wb=_
LHk= Hans Kloss • Ki=Kids • Jz= jazz • Lm= live music • Lo= lounge • Mt= metal • No= noise • Nw= Nardwuar • Po= pop • Pu= punk
^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ Rg= reggae • Rr= rock • Rts= roots • Sk = ska •So=soul» Sp= sports • Tk= talk » Wo= world ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ 1:00PM Movie reviews and
criticism.
BEATUP RONIN 1 KWPM-2.-00PM
Where dead samurai can
program music.
CIRCUIT TRACING Z-00PM-3:30PM
EN AVANT LA MUSIQUE
ALT. 3:30PM-4:30PM
ELECTRIC AVENUES ah. 3:30PM-
4:30PM Last Tuesday of every
month, hosted by The Richmond
Society For Community Living.
A variety music and spoken
word program with a focus on
people with special needs and
disabilities.
THE MEAT-EATING VEGAN
4:30PM-5:00PM
10,000 VOICES 5:00PM-
6:00PM Poetry, spoken word,
performances, etc.
FLEX YOUR HEAD 6:00PM-
8:00PM Up the punx, down the
emo! Keepin' it real since 1989,
yo.
hrtp;//flexvourhead.vi
SALARIO MINIMO 8:00PM-
10:00PM
THE LOVE DEN alt. 10:00PM-
12:00 AM
<loveden@hotmail.com>
ESCAPISM alt. 10:00PM-
12.00 AM
es»cap»ism n: escape from
the reality or routine of life
by absorbing the mind in
entertainment or fantasy. Host: DJ
<DJSatyricon@hotmail.com>
AURAL TENTACLES 12:00AM-
6:00AM It could be punk,
ethno, global, trance, spoken
word, rock, the unusual and the
weird, or it could be something
different. Hosted by DJ Pierre.
WEDNESDAY
BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00AM-
7:00 AM
THE SUBURBAN JUNGLE
7:00AM-9:00AM Bringing you an
entertaining and eclectic mix of
new and old music live from the
Jungle Room with your irreverent
hosts Jack Velvet and Nick The
Greek. R&B, disco, techno,
soundtracks, Americana, Latin
jazz, news, and gossip. A real
geml <suburbanjungle@channel
FOOL'S PARADISE 9:00AM-
10:00AM Japanese music and
talk.
EXQUISITE CORPSE 10:00AM-
11:30 AM
ANOIZE 11:30AM- 1:00PM
Luke Meat irritates and educates
through musical deconstruction.
Recommended for the strong.
THE SHAKE 1:00PM-2:00PM
THE DIM SUM SHOW alt.
2:00PM-3:00PM
MOTORDADDY alt. 3:00PM-
5:00PM Cycle-riffic rawk and
roll I
RUMBLETONE RADIO alt.
3:00PM-5:00PM Primitive,
fuzzed-out garage mayhem I
RACHEL'S SONG 5:00PM-
6:30PM Socio-political,
environmental activist news and
spoken word with some music,
too.
www.necessarwoices.org
AND SOMETIMES WHY alt.
6:30PM-8:OOPM
(First Wednesday of every month.)
BLUE MONDAY alt. 6:30PM-
8:00PM Vancouver's only indus-
trial-electronic-retro-goth program.
Music to schtomp to, hosted by
Coreen.
FILL IN 8:00PM-9:00PM
FOLK OASIS 9:00PM-11:00PM
Roots music for folkies and
non-folkies... bluegrass, singer-
songwriters,worldbeat, alt country
and more. Not a mirage!
<folkoasis@canada.com>
HANS KLOSS' MISERY HOUR
U:00PM-2:00AM
FIRST FLOOR SOUND SYSTEM
2:00AM-6:00AM
THURSDAY
BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00AM-
8:00AM
END OF THE WORLD NEWS
8:00AM- 10:00AM
PLANET LOVETRON 10:00AM-
11:30AM Music inspired by
Chocolate Thunder; Robert Robot
drops electro past and present, hip
hop and intergalactic funkmanship.
<rbotlove@yahoo.com>
CANADIAN LUNCH 11:30AM-
1:00PM
STEVE AND MIKE 1:00PM-
2:00PM Crashing the boy's club
in the pit. Hard and fast, heavy
and slow (punk and hardcore).
THE ONOMATOPOEIA SHOW
2:00PM-3:00PM Comix comix
comix. Oh yeah, and some music
with Robin.
