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APRIL 27
AN EVENING OF SPOKEN WORD WITH
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with guests The Killers
and evening
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v*trjf T&a$m to it DISCORDER, APRIL/04
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l^pberly Day ;^7^
PROl|§CTION
Graeme Worth^
Dale Davies
Katjgdle
Susy )Nebb''><S
/Olivia Fetherstanhaugh
Seamus fjMliven
Hugh Eggerton
Saef|pi*Mohindra
ON THE DIAL
Bryce Dunn
CHARTS'
Luke Meat
pArEBOOK
Kat^M^
distAutic^K,
Matt Steffich
^s\^6TRO
ireankie Rumbletone
iPISBLISHER
wqiewviasemola
"DISCORDER" 2004 by the Student Raoflo Society of the University <SBrlti|h Qofombia. All rights reserved. Circulation 17,500. Subscrianons, payable in advance, to Canadian residents a^e $|54r one year, ti© residents of the USA
are $15 US; $24 Cplfaclian elsewhere. Singe copies are $2 (to cover postage). Please make cheques or money
orders pcryjSbleJa DiSCORDER Magazine.
f DEADLINES: Copy deadline for unsolicited sybir9s|lons fij the May issue is April 16. Ad space is
available until April 25 and can be booked by calling Jason at 604.822.3017 ext. 3. Our rptes are available upon
request. DiSCORDER is not responsible for loss, damage, or any other Injury to unsolcited manuscripts, unielicsited
artwork (including but not limited to drawings, php^graphs and transparencies), or any other unsolicited material. As always, EngBshJs'preflered. Send e^idil to DiSCORDER at discorder@ctub.ams.ubc.cq.
From UBS to Langley and Squpshish to Bellingham, CiTR can be heard at 101.9fm as well as through
all major cable systems in the Lower Mainland, except Shaw in Ivhite Itock. Cqll'the CiTR DJ line at 822.2487, our
office, or our news and sports lines at 822.3017 ext. 2. Fax us at 822.93o4 e-mail us at cifrmgr@mail.ams.ubc.ca,
visit our website at www.citr.ca or just send free swag to #233-6E38 SUB Blvd., Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada.
REG ULARS
From the Desk Of ^kp.4
Fuckihg^llshit p.4
Strut; Fret, and Flicker|||§
Panarticon p.6
Textually Active®23
Real Live Action p.24
Under R|«W p.26
On the Dial p.30
Charts p.32
Datebook p.34
Kick Around p.34
The Darkness p.22
Johnny Cash p.22
*R|p?aff will return next
morfro!
citr 101 Bfm>www.citr.ca
WWJW
This nrrant#SJobvefrwfp |]
brouMit|fc/®jp m/ Dale Da-
vies, and ftfemngpmm obsession with SterealaJD. j
XHscociec £a<ho O
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SrVwff -prrjw^ 4W charts, 5M*)wior«
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frefll
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PS: the Dead Kennedys review
s really by Jello Biafra. It's
excerpted from a press release he
sent us. What a swell guy. He must
like spring too.
So it's spring again. I would have
liked to have spent my time lying
under the cherry trees, dozing
gently while petals landed on my
face. Instead, I spent the bulk of
my days planning out my second-
8ver issi4£©f DiSCORDER - the
first where I actually chose the
content. Wasn't a snooze in the
park, but it wasn't too bad either.
As if Cadbury Mini Eggs,
baby chicks, and a Stereolab
nterview weren't enough, this
April brings us the launch of our
sonic spin-off, DiSCORDER RADiO
ONE. If you're caught in some
sort of limbo, where our WW has
left you curious about a band,
but unwilling to part with the
dosh for a CD without hearing
t for yourself, you can lay your
cheap, cowardly fears to rest with
a one aural dose of DiSCORDER
RADIO ONE. That's right, from
11 AM to noon, every first and third
Monday of the month, we'll be
If
laying down audio pleasures from
featured artists. Under Review,
and the CiTR charts. DR1 is run
by a committee of DJs, so if you,
dear reader, wish to explore
the wonder of broadcasting,
just come on by the office with
your CiTR membership in hand.
We're mere steps away from
the DiSCORDER public access
television show, I assure you.
If your ears insist on
straying from CiTR, check out This
American Life ( ), the
"documentary show for people
who don't like documentaries."
Even if, like me, you do generally
"enjoy documentaries. Beamed
out of WBEZ in Chicago, it's not
news, and there's no celebrities,
just random, great stories and the
odd David Sedaris bit. I'm at a loss
to describe it, really, so go find out
for yourself. You'll be glad you did.
Even though we stayed
inside all month churning out this
wonder of journalism for you guys,
spring had its affect upon the
DiSCORDER staff. We're feeling
that romance in the air, especially
Susy Webb, who sweetly lost her
composure during her interview
11 H it l
with Stereolab's Tim Gone.
Sasha also got her flirt on with
the lovely Mia from ElectreJane.
Our Seasonal Affectedness
Disorder seems to be in temporary
remission as well.
This whole "spring
theme" is starting to feel
uncomfortably like a Zulu Records
Ad. But don't worry, DiSCORDER
will have proper themes in the
future. Right after we get over our
real theme of chaos and disorder.
Till then, think of DiSCORDER
as a fuzzy SI' baby lamb of a
magazine. (A fuzzy lamb that you
want to advertise with!)
Kat
PS: Thanks to all the writers this
month. The Dead Kennedys
review is really by Jello Biafra, you
know. It's excerpted from a press
release he sent us. What a swell
guy. I bet he likes spring too.
I'm really good looking. I can't
help it. My parents are good
looking, too, except I don't look
like them at all.
I look kin_d of weird. In a
beautiful way, of course. People
always stop me on the street
and ask me questions. "What
nationality are you?" "Is your
hair naturaljy curly?" "Are your
tits real?" Even people I know
make comments all the time.
The one I get the most is "You
know, you have a round ass for
an oriental." The other one is
"You know, you have a big afro
for an oriental."
Well, it turns out I'm not
exactly oriental. I just found out
that my dad isn't my biological
father. My real fathef is Arthur
Lee from the band tove.
It all makes sense now. The
protruding ass, the nappy hair, it
aR comes from my father's side.
I'm half black.
Arthur Lee called me up last
week. He said "I am your father."
I didn't believe him at first. Then
I asked my mother about it. I
called her in North Korea. She
started to cry and said that it
was true. I couldn't really hear
what she was saying because
the connection was pretty bad
and she was hysterical, but I'm
pretty sure she said that she
didn't like him.
Apparently, they knew
each other back in LA during the
'60s. The song "No Matter What
You Do" is about my mom. She
ditched him fast, and shacked
up with my pops, but there was
an "encounter" 15 years later.
She got pregnant.
After the point when I was
conceived, my mom's story
and Arthur's story don't match
anymore. My mom says Arthur
went crazy and tried to burn the
house down. I don't remember
this because I was riding ponies
abroad. He says he was just
smoking outside. She says he
came back a few years later,
this-time with a gun. He wanted
to see me, and she said no, so he
shot the gun in the air. He says the
gun went off by accident when
he was using it to point at the
stars while singing a sad song.
He served a jatj sentence for
some years, and he was released
not too long ago. Arthur, who I've
never met before, wants to "build
a- relationship." I'm not really
interested. I don't have any of his
records. I've never really listened
to Love. He says that he'll take
me with him to All Tomorrow's
Parties so that we can get to
know each other. It feels strange
to think that he could be my
actual father. I don't think Arthur
Lee is that good looking, but I've
heard a lot of people call him a
genius, which basically proves
that he's my real dad. •
^£*Ni^'f^^ '■■'"■
New & Used CD's & Vinyl
ph. 708-9422 * email buddy®redcat.cr PISCORDFR, A P R I LQ4
Boca Del Lupo
The Suicide
Friday 27 February
Vancouver East Cultural Center
A theatre group which suddenly
finds itself sixty grand richer
stands to reveal a lot about its
wildest dreams, as well as its
ability to balance extravagance
with wisdom. Boca del Lupo,
winner of the fifth annual Alcan
Performing Arts Award, made
some brilliant choices with the
cash.
By rights, adapting Russian
playwright Nikolai Erdman's The
Suicide shouldn't have been
one of them. Despite its potent
central idea, the play (at least
in translation), is one plodding
and untheatrical read - but in
this production, imagination and
artistry sent it to the moon.
While visiting Mexico, the
local company had found
aesthetic soulmates in San
Banquito Teatro and brought
the troupe north to collaborate
on the project. This was a good
thing for Boca. Under director
Sherry J. Yoon, the company
has always been physically
and technically inventive, but
its self-conscious cleverness
can be a bit off-putting. San
Banquito seems to have
loosened Yoon up. Apparently,
neither group spoke the other's
language very well, so they jus*
let rip with a combination of
Spanish and English that was
funny, elegant and—even to
non- Spanophones like myself—
strangely comprehensible.
The plot is full of characters
so large that they border on the
vaudevillian: a man is enjoying
a snack when his mother-in-law
mistakes the sausage in his mouth
for a gun. As rumors of his death
wish circulate, representatives
of various causes pressure him
to off himself in their name and
for the first time in his life, he feels
important.
The cast of six varied wildly in
their acting styles but whether by
accident or design, style became
an extension of character. In any
case, the dreamlike staging
accommodated them all. As
Semyon, the poster-boy -for
suicide, Lucas Meyers was a
lanky bundle of neurotic energy;
and Maiko Bae Yamamoto's
studiously weird deBvery found a
home in her roles as a lover and a
self-appointed muse. One of her
scenes, set to fractured jazz, was
just short of psychotic. But it was
Hispanic actor Moises Ledesma
who really grew on me. Goofy,
passionate and open-hearted in
his portrayal of a randy neighbor,
he nailed the art of acting as
reacting.
.When Erdman wrote the
play in 1928, he was lampooning
the dictum of self-sacrifice for the
common good, but in this take,
much of the political satire was
passed over.
Although there were
incidental pokes at psychosocial foibles—the ridiculous
lengths that people will go to fill
their empty lives with meaning,
the vultures who prey on them
and the economic spinoffs from
disaster—even these took a
back seat to an atmospheric
reimagining of the story itself.
Events progressed almost
like a series of vignettes across
a set that was sparse and
ingenious. Beds, tables and
coffins morphed into each
other and were often on a
slight," Caligarian slant. When
characters exited, I wanted to
follow them offstage...a good
sign. One scene is still playing
in my head: the white-faced
performers at a long, drink-laden
table, celebrating Semyon and
his pending suicide to a tropical
lounge track. It was The Last
Supper at the Copacabana.
Holy Buneiel!
As if the visual imagery in
this show weren't enough of
a gift, it also left an existential
residue—something about
coming to our senses just before
we sell out.
PI Theatre %!§$&
Cloud Tectonics
Friday 5 March
Performance Works
Cloud Tectonics is bursting
with sensual poetry and
wondrous ideas, but Jose Rivera
should have written a poem or a
thesis to express them. Instead,
he wrote a play and proceeded
to ram it all through the mouths
of his characters.
It's a shame, because the
story is a Magic Realist jewel:
An Angelino named Anibal de
la Luna (Alexander Ferguson)
picks up a pregnant hitchhiker
(Carmen Aguirre) and takes
her home. Ceiestina del Sol has
always had an ability to slow
down time or even suspend
it altogether (she's actually a
56-year old woman who has
been with child for two years).
The climactic realization that
years had passed in the span
of their one night together was
indeed chilling, but the love that
apparently developed between
them was so sketchy that it hardly
registered. It was talked about a
lot, however—as was the nature
of time, trust and the future of
civilization. 1 just found it hard
to buy that such calm, cogent
dissertations would issue from a
woman who had beeR locked
in her bedroom since childhood
and fallen in love with the first
man who raped her. It didn't
help that director Bill Dow had
his actors stand still and gaze into
the middle distance every time
there was a speech to be made. I
began to feel as if I was watcWng>
a series of audition monologues.
This was especially tragic for
Aquirre in the role of Ceiestina.
She oozed the magical creature
from every pore, and had she
been encouraged to fuck things
up a bit (stylistically speaking),
she might have made even this
script work.
Ultimately though, the
playwright's first obligation is
to the characters. If ideas are
allowed to take precedence, the
actors get jammed in the middle
instead of being conduits.*
THE PLUGHOLE
- Julianna Barabas is finishing
what she started. Just under a
year ago, the local artist began
having her body divided into
front and back with a tattooed
line. Month by month, it has
travelled up arid down her limbs
and along her torso—kind of
like icing around a gingerbread
cookie. Her appointments with
the tattoo artist (one of which
was covered in this column back
in November) have taken place
in gallery spaces in the presence
of an audience, but there isn't a
trace of exhibitionism in Barabas'
undertaking. She has simply
been sharing what she describes
as an intense physical and
psychological journey. The final
stretch should be momentous—
not least because she'll be
having her head done. The end
meets the beginning in seamline
# 12 on Thursday 29.April, 8:30
pm at the Emily Carr Institute of
Art and Design (South Building
Atrium). For further info, contact
seam_line@yahoo.ca or phone
604-833-8492.
Later this month, we'll
be blessed with the second
coming of Marie Brassard. I don't
believe there's another theatre
artist who can unbutton your
psyche so deftly or leave you so
primed for erjHghtenment. other
theatre practitioners should be
worshipping at her. feet. Last
year's Jimmy was a beautiful
stealth bomb that left audiences
in a state of collective awe and
when the Quebec natiye returns
with La Noirceur—an exploration
of friendship through tragedy—it
can only get better. You need
to see this. La Noirceur runs from
April 28-May 8 at The Firehall Arts
Centre. Tickets "and info: 604-689-
0926.'
II? MM
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This month's Panarticon
is written by the Mildew and
Eyepatch Association. This
month is the month of Surrealist
Spring. This month is the month
to finally get weird. This month
is the month when a secret
cabal has finally overtaken
cultural production in this city.
That said, the ME-AA hates
deadlines. It told me that "I like
to wait until 3-4am to sit naked
in front of the computator and
froth while yanking at chest hair
and typing with my other hand,
only then does the Muse visit
to sit at my side and promote
spelling errors." Which is why we
must begin with the following
lessons: Take heed! 1. Don't
hesitate when you know. 2.
Have as much sex as you can
as soon as possible. 3. Three
was distracted by two. And so
it goes. Hallucinations. In the
spirit of offering all Vancouver
has for the impending Olympic
Doom, the following constitutes
a series of articulate suggestions
for 2010 from the ME-AA:
"First: Recycle words
spoken in times of momentary
lapse, listen to signals all
distorted.' Next, look around
you and find there are pieces
falling from the table, to the
nation-state ' of an unfamiliar
keyboard, we look at our hands
and wonder how they lost their
way (only to realize it's all in
welcoming the blur). Finally
(& in code): a J_E butcher
shop (cut all funds: reduce it
to the knife) was redeemed,
floating souls of the slaughtered
fuel people. Haill Anti-social,
Misanthropy, Placebo (a lie in
the equation), TC, Jerrys Kava
Kava Moment at the PNE,
the insurrections of the VI, the
Sugar Refinery & the All Good
(RIP), Crying Room — all using
parcels to fertilize the creative,
and our topsoil weighs heavy
from waste. Flowering beds of
Krylon, farmer's art markets,
and seasonal clam bakes bring
good times and chance for
the young folk to socialize in
nervous hilarity. Every now and
then The Man goes and shuts
down an art party because
electronic rock 'n' roll breeds
rebellion, and there is no jolly.
Too much living inside 'da House.
"Bandits in time will not
lament a thundergrunt, and
plunge forward kneeding,
dribbling digits while the pokes
pick and peck. Vancouverites
were once described to the ME-
AA by Carney Folk as 'trained to
enjoy mediocrity, so all you have
to do is something good and you
blow their minds'. / also heard
tales — the town that fun forgot,
or the city that makes you lose
your ambition. All titles of Great
Achievement in the Annals of the
Apathy Movement, but when the
planet lubes up, it's time to use
the flow to wear down the rocks,
otherwise continents crack and
you wind up on the wrong end of
a slag heap. 2010.
"Recite after me: the
cobbler elders were known to
sit a youngster down and deal
them the "Hope Speech." Past
Spuzzum. There is no hope, son
No, Vancouver never had a punk
scene; we wash our cars every
Sunday, we don't need squeegees
or their punks. No, Vancouver
never had an industrial scene
— the docks were purged during
the Internment Camps. Rave what?
No son, TROOPER never played a
rave — don't forget the Commie
Profs let that happen at UBC.
(& where are the Daughters?
Joy McPhail?) It was. in those
times of Sad Realization™ that
a young person would smoke
stock & realize their options were
buried. 2010. Still — a drunken
suckerpunch can -plant seeds
on the cheek of the moon and
you still wouldn't get an answer
for your time. That"s the way the
elders played Risk, and it wasn't
ours. A fresh serviette?
"The reason i bring this up is
twofold," sang Wacky Bennett,
kissing Zany Bill 'Zalm on the
cheek, "First it brings to light a
sad lack of leisure at the hands
of the dominant culture's need
to Achieve™ [scribble notes:
achieve]: secondly it shoves
aside a legacy of emotional
portraiture for the warm
comforts of Denial-Of-Service
attacks on steady employment"
[Moustache Clark sits on in
rekindled Innocence, Harcourt
— where the hell is Harcourt?
And today: the WhiteRobotMan,
G. Campbell, taking circuits out
back for some internal rewiring].
"DOS will circle from the
reserves: this land is not 'our'
land, it's Their's, and we are just
squatting it. All of it.
"Grab the ass of the status
quo and give if a squeeze for
good measure. These suggestions
come at a time of great laundry.
Soon, the RCMP will be replaced
with the DEA, the Premier with a
Movie Star. Most won't notice
the difference in the Farce.
Smoke while the SkyTrain doesn't
yet have Armed Task Forces
confiscating all carry-on luggage.
Ride while the Armed Task Forces
don't yet obliterate all human-
powered transport. Run while
the Armed Task Forces haven't
yet paved every remaining trail,
with consent from UBC to return
all trees to their natural state as
nouveau riche Condos. Arnie is
taken so be prepared for van
Damme, Stallone or Kojak.
"Everyone must swear an
oath soon. This oath will mean
everything and it will be called
The Weather Report. The Weather
will Sound like this: (fascist) fronts
are approaching from the South,
highs are reaching new lows,
storms pound the streets: so
hail, ye, hail, bend over and sail
for the promised land—on past
Abbotsford this time."
[The Regular Panarticon
Author would like to thank
the ME-AA for this smitten
contribution to increasing
the incomprehensibility
of Surrealism™ in monthly
newspaper production.
Everything here has been
codified to allow newspaper
distribution in Seattle. Message to
our Southern Neighbours: WHO IS
THE MYSTERIOUS CARO?].« SWsM^HMl
www.joliehoHand.com www.anti.com U P4G30000008
H^en <=JLai6
BAND-0
MONTH
CLUB
Victoria seems to be an©!, bed for music these days, with the recent
successes of bandsflljce Frog Eyes and Run Chico Run. The music scene
is thriving and there are more groups than ever coming out of the \
government town. So who will be the next great Victoria bahjji^lf you
ask around many people will tell you that it's alt-pop group ChgtsSj
Chet started out with brothers Ryan (guitar/vocals) and Patrick Beattie
(organ/keyboard/vocals) experimenting and playing music together,
in their basement. Alison Therriault joined up because she wanted to
learn how to play drums. Next came Hank Pine (cello) who workedhb
way into the band after seeing them at a show.
I had the pleasure of speaking to all four members of Chet before a
recent performance at Pat's Pub.
DiSCORDER: Where did the name of the band come from?
Patrick: When we first started playing together wetod this idea sfco"
having this project thqwas going to be really minimal. Just kindof
drony organs, guitars and drums. Really basic things. Dreamy kind of
songs.
Ryan: We want to put peoplejtesleep.
Patrick: Yeah. [Laughs] As odd as.tljdt.may sound. Andofl.ce we
started practicing we came up with a name. We just, I don't know, got
the idea.
Hank: I liked what Ryan said yesterdaypbout the name. It was QsIeS
he had to name a dog or something. He just picked a name as if he
would<name something affectiqfiately.
Ryan: Although Chet is generally a rich boy, preppy sweater, uptight-
asshole kind of name.
Hank: Oh the irony!
Alison: We didn't reall^jpink a lot about it and that's what I'm glad
about. So mdnw bands agonize over their names. We'r&jifce, "Okay,
we're Chet. Whatever."
A famous Chet was Chet Baker.
Patrick: Yeah, we get a lot qfpiat.
Alisoh:;|J|^|j^ absolutely no correlation.
Hank: Except that Chet Baker sings pretty pn^yan sings pretty, so^Si
lot of people think that's the parallel.
Ryan: Wait until the show tonight! [Laughs]
Has your music changed much from when you first started?
Patrick: When we first started I didn't really know how to play the organ
very weU, and Alison didn't know how to drum very well.
Ryan: But I was a whiz kid on the guitar. [Laughs]
Patrick: Over time we've improved technically very minutely. We're
used to playing with each other more, so as a result a lot of the songs
and their arrangements have definitely gotten more complex than
they were originally.
Hank: And Alison is a kick-ass drummer for somebody who has only
drummed for a year and a half.
Alison: Thanks Hank. We've gotten a lot more rockingj^^pused to be
XJtgXy more dreajEny..
Is that the direction you want to be going? Is there a. goal for the
band? ?H:S liSSii
Alison: We.kind of go both ways. We have Jots of dreamy soiMs too.
