@prefix ns0: . @prefix edm: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix dc: . @prefix skos: . ns0:identifierAIP "50bcab2a-2bec-4b22-9079-78f532eff56f"@en ; edm:dataProvider "CONTENTdm"@en ; dcterms:isReferencedBy "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1190017"@en ; dcterms:isPartOf "Discorder"@en ; dcterms:creator "CITR-FM (Radio station : Vancouver, B.C.)"@en ; dcterms:issued "2015-03-11"@en, "1996-07-01"@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/discorder/items/1.0050228/source.json"@en ; dcterms:extent "32 pages"@en ; dc:format "application/pdf"@en ; skos:note """ MCA CDNCERTS CAKADX _r* pjug^eD '£®it£ ■ FRIDAY SflTURDflY SUNDAY uiilti special guesls Delinquent; Habirs FRIDHV HUG. 2 RICHARDS ON RICHARDS |L SHOMTIME 9:30 P.M. SHHBPI Jf f. 54-40 ODDS THE TEA PARTY HEADSTONES SONS OF FREEDOM ECONOIINE CRUSH COLIN JAMES RIG SOGAR AGE OF ELECTRIC MAHONES DAI/ID GOGO FOXFESTBAHBOAT 1PM LIMBLIFTER DODDHDOYS MAHONES MTTHEW GOOD BAND DIF NAKED DAVID GOGO RYMES WITH ORANGE, foxfest bar bo at ipm PLOW, SLOWDORN, MODGIRL, MINORITY 3 DAY WRISTBANDS $39.93 - SINGLE DAY PASS $19.93 MM,UJmii.l:J^L 0&6sound COMING SOON. WITH €OI_PftU^l *s ON SALE JULY 6 WATCH FOR IT! A ■ 'il ' QUOTE OF THE WEEK! "Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train.. edaetorlal groupies miko hoffman, dylan griffith art director ken paul kevin pendergraft graphic deslan/lavout ken paul, mark pilon production Jeff brown, gill "metal queen" grattan, Jeremy gruman, miko hoffman, megan mallett, ryan "hairboy" ogg, barb yamazaki program guide miko hoffman charts distribution us distribution krista peters discorder on-line ben lai dutch panekoek -DiSCORDER" 1996 by th dont Radio Socioly ot th. ■of British Columb o $15 for on. yoor, to rosi- mls ot tho USA art S1 5 USD; $24 CDN olsowhoro. Sing!* i aro $2.00 (to covor post- to DiSCORDER Magaiino. DEADUNES: Copy doadlino for * * .gust turn is July 10th. o Bellingham, CiTR linos at 822-3017 ***** 2. Fax us at 822-9364, o-m< at CiTR@UNIXG.UBC.CA, vi July 1996-#162 die-cover Twelve years ago I learned the rules of good design and proper typography, the art of type so to speak. Nowadays one can make things so messy and out of place, and it can still be called good design and proper typography. Polaroids by Brady, duhsign by Ken. die-contents YOUTH, WOMEN & HIV 6 VERSUS & CHIXDIGGIT 9 TORTOISE 12 DISCEDGE (HEAVY METAL) 13 Vancouver special cowshead 7" 10 between the lines ^ real live action 22 under review 24 charts 26 on the dial 2-3 datebook 29 velvets christian comic 30 printed in Canada I'lliiV^^n',''i^}'i'*Jrj 'i^ f-i^tj'yF'^.^i^i'': WHIM IIPjjj. i^u^^*^ |jiriiiffflitf1iii,Stf W'll liW' 'liirr!3ifflitilfn¥ T Vancouver Congratulations goes out to the Smugglers' Beez and Maow's Corrina, who tied the knot on June 22nd. Apparently the reception was a rockin' affair with sets by Zumpano and Texas' Junior Varsity The Mint Records gang is working hard, with plenty of tours planned for ihis sun 3rd full-length, S Records (Thinking Feller's Union Local 282, The Folk Implosion, Chris Knox) ... Zulu Records' Daytona have a headlining tour across Canada scheduled to start nid-July :ond singl. should c Cubs >f Hair, la ted id the video for their "Minneapolis," ur TV via Much knock-down- near you July 30lh. Alsc Duotang's (Mint's newest signees from Winnipeg) 7" Duotang will be hitting the road, joining the Smugglers for the August part of their Canadian tour In September, both ihe Smugglers ond Cub are scheduled to rendez-vous in New York for the College Music Journal's Annual Conference ond Music Fest, where Mint and Lookout Records are jointly presenting a showcase ... Speaking of tours, more Minty folk Maow and Huevos Rancheros are pairing up for a jaunt across Western Canada in July ... Uneven Steps are also embarking on a tour which ,s.)hasmc ing the band in Ii has it that Gob' lhat Sheila (bas o Saskatoon, lea Mm -ords up a be renewed ... More on the recording front, Coal are recording at Lemonloaf Studios for their upcoming CD Perfume Tree's A Lifetime Away, which entered CMJ's RPM charts at #7, has been licensed for US distribution by World Domination .-.. Thrill Squad have finally finished recording and mixing six new songs, a task which they originally started one year ag. The Dunderheads are back together and Mark (who also writes the zine "Spike") is putting out a compilation tape of his favourite bands ...The seventh annual Under The Volcano Festival needs volunteers. Call 254-8782 for more info. ... For all of you who are dreaming of a career in the "biz," IronMusic Group is looking for a Vancouver Street Rep. If you're interested in pushing bands like The Pursuit of Happiness or Universal Honey, contact Sean Winfield at (905) 709-9565 or fax (905) 709- 9569 ... Good news for all you wanna-be touring musicians - the Pacific Music Industry Association has started a new pro- The; "sizzleteen." Sloan have apparently admitted to a member of a Vancouver band that they were indeed inspired by ihe band they saw ot the Hungry Eye. The Sizzle Teens have e-mailed Murderecords demanding that ihey be compensated for the use of iheir name. They've suggested lhat an opening slot on Sloan's would be adequate. We'll keep you informed... LOCAL RECORD RELEASES BangOn Records - Wheat Chiefs CD, The Emptys CD Scratch Records - Sidereal Rest CD w/ Vancouver's Mark, Good Horsey, Thinking Fellers etc Tinker Recordings - Tinier Compilation CD w/ Vancouver's Pork Queen, Staked Plain, Superconductor, etc Guppy - A Tasty Hearty Dish ... Married - First Installment on oil the Big Talk ... Bates Motel - Tales of Ordinary Madness ... Noah's Great Rainbow - S/ T debut Turtle Records Turtle Compilation Vol. I ... Brand New Unit - All For Nothing on Heartfirst ... Santo - "The Star $75,000 togi who would like to tour in Canada (something that is not covered by Factor). For more information contact Elite O'Day at PMIA 873- 1914 ... A Vai v,ih c setbacks appec 1 the > Vance a king: LA ... Vancouver s reigning k of major label power-pop, Pluto, made their major label debut release on June 25 for Virgin- Canada and even have an August release-date for Virgin-US Things are going well for the boys, who are constantly on tour and loving it. Look for them on the CFOX wall downtown this summer Superconductor are getting prepared for their tour which v i Ihe West Co* Theyhov in July. Watch for a show at the Pit Pub sometime in July . Zulu Records is looking into the possibility of doing a couple more reissues since the last three did so well for the label and orders are still pouring in . Scratch Records has a summer release schedule which will include a full- length from The Climax Golden Twins, a third full- length fromJapanese/Conadians Nimrod and a 7" from Chicago's The Many Moods of Marlon Magas Sparkmarker are on the verge of releasing their third album, bul are having trouble deciding which label to put it band Sizzle Teens (comprised of Nic (Blaise Pascal), Sean and Warren (Superconductor) and Paul (Slowhand Malcolm)) have taken offense to * o line in the liner notes of Sloan's new album, One Chord To An other: minds" iving c "blow, urful & u The Vans Warped Tour Contest it of all rr bands Lick BabV" 7"* ■.i-w.i-u.i-Am This month, I'm talking about the synthesizer, lhat electronic siren lhat at one time (lhat being ihe '80's) profoundly polarized any group of people who gave a shit sved the synthe- essential ingredi- I works with even a grain of creative thought involved in iheir conception, and those who believed the synthesizer's chilly tones instantly destroyed any value a given song might otherwise have had and that "synthesizer exterminator" was as valid an idea for a lucrative independent business opportunity as anything. Maybe all that was not on the mind of the Diversions when they recorded their debut eponymous demo tope. But the synthesizer is there in all its digital polyphonic glory. This ain't no Hammond. This ain't no Rhodes. What Ihe Diversions also have are seven great songs wilh pow- deadly hook. But the synth is there. And it's good. The Diversions are tasteful; I guarantee you lhat if their keyboardist goes to hell, it won't be for this period. Funny, the vocals also take me back a ways, to sort of a Winston Tong/Minimal Compact-style drone that's fed through some gurgling effects loops for good measure, saying things like "You watch too much t.v/For your own good you're just like me" (the Enoid "Another Empire"). Anyway, to cut lo the chase, the Diversions are choice, they sound like really cool Wire, and they didn't give any information with Fiend, with vocalist Alison Pereira, toke a more progressive approach lhan most on iheir four song tape, throwing in a bit of cello here and there and mixing up the styles, tempos, and arrangements. Just when you're swooning from Athena T.'s meditative cello and Alison's confident, yet serene, vocals on "Nicotine," you gel Cliff'd for a two minute bass solo. And "Vitro Suicide" and "Addict" are more powerful rock tunes that get a welcome jazzing up by Bruce Muir's aforementioned crazy-ass bass. Check out Fiend if you can; don't confuse them with the Fiends. v* foi. talk Queazy. Thei suldn't rapid n w). packaged and superbly produced. They've redone "Reach for Ihe Sky" (now colled "Reach") with improved recording quality. Sporting new bassist Bina Berger, Queazy have now put a greal deal of effort into ensuring iheir songs are economically arranged and attention-grabbing. Vocalist/ guitarist Laura Schultz is really starting to give the impression she's holding ihe right job, with the singing on "Anguish" suggesting that hopefully, if there's any tainmenl powers-lhat-be will be sitting up and taking notice. Funny, despite the crystal clarity of the vocals I still can only understand the occasional phrase. This tends to be an asset. Elocution leads to execution. lol The history: in 1 991, Sizzle Teens opened for Royal Trux at the Hungry Eye and a small unknown band colled Sloan was at the show On their second record, the song "Snowsuit Sound" included a line about a NOW GET WITH THE PROGRAM! ON SALE THIS MONTH: H GASTR DEL SOL" Upgrade ond Afterlife $15.79 2LP/CD R.L BURNSIDE Ahs Pocket ofWJiiskey $9.87LP$14.92CD TEAM DRESCH Coptoin % Ccptoin $9.8? 