RHYMES AND REASONS
3:00PM-5:00PM
LEGALLY HIP alt. 5:00PM-
6:00PM
PEDAL REVOLUTIONARY alt.
5:00PM-6:00PM Viva la
Velorutionl DJ Helmet Hair and
Chainbreaker Jane give you
all the bike news and views
you need and even cruise
around while doing it!
www.bikesexual.org
OUT FOR KICKS 6:00PM-
7:30PM No Birkenstocks, nothing politically correct. We don't
get paid so you're damn right we
have fun with it. Hosted by Chris
B.
ON AIR WITH GREASED HAIR
7:30PM-9:00PM The best in
roots rock V roll and rhythm and
blues from 1942-1962 with your
snappily-attired host Gary Olsen.
<ripitup55@aol.com>
LIVE FROM THUNDERBIRD
RADIO HELL 9:00PM-IT:
00PM Local muzak from
9:00am. Live bandz from
10:00am-11:00am. http://
www.stepandahalf.com/rbirdhell
WORLD HEAT 1 1:00PM-
1:00AM An old punk rock heart
considers the oneness of all things
and presents music of worlds
near and far. Your host, the great
Daryl-ani, seeks reassurance via
<worldheat@hotmail.com>.
WIRELESS CRUELTY 1:00AM-
6:00 AM
FRIDAYS
BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00AM-
8:00AM
CAUGHT IN THE RED 8:00AM-
10:00AM Trawling the trash
heap of over 50 years worth of
real rock V roll debris.
SKAT'S SCENE-IK DRIVE!
10:00 AM-12:00PM
Email requests to <djska_
t@hotmail.com>.
THESE ARE THE BREAKS
12:00PM-2:00PM Top
notch crate diggers DJ Avi
Shack and Promo mix the
underground hip hop, old school
classics and original breaks.
THE LEO RAMIREZ SHOW
2:00PM-3:30PM The best
ARTS
mix of music, news, sports, and
commentary from around the local
and international Latin American
NARDWUAR THE HUMAN
SERVIETTE PRESENTS...
3:30PM-5:OOPM
CiTR NEWS AND
5:00PM-6:00PM A
produced, student and c
newscast featuring nev,
and arts Reports by people
you. "Become the Media." To get
involved, visit www.citr.ca and
click "News Dept."
FAR EAST SIDE SOUNDS alt.
6:00PM-9:00PM
AFRICAN RHYTHMS alt.
6:00PM-9:00PM David "Love
Jones brings you the best new
and old jazz, soul, Latin, samba,
bossa, and African music from
around the world.
HOMEBASS 9:00PM- 12:00AM
Hosted by DJ Noah: techno but
also some trance, acid, tribal,
etc. Guest DJs, interviews, retrospectives, giveaways, and more.
FILL-IN 12:00AM-2:00AM
THE VAMPIRE'S BALL 2:00AM-
6:00AM Dark, sinister music of
all genres to soothe the Dragon's
soul. Hosted by Drake.
SATURDAY
BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00AM-
8:00PM
THE SATURDAY EDGE 8:00AM-
12:00PM Studio guests, new
releases, British comedy sketches,
folk music calendar, and ticket
giveaways.
8AM-9AM: African/World roots.
9AM-12PM: Celtic music and performances.
GENERATION ANNIHILATION
12:00PM- 1:00PM Tune in for
a full hour of old and new punk
and Oi mayhem!
POWERCHORD 1:00PM-
3:00PM Vancouver's only true
metal show; local demo tapes,
imports, and other rarities. Gerald
Rattlehead, Dwain, and Metal Ron
do the damage.
CODE BLUE 3:00PM-
5:00PM
From backwoods delta low-down
slide to urban harp honks, blues,
and blues roots with your hosts
Jim, Andy, and Paul.
ELECTROLUX HOUR 5:00PM-
6:00PM
SOUL TREE 6:00PM-9:00PM
From doo-wop to hip hop, from
the electric to the eclectic, host
Michael Ingram goes beyond the
call of gospel and takes soul music
to the nth degree.