Patrick: It's a goal for us to not pollute ,tf$8Tnusic world. To nc&hange
the coBjjffefive appreciation of music as so many throw-awqy^gbp or
rock bands do these days. I think tha|r5-|he art-type of goaiifopthis
benrtdyij
4p>rateAnd have moments of beauty. And we like melodies^!
How is the music scene in Victoria?
Alison: It's awesome.
HanfcitSfucking^cjpDazing. There are so many good bands that.!tj|§fc
unreal they^K'Wn Victoria.
Rya"J;I've been shocked at how much support we get, the v
enthusiastic reaction from other bands and people who come out; ;
to.shows. I also just want to mention DitchRecords; they've helped
j&|Sp|feey've been very supportive and sold a lot of our CDs. And
helped us get a lot of good shows.
?illit^lu^p3|tore are a lot of musicians fronrMfc(& generation before
us who are very supportive. A couple of guys hq^^f^&dihg^judios
in their basj^ents and record a lot of focal bands h€*f|ii>tf|piily
affordable and acceptjjftgjk'- Wm*
Ryan: Tolari McNeil arVdgjcott Henderso^^^^^S
Patrick: Toldp;f^£li|ed botyh^^MlySfe^o^^S^Sf^Karolyn
Marfc'silcords. He plbys|r> her bo^idJHS^^^^^}^r»^|fe?|
Ryan:jKft.wqsn'f f^ffi^^R^^^tHeS^^^'^lt^^n^ bands in
. Vlctoriq^puJdh't ac|tjgt|^i^«e*i^c^i^^
Hanlcpey do it because fttey love doing it, so v^fefM^mount of
records they are qwvays by;sv& || ^^MEr '-IsS^^" ^§£
Alison: For a Shitty little government tovvSWe^^^^l^jftffl^^J^
Are there a lot ofshows^^^y-^'S^^te
Alison: Yeah, every,weekend there ar^.lik^pi©eiO^^^^^^^
Patrick: For the m^p^^eople comg-^j^^^^^^^^g
Alison:^'sM3ll the same people buf:flfiey are qllTe^iy,errt.husiastic«^fegi
Ryan: G©f nothirigr-else to do. tfe^:'-\^^^EiTO
PdtriclSjKValsobeenr^flf>JM^"SsJS&6a8seak>f^f^bringaclsfVom :
North America and even further away ended up playing in Victoria
because of a couple of promoters who are there. It's good for the
music scene in general. And we get to play with a lot of out-of- town
acts and that really helps us. :$>0?
Do you plan on staying in Victoria for awhile?
Alison: Well... We probably won't be able to stay there indefinitely.
Hank: I want to. It'll be great if we can tour the world and then come
back to Victoria.
Patrick: I likeJiving in Victoria, but as a band we definitely need to get out.
You were mentioning before that you have recorded CDs.
Patrick: Yeah, we recorded one just over a yeardgb called The Tiger
is in the Window. We put it out ourselves. Recorded it with Tojoiif^
Borrowed money to get it out and get press^^Rriad gotten a lot
of positive responses. We have pretty; i^^^^^tn^yjJSnbeeause
we've been just doing it ourselves. So ariyti^*i^6mebQdy;g.#e's to
another city in North America we brirjjJt^^gSo to a store and go
"Here."
And they take them?
Patrick: Pretty much. In Vancouver and Victoria it's been easy to get
stuff in stores. I was in Montreal last summer and I walked into this
store and asked if I can consign some CDs. They took the CDs. I was
really surprised, they didn't know anything aboyius, and we weren't
playing in town. Fortunately there.isJ||5ge contingent of ex-Victoria
people in Montreal.
Hank: Montreal,. Victoria of fhe eos||||i|
And you have a new album?- '^^sEaE;
Patrick: I believe we are calling it Kauaf4g§i£
Kauai?
Patrick: It's qn island in Hawo^fe
Hank: It's irJ^^JMJipJpier. ''iWsml&X'' '
Ryan}J|dDnTjl^j£-r'd protest ff®i^^^^^®^^^Sffiere is any
discrepancy between sa^^^'happ^fflOTB^-fl^^^^lies were
slightly more melanchf|prf|)Ȥ first alb^^^B^ffl'songs about the
j^Plrje things. ".'■. *,:—IgpSsfypi
Patrick^aybe it's jusfl^^nCT^^^^!.it's a pretty different
sounding album frpm'j|jg first onjf||g
How are the songs written for-the album? |
' Patri^^^^feivrites rr«^^^^^s»g^S "brings it to the band inflg?
basic form and we just kind ^f^pfbur stuff. And ! write some of the
songs and do the same. Just kind of work it out to a basic format,
t^^dJ©t^t1&^'qhCte^^Jot.oS^i|s^^s'off the new record we've
^OT^^i'er the te»yecir,:s6 .the|?^&if9ilt^fegone through a fair
s.jdiftDynt of metamorpKSs^|i®iKi|^fjg>yery happy wiff|how it got
ilgcorded.. |y**
What is the best thing about being in a band?
Hank: When we play, even in practice, we try to have that one
moment where everything is perfect, you know? And you are not
Seven there, just going through the motions.
Alison: We're all good friends and it's wonderful playing music.
Patrick: It's just tiffing a need for all of us basically I think.
Hank: It's better than sex.
Ryan: I think I would probably end up a vagabond if I weren't in a
band.
Alison: Yeah, he's totally not kidding. [Laughs] P4G30000010
Olflultijgl^ ^uusome fiu T^ree ond fiDfiat 8o uou (§><?{?
6^ ^Kpt cpidfJIi
TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE: The art of Luke James Ramsey
Aspiring artists take note! You could find a worse role model
than Luke James Ramsey. When the first installment of his comic
"Finding Joy" hit fhe Discorder office, we were all struck by its
arresting visuals and heartfelt storyline. We simply had to know
more about the person who had sent it. When I called him at
home in Victoria, I discovered Luke is as refreshingly sweet as his
artwork, and just as full of contradictions.
In "finding Joy," the plainly drawn bunny stands out in the swirl of
urban chaos; his story is simple, but Luke's way of telling it is not.
And while the message is uncomplicated, it's also profound: be
true to yourself, and happiness will follow. This theme resonates in
much of Luke's work, and, it seems, in his own life. He's traveled
the world and tackled several art forms. He's found a place
in his local artistic community and considers himself part of a
movement. And yet, as our conversation makes clear, he's
maintained a sense of wonder and optimism about his work that
belies his years of experience. He's as enthusiastic as they come:
forget the fame and fortune, he just wants to draw his bunnies.
Luke, I think, has found his joy, in making art to help other find
theirs.
You can check out more of his art at Luke's website:
www.mebeme.com. SsRS-
Discorder: Are you an art school student?
Luke Ramsey: No, I've never been to art school. Just did art in high
school. And then, basically, I got out of high school and traveled
around the world for the past five years, going to different
countries and different museums and galleries. From New York to
Paris to Tokyo, wherever, just all over the place. Sort of just getting
a grasp of where my influences were as an artist. And through
traveling I did a lot of drawing in sketchbooks and whatnot. And
my last trip to Asia really sort of hit it off for me. I went there to
teach English in Taiwan and I really got into the way they have
animated characters and cartoons in everything, all over the
place. It just made me realize how much I like drawing cartoons,
and bringing out that inner child in me. And since I was there I
just did drawing all the time, I did an art show there. And then I
nailed my direction in my art. That's the history of where I am right
now. I like to travel; I like to see different things. But I really love
the west coast, and I always come back here.
So is Victoria a good centre for you to do your art? is there a big
scene for this kind of thing? v^fe
There is, yeah. I think there's a lot of amazing artists in Victoria.
Tons, just so many and in Vancouver. It's really great. There's not
a time I don't go meet a new artist doing something that I'm
somewhat inspired by. So, yeah, I think it's great. I mean, a lot
of people sometimes think that they've gotta make it big in the
bigger cities, like "Oh, I gotta go to New York." But in those places
it's all industry, it's all money. Here, it's just like, go out to a coffee
shop and hang out and draw with some people. It's the best. It's
fun that way. There's a lot of good stuff in Victoria for sure. %*M
Do you actually do that, go out and have a drawing day at a coffee
shop?
Yeah, for sure. I'm really big on drawing sessions, and I love
drawing with different people. I've made books with different
people drawing.
How did you come to be painting a toystore in Taiwan?
I just went in and asked the guy. I showed him my drawings. He
had cool toys in there and he was into art, I could tell.
Did you do it for free? Did he provide paint?
He bought my meals. His English wasn't great, but it was
awesome to communicate the vibe of liking art and toys and
stuff.
I heard that you draw for, like 30 hours a day.
It's a meditative process for me. One thing I really love about
drawing is listening to music. If I can draw and listen to music at
the same time, it's a bonus.
What do you usually listen to?
Everything. I always go back to the old stuff. I think there's a lot
of good new stuff coming out, but I listen to the Beatles every
day. I've been getting into Roy Orbison. I listen to the radio, too -
- CFUV, which is 101.9fm here in Victoria. It's a great station. I listen
to Brave New Waves on CBC at night.
Cool. So do you manage to support yourself doing this, or do you need
a job on the side?
Well, I'm living off a grant right now, and it's the first time I've ever
had a grant. It's really nice. I've living off the grant so I can do
this big art show that i'm doing next month, which is on the ninth
of April. It's good now... in the past... I don't make that much
money off my art, I sell comic books, prints and shirts here and
there. But usually what I do is either I'll work a lot, for like, six months
hardcore, and save up a bunch of money, and then not work for
half a year. Or I'll work 20 hours a week at a coffee shop, enough
to get by and have enough time for my art. I'm doing alright. PISCORnFR, A PR 11/0*
Where Is this art show happening? b if In Victoria?
Yeah, it's in Victoria, from April ninth to the eighteenth. It's
actually happening underneath the Value Village thrift
store, like, this secret little room that's underneath it. We
just sorta found it. Me, and thirteen other artists. Mainly
good friends of mine, people that like to draw comics
and graffetti. So it's going to be this huge installation
mural built out of foamcore. And I'm really excited about
it. i've been working on it for the past two months.
So, speaking of other artists that you're working with [babble].
Mark Bell, Jason McLean, Keith Jones.
Yeah, Keith Jones is probably my biggest influence, for
sure. I did an art show with him I think there's a photo of
it in the package I sent you guys. And I think I sent you
a book that I did with him too. I think that Keith Jones'
work is amazing. It just totally moves me. Mark Bell and
Jasan Mclean totally set it off for me
looking at their books and seeing
where they took drawing and comic
books really got me excited, because
I grew up on Spider Man and X-
men sort of comic books, and then
seeing this loose style of drawing .,
. I was really moved by that. So, I'm
totally influenced by Jason and Mark,
for sure. I've met Jasaon, I haven't
met Mark yet. But basically, the four
people I'm really moved by are Keith
Jones, my friends Matt Moroz, who's
coming out for the show, he lives in
Montreal; my friend Zane Kozak, who
I did a show with two months ago in
Vancouver, and a guy called Andrew
Dick who lives here in Victoria. Those
guys are my biggest influences, and
they're guys that I'm actually close to
and draw with. And I think that's really
important, to have your influences
close to you.
That's an unusual position. There's not a
lot of artists in any field who get to interact
with the people who influence them.
I think it's really amazing. You become,
like, part of a movement. You're present
in it. I mena, I could go down to a
bookstore and pick up a Picasso book
and be like, "Wow, this stuff's amazing,"
but to actually sit down with the artist,
you get so much more out of it. You
know where they're coming from,
there's a human element. I always like
that human element.
Back to when you were saying that you
grew up with spider man and the x-men
type of narrative comics... I wanted to
ask you why you decided to use the style
of storytelling that you did in Finding Joy.
There's a story there, but it's a lot more
challenging for the. reader, and it demands
that you pay a lot of attention.
The main character I usually use is this
bunny rabbit. He doesn't have a name.
Some people have given him names.
I use this bunny rabbit character all
the time because it's a simple image I
got that idea when I was in Asia cause
there's a lot of simple images there, like
Hello Kitty. What I like to do is use that
simple character and make everything
around it more complicated, more
in-depth so that you look into it more. I
like doing that in comics, so people can
look at the images and see something
different each time. Whereas an x-men
comic, or something, is usually pretty
standard stuff. Again, that's why I love
stuff by Jason Mclean and Mark Bell.
Cause they're doing the same thing,
pushing it to a different level.
It's meant to be read and re-read; unlike a newspaper comic that's
meant to be thrown- away.
Yeah, for sure. And there is a narrative and words, in bubbles, but •
there also stuff beyond that, like tittle heartfelt quotes on billboard
or on the sides of buildings, or whatnot. I love doing that. Working
the page.
How do people usually respond it your style?
I usually get positive responses. I just did this art show in Seattle
and I had my books on display. And I just stood on the sidelines,
pretending I wasn't the artist. I'd go up to people who were
reading my book and ask them, "What kind of message do you
think this guy's trying to promote?" People were usually bang-on
with what I was trying to get at. Sometimes it's nice, too, when
people have a respond that's totally unexpected. Art is for
everyone's interpretation. But my message is really simple. It's just
about enjoying life and being.yourself. It's not too complex for
people to get. The drawings are pretty detailed, and that usually
draws people in. And if they're taken in by that, they'l be into the
words as well.
At the end of Finding Joy, the bunny is considering getting into this
hippie van. Does he ever find inner peace?
Yes, he's finding joy,, he's going to find inner peace. But I think he -
has to walk the walk first. You can't find satisfaction unless you're
thirsty for it. Basically, until that point, he's questioning his thirst. An<
in the next segment, he'll actually start getting thirsty, and start
looking for joy. He'll find it, for sure.
What do you think makes a good comic book?
I'm a really visual person. So sometimes the greatest comics I
read don't have a narrative, they're just drawings. The visual
experience is what makes a good comic for me. Somehing that
took time and energy. I'd like to plug Robber at Chroma books
on Main Street, actually. He's all about the independent, self-
published comics. He has a great collection there. I was just in
a show with Keith that Jo Cook did, called Self-Publish or Perish.
She had a collection of all these self-published books, and I think
that those are the best books, when someone only made twenty
copies and you've got one in your hand, and there probably
won't be another one ever made. It's so authentic. The best
books aren't mass-produced. The ones that come out of zine
conventions and the ones you get at punk rock shows.
Is there anything else that you want to recommend to the people who
read this article? W&^~
I think the most important thing to say is that anyone can do
it. You don't have to be an artist to draw or write. Anyone can
make a zine, anyone can make a comic. You can make a
comic for so cheap. Twenty-five cents if you want. That's why
I like doing comic books. I could go do a fancy painting, and
stick a thousand-dollar price tag on it, but how many people
can honestly afford that? I can do a comic book and charge
something that people can actually afford. That's why I have a
lot of respect for grafetti artists who put their work out there on
the street for everybody to enjoy. And I have a lot of respect for
people who are DIY and make their little books, and shop them
around, because people can afford it.
And it seems like DIY is becoming more important, as our culture
becomes more homogenized. Stuff like this is so exciting now, in the
face of mass culture.
The underground has always been the best. In music, art,
anything. It's present. Of course comic books artists go
mainstream, why shouldn't they, but at the same time it's nice to
do things just for your friends. If anyone else likes it, it's a bonus.
It's good times we're living in right now. You can live in Canada
and be an artist, and you can get by. You can live comfortably,
so long as you live simply, and don't consume too much. If you're
just true to yourself and live a simple life, you can do whatever yoi
want. W8>S P4G30000012
HOLY SHIT! CHRIS BRANT GETS PASSIONATE OVER LUNCH.
There's no point in interviewing Chris Brant, founder and
president of Vancouver's newest indie record label, Cazart,
over a light lunch. You'll need to book in for an eight-
course meal because there's no shutting this guy up. You
wouldn't want to either—Chris's enthusiasm as he talks,
accompanied by his non-stop hand gesturing makes it
obvious to anyone around him that he is totally and utterly
in love with what he's doing.
With their introductory compilation. You Need This in shops
now, Cazart hopes to make an announcement about the
label's first band signing any day now. "I don't want the
first signing to be rushed or forced" says Brant. "There are
four or five bands I could look up right now but 1 want my
first signing to be really cool, a flagship band for Cazart. First
impressions are what everyone remembers and I want a
band with a really cool sound."
Reflected in the diverse musical content of You Need This,
Cazart's intention is to be welcoming to all genres. "I
wanted to keep it wide open in the beginning" Chris says,
You Need This has hip-hop, singer-songwriter, alt-country,
pop...even a lullaby on it". His mandate for all the artists that
made it to the CD was
that they are all bands $$&£■ ;rPll
that blew him away.
Although Cazart is his
baby, Chris is generous
in dishing out praise to
the people around him
who have supported
him personally and
professionally during
the last ten months.
He attributes mUch
of the process to his
publicist, Teresa. "We're
both big fans of the
Apprentice and I'm
doing the Donald Trump
thing, listening to my
henchmen but the final
decision is made by
me." he says, laughing. I
picture him telling some
sad band that they are
fired, but it's hard to keep that image when Chris is in front of
me looking so excited about his work.
He's all about the passion and he's all about the music. "It's
great to see bands with passion who are doing it for the right
reasons. I'm a small label, I don't have the time or resources
to push someone where they're not willing to go themselves.
I'm looking for bands that have the musicianship first and
foremost, but who want to do it and understand the game.
If I'm signing a band, it's because a major label doesn't
want them, so what can we do to get them up to that level
where the major labels will notice them? If it ever gets to
the point where a band is too big for me to handle, it's the
band first. If you're a fan of art, you want to see the artist
make as much art as possible. If it's a musician, you want
them coming out with an album a year...you love their stuff
and you can't wait to hear their next release. This is about
the bands and if I think I can sell 5000 CDs and someone
else can sell 30,000, then I'm going to want them to go with
that someone else."
Cazart is focusing on local talent. "It's a lot more difficult for
Vancouver bands. In the East [of Canada] you can tour for
15 nights and hit 100,000 population cities every night, here,
you can't. There's Vancouver Island, Kamloops, Vancouver
and then, you're driving to Calgary. It's difficult to get out
and build a market. Eventually you are going to have to
go through Toronto. There are so many more venues to
play there and the shows are earlier so more people go.
In Vancouver, people have a healthy lifestyle are« going to
yoga after work and go home for their veggie dinner and
then they go to bed earty because they have to go to their
job in the morning.
Despite this. Brant is optimistic about Cazart's future and
enthusiastic about the Vancouver music community. "I
have the best publicist in the city who's taking care of
everything. I think you need to get passionate people on
your side who believe in it and get them to promote it. The
local support amazed me, I talked to Kate [Tonic Records]
and told her I was doing this and I expected her to see
me as competition and she gave me a big hug and said
it was awesome that another person was doing this. There
are quite a few companies in town that are really trying to
promote Vancouver bands and the attitude has been cool,
like, lets all work together. The community has been very
embracing to me."
Chris currently works for a major record company. It's
partly this involvement in the industry that has motivated
him towards starting up his own label. He's been frustrated
about the things that can, and can't be done and how
major record labels no longer have the luxury to grow
CAZART:
A RECORD LABEL
IS BORN
BY ELLE JAMES
bands like they used to. "These indie bands aren't in a
position to be selling 100,000 copies and so majors can't
waste their time on it. That's not good or bad, it's just the
nature of business now." When I asked him if he always
wanted to have his own label, he nodded enthusiastically.
"I always wanted to be in music but it wasn't until I got
older that I realised what that meant." By the time he did
know what that meant, it took the right question to propel
Chris into action. He was out with a friend in May of last
year when the question of what he wanted to do came
up. When he replied with, "Have my own record label" the
friend asked a second question, "Why not?"
"No one had asked me the second question before. I
thought about it and said, '1 can't because I'll need...oh,
I've got that, and I'll need someone to....oh, I've got
that too, yea, why not?' Within 48 hours I had national
distribution lined up, which is the hardest thing to get and it
was the first thing I got. I realised that I have the people in
place round me and there was no reason not to do it."
The napie, Cazart which is a Hunter S. Thompson
exclamation meaning 'Holy shit...I should have known' was
quick to follow.
Ten months of hard work later, the Cazart launch party took
place at the Railway Club. With his CiTR radio show and his
position as music editor to the Point Magazine, Chris is used
to asking the questions in interviews and this new attention is
strange to him. He's been the focus of interviews leading up
to the launch, and then when five TV cameras turned up,
Chris barely had time to breathe between interviews and
meetings. You Need This turned out to be a main focus of
the night. Brant is excited about what he calls a 'fantastic'
response to the release. "My intention was to make a big
splash out there and show that this is what I'm able to pull
together."
Including artists like Emm Gryner, Motion Soundtrack, Stellar
and Grant-Lee Phillips, the process was a huge learning
curve for Brant, and he again attributes much of the
success to those around him. He seems at times in awe of
his network of friends. "I have a really strong team around
me and I'm really fortunate, I've got an amazing graphic
designer, I have another friend who's a photographer, I've
got the best publicist in the city, I have another friend who
is really into fashion and great with the look of things, so I
have a really cool group of people around me. I'm lucky.
If I don't know something, the answer is just a phone-call
away which is great."
When Brant started spreading the word about the CD, he
almost got to the point of having to turn bands down. Sean
from Jack Tripper committed a song before Brant could
finish his sentence. Half an hour after he'd emailed her,
Emm Gryner offered
an exclusive on a
new song she hadn't
even recorded yet.
Gryner's offer led to
a complicated series
of faxes between
Chris and Emm's
mum, which is
acknowledged in a
thank you in the CD
liner notes.
Brant has been floored
by these gestures. Not
only are there artists
lining up to be on a
second compilation, if
Cazart decides to put
one out, but Chris has
also been surprised
by offers from female
friends eager to strip
off for a second
album cover. He laughs, "If they want to take their clothes
off and have photographs taken....alright!"