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Saturday, July 20: Machine Gun TV (Japan), 36 (Japan/NYC) all shows at The Edison Electric, 916 Commercial Drive JULY 1996 'cowshead chronicles "how do you speak to a how do you speak to the prettiest girl how do you speak to her how do you dance on the head of a pin when you're on the outside looking in" 'how do you speak to an angel' lou reed i was once accused by a now ex-girlfriend, of being too charming, too friendly, she questioned my motives and always assumed that i must want to sleep with other women if i was talking with them, well, in my own defense, i have to say that if i had indeed wanted to get to know these women better the last thing i wanted to do was 'sleep' with them, 'nuff said, i have, however, over the years been able to talk to women with the greatest of ease, this is not to say i was always trying to get to 'know' them better, nothing could be farther from the truth, i, for whatever reason, relate on a personal level with women better than i do with men. go figure, i have written before about my love for women of all types so i won't bore you with those fine details now. but for all my gregarious nature i have times when i haven't a thing to say and find myself entirely tongue-tied, such is the case, it seems, with women i am truly enamored with. why is it i can talk with the greatest of ease with women i have a passing fancy with and those i am truly interested in i find myself at a loss for words? i suppose everyone has two sides to their personalities — one. an outward persona capable of Intense conversation and extreme honesty while the other is more reflective, introspective and shy in nature, and when one or the other is going to rear its head is unknown to its owner. shit, i don't know, that's how it works for me. it's taken me years to realize these two very separate and distinct parts of my personality, people, however, seem to regard one as happy and the other as sad or even suicidal garn. nothing could be farther from the truth really, just because one is more often regarded as outgoing and gregarious shouldn't mean the quiet side of the same person reflects sadness or moodiness, enough of that, back to being enamored, there are a few women right now who leave me entirely speechless or at least a man of few words, and while i admit that i do fall it 'love' daily due to having a job that brings me in contact with many different women, it's not often that i meet women that truly leave me speechless, i have had to retreat to different parts of the bar just too get away from certain women because they have such a profound effect on me. welcome to garn's confessional, but, alas, as i've said before, my heart right now, is a barren place here love can find no purchase, oh well, it's summer and the sun has seemingly come out, for a while at least and i suppose i can always work on my car and smoke the odd winston. . gth... J "wigs DIRECTORY ADVERTISING RATES *8* extra Full Page Half Page Mag Size V Mag Size H Pauper H Pauper V (10 1/4"wx 12" h) (10 1/4"wx5 7/8" h) (3 1/4"wx5 7/8"h) (5" w x 2 7/8" h) (3 1/4" w x2"w) (l"wx4"h) $317 $202 $84 $70 $40 $40 Call the Ad Captain at 822-3017 (ext.3) and book your space NOW! Richard Davies' critically acclaimed past incarnations. Available through murderecords in Canada. murderecords For a free complete catalogue write: I P.O. Box 2372 Halifax Central, Halifax, N.S. B3j 3E4 5 ESa^SJ^ One of the things lhat is really important to talk about is ihe issue of pregnancy and HIV. Why don't we talk about that. I would like to hear about how transmission goes from mother to baby. Transmission occurs in three ways during pregnancy. During childbirth. Possibly during breast feeding - although the incidence of transmission is quite low, the risk is there. The important thing is the assumption that a women who is positive will automatically give birth to a baby who is positive. What happens is babies are born with their mothers' antibodies, so when a test for HIV is done a baby will test positive no matter what. A baby will have to be tested routinely until a certain age before the doctor can be sure the baby is HIV. By the age of about three months a doctor can be sure lhat a baby has its own HIV virus. The incidence of positive women in North America giving birth to positive babies is about 25%. There has been a lot of controversy around women who are positive having kids. We all know that women's bodies have been in the public realm: people think ihey have the right to tell women when ihey can and cannot have babies or end their pregnancies. This is no better for positive women. There is a lot of criticism of positive women who make ihe conscious choice to have a baby. clean your needles and don't share your needles and you use a clean needle every lime, then you are not necessarily at risk for HIV infection. There is a lot of talk that safer sex basically means use a condom and then everything is fine. But the reality is that women don't wear condoms. [The female condom is not accessible]. Men wear condoms: how do we talk to our partners about wearing a condom if we sleep with men? And the reality that many women are at risk of violence: if somebody is forcing you to have sex with him, you can't very well force him to have sex with a condom. Most women in the world become infected through HIV through having sex with a man. Canadian AIDS Society puts out guideline around safer sex and has these categories of low risk and high risk [behaviors]. They also have a category they call theoretical risk. Theoretical risk is basi- *n any documented case of HIV transmitted in 3 possibility." vhat we say is lhat transmission between women who have women is low risk. There are very few documented cases. < during menstruation without a barrier will elevate your risk, because you're talking about two bodily fluids: blood and vaginal fluids, which have HIV. The thing that gets tricky is lhat the lesbian lity has been in some ways in denial around lesbian women it risk of HIV, because women-to-women transmission is so rally, "there has his situation, but it Oral s, Krista: Since we're going to be using words like HIV and AIDS in this interview, I'd like to start out by getting the language straight. I think we use a lot of these words without really understanding -what they mean. I also ran into another word in my recent readings: ARC. Bronwyn: First of all, the word ARC - we don't use anymore in the field of HIV and AIDS. ARC was a word that was used in the 80's: it stands for AIDS-related complex. Basically HIV describes ihe virus, the human immunodeficiency virus. The language is really important, I'm glad you asked lhat. We talk about people living with HIV, rather than being infected, because just because you've tested positive for HIV, that doesn't mean you're automatically sick. So HIV is the thing they test for when you get an AIDS test; they're testing for the antibodies to HIV. And AIDS is just a definition for the medical community to use to define certain illnesses of people who have a suppressed immune system, people who are sensitive to illnesses lhat a healthy person would not be sensitive to. Things like certain kinds of pneumonia and olher infections. So basically, once a person gets one of those infections, she may get defined as having AIDS. But generally speaking, in our work, we talk about women who are living with HIV. I was going to ask you if HIV led necessarily to AIDS, but I'm not sure anymore if that is a relevant question. It's a relevant question because I think one of things people who are living with HIV are clear about is lhat they don't want to be called people who have AIDS. Generally speaking. There is some controversy around this. Some people say lhat just because you're HIV positive, you won't necessarily get an HIV defining illness. In our experience, most people who are HIV positive will at some point get an AIDS defining illness. But the other reality is lhat people are living longer and longer with HIV without being sick. One of the big issues as far as women's activism surrounding HIV is concerned, has stemmed from the fact that the definition of AIDS was developed in response to symptoms that were observed in gay men. I'm wondering how this has affected women's access to treatment and diagnosis. That's a good point. I think one of the things that we are now realizing is that once people have HIV, the differences in men and women aren't necessarily that great, as far as how HIV manifests itself in the body. Certainly symptoms to HIV are very different. For example, women who test positive often have a history of chronic yeast infections which often have gone undetected as being related to HIV. I think the reason why the disease has affected women differently is that ihey have been diagnosed at a later stage in the disease's progression. So therefore, if a woman is diagnosed fairly early on, then she will probably have similar chances with treatment that a man would have, but because, historically, in Norlh America, so many women are diagnosed late — only once ihey are very ill, fen years into their disease. The Pasi+ive Women's Network Different studies have been done. One of the studies lhat got a lot of press is the 1 993 American study called ACTG076. In that study, AZT, which is what we call anti-retro-viral drug, the drug that's used to treat people wilh HIV, was given to women from 3 months through to childbirth and then given to the baby after it was born. And this study showed that the transmission rate went from 25% to 8-19%. This has started a lot of talk around mandatory testing of all pregnant women. We still don't know ihe long term effects of this study. The study has been criticized for being such a small study that ihe generalization to the population may not be scientifically sound. This forced testing surprises me seeing that initially HIV positive women had trouble convincing companies and government bodies to let them be a part of drug trials. Has that situation changed then? You're right. Women have fought to be a part of clinical trials around different drugs. I would say now lhat any drug that is available to men is available to women. Theoretically. The reality is that as women we may have very plicated lives that may get in the way of us taking care of ourselves. Most women who are living with HIV are poor or become poor once they are HIV positive. When you are poor and you don't have housing or food and you have kids to look after, being part of a cl cal trial is not very 5 out of 5 doctors recommend condoms over genital warts* low. But I think what we have to remember is that a lot of women who define themselves as lesbian have had in the past sex with men and maybe still do. Or they may have shared needles. Women who define themselves as lesbian may put ihem- that put them at risk. I wds also thinking about the whole invisibility of lesbian sex in studies of risk. The women I hear about who are HIV positive are said to have contracted the virus through needles or transfusions, even if they are also lesbians. How do we decide what behaviour caused her HIV status? An HIV needle-using woman will not become a part of statistics on women-to- I ihink lhat oi ■s treatment and access to clinical trials and medical research is lhat there hasn't been enough looking at how bodies are different from For example, how does being on the birth control pill and AZT affect me? How do changes in menstrual cycles relate to HIV? This whole issue of lack of when I think about transmission from women to women. Can you get HIV from lesbian sex? > I'll just put this in the context of transmission in general. One of the things talk about in this work is the issue of risk. We used to talk about people in risk groups. Now we talk about risk conditions or situations. For pie, we used to say that if you are a drug then you are in a risk group. But if you are a drug transmission. Jt's hard to know what puis a woman at risk. The reality is that sharing needles is high risk. It's far more likely that lhat will be the mode of transmission lhan sex wilh a woman. But you can't separate those things out. We don't know a lot about women-to-women transmis- . Right now we're saying that if you're only risk behaviour is sex with another woman and you're having sex outside menstruation then the likelihood is that that is low risk. But we have to talk about choice. What is anybody's choice around the risks they take? We need to support people's own choices. We all choose to put ourselves in situations that put us at risk or get forced into situations that put us at risk. The Positive Woman's Network operates out of the offices of the Pacific Aids Resource Centre (PARC) at 1107 Seymour. Call 893-2211 or 893-2200 for resources or to volunteer. 