deeembuary 2002/2003 - that scratch-made magazine from citr 101.9fm
SONJA THE GAY
3-song 7"
Featuring members of
Kreviss. Superconductor.
Tennessee Twin. I Mudder \ .. j&flQ^.' >,
Accordion. Maow and
much on her powerful burnished pipes as on her
quick tongue — her between-songs banter is the
best you're likely to hear at any show. On
Blacklisted. Case trades in the rowdy honky-tonk
style that made her two previous solo albums such
festive affairs for a more sombre mood." (Time Out
New York).... "Everything previously recorded by
Neko Case has been a warm-up for her brilliant
Blackisted disc." (NOW)... "The world needs to stand
up and pay attention to the new first lady of country
music: Neko Case. To sing her praises isn't to take
anything away from the queen (still Lucinda) but is
to say that Neko is carving a different niche, one
previously guarded by Loretta Lynn. Both sing from
the bottom of their wounded hearts, but what you
hear in the howl is always strengh. never weakness." (GO) [released August 20.20021
ATOMIC 7
Gowns by
Edith Head CD
"Everything about this
debut - from the dazzling
playing to the witty song -^^^^^^^^^
titles CYou Ain't Havin' Fun Till You're Dialling 911")
to the album design - screams impeccable teste,
just like its namesake Oscar-winning costume
designer. If anyone thinks the instrumental bio format is limiting. Gowns by Edith Head will open their
eyes, as guitarist Brian Connelly's flying fingers
whip through Latin, rockabilly, spaghetti western.
Hank Williams, martini lounge and surf sounds with
astounding speed and feeling, backed lovingly by
bassist Clinton Ryder and drummer Mike
Andreosso. This is an album that will please punks
and parents, and set a party on fire if necessary."
(EYE) "...a mighty impressive debut" (NOW)
(released October 7.2002]
Vancouver Nights, this is The Gay's Mint debut a
three song vinyl gem that will have you imagining the
rebirth of Fleetwood Mac. Heart and the Partridge
Family, [released October 7.20021
CAROLYN
MARK
Terrible
Hostess CD
Album #2 from Canada's
country queen, aka "The Other Corn Sister." "Judging
by her new disc, shindigs at the Mark household are
a helluva trip. Terrible Hostess has the unsteady feel
of post-bacchanlian revelry.... She consistently channels the spirit of Patsy Cline, and at the same time
deserves props for capturing the nauseous insanity
of a true house party." (NOW) [released July 1.20021
CAROLYN MARK'S PLAYING 12/7 AT BLINDING LIGHT
JOHN
GULIAK
The Black
Monk CD
"John Guliak's strength is
his deep, empathic voice and his bare-bones, from-
the-streets and from-the-field approach. His stories
sound honest and tough and true and all those other
cowboy cliches that describe a fellow who tells it like
it is—and then tells you a little bit more, maybe a little more than you wanted to know. Guliak's closest
emotional kinfolk are bands like Winnipeg's Weakerthans: he's got that inner-city/rural split coursing
through his chords and characters. Suitable accompaniment for driving across the prairie or walking
through the concrete jungle. Take your pick." (Vue)
[released June 25.2002]
MARK
KLEINER X*j
Love to Night CD ! VLIh
The first concert of my
live-music-watching
career was Shaun Cassidy at the
1977. Fifteen years later. Welsh band The Pooh
Sticks mulched 70s AM radio hits into perfect co
temporary pop gems. The latest touchstone on m
ceaseless quest for musical summer lovin' is Ma
OPERATION
MAKEOUT
Hang Loose CD
.2 % £.£
U-J3RK5. Pointed Sticks
and Dishrags! "Voiumizer
plays simple punk songs not that much different
from that of old punkers The Rezitlos but somehow
manage to repackage the music to fit into here and
now. Voiumizer is a throw-back to the old school
punk days but they are completely relevent and
almost refreshing in the Canadian punk scene."
(Music Emissions) [released March 5.2002]
VARIOUS
Carolyn Mark
Presents a
Tribute to
Robert Altman's
Nashville CD
"Mark's attention to detail is wonderfully absurd,
from recreating dialogue to the album's cover,
which superimposes Mark's contributors onto the
film's opening-credit montage poster... What makes
this even better than most tributes is that it actually
enhances your appreciation of the film, arguing
successfully that Nashville was one of the last great
movie musicals." (eye) "...an almost perfect replica
of the movie's soundtrack...." (pitchforkmedia.com)
[released February 5.2002]
HANSON
BROTHERS
My Game CD/LP
Punk rock's Puck Rock
supeikings the Hanson
Brothers are back with a brand new album, chock full
of open-ice hits, finished checks and end-to-end
rushes. Just tike their tost two albums. Sudden Death
and Gross Misconduct My Game features the members of legendary punk rock kingpins NomeansNo as
their messed-up atter-egos. the Hanson Brothers.
"Mixed in among the hockey ballads - the best being
The Last Canadian Boy' - are 'Joey Had To Go.' a
not-overly-sentimentaJ tribute to the late Ramone.
not to mention a cover of the disco classic Get It
Right Back.' In short, no frills, no extras, just 40 minutes of straight-up party punk." (Omnizine) [released
February 26.2002] PLAYING 12/7 (NOMEANSNO) AND
12/8 (HANSON BROTHERS) AT THE BALMORAL HOTEL
Makeout as proven by the progress to the astounding Hang Loose. It's gorgeous, exciting and hook-
heavy, with vocals that follow standard pop routes
only to suddenly veer off into dissonant territories
and deadly bass lines. Under each track's rough,
noisy exterior are layers of gorgeous melodies and
submelodies (occasionally recalling NoMeansNo) that
make this record endlessly listenable and temptingly
danceable." (Hour) [released August 7.2002]
YOUNG
AND SEXY
Stand Up for
Your Mother CD ^
The alluring, opening -—^—
guitar strains of Stand Up to Your Mother' carry the
low chill of a Canadian winter before introducing the
first of many striking harmonies between Pittman
and his muse, vocalist Lucy Brain. The most amazing
This pairing adds fascinating intensity to the cooing Cindy Wolfe, now setting up shop in Vancouver, is a
Television" and gels unforgettably in "Scott" where real twin (her sister being Allison of Bratmobile). One
the harmonies explode across an expansive back- look at the CD cover or after a minute of listening to
drop of piano and drums. Stand Up for Your Mother the opening title track will spell out where the
can appear daunting with its maze of misdirections. Tennessee' part comes in. Free To Do What? is a
but have faith: Young and Sexy's seductively cerebral honky-tonking good time that'll have you dapping,
master plan really works." (Time Out New York) "On singing, and partying along with Wolfe and friends in
their assured debut album, fabulously named no time. A feel-good collaborative environment
Vancouverites Young and Sexy play vividly pretty comes through all over Free To Do What?, with Wolfe
orchestral pop anchored by confident instrumental expertly leading the proceedings. Instant fun. Ipow-
skills and Brit-inflected vocals." (NOW) [released erpop.org) [released February 5.2002]
March 5.2002]
TENNESSEE
TWIN
Free to Do
What? CD
mm
726 Richards • tel 604-687-6355
• www.scratchrecords.com
T?ZCOT?D3
Zulu Records
1972-1976 W 4th Ave
Vancouver. BC
tel 604738.3232
www.zulurecords.com
4305 Main Street
tel 604-708-9422
www.redcat.ca DiSCORDER
002 • That 9th Level Magazine From CiTR 1
I
IUl5£>
Carolyn Mark by Val Cormier p. 14
Paper Moon by Ben Lai p. 15
Hot Hot Heat by Julie C. p.l 6
The Donnas by Chris Eng p.l 7
Chicks on Speed by saelan p. 18
Tracy + the Plastics by saelan p. 19
Artist of the Month: Sonja Ahlers p.20
Rock For Choice by Susy Webb p.22
Warsaw Pack by Kevin Adam p.23
GWAR by Geoff Schmidt p.24
temfe
Music Sucks p.6
Airhead p.7
Fucking Bullshit p.7
Roadworn and Weary p.8
Screw You and Your Pointy Shoes p.9
Strut and Fret p. 10
Panarticon p.10
RiffRaffp.il
Vancouver Special p. 12
Radio Free Press p. 12
Over My Shoulder p. 13
Under Review p.28
Leprechaun Colony p.30
Real Live Action p.31
Top 10 Lists p.34
Charts p.35
On the Dial p.36
Kickaround p.37
Datebook p.38
Russ Davidson made the cover. He's the new Art
Director. Don't you wish you could have him work his
magic on your dull and drab life? Sure you do. Just
with a little less blood.
Editron/Ranger:
Chris Eng son of Ararhorn
Ad Wizard:
DiPo the Grey
Art & Archery Director:
Russ Davidson son of Thranduil
Production Manager/Lord
of the Nazgul:
Merek "Dwimmedaik" Cooper
Editorial Assistant/Ring-
Bearer:
Donovan "Frodo" Schaefer
RLA Editor/Ring-Seeker.
Brian "Gollum" Piskorik
Website Design/Cleric:
Esther "Arwen" Whang
Layout and Design:
Russ, Chris, Merek
Production/Captains of the
West:
Doretta, Christa, Lori, Luke Meat,
Keith Turkowski, Jason, Ubyssey
Masthead Photo/Villager:
The Delicious Miss D
On the Dial/Advisor:
Bryce "Wormtongue" Dunn
Charts/Sorcerer:
Luke Meat the White
Datebook:
Winged Messenger
Distribution:
Matt Steffich
US Distro/Lord of the Mark:
Theoden son of Thengel
Publisher/All-Seeing Eye:
Linda Scholten
© -DiSCORDER" 2002 by the Student
rights reserved. Circulation 17,500. Subscr
$15 for one year, to residents of the USA
(to cover postage, of course). Please make cheque
DEADLINES: Copy deadline for the February i
can be booked by calling Steve at 604.822.3017
responsible for loss, damage, or any other injury
Radio Society of the University of British Columbia. All
ptions, payable in advance, to Canadian residents are
are $15 US; $24 CDN elsewhere. Single copies are $2
ss or money orders payable to DiSCORDER Magazine,
ssue is January 8th. Ad space is available until January 22th and
3. Our rates are available upon request. DiSCORDER is not
led manuscripts, unsolicited artwork (including but
ited 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.ams.ubc.ca.
From UBC to Langley and Squamish to Bellingham, CiTR can be heard at 101.9 fM as well
as through all major cable systems in the Lower Mainland, except Shaw in White Rock. Call the
CiTR DJ line at 822.2487, our office at 822.3017 ext. 0, or our news and sports lines at 822.3017
ext. 2. Fax us at 822.9364, e-mail us at: citrmgr@mail.ams.ubc.ca, visit our web site at www.citr.ca or just pick up
a goddamn pen and write #233-6138 SUB Blvd., Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, CANADA.
"There is no rest yet for the weary. The men of Rohan must ride forth today, and we will ride with them, axe,
sword and bow."
printed in Canada
3 DiSCORDER YOUR HEAD
AROUNDTHESE
m TITLES!
Zulu Records
1972-1976 W 4th Ave
Vancouver. BC
tel 604738.3232
www.zulurecords.con
m jmfmm*mC^£~*
! ""
»^_ M
1
0 i
Ifxr^x
AUTECHRE
Gantz Graf DVD & CDS
BOARDS OF CANADA BOOM BIP
M?(d)dl
WARP YOUR HED PHONES:
SOME OF THE OTHER WARP TITLES ON SALE THIS MONTH
ENTER TO WIN!
A WARP RECORD BAG FULL OF SWAG!
PHONE NUHBEB:
Clip this ballot & enter at Zulu Records. Deadline tor entries December 31, 2002. Fiiif mm
milAIC AUC
editorializing by Chris Eng
"VERY, VERY FUNNY'
"A DAZZLING WEST COAST DEBUT"
"HE WAS GLORIOUS"
Available for the first time ever on
Nov. 26th
It is with only the most
sincere trepidation that I
suffer former spectres of
myself. I don't seek them out
and when they appear before
me unbidden, I recoil like a
vampire reeling from two
crossed sticks. In order to get
me to view images of myself
from past years, then, it's usually best to resort to trickery or
by piquing my curiosity.
Gerry Jenn did the latter.
There wasn't anything
misleading on the videotape. It
was honestly, if tersely, labeled
("Zine Fair '98 w/ Gerry-Jenn
Wilson") and the accompanying note that was wrapped
around it was warm and
friendly ("Hi Chris... Congrats
on your new/old position...
Give me a call if you have the
time! I'd love to catch up...").
More than anything, I was
just a little surprised to hear
from her.
I met Jenn almost five
years back now. Around '98,
I guess—my memory's a little
fuzzy on the particulars—and
while we were friendly, we
weren't fast friends and we
fell out of touch over the past
couple of years. The last time I
saw her was at Naughty Camp
2K1 on Sunday morning. I was
walking across the field (the
"camping, sleeping, eating,
partying field"), and she was
making a b-line across my path
looking the way everyone there
looked after, well, three days of
sleep-dep, gratuitous beer and
whatever else one happened
to indulge in at a wilderness
drunk punk collective, except
she was doing it in a red cocktail dress and heeis.
"Hey, Jenn!"
No response. No offense
taken. I kept going; she kept
going; we shook off our hangovers—haven't seen her since.
So, when I got the note I
was a bit surprised. "Wow,"
I thought, "Gerry-Jenn. Now
that's a name I've not heard
in a long time... a long time. I
wonder what she's been up to!
And I wonder what's on this
tape." This last statement will
eventually elicit a reaction of,
"Duhhhhhh," from all of you,
but that's a good paragraph or
two away and I don't want to
ruin the suspense.
So, I get it home. No, I
don't notice that Jenn's written the note on the back of a
press release. Regarding the
tape: no, the only thought I
gave to the label was, "Say,
didn't I do a zine fair back in
'98 or so?" I get it in the VCR.
It starts to play. I realize that I
had indeed attended a zine fair.
I suddenly realize with crystal
clarity exactly which zine fair I
attended. I shut off the tape.
How many of you think
that you were cool five years
back? Right. And for those of
you that put your hands up,
how many of you are being
totally honest with yourselves? Yeah, that's what I
thought. It's a menacing thing
to be presented with the Ghost
of a Half-Decade past, clinking
with the chains of dork-dom.
Not many people suffer it with
dignity.
I started the tape again.
I stopped it. I started it. My
hand were sweaty. I fast-forwarded it a bit. I played it. I
watched it. Hey, I remember
those people. They made a
cool zine. Fast-forward. Stop.
Play. Watch. Fast-forward. Oh
God, she's moving near where I
was sitting. Fast-forward. Play.
Ugh, there's me. What horrible
glasses I wore. Who gave me
that fucking haircut—I'll kick
their ass! Urk. Urgh. Well, at
least it's over. *cough* *shud-
der* Maybe I should read the
flip side of that note.
The gist of the press
release is that it appears that
Jenn's spending her birthday
(December 23) hanging out
at the Sugar Refinery (1115
Granville Street) and watching six hours worth of various
JP5 shows (the band she used
to front) and other random
things caught on tape by vid-
eographer Peter Lipskis, after
which she'll perform a solo set.
The show starts at six, and if
you show up early enough you
might even see me on the big
screen, hawking my zines.
Well, I may have looked
like a dork, but 1 was editor of
a mini cultural whirlwind of a
'zine caught up in talking about
my art. Wow. How much has
changed. And how very little.
Speaking of art, you may
have already noticed the centre spread of the magazine.
Devoid of the usual grand-
scale interview, there sits a
behemoth of a new feature:
The Artist of the Month.
Now, I don't claim to know
art—I'm familiar with about
five different schools of art:
umm, pre-Raphaelite, art
nouyeau, Dada, Futurist, and
the post-Kirbyites—but... no,
wait—that's my whole point: I
don't claim to know art.
Art in its studied, clinical,
butterfly-pinned, gallery-
cloistered persona is nearly
intolerable to me—especially
openings, where snooty people
rub shoulders; shuffling along
sideways; mumbling platitudes
about so-and-so's inherent
brilliance contrasted against
the core of Reaganomics-
embroiled America; never
stopping to consider that not
only might the Emperor not
be wearing any clothes, but
they might not even give two
shits about politics, economics
or anything other than doing a
painting of Lita Ford riding a
harnessed Michael J. Fox with
a sword held high above her
head.
So, in this, we thought
we'd try something new. Since
CiTR is an audio medium and
DiSCORDER is its print arm,
we felt it would be good to try
and showcase the one kind of
art that we couldn't on-air:
visual. Music, lit, plays, sound-
sculptures—these can all be
featured over the radio, but
drawing, painting, and collage
are left behind to moulder. No
longer. Starting this month,
we'll remove the gallery middle-man and start covering the
hundreds of artists that make
up the local scene—fresh artists that are just starting out,
and art that you might not
even see in a gallery because
it's too new. Art without the
artificial construct of a gallery
surrounding it, hopefully allowing it to flourish on its own and
on its own merits. If you want
to discuss it with your friends,
that choice is yours (I don't
think discussing art is bad;
merely the discussion of art
solely as an attempt to boost
one's cred, projected IQ levels,
or social standing), but you
don't have to. In point of fact,
you're not obliged to pay it any
mind at all—but hell, if you like
it, pin it to your wall; make
your own art gallery. Why not?
It's free, and if anyone tells
you it looks bad next to your
life-sized poster of Luke Perry,
you can kick them out of your
bedroom.
Besides, like they understand the dichotomies at play
between the socio-political
unrest in the submerged red
and blue layering and Dylan
McKay, anyway. Pfffft. •
(Sonja Ahlers kicks off the Artist
of the Month profile in the centre spread. You can go see more
of her work at the Or Gallery—
103-480 Smithe Street—from
Januaiy U to February 8. Her
show opens on January 10 at 8:
00. If you go, be sure to wander
around and make cryptic comments like, "Hmmm... Yangtze
chic." It will make you seem
deep.)
6 Decembuary 2002 learair
Attn Media Mogul/Gumshoe/Lackey/Hack,
Enclosed is a copy of the second pressing of the second Ghosts CD EP. We'd be appreciative if you reviewed this in the pages of your publication. As long-time Offbeat readers, we
think that we deserve it for having had to endure Chris Eng's extensive dissertations about
relationship difficulties during his tenure as columnist for that publication. ("By rights it
should have been the worst day of my life. My fiancee and 1 had broken up twelve hours
previous and I stood on the streets of San Francisco in the early morning..." etc. etc. etc.)
Warmest Regards,
Jay Watts and Dan Colussi /
Ent-Ausserung
Sixty Stories
BRAND NEW FULL LENGTH FEATURING 12 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS
AVAILABLE IN CANADA OCTOBER KM, 2(102
Dear jay and Dan,
Never could I ignore such a well-worded plea, which not only states its case so eloquently, but personally attacks me as well. I gave the matter over to my Production Manager
Merek, who listened to the CD and immediately crafted a review of it so we might get it in
this issue—while it was still timely. I reproduce it in its entirety below:
"Unadulterated crap."
We all thank you for your submission and we look forward to subsequent ones in
future.
Tepid Regards,
Chris
fucki
MQ
bullshit by Christa Min
"Anthem Red is a relentless record, full of charged riffs and gripping melodies".
"With a sound that blends emo with 1980's slightly left-of-center pop,
Sixty Stories have produced a captivating and engaging album".
- INK 10 Magazine {Florida}
sit www.smallmanrecords.com
' if* "
EXCLUSIVE! Just in
time for the release
of the new Pearl Jam
record, and just in time for
Christmas... it's excerpts from
EDDIE VEDDER'S DIARY! Eddie
said it'd be okay if I gave you a
little peek. WARNING: These
details are juicier than JUICE!
November 4,1990 [During the
recording of Ten.]
"I have never been so
happy in my entire life. I've
been denying this so long.
I'm sure it's right. Finally this
is working: finally this is life.
Then comes the crack and
everything falls apart. Then
comes the pull, and she dies.
Then comes the crack, and
everything comes apart. Then
comes the knife, and she dies.
I still can't believe this. This
is something I've done. I have
never been so broken. I have
never hurt so much. This is like
a slap in the face; this is like an
amputation."
March 21, 1992 [After Ten's
huge success.]
"Well, I got another little
book I wrote up myself. Sort
icate conversation, no allusions
or euphemisms, just demands.
All your average news stand
owner has to worry about, for
example, is some hirsute ape
who V
nts
of an exit and entrance book,
if you get me. Shows me where
every piece of ass I ever picked
up is. I can get laid inside ten
minutes just about anywhere
in the fucking world. It's all
in the book. This one chick
though, I'll never forget it.
Moved her ass like a blender.
Just in time for Christmas—excerpts from
EDDIE VEDDER'S DIARY! WARNING: These
details are juicier than JUICE!
hole with a cut-down shotgun.
Almost romantic, that job."
Bitch simply could not get
enough. Buck and scream like
a wild animal. Every time I go
through Jersey I stop in for
a taste. The one thing I can't
stand is when they get emotional about it. Want you to
and v
•ite '(
i. Wher
i take
I m gone, I m gone,
'em with me for a while, we
ride, then, fuck, then ride. I've
burned out three mattresses
in the cab-up over there. That
one, though, she was wild."
September 12, 1996 [No
Code was released amidst
Ticketmaster battles.]
"Gangster social inter
course is pretty simple. No del
February 30, 2000 [Before firing drummer Jack Irons.]
"Nobody cares about anybody's private things around
here. You know how important
that is to me? I don't fuck with
anybody's shit. No way. 1 just
want to do my job and be left
the fuck alone. Just had to use
my grinder, didn't he. Just had
to. Little fuck face. Little ass
hole. Acts like he fucking owns
this shit. Little ass hole. Grind
him is what. Grind his little fat
fuck face. Think he'd like that?
Think twice, wouldn't he? Little
shitty fuck face ass hole."
Look for EDDIF VEDDER'S
DIARY UNCUT ir: tores by
Valentine's Day! •
12.06.02 - VANCOUVER, BC % PAT'S PUB
12.07.02 - VANCOUVER, BC § SEYLYNN HALL
12.08.02 - VICTORIA, BC § L'ECOLE BRODURE SCHOOL
7 DiSCORDER road worn
andweaj
Tour Diaries
CK) MUSIC MARATHON 20O2
by Luke Meat and Mo
One of the advantages or
responsibilities (depending on
how you look at it) of being
CiTR's music director is that
once a year, you get to go to
New York and represent the
station at the year's largest
music industry event, the
CMJ Music Marathon. CMJ, for
the uninitiated, is 4 days of
chaos—a trade show and music
orgy all in one, with thousands
of bands playing and about
10,000 music industry people
descending on NYC. For college
radio reps, it's an opportunity
to meet the label people, who
in turn try to win the college
stations' favour by throwing
numerous parties and band
showcases. Last year, Mo and
I bought our tickets, packed
our bags, and were all set to
go... on September 12, 2001.
Needless to say, we didn't wind
up going. CMJ put together a
bit of a consolation event in
early October, but few people
(or bands) were willing to travel yet at the time. So CMJ 2002
was the conference's comeback, and our long-awaited and
much-overdue trip. As a result,
we decided to extend our trip
for a few days and be tourists.
To skip straight to the festival,
go down to Wednesday.
Saturday, October 26
Arrive at White House "Hotel"
(hostel) in record time.
The desk clerk has the best
accent (we were put in room
"faw-twinnie-faw"). We were
planning on sleeping; however, since the hostel does not
appear to allow that option at
any time of day or night (along
with other little conveniences,
like hot water, for example),
we hit 2nd Avenue and look at
everything. This is New York
and it is beautiful. We have a
few pints in a fake Irish pub
and watch the Giants lose
game six. A rat about the size
of a Yaletown loft scurries by
us on our walk home. Like
everything else in this town,
the vermin are HUGE.
Sunday, October 27
Awake to a lovely couple
screaming at each other in
German from two rooms over.
Grab a Starfucks Java and
hit the streets by 8am. (Are
we in Seattle? There are far
too many Starbucks here—as
everywhere, I suppose.) The
city is quite relaxing when it's
setting up. Watch the regulars play chess in Washington
Square. We visit Other Music,
Mondo Kim's, Bleeker Bob's
($50 U.S. for Automating vol.
8 Decembuary 2002
2 by Nurse With Wound?! Yeah
right!), and other great music
stores, but there seems to be
no such thing as a "deal" in a
New York record store, so we
leave feeling poor and record-
less. Chinatown at night is
delightful, if you enjoy packed
sidewalks, "I Heart N.Y" t-
shirts, "genuine imitation" fragrances, and bootlegged DVDs
of movies that came out two
days ago. We can't help but
snap a photo of the awning-
high mountain of garbage bags
blocking the sidewalk in front
of McDonald's. If there's one
thing you can say about New
York, it's that their trash is
front and centre.
Monday, October 28
This German couple is really
getting on our nerves. I think
they figure since no one else
in the hostel speaks German,
they can yell at each other
about anything. Oh well,
we're being complete tourists tonight and seeing David
Letterman and that's all that
matters to me. We have to be
at Letterman by 3:00 so we
can wait in a really long line
to find out what other line we
have to wait in to be told which
line actually gets us tickets.
After a couple of hours waiting
in what is now a cold night, I'm
really starting to sour on this
idea. Only once we finally get
corralled into the Ed Sullivan
theatre to wait in yet another
line are we told that Christina
Aguilera is the musical guest.
Mo entertains herself in line by
gleefully wondering what the
folks at CiTR will think of their
music director travelling to NY
for a college music conference
and spending half a day waiting to see Christina Aguilera.
Afterward, we walk through
the multimedia frenzy of Times
Square (fucking amazing!), all
the way from 53rd St. to 11th
St. in the Village, so we can
have a pint in the White Horse
Tavern, where Dylan Thomas
drank himself to death. This
is the friendliest place we've
been in so far; the bartender
even buys us a round for being
from out of town. This seems
like a bad business practice in
a city full of tourists, but we
gladly accept the drinks.
Tuesday, October 29
It's a "Visit to Ground Zero" day
today. The cavernous hole is
jaw-droppingly huge, deep, and
empty. I begin to get a comparable feeling in my stomach—
not from realizing I'm standing
on the site that witnessed
so much death, but from the
endless number of street
vendors selling Twin Tower
snow globes, knickknacks, and
souvenirs. The first of the CMJ
parties is tonight, the night
before the actual festival. The
reps hosting the event tonight
are not my personal favourites. The party winds up being
extremely lame. The promise
of free drinks turns out to be
more or less a joke, the bar
staff are assholes, and I don't
know anyone yet. This puts me
in a real bad funk. What am I
doing here? Am I like all these
fake industry whores? Perhaps
I'm not going to do a good job
representing CiTR. The city,
for the first time, begins to
feel too big and alienating. I
get panicky, have a drink, and
promptly leave. Mo, as always,
brings me down to planet non-
anxiety, and reminds me that
this only the first day, and that
a lame party is a lame party, no
matter what town you're in.
Wednesday, October 30
The CMJ Music Marathon is
taking place at the Hilton Hotel
on the Avenue of the Americas.
Mo and I arrive at 10:00 to
collect our badges. There's
no doubting that we are at
a music geek conference.
Everyone is wearing little 1"
pins with obscure band names
on them, so 1 begin to feel right
at home. We check out all the
booths, and like most trade
show attendees, trawl the
room for free crap. We emerge
with tons of free loot—Village
Voice t-shirts, Jagermeister
shot glasses, and countless
guitar picks and unbelievably
bad complimentary compilation CDs. Jurassic 5 is playing
in the main ballroom, but we
miss this when we slip out
for hot dogs. We try to sneak
away to visit the intriguingly
named Museum of Radio and
Television, only to find that it
is a "non-traditional" museum,
with essentially a bunch of
viewing and listening stations
playing pre-chosen selections from the archives. This
month's feature? The CBC.