Before thinkinglipout a sequel compilation, Chris plans to
sign some bands and put out some albums. He's aiming
high and would like to see five releases before the end of
the year. "Aim high and if I come out with 2, that's all that
''was meant to happen." He says, optimistically, "I want to
get some momentum going."
Deliberately halting the ten months of momentum that
brought him to Cazart's launch, Chris has taken some time
off. "I needed a week off." He said, shaking his head. "The
day after the show I did a yoga class, did some errands and
then I sat on my balcony, put some Marvin Gaye on and
smoked a sixty dollar cigar that I'd been saving for a long
time. I made a drink and watched the sun set and I didn't
do anything."
Brant is determined to support the indie, music community
in the city he was porn and bred in. The signs are all familiar,
the yoga class, the vegetarian soup he ordered for lunch...
...and perhaps he goes to bed early so he can get up for
his day job?
Only on the nights when there are no gigs to go to -unless ol
course, the Apprentice is on. • piCrnPHER A P R I L' 0 4
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ELECTRELANE: SEXUAL, INTELLECTUAL, UNCONVENTIONAL BY SASHA WEBB
Rock it to the Moon, Electrelane's 2000 release on Mr. Lady, was an
instrumental journey, characterized by delicate Farfisa organs, a
driving rhythm section arid melodic guitar solos. This album earned
the band widespread comparisons to Stereolab, an association
they'resick of by now, but which nevertheless attracted many
listeners. Complex composition and obvious talent make the
association feasible, but Electrelane definitely has a sound of their
own. Their newest full-length, The Power Out, (released on Too Pure
and produced by Steve Albini) illustrates the group's originality and
versatility.
In a surprising shift, the album includes vocals on all tracks. Rarely
has a band made such a dramatic transition with such grace.
Lead singer, multi-instrumentalist and recent Cambridge philosophy
graduate (you go girl!) Verity Susman whispers, moans and
occasionally shrieks her way through the album with impressive
vocal talent. While continuity is clear, it's obvious that the girls
have been busy over the past four years. Every song is distinct and
ambitious, especially "The Valleys," structured around a simple bass
line, basic drums, and 12-member chorus singing the words of an
English war poet. Throughout the album, lyrics vacillate between
high intellect and everyday introspection, inspired by diverse
sources such as German philosophy, 14lh century Spanish sonnets,
and long hard nights of scoring babes. Their music captures, but
can be listened to anywhere, anytime. This elastic mix of wit,
elegance and talent makes it the perfect music for seduction.
I caught up with guitarist Mia Clark before their recent trip to Paris.
Their newest member, Mia joined the band at the tender age of 17,
after playing the guitar for only eight months. Nervous as I was, she
proved unpretentious, talkative and had one of the cutest giggles
I'd ever heard. We chatted about Parisian pastry and she made
sure to personally invite me to their upcoming show in Seattle.
Basically we're going out now.
How are you?
Good thank you.
Enjoying Paris in Ihe springtime?
Oh, well we're going there tomorrow.
You live and work in Brighton. Did you grow up there?
Yeah, we all did.
Brighton is said to have a very diverse music scene. Where does
Electrelane fit in?
Um, I don't really think we fit in anywhere. There is a very diverse
music scene here, there are a lot of bands and DJ4 here, but I
wouldn't say really that there is a particular scene or anything at
all. I don't know if you now the band British Sea Power, it's all very
sort of different music... I wouldn't say that there's a particularly
strong scene, there's not really a "Brighton sound," or anything
like that.
You've been with Electrelane since 2000 and were already a fan
when you auditioned?
Well, I'd been to see them play, so yeah.
Did you know it was Electrelane when you went to audition?
No, I didn't know until I rang. It was cool, because I had their
record so I could learn a little before I went to the audition.
Did you find it easy to fit into their mix?
Yeah, for sure, it felt really natural.
Obviously, I can tell from your records. You were doing your
A-levels at one point and Verity was finishing her undergrad in
Philosophy as well. How did you manage school and band life?
It was extremely hard. When I joined I was in my second year of
A-levels, I was only 17... and it was really hard.
I can imagine.
Because I basically didn't go to college at all. We were on tour ali
the time and then I dropped one of my A-levels in psychology just
'cause I found it too hard to do all this work. I think Verify found
it, I mean it's even harder if you're doing a degree, and it was
quite difficult, a lot of things were put on hiatus while she studied.
I mean, she'd have to come from Cambridge to Brighton, all sorts
of hassles, it was a four-hour trip, so it was extremely hard. We all
breathed a sigh of relief when everyone stopped studying.
So do you plan to continue with more school, or just concentrate
on music?
Well, right now it would be impossible. And I have another job as
well, so I don't really see it being a good idea for the moment. .
But I would be interested to return eventually.
On The Power Out, your latest album, you guys use a Spanish
sonnet, some German philosophy, a letter by an English war
poet... what role does your academic past play in your music?
Well, people often ask us what bands we're influenced by. For
us, not only does music influence us, but literature does as well.
We all read a lot and it was sort of natural for us to include those
influences as well.
Okay... so you guys are about to start your four in Paris...
We're in Ppris for one show and then it's off to Rennes, it's just a
really short thing
You also use French lyrics, is there any sort of specific French
connection?
Well, the only song that's in French is "Gone Under Sea", the first
one. Verity decided to sing in French for that, she speaks French
fluently, and she just felt that the lyricisms, the language just
seemed to fit better with the song, than wften she was trying to
sing it in English. So that's why she chose to sing it in French. ORDER, APRIL'0 4
Researching the history of the Farfisa was harder than
you'd expect. People own the vintage organs, and love
them, and list them as an interest on Friendster, but they
don't actually know anything
about them. As squeezing the
internet for all it was worth, I was
forced into the position ridiculous
of doing my research at the UBC
music library. All I got from the
organ section was that "electronic
organs are too young to be
dignified with a history." Uh, yeah.
Then I hit the electronic music
shelf, where I found out that...
The Farfisa is a combo
organ. Manufactured in the 60s
and 70s, these portable, electronic
organs were extremely popular
with rock bands of the era. If you
don't know what they sound like,
just think of "Light My Fire" by the
Doors. Combo organs came in a
groovy rainbow of sixties colours
and looked swell on television (newly colorized, of course).
Farfisa, an Italian company, introduced its first model in
1965; by 1967, organ players were reportedly as sought-after
as drummers. Fasfisa organs were never as popular as the
now-classic Vox models. They were better-sounding but less
flashy: while Voxs were as pretty as an Apple iPod, Farfisa's first
models were functional and sturdy. By late '66, at the peak of
the company's fame, there were four Farfisa models available
The Combo Compact became a brilliant cherry red, and did
quite well - apparently, it's the one "everyone thinks of when
you mention Farfisa."
Shor^%H\sf^
The FAST (Farfisa All-Silicon Transistorized) line of combo
organs was introduced in '68. These organs were sexy and
striking, but Farfisa's day in the sun was over. The Hammond
organ was swift becoming the new
sound of rock, and combo organs
were being thrown into basements
like so many troll dolls and tiny
backpacks. The company was
purchased by Bontempi, an Italian
organ manufacturer. Farfisa is now
the name of an intercom company.
And thus it ends.
So it turns out that the
history of the Farfisa is nowhere near
as exciting as the story of the Moog
(see page 19). Though I did have
an interesting scuffle with an overly
uptight UCB libfary employee who
wouldn't let me leave with a copy of
Vintage Synthesizers because I don't
have a library card. Fucking punk.
Whores fo fhe Combo Organ: Belle and Sebastian. Blondie,
International Noise Conspiracy, Pulp, Pink Floyd, Spiritualized.
Stereolab, The B-52's, Sam Shepard and the Pharoes... and
of course. Electrelane. If ya really need to know more, try
www.farfisa.org or go to the library. And bring your card.
»/ K**
Is there anything in particular that you love about France? The
pastry perhaps? Or the people? ifi|
[giggles adorably] I just love it. You know the cakes, we tend to
eat a lot of cakes, so you knowv-Imma [Gaze, drummer and
founding member) has a sister in Paris, and her nephews as well,
so it's really nice because we can go and visit them as well.
Right, how do you manage long stints of touring that you've done
before? Do you have any group strategies, or things you Hke
doing best?
Well, we've worked it out by now. We know how to make
everyone get along without killing each other, because it's quite
hard to be away with these three other people for a long time,
but we've managed to work things out quite nicely. It's nice
when we have days off, and can just go off and do stuff.
So you guys leave Rennes on March 11lh, and then you start your
US tour in Ausiing TX. Are you al all a fan of George Bush?
[again, the darling giggle] Um, no, of course not!
How do you feel about starting in Texas, have you been there
before?
Well, quite excited actually. I've been there once before when I
was a child, but it will be completely different now, going as an
adult. I'm really looking forward to it. There's so many good bands
playing, and I like to travel so it's quite exciting.
And you've spent some time in the US. You recorded you last
album with Steve Albini in Chicago, and he's done work with
people like Nirvana, The Pixies, Jon Spencer, PJ Harvey, and
refused io work with Courtney Love. How was working with him?
It was amazing, it was just incredible, he's just such a nice person
to work with. We were there for just over three weeks, and
everything is self-contained. His flat is part of the studio, and the
flat where the band stays is part of the studio, it's really sort of
intense working like that. He was just so nice, and you know,
obviously really good at what he does...
And has a lot of views on artistic freedom.
Yeah, I think we were on quite similar wavelengths.
Do you see that similar wavelength with your label, in terms of
the same level of artistic freedom?
On Too Pure? Yes, very much so. We have a lot of freedom over
what we do. I think they just trust us, you know, we don't really
talk about what music we're gonna make before we go make it.
We sort of just hand over the record and there you go. But we do
really like being on this label, it's working out really well.
Thai's how it should be. You were talking about another job
before, were you referring to your photojournalist stuff?
Yeah, I'm a music journalist too.
What's ihe question you've always wanted to be asked?
Oh my god, that's a hard one. I really don't know. I know what I
don't want to be asked.
Please, go ahead. i||§*H
Whether Stereolab were a big influence on us. The answer is
definitely no. We love them, but the whole Stereolab influence
has gone a little far. Someone else asked us the question once
which was, "How do you feel being a woman making music."l
thought that was pretty stupid.
Yeah, thai seems pretty lame to me too. You're a photographer
as well, and your art is on display at the Permanent Gallery in
Brighton. Is there a lot of community support for you guys in
Brighton?
I don't really know. I think that in any city that you live and
if you're in band, there are areas where you do feel really
supported. Likewise, bands can be quite bitchy towards each
other, which is why we don't really want to be associated with
any sort of particular scene. So I would say that yeah, there
is really good support here more just within our own group of
friends.
I guess my last inquiry would have to do with the link between
your photography, the art by ihe rest of ihe girls and your music
Do you feel there's a liaison between your art and you music?
Perhaps your politics and music as well?
Definitely. I think that with our first album Rock it to the Moon,
Emma did all the artwork on that. Actually no, a couple of our
friends Mina and Polly did some artwork in that too. They also
contributed to the artwork in the album. Verity, Emma and I hav
always been involved in the artwork and always will be. I don't
think any of us would ever want someone from outside to come
in and do that. I think artwork is quite important to a record, you
can really make a link. -r^H^
i know that's one of ihe main reasons why I still buy records.
Yeah, me too. It's just so much nicer, to have the whole artistic
package.
Will you be coming to our show?
I will be at your show in Seattle, I'll be skipping school to drive
out there so...
Cool, that'll be excellent, you'll have to make sure to introduce
yourself.
Thanks for the interview and have a great time in Paris.
Thanks to you too, cheers,,
April 6"v Chop Suey Seattle: be there to hang out with me and my
new best friend Mia. For lyrics, a complete listing ot their many single
and EPs. andomer tun stuff, see «vww.efecfretone.com P4G30000016
'•••but I will remain;1
ow.
article and photos by Jenn Wong
Every so often, a person comes along with the capability to,
through their music and words, touch lives and move hearts.
Johnny Cash (1932-2003) was one of those people. In a city
where art has become just another fashion accessory and
gallery openings just another excuse to have a party, the
memory of the late Johnny Cash proved to be everything
Vancouver needed to finally wake up and feel. On February
14th and March 19th respectively, curators Neal Nolan and
Peter Blue] along with the Misanthropy Gallery and Butter
Magazine brought together the "... but i will remain" Johnny
Cash Memorial Group Show.
The show's name comes from the classic Highwayman title
track, a 1985 collaboration between country legends Johnny
Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson;
a song that embodies Cash's image as an outlaw and
vagabond, an aspect of his character that has resonated
strongly with younger and older generations alike. The original
concept for the project came in mid-July 2003 when Peter
Blue, co-curator and affiliate of the Misanthropy Gallery,
stumbled upon a packet of 8X10 photo glossies of his favorite
country legend in a dusty thrift'shop. After looking at the
photos and realizing the.importance of 8X10's as artifacts
of popular culture in general, he promptly purchased them
and started distributing them to his friends. They in turn went
to work retooling the images, drawing on them, painting on
them, and scanning them into computers. And so the project
was born.
The first show was held at the Misanthropy Gallery on
Valentine's Day 2004 and the artists were met with an
unbelievable response, thanks in part to newspaper publicity
but mostly through word of mouth. Hundreds of people
lined up on the cold evening to enjoy the event, the tiny
gallery was packed beyond comprehension and more
people kept on coming, more than the gallery could possibly
accommodate. Admission was free but patrons were
gladly shown a donation box and gladly they gave. With
the Buttless Chaps performing an entire set of Johnny Cash
covers and wine and beer sold at the bar with proceeds
going entirely towards the cause, the night was such a
success that the curators decided to host one more show.
The works featured in the project ranged from stunning
photograph interpretations to paintings to installations.
Sascha Yamashita, artist and one of the co-directors at the
Gallery, displayed a suitcase filled with stacks and stacks of
"Johnny Cash" (pictured above right) that anyone could
purchase for $2.00 a piece. The concept? "How do you sell a
$10,000 work of art?" The answer, of course, is to sell it piece
by piece.
On March 19th, 2004, the second "... but i will remain"
opened it's doors at the former Dianne Ferris gallery on West
7th, sponsored in part by Butter Magazine. DJ's Chris L and
MylGaylHusband started the night off and Mikey Manville
treated the audience to his gorgeous, soulful acoustic
melodies. With more space and an even larger roster of
artists and contributors, the second Johnny Cash Memorial
Group Show proved that this event wasn't just a one-time
success story. With each person who walked in the door and
wandered'through the space, it became more and more
evident that this project, started because of a thrift shop
finding, meant something more than anyone could ever
realize.
Nick Brown, media spokesperson for the show and co-
director at the Misanthropy Gallery, told us a little bit about
the origins of the project. "In the middle of the creation
of the concept for this show, Johnny Cash died, and that
tragic event catalyzed it for us. It went from a cool idea
that was kicking around to something we strongly felt we
needed to do. There was so much potential interest in the
show even from the beginning, every day we were getting
an overwhelming amount of phone calls and emails from
people who wanted to be a part in this - Johnny Cash was
a cultural icon who touched so many people, with such
appeal - he was involved in so many different areas and still
managed to stay so true to each individual thing and I think
that's what the world was so drawn to." |||p
"Personally," he goes on to say, "what I respect is that
somebody could be in country music, could be really
religious, really committed to this hobo lifestyle, this working-
class ethic, serious about the rights of Native Americans,
serious about people in jail and doing all these things and
actually reaching out and touching ail these different types
of people. Doing stuff with Bob Dylan in the '60s and '70s,
reaching out to that generation, it made a lot of young
people take country music seriously. And most of the people
in this show are in their 20's, there are a few people closer to
their 30's, but a lot of the younger ones didn't grow up with Johnny Cash. Over the past few years, even
in the past five years or so, Johnny Cash had
been having this renaissance, a lot of people
have gotten really turned on to him. Most of the
artists have every single album, these people
are serious about Johnny Cash, he has affected
them and that's what's important. And so it's a
chance to pay tribute."
Eventually, twenty-five artists came together
locally and from across the United States to
produce "... but i will remain."
Well-known artists such as Shepard Fairey (Obey
Giant) and Dave Kinsey took interest and submitted
original pieces to the project. Oakland-based
graffiti/tattoo artist Giant One helped out on the
sidelines, while local favorites The Dark, Andy Dixon,
Mark Delong andSascha Yamashita enthusiastically
lent support and talent. And people started to take
notice. The end result Was two visually stunning,
heart wrenchingly touching tributes to the legacy
that is Johnny Cash.
But they wanted to take it a step further. On
April 5th, "but I will remain..." will leave it's
humble roots in Vancouver, British Columbia
and take a trip across North America with
stops in most major cities, bringing to life
the lyrics of the song "Highwayman", a
song about the transient lifestyle and
hobo mentality that haunted Cash's
imagaination. The idea is to take the
show "home" to Tennessee and then
return to Vancouver, where there will
be a closing-out show at the very end
of the tour. Neal Nolan, co-curator of
the show, points out that the term
"hobo" stands for "homeward
bound" and the term couldn't
be any more perfect for their
mission. "It's 'homeward bound'
in so many different ways for
us," he says. "We're basically
making a tour circle across
North America. We have
a few shows booked in the
major cities but for the most
part we are doing everything by
ear, booking shows and making
contacts while on the road and
really living the transient lifestyle where we don't know what
city we'll be driving through or which gallery we'll be setting
up in the next day."
As recognition of the project grew, so did the warmth
of people's responses. "We were just getting the most
unbelievable support from galleries and individuals from
across North America," Nick told us. "Emails from people in
Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, people asking "What can
I do to help you out?" Neal and Peter are the ones who are
actually going to be taking the show on tour and they have
places to stay in every city they could possibly end up in,
floors to crash on, people to make them breakfast, any little
thing that they could ever need. This project is something
that everyone has been really touched by in a different way
than most shows, it's something that has really meant alot
to us - Neal has quit his job, we've put our whole lives on
hold to do this. Basically, we knew we had to do this and to
do it properly, on a huge scale or just not at all, because it
needed to be treated with a lot of gravity."
More information about the show, a complete list of
participating artists, and photos can be found at:
www.misanthropygallery.com
m* TOPPER. A P R I L ' 0 4 P4G30000018
TIMGANE IS SOOOO CJJIEU
Throughout the history of modem pop music, certain groups and
individuals have been known for the romantic and lustful attention
they inspire in female fans. The Beatles, New Kids on the Block, and
Tom Jones are excellent examples of this phenomenon, at the height
of their fame inciting tears, hysteria, and the kind of belKiviortJjaWs^'
absolutely fucking humiliating when you think back on it three years
later. Other.lesser-known acts have certainly inspired such reactions'as
well. (To see this interesting occurrence for yourself, observe the crowd
any time The Organ plays). "
Ideally, such behavior is the realm of the common fan. As informed,
intelligent, and presumably impartial parties, music journaSsts shoyter
not give way to such impulses. However, they do, as the following
interview gives ample proof. But before you read on and find out what
a geek I am (if you didn't know already), herejs-almle background...
Since releasing their first EP way back inWPlTstereolab have become
one of today's most well-respected, critically acclaimed, and
commercially successful indie groups. Early on. they found that elusive
holy grail of rock music: a sound that is at once completely unique and
instantly identifiable. Swirly jazz guitars, juicy organs and synthesizers,
a charming mixture of standard pop drums and hi-tech programming
combine to deliver ultimate aural gratification. In contrast to the
candy-land soundtrack tone of the musk:, the lyrics explore diverse
and timely themes, from radical politics to the everyday ecstasies of
gardening and sitting on park benches.
Over the past two years, the group has dealt wrfh two events that
could easily have proved cataclysmic: thgeacciaental death of
vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mary Hansen, and the divorce of
principle members Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier. Despite ftaH they
have come back with Margerine EcSpse, an album that many are
praising as the group's best work since 1997's Dots and Loops. I was
lucky enough to speak with Tim about the band over the phone.
However, I was not lucky enough to do it with any dignity.
Hello? How are you?
DiSCORDER: I'm great thanks, how are you?
Oh, I'm alright...
Are you OK? You sound exhausted.
No, but I'm getting there. We've been rehearsing all day today, and
so... But it's OK, that's normal for this kind of time.
And you're still in England, right? So it's late at night for you as well. /
Yeah, it's eleven-something, twenty to eleven.
Well thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me, I reaUy/
appreciate It.
Oh, it's nothing.
I've been a really big Stereolab tan for years and If s realty Just an
honour to speak with you.
[unintelligible]
Peeling like a total assj Sony, now I've probably made you feel all
uncomfortable. By the way, I should remind you that this Is Tigerbeat
magazine.
ftoughsj No. it's OK.
OK, so I guess you're about to start your tour at Ihe beginning of
February, and your first tour date was at the QMU in Glasgow?
No. it's actually in Stirling, a smaller one. It's one that we just added on.
And you prefer to play In smaller places...
There's a certain size that I don't like to go above. But it depends on
the place. Much above 1200, to me, is too big. Ideally 600 - 800 is
nice, and 400 is probably the best.
I read somewhere on the internet, I think it talked about you playing
twelve shows in a row in New York, at a small venue. Is that true?
No, tne most we've ever done is lour or five. This time we're doing
four. We like New York, so we like'to do that. We used to do that in San
Francisco, two gigs in one. night at the Great Ame/can Music, cause
we tend to stay in the towns we like a bit longer. /
What are your preferred places to visit?
I like the variety of all the different places... I don't like playing in
Britain. I've seen it all before [laughs], it's so boring! "Oh great, we're
going to Manchester again..." [laughing] But seeing other parts of
the worm is always interesting, we tend to prefer the more southern"**
European places, of course.