6 JULY 1996 -C2__f YouthCo goes where young people are. They do some traditional stuff, like setting up information tables at gigs and conferences and festivals, and take iheir AIDS 101 talks to schools all over BC. However, HIV education is still not part of the regular school curriculum. If YouthCo shows up at a school it is because someone within the school took the initiative and invited YouthCo down. «^» Of course, going to schools fcJ^^A\\ * and giving lectures is not the _**^l\\ X *^_d__ way to reach all the young people out there. So YouthCo does "everything from theatre retreats to fashion shows to car washes" to try to share their information on safe sex. And none of this is done by adults wilh university degrees. YouthCo has about 20 volunteers, all under 30, who organize and pick iheir activities. They are about, what Kim calls "youth teaching youth from a youth perspective." One of their latest projects, the No Glove, No Love tour, was actually initiated by Meegan Maultsaid, the tireless organizer of Grrrlopalooza and Rock for Choice. "She did everything!" Kim says. Meegan wanted to get the topic of HIV and the like condoms and information pamphlets, info r and thought, what better way to do this lhan by going where fhe young people are or want to be. So, she contacted YouthCo and said she wanted to organize a punk tour of small BC towns with YouthCo. She would book fhe gigs and all YouthCo had to do was supply the pamphlets and the condoms. So far, Puncture, Meegan's band, and Sparkmarker, Kim's band, have been to Roberts Creek and Victoria. Kim says the gig sef-up works because it makes it easier for people to get fhe nerve to go up and ask for information: "We do she We set up a table with our merchandise; so rather than just going tc get information about AIDS or get a condom, you can pretend you're looking at a T-shirt... We found that by mixing the two, it's not such a sterile environment. It's like, hey, there's a lot of fun happening. There's bands playing. Enjoy yourself. And hey, yeah, you can learn some stuff too without feeling like you have to put up your hand and ask someone a question." By the end of the night all the condoms are gone. For Kim, that means lhat their tour is successful. "There are a lot of stigmas attached to buying condoms in a drug store and outing yourself as someone who is going to have sex with somebody. Especially in small communities where your mom is probably good friends wilh the people who work at the drug store... These are very big barriers." It hasn't been totally easy though. In the towns where a local person was interested in the tour, the gig was much easier to organize. But in some towns the schools were not very cooperative: "For some reason parents get scared of 200 or 300 kids in a hall having a show ond doing something positive." The No Glove, No Love tour is still happening! Tour dates are coming up in Kamloops, Kelowna, Vernon, Cranbrook and Nelson. The Vancouver gigs will he at the St. James Community Centre in Kitsilano (July 25) and at the Seyland Hall in Norm Vancouver (date TBA). _'•_ In particu- ASIA does s ual orientation education and support with young people because, according to Henry Koo of ASIA, "Homophobia is a real social risk factor that places (especially) young gay men at risk for HIV. And ihen just generally for all queer youth, and olher segments of the queer community, emotional and physical harm is an issue." A recent project of ASIA was Lotus Roots: A Gathering of East and Southeast Asian Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals, which took place last May. The week-end long event featured panel discussions, workshops, readings, a craft fair and a party. Straights and White people were invited to the Saturday events (the craft fair and readings by queer East and Southeast Asian artists), but the rest of the event was organized for queers and East and Southeast Asians for ihe purpose of strengthening lhat community, and the individuals who are part of it. ASIA's major project for this summer is to hire a youth to develop a pamphlet on what is being gay or lesbian in the Asian community and why do straight Asians discriminate against gays, s and bisexuals. This will involve talking to youth and youth * and the families of queer youth. This is part 2 of the Diverse City project, of which port 1 was a poster/community portrait featur ing leaders in the straight Asian community denouncing homophobia. The poster will be featured in places like schools and libraries. All these projects are part of ASIA's Action Now project to develop supportive communities for gays, lesbians and bisexuals. "The fact is thot, because of self esteem issues, because of homophobia, gay men are still the highest converting group around HIV. So what we need to do is develop support communities for those who still are looking for support around their sexual orientation, those who are HIV positive, and have to deal with double issues of being gay and HIV. And for those who are negative, who want to stay negative but are having a hard time because of other psycho-social issues such as self-esteem or inability to negotiate safer sex because of race, because of culture, because of age. We are trying to develop that supportive community through these two initiatives." "The Lotus Roots was targeted specifically at the gay, lesbian, bisexual and Iransgendered community, whereas Diverse City was targeted at the straight community and for those who weren't already out." Family and language issues make ASIA's work different from YouthCo's, and the role of family is seen to be important enough to the project of providing support for HIV positive youth that ASIA is trying to access the families of these young people. According to Henry, "Family is both a support and a hindrance to our work. When we do our HIV/AIDS education with youth in high schools and olher institutions, we have to be very careful that we don't give out condoms, or if we do, then we take them back, because if it goes back to the parents the parents will complain to the teachers and the teachers will stop us from coming in. Likewise, family can be the best support. Family creates the environment for developing self- esteem. If my mother or my older brother or my sister can accept me for who I am, then lhat really strengthens the development of a person." This is especially relevant to the situation of youth who are immigrants, because the sense of exclusion of Asian gays and lesbians who aren't out is heightened by language barriers. Part of ASIA's work this summer will involve trying to connect wilh these families who have sons and daughters who are gay or lesbian. They will be trying to find out from parents what they would have needed to try to understand their child's queerness. This will be pretty hard, because most of these parents aren't exactly out about their child's sexuality. However, Henry Koo is optimistic. Upcoming events of ASIA include a joint fund-raiser with YouthCo • "Don Juan in Hell" July 8th at 8:00pm at Bard on the Beach, a free Chinese Symposium on HIV/AIDS July 9th at 6:30pm at the Coast Plaza in Stanley Park, and a screening of the video "Blending Milk and Water - Sex in The New World." July 10th, at 7:00pm & 9:30pm at Video In Studio. ^2__><-2E_j rfI___~Z_ OUR RIGHTS TO SAFER SEX Graphics and photos have been reprinted with the kind permission of The Positive Women's Network, Youth Co. and A.S.I.A. 7 uft&L&m Standard intro. thing: New York group Versus play beautiful, sweeping, distorted pop very reminiscent of '80's group Mission of Burma (remember the release of M. of B.'s first album Vs. back in 1982? The name isn't the only thing these two bands have in common ...) They were bom in 1991, spawned from the remnants of the bands Flower and Saturnine. The present Versus contains Richard (vocals, guitar), Fontaine (vocals, bass), James (guitar), and Pat (drums). Richard and James are brothers. Another Balyut, Ed, often drums for them, but not currendy. After recording for many prominent indie labels, the Vs. folks have signed a deal with Caroline Records and are set to release their second full-length, rumoured to be magnificent. Fontaine likes vodka. Richard likes scotch. After their marvey show at the Starfish Room, Miko and Sean attempted to ask Richard some questions, despite the fact that it was 2am. And we were tired. Very tired. All of us. We aren't normally this slow. Really. that you play an average of a hundred times name it after that album. S: Did you put out another Roger Miller single? R: Yeah. Hey, you're good! I put out a single on Remora [Records] of Roger Miller and Clint Conley, who were both in Mission of Burma. S: I remember you talking about that last time you were here, but I've never seen the single. I saw an ad for it in something, like Chickfactor ['zine] or something. R: I did a terrible job of putting it out, though. Cuz it wasn't called by their names, it was called Wrong Pipe. I should have put a sticker that said, 'Featuring these guys so and such and such, yada yada, da da da da da, blah blah blah ...' S: He's on a roll. R: It ended. M: Has Containe [Fontaine's side project with Connie of Alkaline] ever played with Versus? R: No, actually. M: Would Fontaine ever? R: I don't think so, cuz she wouldn't want to have to play twice. Like Richard: The last couple of years, over a hundred. But this year we definitely plan on [playing] less than that Cuz it's too tiring to play that often. M: Do you have day jobs? R: No, no day jobs allowed. Well, maybe now. Before we used to tour too much to have jobs, but maybe now we will. I'm not going to have a job, I hate jobs. I haven't had a job in three years. M: What was your last job? R: I recorded books for the blind for a non-profit organization. M: And what do you think you might do if you had to get another job? R: Oh, I'm not gonna get one. I'm retired. Sean: What was the best book you had to read for the blind? R: This book, Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Ecco. It's like totally unreadable, but because I had to, I read it, and I liked it Cuz it's, you know; it's a civil war book ... S: That figures. R: Yeah. (little known fact: Richard is a civil war buff.) M: What, then, is your favourite book? R: Of all time? Well, I've read I.ord of the Rings about five times, starting from when I was like a really little kid. S: It shows in your mystic songwriting, in the lyrics, (laugh laugh laugh) R: Yeah, we like Lord of the Rings and Led Zeppelin. S: All that dwarfs and where there's a will stuff shines through. R: Mordor, you know... S: Have you run out of historical civil war battle sites to visit? R: No, actually, we've seen three on this trip already. S: That you haven't seen before? R: Yeah. Mathematics, which is where the surrender happened. Petersburg, where there was the battle of the crater. And something else, I don't remember now. S: Disappointed about the lack of a Disney site? A Disney civil war site? R: Oh, very excited by the lack ofthe Disney overthrow. In Virginia. S: It could've made, like, song of the South and the confederacy look real R: (laughs) Yeah. M: Keep going! S: That's it. That's my roll. I draw a blank now. R: I'm so blank that it's not even funny. M: What's the worst interview question? What does everyone ask you? 