Seriously. We decide against
paying admission to watch
Canadian TV. The first rep
party is at 4:00 at the Luna
Lounge, a place that we would
frequent quite a bit in the next
few days. DJ Me DJ You is the
featured artist. One of the
guys in DJ Me DJ You played
Joey in Airplane! ("You ever see
a grown man naked, Joey?"),
which causes ceaseless giggles
throughout the evening. Meet
a lot of the reps who send
CiTR music, many of whom are
really great people, with lots
of free drink tickets to hand
out. (Hey, with the exchange
rate such as it is, we're aiming
to squeeze all the free stuff
we can out of this conference.) Afterwards, we decide
to check out the Kindercore
showcase at CBGB's. We catch
Maserati, The Agenda!, and I
Am The World Trade Center.
All were great, but of course I
am awestruck by the establishment itself. CBGB's has kept
the original toilet intact—yes,
the one where Joey used to
shoot up, etc. etc.—in all its
punk fame and glory. I add a
CiTR sticker to the approximately 27,000,000 stickers
they already have (structurally supporting the walls, I
presume). We make our way
. to the Bowery Ballroom for
the CMJ opening party. By now
we know a ton of people and
prefer their company to the
am so stoked on meeting these
guys that I don't even mind the
Ani Difranco DVD they show
us beforehand. (Well, let's not
go too overboard; it's fucking horrendous.) We go back
to our hostel to change into
our costumes. We're going
as the White Stripes—obvious, yes, but easy to throw
together, music-related, and
we look damn good. First
party tonight is a karaoke
gig at a club called Arlene's
Grocery. Since I've only had
my first drink of the evening,
I decide to refrain from bringing the house down with my
rendition of "Zombie". Scoot
over to a competing party at
Luna for some pre-show bevies. Our costumes are a hit at
both places. For some reason,
Joey's toilet. Gabba gabba hey.
entertainment of the bands
(Hazeldine, Northern State).
We pop upstairs to see the
horrible wank rock of Radio
4. It's 2:30 now and I'm really
trying to stay awake for The
Soundtrack of Our Lives and
2 Many DJs, but to no avail.
Soundtrack hit the stage hours
late, bumping the headlining
2 Many DJs show right off
the bill, and several nights of
sleeplessness at our "hotel"
have caught up with us. Sawing
logs by 3:30.
Thursday, October 31
Wake up with a familiar
American beer hangover. I can't
wait for the evening so we can
wear our Halloween costumes.
Train over to the Hilton for a
noontime "meet and greet"
with Ipecac Records, hosted by
Mike Patton and King Buzzo. I
these music industry folks
don't seem to be too creative
with costumes, so ours actually stand out. Meet Eric form
Kindercore; compliment him
on The Agenda's set. We plan
to see an incredible-sounding show at the Irving Plaza
tonight: Enon, The Black Heart
Procession, Blonde Redhead,
Calexico, !!!, and The Yeah
Yeah Yeahs. Unfortunately,
half of New York has the same
idea, and when we arrive there
at the oh-so-Iate hour of 8:00
pm, it's already full, with a line
up round the block of hopefuis
waiting to get in on a one-by-
one basis. We decide to opt
for our back-up plan of some
rock n' roll instead. The Kills,
Datsuns, The Von Bondies, and
The Dirtbombs are playing at
The Bowery Ballroom, and that
sounds just fine to me. We get
further compliments on our
outfits and are surprised more
people didn't pick the same
costume as us, given that it's a
Detroit-centric show. The best
costume there seems to be
Owen Wilson's character in The
Royal Tenenbaums (long hair,
beard, sunglasses, bandana,
and tennis racket). We catch
The Kills and Datsuns and have
a drink with some locals who
try to explain why they're not
offended by all the WTC merchandizing. We still don't get it.
There is suddenly quite a buzz
about the bar. Meg and Jack
White have apparently arrived.
What seemed to be a cool thing
at the time—us being dressed
as them for Halloween and
all—suddenly becomes a little
more awkward, since one person after another comes up to
us and says, "You know the
real White Stripes are here,
right?" While this gets a little
tiring, we think the whole situation is the funniest thing in
the world, and assume that
if they're remotely good-
natured, the White Stripes
will take it as an amusing
compliment. We decide that
a little later in the show we'll
hunt them down and laugh
with them about it. Then Meg
walks by our table and kind
of smirks-sneers at us, which
makes us question whether
the White Stripes are, in fact,
"remotely good-natured". We
decide to go upstairs and see
the Von Bondies. When I leave
Mo unattended to go get us a
round, some staggering jackass walks up to her and says,
"Jack wants me to kick your
boyfriend's ass." While it's
instantly discernible that this
wobbling doofus has never spoken to Jack White in his life, he
is also clearly past the point of
no return on the alcohol-meter
and looking to start a fight
with someone. Not wanting
to wind up with medical bills in
the US, we decide to go somewhere where our costumes
be such an attention
grabber. We wind up back at
Luna to see +/- and have a few
drinks with Jason Corall, Music
Director of CJSW in Calgary.
We feel kind of annoyed by
the whole situation so we call
it an "early" night. "Early" is a
relative term during CMJ; the
parties start at noon and go
till morning, and if you don't
act wisely and pack it in at a
certain point, you are likely to
miss the whole next day.
Friday, November 1
This is the day I've looking
forward to the most: The Mute
Records party. No bands, only
a ton of free stuff given away
at the Mute offices, which are
located in a gorgeous 10th
story building on 22nd St. We
meet a bunch of MDs (music
directors) from all over North
America, and the booze is
flowing like wine. We leave
early to see the Kill Rock Stars
showcase at Luna. Say hi to
The Gossip who are playing at the Knitting Factory later that
night. Meet Mecca Normal
who are extremely nice and
point out that Ari Upp from
The Slits is in the room. I
instantly go into drooling fan-
boy mode and ask a mutual
friend to introduce us. When
I ask Ari ''How are you?" she
pantomimes a "feeling blue"
kind of gesture and when I
ask her for a photo she happily mimes that she wouldn't
mind. I consider asking her
for a station ID but it appears
that Ari isn't talking tonight.
Ohhhh kaaaayyyy. Since my
rawk fever was prematurely
snuffed out by the asshole at
the Bowery the night before,
we decide to check out the Jet
Set showcase at The Elbow
Room. The Flaming Sideburns
returns, he manages to get
some of the most hauntingly
beautiful sounds out of an
acoustic guitar I've ever heard.
What a great way to close a
night.
Saturday, November 2
I find out why everyone told
me to take comfortable shoes
with me on this trip. My feet
are blistered as hell from walking everywhere. Make it to
the Hilton in time to see Gary
Lightbody from Reindeer
Section do an acoustic set.
Really pretty music, in a sad-
bastard kinda way. We sit in
on a series of DIY seminars.
The rep parties are winding
down, as is CMJ, so we vow to
get as many free drinks in us as
possible. The first gig is at the
to the next do. By this time Mo
and I pretty much know everybody involved with the college
radio side of CMJ and we're
all having a grand old time.
Everybody's looking forward
to the Merge showcase at the
Knitting Factory tonight, to
which we head in short order.
We have learned by this point
that if there's any buzz whatsoever about a CMJ show,
chances are it'll be impossible
to get in. Luckily, we arrive in
time both to get in and see
Portastatic wind up their
set. Destroyer play next and
the New York crowd is blown
away by the superb set by the
Vancouver troubadours. The
Knitting Factory goes absolutely nuts. It's terrific to see
Vancouver represented this
way. A heartfelt
set by Britt Daniel
from Spoon follow. But Crooked
Fingers, up next,
steal the show
with their un-
miked version of
"When You Were
Mine" by Prince.
Just magical. We
cruise over to the
Tribeca Grand
for some hip-hop
beats with Prince
Paul (co-hosted
by the Cartoon
Network so it is
quite a strange
"grown-up cartoon
lounge" ambiance)
but our wallets
are wanting by
this point in the
trip and we know
the second we
walk in, we cannot afford to party
there long. The
washrooms have
attendants and all
that ritzy kinda
stuff, so you can't
en urinate with-
A quiet moment with Ross Harris ofDJ Me DJ You. short sojourn there
we wander around
SCREW YOU
"Joey, doyou like movies about gladiators?" '
treated us to a taste of sublime glam rhythm and blues
and surprise guest Howlin'
Pelle Almqvist from The Hives
jumped up onstage to belt out
a few numbers. Way cool. The
Sahara Hotnights provided
us with professionalism seen
far too seldom in the garage
rock scene. They're damn fine
lookin' too. Anyway, with my
rock cup running over, we wind
down with a slice o' pizza, and
catch Michael Gira's acoustic
set at CB's 313 Gallery. I kicked
myself for missing him the last
time he played Vancouver, so it
is just a joy to see him play for
a very small (but demented)
crowd of about 30. One fan
can't contain himself after
one number and runs onstage
and kisses Gira on the mouth.
The former Swans lead man
does not appreciate this at all,
and even after they kick the
obsessed fan out, Gira has to
take five minutes to compose
himself. However, once he
Village Underground, which
holds 192 people, according to
the fire department sign on
the wall. Well, they manage
to cram in at least 400 to see
Hot Hot Heat, Ted Leo, and The
Pharmacists, among others.
We stand in line waiting for a
nthee
of o
of the worst bands I've ever
heard. (Dredg? The Party of
Helicopters? The Velvet Teen?
Not sure which it was.) I am so
thirsty by the time I finally get
served, I order a double Bloody
Mary. The bartender drops it
down and says, "Fourteen".
I'm so flabbergasted I exclaim,
"Fourteen what?" Yep, 14
fucking U.S. dollars (isn't that
around a month's salary for a
Canadian?) for a drink at this
shithole. Graham, one of my
reps from Spectre, witnesses
this and hands me 10 free
drink tickets for their party
going on at Luna after this.
Needless to say, we don't stick
around long and make our way
looking at the city,
trying to find somewhere to
eat at 4:30am. It's true that
this city doesn't sleep, but its
restaurants apparently do,
because the best we can find
is McDonald's, and as we guiltily eat there we're haunted by
that pile of garbage from a few
days ago.
Sunday, November 3
I'm kind of glad we're going
home today. I could have spent
weeks going through all the
stuff this burg has to offer,
but I miss my bed and the city
is beginning to wear us down.
We meet our first friendly cabbie on our way to the airport.
He asks us if we have just run
the New York Marathon, which
happened that morning. Being
the consummate athletes that
we are, this keeps us laughing
most of the way to JFK. The
truth is, we have just run a
New York marathon, only ours
took us eight days to finish. • Atrial and fret
j&e rforman.ee/art by Penelope Mulligan
FESTIVAL OF IMMORTALITY
Friday, November 15
Croatian Cultural Centre
I arrived way too early.
Although the place was already
quite full, the show didn't start
until well after 10, leaving
plenty of time for attendees to
parade their finery in the lobby
and for me to have unsettling
flashbacks to The Twilight
Zone—unsettling, because
the Croatian is cavernous and
bland, no-one was dancing
and I happened to be wearing
not a stitch of black. Still, the
coloured spotlights whizzed
and the retro-goth tracks
thumped.
The spectacle began suddenly with a terrific entrance
by The Mediaeval Baebes,
escorted through the hall
by armoured knights from
The Society for Creative
Anachronism (to which we'll
return anon). The eight chan-
teuses (the ninth member is
multi-instrumentalist) have
clear, pliant voices which sail
through complex harmonies
•into beautiful minor-key col-
I lar
[ages.
Visually though, the group
Hallmark than dark. In long,
white dresses and vampy
make-up, they evoke The Mists
of Avalon with central heating
and indoor plumbing. Wiggling
and skanking in front of their
mic stands, they resembled
an octet of white Supremes—
minus the tightly-synchronized
moves. Perhaps a choreographer could teach them to vamp
more mediaevally.
Just when all the songs
crept onstage, did a Dracula
on the ladies and led them
off in a trance. It seemed to
be just what they needed,
because when they returned
as "The Immortal Baebes,"
their performance was driven
by a dark magic lacking in
their first set. Much of this was
due to an infiltration of musicians assembled by Eyes and
Teeth. Far from jarring with
the traditional instruments,
the addition of electric guitar, bass, cello and keyboards
made the Baebes and their
material fly, Best of all was a
hypnotic, power-packed Taiko
drummer on a riser high above
the stage.
Between sets, the lords
and ladies of The Society for
Creative Anachronism entertained us with sword fights,
hilarious theatrics and stately
dances. While not professional
performers, these people are
truly dedicated to their chosen
period in both role-play and
costume. I think of them as a
courtly fetish group.
10 Decembuary 2002
It had been a long evening, but, as fully expected,
the encroaching torpor was
ploughed back by Cirque
Vampyre. Lasting a mere 20
minutes, the act didn't take a
second longer than necessary
to do what it needed to do.
The troupe of nine poured a
Breugelian stew of acrobatic
decadence over a rectangle
of roped-off space down the
center of the hall, up a ramp
and onto the stage, where
Odesta the vampire diva held
court with her acolytes. These
included a set of cartwheeling,
backflipping twins who looked
like Weimar chorus girls, a tiny
music-box dancer, two boy-
toy gymnasts, a slinky seducer
and a beggar. Their every
trick brought her to vocal
orgasm—made wonderfully
for brilliance or wankery. It's
often deeply rooted in personal agenda or whim; can
be an outgrowth of or a reaction to one's art school training—or a nose-thumb from
those who've never been to
art school. People who have
no performing skills but want
to perform anyway do it. More
recently, highly-trained performers have been doing it
>uld s
vity which i:
Me.
) be
When I learned that a
senior performance class at
the Emily Carr Institute of
Art and Design would present an end-of-term show in
December, I called instructor
Fiona Bowie for a chat. Her
class of third and fourth-year
students marks the first time
In long, white dresses and vampy makeup, The Mediaeval Baebes evoke The
Mists of Avalon with central heating
and indoor plumbing.
sickening and scary by some
sort of vocoder effect. Her victim was an innocent known as
"Baby," who did a breathtaking aerial performance on the
silks before being beaten down
and fanged. Jason Filipchuck
and George Earth's original
music was perfect as it blew
through a draughty castle into
an uncertain future. Created,
choreographed and directed
by Cirque du Soleil veteran
Sandra Botnen, this was circus
without condescension. The
group is based here, so if we're
lucky, it won't be long before
we see them again.
Hugely ambitious and
impressive, The Festival of
Immortality was the first
outing for Eyes and Teeth
Productions. My only caveats
concerned things which are
fixable—one of them being
the venue. Imagine this in the
Heritage Hall. The show's producers also needed a clearer
idea of what they wanted it to
be: a cabaret with a well-paced
lineup or a loosely-structured
club night with people wandering about and stuff happening
whenever. By leaving things
somewhere in-between, they
kept the event from doing justice to its magnificent parts.
THE PLUGHOLE
Q: What do art students do
in performance class? A:
Performance Art. That was
easy, wasn't it? The stickier
question concerns how on
earth you'd wrestle this beast
to the ground long enough to
actually teach it. The most
anarchic and protean of
genres, it has equal potential
in some years that the school
has offered such a course. Not
surprisingly, much of the programme was still a mystery
to Bowie at the time of our
conversation, but by the time
the show takes place, there
will be nearly a dozen solo and
collaborative pieces onscreen
and in the flesh.
From what Bowie was
able to reveal, it's clear that
film or video will play a large
part, either as documentation of process-based work
or in the specific medium
known as Performance for
Video, in which the camera
is both primary audience and
definer of the performance
space. (Hmm. Am I missing
something or is this not how
actors have been dealing with
the camera all along?) There
will also be a piece in which
the artist interposes himself
among multiple layers of his
own projected image. For
another, the artists took three
days to walk from ECIAD on
Granville Island to Abbotsford,
recording their journey in a
series of stills taken at five-
second intervals with a Super
8. When projected, the images
run by so fast that their continuity is filmic.
Obviously, the students'
training in various media has
given their work technical and
theoretical underpinnings that
could raise the question of
whether it's still Performance
Art. They're well aware of
these definition issues and
will tackle them all when
Performance Works! hits the
Blinding Light!! at 8:30pm on
Sunday, December 8. •
tanarticon
the sound of spectacle by tobias
The vote was lost by numbers,
by people who voted against
change, against questioning,
against local and global responsibility, against social contracts
and compacts, against the
future, for an inverted version of
the past past referred to as 'the
future'—it is the eternal-now.
And what is now? Complete
horror, chaos, and dysfunction.
And people voted for this? No.
They voted against having to
recognize this.
-Human being on the US
Senate race, nettime 11.05.02.
UBC Profs Named in Witch-
Hunt: The Right Says "Jus-
tice=Money"
In the National Post: "Christian
'exposed to contempt': Lawsuit
accuses UBC professors of discrimination based on religion,"
Oct. 24th, 2002. UBC English
Graduate student Cynthia
Maughan has launched a
lawsuit against UBC, naming
Doctors Lorraine Weir, Judy
Segal, Susanna Egan, and Anne
Scott, claiming discrimination
based on religious grounds.
But the prosecution reads
like a conspiracy theory: that
Dr. Weir penalized her for not
attending a Sunday seminar
when there was no participation mark; that Ms. Maughan
was penalized for maintaining
silence in the course despite
Dr. Weir's approval; that Dr.
Weir 'launched a campaign to
discredit Ms. Maughan,' and
that the comments on her
course papers are indicative
of this discrimination, and that
the UBC Senate decision (Ms.
Maughan campaigned to have
her mark changed from 73% to
79%, and lost) also reflects this
discrimination, insofar as the
English Department "mounted
an irrelevant and unseemly
attack upon [her] character for
mental and emotional stability and for religious tolerance."
Perhaps this amounts to a rap
on the knuckles for a strenous
case with a mature student
who obviously desires "justice."
Yet given the circumstances,
the difficulty of the course
rial, i
s posi
tion (it should be noted that
Maughan is 42, hence there is
a significant dynamics at stake
here—as anyone who has
been in graduate school with
mature students can attest)
the UBC Senate decision is
fair and is no call for a lawsuit
that is apparently headed into
the 18 million dollar range. It
would seem that this particular Christian—and I only say
this as it plays a significant role
in the prosecution's case—has
reversed the policy of turning
the other cheek. It would seem
that Maughan feels that jus
tice can be bought with money.
I don't say this in spite: I say it
to point out that the teachings
of Christ, of love, have quickly
given way, in this situation, to
the prosecution lawyer's promise of the big bucks in compensation. (We might ask: so who
has succumbed to temptation here?) And who is this
lawyer? A rather prominent
prosecutor for the Religious
Right: Gerald Chipeur is listed
on conservativeforura.org,
whose motto is "Anyone who
can bring the Conservative
Party together can bring the
(if there is even a difference).
The Squatters are doing—with
their bodies, by placing them
on the line—what all the Big
Unions failed to do: breaking
the Liberal government. And
this breaking is called for. The
police "confiscation" of the
Squatters' belongings is theft,
and a particularily low form of
theft at that: it's despicable-
trashing the few possessions
of the truly poor. Let there be
no question about it: now is the
time to add your body to the
others in front of Woodward's.
Give so others can live.
There is a significant dynamic
at stake here—as anyone who
has been in graduate school with
mature students can attest.
country together." Chipeur
also writes for the Christian
Legal Fellowship, where in
one article he defends Trinity
Western's "pledge of fidelity"
which was seen as an attack
on homosexuality. It should
be noted that Chipeur styles
himself as a "human rights"
lawyer. Perhaps it would be
more accurate to say a Fiscal-
Christian Rights lawyer, insofar
as Christianity can be levered
through fiscal justice and that
religion precedes fundamental
human—and beyond human—
rights. A gloating report on the
lawsuit can be found in the
Midwest Conservative Journal,
where the article also claims
"ethnic" discrimination as
well as religious, and targets
Dr. Weir for her testimony
in the Robin Sharpe pornography case. So, students, if
you are wondering why your
tuition fees jump next year, it
might be because Chipeur has
claimed for "damages at an
amount equal to two percent
of UBC's annual budget." Yes,
indeed, Chipeur is out to teach
us a lesson, just like back in
the good ol' days when they
Supporting the Woodward's
Squatters
At a recent conference of art-
intellectual types, the problem
of representation once again
paralysed action. Stuck in
asking "But if 1 support the
Squatters, am I not speaking
for them, and therefore robbing them of their voice?" (and
so on), the Left lapses into negligent entropy. But it's not only
a question of representation
when it comes to the necessity
of action. We must DO WITH.
Get down to Woodward's:
you're one body with the others. A squatter and intellectual
The US: Need I say More?
As US arrogance increases on
the international stage (where
the US has assumed all key
roles save that of janitor), the
apologetic nature of those
opposed to War increases.
I've noticed this in personal
emails from American friends,
stopped to think how it would
feel t
lety v
the majority s
on not only the destruction of
the other, of the phantasmatic
possibilities of a TV War, of
the blood-lust carnage and
videogame violence on CNN,
but of a desire to destroy one's
self, a passion for abolition,
for self-destruction, to bring
on the apocalypse, to not
decrease, but through aggression, increase terror, increase
paranoia, seal it all in, the borders of the US, not like a mas-
ochist attempting to reduce
the body, but like a paranoid
master sealing in all flows.
A friend of mine who holds
dual US-Canadian citizenship
was born in Syria. His anger is
evident: he attacks all of us in
class, all of our readings, which
are generally radical and positive. Despite his intellectual
rigour, being on the receiving
end of so much hatred—he
is in the US constantly as he
lives there part-time—has
turned him against all of the
West. Such is what the US
desires, with all its heart...
The final Western Showdown,
as Baudrillard sketches out so
finely in The Gulf War Did Not
Take Place. Yet, as Baudrillard
demonstrates, it failed to
happen last time—the sneaky
Arabs refused to play the
Western Cowboy game. But
this time? •
Until 1 can have hope for
humanity! riff raff
by Bryce Dunn
My Christmas wish was
successfully granted
this year—and no, it's
not a trip to Disneyland, dear
readers, but more 7" stocking
stuffers for you to use and
abuse. My bespectacled (and
currently band-less) buddy
Brian gave to me the debut
platter by THE MEXICAN
BLACKBIRDS, which includes
one of his former band mates,
drummer Jill Trueblood, who
also banged the drum for The
Valentine Killers before this.
It's a fairly low-budget affair
full of crunchy guitar, buried
The spirit of giving continues thanks to Nardwuar
and his contribution of THE
ORPHANS from Long Beach,
California. Remember that
scene in The Warriors where
our heroes tangle with that
gang at the bottom of the turf
food chain? Well these tracks
of messy, girl-fronted punk
should have been playing in the
background, with "Nobody's
Fool" being the anthemic call-
to-arms before they went into
battle. "You see, Warriors?
You see what you get when
you mess with The Orphans?"
Indeed I do. My
vish
vocals, and sweaty rhythms,
but nonetheless rockin'; four
tracks that drunkenly stumble
down memory lane to Texas
(for some late-night carousing at the gravesite of The
Motards) and back to their
own backyard (to fail down at
the front steps of Gas Huffer's
house), and the next day wipe
themselves off and do it all
over again. My Christmas wish
for Brian is for someone to put
a brand new band under his
tree this year—don't disappoint me folks! (The Mexican
Blackbirds, PO Box 7569
Tacoma, WA 98406)
My francophone friend
Fred delivered the new onesided KAMIKAZES single
"Christiane" to me tout de
suite, as they say, but with an
additional treat attached—a
song from a previous effort
called "Time For Rock And
Roll." Now that tune is great,
but "Christiane" is genius!
Tuneful, Real Kids-inspired
power-pop that oozes charm
and has me picturing the guys
crooning to our girl in question while she sunbathes on
the beach or (insert scenario
here)—it's just the right kind
of song to cleanse the palate
on that mix tape. My suggestion is to end Side One with
this cut and start Side Two
with The Beat's "Don't Wait Up
For Me." My Christmas wish for
The Kamikazes is a full-length
feature. C'mon fellas, dontcha
think its time? (www.zaxxonv
irileaction.com1)
for The Orphans
is more props
where props
are due—those
Warriors
would've had a
good fight on
their hands.
(Malo Records,
6307 Northside
Dr., Los Angeles,
CA USA 90022)
Speaking
of gangs, my
favourite gang
of good-time
clubsters, LES
SEXAREENOS have been teaching our friends down under a
thing or two about a thing or
two. A new 45 on Corduroy
Records (38 Advantage Rd.
Highett 3190 Australia) has me
shakin' a tail-feather to "We
Gonna Ball," (found on their 14
Frenzied Shakers LP),
as well as "Why Why
Why", a more '50s-style
rocker, and a groovy
cover of Kenny And The
Kasuals psych-punk
number: "Journey To
Tyme." You can do no
wrong by adding these
frat-rockin' pounders
to the jukebox at the
next ice-cream social,
so get on it already! My
Christmas wish for Les
Sexareenos is that you
update your goddamn
website, you jerks!
Whatsamatta with you?
(http://www.angelfire.com/
pq/sexareenos/)
Virtually hot off the press
and slidin' down the chimney
just in time for this here column (even though I just looked
at the credits to see that it was
released almost a year ago!?!)
is the latest from NEON KING
KONG. Now this is a little
more my speed—readers of
my previous reviews of Gold
Standard Labs material have
probably noted my utter confusion in trying to competently
review bands like The Monitor
Bats and Armatron, but I feel
a helluva lot better with this.
Basically, Neon King Kong is a
logical extension of Le Shok,
(1 think the singer is in this
group), who played iiber-snot-
ty keyboard-laced punk for the
neo-wave kids in their skinny
ties and tight pants. The two
songs herein, "Mix Up The Mix"
and "Jerks Are Creeping," keep
up the snotty end thanks to
lyrics like, "Let's mix up the mix
and shake out all the squares,"
but pull out a dance vibe that
wasn't always evident with
Le Shok's more pogo-centric
stuff. So do the herky-jerky
and shake it all about—and
that's my Christmas wish for
listeners of Neon King Kong.
(Gold Standard Laboratories,
PO Box 178262, San Diego, CA.
USA 92177)
We save the biggest present for last, a 10" from Danish
duo, THE RAVEONETTES (who,
upon further investigation,
reveal themselves to be a
quartet; but no matter—it is
the boy/girl pairing of Sune
Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo
that attract attention first
off). Now, lest ye be thinkin'
they be another White
Stripes: think again. They
pledge allegiance to the flags
of Suicide and The Jesus and
Mary Chain, rather than the
blues of Blind Willie McTell.
Like the Stripes, though, they
do share a stripped-down
garage approach to their songwriting, with flashes of feedback guitar punctuating the
thumping voodoo drums on
"Attack Of The Ghost Riders,"
and the sleepwalk drone of the
Velvet Underground-inspired
"Bowels Of The Beast." More
singing than yelping also helps
the songs out a bunch too, as is
the case with "Do You Believe
Her"—probably the most "pop"
influenced number on this slab.
A band to watch and wish they
had more of an impact here in
North America. (Crunchy Frog
Records, Studiestraede 24, 2
DK-1455 Copenhagen)
You are now probably
wishing this column was finished—lucky for you, it is. See
you in '03! •
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11 DiSCORDER VQMCOMVGP ADECIO
local reviews by Janis McKenzie
It's the so-called holiday
season, the time when so
many of us fall into weeks
of family and gift-buying anxiety that is only slightly dulled
by hefty doses of shortbread
and seasonal beverages. But
Vancouver Special just might
have a solution for the present-
purchasing problem: why not
give your loved ones the gift of
local music? Honestly, there's
something for everyone. Here
are a few suggestions from
this year's columns:
For the former or present
hardline punks in your life,
you can't beat local heroes
DOA. Just Play It Over and
Over (5-song EP, Sudden Death
Records) is loud, political, and
best of all catchy. Bif Naked
makes an appearance too,
which ought to broaden the
appeal even more. And for the
hockey-loving punk subgroup,
consider the Hanson Brothers'
My Game (Mint Records). (Note
that the Hanson Bros, are
much more fun if you've seen
the movie Slap Shot, available
on VHS for around 11 bucks.)
For relatives and friends
who don't necessarily want to
rock and might not ever have
tuned into a campus radio
station, but know a good thing
when they hear it, you might
do weil with a roots recording.