Yes, certainly a lot more beautiful than North America.
[laughs] No, touring North America is very specific, very unique. It's
the pace where we tour the most, and where we've had our best
times. It's always a pleasure to visit North America. It's such a place of
extremes, England is so sedate in comparison.
I guess... I'm Canadian, and architecturally it Is very similar to
America. To me it doesn't seem that exciting, so many bland buildings
ana just roods and roads and empty spaces...
Yet, but when you trove* from the countryside into the city certtreVL
don't even know how to explain it, it just changes so drastically. You
can literally go to sleep in the snow, and seven or eight hours later
wake up with palm trees. That has happened to us. Cactus, even.
From Colorado to Arizona or somewhere. And where else can you do
that? You can't do that in tne whole of the continent of Europe.
Yeah, it is true that the natural extremes of North America are
fascinating. And that's something I've always really appreciated
rjireul Stereotab's music, the highs and lows, the creamy middles, etc.
I don't know if that's really beernpur influence [laughing].
No, I didn't mean to suggest that North America was your inspiration...
(don't know Aow we really come ap with these ideas anyways.
How did you first realize you needed to be a musician?
I would have been like, thirteen. I didn't really listen to music before
(then, I don't really remember. I do recall some things from the telly
and film, but I wasn't really a follower of the charts. I just got hooked
into the whole post-punk music. I was tap young for punk, in '78 or
j '791 began. It was a very brilliant period tor music, and I just became
i obsessed with it. I was just so curious to find out things. Then after
I a while you stop being a passive listener, and you want to actively
involve yourself ploughing]. And so I did, I was in a band in school nl <f r o P n P P A P R 1 L Q 4
when I was fourteen. Nowadays I'm not particularly interested in
being a musician. I suppose I playa guitar and if I were to write vj§i£\-
something on my passport if would say "musician," but it's more
ideas that I like, discoveries, exploring how ideas happen, and it
happens to be in the music. It's wider, than just being a musician.
Do you have any other hobbies or anything that you express that in,
like gardening or sexual fetishes or whatever?
[laughing] No I don't really have any hobbies, I guess music takes
up a lot of time... There aren't many things I do that don't have
anything to do with music. Of course I'm really into all that hi-fi stuff.
But I've always been really influenced by many different areas of
art and cinema, and art ideas have been as influential upon me as
music ideas. So it's not really only music... .,
It's kind of a way of looking at the world...
I suppose I'm more directly connected to music, but it's not the only
thing, that's for sure.
Um, speaking of cinema, I was wondering if you have ever written a
film soundtrack?
No, not really, but I did just write the theme for a documentary about
Bob Moog; I've done one or two small things, and there have been
bits and pieces in films, but it's always been stuff that we've done
before. But that's a funny question that people always ask: [puts on
high-pitched eager journalist voteeVlGh.yout music is so soundtracklike, why don't you do more souriaTracks?" [laughing] And my
answer is always the same: ''Well, nobody asks!"
Really?
We just don't get asked to do them.
I find that so bizarre, because I've always just found your music to
be so unified and emotionally moving that it would just be the most
incredible film ever...
I don't know, maybe it's just too much [laughing], maybe people like
more neutral music in their films.
I think it would have to be quite an experimental and amazing film.
I would like to do something. We did do music for an art installation
once, although it wasn't a soundtrack it was music that had to tit
with a physical thing and enhance it. So it was kind of difficult to do,
and I realty liked doing it. We did start doing a few things, but they
never realty panned out. But its OK, i'm quite busy anyways, so I'm
not terribly concerned.
[laughing] No, I'm sure. Regarding the new album, I'm just going
to ask you a totally horrendous question: how do you see it as a
departure from your last album. What do you feel are the main
differences?
Well, I see it as being totally different, like a different personality. When
we do records we don't try to repeat what we did before. Sometimes
things hang over, ideas are dormant for a while and wake up again,
and sometimes things recur across records, but normally we're trying
to do something quite specific, and judge it by how close we got to
the heart of something, how you expressed the idea that you had.
So this record was slightly different than previous records, as it
would be the first we recorded in our new studio [The Instant 0 in
the Universe, located in the north of France], so there was a more
practical side. I just set out to do something simple and catchy. There
wasn't any attempt to create any "sound world," or any idea that
would coherently fit the whole record, like on Sound-Dust, where I
was going for a more blurred effect. It was just a collection of songs.
Some were quite old in fact.
In the end there is a kind of theme running through them, but it isn't
one that 1 put in, I think it has more to do with the methodology of
recording it. I don't see the records as being the same whatsoever.
We're trying to do different things, and I think we do do different
things. Sometimes it's difficult to convey... Not everyone makes music
to always get bigger and better, to progress upwards in an escalating
-manner. My inspirations can come from anywhere, and I just work on
them in the world of doing music. I could be influenced by something
from Minimalist art, or this or that, or stretching something, so I'm
just trying to do that, I'm not trying to do the same thing as before.
But then again. I suppose to casual listeners, who are particularly
bothered by these things, it might sound similar.
[aghast] I really didn't mean to say that it sounded similar!
Oh. ftoughingfl*m aware of that, but in many interviews some people
seem to... And that's fine, because 1 think it's more important to have
a full expression of an idea that you're realty interested in that comes
from yourself, then trying to second guess what people might or
might not ike.
Yeah, I guess It might be hard to be very successful at that...
[laughing] Well, quite a few people are! But it's not really my interest.
I have one question that's kind of related to that. I dont want to get Into
your specific politics or anything, but the whole aesthetic of Stereolab,
It's not esoteric per se, but It expresses a... critical consciousness? And
I don't know if you agree or disagree with that...
[laughing] Well that is quite a broad statement... [thinking to himself,
"what the fuck is this incoherent bitch frying to say'?!''}
I was just wondering how for you, as a kid or young adult, how your
own critical sense of analyzing the world developed.
Ummm... oh... Wefl tfeame mainly from being interested in art.
Da Da, Surrealism. I suppose it's a bit trendy to say, but when I was
fifteen I was quite interested in that stuff, I still am, and it told me a lot
about the world. It came from music as well. I was very influenced by
groups like Flamencists, the whole attitude they had towards music
it being part of their life and an expression of the way they are, and I
feel that our music is that. It is the expression of the personality of the
people involved, it's not a stage act or piece of entertainment that's
contrived. In the end it's what it is and what it isn't.
But I'm not particularly interested in "politics," I've never voted, to me
politics or being critical and so on is always connected with being
creative, with some sort of art. I find that I can't divorce the two things.
I sometimes have had arguments and discussions with people who
feel that because Laetitia often has something critical to say about
the world, which you could call political, that the music should be
simplified to make the message more easily understood. But that's
something I could never do or believe in, because to me the medium
of the message and the message must exist properly, you can't simplify
one to exaggerate the other, otherwise both can be misunderstood.
and it becomes banal. Some things just cannot be simplified, and
that's something that I think really strongly about. The way that we
conduct ourselves, the way we make the music, is very much part of
the message we give off.
I'm not a missionary; s©*f m not interested in changing people's minds
about things. I'm just doing stuff. Everything is open. That's the way
I'm influenced by things, so maybe people recognize the freedom in
that, or maybe not. A*lsaid before, it^tnot realty my concern whether
people do or not, the songs, are just there. They exist as layers.
OK, well thank you so much Tim, FN let you go now.
Oh. alright then.
Thank you so much, you're so talkative...
Yeah. I know I am [laughing].
You're a great person to interview. Bye, have a good evening. ■
Thanks, you as well. aJ
IN DSS-R UAINID
HhOkRif h is Ti> my;
\
The Moog synthesizer, invented by,
you guessed it. Bob Moog, has had
a revolutionary and lasting effect on
popular music. 2004 is the 50 year
anniversary of his famous invention:
it was in 1954 that Bob Moog (at a
mere twenty years oldl) founded the
R.A. Moog company. As a teenager,
Moog had built theremins with
his father at home. An instrument
composed of radio vacuum tubes,
an antenna (which modulated the
volume) and a metal loop (which
controlled pitch), the theremin is
played by moving one's hands in the
air around it. All my Dad taught me
how to do was ride a bike.
At first, the R.A. Moog company was
a part-time business. Bob completed
his PhD while manufacturing
electronic instruments with his wife in
their small apartment. The theremin's
eerie wailing had been popularized
by its use in horror movie soundtracks
in the fifties, and between 1961 and
1963, Bob Moog sold about 1000
theremin kits for $50 each. He also
experimented with his own ideas,
and in September 1964 presented
a line of "electronic music synthesis
equipment", or synthesizers, at
the Audio Engineering Society
Convention in New York City. He was
instantly flooded with orders, and in
1965 organized a synthesizer seminar
series in Trumansburg, NY. There he
invited composers to experiment
with the latest equipment so that
the R.A. Moog company, now a full-
time venture, could respond to their
needs.
Wendy Carlos, a multi-talented
tranny from Rhode Island, is
credited with popularizing Moog's
invention. On her 1968 album,
Switched-On Bach, Carlos utilized
Moog synthesizers exclusively in her
renditions of Bach's most famous
works. While it appalled purists,
it sold over a million copies, won
three Grammies, and propelled the
instrument into public consciousness.
Moog's line expanded to include
the Polymoog, the Multimoog, the
Memorymoog, the Minimoog and
the strap-on Liberation (heehee).
Moog's instruments had made the
leap from avant-garde electronic
experimentation to mainstream
music. But legal and financial trouble
dogged the company, which
almost went under in 1971. When Bill
Waytena bought the company and
re-named it Moog Music, Inc. Robert
Moog lost the legal right to use his
own name. He did not regain this
right until 1996.
ironically, the very reason Moog's
synths fell out of favour in the
eighties (and were supplanted by
fully digital instruments from the
likes of Roland and Yamaha) is the
reason they have experienced
such a renaissance today: fully
analog circuitry that emits bellowing
lows and searing tones that have
never been able to be adequately
modeled in the digital realm. Sure,
it was always hard to keep the old
Moogs in tune, setup patches using
real patch cords, or lug the hefty
monsters from gig to gig, but for
purists it has always been about the
sound, and nothing in the digital
wortd can match it. Oh. and FYI: it's
pronounced like "vogue."
FAMOUS WHORES TO THE MOOG:
Kraftwerk, Brian Eno & Robert Fripp,
Orb, Air, Pink Floyd, Sun Ra, Suicide,
Pariiament, Funkadeiic, Herbie
Hancock and Chick Corea, The Who,
The Beachboys, Stevie Wonder, The
Doors, Frank Zappa and many, many P4G30000020
TWO FILM PROJECTORS
& A FEEDBACK TONE:
LEE RONALDO
& LEAH SINGER
B Y LUKE MEAT
She's an expatriate of Canada who manipulates film like a DJ cuttin'
up tha decks.
He's a guitarist for the premiere noise-art-rawk band Sonic Youth.
Ladies and gentlemen, one hand clapping against another makes a
very nice sound for...
Leah Singer and Lee Ranaldo!
Discorder First and foremost, what is the Vancouver audience going to
see at the Ridge Theatre on April 17th?
Lee Ranaldo: Leah does a very unique film projection performance
and I'm gonna be live onstage providing the soundtrack to it.
Leah Singer: It's a variation on a performance that Lee and I have
been doing since...'91 ? At this point it's a very interesting setting
because it's music and film, and the film, which is my end of things,
is performed on projectors that have been modified to act more like
tools that can be manipulated, rather than a film projector being
something that you slap some film on and then it's on automatic pilot.
The units that I use have been modified so that I can adjust the film
rate, slow things down, and stop things. I often compare it to DJs who
scratch—in a way that's what I'm doing with film. It's very intuitive and
I'm listening and watching and moving the film, going back and forth
between the two projectors as a DJ would.
Discorder: What images do you use?
Leah: It's a very poetic and subjective sort of film, in that they are
little vignettes, a lot of abstract things, but plenty of very recognizable
representational things. They're almost like little tone poems or mood
pieces and they're strung together much like a set list for a band.
It's more really about shape than anything else; Lee and I give a
shape and a tone to the performance. It's very much improvised, but
because we've been doing it for so long, all the "happy accidents" -
have integrated their way into the show.
Discorder Lee, are you going to be reading at ail?
Lee: I haven't decided which way we're going to go with it. It looked
like it was going to be an instrumental piece, but there might be
some readings as well. There was a point early on where it looked
like I was trying to have it be a musical ensemble and invite a couple
other players from out there, but the organizers preferred to keep if
really minimalistic (sic) due to the size of the theatre and some other
restrictions on their part so it's going to be a solo.
Discorder: Some of your books have been published by Soft Skull
Press. How did you hook up with them? '
Lee: Well, they were just getting off the ground as a fledgling
publishing company and they asked me to be one the first things that
they worked on. The publisher and editor at the time, Sander Hicks,
was trying to use his enthusiasm for literature and punk rock to create
this sort of punk-rock book-publishing company. At the time he was
working at Kinko's copy shop so he was running all the books off the
Kinko's machines, really guerilla style. He approached me about
putting a book of all my stuff together, and I suppose in the back of
my mind it was something I always thought I'd like to do, but I wasn't
trying to do something like that, although I had published a few small
things in different magazines and whatnot. It was basically through
his energy and enthusiasm that I put the first collection together and
I really started thinking about this stuff more in terms of writing that
could be collected in books.
Discorder Soft Skull published the controversial book Fortunate Son
by J.H. Hatfield, which critiques George W. Bush. Have you seen
the documentary "Horns and Halos" about the book's creation and
release?
Lee: No! I haven't seen it yet!
Discorder In the wake of September 11th, has It been harder to get
your books out there because you're dealing with a more subversive
publisher?
Lee:! don't think so. They are about to re-print Road Movies, which is
the first book of mine that they did. Their situation has changed a lot
since those early days. I don't really think of them as a "subversive"
press at this point. I think they're an edgy press; I think they're a press
that's grown enormously over the ten or twelve years that they have
been in existence. At this point I think they're becoming quite well
known for publishing a lot of quality literature and it's incredible to see
the way they've evolved, which is really great.
Discorder Leah, you are a fellow Canadian are you not?
Leah: Yes I am! I am originally from Winnipeg.
Discorder What was your transition from living in Winnipeg to being a
film artist in New York?
Leah: I studied journalism and photography at Ryerson in Toronto and
I worked for the CBC for many years. Then I moved to Tokyo to break
the spell of the CBC—y'know, I was very young and I was in what we
would call "the velvet rut," and I didn't want to be in that situation
at that age. I was always a traveller, so I lived in Tokyo, came back
to Montreal, then moved to New York to study film, in the late 80's I
got involved with improvising musicians doing improvised film work,
before I had met Lee. At that time there were a lot of things going
on during the weekends at very small spaces and venues, and lots of
room for filmmakers to improvise and do film shows. This was kind of
when Istarted working with these kinds of projectors and improvising
with musicians. How I met Lee initially was, I curated a handmade-
instrument festival at the original Knitting Factory, and I had Lee play
one night. He was doing some homemade electronic mixing and he
was using some video as an element to his performance so it kinda
grew from that.
Lee: We've been doing the film and music collaboration for quite a
while now; most of the nineties we were doing that...We've done a
lot of shows in Europe and sort of select shows here and there. We
did the Experience Music Project over in Seattle about two years ago
I think. As we were first getting to know each other in the early 90's
we were just showing each other different work that we were doing
and Leah was doing an awful lot of work with film and these specially
modified projectors...Her whole way of working always involved
players and musicians and things like that, so it seemed a natural
thing for us to try. She'd preformed in New York with other people.
On my part, I had a great interest in film and performing with film
that's kind of branched out in recent years into a number of different
directions, in another group that plays with films by Stan Brakhage—a
late-coming Vancouver son in a way...I have a group called Texts of
Ught that performs with Brakhage films. It just was something that we
tried a couple times and it worked really good and we've been kind
of expanding it, developing it ever since.
Discorder What are some of your most memorable collaborations?
Leah: There was a show we did in London, at the London Musician's
Co-Operative, and it was in a huge East End loft. We were doing a
film and video'performance, and the video part of it—they forgot to
transfer my video to the PAL system. So before the show I was sent
out to go get a new dub, and I got screwed up with taxis and public
transport. I got back to the show and Lee had to start, I could hear his music as I was entering the courtyard, and at this perfect moment
I turned on my projectors and it just sort of kicked in and the show
happened. People had been there for a while, getting comfortable,
drinking, sitting on the floor, and it was one of the most special gigs
because it was very intimate. Everybody was so relaxed, hanging
out. It was memorable in that the show was fraught with problems—
equipment problems, everything under the sun—and it didn't matter,
because again, the spirit of the show and what we do is just go with it.
Discorder It seems you have your finger on the pulse of art, literature,
and music. How do you feel that having a multidisciplinary outlook
enriches your work?
Lee: The way that I look at it is that if you're an artist, the medium is
really subservient to what you're trying to do, and I've always been
interested in working in a bunch of different mediums. I studied
DiSCORDER. APRIL 04
fall together. Sometimes they are with people of a well-known stature
and sometimes they're not, but it's interesting either way.
Discorder Despite the thousands of times you've been interviewed,
in the interview archives of SonicYouth.com, you've posted a mere
three. I was proud to see that one of the chosen three was by CiTR's
very own Nardwuar the Human Serviette. What was It that made you
select that interview?
Lee: (Laughs) Ahhh... An old friend...an old foe!!! (Laughs) Y'know,
I think those were the only interviews we had in digital form when
we were putting the website together. There really should be a ton
more on the site, especially given how many interviews we have
done across our career, and I think the idea is to eventually grow
that section and include interviews from all different segments of our
career.
Lee: Well I think the music does, I mean I think that record has always
been a bit.compromised just because it never really was able to put
across the power and the theatricality that that music had. That music
was really incredible. I listened to that record recently because I wrote
the liner notes for the re-issue, and I think the music is just fantastic, anc
there's still a way to greater mass appreciation of Glenn's work.
Discorder Did the experience of writing the liner notes and hearing the
remastered release bring back a lot of memories?
Lee: Very much so. I mean, he's still writing and doing some really cool
stuff, and yet, there's no doubt that the music he was making at that
time was one of the peak periods in his career. That music was so mud
about the experience of being in that room and being assaulted with
that volume—a record translates only parts of it.
' Discorder The book Confusion is Next describes some of your early
performances with Glenn Branca as rather "physical.'' In tact, Branca
is quoted describing your convulsions on stage as "like a cockroach
being stabbed by a needle." What's the worst self-inflicted injury
you've ever gotten on stage?
film in university and I've made a bunch of films, it's been one of
the practices that I learned when I was coming into my own as
attempting to be an artist and it's something I've just kept up with.
. I've had a real education in American avant-garde cinema. Some
aspects of what we do come out in that...I was trained as a painter
and a printmaker and I was a musician sort of by hobby or whatever
and the career sort of flip-flopped at some point when the music
took off with Sonic Youth. I remain someone who does all these
different things. I have some visual art and video work in a gallery
here right now; I'm gonna show something in Britain at a bi-annual
exhibition in two months' time; I have some stuff in a museum in
Vienna right now; I'm working on a new book of poems right now—
so all this stuff kinda comes about together in a certain way.
Discorder How do you prioritize between your various interests and
projects?
Lee: Well, I suppose Sonic Youth takes precedence because it's the
one that needs the most energy and the one that demands the
most energy. I mean, there's just an awful lot of stuff we have to
do as a group, so that one pretty much comes first and everything
else kinda gets slid in around our schedule as a group. That said, I
think for myself and actually for all the other members of the group,
whenever we do have free time, we're immediately dropping
ourselves into other projects that we're working on. It's kind of an
ongoing thing.
Discorder Jesus! How do you relax - or do you even relax?
Lee: Sure, I do relax, but in a certain way working is the best
relaxation. I mean, it's the most fun thing to do. I'd rather work than
relax any day. jkkSi
Discorder You've been involved in so many collaborations with so
many different people. Are there still people out there you'd like.to
collaborate with, but haven't had the opportunity yet?
Lee: Well I suppose there always are...It's true I've had the luck to
collaborate with a lot of different people and that's kind of an ongoing
thing at this point. As your work develops different people come
aboard, or different collaborations happen for different things. At this
point I don't really have a "dream" person or group that I want to
collaborate with anymore but things just kinda fall together... Interests
lead one a certain way and you find like-minded individuals or other
people who are in the same boat and different kinds of collaborations
Discorder In that interview, Nardwuar describes what you're wearing
by referring to you as the "fellow wearing Desert-Storm-ish clothes".
How would you describe your personal style?
Lee: I dunno, I like to dress pretty casually and make the clothes my
own. I'm not really a big fashion hound, although there are some
designers whose clothes I really like a lot. I guess I would say I wear a
lot of blue jeans...Pretty normal.
Discorder What's on your turntable right now?
Lee: What's on the turntable right now? A lot different work projects
for one thing. 1 was listening to the Fiery Furnaces today; I really like
that record. I heard a lot of people writing about that thing, so that
one is pretty cool. What else? Y'know, I listen to such a wide variety of
stuff from really old music to really current music. The new Liars album
has really been sort of rocking my world.
Discorder: Are there any albums or styles of music you used to like
that you've discovered you can't stand anymore?
Lee: Well, it happens once in a while. You come across an old record
that really meant a lot to you at one point in time and then for one
reason or another it doesn't have the same appeal anymore, shall
we say. That happens; people's tastes change. At the same time
though, there's records that you can listen to for 20-30 years and
never get tired of. So there's one of those for every one that you put
on and say "gee I don't need to listen to this again."