'Why the name?' R: No, they don't actually ask that M: Oh, really? So ... why the name? S*. Is it the obvious one? The album title? R: Oh no, it isn't It may be, originally. I got it from a friend of mine. He always wanted to name his band that, but the other people weren't in to it And then, he committed suicide, so I wanted to name it as a tribute to him. Maybe he got it from that, but I don't really know. S: Is that how you got all the Mission of Burma comparisons in the first place? R: Well, they also happen to be my favourite band. But it's totally weird and unrelated and no one will ever believe me that we didn't remembered, or pretended to remember my face, but were a little weirded out that I was there. (I promise: I'm not stalking them Balyut brothers!) We arranged to possibly continue the interview after their set, but in another deja vu thing, it was so late that I figured I was too exhausted to conduct an any less pathetic interview as before. »Versus DISCOGRAPHY: ♦"Astronaut" 7" (Landspeed) ♦"Bright Light" b/w "Forest Fire" 7" (Pop Narcotic) *Let's Electrify ep "The Stars Are Insane lp (TeenBeat) *Dead Leaves lp - singles comp. (TeenBeat) *Deep Red ep (TeenBeat) ♦forthcoming lp Secret Swingers (Caroline) plus contributions on: ♦v/a Stars Kill Rock (Kill Rock Stars) ♦v/a Why Do You Think They Call it Pop? (Pop Narcotic) she was playing with Air Miami for a while, and Versus could never play with Air Miami because she'd have to play bass in both bands. She's not into that She's kinda frail, so she can only last for one show anight M: How do you stay healthy on tour? R: I dunno, we're not very healthy right now. M: Well, how do you survive? R: Actually, we brought a couple mitts and a baseball, and me and Pat, the drummer, we have a catch every day. (long pause) R: That means, throw the baseball back and forth. M: (laughs) Yeah, I know! What's on your rider? R: Scotch, vodka, towels, nothing really interesting. I'd like to get cigarettes, but people say we'll never get them. We never get the rider anyway. They end up crossing everything out. Unless it's a college show, where they give you everything. Although, MCA Concerts Canada always gives you everything too. S: Have you played their shows back East? They take it seriously. They're afraid the opening band will steal your rider. (when the Starfish Room cleaning folks start arguing about where to put the garbage, the interview nears M: Is there anything else you want R: Just that Vancouver is very clean and pretty. Someday we'd like to sleep over here ... In some sort of strange coincidence spooky-type occurrence, I happened to be in Los Angeles the following week when Versus were playing at this teensy, charming cafe called the Impala. Both Richard and James, the youngest Balyut brother, the Park (The Now Sound) to An End (Virgin) ♦sountrack Half-Cocked (Matador) ♦v/a Ear ofthe Dragon (Fortune Five) And don't forget Richard/Fontaine/Ed's earlier projects Flower and Saturnine, with material still available on Simple Machines Records, as well as Fontaine's side-project Containe (/ Want It All available on Enchante Records c/o 245 E. 19th, #12T, New York.NY, 10003). tlie " Make m mistake, Ibis is a straight ahead rock album '•*» Ytw'l probably hear It trt your next party." Drop D Magazine 1 2 great songs on the edge of grunge, but ii $11.99 °^eR stay* footed in teei ment, hard rock sens&ilitii with one difference, this h a singer with a jaw-dropping, I raising voice." The Georgia Straight THE DEBUT ALBUM IN STORES NOW ! 8 JULY 1996 CHMGGIT Bi SCAN RAGGOT _W _J_T ^ ■ a^nL-~^*^B ffj T^Sw**-- Who says Calgarians can't dance? From the way things have been going for four prairie boys with more childish charm than a summertime Beavers' mug-up, Chixdiggit are a hootin'-an'-a-hollerin' bunch at the From their humble beginnings as Calgary Stampede orderlies, Chixdiggit have come a long way. Last month they released their first full-length effort on the famous Sub Pop label, Chixdiggit, a follow-up to one previous Sub Pop 7", and their very first vinyl offering*. Best Hung Carrot in the Fridge, a 7" on Nanaimo's Lance Rock Records (Bum, The Stupes), featuring a hilarious knock-up of George Michael's "Faith" on side-B. Tongue-in-cheek is their gig, to which anyone who has seen a live Chixdiggit show can attest. Fists cocked proudly between well-timed windmill swats at his guitar, lead singer KJ leads the band through seamlessly executed repertoires of guitar poses on stage that range from greasy rawk wank to purely devilish showmanship. He flashes his trademark leprechaun smile at only the cutest girls, and gives the most outwardly appreciative fans his attention. Indeed, Chixdiggit are certainly a "live" act, crowd-pleasers to the "T"; it would be difficult to disregard their earnest approach to parody as they sing hits such as "(I Wanna) Hump You," "Mila, Caroline, and Me," and "Grungebaby." DiSCORDER asked the rock cowboys about Calgary, Seattle, chicks, record deals, and life on the road. Chixdiggit's Mike Eggermont was more than happy to satisfy our cu- DiSCORDER: Chixdiggit, who are you? Mike: Mike Eggermont, bass & harmonies; Jason Hirsch, drums; Mark O'Raherty, guitar & vox; KJ Jansen, guitar, songs, vox. How did Chixdiggit form? The Chixdiggit story? You know, the old "high school buddies want something good to talk about at the reunion of the class of '89 and decide to be rich at 21- story. Incidentally, we're now 25. Chixdiggit took a trip to Seattle last summer to record for Sub Pop. How did that deal become history, and what is the SubPop? We met Bruce from Sub Pop after he saw us at a show a few months earlier; he never told us who he was, but he seemed like a nice guy. He asked us for our autographs, but he only had some legal document that we could put it on. We realized later it was a record deal, now we're stuck for one or two records or so. I never actually saw the thing. Are there plans in the works for a Chixdiggit video? I'm told that under paragraph 11 - 18.1A we are legally bound to do Field Day recently landed a part in the new National Lampoon movie .Any other Calgary bands hot right now? Well, later in that movie, you can also hear Huevos Rancheros. Other bands we think are doing great are RedAutumn Fall,the Gimmicks, and I heard Placebo signed to Nettwerk. What was it like touring in Quebec during the height of the referendum? A little tense, especially when KJ kept calling Quebec his favourite province. We didn't know that's exactly what they did not want to be. Luckily some kid spat on KJ, and set us straight. We actually caused three people to vote for unity purely because they'd never met nice anglophones, and then they met'Jason, and Jason's really nice. On the night of the referendum we played Montreal, and 80 politically apathetic people actually came out, but their eyes never left the TV screen behind us. It was a rollercoaster of emotions; we laughed, we cried. Most essential road trip items? Don't leave home without... Our Sloan tapes, Kevin, a new vanillaroma air freshener tree, the soccer ball. Do chicks dig Chixdiggit? I love that question. Absolutely. A Chixdiggit show would not be complete unless the mic stands are set up at chest level. Why do you do this? It's just this year's gimmick. Next year we'll hang the mics off the ceiling, and sing blindfolded, you know, like pinatas. Where is your favourite city to play, and why? Vancouver is our favourite city.Van- ________ 'ft'-; 1 couver knows how to party. Why should kids stay in school? To keep them registered and locked up. Today's kids are tomorrow's revolutionaries and criminals. Would Chixdiggit ever sell out? Everybody has their price. Ours is quite low, really. I think it's already been met. Why is Alanis Morisette so popular? Talent is onfy relevant when recognized by a lot of people. Sometimes people are fooled into accepting an artist, like Hootie. I think Alanis has enough talent to make her success acceptable. Tom Bagley [of Forbidden Dimension] created the graphic art for the Chixdiggit t-shirt, which features an older white male perusing a shapely young white female as she walks by the lamppost he is leaning against. Has the group received any flack over this controversial image or the band's moniker, Chixdiggit, from politically correct fens or media critics? No. One girl told me, "Just what every girl wants, a guy who reaches up to her waist." I don't know what she meant, but that's the only ment I've ever heard. Incidentally, Tom is still employed by us, for the r and CD/LP covers. Why does KJ have the initials "SRV" stickered on his guitar? The stickers, at 95< each, are far more affordable than to have them carved into his guitar. What sort of things make Chixdiggit happy? A good turnout at soccer games, cities that know how to party, Pete Campbell from the Sweaters. What is the best thing about being Canadian? Only KJ is Canadian by birth. He looks happy, I'm not sure why. Upcoming material? A Fat Wreck Chords 7", a song on Pop Goes the Weasel 2 from Japan, which is late because the Smugglers haven't sent in their song yet. Discography? A demo, a Calgary compil* (Bloodbath at the Chinese Disco: Sloth/PornStar)CD. a few 7"s, one on Lance Rock Records, and a 7" on Sub Pop. Any last words? We always have the last word. 9 [_?g3sli03a BlS3 by mrkp hoffman Once again, ihe "we" is just a "me," so be warned: I've only got enough adjectives for one person Ihis month ... PEST 5000 "Cold Feet" b/w "Where the Moon Is" (Derivative) This Montreal Fivesome comprised of CBC radio personnel/ persona