SYNAPTIC SANDWICH 9:00PM-
11:00PM
PLUTONIAN NIGHTS 11:00PM-
1:00AM Cutting edge, progressive organ music with
resident Haitchc and various guest
performers/DJs. Bye-bye civilisation, keep smiling blue, where's
me bloody anesthetic then?
http://plutonia.org
EARWAX 1:00AM-4:30AM
"noiz terror mindfuck hardcore
like punk/beatz drop dem headz
rock inna junglist mashup/distort
da source full force with needlz
on wax/my chaos runs rampant
when I free da jazz..." Out.
REGGAE LINKUP 4:30AM-
9:00AM Hardcore dancehall
reggae that will make your
mitochondria shake. Hosted by
Sister B.
KvcK 3<*oOr»4 f^yiooV
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W,\\ artlfoucU'Aa •
LISTEN
TO CiTR ONLINE
WVVW.CITR.CA
37 DiSCORDER dateb
ool
what's happening in may
SUBMISSIONS TO DATEBOOK ARE FREE.
FOR THE JUNE ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS MAY
21. FAX SHOW, FILM, EVENT AND VENUE
LISTINGS TO
604.822.9364 OR EMAIL
<DISCORDER@CLUB.AMS.UBC.CA>
THURSDAY, MAY 1
Punk Rock Bingo@The Astoria: The Panama Deception (presented by Ken
Hagen)@The Blinding Light!!: Kim Barlow@The Main; Johnny Marr & The
Healers, Palo Alto@Richard's On Richards; Maestro, Vanilla lce@Royal Hotel;
McGiIlicuddys@The Railway Club
FRI 2
Veda Hille, Sini Anderson, Ivan E. Coyote@The Biinding Light!!; Excessives,
Wednesday Night Heroes, Dirty Needles, The Smears@The Brickyard; Cuff
The Duke, The Sadies@The Pic; Bocephus King@The Railway Club; Planet
Smashers, Big D and the Kid's Table, Los Funos@Unit 20; Alix Olson@W.I.S.E
SAT 3
Veda Hille, Kim Barlow, Andy Connors@The Blinding Light!!; Tim,
SideSixtySeven, Against the Grain@The Brickyard; Autopussy,
Motorama@The Colbalt; Talib Kweh, Triple Threat DJs, Apollo, DJ Vinroc,
Shortkut@The Commodore; Belvedere, Big D And The Kids Table, NJ Big
Wig, Planet Smashers@Mesa Luna; Chris Elliott, Nicole Matt@The Nelson
Cafe; Bad Religion@PNE Forum; Bocephus King, Cuff the Duke@The
Railway Club; Dirty Three@Sonar; Gladyss Patches, Noise Therapy,
Cyanotic@Studebakers
SUN 4
Lock Up Your Sons and Daughters (presented by Bill Taylor)@The Blinding
Light!!; Ear Protection Area@The Brickyard; The Skatalites, Dub Freque, DJ
George Barrett@The Royal
ECIAD Second Year Video Art and Filrn@The Blinding Light!!; Smokm' and
Drinkin' on a Tuesday Night@The Brickyard; Amandasonic@The Pic; Good
Sou!@Shme
WED 7
Benefit Wednesday@The Astoria Hotel; Peggy Anne Berton's Beat Super 8
Soliloquies@The Blinding Light!!; The Rebel Spell. Drunk With Guns@The
Brickyard; Lucy Kaplansky@Norman Rothstein Theatre; DJ Epine, Sarah
Vam@The Pic; Vernell de Long@The Lotus Souna Lounge
THUR 8
Punk Rock Bingo@The Astoria F
Blinding Light!!; Savannah, Sn
Sideshow, Ox@The RaiK
en and Animals Film Tour 2003@The
he Brickyard; Lisa Wmn, Ladybird
d; Kyoto Jazz Massive@Sonar
ve! Women!: The Femin
Los Furios, Skaomatii
wn Massacre@Pa'
3f Kim Longinotto@The Blind
Dtnatics, Hoochie Girls@The Brickyard; Br
's Pub; Brundlefly, Mary Ancheta@The Railv
Club; WDC@The Royal
SAT 10
Real! Live! Women!: The Feminist Vente of Kim Longinotto, The Day I Will
Never Forget@The Blinding Light!!; Spreadeagle, Excessives, Gung-Hos,
Married To Music@The Brickyard; Little Man Syndrome, Kibwe@Dunbar
Community Centre; Veda Hille, Binary Dolls@The Railway Club; Motion
Soundtrack, Pepper Sands@The Royal; The Rapture, Hint Hint@Sonar
SUN 11
The Appallingly Bleak Films Experiment (presented by Chris Chase)@The