2002 has been a good year for
the big, loosely-defined roots
scene in Vancouver, mainly
thanks to the hard-working
and very active RANCH people.
Anyone open to alt-country,
folk, rockabilly, or just good
clean gorgeous singing and
playing will like RANCH'S
Showdown:22 Golden Nuggets...
(Independent) which includes
tracks from Linda McRae,
Graham Brown, Carolyn Mark,
Coal, Radiogram, Auburn,
Swank, The Deadcats, and
others. Coincidentally, most of
these artists put out their own
CDs in the past year or so, and
I haven't heard one that wasn't
worth listening to. Conrad's
self-titled debut (Swoop Discs)
is quirky and clever but also
dreamy and pleasantly subtle,
and will appeal to anyone who
actually listens to lyrics.
But it was a good year
for fresh indie pop/rock too.
Anyone you know who has
name-dropped the Strokes or
White Stripes (etc., etc.) this
year is bound to love a CD from
Vancouver's own hard-working energetic young things,
including the 5-song self-
titled EP (independent) from
supremely catchy SHiNDiG
contestants SK Robot, or
Love Tonight (Mint Records)
from the straight-ahead (and
oft-lovestruck) Mark Kleiner
Power Trio. Women-fronted
bands include the totally
rocking The Cinch (self-titled
EP on Stutter Records) and
utterly irresistible Voiumizer
(Gaga for Gigi, Mint Records).
And, last but not least, don't
forget Shot Spots (Visionary
Records), the Trooper tribute
CD that includes accordion
and bagpipes as well as industrial-sounding tracks, and
bands ranging from JP5 and
DOA to The Real McKenzies
and reverent glamsters The
Transvestimentals.
Thirty fabulous tracks!
Thirtyfabulous stars!
Happy holidays! •
va
dio f
pec Drci^
zines. etc. by Bleek
As much as I'd like to
piss someone off this
month, I've been given
very little reason to. Some
of BC's best zines have been
busy setting the standard for
what zines can deliver in presentation and content—and all
(for the most part) with limited resources. The bad news
is that in a recent personal
relocation I have misplaced a
few of these zines, but here's
has actually doubled in size
from the previous minis that
Norman had been producing.
Motorcycho is almost slick in
also the s
e trusty, crusty
occasional with a n^.^,
fascination with motorcycle-
related music, comics, road
stories and more. With the
stickers, vintage eye-candy
and approachable look at
bike-culture, there's no way
Already people have reported symptoms of nausea, and if that doesn't sell
it, I don't know what will.
what I have in front of me:
From the ever-surprising
Abbotsford scene comes a
great little standard-sized
effort called BULL SHEET (2846
Evergreen St. Abbotsford,
BC V2T 2S1). With innovative
layout and better-than-aver-
age writing, editor Ryan Dyck
is able to create something
extraordinary with the skate-
punk zine. There's some coverage of things which can be
found in too many other publications (Piebald, Slam City
Jam, etc.), but Ryan breathes
new life into these subjects
with good humour and an ability to really flesh out an interview or music/show review.
This is what it's all about. This
is why we do what we do. Full
advantage is taken of space
with his deft design skills and
willingness to blab on about
stuff that somehow makes
me care.
The long-running motorcycle zine MOTORCYCHO
#17 (PO Box 1564, Point
Roberts, WA 98281-1564 and
www.ratbike.org/motorcycho)
looks like a million bucks.
While it's still a small zine, it
to lose by tracking this down.
Oh, and listen to Motordaddy,
3 to 5 pm, Wednesdays, right
after Radio Free Press.
I'm proud to announce the
return of yet another item
which should be kept away
from children: OFF KILTER #8.
Available at good comic shops
on Main (or contact jimmyt
hespitter@hotmail.com), its
creator Tim Grant has a way
of melding items that are
simultaneously very funny,
exquisitely polished, and thoroughly disgusting. It's a beautiful thing. Recurring hero and
sexual-aid goblin Jimmy the
Spitter is back and makes an
appearance after the detailed
origin of two new villains is
unravelled. Already people
have reported symptoms of
nausea, and if that doesn't
sell it, I don't know what will.
I know you too well.
That should be enough for
the month, but no, it's been
a good season for the rippin'
locals. Rebecca Dart's RABBIT
HEAD comic is not only a wonder to behold but it's also a
marvel in creative formatting.
A cartoon panel that runs the
length of this comic also has
many peripheral panels that
become their own tale until
at last meeting up with the
original. This is gorgeous and
obviously one of the best of
the year. And still speaking
of the best, Rebecca's live-in
house elf Robin Bougie continues assaulting the senses
with another CINEMA SEWER,
the zine about the fringes of
motion picture and video mayhem. There's nothing like it—all
researched to the hilt and curiously disturbing. Search these
up in fhe usual shops or write
to #320-440 E. 5th, Vancouver
BCV5T1N5.
Remaining with the comic
zine for now, I, LOSER (Bootleg
Comics, 1043 Island Drive Ct.
Apt. 104, Ann Arbor Michigan
48105) groups the inkings of
three Californian comic artists
who are admitted nerds, but
more on that later. The pathetic
tales of post-pubescent males
are rehashed again in comic
form. Oh the loneliness, oh the
angst, oh the fantasies. Sad
and truly dorky. This carries
three comics within and the
last one, which focuses on the
artist's relationship with these
nuts, is skillfully executed and
only a little confusing. And,
going back to the nerd aspect,
the same people produce GEEK
MONTHLY (which is going
through a Star Wars phase at
the moment). All the news on
their conventions, favourite
characters, people in full Star
Wars fan garb, a comic... the
gamut. Fun and oh so geeky.
Thanks, Mr. Lucas; I'm adding
you to another George's "Axis
of Evil" list.
Thanks for the free ones.
For the ones I had to buy, you
owe me money. •
Record South of the Border!
—j 2" 16/24 track Analog
A Lai'ge"Live" Room, Real Echo/Reverb Chamber
No Bullshit,Satisfaction Guaranteed!
> (206)525-0628
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email- studio@vagrantrecords.com
K4TTLE WA
12 Decetnbuary 2002 over mvAhou
LdO£
ep-
ON STARGAZING
You're never supposed to
look directly at the sun, lest
you go blind. And though the
sun is really just another star,
it doesn't hurt to star gaze,
especially when the stars in
question are people, rather
than giant balls of gaseous
matter. Sometimes stars of
the people variety become
super inflated, but that's
another story.
When someone famous
enters a room, it becomes kind
of quiet, then everyone tries to
be super cool about the whole
thing. You might lean over to
your friend or acquaintance
and say, "I love your shirt.
Jarvis Cocker is standing right
behind you," or, "Kate Moss
looks fabulous tonight," as if
it's normal that she's shown up
at the London party you're at.
Or you're sitting in the Sugar
Refinery while Michael Stipe is
in the room. Everyone continues on as if he's not there at all
and no one approaches him.
Since you are DiSCORDER
readers, the last scenario likely
best applies. And if you're like
me, your personal icons are on
the more obscure or unusual
side. My own choices are
downright nerdy. I love Phillip
Seymour Hoffman! Daniel
Handler is the coolest! I wrote
fanmail to Lynn Crosbie! I wish
I was Zadie Smith! The Steve
Buscemi doppelganger who
works the graveyard shift at
the mom and pop store down
the street from my apartment
is God!
The one thing that remains
true about fame in today's
hyper mediated world is that it
is subjective. Geographic and
socio-economic factors come
into play, which is why terms
such as "local celebrity" exist.
If you reference a Canadian
media personality to American
friends, they won't know who
you're talking about. Or mention that you met a poet while
getting coffee and all your non-
literary friends will just yawn.
So one Friday night I found
myself at the Anvil Press and
Talon Books open house. My
friends were discussing who
was The Most Famous Person
In the Room. I nominated Jean
Smith from Mecca Normal.
Someone else named Fred Wah
(whose book Diamond Grill, is
a seminal work on literary theory's latest hot topic: hybrid-
ity). Finally we all agreed that
George Bowering, by virtue
of being the poet laureate of
Canada, was The Most Famous
Person In the Room. Half an
hour later, I went downstairs
for a smoke. As I puffed away,
book reviews by Doretta
a man in a sports windbreaker
pledging allegiance to some
team in Colorado said "That's
a mad cigarillo you're smoking there." I said "It's a clove
cigarette," to which he replied
"1 hate cloves." Then someone
started talking about the '80s
television show Knight Rider.
A minute elapsed before I realized that I had just spoken to
George Bowering, poet laureate of Canada, a.k.a. The Most
Famous Person In the Room.
GEORGE BOWERING
RYAN KNIGHTON
Cars
(Coach House Press)
Of course, as soon as I got
home from the party that
night I picked up my copy of
Cars. In their "auto biography," Bowering and Vancouver
writer Ryan Knighton each
write 50 pieces that draw on
their car memories.
There is a lot of stargazing
happening in the pages of Cars.
In addition to pop cultural references to David Hasselhoff,
John Cusack, Robert DeNiro,
and Stevie Wonder, Bowering
and Knighton chose to refer
to their writer friends by first
and last name, so we get to
ride with Michael Turner,
Doris Lessing, Fred Wah, Roy
Miki, Wade Compton, Sharon
Thesen, and Stan Persky. In
one piece, Knighton confesses
that he drove for two years
though he was legally blind. In
another, he humorously blends
French and English together
to talk about a trip to France.
Some of Bowering's pieces
are travelogues, spanning the
continent and touching down
in Australia. Though their
styles are distinct, the book is
quite even in tone and a quick,
ing read.
TCOOPER
Some of the Parts
(Akashic Books)
T Cooper is a graduate of the
Columbia MFA fiction program
and was a member of the drag
king spoof band The Backdoor
Boys. It's quite fitting that
Akashic Books, a New York
press run by a member of the
band Boys Against Girls, has
published her first novel.
Some of the Parts is a
four part narrative, told in
the first person for three of
the characters and in limited
third person for the fourth.
The novel begins and ends
with the narration of Isak, a
woman whose boyish good
looks land her a job with the
Coney Island freak show. Then
there's Taylor, whose striking beauty has allowed her to
get whatever she wants, but
has also garnered her much
unwanted attention from the
authority figures in her life.
The third character is Arlene,
who is Taylor's mom, and,
finally, Charlie is Taylor's uncle
and Isak's former roommate.
Charlie has AIDS and a Beverly
Hills, 90210 obsession.
Cooper skillfully intertwines the four narratives and
addresses gender issues without being academic or preachy.
Best of all, her pop cultural
sensibility makes Some of the
Parts a thoroughly funny read.
ZADIE SMITH
The Autograph Man
(Hamish Hamilton)
The Autograph Man is Londoner
Zadie Smith's follow-up novel
to her critically acclaimed
debut novel, White Teeth.
In this latest novel, Smith
reminds us once again that she
is very clever, oh-so-cool and
one of the best writers of her
generation.
Her protagonist is Alex-Li
Tandem, a Chinese Jew who
lives in London. Alex is an
autograph man and his life's
ambition is to acquire the autograph of a '40s film actress
named Kitty Alexander. Not
only does the novel deal with
the our society's obsession
with celebrity, it also subtly
addresses race relations in
the UK and the United States.
While on a business trip to New
York, Alex meets Honey Brown,
who also deals in memorabilia.
She's a minor celebrity herself,
a fictionalized Divine Brown
(the woman arrested for giving
Hugh Grant a blow job). In a
key scene Alex and Honey find
themselves dining in the presence of a famous 17-year-old
girl. Alex remarks that the girl
is a "symbolic sexual vortex,
added to by means of infinite
repetition, televisual sheen.
Not necessarily prettier than
the waitress. Or you. Or me.
Irrelevant. She is the power
of seventeen. You remember
the power of seventeen? It's
nuclear. She's seventeen for
the whole world." In a few
short sentences, Smith is able
to nail what fuels the cult of
celebrity and our stargazing tendencies. The realm of
fantasy has become larger
than us. From billboards to
film screens, television to the
internet, other people's experiences are taking up more time
and space than our own. In
The Autograph Man, Alex gets
closure. Our own lives are not
novels, so denouement is rarely possible; thus our stargazing
narratives continue on. •
OUT NOW
£«
COMING SOON
Christa Min
My Ass
Alternating Mondays
6:30-7:30pm
Christa Min was unavailable at press time, so this questionnaire was completed by
her publicist, Mr. Tim Cook. He can be reached at timcook@christamin.com.
Record played most often on your show:
Harmonia 7 6 or John Fahey's Christmas album Vol. 2.
Record you would save in a fire:
Billy Joel, Turnstiles.
Record that should burn in hell:
Joy Division, Closer. Oust try to get her to explain this one: fucked, I know.)
Worst record that you like:
Everything by Bennie Mardroi
First record that you bought:
Charlie Pride's Greatest Hits.
;, Donnie Iris, and Interpol.
Last record you bought:
John Fahey's Christmas Album Vol. 2.
Musician you would most like to marry:
The guitar player currently in Destroyer. (Who else?)
Favourite show on CiTR:
What's Nardwuar Up To? Every third Thursday at 3am and pm.
Strangest phone call while on min
An old man, claiming to be wearing women's undergarments, asking her to teit
him how beautiful he is and/or play dead. She said it was very weird but strangely
compelling.
13 DiSCORDER Ever since her days with the
Vinaigrettes, Victoria's Carolyn
Mark has been a gal on the
go. Currently fronting Carolyn
Mark and the Room-Mates,
she's recently released Terrible
Hostess on Mint Records, her
tw&ngy follow-up to Party Girl.
Carolyn has worn a lot of
chapeaux this year: folk festival emcee, two CD releases on
Mint (the other one a tribute to
Robert Altman's film NashvilleJ,
one half of the Corn Sisters
(with Neko Case). Somehow she
still finds the time to keep up her
party chops.
Discorder caught up with
Carolyn before a recent gig at
the Sugar Refinery.
DiSCORDER: So what's new with you?
Carolyn Mark: Well, I'm going to Alberta
with Corb Lund.
n to do a bunch of gigs
Cool! Solo?
I'm bringing Tolan (McNeil), my guitarist, and I'
Ritchie Ranchero from Huevos Rancheros.
So tell me about this hootenanny thing that you do back in
Victoria.
I do one every Sunday, four o'clock, at Thursday's. It's more like
a jam. It's been really great lately; we're on a bit of a roll. We get
some really cool people from out of town like Kris Demeanor from
Calgary and his band. There's a
really good core of local people
that come out, and some of
them are starting to get their
ownA8tgtheRootsfestfestiva.in Qne HaFf fffthe ComSistefs Lets Her Pants Down
Victoria this summer they let
us do our hootenanny as part of
the festival, and then later that
night we did one at the bar. It
went until five in the morning,
since there were so many people from out of t(
CAROLYN MARK
How'd you get to be so tight with the Alberta crowd?
We just started going there with the Vinaigrettes. It was the only
place where people liked us! So they kept inviting us back. I love it
there—it's my secret vacation spot, actually.
I was pleasantly surprised to see you up on stage as one of the
emcees of the Calgary Folk Festival this summer. How'd you get
that gig?
Well, I played there last year and I guess they loved me and wanted
me back. It was pretty nerve-wracking but a lot of fun.
What are the odds are of you doing something similar at the
Vancouver Folk Festival?
[Laughs] Well, first I should apply. But from what I can tell by the
lineup, it's a bit more hippie-ish, if I may be frank.
In my attempt to dig up some dirt, I talked to your friend and
former Room-mate Paul Pigat. He said to ask about the "Pantless
Ohhhh! Me, Neko Case and John Guliak. We were singing some
backup on his Cousin Harley record. The engineering guy wasn't
uptight, but he was kinda nervous that al! the mics weren't going
to work. We decided we were going to take our pants off; we'd be
more relaxed. It was mostly for the amusement of the engineer. So
we took our pants down and he didn't even notice... that was the
best part! We did the take with our pants down.
Sounds like a great trio, actually.
I doubt if Paul would ever take us on the road. [Laughs]
Speaking of Neko, do you talk to her much these days? You're
both pretty busy.
Neko was in Victoria recently, so we got to hang out a bit.
When's your next Corn Sisters gig? Or do you have time for that?
New Year's Eve in Dawson City, Yukon! Pretty exciting. We've only
done two shows this year, and they've both been in Dawson City.
I hear it's a rockin' town.
It's amazing. Everyone's up there for a reason. I don't know, I don't
want to ask.
We've never played there on a New Year's before, though. All 1
know is that they turned an Odd Fellows hall into a nice art gallery.
They usually have the "Odd Ball," but for us they're going to have
the "Corn Ball" instead.
I guess it'd be close to midnight all day long, really.
No, it doesn't get very light that time of year.
Corn Sisters is still happening, then?
Definitely. Neko's really busy—actually, we're both really busy—
but since she invited me and my band to go on the road with her
next year, I'm sure we can expect to see some Corn Sisters action.
What are your plans for Christmas holidays?
Well, we're touring with Corb until December 23, and then I'm
going to go to my mom's. I usually have a Boxing Day party at my
house, and then we're going to Dawson City!
What's the big family tradition in the Mark household during the
holidays?
My brother's wife sucks the gravy out of the tablecloth. [Laughs
hysterically] Well, that's what happened last year, so I'm hoping it's
a tradition.
Ford Pier's grandparents live about two blocks away from my
mom's place in White Rock, so he always comes over. We have the
kid cocktail lounge. And Carl Newman's parents live pretty close,
too, so he came over last year. We felt pretty adult.
So you still have the props?
Oh, you mean the Colonel! [The
underwear drawer, languishing.
You've put out two CDs, done a couple of Corn Sisters gigs,
emceed at a folk festival—what else have I missed?
I put out a recipe book to go with Terrible Hostess. And aprons.
We're gonna sell them at gigs.
What's the smallest town you played on this tour?
Twin Butte, Alberta. It's two buildings. It's got two buildings: the
Twin Butte general store and bar. They had Mexican food. It holds
about 30 people. We had a really good time and we got to stay on
a ranch.
You put out that Tribute to Nashville CD earlier this year and
you've acted out the movie before in Victoria. Are you hoping to
do that again?
I would love to, but it's a hard one to pull together. I was really gung
shaped dildo] He's in the ho, but then I fizzled. It's a lot of work and a lot of people to not
pay. I'm trying to figure out how we can do it in style, but I haven't
figured that out yet.
You got a pretty good response to the CD in the States, didn't
you?
Yeah, I even sent a copy to Robert Altman, but I haven't heard back
from him yet. But I have an email friend in LA, and he met Karen
Black and Cristina Raines from the movie, and he told them that
we'd made a tribute. They were like, "Oh, that's interesting."
And last but not least... any New Year's resolutions for 2003?
[Long pause] Nope! Absolutely none. •
14 Decembuary 2002 Paper Moon is a Winnipeg-based
band. Terms used to describe their
music include "poppy," "sweet," and
"catchy as hell." Unlike other pop
bands, they like to write songs with
long titles such as "Your Thesaurus
Won't Help You Now" and "Mercury
is Clearly Opposing Neptune".
Their debut album with the equally
lengthy title One Thousand Reasons
To Stay... One Reason To Leave,
released this summer, became a hit
on campus radio and received rave
reviews from the press.
The four members of Paper
Moon can be considered veterans
of the music business. The band
features Allison Somers (ex-B'ehl) on
guitar. Bob Somers (ex-B'ehl and The
Bonaduces) on bass, Chris Hiebert
(also ex-B'ehl and The Bonaduces) on
drums, and Heather Campbell (ex-
The Electrosonics and Bossanova) on
keyboards and guitar.
1 talked to Allison and Chris
before a recent show at the Railway
Club during their first Western tour.
This was before they decided to spray
me with a dose ofBinaca.
DiSCORDER: Can you tell us a bit about the history of Paper Moon
and what the band B'ehl has to do with it?
Allison: B'ehl is me and Melanie (Barnes). We were friends in high
school. Then we recruited Bob. A couple years later Chris came into
B'ehl. It was good for about a year, but then Meianie wanted to go
in a different direction than the three of us—a folkier direction.
She was writing slow, quiet songs. She and I both wrote an equal
amount of songs, so I would counter that with louder and faster
songs. So there was this tug of war and none of us really felt that
good about it. It didn't seem like a concise band.
Chris: It wasn't cohesive at all. It was two different directions and
it was this constant pull.
Allison: Yeah. So we thought that we would just call it quits. We
felt like we really couldn't go any further with it. Then a couple
months later the three of us—Bob, Chris, and I—decided that we
really missed playing together. So we decided to start up a new
band and it turned out that Heather was going to be moving to
Winnipeg. When we were on tour in Vancouver, we bumped into
her and I mentioned that I might be starting up a new band and if
she were to move to Winnipeg we'd love to have her. So she moved
and joined the band as well.
So, do you still consider yourself B'ehl? The name of the band is
from the first B'ehl CD entitled Only A Paper Moon.
Chris: When three quarters of a band come from another band
comparisons are going to be drawn. One thing we all wanted to
avoid when we started out was putting "ex-members of B'ehl, ex-
members of Bonaduces, and ex-members of Bossanova" on the
posters. But instead of starting completely from scratch we still
wanted to have some reference to the past. The first B'ehl album
was Only A Paper Moon, so we figured we'd reference that. That's
where the name came from, 1 guess. I think we are a progression
of B'ehl.
Would a big difference between B'ehl and Paper Moon be that you
dropped the softer songs as Paper Moon?
Allison: It's not even that. We do have some softer songs, but
there's more dynamic to them. They are not just at one level.
Our slow songs have some power to them, which wasn't what
Mel wanted. She just wanted soft all the way through a song. Our
slower songs are more emotional, I guess.
Chris: You know, B'ehl had the two directions, the constant pull,
but now one of sources of that pull is gone, so we are free to go in
the direction that we were intending to go, anyways. More rocky,
more dynamic.
How are you guys enjoying your Western tour so far?
Allison: We had a couple of good shows. It's a little humbling
starting off a new band, but surprisingly we had a good show
in Saskatoon and a good show in Calgary. Kind of starting from
scratch—no one has heard of you.
Chris: Some people have heard of us.
without anything. It really got to me, and I just determined to
myself that I was never going to have a band website do that
again.
Allison: And, I mean, you go to a band's website, and you want
to see something different. You want to see what's new with the
band. When we toured out east and in the States we met quite a
few people. And we realized that the only way to keep in touch
with the people that we met is basically through the website.
Chris: It just makes the band seem active. And it's fun.
Do you ever get any interesting email through the website?
Allison: We got emails from two Paper Moon bands. We got Paper
Moon from Holland who emailed us, sent us a CD and promised us
MORE ROCK, MORE DYNAMIC
Paper Moon Rises Like a Phoenix Out Of Winnipeg
that if v
inted to g
down
there they would take us on
a tour with them. And then
we got another email from
a Paper Moon swing band in
Vancouver.
Allison: Yeah, ther
'ehl fans that somehow found o
Chris: There's this Endearing name, too. Sort of this mark of
quality, 1 guess. [Laughs] We are familiar with the West; we have a
lot of contacts in the West, so it's fairly easy for Endearing bands
to tour out here. It's all friends and family. Everybody knows
everybody else.
Any interesting tour stories this time?
Chris: Okay. A couple days ago, on the way to Nelson, I killed my
first animal on the highway. I ran over this little squirrel. He had
food in his mouth in the middle of the highway. I thought he was
just going to sit there, and then all of a sudden he ran out in front
of the tires.
Allison: That's kind of sad.
Chris: Yeah. I still feel like crap about that. That's my interesting
tour story. I killed a squirrel and I'm really sorry.
Allison: Yeah, I felt so bad for you. I just want to give you a big
hug.
Is that a van you were driving?
Allison: Yes. We rented a big-ass van this time. Old 1989 van or
something. Makes a lot of noises.
Chris: Eleven passenger van. And we stop about every hour for
gas.
Who runs and maintains your website?
Chris: I do.
Compared to other bands' websites, the Paper Moon website is
updated very frequently.
Chris: It is.
Allison: It's very important.
Chris: I used to be in The Bonaduces, and 1 used to maintain the
website for that, but wasn't in control of the content. I was very,
very frustrated by the lack of updates. We would go for months
of them.
Chris: Yeah, the Paper Moon
Orchestra. They heard about us I guess a couple of years ago when
we first started and didn't think much of us. I guess they now just
found out that we are more active, so the guy emailed me and
said, "Just so you know, we've changed our name to the Paper
Moon Orchestra..."
Allison: "Since you guys are going national and everything."
[Laughs]
Chris: "Just to avoid any confusion."
Describe and explain the Binaca project.
Chris: Ok. Well, what happens is Allison sprays Binaca into people's
mouths, and i take a Polaroid of it as it's happening. And we study
the results and determine whether or not that person is a robot
based on their reaction. [Laughs]
Allison: And it's not like we are against robots at all. It's just that
we understand that they are around and we are curious as to how
Chris: Pure statistical analysis.
And how many photographs have you collected so far?
Allison: We got a lot. How many did we get out east?
Chris: We got about thirty. Out west on this tour we have about
forty. By the time we get home we'll have about seventy.
And you are going to post them on your website? Or maybe your
living room wall?
Allison: The eastern ones are already posted under the photo
gallery on our website. And then we'll post these ones when we get
back. We have a little write-up for each person.
Chris: It's just another way to have human contact with the
audience.
Allison: Everyone wants to see their picture on the website. You
know what I mean? [Laughs] •
Now that you've read all about the Paper Moon website, you can visit
it yourself at http-y/www.papermoon.ca.
15 DiSCORDER "We're like a
fucking boy
band."
1 remember, back in the day, a little interview conducted in a van
outside the Brickyard. I was plum thrilled to get to chat it up with
four very cute Island boys—Hot Hot Heat—who were as eager
to please in print as on the stage. Not too much has changed in
that department: Steve Bays (voice, keyboards) and Paul Hawley
(drums) could still talk their way out of a wet paper bag without
leaving a dent. I fell just as foolishly for their good-natured answers
this time around as last. So much for in-depth journalism...
Or not! What could have been a very dull, very complimentary
article got a boost of trouble-buggin' when we here at DiSCORDER
were informed that the band was very disappointed with the way
things had gone down. Oh? Pray tell, what was so very dissatisfactory about all those smiles and leg-pats? If there was a problem
with what was said, there was nothing behind their good-natured
grins
) let me know at the
time. Nothing that came out
until their manager called the
offices to air their lengthy concerns about probing questions
and tone of voice.
The band's new album,
while sounding not a single
shred like early HHH material,
is retardedly catchy and well-
played. 1 like it. Present tense. What I don't like, however, is the
fact that these boys have become masters of two-faced media
double-speak. Dustin Hawthorne (bass) remained silent for most
of the interview, as I snapped at him for watching TV and not paying attention early on, so he's exempt from said criticism. I had
him pegged as the villain originally, but I was to see the error of
my bruised-ego ways. Dante DeCaro (guitar) also went light on the
Q&A, possibly because a lot of what I wanted to know had to do
with skeletons in the closet. The other two more than made up for
this lop-sided silence, offering up humorous answers to any question Doretta [Lau, on secret assignment for mag with a payroll] or
I sent in their direction, whether the question was deserving of a
joke or not.
What I really wanted to know about was what they'd done
with their old singer. Matty disappeared a few years back, and
there are many rumours floating around as to why he's no longer
with the band. These rumours will keep on floating, as I got shit for
a response. Funny Steve said, "we broke his kneecaps and his elbows and folded him into a suitcase and sent him to Hawaii, where
we pay his living expenses..."
"...to remain silent," added Jolly Paul. Heh. Good stuff. And then
he went diplo. "He had a different outlook. It wasn't necessarily
a bad outlook, but it was a different outlook. Dustin and Steve
and I always wanted to branch out and do different things, and
now I feel like we can do anything. With Matt, I don't want to say
anything against him—he's a great guy—but we were definitely
limited... melodically."
Okay, so enough about Matty. Bad blood smoothed over real
nicely there.