follow-up their "Toast" 7" with this new single. I'm pretty darned sure lhat "Cold Feet" also appears on an Impact (Magazine) CD compilation, but I couldn't tell you if that version is drastically different from "Collin's Mix" of this version; it's a mid- tempo pop song with very distorted vocals very low in the mix. The B-side marks a musical departure for Pes! 5000; it's indicative of ihe latest indie rock trend sounds in their use of keyboards and dubby, funky stuff. I can't remember Patti's voice ever being so fuzzy on previous recordings. (Derivative, POBox42031, Montreal Que, H2W 2T3) as "the Linus Pauling High School's Marching Wildcats." Hmm, don't ihink so, folks, but ihey do sound very teen, in the best possible way - full of energy and spunk! If this ain't "teenage on the sleeve wants us college radio folk to be impressed by the foct l-hof Warm Wires features (read: none); all I can tell you is that these two songs ore full of female/male harmonies, crying violins, ond down-home guitar pickin'. (Slow River, 16 Nicholson St. #1, Marblehead, MA, 01945) VARIOUS ARTISTS Drive-In Season (Season/Drive-In) Dreamy is the theme on this here collaboration of an Australian label and an American one. I can imagine this compilation as a soundtrack for a warm, Indian -mgst. t kn< what is: the girls and boys in zee Titans play fast, snappy, garage rock. The Texas troupe crams five songs of simple, infectious wildcat-powered astro-pop onto this platter that'll make even the most die-hard cynic smile, or at leas! boogie. (Peek-a-Boo, 2505 San Antonio #1, Austin, TX, 78705) THE LEFTIES Nighf Flight at the Bat Moon Dog (X-Mas) Oakland's Lefties are a duo who have temporarily "left" the Peechees, kings and queen of garage pop, to do the twee thing. You wouldn't have guessed lhat Rop and Christopher, who ore so good atpunkin' up a storm, could construct minimalist, dream-pop so beautifully, but, well, you're gonna have to Rop sings the A- side songs, Iwo yummy *. members of the Breeders (the violinist), Ed's Redeeming Qualities, Harm Farm, Little My, and the IT'S PATRICKI tracks of catchy »m pressed with the intelligent "Open Mind" b/w 1 songs these folks have pro- "Can't 1 \\ duced. "Women are Better Talk" ^ —"" Kl than Men" (no comment) is (Alien f^ m ■I a humourous, hook-laden Girl) \\ llll semi-wanky ditty that I'm not I g|| claims "Barbie is better quite sure \\ Mm than Ken" and is worth of the \\ |||1 further listens just for the story be- \\ W%m lvrics. but the hit of this hind the re- \\ _____! single is the B-side, a cording of \\ E|| slower, Iwongy, haunt- this Fifth \\ ■"•' *^H Column \\ ^l\\ lovely sadness. B. side project, \\ \\ Mossman's deep, cuz the songs \\ '" _______ \\ husky voice is similar were re- \\ *_._____■ \\ to other San corded three \\ \\ Franciscan divas years ago, but 1 u< \\ Paula Frazier the graphic de- \\ _f_-_-_mt f>V \\ (Tarnation), sign was done \\ '^■l A \\-X \\ Barbara Manning as recent as this \\ \\ (SF Seals), and year Nonethe- I ^^^^ MaryO'Neil(Vir- less, it's worth \\ ~ ginia Dare). This talking about this \\ is warm indeed, and 1 like it. ear-pleasing 7". \\ *^^ Kicking (Roslyn Records, 1431 Castro St., The A-s,de contains *—" Cont-esque-ness San Francisco, CA, 94114) lots of fuzzy guitars, The flipside is Christopher's com rock riffs, and warm, deep vocals position, a lengthy, soulish bal LINCOLN 65 courtesy of Michelle Breslin. Turn lad with few lyrics; Chris, who's "Dreams" b/w "Jellyfish" the single over for my favourite given up screeching for a song, (Slow River) a slow, ballad-style ditty, full of ongstfully repeats "in the court of Slow River Records may have nice gal/guy harmonies and love" over and over ... Brought moved from New Hampshire to folky strummin'. Altogether purdy to you by the some fine label Massachussets, but it's still releas stuff. (Alien Girl Records, 550 who's released Emily's Sassy Lime ing consistently high quality Bathurst St. #6, Toronto, On, ond Comet Gain. (X-Mas, 1040 records (Loose Confederation of M5S 2P8) N. Fairfax #303, Los Angeles, Saturday City States, Juicy, CA, 90046) Shapiros), and Lincoln '65 is no zee TEEN TITANS exception. Clear vinyl in a blurry, We're Wildcats! WARM WIRES black ond white cover is home to (My Papa's Leg/Peek-a- "Women are Better than true country sounds created by Boo) Men" b/w "Eczema" what could be just a duo, but it's One of the best this month comes (Roslyn Records) hard lo tell, cuz they're not incred courtesy of zee Teen Titons, billed The little fluorescent pink sticker ibly generous with the liner notes Summer's eve, while sitting in a car on the way to a drive-in movie. The Aussie players are the Cat's Miaow, wilh "Stay," contributing another of their mellow, jazzy (complete with horns!) ond enchanting songs, with their trademark Aslrud Gilberto-esque vocals The Singing Bush lighten it up with "Do What You Say," an upbeat and jangly little number. The Shapiros sound like the American equivalent to the Cat's Miaow; Pom (olso of Glo Worm, Belmondo, Black Tambourine, etc) and Kerne may be geographical worlds apart, but musically, it sounds like thev grew up together. This is AOP Adult-Oriented Pop. Last is Michigan's Madison Electric, the sole track sung by a guy. Their "V-Neck" is pretty and heartbreaking (Season Records: Flot 3, 41 Shelley St., Elwood 3 184, Victoria, Australia/ Drive-In Records: PO Box 88821 1, Grand Ropids, M!, 49588) GODRAYS T.V. Stars With No Arms (Vernon Yard) I used to ihink lhat the best part of Small Factory wos drummer Phoebe Summersquash's unpre- When I heard about her and Alex Kemp's (another third of Small Foctory) new project, I hoped she'd sing more in this band, but alas, I was disappointed. The Godrays exude the same feelgood poppiness os iheir previous (ond more guitar wailin', probably due to Ihe addition of Vitapup's Greg Griffith). Despite the vague pomposity on the "media release" accompanying ihis double 7" on the pseudo-indie Vernon Yard, this is a good release: three songs of loe-tappin' fun and one song of unnecessary wank ("Film Music"). And as always, wonderful cover art paintings. (Vernon Yard, 1 14 W. 26th St. Floor 11, New York, NY, 10001) SMACK DAB FUTURE (HC) Right on! Smack Dab blast on to the present as they announce their return lo the indie rock world (where were they, anyway?) with this slickly packaged three song 7". It's hard to' believe that 'lookin' ahead to the future' is painful, cuz even though singer/ guitarist Linda Hagood's high- through "Future," she still sounds so chipper. This is quirk-fi for the popster kids to dance to. (Smack Dab, c/o 81 Warren St., Brooklyn, NY, 1 1201/e-mail: SMAECKDAEB@aol.com) TOKIDOKI Margie's Candies (Tiny Shoes Records) The first release for Tiny Shoes Records supplies more food for the cutesy-pie fans out there Nora and Peter are Tokidoki, a duo who both sing and play sional keyboard solos. I've gotta say that after multiple listens, Peter's falsetto harmonies get fairly annoying, but if you can get passed that, Ant All Action! - g.a.r.a.g.e. Friends of the Smugglers, I'm sure. (Roto-flex, see above)* *PIPEBOMB"IDon'tCare"+7 (!) - fast, angry, PUNK rock, courtesy of Ihese local lads. Song titles like "Kill Whitey," "Fuck Vancouver Pigs," and "Hatred for Authority" - you get the idea. (Pipebomb, c/o Gordon Park, PO Box 37076, Vancouver, BC, V5P 4W7)* •GOLDFISH "The Ride" b/w "Swallow" - a song each by the rs/v< Is/ guik >nd Vicky c ■ -eleos* "inyl Jale-esque fuzz-rock wilh strong singing.(Bonfire Recordings, e-mail:ce_habe@alcor. condcordia.ca)* *B'EHL/CLAG spit i quar ■ Italian five 'eh! s Iodic, upbeat, Cancon. folk-rock with sweet girl vocals, Clag, another girl-powered bond, play more straightforward strum-pop - less distorted than on their split 7" with Ashtroy Boy (Endearing Records, PO Box 69009, 2025 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R3P 2G9)* ♦ALL-WOMAN BROTHERS BAND "Paybock" b/w "Witch Hur -The I have pleasing vocal harmonies. (Sloth Records, 1 33-1 6th Ave N.W., Calgary, AB, T2M 0H3)* ♦JOHN HUDAK no/uro - Very "drosphilia melanogaster" b/w "ice on snow." Best summed up by Hudak himself: "Side A contains only the sound of fruit flies. Side B contains the sound of ice pellets falling on simplistic songs about boys, girls, and cookies. (Tiny Shoes, 2854 North Nagle, Chicago, IL, 60634) Okidoki, this is the section of li'l ing short descriptions of other recent notable releases, I can justify not forming full sentences. ♦BOSS MARTIANS "The Mortician" b/w "My Ford Sedan" - classy, organy, surf rock on Calgary's garage label, Roto- flex. (Roto-flex, PO Box 64252, Calgary, AB.T2K6J1)* ♦THE MANTS Half Man, Half Artist-in-Residence program at Harvestworks/StudioPass in New York. (John Hudak, 1 84 Columbia Heights #1 D Brooklyn, New York, 1 1201/Aproxia, POBox 85155 Seattle, WA, 98145)* ♦HALOGEN "Wandering" b/w "Goto" - Greal cover art, beautiful clear blue vinyl. Slow, arty rock songs; one, a Wire cover. (ProTeen Records, PO Box 60363, Horrisburg, PA, 17106- 0363)* 10 JULY 1996 between lOQSUVWXYZ ; ^ aedml density urjitorr I ^ylandrea & amber dawn *'* ^ *«« lines nEuROTIC GIRL + Friends issues #1 & 2 This indie comic book is described by it's creator, Tamara Rae Biebrich, as pro-girl, boy friendly and for mature readers. Issue #1, done collaboratively with Shannon Szmigelski, contains eight short strips mostly about scenester kids and sex (heterosexual sex only though, for any of my loyal lesbian readers - yeah, I wish). It includes a fantastic strip about traveling across the U.S./Canadian border to see a Slant 6 concert which could very well become a comic book road-trip classic. In issue #2 Tamara teams up with Rhonda Hinther and Alanna Cleve for eight more great comic strips. Again, sex is the main topic. My personal favorite is a strip titled "Leftovers From the Lubejob." It's full of illustrated tips on what to do with extra after sex lubricant. Send $2 to Tamara at 39 Lochinvar, Winnipeg MB, R2J 1 R3 Canada or (e) umbiebri@ccu.umanitoba.ca or fax (204)256-5178. Wak Fight Like A Girl 5.5x4.4 26 pages This prairie punk zine is a good summer fun zine. Fight Like A Girl explores some girl-related issues, but it's mostly packed with the two girl authors' ludicrous personal thoughts and experiences. These girls aren't all fun and games, though; they've also included an amazing letter about how to protect yourself from mental manipulation. Fight Like A Girl costs $1 or a kiss, so unless you've figured out how to send smooches in the mail, deliver your dollar to 39 Lochinvar, Winnipeg MB, R2J 1R3. I'm Johnny and I Don't Give A Fuck #2 5.5 x 4.5 65 pages It's back and bigger than ever. Andy's 1 2 stories of hi-jinx and hangovers are hysterical. His writing in this issue has become more sentimental as he reminisces about his family and home town. Check out what Andy does when he's not tearin' up the stage in Submission Hold, who is currently on tour, so you might want to wait a few weeks to order. Send $2 (ond Niagara Falls stuff) to PO Box 21533-1 850 Commercial Drive, Vancouver BC, V5N 4A0. Seattle Girl Convention info-zine Yes the conventions are finally here. This info-zine gives most of the information that you need about the Seattle convention itself. Seattle is holding a Girl Convention on July 5-7, at the New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle (206) 722-2453. These girls have made sure that there is ASL interpretation and that all locations are wheelchair accessible. The convention starts at 9am on Friday with a mix of workshops and live performances. Expect workshops on fat oppression, classism, violence in queer female relationships and more. Sleater-Kinney, Third Sex, Vegas Beat, and Nikki McClure are just a few of the artists expected to perform. The convention costs $5-10 per day on a sliding scale. Get in touch with Marcy or Alicia at (206) 328-9282 or 1636 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98122. 