Blinding Light!!; Torselyn, Audiophile, Against The Grain, Edaema@Brickyard;
Veda Hille, Christine Fellows, John K. Samson@The Railway Club;
Staticbed@The Royal; Adult, Magas. Viki@Sonar
TUE 13
BY08: Bring Your Own Film@The Blinding Light!!; Wreckin' Crew,
Cornucopia, Blackfin, Girth@The Brickyard; Kenny Garrett@The Cellar;
Mixtophonics@Havana Theatre; Undergo@The Pic; Amandasonic@The Pic;
Good Soul@Shine
WED 14
Benefit Wednesday@The Astoria Hotel; Exploreasian 2003 presents:
Chinese Cinema Night@The Blinding Light!!; Chinatown, 80 Proof Yob,
Potential Star Witness, Epoxy Ruined@The Brickyard; Freaks LIVE® The
Lotus Sound Lounge Harry Belafonte, Nana Mouskouri@The Orpheum; DJ
Epine, Sarah Vain@The Pic
THUR15
Punk Rock Bingo@The Astoria Hotel; The Double Blind Experiment, Speed
To Kill, Banner Year, The Lauren Klein Band@The Brickyard; Motion
Soundtrack@The Pic; Ana Bon Bon, David P. Smith, Linda McRae@Railway
Club; Gladyss Patches@The Royal; Nathan and The Zydeco Cha-Chas@The
Yale
FRI 16
Destroy Children presents: Video Kill@The Blinding Light!!; Death By Stereo,
Downway, Nicotine, SideSxitySeven@The Brickyard; Jimmy Swift Band@The
Green Room; Hot Tin Roof, Boom Chix@Silvertone Tavern
SAT 17
Joel RL Phelps and the Downer Trio, Treasure State, The Beans@ANZA Club;
Vo!atile@The Brickyard; The Levellers, Peter Stuart@ Royal Hotel
SUN 18
Claim The World, Mermaid Engine, Obscene Silence, Vann@The Brickyard;
Prefuse 73, RJd2@The Commodore
TUE 20
Daniel Johnston@TBA (Don't blame us if it gets cancelled); Jeff Krulik presents: Hitler's Hat@The Blinding Light!!; Ten Dollar Thompson, Vibrator, Musa,
Dnl@The Brickyard; Amandasonic@The Pic; Good Soul<§Shine
WED 21
Benefit Wednesday@The Astoria Hotel; Exploreasian 2003 presents: Middle
East Gnema@The Blinding Light!!; Agriculture Club, Ridley Bent, Hell City Love,
The Farrel Brothers@The Brickyard; Christy McWilson, Richard Thompson<ffThe
Commodore; Richard Gilewitz@Tom Lee Music Hall
THUR 22
Punk Rock Bingo@The Astoria Hotel; John Acquaviva@Atlantis; Creative
Eccentrics: The June Bug Symphony, A Thing of Wonder@The Blinding Light!!;
Wednesday Night Heroes@The Brickyard; The Candidates@New Music West
Conference Hall; Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Joe Ely, Guy Clark@The Orpheum;
Bitchin' Camaros, Red Hot Lovers@The Pic; Richard Gilewitz@Tom Lee Music
FRI 23
Creative Eccentrics: Thejune Bug Symphony, A Thing of Wonder@The Blinding
Light!!; Deville, Filmmaker, Tim@The Brickyard; Lord Of The Dance Troupe
Two@Centre For The Arts; Coldplay, Eisley, The Music@GM Place; Bob The
Builder@Pacific Theatre; My Morning Jacket, The Detachment Kit@Richard's;
bystander@The Starry Dynamo
SAT 24
Criminal Cinema presents: Chickenhawk: Men Who Love Boys@The Blinding
Light!!; The Salteens, Seki Den, Billy the Kid and the Lost Boys@The Brickyard:
Hounds of Buskerville, Los Furios, DJ Ska-T@Cambnan Hall; Lord Of The
Dance Troupe Two@Centre For The Arts; Living Daylights@Fairview Pub;
Adam Franklin (Of Swervednver)@New Music West Conference; Bob The
SUN 25
Criminal Cinema presents: Chickenhawk: Men Who Love Boys@The Blinding
Light!!; Lord Of The Dance Troupe Two@Centre For The Arts; Bob The
Builder@Pacific Theatre; Liz Phair, Modest Mouse, Starlight Mints, The Flaming
Lips@Plaza of Nations; Covenant, Melotron@Richard's
TUE 27
Threefingeredfraze Productions presents: David Mamet's Bobby Gould in
Hell@The Blinding Light!!; Smokin' and Drinkin' on a Tuesday Night@The