What's less easy to smooth over is the fact that the band ROYALLY SUCKED during the first few months of its reconfigured existence. I might be low-balling it there, but that's for the true fans
to decide. "We played shows for six months that we should never
have played," Dante's quick to admit
"There's stuff we were doing six months ago that I wish we
weren't doing. There's stuff we were doing six days ago that I wish
16 Decembuary 2002
HOW BAD DO THEY WANT IT?
Not Just Another Interview with Hot Hot Heat
BY JULIE COLERO : PHOTOS BY SAM WISEMAN
we weren't doing..." It seems that Steve's grabbed the Sharing Scissors and started to run with them, sharp side up.
"Like, I'm not going to want to do this interview in a week, you
know..." Ouch! Paul may have just stabbed me in the eye!
If only I had stayed within the tame realm of fashion, none of
the ensuing trouble and chiding phone calls would have occurred.
Glancing through the press pack that Sub Pop sent to Doretta, I
was amazed at how much people give a shit about bad perms and
tight pants. Hot Hot Heat's "look" has never really factored into
my interest in their music, but I might be in the minority with that,
since Dustin's hair is in JANE magazine. A description of his music?
Not yet.
"We're like a fucking boy band," states Paul, answering a completely unrelated question, but what the fuck, I'm sure I'm already
pissing people off, so I might as well take this one out of context.
This one, on the other hand, doesn't need any help:
According to Steve, "the more attention a band gets, the
more they're held up to the mainstream. When you're held up to
the mainstream, you might stand out a bit more. When you're
at punk shows and you look like us, it's nothing, but when you're
playing clubs like [the Commodore], I don't know. Basically, if you
see one guy that dresses a bit weird, you're like, 'Oh, that's a guy
that dresses a bit weird.' But when you see four guys, you're like,
'What's their story?' You know, like, 'Who do they hang out with?
What parties do they go to? What kind of drinks do they drink?'
You get curious. At least I do..." Steve then proceeded to talk about
guys in hockey gear, and I'm pretty sure he had lost us all by then.
I think his point was rooted in team spirit, or in disputing the boy-
band claim. Thank God Dustin was good enough to clarify the
ramble with this piece of sarcastic simplicity: "Basically, we're just
trying to get attention."
Right. So black clothes stay stinky, because otherwise they get
faded; falling off of drum kits gets you "rips in the wrong places";
and all this could lead to mass confusion. How? Hot Hot Heat has
been so hyped on its trend-setting style that the fans are bound to
be disappointed by seeing the scruff-dom that is their live show. Or
so the band fears. But who the hell cares? They do. If they didn't,
they wouldn't dwell so damn long on a subject that they protest is
way played-out.
Oh well. The band is probably out shopping right now, using
its hard-earned break (five months of touring is no small feat!) to
start spending its sweet new major-label deal fortune. Those boys
won't look scruffy for long! For those not in the know, Hot Hot
Heat jacked out an EP on Sub Pop in the summer, and their current
LP is on the very same. ("We asked them to ask us to send them
[a demo]," is how Dante explains the birth of the SP connection.)
The next album, however, will be on Warner. The band insists that
there was no bidding war, and that it picked "the right team to be
working with." No shit. Paul, Steve, Dustin and Dante are rumored
to be millionaires. Maybe they'll get Jawbreaker'ed and the indie
kids will have a good laugh...
Apparently, though, the band wasn't laughing when I mentioned that a number of people don't like the Heat. It's quite bum-
outting to have to learn that all those scenesters you work so hard
to impress don't really give a positive shit. Then again, people are
wary of excessive fakery; trash-talking behind people's backs isn't
cool (and neither is hearing about it second or third hand via the
Telephone Game); and sweet-talking after the fact doesn't fix the
trash-talking that went before it. Never mind that I'm talking trash
myself—I'll willingly admit to hyper-hypocritical tendencies; that's
just how I work. But let's not let that stand in the way of my rant.
Oh, fuck it, I'm not really that upset any more. They're just boys
with an agenda, why should I try to stand in their way?
In an aftermath email, Steve mentioned that Dustin "[is] always pretty indifferent when it comes to press (we can't change
that) and usually does his own thing..." Maybe that's for the best.
During the real live interview, Steve tried to describe the band's actions in the music business as "kind of a big experiment and a big
game," and I have to wonder whether all four members are ready
to play. "It all comes down to 'how hard do you want to work?'
[and] 'how bad do you want it?'" according to Paul. Maybe that's
true, but do the ends justify the means? And even if they do, does
that mean you shouldn't be able to provide a straight answer to a
couple of simple questions? Does it mean that being genuine is a
permanently dated fashion statement in the industry?
Whatever. The record's still good. Rock is rock and if the personalities get in the way during schmoozing and media politicking
then at least at the end of the day you can still go home, turn up
the bass knob on your stereo, and forget all about it while the CD
spins. What's your idea of the perfect date?
Torry: I don't know. I mean, I like to eat—I like to go out to dinner
or to the movies. 1 don't know; it's so simple. To be honest, I've
never really been on many dates. Like, I've had boyfriends and we
would go out and stuff, but I've never really had someone I wasn't
really going out with come and take me on a date.
Allison: I think that's because we go out with guys that are really
immature, so they don't really take you on a real date. They take
you out for pizza or back to someone's house or something. I like to
go out to eat and then go back home and do something like watch
your favourite movie together or TV show.
How do you maintain your sculpted form?
Allison: Well, we were just on a TV appearance and I saw my legs
and I was wishing they were a little more sculpted. 1 have short
legs, so I'd like them to be really, really thin—or else really long.
Torry: I'd love to stretch my legs.
Allison: Like in a candy-stretching machine.
Torry: We keep joking that we're porking up for different things.
Like when we did Jay Leno, we were like, "Yeah, let's pork up!"
Allison: I don't really feel very sculpted.
Torry: No.
Allison: I exercise—I think we all do—but we don't really diet. We
might be healthy, but we'll never be those hardbodies.
Torry: And especially on the road—we totally all move around a lot
on-stage and then, right afterwards, I get SO HUNGRY and then I
just end up eating a lot right before I go to bed which is always the
really smart idea.
Allison: It's called the Sumo Diet.
Torry: We're totally on that. That's the diet we're on.
What's your beauty regimen?
Allison: We're not really that fussy, but after the show you have
to wash your face. It's nasty because it's covered in salty sweat
and make-up. And we do the basic stuff, you know—you wash, you
tone, you moisturize. And we take showers at night, because, you
know, you just want to get the sweat off, so we wake up clean.
Is there a special someone?
Torry: Not for me.
Allison: I have a special someone right now.
What are the three things that you can't live without?
Torry: I'd say the other three girls in the band.
Allison: That's a nice thing to say! How can I top that?! I don't
wanna answer then.
Torry: We can both say that.
Allison: The other three.
What do you think of girls who ask guys out?
Both: I think that's cool.
Allison: I never, ever had the guts when I was younger. Actually, I
asked out my man now. Actually, my mom asked him out for me,
in a way. 1 hinted! I was trying to be aggressive, but I'm so shy. My
mom saw him and was like, "Oh, you're the guy my daughter has a
crush on," and he was so oblivious; he didn't realize that I did, even
though I gave him many signs. I did everything but say, "Will you
go out with me?" I think it's really hard for girls. That would be the
one thing that I'm not jealous of guys about. Everything else that
guys have I want—I mean, not the dick, but everything else! I mean
their way of life. I'm jealous that they don't brush their hair and
they can be dirty and girls still dig it—like guys in bands.
Torry: It's "sexy" for guys in bands to be dirty.
Allison: The one thing that really sucks is when they hit puberty—
I'm so glad we didn't have to deal with that. Guys hitting puberty
is a major problem. And asking girls out. Especially when they're
younger. I can't even imagine that stress.
Torry: I think it's cool when girls ask guys out. 1 think they should
doit.
Allison: I think guys would probably like that.
You know the Donnas; you've
seen them before, rockin' the
stage and doling out catchy rock
W roll guitar licks like they're
going out of style. That much
makes it into all the magazines
over and over again.
What you never hear about
is what happens at the end of
the day: what they do when
they get home, what they like
to veg out to on TV, what kinds
of guys drive them wild. Who
cares whether they use a Gibson Thunderbird or Zildjian
cymbals?!—the public wants to
knows who's got a beau!
It's these kinds of hard-hitting questions that drive us here
at DiSCORDER, and so we cornered Donna C. (Torry, drums)
and Donna R. (Allison, guitar) to
ask them the questions that you
Torry: I know! I can't get the nerve up either.
Do you kiss on a first date?
Allison: It's possible.
Torry: Yeah. Sure. Why not? I mean, if I like the guy! If I'm just
going on a date with him and I don't really like him, then maybe
How would you describe your style?
Allison: As a band I would say all of us are comfortable wearing
jeans and sneakers most of the time. Or boots, if it's cold out.
We like to look like girls, but at the same time we never want to
look overdone, because that's kind of like what people expect of
us. I think we're really uncomfortable when we do photo shoots
DONNAS: IN TUNE AND IN-DEPTH
Donna C. and Donna R. Let You In On the Nitty-Gritty
and people try to make us overly sexy. We're all really different,
you know, so when you try to make us more like these hot, sexy
little numbers it gets really uncomfortable, because one person
has big boobs, one person doesn't, one person's tall, one person's
short—we've all got insecurities and I think we feel much more
comfortable when we can just be who we are in normal life. And
we're not tomboys either. I mean, we wear a little bit of makeup—
we don't wanna look haggard—but at the same time I think [we try
to be] just comfortable and natural.
Torry: Yeah, no midriffs.
Allison: We don't like to scare people when they see a picture of
us and it's really over the top with makeup and hair and then they
see us in person, and we're not like that. So we've been fighting a
lot to try to keep our style visible, because in a photo shoot people
always want you to do something that you don't do normally. It's .
really hard to argue with it.
What do you have to say to people that look up to you?
Allison: Well, there are so many new girls at our shows that are
saying that they're starting bands and it just makes us so excited,
because there have always been girl bands that support other
younger girls forming bands and becoming comfortable with
playing instruments, but I think we're one of the only bands that
doesn't make them feel like they have to be overly political, you
know what I mean? We're not telling people how to live their life
or how to do it; we're just basically saying, "Why can't you start a
band? You don't have to be a genius and political; you don't have to
be beautiful; you don't have to be a model." I think there are a lot of
girl-bands that have the message that you don't have to know how
to play, but I think we're saying you can be a normal girl and play
well! Maybe not the best, but you can figure it out eventually.
Torry: Just don't care if people are putting you down. Try not to
care—it's hard, but keep going; keep practicing.
Allison: There are too many girl bands that can't play and it gives
a bad message. I mean, I think it's better than no girl-bands, but
it gives a message of, "Hey, here's another girl-band that can't
play!" And it perpetuates the whole "Girls can't play with males"
[attitude]. You need to focus more on the playing.
What would make you think twice about dating someone?
Torry: If they didn't shower. Ever.
Allison: If you found out they cheated on anyone. It doesn't have
to be you or anyone you know, but just if they've cheated before.
Torry: Or if they're stuck-up or if you see them being rude to other
people.
Allison.Yeah, even if they're really nice to you, but if they don't
have manners or common courtesy—that kind of stuff bothers
me, too. We could make a list!
Torry: I know! Many, many,
many things!
What's the biggest fashion
no-no?
Allison: Wow, there's so many!
Torry: I know!
Allison: Well,
wallet-chains, but we actually
have friends that wear wallet-
chains, so it's kind of tongue-
in-cheek. I think anything can be pulled off by the right person.
Torry: I'd say I'm over the boy's ties. Can we put that one away?
Allison: I would say smeared lipstick and that whole "I'm a fucked-
up looking whore" makeup-style. I don't really dig that. It's kind of
out for me. Over it.
Torry: Hated it. Birkenstocks.
Allison: Birkenstocks are always out with our band!
Torry: Yeah, no Birkenstocks.
How do you know when it's real?
Allison: When you know that they don't care about anybody else
in the world but you. And when you look really ugly in the morning
and they still like you. That's really important. No makeup, big ugly
hair, nasty-looking—and they still like it. Yeah, that's love.
If you weren't doing music, what would you be doing?
Torry: I'd wanna be an FBI profiler. 1 was gonna be an actress—
that's still a thing—but also the FBI profiler.
Allison: I couldn't imagine that.
Torry: I can't either!
Allison: You're so happy, you'd be torn to shreds.
Torry: It's true, it's true! I read all these FBI books, but then I have
nightmares and 1 have to stop reading them.
Allison: I was going to be a translator. Of Spanish. 1 was able
to read pretty advanced books without using a dictionary, but
it's been four years since I was right in my prime and I can still
understand it whn people talk to me, but when it come out of my
mouth it's all, "Rrrrwifoenekwokmog." Really garbled.
Torry: She's insanely good at languages.
Allison: I do like languages in general.
Torry: She picks them up quick.
Allison: 1 don't know what else I would have done. When I was a kid
I wanted to do everything. I wanted to be an artist and 1 wanted to
be a writer—I would have done anything as long as it was creative.
I'd never be a scientist. Can you imagine? I can't imagine. •
17 DiSCORDER Chicks On Speed are no flavour of the month. From their humble
beginnings as art school dropouts in Munich, putting on performance art gigs in illegal clubs, the trio of Australian Alex Murray-
Leslie, New Yorker Melissa Logan, and Munich native Kiki Moorse
has been defying paradigms. They blur the lines between the art
world and the music underground, redefine the meaning of "performance," challenge the institutions of fashion and consumerism,
and pull it all off while making bodies shake on the dance floors of
clubs the world over.
Murray-Leslie and Logan met Moorse in Munich in 1997vwhile
working on an art school project: a roving club night that would fly
under the radar of local restrictions. Moorse describes it as "this illegal bar that was always in different locations, and we invited different people—like musicians,
artists and musicians—to just
do things, and it was all, like,
a non-profit thing." Shortly
thereafter, the three of them
ended up working together at
a techno club called Ultraschall
where they got to know the
DJs and the German electronic
music scene. Disillusioned with
art school, they wanted to do a project together—something different—so they put together an installation piece called "I Wanna
Be A DJ, Baby" in which they took over a club, and the three of
them stood behind DJ decks, but rather than spin records, they
just smashed them repeatedly while a pre-recorded sound-collage tape played in the background. Still art students at heart,
they conceived the idea of taking their concept to the next level
and creating a whole fake band persona that they would try and
market merchandise for. They put together the "box set"—a sort
of collector's set that included a t-shirt, a paper record, a tape, and
a fake interview—and put it up for sale in the hippest record store
in Munich. Naturally, it didn't sell. Right around this time, however,
they were approached by a friend—a sound engineer—who suggested they put together a track. Having previously settled for
poking fun at the "band/DJ" concept as an art experiment, they
had not yet considered the possibilities of actually making music,
especially since none of them played any instruments. With the
help of a producer, however, they suddenly realized the potential
of musical output. In art school, they were pressed to develop a
style, which really meant mimicking their professor's style—and
after having done things the way they were told to do them, they
would get an exhibition in a white box that would be attended by
thirty people—in effect, a great deal of work for very little. "But,"
said Murray-Leslie, "if we do a 7", and we make 500 copies, it'll go
all over the world and reach so many more people—it's less elite".
Thus, Go! Records was formed. Chicks On Speed's concept was
to do ten 7"s, each one having a cover of a song they liked on the A
side, and a remix by Chicks On Speed on the B side. Murray-Leslie
explains that their reason for doing covers was "to understand
music by imitating things we loved." These songs included the
Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", the B-52s' "Gimme Back My
Man", and "Warm Leatherette" by The Normals, which became a
smash club hit that sparked their rise to fame within the European
electro scene. The songs they chose to cover also offer a revealing
look at Chicks On Speed's influences. Murray-Leslie brings up the
fact that, conceptually, she sees the band aligned with Debord and
18 Decembuary 2002
FUCK DANCE, LET'S ART
Chicks On Speed Fight Fashion with Fashion
WORDS BY SAELAN : INTERVIEW BY DUNCAN MCHUGH
the Situationist movement, but agrees that in the musical sphere,
Chicks On Speed belongs to the tradition of feminist post-punk exemplified by the Delta 5, Kleenex, The Slits, and The Raincoats (of
whom she says, gleefully, "They are our mothers!"). The planned
set of ten 7"s only got to number six before the girls got bored with
doing covers, but the popularity they had won springboarded them
to collaborations with DMX Krew, Patrick Pulsinger, and Gigolo Records' infamous DJ Hell. They releases a series of EPs, culminating
in the mid-2000 release of their full-length debut Chicks On Speed
Will Save us All! They followed it up quickly the same year with Re-
re/eases of the Unreleases and Monsters Rule This World.
When they first started performing their songs live, the girls
lip-synched to playback, but after just a few shows, they realized
two things: one, lip-synching is boring, and two, they weren't very
good at it. Characteristically, they didn't want to be restricted
to already determined mediums, objects, and technology, and
they began to develop the playful, confrontational live show that
they're known for today. Continuing in the multimedia vein that
they started in, Chicks On Speed have an army of props and accessories to bring on stage: knitting needles, blacklights, video
projections, feather-dusters, strobes, and costumes they make
themselves. Also, as they proudly announce in their live show staple "We Don't Play Guitars" (which is unreleased, due to a brief and
messy brush with Virgin records, which currently owns the rights
to it), they stick faithfully to a fully electronic creative process.
Chicks On Speed is proud to show the world that you don't need to
be a "guitar geek" to make music. As Moorse relates, "We want to
make things ourselves, or collaborate with others to make things.
The guitar has so much history, it's so loaded with connotations
that you almost can't pick one up without becoming involved in
that history... we want to create things that don't have any connotations, then we can influence the instrument."
This ties in closely to Chicks On Speed's perspective on the
so-called "Electroclash movement" that's currently sweeping the
fashion and music press. Coming fresh off Larry Tee's Electroclash
2002 Tour with Peaches, WIT, and Tracy + the Plastics, Chicks On
Speed can speak with authority. "This whole Electroclash thing,"
says Moorse, "one part of it is that it's really attractive for women,
it's based on technology, it's much more accessible to be part of
this movement". Murray-Leslie points out that, despite the focus
on New York in discussions of Electroclash, it's not a movement
based on one city—she presents Detroit and Berlin as examples—
or even really on a single genre. Incorporating elements of punk,
post-punk, and various styles of electronic music, she identifies
Electroclash as something that moves between contexts, open to
everything. Being more open to women, Electroclash also has the
advantage of not being part of the history of rock, or partaking in
it's macho, hero-worshipping guitar-god hierarchies. Says Moorse,
with a satisfied smile, "We're building it, not men." This, of course,
brings up the issue that the Electroclash tour featured all female
performers but was put on—"hosted", if you will—by a man, Larry
Tee. Moorse admits that, "At first, we were really suspicious about
this whole tour... we were pretty suspicious also about WIT, but
now, after touring for two weeks, we feel that it just really works
together and it's been really well received." Moorse also concedes
that, as a categorization, "Electroclash" is somewhat arbitrary.
"There are worlds," she says, "in-between WIT and Peaches, and
Tracy [+ the Plastics] is very different, too." All the same, however,
Chicks On Speed doesn't mind being labeled as "Electroclash" right
now. As Murray-Leslie says, "Right now we are Electroclash, but
we were doing something different before, and next year, we're
doing something completely different... so it's really a temporary
thing." When pressed as to whether the term might have been created as more of a marketing ploy than as a way to characterize the
substance of a movement, Moorse is reticent. "In America," she
says, "it just works that way—people have to have some kind of
label. I mean, electro music's been around a long time, especially in
Germany—at least since the '70s, since Kraftwerk".
While touring on the Electroclash bill this year, Chicks On
Speed were pushing polemics along with the party: possibly the
most memorable aspect of their video projections was a huge,
scrolling culture jam on The Face magazine that took the format of
the magazine's traditional cover with a picture of an upside-down
American flag that read, rather than "The Face", "The Fake". The
girls decried the woes of capitalism, consumerism and, in their
new single "Fashion Rules", the fashion industry, calling for an
end to "fashion victims" and exhorting their fans to "break the
rules". Social commentary is nothing new in the Chicks' music:
their early hits "Eurotrash Girl" and "Glamour Girl" were ironic,
pseudo-house anti-anthems that poked tongue-in-cheek fun at
the vacuousness of the European club scene by drawing attention
to the surface of the music to expose the emptiness underneath.
The group has drawn criticism, however, for designing and selling expensive clothing and merchandise while at the same time
purporting to wage an assault on capitalism and the exploitative
world of fashion. Chicks On Speed, however, does not see the diversity of their projects as a contradiction. Moorse feels it's an im- portant point that they only started selling clothes because people
were always asking to buy their stage costumes, and Murray-Leslie
mentions that even as artists they have to live from their work,
and while criticizing mass consumerism they want to create competition with big business and encourage people to make things
for themselves. Chicks On Speed see their merchandise as a "small
business" endeavour, and the band is all for eliminating the characterless invasion of big-box retailers and ubiquitous global corporations in favour of a return to the "corner-shop" model of small
business. Discussing the growing, alarming power of corporations
like Nike, Microsoft, and Starbucks, Murray-Leslie says, "We can
do it our way, and we can do it better." As with all their projects,
Chicks On Speed like to work independently or to collaborate with
friends and like-minded individuals, and they say that the prices of
their merchandise just reflect their commitment to making sure
that everyone who works with them and for them is paid a real
wage, not just an artist's pittance.
As to their stance on fashion, Chicks On Speed's main focus is
to encourage a DIY ethic and aesthetic, and all their own creations
are meant as a rebellion against the exploitative nature of big
fashion houses like Prada and Versace that enslave the creativity
of individual designers to the will of the label boss, who gets all the
credit. In light of that, it may seem a little strange that Chanel's
Karl Lagerfeld (who also appears in the picture) took the cover
photo for their new single, "Fashion Rules". Chicks On Speed explain that this came about while they were on set for a V magazine
photo shoot featuring a number of electro musicians. Karl Lagerfeld happened to be present and, on the spur of the moment, they
asked him to do a photo for their album cover. He not only agreed,
but let Chicks keep the photos free of charge. Moorse says of him,
"Even though he works hand-in-hand with the fashion industry,
he really helps a lot for artists and young designers—there's like
these two sides of him... 1 think we used him for our purposes, you
know, and he doesn't mind; he laughs about it. He's a really cool
guy, actually."
Now that "Fashion Rules" is on the shelves and the Electroclash tour is over, Chicks On Speed have no plans to rest on their
laurels. Their new full-length, 99 Cents, is due out next spring and
they're already planning a European tour. They're also planning
on doing more art shows next year: an installation at the Jeffrey
Deitch Gallery in New York and an exhibition at the unbelievably
prestigious fashion museum at the Louvre, in Paris. Currently,
Chicks On Speed are occupied with preparations for showing and
merchandising their new "Chixel" laptop bag—an exact copy of a
laptop bag currently sold by Chanel, which is linked with the Karl
Lagerfeld photo shoot and the promotion for "Fashion Rules".
They're even planning ahead for a new musical direction following
the release of 99 Cents: a collaboration with esteemed U.K. experimental techno producer Cristian Vogel on what Alex Murray-Leslie
calls "a folk album." I guess we'll just have to wait and see... •
"LESBO-FOR-DISCO AND VHSflEABY"
Deconstructing Tracy and the Plastics
BY SAELAN: ART BY AARON ROLICK
Tracy + the Plastics is a low-fi techno-punk band from Olympia,
Washington (via Brooklyn) following in the footsteps of Le Tigre
and The Need. It's also a fractured multimedia video art experiment
in the politics of identity and sexuality. The bandmembers—Tracy,
Nikki, and Cola—are all the brainchildren and alter-egos of lesbian
feminist provocateur Wynne Greenwood. When they perform live,
Wynne is Tracy—singing and beat-slinging with her Boss DR-5 drum
machine, Akai 612 disc sampler, and whatever bargain-basement
keyboards she can get her hands on. Nikki and Cola back her up,
but they're only on stage in two dimensions—as pre-recorded video
projections. Rising from the chill mists of the Pacific Northwest like
a slap in the face togetyourass shaking, Tracy's art-punk manifesto
is something refreshingly different from today's suddenly ubiquitous
purveyors of apolitical electro. Take notice.
DiSCORDER: To start off, how long have you been performing as
Tracy * the Plastics? How and why did you get started?
Wynne: I've been performing as this band for almost three years
now. It started as The Tooth and then became The OK Miss Suit
and then Tracy + the Plastics. Nikki just wrote all these songs and
then asked me to sing them for her because she has a really awful
singing voice—talking voice, too, actually. We just got really stoned
one night and ended up making all these 4-track recordings and
the first Tracy tape came out.
What were you involved in before this project?
My band with Sally Scardino called Meme America, where we
played live soundtracks to silent movies I made. The soundtrack
to Meme America: Part 2 is available on Toyo Records. I used to run
this movie house called the Murdra where we showed independent
videos/films by v\
Could you maybe introduce "Tracy" and her bandmates and explain a little who and what they are?
Well, right now Tracy is in a big argument with Nikki and Cola
and coincidentally Nikki is in a big fight with Tracy and Cola and
all around they're having some problems. Like, they all think the
other ones are crazy—totally looped—but really they've just all
been touring too much...
Nikki won't stop painting—she paints anything, like a walking
zombie with a paintbrush^ in each outstretched hand. Whatever
gets in her way becomes her weird art. Cola yells too much—her
mouth is open and she never brushes her teeth and she talks too
much about smoking weed, which she quit doing, but she really is
the genius. Tracy is the believer and the feeler.
Do you find it limiting or restrictive at all to be performing with pre-recorded video
projections?
Yes! I'm trying to figure out
ways right now to make the
videos more live and spontaneous. Maybe do some live
editing?
Your press release says "a Tracy + the Plastics performance attempts to destroy the inherent hierarchical dynamic of mass
video's say/see spaces by placing as much importance on the
video images as the live performer." Could you elaborate on that
a little?
Here I'm talking about the actual form of video as an artistic and
informative medium, as well as the culture that's historically
claimed it as their platform (the money that buys the ads and the
money that sees the ads and buys the product) etc., etc. Lots of
people talk back to their TVs. Lots of people yell, even scream at
their TVs. But whose TV in turn responds to them? I'm creating a
dialogue with the medium of video, a medium that is used mostly
as a tool of mass nfedia that we're supposed to just watch and believe and never talk to or create.
Do Tracy + the Plastics have an agenda?
I used to have all these mottos, let me see if 1 can think of them.
"Kick 'em in the teeth"—I think that was one.
"All the modernists, drop a beat..."
"Lesbo-for-disco and VHS-ready!"
Was I on drugs? But really, our agenda is simple: to destroy the
systems of domination and discrimination present in American
culture. We started where we were: suburban America in front of a
TV, pissing our pants when we heard Black Sabbath on the radio of
the car that just drove by.
You've featured a number of Olympia musicians on your albums
(i.e., Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney, Sarah Utter of
Bangs). I guess it's safe to assume you've got strong ties to the
Olympia scene. Any hometown bands you'd like to give a shout-
out to?
Beth Ditto and The Gossip! Jeri Beard and 1774! The King Cobra!
Thrones! Thrones! Growing! Anna O.! Donna Dresch! Panama!
What's in your CD player right now?
Missy Elliot, Under Construction. It's my roommate's. •
19 DiSCORDER 3=& mLUM
Decembuary's Artist of the Month is Sonja Ahlers. KUTM DISTRACTION/'
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This art is suitable for framing or taping to your fridge. -
Think back to 1991. It was on the 13th of February that Los Angeles police
officers severely beat Rodney King. The Gulf War wound to a close, and sanctions were set up against Iraq. Jeffrey Dahmer confessed to the gruesome
murders of 17 men. Personally, I struggled through sixth grade in a body that
was definitely changing for the worse, drowning in a sea of hormones and
inappropriate thoughts. However, it wasn't all bad: unbeknownst to me, 1991
was also the heyday of grunge. The unprecedented hybrid of punk and metal,
infused with grit, anger and lots of distortion was flourishing, as yet uncor-
rupted by corporate interests and the mainstream media. It was in this year
that legendary grunge-rockers L7 founded Rock for Choice. Amongst a spate
of clinic bombings and a rising tide of anti-choice activism, the first show was
organized to raise money for the Feminist Majority Foundation, a funding
body linked to Ms. Magazine. That historic first show, held at the Palace in
LA on October 21, 1991, featured the unbeatable line-up of Nirvana, Hole and
Sister Double Happiness.