1 Just Don't Savvy #1 (half size, 20 Vltar^ pages) r_! One of the __*_ things that 1 * 1 love about Vw^ __■ spring/summer are the new zines that come mm out by first tim _ W ^_____r 1W 5$!^__D ers. UDS deals with topics ranging from abusive fathers Hi __-_-_r'___r: to loneliness. 1 was really impressed by Christie's writing about alienation, which is something that anyone who has been an outcast can relate to. A great first start, girls! Send a dollar to 5111 Redonda Dr, N. Vancouver BC, V7R 3K1. Ms. Christina Knox is back with an untitled zine dealing with depression and the effects of her about her writing. Her writing allows you to make your own decision and see the contributing factors that make her who she is Send a dollar to 3322 Caliente Place, Coquitlam BC, V3E 2P9 Good the Fish Aren't Biting #1 (quarter size, 24 poges) "I'm making this because other girls have given me self-confidence through zines. I want to do that for someone else now." This is a short and sweet zine from Manitoba. Kot is very opinionated and even though I found myself disagreeing with her points of view at times, I was consoled in knowing that she wants to be called on her shit. Kat writes about violence and how her rape and her attraction to waifish men ore connected. She seems to be very eager for mail so send a dollar or stamps to Box 63, Oakbank, MB ROE 1J0. CRACK THE WHIP EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT WITH DRU! LIVE BANDS EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT! COVER ONLY $2.00 AT THE DOOR 8:30 COVER STARTS JULY 4-* JULY 11* JULY 1 8«* BANDS START §1 THE PIT PUB • IN THE BASEMENT OF THE STUDENT UNION BUILDING, 6138 SUB BLVD. • 604-822-6511 n __3^K^ DiSCORDER:YOU HAVE A GROWING RELATIONSHIP WITH STEREOLAB. Doug McCombs: Yeah, I don't remember exactly how we met them, I think John's (McEntire) band Gastr Del Sol played a show with them in Chicago, and John was a big fan of theirs, so he befriended them, and gave them CD's and tapes of the stuff he was working on. The next time they came to the U.S., they asked us to do a couple of shows with them as Tortoise. We've been friends ever since then; they're really good people. THEY RELEASED THE GAMERA/CLIFF DWELLER SOCIETY 12" ON THEIR LABEL DUOPHONIC. That was about a year after we met them. They asked if we would do something for their label. ARE YOU GOING TO DO ANYTHING ELSE WITH THEM? Yeah, we'll probably do something on Duophonic again. There was talk of releasing Millions Now Living Will Never Die on Duophonic exclusively for the UK. THE ONE SIDE OF THE GAMERA/CLIFF DWELLER SOCIETY 12" WAS REMARKABLY GOOD. The Collage side, yeah. trying to do, we're not trying to play this post-rock that people are talking about. I think people are going to be disappointed if they just expect more of the same. We don't have any idea what our next recording will be like. DO YOU FIND THAT BECAUSE THE MEMBERSHIP OF TORTOISE COMES FROM AN EXPERIENCED AND DIVERSE BACKGROUND, THAT THAT HAS PRODUCED A MIND-SET TO DO A BAND LIKE YOU HAVE ... WITH NOT LIMITING YOURSELVES TO ANY STYLE? ARE YOU TIRED WITH THE ROCK-AND-ROLL ROUTINE? I don't know. I still look forward to doing things with Eleventh Dream Day. I think it's the same with everybody in Tortoise, we all just love to play music. Tortoise is the thing, the one band, where it's like... anything goes. We are all happy to be involved with something like that. Plus, it has to do with the individuals in the group too. We all enjoy playing together, we're good friends, but beyond that, I don't really think about it. THAT IS A REALLY SIMPLE ASPECT OF MUSIC-MAKING THAT IS OFTEN MISSED IN THE WRITING ABOUT MUSIC, WITH LABELS LIKE POST-ROCK, OR MORE GENERALLY, WITH THE WAY PEOPLE CATEGORIZE IN THE CREATION OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT MUSIC. IT IS AN ATTEMPT TO TRY TO MAKE SENSE OF HOW AND WHAT MUSICIANS DO, WHICH IS REALLY NO MYSTERY. IS THERE AN IMPERATIVE TO HAVE THESE CATEGORIES, TO KEEP THINGS MOVING IN THE MARKET, WITH DEFINITIONS OF MARKETABILITY? The way I feel about music criticism is that music is an aural/physical experience, and no matter how good of a writer you are or how much you understand music, you still can't necessarily convey the feeling that music may have or produce... I don't really even know if you can convey your own feelings about music. IT IS AN AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE. Yeah, I feel that Tortoise is something'very special, but I don't feel that there is any great mystery to it. It is special to me, but that doesn't mean it's special to anyone else. So there is that middle ground somewhere, where there is nothing mysterious about how we do it or what it is, but it still is something that only we can do. I don't think there should be that much emphasis on the mystery. A LOT OF WHAT ROCK WRITING, AND THE WAY THAT ROCK CULTURE MORE GENERALLY, WORKS AROUND MUSIC IS THAT THEY MUST HAVE SOME- DO YOU DO ANY RECORDING WITH ANYONE ELSE OTHER THAN TORTOISE AND ELEVENTH DREAM DAY? Johnny (Herndon) and I did some recording for Brian McMahan's band The For Carnation. (John Herndon and Doug McCombs played on both of the For Carnation's full length and EP releases. They were joined by David Pajo for the recording for the first EP. Both David Pajo and Brian McMahan were in the band Slint.) BUT YOU DIDN'T WANT TO TOUR? Johnny and I did one short tour with The For Carnation on the east coast, but there was just too much that was conflicting with Tortoise. IN PARTICULAR, THE PART WITH HORNS WAS QUITE GOOD. ARE YOU GOING TO DO MORE WITH AN EXPANDED BAND? We always try to explore as many different possibilities as we can. With this new LP it's just the stripped down band, just the five of us. But whenever possible, we like to have different people play with us; one of Dan's (Bitney) roommates wrote that song, and that is his band playing with us. We sometimes play with an ex-roommate of ours named Jeff Parker. He's an excellent jazz guitar player, although he's not strictly interested in jazz music only. We recorded a song of his too, which is on the latest Red Hot compilation. Jeff also played with us for that track. He also plays with us live, but usually only when we play in Chicago. DO YOU FIND THAT THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS PLACED ON YOU NOW, ESPECIALLY WITH THE RATHER SUDDEN AND LARGE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION THAT HAS RECENTLY BEEN GIVEN TO YOU IN THE POPULAR PRESS. ONE OF THE FIRST REPORTS ABOUT TORTOISE WAS IN SPIN MAGAZINE, RATHER THAN IN A SMALLER PUBLICATION FIRST Yeah, that's kind of weird. All that attention is kind of deceiving in a way. The main idea behind Tortoise is that there isn't one thing that we are DAN DAVID synthesizers; they share du1 THING TO FOCUS ON - AND THIS IS NOT EXCEPTIONAL. BUT BECAUSE YOU HAVE A BAND THAT SEEMS DEMOCRATICALLY ORGANIZED, WHERE EVERYONE HAS AN EQUAL SHARE IN HOW THE MUSIC DEVELOPS, IT IS EASIER TO COME UP WITH A LABEL LIKE "POST-ROCK" AND SAY: LOOK AT THIS WEIRD POST-MODERN COLLECTIVE OF MUSICIANS WHO ARE DOING MUSIC WITHOUT A CATEGORY. BUT IT IS ACTUALLY QUITE A SIMPLE, AND NOT NEW, ENDEAVOR TO GO OUT AND PLAY SOMETHING THAT YOU LIKE, AND NOT LIMIT YOURSELF TO PERFORMING CATEGORIES. It's an easy target too, because of our choice of instrumentation. We didn't do any of that stuff deliberately to stand out. We didn't write this material to play it with the intent to say "Look at how weird we are", or "This will get us somewhere". It's just what we wanted to do. If that's what some writer can latch on to and be able to write about, and maintain his living, then that's fine. I don't really care. SO YOU ARE NO LONGER IN THE BAND EITHER? No but I wouldn't necessarily say that means I wouldn't play or record with Brian again. I really think he has some amazing ideas. As long as it didn't conflict with something else I was doing, I would always be willing to play with him, but at this point it is not that possible. TORTOISE WAS ORIGINALLY JUST YOU AND JOHN HERNDON - WAS THAT TRUE FOR YOUR FIRST SINGLES? We started those by ourselves, but Bundy (Brown), John (McEntire) and Brad Wood play on those as well. I think that there may be one song that has just me and Johnny. DO ALL OF TORTOISE LIVE IN THE SAME SPACE? All of us except Dan, he lives down the street. IS THAT ALSO WHERE YOU REHEARSE? Thats where we rehearse, we also have a small studio where we record, sometimes. We recorded the B-Side of the Gamera 12" there, the collage side. Two tracks from the new album were also recorded there and some stuff for compilations. Most of our recording is done at Idful. 