Discorder How old is your son Cody now? What kinds of music does
he listen to?
Lee: Cody is eighteen; he's a college freshman. He listens to a lot of
different stuff. He likes The Liars and stuff like that. He also listens to a
fair amount-of hip hop as well. He does a lot of turntable work.
Discorder Is there a "guilty pleasure" top-40 song you bob your head to?
Lee: Does that Outkast song count? There probably is some more. I'd
have to think about it. There's always guilty-pleasure pop songs out
there. M&&/1
Discorder The Ascension, by Glenn Branca, one of the first albums
you ever played on, was re-released last summer. How do you feel it
stands the test of time?
Lee: (laughs) I dunno; last year I almost took Thurston's eye out in a nio
little collision we had together...Worst self-inflicted? Usually our hands
will get all torn up and bloody just from what we do with the guitars.
We often come offstage with fingernails ripped off...It doesn't happen
that often. We can take a bit of a beating.
Discorder Speaking of your early days, are there any bootlegs
floating around of recordings by your first band, Flucts? If there are any
recordings out there, how would you feel about having them released'
Lee: No. There are no official recordings by the Flucts that are out
there. I have a bunch of stuff. At one point there was talk of releasing
a record similar to that Coachmen [Thurston Moore's first band] record
that Thurston did, we just never Ibllowed through on it. I think there's a
good single album's worth of stuff to be released. We had a bunch of
originals that were quite cool, very much in that New Wave style of the
day. But there were definitely some really nice songs.
Discorder On the topic of fledgling bands... How many demos do you
get given by aspiring musicians each time you tour?
Lee: Whether we're on tour or not, we just get floods of 'em! We
listen to 'em when we can, or if there is something that seems
interesting about 'em. We kinda lean more to the ones that look kinda
homemade than the ones that come all slickly packaged.
Discorder: On a final note, what's your favourite joke?
Leah: How do you make, gold soup?
Discorder How?
Leah: You need 14 "carrots." wili?
Discorder. How about you, Lee?
Lee: Two circus clowns are walking along the fairgrounds and one says
to the other, "You know, I'm going out with the two-headed tady." The
other says, "Is she pretty?" and Bozo says back to him, "Well, yes and no,
Leah Singer and Lee Ranaldo, will be performing at the Ridge Theatre
on April JT*. P4G30000022
AIR GUITAR FOR EVERYBODY:
IN DEFENSE OF THE DARKNESS
By Kate Hay
When I moved over here
from the UK in December, The
Darkness had definitely made
their mark on the British music
scene. They'd just finished a
sold out tour, reached number
one in the commercial charts
and had just about every youth
singing in a ridiculously high voice
and practicing air guitar to their
debut album Permission to Land.
This made me happy. Recently
though, it has me happier to
watch random Canadians
screech along to "get your hands
off my woman mother f**cker"
in various bars in downtown;
proving to me that The Darkness
have managed to provoke an
endearing response on this side
of the water too.
However, something I have
noticed about the Darkness's
music in both the UK and
the land of the "eh" is that,
disappointingly, both countries
have failed to avoid the
seemingly timeless argument of
the 'old versus the rival'. In both
countries, most critics seem to
agree that musically (or lyrically
and aesthetically af least,) the
Darkness would be placed in
the same category as glam
rock legends such as "Kiss" and
vrfQueen". However, the issue
that seems to be on the revolving
table is whether or not this is a
good thing for the music industry.
As you have guessed, I am a
fan of The Darkness and I see
the their music as bringing back
a style that has been long lost
in fdvor of the manufactured
pop music, electronic beats and
hip hop that now dominates
the charts. The rocked-out,
lead-guitar-heavy music and
meaningless lyrics of The Darkness
provide ample opportunity for
the youth to practice air guitar
to something that isn't as 'old' as
Jimi Hendrix. In fact, their debut
album.arguably brings the fun
back into a music scene that is
turning dangerously serious. Sing
along lyrics, cheesy, yet effective,
guitar fifty and spiteful drums all
combine to reunite any dancer
with their imaginary instruments.
Great fun and so what if it has
been done before? Oooooo -
controversial?
I can almost see the English
cyhifcs with their noses high
in theair at this point (the
Canadians are too laid back to
say anything). These cynics, or
so I hear, view The Darkness as a
'complete rip off of Queen, Kiss
and other Glam rock legends
of time past. They seem to have
evoked the same mood as a
bad cover version of a classic
song reaching the number one
spot. To the oldies, and I say
this mainly in jest, the idea of a
re-hash that has been enjoyed
before provokes a rowdy
response in defense of Freddie
and his chums. It seems "that
living through, and experiencing,
the age of "glam rock" turns a
different spin on the 'not so new'
musical style of The Darkness.
And before you think that I have
dumped the original style gurus
quicker than a bad lover, let me
just say that the success of The
Darkness doesn't mean that
legends such as Queen and
Kiss can't still be enjoyed just
as much. I know that I would
still put Kiss on at a party, and
admittedly, I still air guitar pretty
well in my room to a few Queen
classics. But, and here comes
the point of this rambling, I still
think The Darkness are still well
worth a non-critical listening
ear, because, for me, they are
bringing back something that
was good, is fun and definitely
deserves to be enjoyed by a
younger generation too.
So, I say, go forth, sing along
to The Darkness as high and
- as screechy as you can, in the
street, in your car, in the bar I'm
in; but for goodness sake, don't
throw away your old glam rock
records for that is what made
the Darkness what they are a
welcome return from the Dark.
FACTS YOU DIDN'T KNOW
ABOUT JOHNNY CASH,
YOU STUPID HIPSTER
He was picking cotton by age five on the farm his family received as part of FDR's New
Deal in 1935. Other programs included shutting down all the banks, and only allowing
those that passed inspection to re-open. Canada has never done this. It might be worth
trying.
As of the 2000 US Census, his hometown of Kingsland, Arkansas contained 449 people,
of whom 62.14% are white and 35.41% Black. Males have a median income of $26,667
versus $16,250 for females.
President Bush released the following statement when Cash died: "Johnny Cash was
a music legend and American icon whose career spanned decades and genres. His
resonant voice and human compassion reached the hearts and souls of generations,
and he will be missed. Laura joins me in sending our thoughts and prayers to his family."
Wow, I guess hipsters and President Bush have more in common than we thought.
Cash's favorite piece of Scripture was Romans 8:13, which says, "For if you live
according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the.
misdeeds of the body, you will (ve...." llfeS
Johnny Cash wore black a lot, a fact you probably know already. According to him, "I
decided to wear a black shirt and pants and see if I could get by with it. I did and I've
worn black clothes ever since." Now, dear hipster, why do you wear so much black?
We invite you to take this opportunity for serious self-examination.
Pyschedelic Airwaves
Tuesdays 3-6 am with DJ Chris
Psychedelic and goa trance from around the world
only on CiTR 101.9fm
E s p a nfo l|
Martes 8-1 Opm 101.9FM
" S a I a r I o M i n i m o " pl <^r r,p nFP APR! r04
H^ ,-#p
St|jp City
Making Music Your Business: A Guide for Young Musicians
By Dave Ellefson
Miller Freeman Books
I know what you're thinking: Megadeth's Dave Ellefson
is here to rescue us and tel! us how to be awesome rock
stars. Not quite. First, he insists that there's no master plan
(godddmn it!). However, he does give a lot of useful
insider tips on avoiding some of the pitfalls that surround
the music business. There's nothing like these figures from
the section on royalties to scare you back to the Taco
Time: 68 cents per CD. For the whole group. And that's
after theJecord company recoups their advance in
'(addition to their cut. And that's not the only fiscal bad
news.
This itnot to say that Ellefson is trying to scare
you out of a musical career to eliminate his future
competition or anything. He just presents a sobering I
reality check for'anyone going in. I have seen some bad
figures before, but many books and other sources wrap
it up in industry jargon, whereas Ellefson gives it to the
reader straight. He also gives practical advice about
different people your band will need to hire eventually
to build your promotion/management/legal team,
advice on not killing your bandmates while touring in your
crappy old van, indie versus major labels, copyrights,
and more. All in all, Ellefson has written a very useful little
handbook to cover most stages of a musical career.
Drake
ftjirjj). <je{f
% luforaBSty'i*
Strip City: A Slipper's Farwell Journey Across America
By Lily Burana
Talk Miramax Books
When journalist Lily Burana accepted her boyfriend's
marriage proposal, she knew that she had a few things to
come to terms with first. One of these was the years that
she had spent stripping in New York and San Francisco.
Still unsure of her feelings about the job, she embarked
on a one-year, journey, stripping her way across America.
The resulting memoir is fascinating. I read it one day,
totally sucked in by her flowing narrative and superior eye
for detail. That night, I dreamed about being a dancing
girl. Not because it's glorified - Burana's assessment of her
own "stripper damage" is unflinching - but because the
world she creates is so complete, and her inner struggle
so compelling. She's an understated writer it's not until
the end of this memoir that you realize how skillfully she
has navigated her risque subject matter and first-person
confessional voice. Her prose sparks with excellent
one-liners (like when she describes Nomi Malone of the
movie Showgirls as a "googly-eyed sex whippet"). Strip
City is brave, funny, and honest. It's also romantic in a
very genuine way that re-creates the sometimes-faulty
connections between real people. Neither a defense nor
an attack, the book recounts Burana's conflicted vision
of striptease in eloquent terms: "I know, and I've always
known, that in the business of stripping the money is fast.
What I've come to realize is that fast money doesn't
equal easy money, and the difference between the two
is not to be underestimated."
KatSiddle
A Stripperfpire^ Journey Across America
I|j|"Burana
EAST AREA
Rock stars use the library, posers go to Chapters.
finding joy is continued on page 33
J P4G30000024
British Sea Power
Kaito UK
February 23
Richard's on Richards
The Pixies are back together
and are gonna play here
soon. Oh hooray. I accepted
that they were over. How can
I be excited about their show
when I now have British Sea
Power?
It's not very often that
I see a band that captures
.ar^fcspires me with their
energy and creativity. British
Sea Power came on stage
amid foliage and plastic
birds, wearing military-ish short
trousers with long socks pulled
over top. They instantly perked
up the crowd with "Fear of
Drowning". Keyboardist/
drummer Eamon alternated
a tin helmet with a plastic
one while his body practically
convulsed and his right eye
twitched. Singer Yah seemed
distracted by the owl behind
him at times and liked to sing
to the side of him.
Before this show, I was not
incredibly excited about British
Sea Power's songs but found
they were growing on me, like
The Pixies once did, perhaps
because they have a familiar
comfort to them. The insane
"Apologies to Insect Life" did
not seem like it should be by
BSP as it did not seem to fit
their relaxing peculiarity. This
was the second song they
played and I instantly realized
that it could only be their
song! Their nice songs were
actually just waiting to jitter
with craziness! "Remember
Me" became even more
memorable and people in
the crowd actually started to
dance.
Anyway, this show was
for you if you enjoy thrashing
branches, guitar dropping,
piggy-backing, headstands,
one-foot hopping,
somersaulting, switching
instruments and jumping
jacks... as most evidenced
by closers "Lately" and "Rock
in A". Wow! It was a finale
somewhere in between
Division of Laura Lee and Trail
of Dead.
Oh and how can I
not mention opening act,
Kaito UK? I could have left
completely enthralled and
satisfied after these Brits
screeched and wailed their
way through 10 songs.
I knew they would be great,
but I did not expect them
to be so captivating! They
opened with "Go" and my
head bobbed while the rest of
me was stuck in an awe-struck
trance.
Dave screeched on his
guitar like it was trying to
escape him and at times it
looked like he was trying to
start a gas lawnmower! Nikki
and Gemma's shrill harmonies
and crazy, spastic fuzzy chords
complimented each other
perfectly. They ended with
"Julian" just as it seemed all
control had to be lost...
I left this show with messy
hair (I got hit by a flying
branch) and a giddy grin on
my face. What more do I really
need to say?
Natalie Vermeer
Super Furry Animals
February 24
Richard's on Richards
Have you ever had a friend \
who was always trying new
and exciting things and
always succeeding brilliantly
at them? He or she was the
kind of person who made
you feel lucky to have him as
a friend. Well, either that, or
he made you want to beat
him severely. Regardless, if
bands could be described
metaphorically as friends, then
Super Furry Animals, and their
blue tanks, Welsh-language
albums, and profanity-laced
charting singles, would fit that
aforementioned description
perfectly. Quite a shame
then, that the band was not
fully capable of capturing
their wild eclecticism and
adventurousness during their
show last month at Richard's
on Richards.
The show started well
enough. The Super Furries
began the show by infusing
their peppier numbers with
equal doses of energy and
humour. Singer Gruff Rhys
even sported an enlarged
Power Rangers helmet during
the opening salvo, "Slow Life."
The band also managed to
get the sold-out Richards
crowd jumping to the sweet
melodic blasts of newer
songs like "Rings Around the
World," "Golden Retriever,"
and "Liberty Belle." Also
enhancing the performance
was a large screen behind the
band which played glossy and
thoroughly entertaining videos
(ah, the perks of signing to a
major label). Best of these was
"Rings," which featured power
line towers becoming animate
and roaming the earth.
It was after this opening
rush that the band made
the fatal mistake of playing
several slower-tempo songs
consecutively. Though,
individually, songs like "Hello
Sunshine," "Run! Christian,
Run!" and "Piccolo Snare" .
were perfectly performed
and unassailably gorgeous,
the band's song order sapped
all the enthusiasm from the
previously-pogoing audience.
Though the band slowly won
back the crowd with the salsa-
dance of "Juxtaposed With
U" and the rock of "Herman
Loves Pauline," and "Out of
Control," the crowd didn't
fully wake up until the four-
songs-in-one hootenanny
of "Receptacle for the
Respectable."
With the crowd revived
from its stupor, the Furries
unleashed their show-stopping
finale: the Steely Dan-sampling
ditty "The Man Don't Give
a Fuck." Preceded by
video flashing the words "All
governments are liars and
murderers" and images of
George W. Bush and Tony
Blair, the band tore through
this amalgam of dance, punk,
rock, and pop with reckless
abandon. From the balcony
to the dance floor, the
audience shrieked and roared
their approval. After a brief
interlude, the band returned
to the stage, decked out as
big hairy sasquatches (or super
furry animals), and finished
the rousing song. Unfortunate
then, that the rest of the set
was not better executed; but
hey, I'm sure even your most
creative and successful friends
have off days from time to
time.
Ne/7 Braun
Pedro the Lion
Esther Drang
P:ano
March 06
Richard's on Richards
By the time I arrived at
Richard's the opening band
was already half way into
• their set. I saw my friend Jill
who commented, "I thought
P:ano was a mellow band."
What?! That's P:ano on stage?
Singing these happy bouncy
songs? Even getting the crowd
dancing! I was definitely
surprised, but I liked what I
saw.
Ben Lai
As for me, I arrived at Richard's
just as Pedro the Lion was
beginning to play. This show
was exactly what any Pedro
the Lion fan (or anyone who
has ever seen Pedro the
Lion live) would anticipate.
David Bazan and the band
played songs from all of their
old albums, and introduced
the crowd to several songs
from the new album, Achilles
Heel. After every few songs,
David Bazan would take a
moment to answer questions,
responding with his usual
humble and honest yet witty
and sarcastic comments.
There's not much to really
say about the music itself; it
sounded great, it was filled
with as much emotion as one
would expect from a Jade
Tree band, but it was definitely
the same as any other Pedro
the Lion show ever. The fans
were happy for the most
part, wailing their lungs out
like caged maniacs. I, on
the other hand, was filled
with bitterness after the band
left without playing "I Am
Always the One Who Calls,"
but hey, do they EVER play it?
Fortunately, they didn't show
up late this time.
Kimberley Day
Pedro the Lion served as a
strong finish Week Of Jesus. I'd
begun it with the 12-minute
long flogging and gratuitous
Satan-screaming-in-hell-after-
Christ-redeems-the-world
scene in Mel Gibson's terrible
epic monsterpiece. Passion
of the Christ. But, it ended
on a high note, precisely six,
npt three, days later, with
Pedro the Lion and-their sweet
THE SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
PHOTOS GALIN MARSDEN
STILL THE SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
YEP, THE SUPER FURRY ANIMALS DISCORDER
A P R I L' 0 4
rapture. I'd gone to see P:ano,
but ridiculously, they went on
at the ungodly hour of seven
fucking thirty! God, how I hate
Richard's.
Graeme Worthy
I thought Discorder contributor
Ester Whang was performing.
Imagine my horror when I saw
in her place a trio of sad sack
plodders and grabbers from
Wasington state. But they were
quite haunting, performing
some well written songs for an
attentive crowd. They played
in front of a screen that had
some pretty trippy images, A
nice experience all around,
Yessiree.
Chris-A-Riffic
Blonde Redhead
Secret Machines
March 26
Commodore Ballroom
I'm almost certain that if you
were at the Commodore
Ballroom the last time Blonde
Redhead played, you were
most definitely there for this
show. Last summer, the band
blew absolutely everyone
away with complex music, a
good melody, and fantastic,
ear-piercing wailing. A level
of intensity was achieved '
last time that can never be
matched; evidently, not even
by another Blonde Redhead
show.
Dallas, Texas' Secret
Machines started off the night,
and were quite a change from
last year's ambient High Tone.
The three band members
played their hearts out,
with the mood set by eerie,
on-stage lighting. Playing
songs from their new album—
released only three days prior
to the show—Secret Machines/.,
got the crowd dancing (well,
at least some of the crowd...
this IS Vancouver, after all)
to their easy-to-appreciate
catchy pop rock. The best
part of their set was probably
when the guitarist sat at the
keyboard, guitar in hand. The
worst part of their set was that
he didn't play both at the
same time. But hey, not every
band can be Oneida.
As for Blonde Redhead,
is it just me or have they 'fey*
mellowed out significantly in
the past year? Not that they
were necessarily too crazy to
begin with, but wow...their set
sounded alright, but wasn't
nearly as engaging as one
would have hoped. The band
played many, many tracks
from their latest release. Misery
is a Butterfly, and unfortunately
not enough from their past
releases. They looked so
good, but sounded so dull. All
in all, it was a good show, it
is Blonde Redhead after all,
but I'm sure that there were
many a fan wishing he hadn't
shelled out $28.00 to see a
show as good as the one from
last summer. I suppose the
biggest mistake of all was for
anyone to go in expecting too
much, but c'mon, twins! Get it
together!
Kimberley Day
Stink Mitt
Screamclub
March 25th
Sonar
Weeks of anticipation (and
belting out their raunchy lyrics
in inappropriate situations)
led up to this show, the first by
local hip-hop hoes Stinkmitt in several months. They
were joined by Olympia's
Screamclub, duo MC's (and
girlfriends) Cindy Wonderful
and Sarah Adorable. Solid skills
backed upraucous on-stage
antics, and several backup
dancers contributed to a
stage show that was funny,
energetic and entertaining. Dancers wore matching
reworked 80's aerobics gear,
and much to our delight,
underwear was optional. The
crowd was treated to occasional glimpses of lovely furry
puss throughout the evening.
Politics are a key element of
Screamclub's message. In
between songs Cindy Wonder-
. ful ranted about George W.
Bitch, and during a song about
boobs a back-up dancer
handed out zines about positive body image. All in all, their
show was great in itself, and a
perfect precursor to Stinkmitt.
We could barely
contain our excitement as
Jenni Craige, Betti Forde and
Dr. Do This took the stage. They
opened with "Jabba the Slut,"
a new tune that will be released on 12" next month. This
.set the tone, and the bitches
proceeded to get down and
dirty for the rest of the night,
stalking the stage like cougars
on the prow). The classic
"Biker Shorts" was particularly
memorable, as a hot dyke and
cute straight boy, clad in the
sexy spandex garments, joined
Jenni and Betti onstage.
Over the past two
weeks, a negative Georgia
Strait review has incited the
ire of Stinkmitt fans. A certain
columnist slagged the group .
tor their lyrical style, alleging
that their ryhmes merely invert
misogyny, rather than dismantling it. Well honey, tell that to
their predominantly lesbian
and feminist audience. Did
you ever consider that the girls
are just out to have a good
time? Femirifsm is fun, and
Stinkmitt. Ore living proof. (Note:
This is the same columnist who
declared that 50-Cent is the
future of hip-hop, displaying
an obviousjy skewed view of
the music world.)
The evening ended
with DJ's MylGayiHusband
and Highstrung spinning
tunes that had us shaking our
booties until the club closed.
Joined by Screamclub's backup dancers and two incredibly
hot boys, we danced until
we were dizzy, sweaty, and
thoroughly exhausted. Fewer
crowd members joined in the
good times than the excellent
DJ's deserved, maintaining
Vancouver's well-deserved
tight-ass reputation. Hopefully
Stinkmitt will carry on with a
long and illustrious career, and
bring a little more sluttiness into
this beautiful, if uptight, city of
ours.
Susy and Sasha
The Last Picture Show
Vague/Nerve Magazine
March 13
151 W. Hastings
My posse walked up the dark,
narrow staircase to the sweet,
sweet sounds of DJ Kamikazio
spinning first Stereolab, then
David Bowie. This art show/gig,
co-hosted by the Vague (The
Vancouver Art Gang] and
Nerve Magazine was packed
with hipsters of every stripe,
representing both indie rock
and art school crowds. The
vast space itself was fascinating, with exposed pine
beams, antique stained glass
windows, and airy ceilings.
The character-filled environment complemented the art
displayed, giving the show
a warmer, more accessible
feel than that of ubiquitous
"blank white wall" galleries.