Brickyard; Good Soul@Shme
WED 28
Benefit Wednesday@The Astoria Hotel; Threefingeredfraze Productions
presents: David Mamet's Bobby Gould in Hell@The Blinding Light!!; Miada
Fronta, Mimetic, Xyn, DJ Noah@The Brickyard; DJ Epine, Sarah Vain@The Pic
THUR 29
Punk Rock Bingo@The Astoria Hotel; Threefingeredfraze Productions presents: David Mamet's Bobhy Gould in Hell@The Blinding Light!!; Inebriators,
Foul Face@The Brickyard
FRI 30
Threefingeredfraze Productions presents: David Mamet's Bobby Gould in
Hell@The Blinding Light!!; Bush League, Perfect Strangers@The Brickyard;
Pearl Jam, idlewild@GM Place; Hot Tin Rufus@Stan!ey Park
/special eve*ttA
JOEL RL PHELPS,
TREASURE STATE, THE BEANS
SATURDAY, MAY 17
ANZA CLUB
/// didn't put this in, Christa Min would,
most probably, repeatedly ride her skateboard into my pasty shins while shouting the
word "kamikaze!!" over and over,
till I was dead.
FLAMING LIPS, MODEST MOUSE,
UZ PHAIR, DESTROYER,
THE STARLIGHT MINTS
SUNDAY, MAY 25
PLAZA OF NATIONS
A big show in a big place.
Maybeyou shouldgo.
YOU AND YOUR JOCK FRIENDS
ANYTIME THE CANUCKS
WIN A PLAY-OFF GAME
DOWNTOWN
As soon as the final whistle blows, jump into
the SUV or jeep that your rich and stupid
parents bought for you and head into the
downtown core—don't forget to forget your
shirt. As you cruise through the streets, place
your hand on the horn of your vehicle and
press. Do not stop until sunrise. Wait two
days and repeat.
place* to he
active pass records 324 w. hasting
604.646.2411
pic pub
620 west pender
604.669.1556
bassix records 217 w. hastings
604.689.7734
railway club
579 dunsmuir
604
681.1625
beatstreet records 3-712 robson
604.683.3344
richard's on richards
1036 richards
604
687.6794
black swan records 3209 west broadway
604.734.2828
ridge enema
3131 arbutus
604
738.6311
blinding light!! 36 powell
604.878.3366
red cat records
4305 main
604
708.9422
cellar 3611 west broadway
604.738.1959
royal
1029 granville
club 23 23 west cordova
604
877.1676
commodore ballroom 868 granville
604.739.4550
scratch records
726 richards
604
687.6355
crosstown music 518 west pender
604.683.8774
66 water
604
683.6695
futuristic flavour 1020 granville
604.681.1766
highlife records 1317 commercial
604.251.6964
sugar refinery
604
331.1184
legion of van 300 west pender
teenage ramapage
19 west broadway
604
675.9227
lotus hotel 455abbott
Vancouver playhouse
hamiltonatdunsmL
ir 604
665.3050
the mam cafe 4210 main
604.709.8555
video in studios
1965 main
604
872.8337 '
ms. t's cabaret 339 west pender
western front
303 east 8th
604
876.9343
orpheum theatre smithe at seymour
604.665.3050
WISE club
1882adanac
604
254.5858
pacific cinematheque 1131 howe
604.688.8202
yale
1300 granville
604
681.9253
pat's pub 403 east hastings
604.255.4301
zulu records
1972 west 4th
604
738.3232 Ever wonder what happened to that
weirdo who used to do that goth show?
CiTR Reunion
May 9th-11th 2003
Live people, cold beer.
Special reunion programming all weekend long, starting on Friday May 9th at 10:00am.
Be sure to tune in to 101.9 fm or Msten live online at www.citr.ca
Open house at CiTR Radio Friday. May 9th 1:00pm-4:00pm. Drop oy and visit the station, watch some
old station videos, and check out our "Give a Loon, Get a Tune" oom where you can oick up a CD for
a measly $1. Show vour reunion ticket and pick up one of these CDs tor free*
Drop by the Railway Club (579 Dunsmuir) 6:00pm-9:00pm Fndav May 9th to meet up with old friends.