12 JULY 1996 e day while on a casual visit to the CiTR Studios , Mark "Kleinz" Kleiner of Vancouver's' Sister Lovers hinted to me that Slik Toxik might be an interesting interview opportunity. Apparently those longhairs had completely trashed iheir limo after a Juno Party and e in the process of being "dropped" by their record company. To capitalize on the new direc- I tion metal was heading (ie: trying to ape ifie current punk flavored generation X trends) it was rumored the boys were going to change their name to Slack Toxic. And there were reports via Hamilton Ontario's Tristan Psionic of a certain Slik Toxic "love child" floating around the | Kitchener area. All this seemed too surreal to pass up. But there was more .Kleinz has an "indie >ck heart and a cock rock dick" (his own words) so it was inevitable when I mentioned Skid I Row was looking to get some college exposure, he urged me to interview lead screamer Sabastian Bach. What he didn't tell me was that "the Baz" would smash a tape I was using to | record theinlerview (which also contained encounters with George Clinton, Pierre Elliot Trudeau and Sandra Bernhard) steal the Toque(l) my godmother had given me many years before, and | threaten to "beat me up for fun." A week later we protested the theft of my wool cap outside a Skid Row gig to no avail. The prick wasn't gonna give it back. On top of lhat, Warner Music Canada banned me from interviewing any more of their artists. I swore , "NO MORE METAL EVER AGAIN." That lasted until I interviewed Mark Gaudlet of Moncton New Brunswick's Eric's Trip who introduced me to his old friend, Gillian "Metal Queen" Grattan. Gill calls herself a "milk n intimate encounter with a certain member of Iron Maiden. So when an opportunity to interview Iron led like the perfect person to call upon. Her amazing enthusiasm (she's met Metallica 13 times) cou- Ipled with Mark Kleiner's relentless championing of "underdog" third tier double named metal acts such as Danger Danger and Enuff's Z'Nuff has fled to the completion of the once stalled Disc Edge Project. Thanks for your time.Keep on rawkin in the free world. Nardwuar the Human Serviette ^S st-Sealtle, 1 992, < Like so much in my life, I came to heavy metal late. Il \\ major labels were fleeing the Sunset Strip in a scene eerily reminiscent to the last Americans out of Saigon close to twenty years prior. Today, glam metal is firmly ensconced along the peripheries of popular culture. As a member of SNFU noted to me at a recent art opening, Metal Edge magazine has evolved (devolved?) into a kind of Flipside of ihe nineties with its grass roots/fan based approach. Disc Edge is the [ result of five years spent trying to reconcile the idolatry of metal in the eighties with its malignity in the nineties The beauty in glam is it needs a bit of both to really flourish. may be the o e lesson I've learned from all this. In lhat spirit, feel free to crack a ad this and if your LA. Guns cassettes sound a little worn I'm "Once upon a time in a little town called Moncton, there lived a milk n'cookies rock n' roll girl named Gill. When the music started calling she hit the road for Toronto where bright lights, big city turned from rock n' roll fantasy to reality. Endless backstage parties from Poison to Metallica and back again big hair nights at Rock n' Roll Heaven and gigs galore singing in her band. Toronto soured, the metal scene went stale, so to the west coast she went, seeking out new metal horizons! Through longtime friend Mark Gaudet, of Eric's Trip fame, she found a new rock accomplice in Nardwuor the Human Serviette and Mark "Kleinz" Kleiner, who are helping her put metal back on the map! The Metal Queen now hungers for the day when once again, down n' dirty metal- rock will rise again! " I That's my story. so far! I hope you enjoy the adventure you're about to embark on within itiese pages....! sure did! Rock n N&/^ Gill "Metal Queen" Grattan The editor of Metal Edge magazine and strong supporter of many struggling metal bands, Gerri Miller is a strong female force to be reckoned with in the rock world! Many bands were given their start in Metal Edge, and have Gerri to thank! She has always found a place in her magazine especially for the women of metal, who so often get overlooked in other publications. A toast to you, Gerri, for always believing and 10 successful years of Metal Edge! - Gill "Metal Queen" Grattan Nardwuar: Who are you? Gem Miller: I am the executive editor of Metal Edge magazine, Gem Miller. Congratulations on keeping metal alive. Well, I'm trying (laughs) It's tough...we just did our 10 year anniversary issue And the magazine is Metal Edge, and Metal Queen has a story about it and how it's hard keeping the spirit of metal alive... Metal Queen: Actually the local 7-11 by my house used to stock Metal Edge for the longest time, but then they stopped keeping it! Oh ! (alarmed) Why? Metal Queen: Probably because that kind of music wasn't in anymore, and so I specifically requested to get it in. And did they? Metal Queen: They did! They get three copies every month! And you buy one of them? Metal Queen:I always do! What exactly happened to the metal world Gerri? Why has Cinderella been told not to bother making a video for MTV? Well, first of all, Cinderella has now split up, honey so they aren't going to be making any videos. But MTV is a rather narrow minded entity, and it does what it wants. It decides ahead of time what it figures to be hip and happening, and if it decides that hard-rock is not going to be in that realm of possibility, then bands like Cinderella aren't going to get any airplay. They'll play the Pumpkins, but they won't play Cinderella? Well, it's this perception that things from the Eighties aren't cool. The drummer from Warrant, isn't he packing video boxes? And isn't Enuff Z'Nuff doing a club tour in Pittsburgh? And what about the guys from Bang Tango; aren't they antique dealers? What's happening here? Well, they have to survive. They have to do something. Some of these bands are either playing clubs or breaking up, so that's the way it is right now. Unfortunately, the only bands that MTV will touch that are hard rock and metal are the ones that are the real superstar acts - beyond the realm of being an eighties band, like Aerosmith. Van Halen and Kiss. What contributed to the decline of hard rock? Could this have been bands like Great White, W.A.S.P, Raven, Poison, White Lion and Trixter etc. maybe not being as creative as they could have been? LOCAL VANCOUVER METAL SCENE WHERE ARE TKEY NOW"' Club Soda - Starfish Room Nite Moves - Ripe Coconuts - Studebakers Rock Cellar - Fitness club Young Gun - 2 members now in DDT Rock A Motion - Sub shop Vertical Laughter - Vertical After Kiss Kiss n' Bang - Taste California Dreamin' - The Paradise Violet Addiction - Pawn shop The Metro Club - Burned down Pretty Boy Floyd - Tommy Floyd Maximum Blues Pub - The Gate Lunatic Fringe - Karaoke Bar Champagne Charlie's - Fred's Uptown Tavern Yeah, there was definitely a glut. What happened I think... part of the problem was that we had so many bands being signed in the wake of Guns and Roses and we had the whole clone mentality of record companies. The way that it has been now since Nirvana is everyone wants a clone of THAT band. When grunge started to happen it was "get me one of those!" so we had an overload of bands that maybe weren't top level. There were so many of them that I think it flooded the market. Metal Queen: I called the local record company for Poison and asked for the number for HK Management to try to get a Poison interview. And he laughed at me! He said "Poison? Are they still around"? I mean, this is the label that is representing them, and he just thought it was a joke! That's bad form. It doesn't matter how a record company feels about an act, they shouldn't be doing that. Metal Queen: Exactly! Mark: They suck, and you don't! (laughs) How quickly after 1991, the year punk broke, did other magazines like Rip and Kerrang, who were once strong competition for Metal Edge, and who now would never be caught dead with Poison, start dumping hard rock? QTxm Milder Editor of Metal Edge Magazine L to R - I-aul Stanley, Gerri Miller, Gene Simmons Pretty much right after that, because they were just afraid of being uncool or whatever. I think they've lost readership because of it. We've all lost readership actually. So your sales have gone down a bit. Have they levelled off? I'm not going to lie about that. It's a function of radio and MTV; by not playing the music, it's not ingrained in their brains. You have to really seek out Metal Edge. Like you Metal Queen, you have to be a die-hard fan of the music and of the magazine to want to keep up with it. Do you think metal is going to become the new underground? It kind of has become that. It goes in cycles. I'm preparing for another upswing, which I'm kind of hoping for! Did you notice things when you went on tour with bands? Like anything odd happening? Well, there were a lot of shenanigans in the beginning years, with bands like Poison and Ratt etc.... v, I doubt it o bring back d songs. All ne excellent Mark Kleiner: What's the ultimate LA sleaze story? It's so far in the past really! Mark: How about my story about Donnie Vie (Enuff Z'Nuff) Krazy Gluing a woman's genitalia because she pissed in his bed? Ewwwww...that's gross! I don't have any stories like that! They don't tell me stuff like that! Gerri, do you think glam will ever make a comeback? I can't say. I don't know if it would in that form. Right m this moment it is very doubtful. Do you have any suggestions about what people can d hard rock? That's a tough one. I think it's just going to come down to go it's going to take is one band with a monstrous album with sc music and some great hooks. Metal Queen: Like "Slippery When Wet" by Bon Jovi. Yeah, when that came out it was a monster album. You could n that album. Metal Queen: No. Everybody started getting good catchy metal songs and it just took off from there. It boils down to the songs. If we get some good songs and radio can't deny them that will bring it back around. Mark: People have the power! Is heavy partying with the rockers part of what you do? If you're talking about hanging out, yes I do because I do so to get my story. I don't smoke, drink or do drugs. I work. Do you find that there is an unusually high divorce rate among rockers? Sadly, yes. I would say that most of the industry weddings that I have been to, people have since broken up. It's very sad. Have you ever been romantically involved with anyone in the mag? No, that's the policy with me. I separate business from pleasure. Metal Queen: Do you find that difficult at times? Not really, because I've seen what getting involved with a musician does to girls. I prefer to be friends with them. Did you ever get the Def Leppard "Dik Likker" backstage boiler passes to you at all? (laughs) Oh no! I didn't even hear about that! Metal Queen: In their biography book Animal Instinct they mentioned in the "Pyromania" tour they had special passes known as "Dik Likker" which were reserved exclusively for the groupies. That's a common thing. Many bands used to do that, so that the crew would know where to direct them. Metal Queen: Lately the only female that I've seen in Metal Edge is Sean Yseult from White Zombie. You seem to really like her and focus on her. She seems to be one of the only women in metal! Yeah, she became pretty popular. She doesn't act like she's a girl in a band. She is accepted by fans as one of the guys. The only difference when they are on the road, is that she has a separate dressing room. Metal Queen: And that's the way to be if you're in a band. She is a good bass player, accepted by both the band and the fans. Gerri, could you give us your address for anyone that may want to send along a demo cassette? The New York address is: Metal Edge c/o Sterling McFadden ,233 Park Ave., New York, NY 10003. Email: mtledge@aol.com .That's also for letters if you want to submit something to Mailbag, Penpals or Music Exchange. Why should people care about Metal Edge? Because it's a great magazine and people can find out more about what's going on in one issue than anywhere else. Keep on rocking the free world! Doot doola doot doo Doot do! i and Nardwuar's interview with [ Rob Bruce of 'Canada's Guns 'n Roses' Slik Toxik came at an exceedingly difficult time in my personal life. This