Certain pieces stood out in
particular, namely Nicholas
Pitt man's large wood panel
painting, depicting a tech-
nicolbur-striped bear climbing
off the board to menace the
viewer. To the artist's chagrin,
his intricate striped/textured
technique led many viewers to
see a tiger rather than a bear,
but whatever, Nick, tigers are
sweet! Charlie Roberts' epic
oil painting stretched along
several feet of gallery space,
depicting a complex post-
apocalyptic scene that drew
a steady crowd of viewers
to examine it in close detail.
S.T.R.E.E.T.S. The Gung Hos, and
Chocobot rocked the house,
as per usual, and my careful
observation revealed the the
crowd looked at the art as well
as drank. I think Vancouver
much to look forward to from
the Vague, a recently-formed
artist-run collective. Not least
of which, organized sporting
events in public places. The
premiere event, "Capture the
Flag at the VAG," had one
rocky moment when CiTR DJ
Rob Brownridge ("Please Rock
the Door", Thursdays 6-8 AM]
knocked over a toddler in a fit
of overenthusiasm. But what
would art be without overzeal-
ousness? And team sports for ■
that matter?
Susy Webb
The Additive Method
Giant
March 13
misanthropy gallery
The celebrated Oakland
artist drew a diverse crowd,
including graft kids, hipsters,
and serious art buyers. It was
interesting to observe the
slightly older, more sedately
attired buyers threading their
way through the crowd,
examining Giant's ink drawings with careful eyes, and
I was pleased to return to
the gallery the next day and
see little neon "sold" stickers
adorning almost every piece.
Undoubtedly, Giant's precise,
flawlessly executed neo-graffiti
/ neo-tattoo artworks will be
stunning additions to Gastown
lofts and Yaletown condos
throughout the city. The show
was indicative of increasing
ambition on the part of the
misanthropy gallery, which will
be celebrating it's one year
anniversary next month. While
continuing to focus on promoting local talent, misanthropy is
in the position (both in regards
to finances and name recognition) to attract big-name artists
such as Giant. Nonetheless, as
evidenced by the explosion
of throw-ups that appeared
around the gallery that night,
we needn't worry that the
gallery will be leaving it's street
roots behind.
Susy Webb
Liz Phair, she gets roasted by 'the media' all the time. Give her a break.
Galin Marsden photo
These are the shows that you must go
see, in order to feel whole:
Constantines
The Brickyard
April 04
(International) Noise Conspiracy
Commodore Ballroom
April 12 P4G30000026
G3
G3 Live: Rockin' In the Free World
(Epic)
Remember watching
VidepHrts oh CBC and getting
all excited when the new David
Lee Roth video would come
on? Remember getting even
more excited when thfejjuitarist
would start playing both necks
on that crazy heart-shaped
guitar?3;|hat guitarist's name
was Steve Vai, and every year,
he aha> fellow guitar-wanker
Joe Satriani go out on their "G3"
tour with a special guest (Yngwie
Malmsteen this time). This is the
result, and I'm willing to bet that
a Y chromosome is required for
full enjoyment of this album.
Matthew Gruman
Jim Byrnes
Fresh Horses
(Black Hen Music)
Like all good blues records.
Fresh Horses feels like home. By
collaborating with fellow
Vancouverites Steve Dawson
and Jesse Zubot (of Zubot &
Dawson fame), Byrnes has put
together an album that those
whose influence he wears on
his sleeve would be proud of. A
combination of originals, covers
(ranging from Muddy Waters
to Neil Young) and standards.
Fresh Horses remembers a time
when passion actually mattered
in music.
Matthew Gruman
The Butchies
make yr life
(Yep Roc)
Did someone stick a Lillix CD
in my Butchies' jewel case? I'm
confused. The cover art is great:
a close-up of the shattered glass
front of a gum-ball machine. No
cleavage or midriffs or nothin'.
But the songs? Let's just say that
make yr life ain't smashing any
musical barriers. Four albums
into the game, the Butchies'
current take on girl-group pop
is listenable, but disappointingly
generic. Lyrically and musically,
there's little here to distinguish
the trio from the legions of
women working fhe pop radio
circuit. And they didn't even
enlist the Matrix (I checked the
liner notes). Actually, by working
for a discount rate, they could
prqbably give Avril's songwriting
team a run for their money, at
least for a year or two. Seriously,
though: kudos fo anyone who
doesn't feel the need to show
their tits. Now if they could just
sound as interesting as they
look...
Kat Siddle
The Ukrainians
Istoriya (The Best of the
Ukranlans)
(Zirka Records)
On a dark and stormy
night in the late '80s, a group
of mad indie scientists called
The Wedding Present brought a
strange creature to life. Half rock
'n' roll, half traditional Ukrainian
folk, this unlikely beast grew and
grew until it escaped captivity.
It roamed the world, spawning
album after frenzied album.
' Galled simply "The Ukrainians," it
was too weird to be accepted,
but too much fun to die. It's a
true story, really. But you don't
have to take my word on it - now
you can find out for yourself, with
the brand new best-of album. Go
on, take a risk for oncein your life.
You know that all that synth-pop
is rotting your brain and giving
you lung cancer. The Ukrainian's
original songs are energy-filled
and appealing beyond the
obvious novelty. And their covers
of The Smiths, the Sex Pistols, and
the Velvet Underground? Well
they've just gotta be heard to
be believed.
Kat Siddle
Various Artists
Dig Your Roots: Spoken Word
Dig Your Roots: Electronic Dance
(NCRA/Dig Your Roots)
These CDs are both ripe,
hopeful, independent, little
Canadian creations brought to
us by the National Campus and
Community Radio Association
that represent campus,
community, and indigenous
radio stations across the country,
including yours truly, CiTR.. "But
is tha music dope, J-Dog?!"
I hear you saying. In a word:
"Yes, you bet your indie-rock-
ass it is!" The spoken word CD
is good, but I gotta ask—where
is the *$#@ingVANCOUVER
talent??? There are some slick
little vignettes on this disk along
with a smattering of horse shit.
But the crap is not rampant
and mostly hear -the beginning
fYou taking notes? We're talking
"skip" button here). The thing
is that as sweet as this shit may
be, if you're into this at all you'll
go to Thundering Word Heard or
Cafe Deux Soleils' poetry slam, or
peep the female-driven Coastal
Tongues project, cause this stuff
is meant to be heard live! Check
out the 2000 National Poetry
Slam champ Shane Koyczan;
go see Vancouver's best kept,
secret, Skeena Reece; give love
to the soulful Tanya Evanson, and
many others. Among the things
discussed on this Vancouver-
less disk are: race and gander
identity politics; memory; sex and
joy, compromise and resistance;
and a little pretentious bullshit.
too! So don't be a bastard,
cop this short disk (40 minutes)
of people bearing their guts on
plastic — or better yet, go see
some of the live shit that is all over
Van City! As for the Electronica
disk, I don't listen to techno. All of
the tracks could have used more
rapping and less beeping, in my
opinion. P.S. Why are there so
many goddamned people from
fucking Winnipeg on these CDS?
I mean. The Peg?! Come on...
Jordan
Sondre Lerche
Two Way Monologues
(Virgin)
Just 21 and writing English
pop ballads for us mass-market
consumers from way across the
Atlantic, Norway's Sondre Lerche
still needs a bit of an introduction.
Two Way Monologues is' a
remarkable follow-up to his 2001
commercial debut, Faces Down.
From the feedback I've gotten,
it's one of those albums you're
going spin until it sucks or you're
going forget you ever bought - a
love/apathy relationship. For that
kind of variety of reactions, it's
at least worth listening, to at the
record store. The young Lerche
possesses a certain duality of
character : on one channel
he's got that chill, limited &
optimistic perspective that is so
characteristic of youth, and on
' the other side he comes across as
a confident, mature professional
with an appreciation for a variety
of sounds. Lap guitars, bongos,
and wind instruments, among
others, blend to together to paint
this chamber-pop experiment
with Lerche's dynamic character.
The Norwegian musician shows
an appreciation for Nick Drake
vocal styling, earlier Van Morrison
songwriting and a bit of an
upbeat Beach Boys fee! on tracks
like "Two Way Monologues" and
"On The Tower." With lots of
growing knowledge for song
structures and chord structures,
this guy does merit the critics'
comparisons of his sound
to great pop artists like Burt
Bacarach. Maybe I'm anxious for
summer, but I've bought into this
groove and plan on checking
him out live in May. Critically,
where his voice sounds lacking
in some spots in the record I've
been assured that he's got a
commanding stage presence.
My eyes will be on Norway for
a while as I expect great things
from Sondre Lerche. The verdict:
worth forfeiting your hard-earned
hour's worth of salary to Richard
Branson with a smile. ,
Calen
Fog
Hummer
(Ninja Tune)
Hummerts the first solo effort
from Andrew Broder, a 22-year-
old scenester prodigy of sorts
from the Twin Cities. The album
fuses jazz, hiphop, pop and
electronic influences, reflecting
Broder's diverse roots as a
teenage punk-rocker, hiphop
DJ, witty writer in graff zine LSD,
and current work as turntablist/
guitarist/keyboard player with
jazz-pop act, cropduster. This
boy keeps himself busy, and to
good purpose. Broder's massive
range of skills and abilities come
together on this album, resulting
in an original and odd pop/jazz
sound, tempered with computer
bleeps, violins, scratching, and all
other sorts of funky shit. At times
the album is reminiscent of the
Flaming Lips, and a bit closer
to home, Broder's whispered,
restrained vocal style calls to
mind p:ano's Nick Krgovich. It is
a bizarre album but a good one,
and with Broder's wide range of
influences a surprisingly good fit
for the Ninja Tune label.
Susy Webb
Dead Kennedys
live at the Deaf Club
(Manifesto Records) 'MM
I am sorry I have to be the
whistle blower yet again. I am
deeply embarrassed by the
poor quality of their new Live at
the Deaf Club CD. I* could have
been a good album. But in my
opinion the sound quality and
remix are so lame it's not even as
good as the versions on "Give Me
Convenience or Give Me Death."
And those mixes are almost 20
years old. If they really "spent
the better part of a year" on this,
I wonder what they were really
doing most of the time. I don't
think the artwork is as boring as
Mutiny on the Bay. but it doesn't
really rock my world either. To
me it's a dumbed-down version
of the good stuff Winston Smith
and I made, but now it seems
deliberately designed not to ■
offend anyone. Sad. I relayed my
concerns to East Bay Ray, but as
usual I never heard back. I have
also been confronted several
times at shows by people feeling
ripped off by the Making of In
God We Trust Inc. DVD. They said
they felt especially burned by
only 22 minutes of content, and
that the karaoke section was as
stupid as the elves (yes, elves)
on the cover. Please, folks, I had
nothing to do with this! Like the
fake Dead Kennedys "reunion"
tours. I did not authorize either
of these projects and was not
allowed any meaningful input
at all. I can't double-check
the 22 minutes or whatever
because I am not allowed to
possess the MVD releases unless
I buy them from a store. I have
never received copies, or even
a contract, from Ray & Co. at
all. Nor am I allowed to see all
the books. In 1998 the other ex-
Dead Kennedy's filed a vicious
lawsuit against me stemming
from a dispute that got ugly
when I opposed putting "Holiday
in Cambodia" in a Levi's Dockers
TV commercial. Unfortunately,
their lawsuit is still going on. I
maintain my innocence, and
am sickened by what they have
done' to exploit Dead Kennedys
once-good name and legacy
since. I would like to go into
much deeper detail about all
this, but our attorneys have
asked me not to. Let's just say it
is far from over, uglier than ever,
with no end in sight. So please be
aware of the mentality behind all
current Dead Kennedysreleases,
and where the money is really
going.
Jello Biafra
El-P
High Wafer (Mark)
(Thirsty Ear)
This CD is a nice little
treat for all you El-P obsessed
collectors. The concept, of this
record is exciting: pitting the
biggest underground hiphop
producer from Brooklyn against
an ensemble of some of the
best avant-garde jazz musicians
-jji'New York City. The outcome?
It's good, but not spectacular. I
used to go to some avant-garde
jazz shows in NYC but I never got
•totally into the scene. Truthfully,
some of it was beyond my
musical vocabulary, although I
dug the avant-garde musicians'
consistently perfect effort to
pull off a kind of jazz music
that is challenging, cerebrally
interesting, and original:
words that also describe El-P's
production style. The first four
tracks feature a live jam session of
the musicians. This is the best part
about the album. Track 04 "Get
Modal" is perhaps my favorite
song of the album because I can
really hear El-P's influence on the
drummer. He gets the drummer
to do this heavy hiphop drum
pattern that is reminiscent of the
patterns heard in nearly all his
hiphop work. Tracks five through
seven are where El-P becomes
more hands -on, using his sampler
or Pro-Tools to do a more sample-
heavy production, . featuring
re-worked loops and melodies
from the jam sessions. Given the
plethora of material that El-P had
to choose from, it's not entirely
surprising that the beats made
by j|*P did not live up to the
incredible material of the earlier
tracks. I don't really think these
last three songs work as well, but I
would be disappointed if I didn't
get to hear these El-P sample
tracks. In contrast, they make the
first four non-sample tracks stand
out more because I appreciate
the organic quality of an actual
band.
Frank Liao
John Frusciante
Shadows Collide With People
(Warner)
Fennesz
uVe fn Japan
(Headz)
These CD's are extremely
complementary (hence the
double review). Both are avant-
garde experiments, featuring
the spatial voids too often get
neglected in recorded audio
, yet they appeal to much
different audiences. Red Hot Chill
Peppers guitarist John Frusciante
is generally content working iip-.
classic song structures that reflect
his interest in Beatles-era pop
and prog rock, bringing, bands
like Van der Graaf Generator and
the Beach Boys to mind. Both
albums, however, feature intense
moments of swirling, transient
sound. Fennesz, a forceful name
in the laptop music scene, puts
out an amazing live album,
setting the standard for other
artists in that scene. Unfortunately
Fennesz, like his contemporary.
Pita, aren't well received over
here in the gray havens. However
you can find both records and
hear them for yourselves at the
indie music stores.around town.
"Carvel," the opening track from
Shadows Collide with People,
a collaboration with former
Bicycle Thief Josh Klinghoffer,
features musicians like Flea,
Chad Smith and the Mars Volta's
Omar Rodriguez, is the perfect
balance between experiment
and Structure. John's voice has
certainly gained confidence,
especially in his own songwriting
Since 2001 's To Record Only Water
For Ten Days. Inspiring bands like
Kraftwerk, the Talking Heads
and Tears for Fears represent the
eighties nicely. On Live in Japan,
Fennesz reaches into the hard
drive and pulls out samples from
past albums like Endless Summer
and remixes from Plus Forty
Seven Degrees 56'37" Minus
Sixteen Degrees 5VQ8". If you're
looking for sound to improve
to your summer experience-
whether it's traveling to Europe
or landscaping-this pair is my
suggestion.
Calen
The Northern Pikes
It's a Good life
(Sextant)
This album marks the return
of Jay Semko, reuniting fhe
Northern Pikes and completing
their first new album in years.
Apparently. All I know is that
the Northern Pikes are "the
second most important music
from Saskatchewan, after Joni
Mitchell" (don't ask me where
I heard that, 'cuz I couldn't tell
you), and that they've been
around since the '80s. I haven't
heard their older material
(apologies to all fans), but "It's
a Good Life" almost sounds like it
should be an old indie rock Treble
Charger album, and for that I
hate it. The songs have some
edge (lyrically and musically)
though, and are catchy enough
that patriotic fans of Can-Rock
might want to look into this. What
more can I say?
Soren Bros.
Preston School of Industry
Monsoon
(Matador)
This record simply furthers
the view that it was Stephen
Malkmus who made Pavement PISCOROFR, A P R \ I' Q *
great. There isn't even a fair
comparison that can be made
between this (the second
album headed by guitarist Scott
Kannberg since Pavement's
break-up) and Pig Lib, Stephen
Malkmus's new album with
The Jicks. Where Malkmus
continues to search out new
musical ground and push his
own songwriting and lyrical skills
as far as possible, Monsoon feels
like the work of someone who
has all but given up, recording
something without any defining
features at all. Bland be thy
name. Monsoon! Normally this is
where I might suggest the album
for hardcore fans in search of
Pavement B-Sides, but honestly
I'm not even sure it's worth it.
At the most, any Wilco fans out
there might appreciate their
guest appearance on the song
"Get Your Crayons Out!", but if
you're looking to compare this
album to anything by Pavement,
be prepared for disappointment.
Soren Bros.
Sweatshop Union
Natural Progression
(Battle Axe/EMI)
Sometimes, you hear a
wack CD, then when you go to
the PC to write and describe it,
the reviewer sounds like a cynical
herb. The first beat is corny, and
the music is too synthetic and
poppy. Simply put, anti-head
nodding. Maybe it's because
Rob the Viking gets away with
too much quantized high hat
'patterns. As for the MCs, they
sound corny too. It's not horrible;
I'd be impressed by this first song
if they were personal friends of
mine, but... they ain't. As Battle
Axe/EMI CD, I'd expect a higher
level of quality control. The
second beat tries to copy Moka's
Ron Contour beats. There is an
easily noticed bad pattern, as
the group tries to "sing" melodic
clever crew hooks. They shout out
on Track 5, "I got news for you." I
wonder what it is? Perhaps they
want to tell us they're wack? I
got more news fdr the reader. In
the liner notes, they make a point
to "acknowledge the financial
support of the Government of
Canada through the Canada
Music Fund for this project". Yo,
which website should I log on
to tap into some of this fund? I
mean, I can't believe people get
Canadian government funds to
make a mainstream hiphop CD.
Just how did they manage to
pull that trick? Politics, these guys
are sure good at running their
business, straight up. By the way,
this CD is boring up to Track 7.
Drums sound predictable, with no
real kick to the beats. They aren't
given much spice by the droning
MCs, one of which sounds like
Evidence from Dilated Peoples.
After checking out this CD a
few times through, it seems that
the Union are just seeking to do
some feel-good alternative-rap-
type music. It would be fitting to
put these songs into the generic
hiphop genre, but a better
category would be "Young
Adult Easy Listening." Although
being soft isn't necessarily bad
per se. When they're trying to
impress those East Van honeys,
they should feel pretty confident
using this album to display their
skills. I'm afraid that this CD falls
in between two undesirable
extremes. It's not mainstream
enough to sell mega loads at
Virgin Mega Store, but not raw
enough to please the paying
customers of underground
crowds at Zulu. Local hiphop
icon likes J.Martinez likes to shy
away from new hiphop these
days, now I know why.
Frank Liao
Imaginary Johnny
The Upside of Down
(Independant)
Something that always gets
to me is the overuse of "nice" as
an adjective. In my opinion, the
word falls short of saying anything
significant or meaningful
- and therefore fails entirely at
description. However, when I first
heard Imaginary Johnny's album
The Upside of Down, annoyingly,
"nice" was the only descriptive
word that came to mind. This
debut album, created by an
indisputably talented artist,
presents inoffensive, emotive
lyrics, simple melodies and an
eccentric drum beat that does
not push musical boundaries.
At the same time, it doesn't
harm anyone either. Johnny
proudly flaunts his crystal clear
voice endearingly. The faster-
than-average, hollow-sounding
electro beats and synthesized
sounds present a vague blending
of musical genres; a mix that
successfully fuses an electronic
hum with pleasant acoustic
melodies to create easy-listening
tracks that merge together and
form un-interrupting background
tunes. In fact, it is only the last
track on the mini-album that
stands out. Innovative piano
melody and repetition of my
favorite lyrics, "I never want to
need anyone that much again,"
and proficient harmony captures
the build-up of the song, making
this track definitely worthy of
a second listen. To sum up the
five-track album in total, I'dsay
it's sound is a little "Belle and
Sebastian's older days" merged
with a subtle hint of electronica.
But for want of a better word, it's
just "nice."
Kate Hay
Zombie Night in Canada
Various Artists
(Stumble Records)
Zombie Night in Canada
is the perfect soundtrack to
Discorder's production days.
By midnight, we all look and
feel like the living dead. But
when we played this psychobilly
compilation, we were more evil,
more fun, and we all got laid by
amorous zombie babes. Strange
things happened to us. Tattoo
inked themselves unbidden on
our flesh. Sideburns sprouted
from our faces, especially mine.
A frenzied double-bassline
embedded itself in our spines,
leading our production manager
to dance around until the flesh
was ripped from his bones by the
centrifugal force and he was a
dancing skeleton! Then our art
director ate the brains of several
hundred AMS Security goons,
and I started drooling over
hotrods. It was all a bit out of
character. But 25 tracks of rockin'
Canadian psychobilly can do
that to a person, you know. I
know you understand.
Kat
Panurge
Throw Down the Reins
(Nettwerk)
Add this album to the list of
local pleasures. Brimming with
60s-influenced pop gems well
updated for the new millennium, Panurge have_alchemized
thirteen tracks into a release you
can actually enjoy all the way
through. Propelled by electro
beats, synths and samples, the
band spread acoustic and
electric guitars, and supercatchy
harmony vocals over the songs
like butter over bread, with more
hooks than a meat market. Sure
it's on the same label as Sarah
McLachlan, but don't let that
put you off. The proof's in the
Panurge pudding, and it's all
tasty. And if you're anywhere
near the interweb, you can
check www.panurge.net for
song clips, vids, news, blah blah
blah. So don't wait, check out
Vancouver's latest talents-in-hiding before the rest of hipster-
world does!
Mr. Moo
Devendra Banhart
Rejoicing In the Hands
(Young God Records)
Before hearing Rejoicing In
the Hands, I figured Devendra
Banhart was a guy with a fancy
name making music for people
with fancy haircuts. But opening
hearing Banhart's new album, I
realise he's so much more than '
that.