Waldorf Bash: Saturday. May 10th 7pm—2am. Bands, DJs, food, bar and door prizes^ Buy vour ticket
soon at Zulu Records, Scratch, or online at www.citreunion.com. You can also purchase your ticket at
CiTR during the open house on Friday May 9th.
Getting their pictures on milk cartons would take too long, so this ad will have to do. We want your help getting the contact info for Mighty R alumni.
Please contact Linda at citrmgr@ams.ubc.ca or 604-822-1242 with your info. Below is a list of some of the people we are still looking for:
Aaron Robertson, Adrian Barnes, Alex Bettencourt, Andrea Spence, Barb Yamazaki, Brad Tanner, Carol Popkin, Chandra Lesmeister, Chris Brandson,
Colin Pereira, Coral Short, Dale Sawyer, Dave Jamieson, Dave Ryan, David Mills, Dean Hill, Don Bull, Doug Ferris, Eric Damianos, Franco Janusz, Frank Henville,
" rnian, Ian Cuthbertson, Ian McKinnon, Jeanna South, Jeff McKinnon, Jeremy Price, Jerome Yang, Joe Morel, Joel Fransen, John Ounpuu
John Seminoff, Justin Ho, Justin Leigh, Kandace Kerr, Kevin Pendergraft, Kevin Smith, Klaudia Zapala, Krista Hanni, Lucy Crowthers, Marc Dinsdale,
Mark Constantinescu, Marty George, Michael Grigg, Mike Harding, Mike Johal, Mikhel Ranniste, Nancy Smith, Nicola Zeunert, Nigel Best, Rachelle Rae,
Rob Simms, Russ Hergert, Shawn Bouchard, Shazia Islam, Shirley Soo, Slavko Bucifal, Svea Sjoberg, Ted Eng, Tommy Paley, Tony Day, Vince Yeh see you're giving my question some
pretty serious thought but whafs that
you say? How is this related to the release of Electric Version.
Vancouver supergroup Tte New Pornographers' much-anticipated
sophomore album? Well now... we at Zulu Records are so confident
that you, as a discerning Jocal record buyer, will both purchase and
adore said album that we're perfectly happy to waste advertising
space on rating the superhunks. Electric Version Is put out by Mint
Records m Canada, Matador in Europe/the US, it features Neko Case
members of Destroyer. Zumpano and Limblifter and it's
awesome. But, heck, you already knew that, dldnt you? AVAILABLE
MAY6TH
CD 14.98
mcenroe
Disenfranchised CD
Vancouver's answer to Anticon kingpin
Sole, Mcenroe has been rocking the mic
around these parts for over a decade
now. Disenfranchised, his debut full-
length album, is a fully realized hip-hop
opus that skirts a fine line between being
bitterly hilarious and unbearably poingnant. As such, it seems set to
considerably raise the profile of excellent local rap imprint Peanuts
and Corn. Heads up! The time has come to start supporting local
visionaries -' start here.
^y
CD 14.98
In-Store; Zulu Presents
Music in the Evening
_,«r h
THE ONE AM RADIO
The Hum Of Electric
Air CD
Former punk guy, Hrishikesh Hirway,
here with band-mate, Jane Yakowitz.
drops the hardcore for the gentle folk-
pop a la Belle and Sebastian,
Sparklehorse, the Red House Painters before they when thick
*and electric, and any of the newer European electronic-folk
groups. With nice strumming guitar and violin backed by soft
beats and tasteful washes of electronic ambience, the result is
slow, dreamy and atmospheric sad-pop - the kind that's right for
silently holding hands with the one you care for, overcome by that
weird kind of "I'm so sad and alone because I'm in love" feeling.
Ah, sweet. So take our hands, gentle customers, and sit with us
on the comfortable couch of beautiful sadness. Together we can
look out the window as dusk takes over, the streets quieting. The
Hum of Electric Air is the soundtrack to this calm cocoon of passionate ennui. Can anyone else understand us? Alas, no. Turn up
the stereo.