The event represented a perfect partnership of art and activism. The
power of good music to enlighten and motivate the public has a/ways been at
the heart of Rock for Choice. As Donita Sparks told the Rolling Stone in 1994,
";t used to bum me out as a kid when I would go to peace or ERA rallies with
my mother, and there would be people singing 'Kum Bah Yah, my sister, Kum
Bah Yah,' it was just so unmotivating. So we decided that we just had to rock
the house. That was a good way to get more people involved, and if they didn't
want to get involved, at least we had their money."
The event took off in the United States, garnering widespread media
attention, and featuring such greats over the years as Pearl Jam, Iggy Pop,
Joan Jett, Bikini Kill, Fugazi, Liz Phair and Rage Against the Machine, among
Vancouver's first homegrown Rock for Choice took place in 1995. I sat
down with long-time event organiser Meegan Maultsaid of Che:Chapter 127 to
talk about how the benefit has changed over the years.
DiSCORDER: How and when did you become involved with Rock
for Choice?
MEEGAN: 1 started the Vancouver chapter in '95. Basically I just
saw something in a magazine, I think it was Spin, and there was
a full page ad explaining what Rock for Choice was about, that it
had been going on for four or five years in the States, and different
cities have different shows. I just thought it was an interesting
political thing that hadn't happened in Vancouver, so 1 basically
just founded the chapter. The first year was pretty small, a show
at Hastings Community Centre with Sparkmarker, with 200
people or something like that. The following year I approached
a friend of mine, Denise Shepard, who's a writer. She has a lot of
access to bands, and I wanted to tap into some larger bands, which
we did. We got Bif Naked and
54-40. Essentially from there
it's just grown and branched
out. Two years ago was the
first year we diversified, and
had a four or five event show
under the umbrella of Rock for
Choice. We try to bring in other DV QIICV \A/FRR
communities of people. And Dl OUO' "VLDD
this year, again, it's going to
be eight different things, some of them collectively organized and
some of them farmed out to different people. So yeah, the vision
of it has grown beyond the idea of there being one show reflecting
the ideas of one community.
Where exactly is the money going?
The money gets split three ways. It's divided between the
Everywomen's Health Centre, Elizabeth Bagshaw Clinic, and the
Pro-Choice Action Network. They basically decide what they want
to use it for.
What I know about your band, Che:Chapter 127, suggests that
you see very little separation between art and activism. Tell me
about this.
You know, for myself, I would say that I see no separation. The
band started as a vehicle for radical political ideas. I wouldn't
be doing music if it didn't have a political basis. I'd say we're a
community project, that's how I look at my band. We're signed to
G7 Welcoming Committee, which is the label run by Propaghandi,
and we have access to a lot of different networking and links.
When we tour, we try to not play rock shows. We play benefits,
and we travel with tons of literature from AK press about all kinds
of diverse movements. That stuff is really important to me. The
bands that I love and admire, they're not necessarily overt in their
political content.
Who are they, for example?
The bands that I love? Well, Rage Against the Machine was a big
influence on me. Every time I do an interview now and I say that
people always shake their heads as if it's not okay for me to like
them since they're signed to a major label, and blah blah blah. But
so what? They've sold ten million records! Think of all those kids
who live in rural communities, who have no access to political
information, although it's easier now because of the Internet. But
when Rage started, they would tour with tables and literature,
and even the websites they've listed inside their CDs have a lot of
22 Decembuary 2002
FREEDOM TO ROCK, FREEDOM TO
Meegan Maultsaid And Seven Years of Rocking for
influence. I think people underrate the power of that, of young
people having access to information.
There's a connection between that and Rock for Choice as a
political movement. People go, "Why do you need to keep doing
it? Abortion is legal." But it's always under threat. First of all,
any left-wing movement is constantly under threat, and second
of all, for myself, Rock for Choice isn't just about all of us who are
white, middle-class women who live in the city, and have access to
safe, legal abortion. What about the women in Afghanistan, or in
Chiapas? To me, it's a broader thing. Yes, it's about reproductive
freedoms, but it's also about women's rights over their bodies and
their minds. For me, that's why I keep doing it, why I'm driven
by it, why I want to keep rocking it. It's not like: This is Rock for
Choice, it's about abortion or not abortion. No! It's a metaphor for
talking about the women's movement, and essentially a humanistic movement, people's freedoms.
There's been some really weird stuff going on lately in Canada,
namely anti-choice activists challenging the status of abortion
under the Canada Health Act, in New Brunswick, writing to
legislators and saying that abortion shouldn't be funded because
its not "medically necessary." What do you see as happening
with that?
That's ridiculous! You wonder what they mean by "not medically
necessary." Although you can juxtapose that to work in favour
of the pro-choice movement, saying that religious people get
involved and feel that they have some definitive statement to
make about it, when really it's a medical procedure. What the fuck
does it have to do with religion? What they're saying, it sounds like
having your wisdom teeth pulled shouldn't be covered! Abortion
is a very common thing. Its not like one out of ten million people
gets pregnant.
The right to have a baby is just as important as the right to be
able to abort it, if need be.
That's why it's called choice. It should be up to the individual.
CHOOSE
It's an interesting thing, because in the last few years I've gotten
feedback from people who are asking why we keep doing it; it just
doesn't seem as important anymore. I kind of have a dichotomous
viewpoint. On the one hand, I feel like the state of the world, post
9-11, there are other things that I as an activist do feel are more
pertinent. But if you look at it as talking about women's rights,
thinking globally and acting locally, having analysis of it being
about broader things, then I think it's more relevant.
Looking at our organizers, we're all white, middle-class, mostly
women, including one transwoman, and it could be easy for us to
talk about it without having a
deeper analysis. We're making the
program bigger; I don't want it to
be just about the bands, and pic-
pT " |"_~ — tures of bands, and a rock event,
UliOICc but more of a radical event. So
we're having workshops on Saturday, some about the pro-choice
movement, and others which are
totally diverse, and on the Sunday
we're having an action, called the Chain of Resistance, modelled
after what the pro-life movement does, the Chain of Life. Hopefully if we mobilize enough people from all of the nights we'll be
able to get a good turnout to line the streets. We'll be doing that in
solidarity with the UBC Students for Choice. We'll collaborate and
do that together. It isn't just about people saying, well, I'm giving
my ten bucks, I'm going to the rock show and supporting it. No,
there's more than that. We're activists and educators, which is
what Rock for Choice essentially is. We're going to print thousands
of leaflets and put them in high schools, and there will be an article
from Joyce Arthur from the Pro-Choice Action Network. She's very
driven and incredibly smart.
So for me, being the person who's started Rock for Choice
and seen it evolve, with more shows and more bands, I want to
see it keep changing. It's got to move somewhere else, it has to
radicalize. And that's a curve that has gone with my own political
awareness. I've become more radical over the years, and as the
organiser I want Rock for Choice to reflect that.
Regrettably, in 2002 Rock for Choice may be more relevant
than ever. George W. Bush's second year in office has seen 10 new
members elected to the Senate, 8 of which are anti-choice. Here in
Vancouver, a multi-million dollar contract to clean the BC Women's
Hospital (one of the province's largest abortion providers) went to a
company owned by Cissy Von Dehn, a virulent anti-choice activist.
What exactly these developments will mean for Canadian women is
yet to be seen. In any case, our sorely won freedoms are tenuous at
best. But however romantic it may feel, despair is a useless emotion.
Back in 1991, lesbians and gays joined their fellow countrywomen
and men in Dublin's St. Patrick's Day parade for the first time. Short
months later, President Bush was hospitalized for an erratic heartbeat. There is hope! •
(Rock For Choice rocks from Wednesday, January 8'h to Sunday,
January 12'h. Check the details in the Datebook at the back of the
magazine and go support a good cause, already.) Among the smokestacks, dirt,
homeless people, cigarette
butts, and the Smoky Donut,
sits a building in downtown
Hamilton, Ontario. Inside one
of its rooms lies the heart of
the Warsaw Pack. '89 may have
been the end of the Cold War,
but the resistance to capitalism
continues in many forms. One of
those is the culture of music that
has been many people's introduction to important issues.
Warsaw Pack is a seven-
member band that combines
political rhyming with rhythm
lead locked into grooves that
are equal parts beat culture,
jazz-funk, and reggae revolu-
This summer they came out
to play the Under the Volcano
Festival and liked out west so
much they came back just a few
months later. Just before their
early-November gig at The Pic
Pub, I sat down with a few members of the band and shot a few
questions at them.
Lee Raback: vocalist
Simon Oczkowski: tenor sax / percussion
Jari Wassman: bass
With a name like Warsaw Pack and all the use of graphics from
the old communist propaganda, is there any connection to
communism beyond a stylistic nostalgia?
Jari: When we started the band, we were without a lead person
for a long time, and when Lee came to the act it was really
empowering. We were really happy to accept him as a front
man, because a lot of his lyrics are reality-based as opposed to
metaphorical. I'm the one who does most of the visuals for the
band, and I try to relate them to the content of the band, and it
just doesn't make sense to have a babe in bikini and a hot car on
the poster to promote the band.
Lee: Well, it was hard for us coming up with a name, and we
wanted a name that said something in and of itself. It was just
cheeky, really, but trying to say something at the same time. There
is definitely an amount of socialism in the lyrics and the way we
operate. Mostly we latched onto it [because] it stood in opposition
to all that there is now—not that we want to embody that old
world, Eastern European communism. It stood in opposition to
capitalism and you can use a lot of that imagery and it drags up
the right feeling in people.
Simon: Although we don't want any connection to Stalin, as I'm
sure many people in Poland are glad the communists are gone.
Lee: Which I guess would mean that our postering campaign
wouldn't go over so well in Eastern Europe.
The news of late has seen a lot more of the anti-war movement
and squatting actions for housing in Canada. The 'anti-
globalization' movement, post 9-11, seems to be in the backseat.
How do you all see resistance changing?
Lee: Well, I think people are connecting the dots better. I think
it's all one and the same. To fight poverty locally is really the
same as fighting poverty worldwide, in that if there are some
internal changes here, then that could spread and filter down
internationally. Really, though—the name may have changed,
but it's the same people who support and work with OCAP, for
example, that turn out for anti-war rallies, car-free days, and read
the same literature. Organizationally there might be different
people out front, but the network is one and the same.
As for the anti-globalization movement, the face of it is changing, but I think the numbers are still there. We were watching the
news the other day and, in typical headline news-fashion, they
focused on Winona Ryder's shoplifting and then quickly blurt 'and
100,000 people protested today for...' and show a two second clip.
They keep referencing Seattle, Quebec, and Genoa like it's in the
past, but that reactionary force is still intact; it just hasn't surfaced
in the same way. When it comes down to it, even if the focus shifts
from the local, international, federal—working on any level is helping on every level.
Simon: People working towards improvements in human rights
or housing or anti-war or better health care are all pushing in the
same direction, building a better future.
Art and politics are a double whammy. It's difficult to make a
living at either one, but making political music is even harder,
especially with so many people in the band. So how are you all
finding things working out?
Warsaw Pack: [Much laughter]
BltS
Jari: There is a lot of personal sacrifice on people, time, and
the financial end, but right now we are with a label (G7) whose
business structure we would like to copy.
Simon: Participatory Economics.
Lee: ParaCon! If you want to make it sound cool.
Simon: Seven people in the band is hard to deal with—that's
seven different schedules—but on the other hand, that's seven
sets of different resources we can draw upon. We run things in
a microcosm of the way we would like things to be—a shared
cooperative where everyone gets a say. We try to be a true
democracy, in a sense.
Lee: To speak in practical terms, we are treading water right now.
Nobody is losing money, but nobody is getting ahead. It is a
balancing act of paperwork at the end of the day. We came out
west and nobody has anything to show for it, but we aren't putting
anything in the pawnshop.
So Lee, you use Biblical references in the lyrics on Cross Domestic
Product and it has a 'doomsday' feel. Prophecies or just a good
rhyme?
Lee: I'm not religious. I just use Biblical references like I would pop
culture. We all know what I mean when I say "Cain makes Abel run"
and it's a little more weighty than "dude is gonna shoot ya" and it
has a malicious "brother against brother" tone. If there was a way
to say that by referring to a movie I may have done that, but I try
to steer away from cheesy pop culture like in a lot of hip hop, and
I try not to use name brands unless it's in a "critical capacity." The
album does speak a bit about "end times" [but] that is because the
music was mostly written about three years ago on that album—
around the end of 1999 and beginning of 2000. You hear it a bit
like in "Diabolic": "I wish Y2K had come and fucked everything up,
so we could drive around in cars and look for gasoline," and if we
just got together now I probably wouldn't have written that, so
it's a little dated in that sense. "Doomsday Device" was written
in reference to the first Gulf War and ali the talk of "end times"
around '98, '99. Then it seemed you couldn't go anywhere without
seeing, like, Time with Nostradamus on the cover with a nuclear
explosion behind him.
So I guess that just sunk into my thoughts.
On your web site, your links page has about a dozen or so links,
most of which would be expected—C7 Records, Sonic Unyon,
Exclaim!, other bands, etc.—but I'm curious why you choose to
list Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)?
Jari: I always try to filter out the "bad" media and get as much
"good" media as possible. Like on CBC there is a show called Ideas,
which I find very informative. It was on that show that I heard one
of the founders of [MSF] talking about his work, and 1 was really
moved by what he had to say.
I was crying at the end of it; it
was so horrible—the tales of
prolonged suffering.
Simon: On a personal level,
depending on the way the band
goes, I might actually join MSF.
I have been thinking of going
into medicine. It would be great
if I could keep making music
rd coincidence that Jari put that on
GANG OF SEVEN
Warsaw Pack Talks Politics
BY KEVIN ADAM
forever but
the site.
. so it was a v
So you listen to the CBC and want to be doctors.
Lee: We got some smart kids in the band.
Okay, okay. I guess I asked you enough political questions. You
are a band after all. So where do you practice and what do you
see from there?
Lee: We are in the Sonic Unyon building, right in downtown
Hamilton and we share the space with other musicians. It's a
warehouse—a dusty and old thing—but it's a great place to
connect with other musicians, and it's a friendly scene. What do
we see? Smokestacks, dirt, homeless people, cigarette butts, and
the Smoky Donut, where you can get a coffee for $1 or a beer for
$3!
Simon: Don't forget the falafel and video strip poker!
So what is next for the band?
Simon: We basically have our next album done. Our set now is all
new except for maybe three songs, and we also got a new guitarist
about three months ago—Geet—who is an awesome guitarist,
and he also plays keyboards which is adding a new sound to the
band. We have a two-album contract with G7 so they put out Gross
Domestic Product and then this new one, and we are planning a
video also. •
Lee: G7 has been great. Personally and in business it's great; there
have been no bad vibes at all. So many times in the music biz you
have to question people [to see] if they are going to rip you off, but
not with them. We always leave with our bellies full and a pat on
the head; they're awesome.
Simon: They helped us manifest our musical careers; they make it
all possible, and they push us politically.
Jari: They slapped us on the wrist and pointed out that our tour
shirts had been made in sweatshops. I was in a hurry and didn't
read the tag. •
23 DiSCORDER show. For
the Freak sho
BY GEOFF SCHMIDT
If you spent any time in the smoke pit of your high school, close
to any of the potential stars of FUBAR 2, then you know whom I'm
talking about. Whether they're the most famous (or infamous)
group in the genre of latex-wearing punk rock/heavy metal fusion
is debatable. What everyone agrees on is that they have the most,
uh, "unique" stage show on the planet. What other band has the
disclaimer: "The venue accepts no responsibility for damage or
staining to clothing or body," printed on every poster and ticket?
What other band needs it? Yes, unique is definitely the right word
to describe an evening of entertainment at the hands of GWAR.
I was lucky enough to have my car die in several memorable
and inexplicable ways, stranding me in Calgary in time for their
latest tour. Being the dedicated owner of all their albums and videos, yet virginal in regards to
the live experience, I absolutely
had to go. In point of fact, I
would have dragged myself
there on bloody stumps to finally see them.
The show took place in
the U of C campus auditorium,
with the walls, ceiling and floor
stripped of the usual camouflage of sophistication, i.e., chairs. In place of ornate wallpaper was
a hundred feet of thick painters plastic—you know, the kind that
doesn't allow any fluid to spill through and stain whatever's underneath; the kind that foreshadowed the experience to come.
As the crowd milled around waiting to donate their lives to the
World-Maggot, a prototypical rebel yell rang forth from the stage
as Iron Maiden hit the stage. Hang on... that's not Bruce Dickenson!
3 Inches of Blood ran onto the stage with an energetic set of new
(yet strangely familiar) tunes that pulled us back to metal's glory
days of Maiden and Priest with songs like "Balls of Ice" and "Kill the
Ores". The sound was crisp, the band tight, and the music juiced
the crowd up for the real deal, GWAR.
GWAR has made a living for over 12 years on their novel approach to a stage show. From a drum kit that pulses blood like
a severed artery, to random slaves having their limbs severed,
there was always a cause for sticky, viscous fluid to be sprayed
all over the crowd. Every inch of the painters' plastic was used, as
was every inch of clothing. A word of advice: if you just had your
beautiful coif bleached a Californian yellow, DO NOT stand in the
front row! That is, unless you want to be called "Pinky" for the next
few weeks.
One of the show's principal highlights was Slymenstra Hy-
man's glorious return to the band's lineup and the GWAR stage.
For the last few years she has been touring with her "Girly Freak
Show," which features Jim Rose-style circus sideshow antics, and
even includes The Torture King as self-proclaimed girly-man. She
brought a number of elements from her show to the GWAR forum,
including an expanded fire-breathing/dancing segment. Dancing
with torches, swinging balls of flame at the end of chains and
breathing 15-foot flames... as far as being a human flamethrower
is concerned, she put Gene Simmons to shame. Her abilities, however, don't stop at sideshow routines. She single-handedly took
out three of GWAR's enemies, including Gor-Gor (the giant-lizard
bastard son of Slymenstra that was raised on crack) with the old
"sword-through-the-chin-and-into-the-brain-routine." Nothing
24 Decembuary 2002
like the classics!
After the show, I was sitting at the exit gate feeling spent and
exhausted, yet strangely fulfilled at the same time. The feeling
throughout the crowd was that we could all die happy now. I was
more than a little miffed, however, since my scheduled interview
with GWAR had been overlooked. I had spoken to the show's organizer earlier and he had promised me a spot and then neglected to
pencil it in. So 1 was sitting there feeling simultaneous sorrow and
joy when a guy walked up to me.
"Geoff? Is that you?"
"Uh, yeah." (Where do I know this guy from? He looks so familiar...) "Cam? Didn't we play football together, like ten years ago?"
GWAR'S FREAKY FREAK SHOW
Slymenstra Warns on the Dangers of Electricity
"Yeah," he said. "What did you think of the show?"
"Holy shit! You're the singer for 3 Inches of Blood!"
He blinked a couple times. "I thought you knew that."
"Uh, I just didn't put two and two together. Wow, great show
man. You guys've got a great sound." A thought suddenly occurred
to me: "Do you want to do an interview?"
"Actually, I've gotta run, but here's a roadie pass. Go to the gate
and ask for Geoff Trawick. They're sticking around for a while and
would love to talk to you."
Short story long, I ended up backstage about ten minutes later,
sipping an ice tea and chatting with Geoff and Rich Trawick, drummer and guitarist, respectively, of 3loB.
All of a sudden, the door was flung open and a woman came
running into the dressing room. Yes, ladies and gents, it was none
other than Danielle Stampe, a.k.a. Slymenstra Hyman, sans makeup and carrying a metal lunchbox.
Danielle: Aw fuck. Do you guys mind if I hang out in here for a few
minutes?
Geoff: Uh, sure.
DiSCORDER: What's in the lunchbox?
Danielle: I was just selling stickers and spreading the word about
"Girly Freak Show." Do you guys want one?
Sure!
Danielle: How much are these things worth?
Rich: Those are loonies. They're worth a buck.
Geoff: Yeah, about ten cents American.
Danielle: And I guess these things are "twonies?"
Uh, yeah. Is it true GFS is coming to Canada?
Danielle: Yes. The tour's coming here this coming March. If you
liked the stuff I did on stage tonight, you'll go ape-shit for our
I only did a little flame breathing tonight. I
i very cool trick called Dragon's Breath.
That was a "little" fire breathing? What's Dragon's Breath?
Danielle: It's where I inhale and exhale at the same time, so you
get this circular airflow. It lets me shoot flame for longer than I
would otherwise. Basically, I shoot flame, stop and breathe again,
stop and breathe again. The first stream lights the second stream
lights the third stream, and you get this three-layered stream of
fire going almost 20 feet up in the air. It's fucking cool. I was going
to do it tonight, but I couldn't get my breathing right.
Geoff: Are you okay? It looked like you were limping when you
came in.
Danielle: I screwed up my leg last night. I pulled my quad or
something.
So you were doing all that dancing and fighting on stage with a
screwed up leg?
Danielle: Yeah, but you do what you gotta do. Hell, I've finished
shows after being clinically dead!
Say what?!?
Danielle: Well, 1 work with this company called kVA that makes
giant Tesla coils for theatrical lighting generation. In other words,
we make machines that shoot bolts of electricity sixty feet long
through the air. I do all kinds of stunts for them, including wearing
electrical underwear that lets me channel huge amounts of
electricity through my body that would be otherwise fatal. I also
do this trick where I shoot bots of lightning from my fingertips.
Rich: Like the Emperor in Return ofthejedi?
Danielle: Exactly. It sometimes happens that I take a little too much
voltage and my heart just kind of stops. Getting a defibrillator was
the best thing I ever did.
Geoff: How many times have you died?
Danielle: Six times now.
Danielle: But it's what I love doing. 1 even made it into the Guinness
Book of World Records. Twice! I found out that if you beat your
own record, they pay you $20,000, but they only pay $10,000 for
the first time. So I beat the old record for channeling electricity
using a small voltage that I would do at any little show and then
did it again six months later using a really good voltage. [I'm sure
she said two million volts, but I must have been hearing things.] [No,
in fact you weren't. By all accounts it was actually three million volts.
Ed.] Anyways, 1 went to school for performing arts and it's what
Rich: Hey, isn't it true that all the members of GWAR are lawyers
and stuff?
Danielle: Actually, I'm the only one who actually went to Harvard,
if you've heard that rumor, where I got a degree in fine arts. All the
others are a mix of self-taught and a little bit of post-secondary
education.
As far as I'm concerned, you're all geniuses. It was a great show
tonight, by the way.
Danielle: Thanks. I just wish more of the mainstream would feel
the same way. I'd really like to see GWAR get picked up and get
some serious attention. We've been working on this for a dozen
years, and I want to take it as far as it will go. Like, I'd like to make a
real movie, with professional actors and a director and A BUDGET!
Not just a few bucks we've scraped together. It's a labour of love
for us, but it would be nice to make some money y'know?
Geoff: Thanks a lot for coming back, eh?
Danielle: Yeah, "the bitch is back!" Hahaha. Make sure you come
out to GFS when we come back, okay.
We'll be there with bells on. •
(3 Inches of Blood live in Vancouver and will play here again soon.
Support your local metal! The Girly Freak Show should be wandering
through Canada early in 2003. Watch your local listings.) ZH Hoof* oV KAfl«
I OUT EARLY 2003
Simply Saucer
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Milder review
lllllllllllll
ATOMIC 7
Gowns by Edith Head
(Mint)
Move over hip hop, move over
punk, move over—well everything, because this album
doesn't seem to fit into any
nicely organized music category that I can think of. But
with swingin' melodies played
out on guitars emphasized
by some nicely paired drum-
min' and bass, it's a winner
on its own. Atomic 7's sound
is unique—their music takes
you back... somewhere. Some
of the songs make you feel
like you should be in Hawaii
on the beach at sunset, sipping on something alcoholic
and sweet, while others just
make you feel like a-drinkin'
and a-dancin' the night away.
With nineteen tracks, there's a
mood for everyone. And, unlike
many crappy albums, Atomic 7
didn't fall for the make-one-
song-and-rehash-eighteen-
others-just-like-it album:
they've definitely established
their own original style, but
they're not 'N Sync-ing their
own stuff. To summarize?
Simple. Cool. Toe-tappin'. What
more can you need? Well, the
cash to buy the album, which
I'm recommending in case you
slower folks hadn't figured
that out yet.
Eurassia
BLURTONIA
s/t
(Grenadine)
Are you looking for another
album to play in the car while
rolling down the windows
and screaming at innocent
bystanders? Blurtonia could
work. It starts with abrasive
layered guitars and keeps
going until the end with rock,
rock, and nothing but rock.
Rock in the older, 1970s sense
of the word, that is. They've
even split the album into parts
One and Two as a denial of the
whole CD era of contemporary
album production.
As the album goes on,
songs like "Perfect Crime"
come closer to the present
with punk (in the newer sense)
influences. But I'd say that's
a bit of an anomaly on the
record. This is the kind of raw
rock that you'd want to hear
at your friendly neighbourhood bar when you just want
to shout from tables with
people you don't know. And
it's Canadian, too... so, um, 1
guess this would be perfect
for many.
Well, to be honest, I wasn't
convinced in the end, because
I've never been a fan of bands
that sound too much like their
past influences. It's fun-rock,
sure, but from the exception
of one or two quieter songs, it
doesn't change that much. The
album is filled back-to-back
with big hair guitar riffs and
"this sounds like someone else,
doesn't it?"-arrangements.
In their favour, though, they
do have a lot of energy, and I
imagine they'd put on pretty
um... I don't think I'd go.
Samuel Kim
NOAM CHOMSKY
The New War on Terrorism
ALEXANDER COCKBURN
Beating The Devil
JELLO BIAFRA
Machine Gun in the Clown's
Hand
HOWARD ZINN
Artists in a Time of War
(AK Press / Alternative
Tentacles)
All four of these spoken word
albums discuss pretty much
the same theme, and how
can they not? The "American
Empire" with its cast of
"morons" is a hard target to
miss. With its slow crawl to
fascism turning into a sprint
for world domination, these
CDs lay bare the facts and passions that drive people to resist
the current state of affairs.
Chomsky sets the stage
and tells us the facts. On this
disc he spells out the players,
defines terror, and challenges
the credibility of most of "our
leaders." Like an encyclopedia,
the professor delivers history
and news that should chill and
shock, but it just keeps coming. Frantically, you could try
to take notes, but the papers
would pile up fast. This man's
speech needs footnotes.
Meanwhile, outside the
university, down at the cafe,
Alexander Cockburn is raising his voice and turning up
the heat. So you know the
facts, but what is the state
of the "movement"? What is
the next stage? It's obvious
what's going on, isn't it? Well,
what are you doing about it?
Delivered with a cynical jab
in the side, Cockburn attacks
the ruling class and reads the
riot act.
Later that night at the bar,
while you hide from the police
after curfew, there is a scornful jerk on the stage mocking
"our leaders," and their police
state defenders. Like the
French revolutionaries causing sex scandals with lewd
drawings, Jello Biafra pulls no
punches and fights dirty. With
three CDs, this release begins
to make your head spin until
all the caricatures of world
affairs seem to be dancing in
the fires of hell, laughing and
calling your name. Tear down
the fences.
The next day in the park,
while you re trying to focus
and clear your head, you come
across an older man. He begins
to talk to you about the old
days and past wars. "When
the guns boom, the arts die,"
he says. With wisdom, Howard
Zinn reminds us that warriors
should be artists. Art gives us
strength in times of struggle,
and gives us the ability to
dream a better future. Without
that grounding passion for life
and friends, you have become
a cold-hearted solider of war.