Rejoicing In the Hands sounds
like it was unearthed from a time
capsule. Banhart's croaking
croon and delicate acoustic guitar picking has a timeless quality
that transcends mere hipsterdom
and reveals itself as beautiful
and tender music.
Not to say this music isn't
weird. It can be, in fact very
weird. "Because my teeth don't
bite, I can take 'em out dancing,
yeah I can take my little teeth
out and show them a real good
time," sings Banhart on "This
Beard Is For Siobhan." Huh? On
"Poughkeepsie" he evens does
. a little homage to Elvis, running
through a medley of songs with
confusing but amusing results.
The occasional headscratcher
aside. Rejoicing In the Hands is
an album full of graceful, pretty
music.
DM
||ure evil |. I| .
ftorm the gates
the new single from
in stores soon
brought to you by monday
noon till 1pm!
only on citr i
101.9fm
I
Mystery Girl
UBC STUDENT CARD DISCOUNTS
SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAYS & MATINEES
MRSITY THEATRE UNIVERSITY WAY ON WEST 10TH AVENUE
4375 West 10th Avenue 604.222.2235
CALL FOR TIMES 14A-VIOLENCE
MllfflTOMff
R25ACTS0V
Presents.,
2OTJ4
- May 27 to 30 ~
it! 1.1 Ml km
ROCKI METAL!
HIP-HOPIR&B
ACOUSTIC!
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nourishing
munity
Th6D8wli#wBsenilBanil
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Removal
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and mote...
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and more...
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te«nd m.M - ©oo Circle -
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and more...
Josh Martinez
a Tht Pissed Off Will
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and more...
For show times, venues
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Event details subject to change without notice, © 2004 Food4Music Events. All rights reserved.
NEXT MONTH IN DISCORDER:
Bryce dunn (below center) at South by Southwest.
Carolyn Mark (the old man on the left).
They Shoot Horses Don't They, (the women in the hats)
in Ben Lai's band of the month club.
The Fascinating History of Leon Thermin
(The short one, bottom left)
Andl more entertaining lies.
©<*eav> Raggefr v>o\ ^^^^^^^^^^^S^^^^jg^^fe^W
CDS ON SALE FOR
$14.99 OR LESS
EREYER YOU BUY MUSIC P4G30000030
SUNDAY
ARE YOU SERIOUS? MUSIC
9:00AM-12:00PM
All of time is measured by its
art. This show presents the most
recent new music from around
the world. Ears open.
THE ROCKERS SHOW
12:00PM-3:00PM
Reggae inna all styles and
fashion.
BLOOD ON THE SADDLE
3:00PM-5:00PM
Real cowshit-caught-in-yer-
boots country.
CHIPS WITH EVERYTHING alt.
5:00PM-6:00PM |
British pop music from all
decades.
SAINT TROPEZ aU.
5:00PM-6:00PM
International pop (Japanese,
French, Swedish, British, US,
etc.), 60s soundtracks and
lounge. Book your jet set holiday now!
QUEER FM
6:00PM-8:00PM
Dedicated to the gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transsexual communities of Vancouver. Lots of
human interest features, background on current issues, and
great music.
RHYTHMSINDIA
8:00PM-10:00PM
Rhythmslndia features a wide
range of music from India,
including popular music from
Indian movies from the 1930s
to the present, classical music,
semi-classical music such as
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 D J Smiley Mike lays
down the latest trance cuts to
propel us into fhe domain of
the mystic-al. <trancendance
@hotmail.com>
THE SHOW
12:00AM-2:00AM
RADIO ZERO
2:00AM-6:O0AM
MONDAY
FILL-IN
6:00AM- 8:00AM
BREAKFAST WITH THE BROWNS
8:00AM-11:00AM
Your favourite brown-sters,
James and Peter, offer a"
savoury blend of the familiar
and exotic in a blend of aural
delightsl
DiSCORDER RADIO ONE
FILL-IN alt.
11:00 AM-12:00PM
Wanna hear the music that
drives the Discorder war
machine? Suppliment your
monthly reading with an
aural dose of that super-sonic
magazine from CiTR
MYSTERY GIRL
12:00AM-1:00PM
Songs for the mystery world.
PARTS UNKNOWN
1:00PM-3:00PM
Underground pop for the
minuses with the occasional
interview with your host, Chris.
SANDBOX THEATRE
3:00PM-4:00PM
A show of radio drama orchestrated and hosted by UBC students, featuring independent
works from local, national, and
international theatre groups.
We welcome your. involvement. <sandboxtheatre@hot
mail.com>
ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS
4:00PM-5:00PM
A chance for new CiTR DJs
to flex their musical muscle.
Surprises galore.
STRAIGHT TALK
5:O0PM-6:OOPM
Join me - Dallas Brodie - for
stimulating talk radio about
local, national and international issues. WHAT YOU
WILL GET ON STRAIGHT TALK:
smart, informative, current,
provocative radio WHAT
YOU WON'T GET: fence
sitting, conspiracy theories,
reflex anti-Americanism, lefty
whining or fluff.
SON OF NIGHT DREAMS alt.
6:00PM-7:30PM
SOLARIZATION alt.
6:00PM-6:30PM
MY ASS alt.
6:30PM-7:30PM
Phelps, Albini, 'n' me.
WIGFLUX RADIO
7:30PM-9:00PM
Listen to 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
11:00, as listed.
April 5: Innovation and blues
oriented swing was what
Ornette Coleman's music
is, but it frightened and
alienated the Jazz establishment. "Ornette!" Is Gavin's
favourite Coleman record
with trumpeter Don Cherry,
bass virtuoso Scott LaFaro
and drum master Eddie
Blackwell... newly re-issued.
April 12: "Apogee" is a classic from the late 70's. With
two masters of the tenor
saxophone... Pete Christlieb
and the great Warne Marsh
with a hot rhythm section
that has Lou Levy on piano
create this masterpiece that
was produced by none other
STEIiTOCiTR
Iff
ONLINE AT
www.citEca
than Steely Dan.
April 19: Randy Weston at the
five spot. A Hve recording by
Pianist/Composer and Jazz
giant Weston (he is 6ft. 7inch-
es tall) with "The uncrowned
king" of the trumpet, Kenny
Doram and the father of the
tenor saxophone Coleman
Hawkins and more. This "pickup" band playing a one
nighter made timeless music.
April 26: In honour of Duke
Ellington's birthday (Actually
April 29, 1899) Gavin will feature his favourite recording
by The Duke... "The Far East
Suite" innovative and con-
temporart and spotlighting all
the great Ellington soloists.
VENGEANCE IS MINE
12:O0AM-3:O0AM
Hosted by Trevor. It's punk rock,
babyl Gone from the charts
but not from our hearts—thank
fucking Christ.
PSYCHEDELIC AIRWAVES
3:O0AM-6:30AM
DJ Christopher Schmidt also
hosts Organix at Club 23 (23
West Cordova) every Friday.
TUESDAY
PACIFIC PICKIN"
6:30AM-8:00AM
Bluegrass, old-time music and
its derivatives with Arthur and
"The Lovely Andrea" Bemnan.
HIGHBRED VOICES alt.
8:00AM-9:30AM
PLEASE ROCK THE DOOR alt.
8:00AM-9:30AM
THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM
9:30AM-11:30AM
Open your ears and prepare
for a shock! A harmless note
may make you a fan! Hear the
menacing scourge that is Rock
and Roll! Deadlier than the
most dangerous criminal!
<bcminsbctynine@hotmail.com>
FILL-IN alt.
11:30AM- 12:00PM
MORNING AFTER SHOW alt.
11:30AM-12:30PM
REEL TO REAL alt.
12:30PM-1:00PM
Movie reviews and criticism.
BEATUP RONIN alt.
12:00PM-2:00PM
Where dead samurai can program music.
A TALK WITH ALLEN CLEMENTS
alt.
1:00PM-2:00PM
CIRCUIT TRACING
2:00PM-3:30PM
EN AVANT LA MUSIQUE alt.
3:30PM-4:30PM
«En Avant la musique!)) se
concentre sur le metissage
des genres musicaux au sein
d'une francophonie ouverte
a tous les courants. This program focuses on cross-cultural music and its influence
on mostly Francophone
musicians.
RADIO SEIU alt.
3:30PM-4:30PM
Produced by the Service
Empbyees International Union,
tune in for news, views and
stories relating to the labour
„ industry and its affiliates, coast
to coast from Vancouver to the
shores of Newfoundland.
THE MEAT-EATING VEGAN
4:30PM-5:00PM
WENER'S BARBEQUE
5:00PM-6:00PM
Join the sports dept. for their
coverage of the T-Birds.
FLEX YOUR HEAD
6:00PM-8:00PM
Up the punx, down the emo!
Keepin' it real since 1989, yo.
flexyourhead. vancouverhard
core.com
SALARIO MINIMO
8:00PM- 10:00PM
THE LOVE DEN alt.
10:00PM-12:00AM
<loveden@hotmait.com>
ESCAPISM alt.
10:00PM-12.00AM
es«cap*ism n: escape from
the reality or routine of life by
absorbing the mind in entertainment or fantasy.
Host: DJ Satyricon.
<D JSatyricon@hotmail.com>
AURAL TENTACLES .
12:00AM-6:00AM
It could be punk, ethno, global,
trance, spoken word, rock, the
unusual and the weird, or it
could be something different.
Hosted by DJ Pierre.
WEDNESDAY
FILL-IN
6:00AM- 7:00AM
THE SUBURBAN JUNGLE
7:00AM-9:00AM ||||
Bringing you an entertaining
and eclectic mix of new and
old music live from the Jungle
Room with your irreverent
hosts Jack Velvet and Nick
the Greek. R&B, disco, techno,
soundtracks, Americana, Latin
jazz, news, and gossip. A real
gem!
<subutxrijungfe(§dTcrTieB8xx)rn>
CITR NEWS, ARTS AND SPORTS
9:00AM- 10:00AM
EXQUISITE CORPSE
10:00AM-11:30AM
ANOIZE
11:30AM-1:00PM
Luke Meat irritates and educates through musical deconstruction. Recommended for
the strong.
THE SHAKE alt.
1:00PM-2:00PM
FOR THE RECORD alt.
1:00PM-2:00PM
DEMOCRACY NOW
2:00PM-3:00PM
Independent news hosted
by award-winning journalists
Amy Goodman and Juan
Gonzalez.
MOTORDADDY alt.
3:00PM-5:00PM
Cycle-riffic rawk and roll!
RUMBLETONE RADIO alt.
3:00PM-5:00PM
Primitive, fuzzed-out garage
mayheml
NECESSARY VOICES
5:00PM-6:30PM
Socio-political, environmental
activist news and spoken word
with some music, too.
www.necessaryvoices.org
<necessaryvoices@telus.net>
AND SOMETIMES WHY alt.
6:30PM-8:00PM
(First Wednesday of every
month.)
BLUE MONDAY alt.
6:30PM-8:O0PM
Vancouve£sY only industrial-
electronic-retro-goth program.
Music to schtomp to, hosted
by Coreen.
JUICEBOX
8:00PM-9:00PM
Your ears have never felt so
naughty!
FOLK OASIS
9:00PM-11:00PM
Roots music for folkies and non-
folkies... bluegrass, singer-song-,
writers, woridbeat, alt country,
and more. Not a mirage!
<folkoasis@canada.com>
HANS KLOSS' MISERY HOUR
11:00PM-2:00AM
FIRST FLOOR SOUND SYSTEM
2:0OAM-6:0OAM
THURSDAY
FILL - IN
6:00AM-8:00AM
END OF THE WORLD NEWS
8:00 AM-10:00AM
PLANET LOVETRON
10:00AM-11:30AM
Music inspired igfciChocolate
Thunder, Robert Robot
drops electro past and
present, hip hop and inter-
galactic funkmanship.
<rbotlove@yahoo.com>
FIRED UP
11:30AM-12:OOPM
Ever told yourself "I can't even
boil water, let alone cook a
chicken or stir-fry vegetables!"
Let Chef Marat show you the
way to create easy meals prepared in the comfort of your
own kitchen/bechelor pad or
car. OK, maybe not the%car.
Wouldn't want to spill anything
on the upholstery.
UNPACK YOUR ADJECTIVES
12:00PM-1:00PM
STEVE AND MIKE
1:00PM-2:00PM
Crashing the boy's club in the
pit. Hard and fast, heavy and
slow (punk and hardcore).
THE ONOMATOPOEIA SHOW
2:00PM-3:O0PM
Comix comix comix. Oh yeah,
and some music with Robin.
RHYMES AND REASONS
3:O0PM-5:O0PM
DJ Knowone slaves over hot-
multi-track to bring a fresh continuous mix of fresh every week.
Made from scratch, samples
and just a few drops of fame.
Our tables also have plethora
of guest DJs, performers, interviews, giveawaysrStrong Bad
and the occasional public
service announcements.
<eno_wonk@yahoo.ca>
LOCAL KIDS MAKE GOOD
5:0OPM-6:O0PM art.
Local Dave brings you local
music of all sorts. The program
most likely to play your band!
PEDAL REVOLUTIONARY alt.
5:00PM-6:00PM
Viva la Velorution! DJ Helmet
Hair and Chainbreaker
Jane give you all the
bike news and views
you need and even cruise
around while doing it!
www.bikesexual.org
OUT FOR KICKS
6:O0PM-7:30PM
Now in it's 15th and final year,
your most reliable source for
Indie Pop. Thanks-to all the
regular listeners over the years!
Tune in for an entertaining farewell tour.
ON AIR WITH GREASED HAIR
7:30PM-9:0OPM
The best in roots, rock 'n' roll
and rhythm and blues from
1942-1962 with your snappily-
aftired host, Gary Olsen.
<ripitup55@telus.net>
UVE FROMTHUNDERBIRD RADIO HBL
9:00PM-11:00PM
April 1st-S.T.R.E.E.T.S
April 8th - Evan Symons
April 15th - Random Blind
April 22th - GG Dartray
April 29th - Cameron Dillworth
from The Neins
May 6th - Jacob
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>.
FILL-IN
1:00AM-6:00AM
FRIDAY
FILL-IN
6:00AM- 8:00AM
CAUGHT IN THE RED
8:00AM-10:00AM
TrawBng ttie trash heap of over
50 years' worth of real rock 'n'
roll debris.
SKA-T'S SCENE-IK DRIVE)
10:00AM-12:00PM
Email requests to: <djska_
t@hotmail.com>
THESE ARE THE BREAKS
12:00PM-2:00PM
Top notch crate digger DJ Avi
Shack mixes the underground
hip hop, old school classics
and original breaks.
THE LEO RAMIREZ SHOW
2:00PM-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...
3:30PM-5:00PM
CiTR NEWS, SPORTS AND ARTS
5:00PM-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."
THE NORTHERN WISH
6:00PM-7:30PM nISC ORDER
APRIL'0 4
AFRICAN RHYTHMS
7:30PM-9:0OPM
David "Love" Jones brings you the best new
and old jazz, soul, Latin, samba, bossa and
African music from around the world.
www.aWcanrhythmsradio.com
HOMEBASS
9:00PM-12:00AM
Hosted by DJ Noah: techno but also some
trance, acid, tribal, etc. Guest DJs, interviews,
retrospectives, giveaways, and more.
I LIKE THE SCRIBBLES alt.
12:00AM-2:00AM
THE ANTIDOTE alt.
12:00AM-2:00AM
THE VAMPIRE'S BALL
2:00AM-6:00AM
Dark, sinister music of all genres to soothe the
Dragon's soul. Hosted by Drake.
SATURDAY
FILL-IN
6:00AM-8:00PM
THE SATURDAY EDGE
8:O0AM-12:0OPM
Studio guests, new releases, British comedy
sketches, folk music calendar and ticket giveaways.
8AM-9AM: African/World roots. 9AM-12PM:
Celtic music and performances.
GENERATION ANNIHILATION
12:00PM-1:00PM
A fine mix of streetpunk and old school hardcore backed by band interviews, guest speakers, and social commentary.
www.streetpunkradio.com
<aashnbumracfio®yahoo.ca>
POWERCHORD
1:00PM-3:00PM
Vancouver's only true metal show; local demo
tapes, imports, and other rarities. Gerald
Rattlehead, Dwain, and Metal Ron do the
damage.
CODE BLUE
3:00PM-5:00PM
, From backwoods delta low-down side to
urban harp honks, blues, and blues roots with
your hosts Jim, Andy and Paul.
ELECTROLUX HOUR
5:00PM-6:00PM
SHADOW JUGGLERS
6:00PM-9:00PM
SYNAPTIC SANDWICH
9:00PM-11:00PM
PLUTONIAN NIGHTS
11:00PM-1:00AM
Cutting^edge. progressive organ music with
resident Haitchc and various guest performers/
DJs. Bye-bye civilisation, keep smiling blue,
where's me bbody anesthetic then?
http://plutonia.org
EARWAX
1:00AM-4:30AM
"noiz terror mindfuck hardcore like punk/beatz
drop dem headz rock inna junglist mashup/
distort da source full force with needtz on
wax/my chaos runs rampant when I free da
jazz..." Out.
REGGAE LINKUP
4:30AM-9:00AM
Hardcore dancehall reggae. Hosted by
Sister B.
DJ profile kijp
Robert Robot
S^SP^ PtanslLovetron
&4^i^®lpS^fWrsday
Robert has both great taste in music and a | nifty
beard!
Q: What was the best mix tape that anyone gave you
ever?
A: I was living in a foreign country for a while, and having exhausted the local fair, I was desperate for some
new music. A friend of mine sent me an unbelievable
mix tape of indie rock geniuses like the Mountain
Goats. Magnetic Fields, and the Sun City Girts. Not an
electronic tune in the lot)
a What Is your worst/biggest/most interesting vice? was on the midget Klu Klutz Klan!
A: I get absorbed in a tot of things, but I really wouldn't
call any a vice. Although I'm not a red-meat eating
fan, I do find cuts of beef meat a beautiful thing. I
have a weakness for those butcher shop poster diagrams showing where the particular meat cuts come
from orrq cow.
Q: If there were a Rob Robot reality TV show,., what
would the premise be?
A: Not a fan of these shows, but picture it.... This guy
named Robert really likes music and wants to share it
with everyone. He decides to volunteer at an underappreciated campus/community radio station. The
viewer gets to see the exciting events that unfold
while he makes his incredible dream a realty....You
don'tgWany more real than getting my ass out of
bed early every Thursday morning! If you want the
real real then watch Maury Povich. Today his show
Q: If you took all your listeners out for a night on the
town, where would you go. and what would you dd
there?
A: We'd start off with a drink at the Bosnian's, followed
by a smoke at the Persian Tea House. Drinks again
with shuffleboard at the Army idjp Navy veterans'
club on Main Street, then some a^ce-parl^booty-
bass action well into the morning at some non-club
venue.
Q: What are you obsessed with right now?
A: I've always been obsessed with Ultraman
(Shwatchl), but musically I can't get the new
Dykehouse record out of my head. You redjjy?can't
go wrong with laptop shoe gazing,
SUNiDAY
Reggae linkup
WSSsmm
MONiDAY
TUESiDAY WEDNESDAY THURSiDAY
rJ§P8
7
$M£3
9 Are You Serious? Music
(EC)
WKHM
Breakfast Witt|^^
IlilisipSw'TS
(EC)
: -1-f. t
fllPf
1
!^^^SS^»
RIHn
Discorder •
Radio One
111111 ' (PO)
Parts Unknown
(PO)
HlghBred Vote«£i SHea» Rock Th*
Third Times The Charm
WSmmmrn
Fill - In
Beat Up
Roniri
(EC)
Morning After
Show (EC)
Reel to Real (TK)
A Talk With Allen
Clements (TK)
3
HH
5 Chips With I Saint Tropez
Everything (PO)
m
7
8
9
IP
ii
(PO)
Queer FM
(TK)
Rhythms India
(WO)
Trancendance
(DC)
1
3
5
The Show
(HH)
Radio Zero
(EC)
Sandbox Theatre
(TK)
SBlIISJSte Beginners
(EC)
"jgfjp? Straight Talk
\ (TK)'
Son Of Night Solarization (TK)
Dreams(EC) My Ass (Tic)
WigFlux Radio
The Jazz Show
Vengence Is Mine!
'mm
Gircuijfacing
(DC/EC)
En Avant La Radio Seiu
Musique (FR) (TK)
Meat Eating Vegan (EC)
Wener's BBQ
(SP)
Rex Your Head
(HC)
(WO)
Venus
mmmi
Escapism
wmm
WM
llllljlfitacles
(EC)
Psychedelic Airwaves
(DC/EC)
Suburban Jungle.
(EC)
CiTR News Arts
and Sports
Exquisite Corpse
Anoize
The Shake j For The Re-
(RR) cord (TK)
k Democracy Now
RumbleTone MotorDaddy
Radio (RR) (RR)
Neccessary Voices
(TK)
RIHn
End of the World News'
Spill
Planet LoveTron
RredUp(TK)
Unpack your Adjectives
Steve and Mike
(HC):
The Onamanapoea
Show (TK)
Rhymes & Reasons
(HH)
And Sometimes Why
(PO/EC)
alt. Blue Monday (Gl)
JuiceBox (TK)
Folk Oasis (RT)
Hans Kloss' Misery Hour
(HK)
Rrst Floor Sound System
(EC)
Local Kids Make Pedal Revo-
Good (EC) lution (TK)
Out For Kicks
(PO)
On Air With Greased
Hair (RR)
Live From... Thunderbird
Radio Hell
(LM)
World Heat
(WO)
Fill-in
FRIDAY
. Rll-ln
Caught In The Red
WSm
SATURDAY
ffigife Rll-ln 3£«B
The Saturday Edge
wKm
Ska-T's Scene-Jk Drive
ftte
These are the Breaks
Warn
The Leo Ramirez Show
(WO)
Narduar the Human
Serviette Presents...