C014.98
APPEARING EXCLUSIVELY
AT ZULU RECORDS
Thursday May 15th at 7PM
know it sounds cliche, but
your parents don't understand §
you. Neither does your-
straight-lac
observed, "give uj
obscurantist strategies -
only top ten list you'll ever make is your mom's
Christmas card list". 0 woe*'Judging from the line-ups at
corner store confession booths, pain is still in style, many
even paying tor the privilege. But this is no solution -
what to do? Well, you could always listen to your old
Smiths records. Sure. But if this balm no longer soothes
and repairs, let us recommend this new coping strategy,
instead. Have a dinner party with your parents, relations
and straight-laced roommate. Serve a sumptuous meal
with red wine. Spin the latest album from Montreal's
melancholic pop outfit, The Dears, to help pass the time
until the cr9me brule. Then suddenly, just as the guests
scrape away their custard, you rise and exit through the
front door, saying nothing, never to return, leaving The
Dears playing in the background as your only explanation. Trust us, they'll understand everything then.
CD 16.98
STYROFOAM
I'm Whafs There To Show That
Something's Missing CD
Some of us are in love with Germany. The romance may
have been kindled by great novels such as Gunter
Grass's Cat and Mouse or Alfred D'blin's Berlin
Alexanderplatz, but let's give credit where credit is due -
what has kept these heart-fires burning throughout the
years is the music. Lately, it's been the men and women
behind the Morr Music label who have been shoveling charcoal into the great german musical-steam engine, offering
up fine musical outfits like Lali Puna, Ms. John Soda, and,
now, Styrofoam for those of us with a penchant for fine
electronic musings. Kind of like how Jan Jelinek spiced
things up last round with some vocals, Styrofoam throws
away the minimalisms for a bit of a real-life feel. After two
quiet little wonders on Morr, Styrofoam has decided to beef
up the mix, combining vocals with clicks and cuts and lots
of that good old german "Lust aufs Leben!" This train's
right on track! AVAILABLE MAY 6TH
CD 22.98
MOLASSES
ASIowMesse 2CD
Walt Whitman once wrote, Lol The moon ascending!
Up from the East, the silvery round moon; Beautiful
over the house-tops, ghastly, phantom moon; Immense
and silent moon. Whitman's moon holds the empty
promise that one can somehow get out, escape from the
world, but if only to an imaginary destination. Still, this
moon is an undeviating reminder that there is always
another place - an "other" place, if you wish. Featuring
guests Thalia Zedek (Come, Live Skull) and Chris
Brokaw (Come, Pullman, Codeine), alongside regulars from Godspeed You Black
Emperor, Set Fire to Flames and Hrsta, as
well as our pal Scott Chernov, this Montreal
folk-noir ensemble have penned 26 serene
ballads for time lost spent gazing at the
phantom moon. A haunting two hours of
music - and hands down great packaging,
too. Recommended.
WIRE
J CD
g dogs have taken
i, pissing on alt I
as. This isn't out I
irespect, though, just [
because. What else are
they going to do?
Rapture, Interpol. Hot Hot Heat, you name ft - they
owe it. Time for the cash in, the return of the real -
Wire taught us all a lesson and now they want to
give the dogs a run. Why not? As their last EPs
made clear, Wire manages to be relevant today, not
just due to past accomplishments (which are considerable, besides). Indeed, seems to be the year of
at returns so far, what with the Buzzcocks producing a good one for Merge. Of course, as noted
above, the stage was well set for the return of the
original art punks. So much contemporary post-
punk pop music is indebted to the genius of Whs in
particular. For example, Pink Flag is like an icon,
one touch is all it takes - it stands up, keeps inspiring. Maybe there was some foresight here. After all,
is always the most literate ot the earliest
English punks. Maybe that's why it was easy for
them to reemerge. lean and driven and ready to
break new ground. Could've been a set-up all along.
Let the dogs decide.
CD 19.98
THE BLOOD
BROTHERS
Bum Piano
Island Bum CD
I kick ass perfectly. And
now the arcane reaches
of high culture are on my trail. Hollywood producers
are following me. They want to talk to me, but I've
unplugged my phone. I don't sleep at my address. I
don't have a lawyer to open my mail. No matter
what they offer me, I won't listen -1 don't speak
their language. The critics think I stole from Neo
Dada performance, the Situationalists, and the
Surrealists. They want me to dance in their lecture
halls. I won't dance for fries. If I've appropriated a
strategy, ft doesn't involve their understanding, comments or reviews. Everything doesn't kick ass for a
reason. Today, I like the Blood Brothers. Think of it
as the creative product of a rebellious youth culture
trying to reach a mass audience. Impossible? Good
luck - this is heeeeaaaavy!