There is something to learn
from each of these discs, and I
would recommend checking
out any of the titles from the
AK Press/Alternative Tentacles
spoken word series—although
it depends on each individual's
own attention span and state
of mind as to which is most
accessible.
Kevin Adam
HOT HOT HEAT
Make up the Break Down
(Sub Pop)
At first listen, they fool you
into thinking they're just
another indie-pop outfit. But
this Victoria group is more
than just the flavour of the
musical month: hidden in
the folds of the sugary pop
beat is ample evidence for
experimentation (subtle disco
vibes, homages to The Clash
and Blondie, etc). The first half
of the album is excellent: fun,
bouncy and interesting. The
last half starts to trail off a bit,
giving the hint that Hot Hot
Heat are maybe still looking
for a voice. All in all, this first
full length LP from Hot Hot
Heat delivers all the promises
of their EP and then some.
Fittingly, they're becoming
huge, recently wrapping up a
North American tour of almost
sold-out venues. It's no wonder
that Warner Entertainment
was willing to sign them on a
multi-million dollar contract.
Selling out? Perhaps. At least
there will be a gold needle in
the stack of shit heaped on
mainstream listeners every
day in this city.
Rana El-Sabaawi
LOSTSOUNDS
Rat's Brains And Microchips
(Empty Records)
There's a war going on—a war
against music. Not just any
kind of music, but the bland,
the unoriginal, the uninspired
music that seems to pollute
our headspace, simply because
it can. Complacency and apathy are the enemy of today's
youth, so who will lead the
charge, grab the enemy by
the throat and shake it out
of its misery? Five black-clad
soldiers from Memphis, that's
who. Their secret weapons?
"Rat's Brains And Microchips."
Who knew fuzzy white rodents
would be the messengers of
"Total Destruction"? As each
N-Stink clone band stares into
their beady red eyes, they are
left "Frozen In Time" or, better
yet, thinking, am I "Dreaming
Or Bleeding"? Death comes
swiftly to those who dare
to oppose The Lost Sounds
and their no-wave arsenal of
synth-punk hits, leaving all
who stand in their way buried
in a "Tronic Graveyard." A message for future generations of
cookie-cutter combos and
their ilk: "Peek-A-Boo, You Are
Doomed."
Bryce Dunn
MC PAUL BARMAN
Paullelujah!
(Coup d'Etat)
MC Paul Barman rhymes with
a confusing mix of intelligence
and idiocy. He uses clever
word plays and educated references to explain how girls
at protests just want to get
laid. The rhymes flow like Del
the Funky Homo Sapien with
an unhealthy obsession with
nicknames for female genitalia. In "Cock Mobster," MC Paul
Barman challenges Too Short
for the title of dirtiest rap
song. Instead of rhyming sex
acts with regular girls' names
like Betty, he describes what
he'd like to do to a variety of
celebrities, peaking with the
line, "Sigourney Weaver has a
thrashing horny beaver." The
album has a weird balance
between juvenile humour
and references that require
a broad knowledge of literature. Between discussions of
his cock, Paul Barman shows
respect to the Rubaiyat (of
Sufi mystic Omar Khayyam)—
which kind of makes sense
in a distant, surreal way. The
production is weak at times,
but Prince Paul adds his
magic to one stand-out track:
"Bleeding Brain Grow." Prince
Paul's sense of humor, which
was evident with Handsome
Boy Modeling School and on
Prince Among Thieves, seems
to match MC Paul Barman.
Paullelujah! is interesting to
listen to because it is able to
show both sides of hip hop at
the same time—the peak and
the nadir—its stupidity, as well
as how clever and well thought
out it can be.
Matt Whalley
NIRVANA
Nirvana
(DGC)
There was this girl in my high
school who was obsessed with
horses and wore Nirvana t-
shirts. She also wore this black
and gray flannel shirt around
her waist all the time. She was
kind of pretty, but no one really
noticed because she pretended
she was a horse and her ass
was big, hence the plaid grunge
blankie she carried around to
cover it up.
If I had a kid, I would name
B Decembuary 2002
— it Gross.
In summer camp we had
teams. We gave our white
t-shirts to people with blue
markers who wrote down
our names. One of the camp
counselors had "Kurt Kobain"
written on the back of his t-
shirt with a drawing of a snowman. They spelled it wrong, I
thought.
The only thing worse than
wet socks is stepping in shit
while wearing waffle grip. You
basically have to pick the shit
out of each section of waffle
with a toothpick. A popsicle
stick won't work. I tried that.
I know you're waiting for
me to get to the point, but I
lost it. I bet you could find it up
Courtney Love's asshole.
Christa Min
SEA AND CAKE
One Bedroom
(Thrill jockey)
I have a friend whose dad, after
hearing The Sea and Cake's
last album, Oui, described the
sound they make as "doorbell
music." I have another friend
who likes to describe them as
"lift muzak for the new millennium." [Merek is British.
Ed.] I have another friend still
who, when speaking to him
about the prospect of this new
album, believed The Sea and
Cake to be nothing more than
"Steely Dan for indie kids."
While all these people will
admit that the music The Sea
and Cake make is pleasantly
pleasing, none of these statements can be read as anything
other than derogatory. But
why? What has this inoffensive little band done to deserve
such criticism?
Well, I'll tell you. They've
never released a bad album:
slaving away with a workmanlike consistency since the
release of their eponymous
debut in 1994 has done them
no favours. The slow and
steady progression of their
musical ability has left their
fans complacently expecting
their next release which will
be, y'know, kinda similar to
their last 'cept maybe a little
better and hey, I'll be damned
if the production isn't just
that little bit slicker. Trust
me: if One Bedroom had just
come out of nowhere, a debut
release from an unheard-
of band, on some fledgling
imprint, it'd be album of the
year on every chart from here
to the back of beyond. Instead,
One Bedroom is just the next
in the long line of flawless Sea
and Cake albums.
Sam Prekop's willfully
obscure lyrical contributions
are, as ever, fey warblings of
blissed-out condescension. On
tracks like "Left Side Clouded"
and "Four Corners," they float
freely atop the jazzy foam of
the band's krautrock cocktail
bar pop—at once impenetrable, yet capable of expressing a hitherto unfathomable
emotion. The guitars pick out
a pleasing mixture of minor
and major sevenths while
the rhythm section pulses,
bleeps, and drones with a
metronomic precision. It's all
perfect. Too perfect. Since the
construction of his recording
studio, Soma, it seems John
McEntire's recording and engineering skills have just become
too goddamn good. Like polishing a stone until the grain that
made it attractive in the first
place is gone, McEntire's proficiency smooths The Sea and
Cake's sound to within an inch
of blandsville. Like his work
on the most recent Stereolab
album, Sound/dust, or last
year's Tortoise album, this
production, while undoubtedly accomplished, leaves
little room for those happy
little accidents—flaws, if you
will—that endear a piece of
music to the attentive listener.
It's these little sparks, giving
the impression of spontaneity and chance, which really
provide the excitement that
elevates an album into "classic" territory.
While in no way will the
purchase of this album leave
you feeling disappointed-
tracks like "Shoulder Length"
and "Hotel Tell" rank among
some of the Sea and Cake's
finest outings to date—I feel
unable to call this album a classic. Mainly because of the fact
that in less than two years time
you can bet your bottom dollar
the Sea and Cake will release
another long player every
bit as good as One Bedroom.
And don't classics have to be
unique? Unfortunately, yes.
Merek Cooper
SIGUR ROS
o
(Fat Cat Records/MCA)
R6s' UK website challenged
fans to come up with a mathematical equation of the
band's sound "without using
the words 'glacial,' 'elves,'
'whales,' 'volcanic,' 'landscape'
or 'angels'" (emphasis added).
The Icelandic group's utterly
unique style, defined by Jon
Birgisson's bowed guitar playing and otherworldly singing
voice (imagine Thorn Yorke as
a choir boy), combined with
ambitious orchestral arrangements, has lent itself to such
comparisons. While reviews
rhapsodizing about the group's
North American debut, agaetis
byrjun, in terms of ice caves,
cloudscapes and divine visitation got boring sometime in
late 2000, they weren't completely off base. Sigur Ros'
sound is exactly that: a perfect
meeting of the natural and the
supernatural.
Their newest album, ( ),
presents a similar challenge
to their listeners. The songs,
averaging eight minutes in
length, are all untitled, and
come with a blank book of
liner notes, inviting you to
record your own musings and
lyrical interpretations. While
this album is already well on
its way to outselling its predecessor, it is decidedly less
accessible. Mainstream kids
who bought agaetis byrjun for
"that song from Vanilla Sky"
will be stymied by ().
However, the rest of us
have a beautiful and complex
new album to discover. Kjartan
Sveinsson's layered arrangements of a variety of keys and
strings are stunning (especially
piano and string quartet on
Track 1, and church organ on
Track 4). The thumping bass
and shimmering cymbals that
mark the crescendo of Track
6 offer a flawless moment of
musical transcendence. While
the album takes a few listens
to get into, the exercise is well
worth it. With a bit of patience,
( ) will provide the perfect
soundtrack to sex, studying,
or simply sitting, staring, and
appreciating.
Susy Webb
SWEATSHOP UNION
Local.604
(Underworld Records)
Vancouver hip hop groups
Dirty Circus, Innocent
Bystanders and Creative
Minds teamed up with solo
artist Kyprios in the fall of
2000 to share equipment
and lend moral and monetary
support to each other's musical
work. By the summer of 2001,
they had recorded a disc that
offers up some provocative
tales of urban working class
lows. Funky turntable licks and
catchy choruses make lyrics
containing a serious socialist
message easier to swallow, as
do the humourous nature of
many of the tracks—standout
tunes like "President's Choice"
and "Don't Mind Us" lace
references to local trademarks
larks
the
Circus, at best. Fawning praise
forTiga's tracks from VICE and
Exclaim goes to show that this
movement's lack of substance
and dependence on blind press
is killing it in its infancy. As
soon as the music press caved
in to Larry Tee and decided to
call it "electroclash" instead of
"electro-wave," it was apparent
that it's going to be all downhill. Tiga is, thankfully, the
worst of the lot and Peaches
can still bring it with style and
sex appeal, but I've still got the
feeling that Le Tigre could out-
funk Tiga and his whole crowd
of mullet-sporting fashioni-
sta electro-poseurs with hands
tied behind their backs.
saelan
TRANSPLANTS
s/t
(Epitaph)
I knew this album would be different, but the novelty of Travis
Barker and Tim Armstrong's
talents joined with those of
unknown guy Rob Aston does
not last for long. This is no
better than offensive monotonous shouts from Rob mixed
with Tim's gravelly voice, with,
thankfully, some guest vocals
by Lars Frederiksen, Davey
Havok, and (apparently) Brody
Armstrong.
The sound is a mix of
industrial big beat, a danceable
hardcore, some Rancid-like
melodies, and attempted reggae. It sometimes comes off as
that annoying rap-rock sort of
id from a few years ago. I
think the Transplants album
is most insulting in terms of
its lyrics. Cliches, like "what
you see is what you get" from
"Tall Cans in the Air" and "you
snooze, you lose" from "One
Seventeen," really get grating
after a few minutes.
"Weigh on My Mind"
starts off nicely, in a slacker-
catchy sort of way, but then
Rob has to ruin it with some
flat, non-melodic vocals
that are incredibly repetitive
and aggravating. "California
Babylon" kind of reminds me
of Beck's "Devil's Haircut" at
first, but then this annoying
chorus appears that forces
me yet to think, no, I "don't
understand" and I "can't comprehend" what this "California
Babylon" is. The song combines
some poppy 'woo-hoo' sounds,
like "Diamonds and Guns" a
few songs before, with Vic
Ruggiero's B3/piano sounds
(which sound good, but repetitive) and Rob's angry rap sort
of stuff.
Overall, this CD is both
depressing and uplifting. It
seems these guys were trying to do something fresh and
original, but the result is a
tediously remixed headache.
Natalie Vermeer
(Reprise Records)
I have to admit, my first taste
of The Used left me more than
a little jolted. Watching vocalist Bert McCracken writhe,
convulse, and... puke all over
the stage was a rather intense
experience. Not exactly what
you'd expect from a band on
the same label as Enya.
Needless to say, I was a
little wary of this album and
the possible vomit-inducing
effects that it might have on
even the most average of listeners. But, being the brave
soul that I am, I picked up the
CD and decided to test the
strength of my stomach. It
turned out that my apprehension was unwarranted, as the
first track quelled my queasi-
ness like a triple helping of
Pepto-Bismol. Over the ripping, thrumming guitar courtesy of Quinn Allman, there
was enough powerful melody
in the vocals to cut through
the gut-wrenching screams.
Described as "punk/rock/
hardcore," this band pounds
out a lot more intensity—and
(dare I say it?) sincerity—than
your usual punk-hardcore
four-piece. And, much to
my surprise, this album was
not just full of intense, angry
anthems. Tracks like "On My
Own," a slow, heartrending
ballad, credit the diversity of
The Used, and prove that they
can do much more than just
scream and vom' all over the
place. So, if you're having any
doubts about picking up this
album, I'm giving you my no-
honk guarantee.
Marie Foxall
storylines.
Any time an album features
more than five emcees I worry
that it will lack coherence
overall—and the bevy of producers this disc boasts made
me do a double-take—but this
album is far from incoherent.
Having different combinations
of emcees and producers on
every track gave each song its
own freshness while the consistency in subject matter gave
this record an overall vision.
"What 1 want to suggest we all
do is figure out ways of making
these issues visible," the opening track proclaims. It appears
the Sweatshop Union have
done that, and done it well.
Lucas TdS
TIGA & ZYNTHERIUS
Sunglasses at Night
(International Deejay Gigolo)
So this is Montreal's answer to
New York Electroclash? This
is the hit track that's supposedly burning up fashion-sawy
dance floors the world over?
This, dear friends, is unadulterated bollocks. Pretentious,
vapid, and boring without
even the livening touches of
sleaze or sass, trash like this
deserves to be on Electric
mMHEMnttD
Available at Salons, Hemp St ores and Online - ted We Do Prea
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Thur Dec \1 Ford Pier
"FoRGET THE VAGINA.
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INT£RROGATlOMS/
iRedCat Records
Chopper & Gorehound
Leeroy Stagger & Nobody's Darlin;
Sat Dec 28 awiirypunj, duiiifurs... Tex Tiles & The True Moral Fibres
New Years Eve iiu rvuhik hiabamUmnd of Butch Murphy & The Greasy Kings
4210 Main St. Vancouver BC 604 709 8555
cover charge is a measly 5 bucks... so why not support local music?
30 Decembuary 2002
Ph. 708-9422 * email btiddv«redcat.ea real live actiorn
CHICKS ON SPEED
PEACHES
WIT
TRACY AND THE PLASTICS
Thurday, October 24
Sonar
I never want Peaches to be
mad at me. That lady dresses
like she's out of one of those
really bad porn videos where
they use a lot of glowing body
paint and she still could totally
injure me. From the safety of
my fancy-people perch, the
crowd looked pretty tame
and Peaches seemed none too
thrilled about it. So yeah, she
looked like she wanted to kick
some ass (not mine necessarily) when Electroclash came to
Vancouver on October 24t'"1.
Electroclash showcased
all female acts. Tracy and the
Plastics opened up the show
and were apparently good. I
wouldn't know; 1 was outside
trying to figure out why I
wasn't on the guest list. Some
people don't know that the
girl-way of spelling my name is
Erin, not Aaron. Anyway
WIT were up next and I
loved them! Whatever It Takes
are most stylish and amusing to watch. These girls are
the art-school chicks of your
dreams! Shiny lips and all so
attractive in so many different
ways. I was debating who was
the cutest, and finally settled
on the tall blonde with the
asymmetrical hairdo. Oh, and
they dance! Love 'em!
Chicks on Speed were not
to my taste, but certainly were
to that of many others. They
did flips off the stage railings,
ran around, used laptops and
sold dresses in the lobby for
close to $100. Plus, they actually were wearing glow-in-the-
dark body paint!
Peaches humped hard on
stage. She even took a few verbal shots at the crowd for being
seemingly detached. I don't get
it. It wasn't that late, but people
were just vacant.
Ah, Peaches needs to come
back and teach us all a lesson.
Erin Shaw
BADLY DRAWN BOY
BOB CEMMIS
Friday, November 1
The Vogue Theatre
Have you ever been to a
Christmas dinner with your
extended family when someone makes a big scene? Despite,
everyone's efforts to carry on
and put the ugliness behind
them, all anyone at the table
wants to do is get out of the
room as soon as possible. If
you've ever been to one of
those dinners, then you have
a good idea what Badly Drawn
Boy's gig was like.
The evening started well.
Local artist Bob Cemmis
charmed the assembled crowd
of 20-something hipsters and
30-something yuppies with his
humourous between-song banter (he thanked the crowd for
their applause, "because, let's
face it, none of you know who
numbers. Many in the crowd
were wearing grins by the end
of the set.
Badly Drawn Boy, a.k.a.
Damon Gough, initially maintained the warmth and charm
of Cemmis' set with his easygoing banter and exquisitely
intricate, pseudo-orchestral
pop songs. He successfully
coaxed the crowd to the stage
with an especially strong version of "Silent Sigh." But no
sooner than earning the audience's approval, Gough made
'the scene.'
After earlier complaining of
a faulty guitar, a visibly angry
Gough switched the lyrics of
"Something To Talk About"
partway through the song to
a repetition of "Fuck off, fuck
off," much to the shock of the
crowd at the front of the stage
(Lord knows what the yuppies
who remained seated behind
me thought of all this). Even
in spite of later efforts to win
the crowd back (a ramshackle
version of Bruce Springsteen's
"Thunder Road" was a nice
touch), further incidents, like
playing a profanity-laced song
by kicking the keys of his
keyboard to generate notes,
sticking his mouth into the
microphone to generate feedback bursts on several occasions, and complaining about
his bleeding fingertips, failed
to endear him to the crowd.
Gough ended the set with no
encore; I'm not sure anyone
minded.
Admittedly, I did find parts
of the show entertaining.
Then again, I'd probably find
someone making a scene at
ing; and, generally speaking,
Christmas dinners and rock
concerts shouldn't leave you
with a bad taste in your mouth.
Neil Braun
JORANE
Friday, November 1
Massey Theatre
All right. Before I tell you how
great this show was, I should
probably explain a few things.
Like how Jorane is a cellist/
vocalist from Montreal who
looks like a pixie and writes
music for films. And how she's
big in Europe and Quebec,
but apparently unknown in
Anglophone Canada. Which is
our loss.
The smoke machines were
set on high at the Massey the
atre (simulating a Montreal bar,
perhaps?), and clouds of the
stuff poured out over me and
the rest of the crowd of enthusiastic Francophones. I bought
some Swedish Berries at the
coffee bar to eat in case the
show sucked and I got bored. I
never opened them.
Jorane appeared on stage,
took up her cello, and proceeded to tear the air apart with the
great sad voice of the instrument. Wordless, sometimes
inhuman vocals punctuated
the dark, sweeping phrases
and strange noises drawn from
the strings. The eerie deluge
climaxed with a haunting version of "Film III", when the
vocals drifted over soft hand
drumming, and the bass throat
of the cello opened—like the
precise sound of longing—and
swallowed the audience whole.
Just when the tidal wave
threatened to overwhelm, the
atmosphere changed and the
band started to rock out. They
were extremely well-rehearsed
and comfortable with each
other, which is due, 1 would
imagine, to spending the last
two years touring together.
Abruptly, the energy changed
again, this time to a weird sort
of whimsy. This shift was a
little bit of a let-down after the
first two thirds of the show, but
the night nevertheless ended
with a standing ovation and
two encores. Take my advice:
don't skip out next time Jorane
comes 'round. And don't buy
any Swedish Berries, either.
Kat Siddle
NOMEANSNO
NEW TOWN ANIMALS
MONEYSHOT
Wednesday, November 6
Richards on Richards
First off, I should admit that
I've been somewhat removed
from the punk scene for a few
years; along the road of life,
I got twisted into a beatnik
working-guy, criss-crossing
the prairies. Just livin', getting drunk, and absorbing all
the experience 1 could handle.
Then I moved here, a couple
of months pass, and I see the
ad for NoMeansNo—a band
that helped to shape the person I've grown into. Also, I had
seen a video for The New Town
Animals and liked it. There was
no way I was about to let this
experience pass me by unmolested! And molest I did! (I had
never heard of Moneyshot, but
hey, gotta love that name!)
For me, NoMeansNo falls
into my punk favourites somewhere between Bad Religion
and Suicidal Tendencies (it's a
long list, okay?). Their kick-ass
punk style has always inspired
me, and the fact that they're
hockey-obsessed Canadians
only adds to my appreciation.
I had never been to
Richard's on Richards and
did not know what to expect.
The first thing I thought as I
strolled in was 'Cool—you can
smoke in here.' I quickly surveyed the joint, then headed
to the nearest beer-dispensing
agent; five-fifty a pint! Shit.
Well, my sobriety was bound
to stay intact to some degree.
I perched myself on the second
floor, front and center—perfect
for the man who enjoys a good
show, but doesn't want to
and lined up with the bassist
flanked by the two guitarists.
The opening song was catchy,
fast, and good, though vaguely
reminiscent of NOFX's "Stickin'
in my Eye." All three front-
men contributed to the vocals,
which were a little on the whin-
ey side. A very tight band for
the opening act of three! I was
impressed and hollered support from my pedestal. Too bad
I was the only one (where have
all the punk rockers gone?!).
Moneyshot finished up with
a drinkin' song about hockey:
how very appropriate for the
Don't Worry, Peaches is angry at all of us equally.
Photo By The Delicious Miss D.
with the unwashed masses;
besides, I wanted to take notes.
Behind me, The New Town
Animals were in the middle of a
photo shoot. Clad in attire stolen directly from a now defunct
'80s band—goofy sunglasses,
thin ties, and white socks with
cheap suits—they acted up a
scene and appeared to be having a good time. I like a punk
band that fucks around.
The stage was cluttered
with amps and various musical
equipment. The house music
was switching from crap to
crap—ill-appropriate to warm
up a punk rock audience. The
problem was finally corrected
about twenty minutes before
Moneyshot took the stage.
The four guys came striding
on, looking as if they expected
a much warmer welcome
than they actually received,
opening act to NoMeansNo!
The crowd thickened during
the break before The New Town
Animals were ready to start up;
they had to set up TVs bearing
their logo and post songlists all
over the stage. This, in combination with their get-ups, made
me wonder about their priorities. The lead singer clomped
around the stage wearing huge
red shoes that were either Doc
Marten's or Bozo's—I couldn't
tell which—and vied with the
guitarist for attention. The
manic, slightly over-acted
axe-man amused (or annoyed)
the audience by making faces,
sneering, and acting like a wild-
man. Whatever—something to
watch. At any rate, their music
was pretty cool—good ol' punk
rock with a bit of a Ramones
feel to it. Fast and fun. The
whole set would've been better
enjoyed had the vocals been
turned up a notch, but their
closing song really kicked ass.
Good show, but I expected
more.
Finally it was time to see
the legendary brothers. They
took the stage rather quietly,
wearing no silly costumes, and
caring little about decorations
or image. Their guitarist followed quietly—almost invisible.
This was the brothers' show,
and it was obvious. The guys
were looking a little old, but
hey—does that matter when it
comes to cool music? Fuck no.
From all the talk and exaggerations, I was hoping to see them
pick on the sound crew (they're
known for their meticulous
attention to detail)... but they
didn't. I guess it measured up
to their standards—sounded
good to me too! YEOW! Damn
good times. By the time the
(unreal) Hansen brothers got to
their fourth song, 1 was slightly
drunk and having a ball—it was
great to see some real, unique,
and gifted bastards jammin'
out authentic punk! These guys
are real musicians and it shows
through their multi-layered
songs and well thought-out lyrics. Fast, hard, jumpin' tunes;
enough to get me spillin' beer
and not caring! Finally, we
heard a little from the guitarist
and they played a song written
by him—apparently fifteen
years ago. It was okay. Then, to
my surprise, the brothers broke
out some brand new shit and
rocked the house. The crowd
was jammed and the mosh was
in good order. Nice to see the
crowd wasn't all soulless and
uncaring—earlier in the night
I wondered where all the real
punks had gone; I saw now that
the masses were merely saving
their energy for the big show. I
couldn't help but smile: this is
punk rock.
Marc Fehr
JOHN ZORN'S ELECTRIC
MASADA
Friday, November 8
Vogue Theatre
Masada is the name of a
fortress where, in the first
century, an army of Hebrew
soldiers committed mass suicide rather than surrender to
the Romans.It's an exceptionally appropriate name, I think,
for John Zorn's book of tunes
based on traditional Jewish
scales, especially when placed
in the hands of this band. For
this tour (and the band's first
appearance outside New York
City), John Zorn has assembled
some of the most talented
musicians alive: Marc Ribot
(best known for his work with
Tom Waits) on guitar, John
Medeski on the organ, Trevor
Dunn, formerly of Mr. Bungle,
on bass, Sex Mobb's Kenny
Wollesen on drums, Cyro
Baptista on percussion, Jamie
Saft on keyboards, and John
Zorn himself on saxophone.
Individually, every one of
them is formidable. Together,
they form a conglomeration
of stinking raw genius so vast
31 DiSCORDER BLiHfflHEuEHTir
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[22]
[30
it beggars description. Under
Zorn's subtle, masterful
conducting, the band alternated seamlessly between
the powerful melodies of
Middle Eastern-inflected jazz
and mad, interlocking soloing so complex it was barely
distinguishable from total
noise chaos. Cyro Baptista
in particular was incredible,
laying down a rhythm solo
towards the end of the first set
(that's right, they played two
sets) that incited cheers and
applause before it even ended.
John Medeski also amazed
with stunningly creepy, atmospheric playing and total mastery of his instrument—at one
point he was playing the organ
like a hand drum. By the time
the encore rolled around, the
crowd was so hyped that the
band couldn't even continue
playing—they had to wait
for tJie hooting, hollering,
animal noises, and repeated
calls of "Zooorrrn! JOOOHN
ZOOORRRN!" to subside. In
the end, the band recieved
two standing ovations for a
one-of-a-kind performance
that Vancouver may never be
witness to again.
saelan
HOT HOT HEAT
THE DISMEMBERMENT PLAN
ENGINE DOWN
THE DIRTMITTS
Saturday, November 9
The Commodore Ballroom
A large group of retro-attired
children-of-the-80's converged
on the Commodore to not only
hear a quartet of top-flight
indie bands, but also to see
them demonstrate that one
thing required of all live acts:
the rock star move!
Vancouver's very own The
Dirtmitts were the first band
of this 4-hour extravaganza.
Guitarist Dallas Kruszelnicki
guitar-grinded with bassist
Jen Deon as the band played an
enthusiastic set of 2000's-era
power-pop: shiny pop hooks
surrounded by garage-rock
feedback. Unfortunately,
Natasha Thirsk's vocals were
completely lost in the mix—
something of a disappointment for a girl-pop aficionado
like myself.
Next up was Richmond,
VA's Engine Down, who played
an incredibly strong half an
hour featuring songs with
repeating guitar lines building to explosive finishes. The
band's dual-guitar attack created an enveloping sound that
set them apart from the other
pop-inflected bands on the bill.
Add the mad onstage thrashing of both guitarist Jonathan
Fuller and bassist Jason
Andrew Wood to the banshee
wail of singer/guitarist Keeley
Davis, and you had a performance that commanded
respect from an appreciative
audience.
The third band,
Washington, DCs The
Dismemberment Plan, didn't
have fans at the show; they
had a devoted cult. The Plan's
disciples sung along to all of
Travis Morrison's complicated
lyrics, such that Morrison
didn't need to finish singing
"You Are Invited." Morrison
couldn't help beaming at the
faithful's dedication and their
rapturous applause, which
followed each of The Plan's
songs. Quite honestly, the band
earned all this admiration and
then some with their performance. Songs that would start
quiet and spare would suddenly shift to a glorious middle
section, replete with melodic
guitars, a funky synthesizer,
and an extremely tight rhythm
section. As for the rock star
moves, Morrison invited the
crowd up onstage to dance to
"The Ice of Boston" and the
band's finale, a frenetically
paced medley, featured some
Avril Lavigne, which again
had the crowd singing along to
'Complicated' lyrics.