(NW)
CiTR News, Sports and
Arts (TK)
The Northern Wish
(EC)
African Rhthms
(WO)
HomeBass
(DC)
|sjK|M
7
9
11
Generation Annihilation |2H|i
PowerChord
(MT)
:; >=:-:-■ "k
Code Blue
•.
Electrolux Hour
(EC)
Soul Tree (SO)
Synaptic Sandwich
(DC/EC)
Plutonian Nights
(DC) •
I Like The
Scribbles
(EC)
The Antidote (EC)
3&&i2?%m&:W®m
The Vampires Ball
(EC)
EarWax
(HH/DC)
CH=children's • DC-dance/electronic • EC-eclectic • EX-experimental • FR^French language • GI=goth/industrial • HC=hardcore •
LM=live music • LO=lounge • MT-metal • NO=noise • NW-Nardwuar • PO-pop • PU=punk • RG=reggae • RR=rock • RT-roots • SK<
Reggae Linkup
(RG)
HH=hiphop • HK-Hans Kloss • Kl-kids • JZ-jazz
-ska • SO=soul • SP=sports • TK-talk • WO»world
mi
7 I
M i
9
m'
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1 P4G30000032
FORTUNE COOKIE REVIEWS!
P:ano
ARTiST „__
^Si^^^&i6T»UB "seKiD-'SYStlM
03 girl nobody*
04 evaporators* .
o^ronyV % ">
?G6kfiHii^WB^^^©l^^»;i'. •:■.■-
07 JEFFIE GENETIC AND HIS CLONES*
08 DESTROYER*
^'ZOWIE/NliSHT INjsCz&NAM*}-'
11 SQUAREPUSHER
12 FRANZ FERDINAND
mmmmmm'
15 AIR
16 RUMORS
gfp .DEERHtSDF1
19 P:ANO*
20 THE OWLS
il '.TWILIGHT CIRCUS DUB SOUND SYSTEM*
^.DJG YOUR. ROG%S^fc l^l^p
23 DT'S
24 ALLSTATE CHAMPION .
l§5MARYLQLJ,tORDA
27 TV GWTHE RADIO
28 LIARS '
&#*CfrSKPRDS -
&-YOU NFLD THIS" *
31 PANURGE*
32 MICROBUNNY.
m GHopsiig
35 PETER PARKERS*
*DEnotes Canadian Content
^^^^^^^^B
ALBUM tf^
ItM/ndatS^StflfeM^*
The Future Isn't What It Used To Be
Ripple Rock ^k^ki^r^^
*La£ed With Romance %^*,w
Seawng DiSr«le BaiTi^^ffl^^S
Need A Wave
Your Blues ■ -" -
\r^r^»lrl^^^^-^^*^ir«
Uttravisror
Franz FerdinarTd
Pav^^^^^^^^^S
Talkie Walkie
The Mighty Can Fall
The Den
©ur Hopes And Dreafa'-- r^'
"»j||srjndatio^^*efS:^ .
mi®miBm£mmi- - -mm
Hard Fixed
1$ It Nothing to Y&u
"BabyJBlue i
CrusinV For'MlnjiRS
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
W^^ll^lhe Kf^|
Wanous Artists * " -
Thf©w Down The Reigns
Dead Stars
*NyRnQticHJnaeTworlG*»rV\V'- -* • 'J$
Killa mp m3M*MM
This is sityMusic
LABEL
.Hive Ff
iNBSS'EsB
Indie
Mint Ik-V,
IrflJad'Rect
Dirtnap
Merge
Warp
Domino
Record collection
Astralwerks
Switchblade
ftive Fi
Magic Marker
Five one
11111111111'': ■■'
Touch and go
Mote
fylpyJ^p/pirig
•CiOzart v
Nettwerk
Kindling
Indie
©Youwi^einvolvedinmanr
gatherings ar»©
Billy and the Lost Boys
e V0UV)U1 nave good l^ff*-
Evaporators
-wflfcwill have gold J}iej^%..fii(F**
bushel. ©
Deerhoof
©Your dearest wish will
m^true.
Mongoose j
INDIE HOME JOBS
0.1 Billy and the Lospo^S
2.)the,RebelSpelL/. Xr *
gMreaklng ^^^S^jmj^^
?; -./Expression in Lbyrhan?sieriTis
3.) Married to Music
4.) Neck Beerd & Mass Grave
5.) Mongpp.se ''i||
6.) CoBac^^Sp^^eS^^S
^^^^^g
World?s Gotta GokRouncr
Split EP
.• ^hlte^ElashcJJeferv ^"-v"
IS^rrcerity/Sarealmi^lSl
7.) Motorama
8.) Simon Pote
^|fe Basement Sweets ~
10 Casey & RjTriegan y*it-
^
Little 7 Song Demo
Robot Spring
B^ForRentEP* ;,
S^drneday ■ *\ ' " .. -
11.) Roadbed
12.) Magical Glass Tears
Autopilot
TheseAutumn Leaves
. *The Tups* *- ,i. *' . *g!gj
15.) The Plutonics
16.)Shitfaced
The Plutonics
Shitfaced
SI^^^S^^^S * * Emerald CitysgS M
18') Do it KoftoKnny " * * "" '• * Do it For ohrny
19.) Selvatone Selvatone
20.) Mandown fe?V- Mandowh
Wanna be on the charts next month? Send your demos to:
Local Dave
CiTR Radio
#233-6138 SUB Blvd.
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 pll
Canada
38 32 W" *8 18 8
All State.Champion
IP© Your
L&gMNf**
Collapsing:
Opposites
*0'
(AS
\tfP^
The Basement Sweets
flour life will be happy and
peaceful.© PI SC'O.R PER , APR! lA04
Continued from last months Discorder.
M^-^s
vu£,^or\$si all
-this, wta-fc c^n f-Tind? _
P4G30000034
Ktffc *>*/*& 3J3K3J,
Thursday 1
@ Queen E Theatre
Stereolab »^fe"5
Thursday 15
Mice Parade
Shaye
Laptop Battlel
@ Commodore
@ Media Club
(with the Square Root of Evil,
Bad Feng Shui, Skrunt Skrunt, and
Saturday 3
Friday 9a
more)
Fannypack
Metric ,
@ the Brickyard
(Hell yeah!)
@ Richard's
@ Chop Suey SEATTLE
Friday U
WASHINGTON
Mystery Machine
Juliana Theory
Notes From The Underground
@ Mesa Luna afpS
The Gay
@ The Media Club (aka the
The Cinch
Green Room)
The Strokes
The R.A.D.I.O.
The Raveonettes
©Anza Club
Saturday 10
Hawksley Workman
@ Plaza of Nations
Tuesday 6
(former genius)
Thursday 22 and Friday 23
William Hung album comes out.
@ Commodore
Pixies (wanna sell me a ticket?)
No, seriously.
The Sounds
@ Commodore
Wednesday 7
@ Sonar
Saturday 24
Rufus Wainwright
TV on the Radio
@ Commodore
Sunday 11
Elizabeth
Evan Symons
@ Pic Pib
Spygjrl
Counterrevolutionaries
Ronnie Artur & His Orkestrio
@ Railway Club
Monday 26
@ Railway Club
Vancouver Folk Slam semi-finals
Monday 12
@ Cafe Deux Soleil
Thursday 8
Vancouver Folk Slam semi-finals
The Mars Volta
@ Cafe Deux Soleil
May 4th
(progaBcious!)
Wednesday 14
The Constantines
Ani Difranco
@ The Brickyard
8 pm @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
PLACES TO BE
V
ENUES
\
anza club
3 w. 8th ave
604-876-7128
brickyard
315carrall
604.685.3922
cafe deux soleils
2096 commercial
604.254.1195
cellar
3611 w. broadway
604.738.1959
cobalt
917 main j
604.764.punk
commodore
868 granville
604.739.7469
lotus
455 abbott
604.685.7777
the main
4210 main
604.709.8555
marine club
573 homer
604.683.1720
media club
695 cambie
604.608.2871
pat's pub
403 e. hastings
604.255.4301
pic pub
620 w. pender
604.682.3221
pub 340
340 cambie
604.602-0644
railway club
579 dunsmuir
604.681.1625
richard's
1036 richards
604.687.6794
sonar
66 water
604.683.6695
WISE hall
1882 adanac
604.254.5858
mesa luna
1926 w. broadway
604.733.5862
video in studios
1965 main
604.872.8337
RECORD SHOPS "|
active pass records
324 w. hasting
604.646.2411
audiopHe records
2016 commercial
604.253.7453
bassix records
217 w. hastings
604.689.7734
beatstreet records
3-712 robson
604.683.3344
black swan records
3209 w. broadway
604.734.2828
crosstown music
518 w. pender
604.683.8774
highlife records
1317 commercial
604.251.6964
noize! records
540 seymour
604.893.8696
red cat records
4307 main
604.708.9422
• scrape records
17 w. broadway
604.877.1676
scratch records
726 richards
604.687.6355
zulu records
1972 w. 4th
604.738.3232
| intgfinfejUfr
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april
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1 Opm
ffiffB^Safe**
>EVERY FRIDAY
>THE PURPLE ONION
>15 WATER ST. GASTOWN, VANCOUVER
>CALLTHE CLUB FOR PARTY
BOOKINGS & GUESTLIST
604.602.9442
>OR EMAIL US AT
* INFO@PURPLEONION.COM
ao?
meaIstoan end/
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SWING SETICHAMPION 11231 fel V^
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**/«^ for spring
Canadians are used to our
indie musical products
remaining in our borders, a
few making the passage to
the south with success, but these not always a source of
uncompromised pride. And sadly the expression "big in
Canada" seems more like a slur than a compliment.
Maybe this is a side effect of our cultural protectionism,
of vying to maintain a semblance of national distinction |
next to our large and often bullying neighbor^Jmose cultural output is both great and horrible. But fof'al! tbis^t
Canadian indie musicians grudgingly recognize mat the
path to the hearts and minds of Canadians often begins
on the other side of the divide. With growing recdglaition
stateside, does this mean Broken Social Scene' jsp
anomaly or a herald? We're not sure; it's sfilltfoO fcarty to
say. That they're a good band that has built a national
audience the old way (touring) and that the Canadian
popular media are behind them in support is clear.
Broken Social Scene deserves the attention they've
earned and this new collection of dreamy and spacey "b-
sides" helps again make clear why. Can they make good
where others have tried but faltered?
PttcbferloMi1a.com thinks so, eh.
CD 16.98
MisefyfcA
Our Endless
Numbered Days
CD
Folk art enthusiasts spend
their summer Sundays
scouring the countryside
looking for individuals who, finding time away from their
fecund fields and family feasts, crudely fashion beautiful
creations, as though harvested from their rich pastoral
life. Aesthetically, Samuel Beam, a.k.a. Iron ami Wine, is
a field worker like this, plowing the soil for rugged beauty and earthy truth, a real accomplishment for JP*
Roridian (a state that seems more waterlogged than
earthbound, and orange groves don't seem to have the
right old-time feel besides). Riling the space left open
tragically with the passing of Eliot Smith, iron and Wine
has a similar gentleness and subtle pop sensibility, ideal 1
for quiet reveries and long afternoons in the sun.
Forgoing the low-fidelity of Beam's first The Creek
Drank The Cradle, Om Endless Numbered Dan reveals
Iron and Wine in all their wealth and finery: a beam of
pure light illuminating shafts of forever moving dust.
AVAILABLE APRIL 6TH
CD 14.98
EYEDEA & ADUTIES ipl!
E&ACD
Following in the footsteps of their stylisticallyfbompa-
rable indie hip hop peers Atmosphere and Sage
Francis by signing on with Epitaph Records^p;
Rhymesavers mainstay Oliver Hart (aka Eyedea) and
the always rock solid DJ Abilities drop undoubtedly
their strongest effort to date. The production tire is
noticeably in a different league than on previous releases, thus giving Abilities' minimalist beat style and
impressive scratch techniques the chance to really lay
down the foundation for Eyedea's jaw dropping lyrical
flows. Definitely a candidate for fastest MC, especially
given the lightning fast vocal delivery on the first single
"Now", Eyedea drops the science on both sides of the
rjersonaVpolitir^fe|ceand exercises impressive wisdom beyond .p8$mify*/wtf£-&p\n. magazine's so-
called "em(mpWi^hos^tk^mH^\tt^6 and i
crossedoverin^SJto'wnli$e^lrjgumye|fc,Anticon, '
Lex, and Def ibr^^nj^ jeafetg ||i v^ggMh "E&A",
Eyedea & AbllWeehave SeUhe £3j)tygnjof 2804.
AVAILABLE APBOpil j|
CD 14.98
stJiis the5mnd.of history
aBve arW^^tfiee&re'of
^i Big Appf^Sefnative
workJvjsvji&'rMs with the official one, perhaps unique to
immigrants? The remnants of a modernist impulse that has
somehow withstood the storms of postmodernity, a bulwark against j$e retrograde fanaticism at home and
abroad, a counterpoising of old cosmopolitanism against
. the grain of market-driven globalization? A resuscitation of
the critical synthesisWart and popular culture mat seemed
td die after theWp$|||s of 68, a fanning of the embers
of intelligenceagat^w pressure of narrow-minded
entertainment, celebrating play and love opposite the
• if^^gJ^EOst-llrlfit analyses and instrumentality?
BloHielidbeal suggests all thisprMfiOCKING. They
get betti*at)d bfter wjti each,rec&d||f more individual-
izec|bufeats6ftOBuniveTsal, a|i«*|^ground power that
caters|tf*<ftir mm® and bodies, |||lble to everyone but
still uraefttfladar ot offi^aldon^)w on 4AD, the future
stretche^l^befott flwm^w^^romising a better
world: WHILE'$$m9T*s
COAP 16.98
Good News For
People Who Love
Bad News CD
With the anticipation amongst,
fans raised to dizzying
heights due to the four years
since the release of their last full length album, I
Mouse finally give the salivating unwashed masses a reason to get out of bei. After several lineup changes, founding drummer Jeremiah Green was replaced last year by
Hello Sequence member Benjamin Wiekel while ex
Murder City Devil slash early member of MM Dam
Galucci has rejoined on second guitar, the mighty Mouse
is once again in fine form on "Seed News.'..". If the lead
off single "Roat On" is any indication, frontman Isaac
Brock is in full control of the new band and seems to
have a more hopeful outlook with sentiments echoing Lee
Reed's Velvets-era refrain everythings gonna be "alright"
despite it all. But with this new found hope there is still
plenty of despair, suggested in track titles like "Dig Your
Grave", "Bury Me With if, and the Flaming Lips/Dave
Fridmann prods||dirtj!G°°d Times Are Killing Me".
Anyone «#o witeSssM the4asj4s«D MM Vancouver per-
formajpsJn j003 will agfefil
are be&Jrian op inJhe Ave s
indeel|i»| riewfl08||ppM
Avi^WM-bm
Brock and company
I "Good News..." is
Modest Mono.
cxmm
SEACHAM8E i ,
Lay Of The Land COAP
A few nights ago I went out to a club and took a wrong
turn on rile to the lavatories. I went through a door
and found myf elf in a room with three chiefly people staring back at me. One, who was slowly counting out money,
told me^lojhut up and take a seat, which I did in the corner. THgi|£L^UBftgne went over to the stereo and put on a
(He whienfftaft'tOTiy. tjll you was Seachange's "Lay of
the Land". "So1ed|,vrt2do you think?" he asked me.
pVeB, fffvery good. Sort dftt the same tone as Interpol
"atijU." "Dftft^t ever^ay^iMivord in here" he abruptly
interjected.'What*Jiad j dsrje?* VVflfj^exactly were these
three? Thef-queslons c^raue&ftou think they have
talent?" I let out a small laijgwfc then felt a sharp prong
of electricity pierce through my chest. Later I woke up outside the|elub with a copy of the disc In my leather jacket.
Listenirtg to it now, I can tell you that the wailing drone
i#itc of UK's Seachange sounds extremely explosive.
IpF, AVAILABLE APRIL 6TH
«WFl6.98
DEADBEAT
Something
Borrowed,
Something Blue
CD/LP
With pioneer Stefan
Betke all but aSandoningSfecrackJe-djib ship for
different transportation, ScWtMontettk«t^|9r known^
as Deadbeat, has let go of ^fW^aBtttaken h»
first steps toward a distinctive SdundrAftunims to4he■%
cinematic structure of his 200l^S|Ji^toi|
Documentaries, while not forgettinj^his^ufj-fiJcttno &*
roots, Monteith gives us an abstract, auraflstfeportrait
with all of the intimacy of a singer/songwriter, but without uttering a single word. Beginning witlllhe elemental dub beat, plus a few new tricks learnejtfrom sample
wizard and Crakban front man Stephen Beaupre,
Monteith builds and manipulatejyayer upon layer of
noise and field mcordingspiakft^gmethfaig
Borrowed, Something Bine p^pl^he only autobiographical record one can shak|t|efcass to. Self-reflection never sounded so good. 1 ff^
tmf t* ^0^^^"^
IPs AH
You CD
Looking old now, the
men from Tortoise
return with a new record,
now ten years plus gone,
the myth of post rock left long behind, with a changed
musical world around us and them, not the least
because of their efforts. And they have changed with
the time, developing inwardly, from pastiche to synthesis, working collectively, maturely and cohesively,
and with a level of expression and emotionality that
seems understated on past work, often overshadowed
by a cerebral air. But nothing old is left out either the
music is as intelligent, well-played and produced as
always, their total commitment to themusic ~
unchanged. And like TNT, It's All Around You is a
complex studio album, constructed over time, building
part by part, using the studio compositionally, each
choice examined and purposeful, and with no loss of
vitality or cinematic scope, in fact the opposite. As
Thrill Jockey put it "The results of mis process are
clear in the lush, orchestrated tones, intricate
melodies, and densely elaborate rhythms that make
It's All Around You Tortoise's most adventurous and
thoughtful record to date." AVAILABLE APRIL 6TH
CD 16.96
viva wm "" "^
L'AMERKAN
DEATH RAY
MUSIC Jp
Commotion
CIVtP
I may be on dangerous groundT^But I'm In a lonely
place. The savage innocents arWigger than life. So
knock on any door and run for cover because the new 1
rebel without a cause, the king of kings i||f hra
L'American Death Ray Music, Nick Ray.pas returned
with a new disc that is not unlike the trueporyOf Jesse
James; rife with lusty men and their party^gjrtpfcbitter
victory, to be sure, but hell—theyJi^^M^ #•
Venice
A lot of thaJp|f|tM|
around a|^p^pent.J
marked by ^^^^^)«%
plete lack o^PbT^4|jAl
music that rjffii|r|all^|
anywhere, preferring jua<H;8
hang in the air, buzzing with a vague malevolence.
cLOUDDEAD's magnificent Ten, for instance sounds like
a slo-o-o-w 40-minute sigh of resignation. Well, Venice
—the new CD from Zulu-favourite Christian Fennesz
— is the invigorating inhalation to follow Ten's enervated exhalation. Breathe it in. This is 50 minutes of
absolute|f gorgeous guitar harmonics and laptop
sound design.0 immediately apparent why the album
was deified fcftyer a year. Clearly rennosz wanted it
to be BeJeci|P|we think he's damn near succeeded.
Every wasj^lltoi), crackle, echo, chime and hiss is
perfectty&ibrated to give listeners spinal tingles and a
^Ifint humming in the base of their skulls. As an added
incen|v#|ialso features a stunning guest vocal from
DavM Sylvian, on the Scott Walker-esque "Transit".
tmmB
CAieatH
Convict Pool
CD/LP 14.98
Last year when Sweden's
Nicolai Danger and ,
Tuscan's Calexico toura|||
together they instantly struck
up a wa|n|Mendship. One night on a whim they
decided to try a cover of Love's classic Atone Again
Or. A rousing success, it became their show stopping
encoreJ'his mini release features an amazing version
recorded in Nashville as well as covers from both the
MlnetofMB and Francolz Breut Rounding out the
releases three more sublime originals including the
plaintive^de "Convict Pool." A must have for all fans
of this essential band!
COfjlo.98
Incoming Ion green ears:
Bright Eyes/ Britt Daniel-Home:
Volig^JvCDEP
Shannon Wright- Over the Sun CD
Of Montreal- Satanic Panic in the
Attic CD
Sigur Ros-Ba Ba/Ti Ki/Di Do
CDEPml
Howe Gelb- Ogle Some Piano CD
Eagles of Death Metal- Love Peace
Death Metal CD
Sondre Lerche- TWo Way Monologue
-cf|g
Various-Soul Jazz Studio One Ska
ci
MuM%1f The 9th Edition CD
Bonnie Prince Billy- Sings Greatest
Palace; Music CD/LP
Sixtoo- Boxcutter Emporium 12"
Joanna Newsom-The Milk-Eyed
Mender CD/LP
Papa M-Single #6 CDEP
Diverse-Explosive CDEP
mm m mm unm april so, 2004
Zulu Records
1972-1976 W 4th Ave
Vancouver. BC
tel 604.738.3232
www.zulurecords.com
STORE HOURS
Mon to Wed 10:30-7:00
Thurs and Fri 10:30-9:00
Sat 9=30-6:30
Sun 12:00-6:00
Discorder
Discorder CITR-FM (Radio station : Vancouver, B.C.) 2004-04-01
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