CD 16.98
s.ir.e.e.t:s.
Bobo Gnar Gnar CD/LP
Judging from the roaring buzz on this local quartet, entertainment lawyers will soon be joining the
frustrated ranks of cops, landlords and parents as jl
some of the people that are always around when j|j
S.T.R.E.E.T.S least want them to be - the bitches!
Yes, S.T.R.E.E.T.S. - an acronym for Skating
Totally Rules Everything Else Totally Sucks, by the
way - play hardcore skate punk-metal, old scrip
style. But waft! To play this stuff right you gott&»&
it right, dude, and live it right they do, leaving dIMmI'
a wasteland of destroyed basement apartments, «j|
irate moms and dads, outta-control live shows and
massive, festering piles of discarded king cans of '.
Hi-Test. Can you say "radical"? Indeed J.F.A.,
D.R.I., C.O.C. please meet, S.T.R.E.E.T.S - you just
might have something in common. Hey Major
Labels - are you listening to this shit? No? Yes?
Fuck you anyway.
CD 12.98 LP 14.98
PRICES IN EFFECT UNTIL MAY 31, 20631
TOMAHAWK
MitGafCD
Four important life-
lessons learned while
dating someone obsessed
with
First,
never, ever say, "That
sounds like metal".
Second, never, ever bring up the image of the group
being pelted with coins by unruly Tool fans - they
opened for the latter but their total beauty was lost
on the crowd. Third, recognize the irony ot Ipecac's
forthcoming 2003 Geek Tour and make lots of room
for sarcasm in your life. And finally, fourth, remember the answer to the following question, "Who is
NLP. and why are his initials tattooed on your arm?"
That's right, Mike Patton, honey, who else?
AVAILABLE MAY 6TH
CD 19.98
WILCO
I Am Trying To
Break Your
Heart 2DVD
Sam Jones' incredible
documentary chronicles the turbulent time
surrounding the creation
of Wilco's landmark
album, Yankee Hotel
Foxtrot With label disputes and inner-band strife,
this remarkable film seems like a metaphor for
America's current contradiction between its promise
and its reality, where individual liberty and vision are
regularly disregarded for the bottom line, be it in
terms of war or business. Happily, however, talent
and truth prevailed in this case - evidence that our
dreams of Utopia are worth maintaining, even if our
present reality is sometimes burdened by half steps
and endless compromises. This two DVD set
includes 17 additional Wilco songs, with alternate
versions, live performances, unreleased tracks and
more. Even for the most diehard fans, I Am Trying
To Break Your Heart will make you appreciate
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot that much more, making clear
that Wilco are perhaps the best and most important
contemporary American band going.
2DVD 36.98
THE SOUND OF
THE LONELY ROATfc
THE CRAMPS-Fiends of Dope Hand LP/CD
THE WHITE STRIPES-Elephant 2LP on Vinyl!!
SET FIRE TO FLAMES-Telegraphs hi
Negative/Mouths Trapped In Static 2CD
MAGAS-Friends Forever 2x12"/CD
AlASDAIR ROBERTS-Farewell Sorrow LP/CD
PAPAM-Single#2 CDEP
SWRUES-Cats of the Wild: Volume 2 CD
SPACEMEN 3-Forged Prescriptions 2CD
outtakesbaby!
THE RAVEONETTES-Whip It On CD
IHE SEA AND CAKE-Glass CD
PIAJS INCOMING:
YEAH YEAH YEAHS- Forever To Tell CD/LP
SIGUR ROS-Sigur l/Sigur 910"
DEAD CAN DANCE- Wake 2CD
VARIOUS-CHANNEL 2 CD features
CRCLESQUARE!
PREFUSE 73-One Word Extinguisher C0/2LP
BROADCAST- Pendulum CD/IP
2CD 19.98
K^COVDSA
Zulu Records
1972-1976 W 4th Ave
Vancouver. BC
tel 604738.3232
vvvvw.zulurecords.com
STORE HOURS
Mon to Wed 10:30-7:00
Thurs and Fri 10:30-9:00
Discorder
Discorder CITR-FM (Radio station : Vancouver, B.C.) May 1, 2003
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