At midnight, a black curtain at the front of the stage
parted to reveal Victoria's Hot
Hot Heat to an adoring crowd.
Singer/keyboardist Steve Bays
shimmied, strutted, and got
up-close-and-personal with
the audience as the band tore
through its Strokes-meets-The
We at DiSCORDER don't trust people who don't like
A) Johnny Cash or B) Neko Case.
Photo By Robyn Hanson
Attractions material with such
zeal that their songs' hooks
took on new prominence compared to their recorded counterparts. After forty minutes
of playing, Bays sheepishly
admitted that the band had
run out of songs they knew
how to play. No matter: with
their pop smarts and master
of rock star moves, they'll be
given plenty of opportunity to
write more.
Neil Braun
GEORGE CLINTON & THE P-
FUNKALLSTARS
THC MERCENARIES
Sunday, November 10
Commodore Ballroom
It was sure nice to see the
Commodore packed on a
Sunday night. Oh, yeah, the
next day was a stat holiday.
Still, it was nice to see the
younger set decked out in their
retro gear (retrofitted?) for a
night of vintage funk from one
of the founders of the genre.
Opening act was THC
Mercenaries, a three-man
rap squad from New Jersey.
They were backed by three of
the younger members of the
P-Funk collective, and it was
Donna R. does her show-stopping Steven tyler impression.
. Photo By Katie Lapi
32 Decembuary 2002
pretty clear that the backing
band was the best thing going
on. THCM didn't bring a lot
to the par-tay beyond what
we've come to expect from
rap outfits via Hollywood movies: Macho bravado, mucho
gesturing, spliff smoking, and
the obligatory souvenir t-shirt
from Blunt Bros.
"Vintage" funk turned out
to be a misnomer. P-Funk is far
from a museum piece. It's an
apprenticeship, it's a collective,
it's a working band containing
sixty-year-olds and twenty-
somethings—the old and the
new. I lost track at about 15 for
number of people onstage.
Strictly speaking we didn't
get the "3 1/2 hours of funk"
we were promised, as George
didn't take the stage until just
before midnight. Even though
his entrance was more a waddle than a walk, George is still
as scary as he was when I was
an impressionable teen watching him many years ago on
Don Kirschner's Rock Concert.
As he shuffled around like the
old man that he is, I wondered
whether GC has finally lost
his relevance. However, the
band still looked to him for
the inspiration and spark that
drives the big funk machine.
And drive it hard and long.
More than enough funk to
make your ears bleed, and as
long as P-Funk keeps pumping
in new blood, they'll be around
for a good long time.
ValC.
THE WARLOCKS
THE CINCH
NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND
Monday, November 18
Richard's On Richard's
A rainy Monday night must
have kept the crowds away,
because the stalwart Notes
from Underground had to play
to an empty dance floor. Small
knots of onlookers clustered
around the balcony and bar as
Vancouver's most promising
new trio belted out a series of
taut, vicious rock numbers in
the ever-popular Stooges/MC5
vein with a touch of Lou Reed
in the vocals, all the more
evident when they slowed it
down to a melancholy VU haze
for their last tune. Trading
instruments between songs
doesn't hurt their cred, either.
Next up, Stutter Records
label-mates The Cinch got
some people out on the floor
and bobbing their heads, but
their size and lack of intensity made them seem a little
tame after the Notes' focused,
white-knuckle assault. All the
same, their brand of Wire-lite
poppy post-punk is well-liked
in these parts, and their better songs won loud cheers and
applause. The Warlocks, when
they finally got up on stage,
were a dark horse of a different color. The defining element
of this band is size, and with
seven members (two drummers, three guitars, bass, and
a lead singer who alternated
guitar and tambourine), they
make use of their dimensions
not through proggy jams, but
a less-is-more aesthetic that
fuses all their instruments
into the same patterns. The
result of this approach is a
monstrous, overwhelming
wall of sound that rolls over
you like the fog from their
smoke-machine, breaking
down conscious barriers until
you succumb to the spell of
the Warlocks. Like the zombi-
fied, black-clad alter-egos of
Spiritualized s rarefied white
noise, these L.A. lads process
blues-inflected rock through a
krautrock matrix for maximum
hypnotic effect; rather than
strive for the purity of Jason
Pierce's jams, though, the
Warlocks' noise submits gleefully to thick, dark obscurity.
The Velvet Underground influence is unmistakable, as is the
powerful debt to The Stones,
but when The Warlocks reaJly
hit their stride, singer and
bandleader Bobby Hecksher's
voice recalls most strongly
those moments in Stooges
tunes when Iggy breaks
through his angry, terminally
fucked-up haze to expose
genuine introspection. When Hecksher lurches shambolically
across the stage, he even looks
like Iggy. Their stage presence
was aided and abetted by the
aforementioned fog machine
and augmented by poisonous
green lights, fiery red ones, and
a laser setup behind the drum
kits (which were painted with
big leering skulls), all of which
contribute to the Warlocks'
reputation as a superior drug
band, a label they're not
about to shake anytime soon
with song titles like "Cocaine
Blues," "Shake the Dope Out,"
and, perhaps the least subtle
of all, "The Dope Feels Good."
Throughout their satisfyingly
long set, they played all of the
above tunes, as well as some
solid rockers from their new
Phoenix album like "Stone
Hearts," and "Hurricane Heart
Attack," as well as old favorites
like "Song for Nico", and their
encore closer, a righteous jam
of "Angry Demons." I left tired
and grinning, and I can only
feel sorry for everybody who
stayed home.
saelan
THE WEEKEND
THE RUMOURS
THE ORGAN
Saturday, November 23
Piccadilly Pub
Despite some serious sound
troubles, the girls rocked
Vancouver on Saturday night,
with a sold-out show of "chick
rock" at the Pic Pub. The
Organ's coolly disengaged set
left the audience completely
unprepared for The Rumours,
who had replaced Pepper
Sands as the mid-time act. The
lead singer for The Rumours
exploded like Gwen Stefani's
really evil twin, fusing pin-up
girl sex appeal with an unsettling aggression that left the
audience more overwhelmed
than rocked. At least, until she
shrieked, "my pants ripped up
the crotch and I'm not wearing any underwear!" Her
band mates tied two Rumours
jackets around her waist, and
they finished up, noticeably
subdued.
Pop saviours The Weekend
were far more comfortable
onstage. Armed with wonderfully girly vocals, powerchords,
and keyboards, they dealt out
one sugarcoated gem after
another. It might not be the
most original sound, but for
an independent band from
London, Ontario, it's shockingly perfect: simple, dead-on
songwriting, with UFO bleeps
over electric guitars. Add that
to an irrepressibly sexy stage
presence, a wacky keyboardist,
and a killer cover of Loverboy's
"Working for the Weekend,"
and you have some serious
potential for global pop domination. And I say bring it on!
KatSiddle
SIGUR ROS
SIGGIARMANN
Wednesday, November 27
The Vogue
I arrived almost two hours
before the doors, and took
my place in the rapidly growing line-up of fans. Of course,
my friends arrived much later,
and I spent a good hour alone
in front of the Starbucks at
Granville and Smithe, scowling
at the idiots prancing around
with their disposable corporate coffee cups (get fucking
re-usable mugs, people!), and
eavesdropping on the conversations of those around me. It
seemed that almost everyone,
myself included, had attended
the art-rock quartet's incredible show last October at
St. Andrews-Wesley church.
Having been treated to the
unbelievable acoustics of the
church, a spare video backdrop synchronized perfectly
with the music, and a superlative set that ran almost three
hours, expectations were running high.
My friends finally arrived,
and we entered the Vogue in
a high state of excitement.
The supporting act, expatriate Icelandic singer-songwriter Siggi Armann, had
been hyped by the band on
their website and in interviews. Afterwards, we couldn't
imagine why. Conjure up the
most cringe-inducingly overwrought moments of Simon
and Garfunkle and David
Gray, play it on classical guitar
(which I maintain never suits
pop music!), and slap lyrics like
"Even big boys cry when their
brothers die / Even big boys cry
when their best friends die" on
top of it all. Brutal. The crowd
talked, napped, and waited for
Sigur Ros to take the stage.
At last they did, with the
outstanding addition of multi-
instrumentalist all-woman
sting quartet, Amina. The
group began with Track One
from their new album, (), and
proceeded to go through a variety of pieces from their entire
ensemble. While I wouldn't
go so far as to criticize the
group's studio work, their production does not convey the
full power of Jonsi Birgisson's
otherworldly singing voice. In
truth, probably no production
could. His impassioned, Thom-
Yorke-ravishes-choir-boy vocal
performance must be seen to
be believed. Kjartan Sveinsson
switched from his usual role on
keys to contribute beautiful
lead guitar on several songs,
and bassist Georg Holm created a stir by playing one song
with a drum stick, creating a
perfectly-metered, reverberating bass note. However, the
night by no means recaptured
the magic of last year's event.
The band was playing the final
show of a month-long tour—
and were on stage for their
third night in a row. They were
noticeably fatigued, as was the
crowd after being tortured by
that damn Siggi. Nonetheless,
we left happy, laden with
merchandise, and anticipating
their return.
Susy Webb
33 DiSCORDER ■If-hoftie.)
'nit
e - Ia2. C
aTolkien-esque name. You
:'mon—the Baroness rapping.
Chris Eng, Editor
Top 10 Celebrity Crushes
1. Alyson Hannigan (Willow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The
ultimate geek-girl. Nerd Valkyrie.)
2. Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney. Wickedest drummer in the
Wickedest.)
3. Liv Tyler (Arwen, LotR. Elf-hotti
4. Lorien (The Weekend. Gla:
do the math.)
5. Stacey DeCobray (G.
Drool.)
6. Tina Fey (Saturday Night LiVeffjgj^'s sassy and so nasty.)
7. Brody (The Distillers. She's nasty and so sassy.)
8. Strider (LotR. Apparently his "real" name is Vigo. Right.
Whatever.)
9. Britney (Britney Spears. She's a slave 4 u 'n' me. The hell with
being "dirrty".)
10. Demonicole (Scratching Post. Canadian metal queen and heir-
apparent to Lee Aaron—so hott.)
The Shake
Wednesdays, 1:00-2:00PM
Top Ten Things That Give Me The Bad Shake
Johnny Thunders' stupid face
I heard Michael Gira is a conMf^gtibj* worker
Of the Simon and Garfunkel srr - ofag -'3|sage
The words "buns" and "hubby in^(^e proximity
The words "hot" and "heat" ip.tte^proximity
The conspicuous smoothnes ::ated ceramics
Kingsway's diagonal trajectory
"Disposable Cutting Surfaces"
British period pieces
Capellini
10,000 Voices
Tuesdays, 5:00-6:00PM
Books Published This Year That I Liked
The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith
Exile by Ann Ireland
Dead Cirls by Nancy Lee
The Broken Record Technique
The Sudden Weight of Snow1
Cumberland by Michael V Smitrl
Lemony Snicket: The Un;
The Saints of Big Harbour byS
Heroines by Lincoln Clarkes
Bluesprint Edited by Wade Compton
Third Time's The Charm
Tuesdays, 9:30-ll:30AM
Ten Reasons Why Rock and Roll Still Rules
1-4. Each member of Sahara Hotnights
5. The Peepshows—watch out f°^to next Swedish export!
6. The Dirtbombs/Detroit Cobr^f^^gand The Knockouts show,
Oct.4 in Seattle—from beginr*Jp^<|frid, FUN! FUN! FUN!
7. Labels like Sympathy ForTjie kecord Industry, Dirtnap, Estrus,
Gearhead... MMMMMm
8. Turbonegro reuniting! Look forkfl*w record in 2003!
9. Local faves The Spitfires, The Nasty On, Three Inches Of Blood,
and new kids on the block The Gung Ho's and Spread Eagle
10. The Piccadilly Pub—sure, sometimes the view sucks and the
sound isn't always great, but where else ar^you gonna see a band
like The Chargers Street Gang get the entire audience on stage
for a rousing rendition of "Gloria", singin' and shakin' 'til well after
the house lights are up and the bar staff is out the door?
My Ass
alt. Mondays, 6:30-7:30PM
Top 10 Shows and Albums of 2002
1. Joel RL Phelps live at Jay's
2. Joel RL Phelps and the Downer Trio live at the 1-Spy
3. US Maple live at the Sugar Refinery
4. STREETS-Worms
5. Nina Nastasia-The Blackened Air
6. Silkworm-/ta/ian Platinum
7. Mecca Normal-Trie Family Swan
8. Wire-Read and Burn 01 m
9. Whitehouse-"Wri55fe L§jj$Sffitt1ftng Eel"
10. Capozzi Park-Th- ■ 3rd cf'Cappozi Park
Top 10 Things That Make M^
1. Das Carcuss-Big BrothST
2. Brent Sopel-Vancouver c
3. Allen Iverson-Philadelphia 76ers
4. Tom Scharpling-The Best Show on WFMU
5. Tom Kipp-Rock Historian
6. Wener's Barbeque-The Best Show on CiTR
7. Mandarin-Oranges
8. Flip-Sorry
9. Richard Meltzer-Rhymes With Seltzer
10. MarkGonzales-Sick
Merek Cooper, Production Manager
Top Ten Reasons Why Canada Sucks
1. GST? What? PST? What the fuck? Hey shopkeep, do the mat
your fucking self!
2. It looks like America. It sounds like America. Let's face it, it is
America.
3. The cheesy smile plastered on everyone's face. Like you're
actually that happy.
4. Soccer. The rest of the world calls it football, get with the
program. Oh, and maybe learn to play.
5. Mountains and trees are not a substitute for culture.
6. In England, they're just muffins.
7. CanCon.
8. No, I'm i
9. OraKiw
10. The maple leaf o
No. 2)
Top Ten pieces of El
year.
1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. Ikara Colt-Chat and Business
3. Jeffrey Lewis-The Last Time 1 Took Acid I Went Insane (e.p.)
4. John Mathias-Sma// Town Shining
5. Secretary
6. The Super Furry Animals live experience.
7. Smog-Acummu(at!'on:None
8. McClusky-Lic/ht Saber Cock Sucking Blues (single)
it Australian. ^^|^^
le leaf on bac^KLa^auess
:es of Entertainment Medi;
less what? We don't care. (See
ia I have enjoyed in the last
9. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster-Horse Of The Dog
10. The Stereo Effect website News section:
www.thestereoeffect.com
AnoiZE
Wednesdays 11:30 - 1:00pm
Top Ten of 2002
1. Acid Mothers Temple-4P' Century Splendid Man
2. Rhys Chatham-Compendi
3. Comets On Fire-Fie/d Red
4. Steffen Basho Junghans-Wate
5. Kawabata Mokoto-/n/inite Li
6. Iannis Xenakkis-Peresopo/iJ
7. Kansas-Proto-Kaw early rs
8. Negativland-Deathsentanes...
9. David Cross-Shut Up You Fucking Baby
10. Mainliner-/ma,§rinaryP/ain
CPR
Tuesdays 2:00 - 3:00pm
Top Ten Warcraft III Custom Maps
1. MiniGunnerz
2. Aeon of Strife Tri-War
3. Devil's Tower Defense 1-flP^^»
4. Archer TD ^MMMML
5. Advanced Castle Defen^fflP^^Bfc
6. Island Weakest Link W^^flP
7. Risk 2.0
8. Blixel's Tower Defense
9. Heroes Arena
10. Footman Madness
Russ Davidson
DiSCORDER's Art Director
Top Ten Fonts I Hate Sooo Much
1. Copperplate Gothic
2. Lucida Handwriting
3.Arial
4. Arial Black
5. Arial Narrow
6. Comic Sans MS
7. Courier
8. Personal handwritten fonts
9. Futura (those stupid a's)
10. Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk Condensed (ohh just kidding).
And Sometimes Why
First Wednesday of each month 7:30 - 9:00pm
Miko's Top Ten (in alpha, order)
1. Cafe Flora: Restaurant (Seattle)
2. Cha-ya: Vegan restaurjg
3. Dalek: From Filthy Tl
4. Cynthia Dall: Sound R
5. Low: Trust
6. Nina Nastasia: The Bla§
7. Piano: when its Dark ItP
8. Sleater-Kinney: One Beat
9. Mary Timony: The Golden Dove
10. Windy (simply read books) by Robin
9
CiTR's 2002 RUNDOWN
34 Decembuary 2002 dtcurJA
whafs being played at CiTR 101.9fm
Decembuary Long Vinyl
1 AddNTo(X) Loud Like Nature Mute
2 The Agenda Start the Panic Kindercore
3 P:ano When It's Dark And Its Summer Hive Fi
4
Pavement Slanted And Enchanted: Rec
uxe Matador
5
Boards of Canada Twoism
Warp
6
Bjork
Bjork's Greatest Hits
Elektra
7
Button Down Beats V/A
Nordic Trax
8
Dirtmitts
Get On
Sonic Unyon
9
Reverberators
Limbo Fury
Indie
10
Hot Hot Heat
Make Up The Breakdown Sub Pop
11
The Organ
Sinking Hearts
Global Symp...
12
Flash Bastard
Bastard Radio
Longshot
13
RFTC
Live From Camp X-Ray
Vagrant
14
Liars Fins To Make Us More Fish-Like [EP] Mute
15
Steel Pole Bath Tub Unlistenable
Midheaven
16
Twilight Circus
... Dub Plates Vol. 3
M
17
Sadies
Stories Often Told
Outside
18
Destroyer
This Night
Merge
19
Godspeed...
Yanqui U.X.O.
Constellation
20
Donnas
Spend The Night
Atlantic
21
Smog
Accumulation: None
Drag City
22
Lemon Jelly
Lost Horizons
XL
23
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Machine [EP]
Touch and Go
24
Jello Biafra
Machine Gun...
Alt.Tentacles
25
TSOOL
Behind The Music
Universal
26
Tipsy
Remix Party
Asphodel
27
Riff Randells
Riff Randells
Delmonic
28
Sights
Got What We Want
Fall of Rome
29
Banco De Gaia 10 Years
Six Degrees
30
Ruins
Tzomborgha
Ipecac
31
Warlocks
Phoenix Album
Birdman
32
The Raveonettes Whip it on
Crunchy Frog
33
Ladytron
Light and Magic
Emp Norton
34
Nasty On
Citysick
Stutter
35
Amon Tobin
Out From Out Where Ninja Tune
Decembuary Short Vinyl
1 Gentlemen Of Horror 5 Song 45 Independent
2 Frog Eyes/JWAB Split Global Sym...
3 Destroyer The Music Lovers Sub Pop
4 New Town Animals Fashion Fallout Dirtnap
Decembuary Imaginary Home Jobs
5 The Spitfires
6 Kevin Blechdom
7 The Lollies
8 Kung Fu Killers
9 Cato Salsa Exp.
10 Get Hustle
Juke Box
Jelly Donuts
High Glazed
Four States Fair
Channel Heaven
S/T
Picture Disc
Who do You Love
Evil World
TKO
Emp. Norton
Gravity Scat
• GSL
Nardwuar
Baby Halleujah Modern Radio
Small Scale K
Such A Bore TKO
Are You Nervous? Kindercore
17 V/A Modern Radio Presents... Modern Radio
18 Rag Boosters Side Tracked Z.V. Action
19 Veal I Hate Your Lipstick Six Shooter
20 The Cleats Save Yourself Longshot
11 Chromantics/Monitor Split
12 The Evaporators Honk The Horn
13 Gene Defcon
14 Mirah
15 The Riffs
16 The Agenda
1 Bikini Shop
2 Russ and the Maniacs
3 Video Tokyo
4 Felt Phallus
5 The Dirty Bitches
6 Show Phonies
7 Decepticon Waves
8 Metalicious
9 Sweet Oryental
10 Stench
11 The Children
12 Catholic Biscuit
13 Wesley Willis Song Generator
14 Instint noodlz
15 The Baptist Brothers
16 The Wargamers
17 Barfburn
18 Cat Piss Toque
19 Jack and the Stack
20 Mac Attac
Sick of Charlie
Indesign Yo' Ass
S/T
Slip It In
You Think Your Shit Stinks?!
Me, Myself and You
Willfully Obscure
Starvin' for Metal
How Wong Can It Be?
Excrete My Gurgling Prey
This One's For The Terrorists
Young and Firm
Chris Eng
Noodle in Yo' Mouth
The Bad Man
Hardkore
Softserve
Surrey Gurls
Soccer Christ Victorious
Switcher
c
HOW THE CHARTS WORK
3
The monthly charts are compiled based on the number of times a
CD/LP ("long 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., "November" charts reflect airplay over October). Weekly charts can be received via email. Send mail to
"majordomo@unixg.ubcca" with the command: "subscribe citr-charts." •
Hey!!
n, right? You're reading this, right?
To find out about our cheap rates:
call: 604 329 3865
email: discordereyahoo.com
35 DiSCORDER 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
12:00-3:00PM Reggae inna
all styles and fashion.
BLOOD ON THE SADDLE
3:00-5:OOPM Real-cowshit-
caught-in-yer-boots country.
CHIPS WITH EVERYTHING alt.
5:00-6:00PM British pop music
from all decades.
SAINT TROPEZ alt. 5:00-
6:00PM International pop
(Japanese, French, Swedish,
British, US, etc.), '60s
soundtracks and lounge. Book
your jet set holiday now!
QUEER FM 6:00-8:00PM
Dedicated to the gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transsexual communities of Vancouver. Lots of human
interest features, background on
current issues and great music.
RHYTHMSINDIA 8:00-10:00PM
Rhythmslndia features a wide
range of music from India,
including popular music from
Indian movies from the 1930s
to the present, classical music,
Ghazals and Bhajans, 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
mystical. <rrancendance@hotma
THE SHOW 12:00-2:00AM
BBC WORLD SERVICE 2:00-
6:00 AM
MONDAY
BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00-
8:00AM
BREAKFAST WITH THE BROWNS
8:00-11:00AM 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 ah.
11:00-1:00PM Local Mike and
Local Dave bring you local music
of all sorts. The program most
likely to play your band!
GIRLFOOD ah. 11:00- 1:00PM
PARTS UNKNOWN 1:00-
3:00PM Underground pop for
the minuses with the occasional
interview with your host Chris.
SANDBOX THEATRE 3:00-
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 4:00-
5:00PM A chance for new CiTR
DJs to flex their musical muscle.
Surprises galore.
WENER'S BARBEQUE 5:00-
6:00PM Join the sports dept.
for their coverage of the T-Birds.
CRASH THE POSE alt. 6:00-
7:30PM Hardcore/punk as
fuck from beyond the grave.
SOLARIZATION alt. 6:00-
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. 6:30-7:30PM
Phelps, Albini, V me.
WIGFLUX RADIO 7:30-9:00PM
Celebrate the triumphant return
of DJ Vyb. Listen to DJ Vyb and
Selecta Krystabelle for your reggae education.
THE JAZZ SHOW 9:00PM-
12:00AM Vancouver's longest
running prime time jazz program. Hosted by the ever-suave
Gavin Walker. Features at 11.
Dee. 8: Lyric-trumpeter Dr. Donald
Byrd has a birthday today and
we honour that by playing his
rarest album, Off to fhe Races,
with alto master Jackie Mclean
and the great Pepper Adams
[Baritone sax).
Dee. 16: A rare straight ahead
performance by one of the most
expressive voices of the alto
saxophone; Charlie Mariano
with Spanish piano genius Tete
Montoliu: Standards.
Dee. 23: By tradition, the famous
Christ
sting
between Miles Davis (trumpet),
Milt Jackson (Vibes) and pianist
Thelonous Monk: Bag's Groove.
Dec.30: Great Jazz Standards:
An album by the Canadian-born
arranger/musical magician Gil
Evans and a hand-picked big
VENGEANCE IS MINE 12:00-
3:00AM Hosted by Trevor. It's
nthe
urhec
thank fucking Christ.
PSYCHEDEUC AIRWAVES 3:00-
6:30AM DJ Christopher Schmidt
also hosts Organix at Club 23 (23
West Cordova) on Friday nights.
PACIFIC PICKIN' 6:30-8:00AM
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 9:30-
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! <borninsixty
nine@hotmail.com>
BLUE MONDAY ah. 11:30AM-
1:00PM Vancouver's only indus-
trial-electronic-retro-goth program.
Music to schtomp to, hosted by
LA BOMBA ah. 11:30-12:30
REEL TO REAL ah. 12:30-1:
00PM Movie reviews and criti-
SUNDAY
Monday
TUESDAY
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
I 6***
7
8
9
10
11
12pm
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12**»
1
2
3
4
5
6AM
7
8
9
10
11
12pm|
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12am|
1
2
3
4
5
REGGAE LINKUP
ARE YOU
SERIOUS?
MUSIC
ROCKERS
SHOW
BLOOD ON THE L
SADDLE
ChipswtthIpo SAINT I p0
EVERY1HNG1 TROPEZ I
QUEER FM
RHYTHMSINDIA
TRANCENDANCE
BBC WORLD
SERVICE
BBC WORLD SERVICE
BREAKFAST
WITH
THE BROWNS
E
GIRLFOOD
LOCAL
KIDS MAKE
GOOD
L*
PARTS E
UNKNOWN
SANDBOX THEATREfTK)
ABSOLUTE BEGINNER!
WIGFLUX RADIO
IfsT
THE
JAZZ
SHOW
VENGEANCE
IS MINE!
PSYCHEDELIC
AIRWAVES
PACIFIC PICKIN'
HIGHBRED VOICES L
THIRD TIMES
THE CHARM
BLUE
MONDAY
(Gl)
BEATUPRONIN £
CPR
MEAT EATING VEGAN(Ec
10,000 VOICES (Tk)
FLEX YOUR
HEAD
SALARIO MINIMO
VENUS
FLYTRAP
E
ESCAPISM
AURAL
TENTACLES
BBC WORLD SERVICE
SUBURBAN JUNGLE
FOOL'S PARADISE^
THE ANTIDOTE
IE.
RADD FREE PRESS
E
MOTORDADDY/ t-
RUMBLETONE RADIO
RACHEL'S
SONG
FOLK OASIS
K
STRAIGHT OUTTA L
JALLUNDHAR
HANS KLOSS'
MISERY HOUR
FIRST FLOOR
SOUND SYSTEM
BBC WORLD SERVICE
END OF THE
WORLD NEWS
PLANET
LOVETRON
CANADIAN LUNCH/L
YUKON HO
STEVE & MIKE
RHYMES &
REASONS
LEGALLY HIP (TV|
OUT FOR KICKS
ON AIR L^L
WITH GREASED HAIR
LIVE FROM...
THUNDERBIRD HELL
WIRELESS
CRUELTY
BBC WORLD
SERVICE
CAUGHT IN
THE RED
SKA-T'S L
SCENIC DRIVE
THESE ARE THE BREAKS
LEO RAMIREZ L^-
SHOW
NARDWUAR
PRESENTS
IE
fiW
FAREASTSIDE
SOUNDS
AFRICAN
RYTHMS
BREAKING \E.
WAVES IN YOUR
HEAD
Ec
MORNING AFTER
SHOW
THE VAMPIRE'S BALL
THE VAMPIRE'S BALL
| Rts
THE
SATURDAY
EDGE
GENERATION fPu"
ANNIHILATION
POWERCHORD
CODE BLUE
| Rts
ELECTROLUX HOUR
SYNAPTIC SANDWICH
PLUTONIAN
NIGHTS
REGGAE LINKUP
Cf= conscious and funky • Ch= children's • Dc= dance/electronic • Ec= eclectic • Gi= goth/industrial • Hc= hardcore • Hh= hip hop
LHk= Hans Kloss • Ki=Kids • Jz= jazz • Lm= live music • Lo= lounge • Mt= metal • No= noise • Nw= Nardwuar • Po= pop • Pu= punk ■
^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^Rg= reggae^^r= rocJ^^ts= roots • Sk = ska »So= soul * Sp= sports* Tk= talk^Wo= world ^^^^ ^^^^
36 Decembuary 2002 CPR 2:00-3:30PM
Buh bump... buh bump... this
is the sound your heart makes
when you listen to science talk
and techno... buh bump...
ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES
alt. 3:30-4:30PM
ELECTRIC AVENUES alt. 3:30-
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
4:30-5:00PM
10,000 VOICES 5:00-6:00PM
Poetry, spoken word, performances, etc.
FLEX YOUR HEAD 6:00-
8:00PM Up the punx, down
the emo! Keepin' it real since
1989, yo.
http: //flexyourhead .vancouverh
ardcore.com/
SALARIO MINIMO 8:00-
10:00PM
VENUS FLYTRAP'S LOVE DEN
alt. 10:00PM-12:00AM
<loveden@hotmail.com>
ESCAPISM (FORMERLY
SOULSONIC WANDERLUST)
alt.l0:00PM-12:00AM
Electro-acoustic-trip-dub-ethno-
groove-ambient-soul-jazz-fusion
and beyond I From the bedroom
to Bombay via Brookyln and
back. The sounds of reality
remixed. Smile. <sswanderlust@
hotmail.com>
AURAL TENTACLES
12:00-6:00AM 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 6:00-
7:00AM
THE SUBURBAN JUNGLE
7:00-9:00AM 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 gem I <suburbanjungle@chan
nel88.com>
FOOL'S PARADISE 9:00-
10:00AM Japanese music
and talk.
THE ANTIDOTE 10:00AM-
11:30PM
ANOIZE 11:30AM-1:00PM
Luke Meat irritates and educates
through musical deconstruction.
Recommended for the strong.
THE SHAKE 1:00-2:00PM
RADIO FREE PRESS
2:00-3:00PM Zines are dead!
Long live the zine showl
MOTORDADDY alt.
3:00-5:00PM Cycle-riffic rawk
and roll!
RUMBLETONE RADIO alt.
3:00-5:00PM Primitive,
fuzzed-out garage mayhem I
RACHEL'S SONG 5:00-6:30PM
Socio-political, environmental
activist news and spoken word
with some music, too.
www, necessarwoices.org
FILL-IN 6:30-7:30PM
AND SOMETIMES WHY alt.
7:30-9:00PM
(First Wednesday of every
month.)
REPLICA REJECT ah.
7:30-9:00PM Indie, new
wave, punk, and other noise.
FOLK OASIS 9:00-10:30PM
Roots music for folkies and
non-folkies... bluegrass, singer-
songwriters,worldbeat, alt country and more. Not a miragel
<folkoasis@canada.com>
STRAIGHT OUTTA
JALLUNDHAR 10:30PM-
12:00AM LetDJsJindwa
and Bindwa immerse you in
radioactive Bhungral "Chakkh
de phutay."
HANS KLOSS' MISERY HOUR
12:00-3:00 AM
FIRST FLOOR SOUND SYSTEM
3:00-6:00AM
THURSDAY
BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00-
8:00AM
END OF THE WORLD NEWS
8:00- 10:00 AM
PLANET LOVETRON 10:00-
11:30AM Music inspired
by Chocolate Thunder, Robert
Robot drops electro past
and present, hip hop and
intergalactic funkmanship.
<rborlove@yahoo.com>
CANADIAN LUNCH alt.
11:30AM-1:00PM
YUKON HO alt. 11:30AM-
1:00 PM
STEVE AND MIKE 1:00-2:00PM
Crashing the boy's club in the
pit. Hard and fast, heavy and
slow (punk and hardcore).
THE ONOMATOPOEIA SHOW
2:00-3:00PM Comix comix
comix. Oh yeah, and some
music with Robin.
RHYMES AND REASONS
3:00-5:00PM
LEGALLY HIP alt. 5:0O-6:O0PM
PEDAL REVOLUTIONARY
alt. 5:00-6:00PM Viva la
Velorution! DJ Helmet Hair and
Chainbreaker Jane give you
all the bike news and views
you need and
around while
/.sustainobility.com/dinos/
radio
OUT FOR KICKS 6:00-7:30PM
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
7:30-9:00PM The best in roots
rock 'n' roll and rhythm and
blues from 1942-1962 with your
snappily-attired host Gary Olsen.
<ripitup55@aol.com>
LIVE FROM THUNDERBIRD
RADIO HELL 9:00-
11:00PM Local muzak from 9.
Live bandz from 10-11. http://
www.stepandahalf.com/tbirdhell
WORLD HEAT 11:00PM-
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 1:00-
6:00AM
FRIDAYS
BBC WORLD SERVICE 6:00-
8:00AM
CAUGHT IN THE RED 8:00-
10:00AM Trawling the trash
heap of over 50 years worth of
real rock 'n' roll debris.
SKA-T'S SCENE-IK DRIVEI
1 0:00AM- 1 2:00PM
Email requests to <djska_
t@hotmail.com>.
THESE ARE THE BREAKS
12:00-2:O0PM Top notch
crate diggers DJ Avi Shack and
Promo mix the underground hip
hop, old school classics and
original breaks.
THE LEO RAMIREZ SHOW
2:00-3:30PM The best mix of
music, news, sports, and commentary from around the local
and international Latin American
communities.
NARDWUAR THE HUMAN
SERVIETTE PRESENTS...
3:30-5:00PM
CiTR NEWS AND ARTS 5:00-
6:00PM A volunteer produced ,
student and community newscast
featuring news, sports and arts.
Reports by people like you.
"Become the Media." To get
involved, visit www.citr.ca and
click "News Dept."
FAR EAST SIDE SOUNDS alt.
6:00-9:00PM
AFRICAN RHYTHMS alt. 6:00-
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
BREAKING WAVES IN YOUR
HEAD 12:O0-2:O0AM
THE MORNING AFTER SHOW
2:0O-4:00AM
SATURDAY
THE VAMPIRE'S BALL 4:00-
8:00AM Dark, sinister music of
all genres to soothe the Dragon's
soul. Hosted by Drake.
THE SATURDAY EDGE 8:00AM-
12:00PM Studio guests,
new releases, British comedy
sketches, folk music calendar,
and ticket giveaways.
8-9AM: African/World roots.
9AM-12PM: Celtic music and performances.
GENERATION ANNIHILATION
12:00-1:00PM Tune in for a
full hour of old and new punk
and Oi mayhem!
POWERCHORD 1:00-
3:00PM Vancouver's only true
metal show; local demo tapes,
imports, and other rarities.
Gerald Rafrlehead, Dwain, and
Metal Ron do the damage.
CODE BLUE 3:OO-5:0OPM From
backwoods delta low-down slide
to urban harp honks, blues, and
blues roots with your hosts Jim,
Andy, and Paul.
ELECTROLUX HOUR 5:00-
6:00PM
SOUL TREE 6:00-9:00PM 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
9:00-11:00PM
PLUTONIAN NIGHTS
11:00PM-1:00AM Loops, lay
ers, and oddities. Naked phone
staff. Resident haitchc with guest
DJs and performers.
http://plutonia.org
THE RED EYE ah. 1:00-4:30AM
EARWAX alt. 1:00-4:30AM
"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 UNKUP 4:30-9:00AM
Hardcore dancehall reggae.
KicK abound decernb<ir ^oo2.
• fey s.tnalm 3nc\ b. koWe.-
33
37 DiSCORDER dateb
ool
SUBMISSIONS TO DATEBOOK ARE FREE. FOR
THE FEB ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS JAN 8. FAX
SHOW, FILM, EVENT AND VENUE LISTINGS TO
604.822.9364 OR EMAIL
<DISCORDER@CLUB.AMS.UBC.CA>
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 4
Film 1999@Blinding Light!!; Blues Traveler, P.J.Olsson@Commodore
THUR 5
Strange Grey Day This@Blinding Light!!; Myk Gordon@Carnegies;
Headstones@Commodore; Weakerthans@Richard's; Roger Dean
Young@The Main
FRI 6
Delbert McClinton@House of Blues; John McDermott, Murray
Mclauchlan@Orpheum; Sixty Stories, My Project Blue, The
Fireside Room@Pat's Pub; The Mahones@Railway Club; Tony
Furtado@Richard's on Richards; Chopper and Gorehound@The
Main; The Hanson Brothers, The Pleasure Suit, Che Chapter 127,
the Shittys@Unit 20 Legion of Vancouver; lnfrequency Corp.
Radio Benefit; Pearl Jam@Showbox (Seattle)
SAT 7
Leahy@Orpheum; The Mahones@Railway Club; Sixty
Stories, Weakerthans@Selwyn Hall; Barron Samedi release
party with Sharp Teeth@Pat's Pub; JT King@The Main; Fred
Everything@Sonar
SUN 8
Movies of the Week: Directors's Cuts@Railway Club; Pearl
Jam@Key Arena Seattle Centre; DJ Bailey@Sonar; Copperspine
Records Anniversary Party@Sugar Refinery
MON 9
Laura Minor,. The Blasters, Bughouse 5@Commodore; Tori
Amos, Howie Day@Queen Elizabeth Theatre; Station Reading
Series@Railway Club; Mudhoney@Showbox(Seattle)
TUE 10
3 Doors Down@Commodore, Movie Night: Pi@Pat's Pub; CiTR
presents Shindig 2002 finals: My Proect Blue, The Stunts, Black
Rice@Railway Club; Alchemy, Travis Barker@Sugar Refinery
WED 11
Sonically Induced Music Nite@Railway Club; Jesse Cahill
Trio@Sugar Refinery
THUR 12
Myk Gordon@Carnegies'; Swank plus guests@Railway Club; Ford
Pier@The Main; Gordon Wedding Band@Sugar Refinery
FRI 13
WDC@Arts Club Theatre; Paul Oakenfold, Hernan
Cataneo@Commodore; Buttless Chaps, Run Chico Run, Eugene
Ripper@Railway Club; Kingsway, Jani Jakovik@The Main; Ali
B@Sonar; Parlour Steps@Sugar Refinery
SAT 14
Global Symphonic Show Case feat. The Organ, A Luna Red,
STREETS@Pat's Pub; Deadcats, Mr Underhill, The Devilles@Railway
Club; Leeroy Stagger, Nobody's Darlings, Lindy@The Main; Cynthia
Dall, Mimi's Ami@Sugar Refinery; Art Damaged Cabaret #9: Latex
Bride, A.R.C, Lava, Zaza, Satina Saturnina@Ms. T's
SUN 15
Movies of the Week: New Movies@Railway Club; David
Rothbart@Sugar Refinery
MON 16
The Go Relfex, Rufio, The Ataris, Anti Freeze@Croatian Cultural
Centre; Ranch presents...©Railway Club
TUE 17
Movie Night: Buffalo 66@Pat's Pub; Carolyn Mark and Her Room-
Mates@Railway Club; Mark Farina@Sonar
WED 18
Blind Boys of Alabama feat. Clarence Fountain, Hukwe Zawose,
Peter Gabriel@GM Place; Big Sugar@Richard's; Carolyn Mark and
Her Room-Mates@Railway Club; Kevin House@Sugar Refinery;
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers@Everywhere in the fucking
world
THUR 19
Myk Gordon@Carnegies': Linda McRae@Railway Club; Amy
Honey@The Main; John Bottomley@Sugar Refinery
FRI 20
Linda McRae, Cheerful Lonesome@Railway Club; Tom Holliston,
John Guliak@The Main; Tony Wilson@Sugar Refinery
SAT 21
Clumsy Lovers@The Railway Club; Frog Eyes, The Battles
and something special@Pat's Pub; Auburn@The Main; Secret
Three@Sugar Refinery; Modest Mouse@Showbox (Seattle)
SUN 22
Movies of the week: New Movies@Railway Club; Ford Pier@Sugar
Refinery; Modest Mouse@Showbox(Seattle); Reze, Kytami
Music@Sugar Refinery
MON 23
David M's Xmas Alone in No Fun City@Railway Club;
38 Decembuary 2002
TUE 24
Movie night: Boyz in da Hood@Pat's Pub; Hard Rock Miners Xmas
Singalong@Railway Club
THUR26
Bughouse 5@Railway Club
FRI 27
Jazzberry Ram@Railway Club; Dave Lang Vs. Antler, The
Burnettes@The Main; Teethacres@Sugar Refinery
SAT 28
Patti Benefit, Radio Berlin and guests@Pat's Pub; Jazzberry
Ram@Railway Club; Tex Tiles, The True Moral Fibres@The Main;
Broken Crow Quartet@Sugar Refinery
SUN 29
Movie of the Week: Mondo Movies@Railway Club; Family
Man@Sugar Refinery
SUN 31
Butch Murphy, The Greasy Kings@The Main; Vinyl Richie, Todd
Omotani, Luke Mckeehan@Sonar; The Molestics@Sugar Refinery
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 1
Ford Pier@Sugar Refinery
THUR 2
Les Savy Fav, Pretty Girls Make Graves@Richards'; JP Carter
Trio@Sugar Refinery
TUE 7
Jon Rae Fletch<- and the River, Maurice Mieran, Matt Rader, Trish
Kelly, Dorett- .©Railway Club
WED 8
Ford Pier@Sugar Refinery; Rock for Choice: Radio Berlin, Red Light
Sting, Operation Makeout, The Organ, Le Petite Morte@Video In
Studios
THUR 9
A/V Lodge@Sugar Refinery; Rock For Choice: Neil Osborn, Linda
McRae, Kevin Kane, Sarah Wheeler@Van East Cultural Centre
FRI 10
Alchemy, Travis Baker@Sugar Refinery; Rock For Choice: Be Good
Tanyas, Carolyn Mark, Rae Spoon, Glenn Garinther@Van East
Cultural Centre
SAT 11
Henry Rollins@Vogue Theatre; JT King, Clay George@Sugar Refinery;
Ellery Eskelin, Andrea Parkins, Jim Black@Richard's on Richards;
Rock For Choice: The Gossip, Che: Chapter 127, Submission Hold,
Deadsure@Church of Pointless Hysteria
SUN 12
Rock For Choice: The Rhythm of Choice, The Front, Kia Kadiri,
Shankini, Rachel Flood, Rup Sidhu, Korine Zamor, Brigeek,
Stinkmitt@Sonar
THUR 16
Secrets and Lies@Sugar Refinery
SUN 19
Mark Browning@Sugar Refinery; The Used, Taking Back Sunday,
Blood Brothers, New Transit Direction@Richard's on Richards
Apcciof event*
CiTR PRESENTS: SHINDIG 2002 FINAL
MY PROJECT BLUE,
THE STUNTS, BLACK RICE
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10
THE RAILWAY CLUB
Shindig 2002 finally winds up, just in time
for Christmas. If you don't go you can't tell
jokes and get free beer.
SNOOP DOGG
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15
COMMODORE
Somebody said that Snoop gave up The
Chronic and was edited out of the Sesame
Street movie. Whatever, that cat is smooth.
IMVF INDIE MUSIC VIDEO FESTIVAL
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16
GINGER 62
See all the videos you wish Much Music
would play if they weren't idiots.
ROCK FOR CHOICE
JANUARY 8-12
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
Good cause, good music. Support this event.
Get more info at:
www.rockforchoicevancouver.com
place* fa be
bassix records
217 w. hastings
604.689.7734
p,cpub
620 west pender
604.669.1556
beatstreet records
3-712 robson
604.683.3344
railway club
579 dunsmuir
604.681.1625
black swan records
3209 west broadway
604.734.2828
richard's on richards
1036 richards
604.687.6794
blinding light!!
36 powell
604.878.3366
ridge cinema
3131 arbutus
604.738.6311
cellar
3611 west broadway
604.738.1959
red cat records
4305 main
604.708.9422
club 23
commodore ballroom
futuristic flavour
highlife records
legion of van
23 west cordova
868 granville
518 west pender
1020 granville
1317 commercial
300 west pender
604.739.4550
604.683.8774
604.681.1766
604.251.6964
scrape records
scratch records
sugar refinery
1029 granville
17 west broadway
726 richards
66 water
1115 granville
604.877.1676
604.6876355
604.683.6695
604.331.1184
1 lotus hotel
455 abbott
teenage ramapage
19 west broadway
604.675.9227
the main cafe
4210 main
604.709.8555
Vancouver playhouse
hamilton at dunsmuir 604.665.3050
mesa luna
1926 w. broadway
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
1882 adanac
604.254.5858
pacific cinematheque
131 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 <*''#.*
G-song EP out 01.21.03
THE (lltTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY
> LONGER CHAINS
-j—, ~\ ~\ tenor saxophc
J^J^J^^fc-J^^y & compos
Eskeli
with
Andrea
Parkins
and
Jim
Black
is ^SatijjrclaY
January 11,
8 pm sha*p
Richard's on Richards
Tickets $18 at Black Swan, Highlife, Scratch, Zulu Records Unity! Zulu Brings it Together.
MOUNTAIN GOATS
Tallahassee CD
You know what clothes han
•he closet. You know what novels represent the underdog. You
know what streets the underdog
keeps. But now know that the
underdog is no more!! For the real
bite that spurs ideas has the teeth mark of a goat. Praise!
The wooly Mountain Goats that roam the rare rocky crags
of the cultural peaks, herded by John Darnielle, the brilliant
songwriter who has done upkeep on the thematic pastures
of the real outsider tunes. On Tallahassee, Darnielle continues his lyrical alchemy over the course of 14 songs
loaded with sage observations such as "I've got you, you've
whatever is left in me to get, our conversations are like
minefields, no one's ever found a safe way through one yet'
or 'I handed you a drink of the lovely little thing, on which
our survival depends, people say friends don't destroy one
and another, what do they know about friends?'. Enjoy the
Goats!
CD 16.98
NICOLA CONTE
Jet Sounds
Revisited
CD/2X10"
Super Sport. A hint of freedon
in the gas tank and a dash ol
wind in your hair, means that the magic associated with Peck
and Hepburn's Roman Holiday, is suddenly sublimely possible. Hell, tonight anything is possible!! Italy is alive with the
sounds of her favorite son, Nicola Conte, who has just now
received the ultimate remix compliment from his peers
including Thievery Corporation, Koop, Kyoto Jazz Massive,
Nuspirit Helsinki and more! Truly sorprendente.
CD 16.98 2X10" 22.98
BARON SAMEDI ESQ
Ecstatic Soul Quintet Live, No
OverdubsCD
For some, the word "fusion" stinks in the worst way, even
if the concept "fusion" is welcomed. If pressed for a
description, however, this word —this stinky, debased
word — Ois absolutely mandatory to capture the Baron
Sarnedi ESQ sound. Yes, fusion. Part afro-beat, part raving
funk-soul, part sincerely kitschy parry music,
ESQ is fusion par-excellence. They can come and rock your
wedding, Christmas party, bar mitzvah, political rally - they
can even rock your fucking funeral (appropriately, the Haitian
spiritual figure Baron Sarnedi is a voodoo guardian of the
crossroads between our word and the spirit
beware...)! And; as the CD title says, this shit is live - no
overdubs, no coddling. The ecstatic spirit that walks between
earth and the great mystery, the fusion band that uses vigorous life to displace death, the brave men to make your party
start and go all night - this is Baron Sarnedi ESQ,
Vancouver's premiere Soul Quintet.
CD 12.98
THE POLYPHONIC SPREE
The Beginning Stages Of.
My friend Steve, who has a musical stomach and an excellent comprehension of the worthlessness of most installation art, loves this band. He describes himself as a "brit-
jock", but you don't have to be one to see why he's all about
this bizarre ensemble. 25 people in flowing white robes?
Right on! But don't be surprised by the visual shtick. The
music's all there, man. The band's been compared to
Rev and the Flaming Lips, but who
needs to label what the masses are
sure to be enchanted by? The
sound is charming, simple, and all
full of love. Don't knock a cult until
you've tried it, happy people... The
Polyphonic Spree could be just
what you need. Available when the
world works well (soon brother,
soon sister).
JULY FOURTH
TOILET
Something
For Everyone
CD
Whenever he's not
out globe-trotting with famed unit-shifting duo
JERK WITH
A BOMB
Pyrokinesis
CD/LP
One of Vancouver's most credible and accomplished bands,
Jerk With A Bomb are proven masters of tense at
and rough, country-tinged balladry.Their third full-length,
ZULU STAFF YEAR-END
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Canned Hamm, Robert Dayton calls Vancouver home. ^^^ sees JWAB perfecting the sound wrought so
And when at home, do you think he even considers carefuNy on prevlous a,bums Death t0 Fa|se mtzl and ThB
for a moment treating himself to some much 0,d „oise Their recent addjtion of a basslst he|ps t0 flesh
deserved rest? No, no, and again, no! There is no lhings out as do increasingty sophisticated songwriting,
time to rest when another musical project demands evocative|y g|00my |yrlcs, and substantial touches of pop and
his attention.. especially when the project in question psycnede|ia. So pour yourse|, a shot of something dangerous
is the "whimsical & skewed, experimental psyche- and get ,jt up w|th pyrokjnesis. AVAILABLE DECEMBER 10
pop" band July Fourth Toilet! It is as if he has two
wives and is a good husband to both!! It is as if he is
forming a conga line made up of everybody in this
city, one that eventually bursts through your door and
ends up in your living room!!! And so...ladies and
gentlemen, we present to you, eight years in the making, their debut album. A disc that has been described
by some in the music industry as "a richly rewarding
: listen", that is both "layered* and "diverse" containing
"magically timeless songs", "romantic ballads" and featuring "eye-catching packaging". Also, with the drawing of a gnome included on the inside cover, it truly
does become Something For Everyone.
CD RELEASE SHOW DEC. 27TH @ THE ANZA
CD/LP 12.98
RICHARD
BUCKNER
Impasse CD
nuckne
Dwell kr
Ttie Rapture - House ot Jealous Lovers 12"
Quix'o'tic - Mortal Mirror
Erase Errata/Numbers - split
Black Heart Procession - Amore Del Tropico
Piano Magic - Writers Without Homes
Liars - They Threw Us All in a Trench and Built
Monument On Top
Deerhoot - Reveille
Neil Michael Hagerty - Plays That Good Old
Rock and Roll
Black Dice - Beaches and Canyons
Oneida - Each One, Teach One
Frog Eyes - The Bloody H;
SAM
Anti-Pop Consortium - Armyinmia
Ekkehard Ehlers - Plays
Fennesz - Field Recordings
Kid 606 - The Action-Packed Mentalist....
Themselves - the no music,
i Sonic Youth - Murray Street
Angelika Koelermann - Care
The Breeders - Title TK
P:ano - When It's Dark And It's Summer
Black Dice - Beaches And Canyons
JOSH STEVENSON
Wolt Eyes - Dread
Sinoia Caves - The Enchanter Persuaded
The Tower Recordings - Folkscene
Vibracathedral Orchestra - Dabbling With
Gravity and Who You Are
Sun City Girls - High Asia / Lo-Pacitic
Chicago Underground Duo - Axis and Alignment Deerhoot - Reveille
The Clientele - Lost Weekend
The Notwist - Neon Golden
The Tindersticks - Trouble Every Day OST
David Grubbs - Rickets and Scurvy
Tne Boas - Mansion
Will Oldham - Forest Time (book/record)
CD 12.98
BOARDS OF CANADA
Twoism CD/LP
1"woism is a re-mastered re-release of older - and
I indeed, seminal - material to keep fans at bay
until the next proper new Boards of Canada album
(sometime - when?). And since the boys of BOC
take their sweet Scottish time, y'all better sit back
and enjoy what you've been given. We suspect,
however, that this should be easy to do. And while
you're waiting, why not think of Twoism as archeology - digging in the dirt for eariy traces of the present, evidence of how things came to be: listen for
the slightly detuned melodies, hear the slack, gritty
beats, and enjoy the early beautifully melancholic
splendor since matured into the BOC of today. Why
Twoism? Who knows? And frankly, who cares?
should be at least as
known as, say, Steve
Earle. Although he's not as conventionally country-rock inclined
as Earle sometimes is, veering more towards a kind of indie-
alt-country thing instead, they both have a similar down and
dusty feel. More than a sound or a style, however, they're
comparable because of a certain presence, a kind of audible
Hurt. Except, unlike Earle's clear story-like prose, when
Buckner speaks about his personal misery, it's broken, elliptical and fragmented, a formal representation of his emotional
state. Still, although personal woe and sorrow seem to be
what Buckner is expressing, it's so impressionistic that it
becomes an exegesis about Universal woe and sorrow, which
everyone knows a little something about. That said, the songs QuMnTof TheStoiieAge- Songs (or the Deal
are pretty catchy, too. Underrepresented but very appreciated.
CD 16.98 American Death Ray Music- Smash Radio I
The Sadies- Stories Often Told
Sleater-Kinney- One Beat
Radiogram- All the Way Home
Rex Hobart S the Misery Boys- Your
Fool
Interpol- Turn On the Bright Lights
The Cinch- s/t
Roger Wallace- The Lowdown
ko Case- Blacklisted
Frog Eyes - The Bloody Hand
Dead C - Perlorm DR503C (reissue)
Slumber Party - Psychedelicate
Mr. Airplane Man - Red Lite
BRADY
The Cinch- s/t EP
The Department- Be Your Friend?
Destroyer- Ttiis Night
Jon-Rae Fletcher and the River- s/t
Loscil- Submers
Nasty On- CitySick
P:ano- When It's Dark and It's Summer
Sinoia Caves- The Enchanter Persuaded
Sparrow- Piano 1-10
Young and Sexy- Stand Up for Your Mother
THE BOAS
Mansion CD
American Death Ray Musk
Boas - Mansion
Destroyer - This Night
Troy Gregory - Sybil
Neil Hagerty - Plays That G
Roll
d Old Rock and
They Threw Us All In a Trench and Bui
Mighty Flashlight - s/t
Oneida - Each One, Teach One
The Walkmen - Everybody Who Pretended to
Like Me Is Gone
The Warlocks - Phoenix Album
land After the Gold Rush, this, the debut recording from
Chicago's The Boas, is easily one of 2002's best attempts
towards a critical reinvestigation of 'The Great
American Song'. Hand picked by Jeff Tweedy
, to support Wilco, the like-minded
I steeped in the American grain and its rye tra-
i, and by this we mean they perform
counterculture amplified rock and roll
[ while drinking. So if the bullshit attempt of wire - Read And Burn 01
e hair-farming Allman Deerhoof - Reveille
s rip-off has got you down, Tanakh - Villa Claustrophobia
don't take forever reaching for help.
Tocotronic - s/t (not aw
Notwist - Neon Golden
Hot Snakes - Suicide Invoice
Sonic Youth - Murray Street
DAT Politics - Plugs Plus
Lali Puna - Scary World Theory
Destroyer - This Night
Out Hud - Street Dad
Mia - Hieb- und Stichfest (not a\
Canada)
Tindersticks - Trouble Every Day OST
Canada)
iiabii •
Artists - Rough Trade Shops Electronic
5 - They Threw Us All In a
: a Monument On Top
> - Title TK
; - Phoenix Album
Will Know Us B
Source Tags & Codes
Sonic Youth - Murray Sti
Oneida - Each One, Teach One
Lord High Fixers - Beginning of the End
Primal Scream - Evil Heat
Clinic - Walking With Thee
Wire - Read and Burn 01
JOSH ROSE
Queens ot the Stone Age- Songs For The
Hot Snakes- Suicide ln\
Jim O'Rourke- I'm Happy and I'm Singing...
Destroyer- This Night
Lali Puna- Scary World Theory
Keith Fullerton Whitman- Playthroughs
Iron and Wine- The Creek Drank the Cradle
Ekkehard Ehlers- Plays
Anti-Pop Consortium- Arrhythmia
Bizzz Circuits- Very Best of...
CD price tba
And w the two flew on the carpet of
tonic freedom to a galaxy paralleling
oan in everyway except that in the
nhce of war, hurt end conflict - there la
music, tweet music)
Discorder
Discorder CITR-FM (Radio station : Vancouver, B.C.) 2002-12-01
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