burgeoning obsession with all things pop metal had pushed my girl- | friend of six years out of my life for- *r. The awkward adjustment I was | making from mated to single was not □II unlike Slik Toxik's difficult Iransi- n from glam to grunge, an irony | not lost on more than one CiTR | /Discorder acolyte. Shortly after ihis srview, as with Cinderella, the group returned home and promptly broke up. - Mark Kleiner Nardwuar: Who are you? Rob Bruce: I'm the one of the guitar players for Slik Toxik, Rob Bruce. Rob, the new album totally kicks! Right on! Glad you like it! So what is Patrick Howarth up to? We're not really sure. Things didn't really work out with him. That's half the reason we're doing this interview with you. Patrick seemed to be totally crazy. Mark do you have something to address? Mark Kleiner: I heard he was a limousine driver now? (laughs) Yeah, there was a little bit of a limousine incident with Patrick (our old bass player). We were at a Juno party and I went out to the limo and crashed out because I was so tired. Pat came out a little later and proceeded to jump in the front seat and take it for a joyride at 1 20 miles per hour. He ended up taking out a couple of light poles and I ended up getting 15 stitches to the head. It was the ultimate rock and roll party) Actually, we don't really condone stuff like that.... Hey, come on it was fun at the moment wasn't it? Well no, it was pretty stupid to be honest with you (laughs) I'm being totally honest with you. It was really dumb. We're not really into tak- But the idea of partying in a limo at the Juno's, that's the ultimate Canadian Randy Bachman thing! It was cool. EMI supplied ihe limo to us. Thatwas a nice gesture but you know, certain people... Mark: I heard a rumor that you were considering changing your name to Slack Toxik. The Bullet Boys recently changed their name to Acid Monkey. Is this a sort of Generation X thing? (laughs) That's funny! That's absolutely a pile of rubbish. That's never 14 JULY 1996 Mark: The other rumor I heard was that Patrick Howarth is the brother of Todd Howarth, from Ace Frehley's "Frehley's Comet" NO NO! (Laughs) That's not true either! Have you ever heard of a girl named Bridget from Kitchener? I don't know. We meet a lot of people but I don't think so. Again, a wild rumor that somebody from Slik Toxik impregnated a girl from Kitchener. Oh, that's a rumor for sure. As far as I know... unless one of my bandmates is hiding it from me, and he's been at an abortion clinic...you know what I mean? How do girls get backstage at a Slik Toxik gig? That, you would have to ask our crew, (laughs) We usually have a bit of a get together backstage after the show. Sometimes it's wild and sometimes it's mellow. It just depends on what kind of mood the band is in. But how about some hints for the girls who are big Slik Toxik fans? Or guys, for that matter, and they want to get backstage to talk to you? Well, usually it's not too hard... I mean, garter belts? Ahh, cleavage is nice too, but that's kind of cliche. Beautiful women are beautiful women, but we like to meet everyone. Basically we're pretty mellow and we like to meet as many people as possible. If somebody wants to come backstage get a picture or somelhing and meet the band, we're usually pretty cool on that. Right on dudel What do you think about the Canadian scene? I've heard of Brighton Rock... I don't even know if lhat's happening anymore. Mark: Well , the singer apparently is now selling Mazdas in Toronto. Do you know the singer? (laughs) Yeah. Does it upset you when your record label drops you , and they sign something like "Moist"? (interrupts) Let me just correct you there. We did NOT get dropped. It was a mutual parting then? EMI Records offered us a nice gesture. We weren't seeing eye to eye, and we parted ways. Now we're happy and they're happy. You "partied" ways through the limousine. Yeah, we parted ways And that's the whole reason that we're doing the inter view, cuz you are incredibly cool... Rob of Slick Toxik...because you guys are incredibly cool. With that whole limousine trashing thing I meanl You're going back to the grassroots. You're getting into the punk. We're getting out there again and getting some fans. Yeah Markl You're trying to get your friend to go to this gig tonight aren't you? Mark: I've been calling up this girl to try to get her but she's been copping an attitude. I don't know her very well, but she is smokin'l Gotcha. Right on! Bring her out to the show! Slik Toxik will blow your doors off! Mark: Do I call her from the club and say I'm with you backstage, and say I don't need her? Ahh...I don't know about that... that could be kind of cheese too...you know , girls just usually like real people man...just be yourself, and she'll come after you, I'm sure! Are people coming up to you on this tour and saying "I don't want to see you glam guys" I don't think so. With our new album and they way we look, we couldn't be any more real than we are now. If people don't like us, then oh well. I can totally dig where you're coming from. Rob, have you ever gotten into a fight on-stage, or with members of the audience? Has anyone ever been killed at one of your shows? No, not yet. Close to it ihough! We just played in Kelowna and it was a pretty scary scene there. The audience was pretty hostile. There were five or six fights in the audience. Are you ready to sell out? If you were going to get the money and the big deal would you be ready to compromise your sound and move it towards punk? We're not punk, and we would never sell out. You wouldn't do punk at all? Not even a tiny bit? You know, get a bit more thrash. A mohawk? Safety pins maybe? No. No, that's jumping on a bandwagon. That's not who I am and it's not who this band is. Like I said before, everything about us is totally real. If I offered you 10 grams of coke, would you take it? No I wouldn't! Why? Just checking. That's a pretty stupid question. Well alightl Keep on rocking in the free world! Right on! So I'll stick you guys on the guest list for tonight? Yeah! But why should people care about Slik Toxik? Because we're a good band, and we try hard. We rock! And you're not punk are you? No, we're not punk. I don't think you can really give us a label. Mark: You're Slik Toxikl We're Slick Toxic Doot doola doot doo doot doo 9 Quickie roith Cinderella *zz& Nardwuar: Did your record company tell you to cut your hair and change your name at all? Eric B.: (laughs) Actually, one person from the company who is no longer there by the way, did say that! And MTV told you not to even bother making a video because they weren't going to play it no matter what? Flat out! Before they even heard the album! 10 million records you've sold and they tell you not to bother to make a video?! Yeah, I know, I know as far as singles, we've had hits on probably at least 12, which isn't too shabby. I don't want to sound like an egotist here, but this band has done really well, and well for that MTV, and without ever hearing our album, they pass judgment! It's so unfair! They've done it to other bands as well? Oh yeah, I've heard that they've done it to Tesla, Jackyl, Motley Crue...all these bands...they just said "don't even bother"! Thejani Lane who called in to CiTR from Louisville, Kentucky was a considerably toned down version of the man who had married his "Cherry Pie" girl, only to have her walk out on him for Arsenio Hall. Today, only three of the five members remain from Warrant's glory days; ex-drummer Steven Sweet is still active, entertaining in San Fernando coffee houses wilh his older brother, while Joey Allen is busying himself at a California technical college in pursuit of a computer studies degree. But for Jani, Erik and Jerry, as well as new members Rick and Bobby, the party continues... -Marie Kleiner Nardwuar: Who are you? Jani Lane: Who are I? That's kind of an interesting question! (laughs) Where were you Jani, when you first heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? (laughs) In a car, driving down Melrose Blvd.! You've obviously done your homework! Yeah, what happened? Were you "Green Day" with envy? (laughs) Ahhh another one lhat's gonna get into the alternative talk here! Well, no, not really! You know, music takes changes over the years and when I first heard that song, it was just somelhing where you could smell ihe change in the air! So looking back at what happened with Warrant, did you have any problems just before you left the band? Because Slash recently said in Rolling Stone, "everyone has good rock stories...except Warrant!" Well I think everyone just likes to be controversial! But no, nothing with the band it was just more myself, not the band! Why did MTV call the "Dog Eat Dog" tour, the flop of the year? Why did they do that? (laughs) Well I don't know! Maybe it was because of the Hme that we went out, obviously there was a big change in the market. You saw it with a lot of bands, only we were coming off a brand new release, and when we were starting the "Dog Eat Dog" tour, touring was in a big decline and we were with some of the big boys like Motley Crue, Whitesnake but if you notice, they weren't going out with new albums right then, and we were. You notice how Motley Crue isn't playing ifie larger venues hopefully they'll get back to that, you know, lhat's what I want to see! Has the humor, tongue in cheek, you know, sex shit, been thrown out the window as you alluded to in "Cherry Pie" video? Like, are you still the horniest band in rock n' roll? Oh sure! Beer and tits every night! It's rock and roll, it's a porty! So do you still have those t-shirts, "Muff Divers Union, Local 101"? (laughs) No we've kind of calmed down a bit in terms of the merchandise. So fans of Warrant will be happy to know the novelty of sex and money has NOT worn off! Oh, of course not! It will never! It will never! Is Warrant, still then, a tour bus through an x-rated Disneyland? Oh yeah! There we go! Perfect! Mark: I know a girl named Heather who partied with you at the Limelight recently, and she was saying that fans would pay up to $100.00 to get backstage and party! Is this true? (gasps...amazed) No! We played there about 2 months ago if it is, it's nothing we know about! I mean, that's kind of ridiculous! Mark: They're not cutting you in! They pay $1 00.00 per ticket in Japan, but I can't see it here! Jani, what is your ex-drummer, Steven Sweet up to these days? Ummmm I'm not really sure to be honest. I've heard he was packing video boxes?! Yeah, it has somelhing to do with shipping, but I'm not really sure. Would you guys ever go punk? No! Actually, we're thinking about going glam (laughs) but I don't think lhat's gonna happen! You'd never go punk? Just punk it up a tiny bit? No! No! Why change why Iry to fix something that's already fixed?! How about tips for getting backstage so that people don't have to pay $100,001! (laughs) That could get pretty x-rated!Well, getting to be real good friends with the road crew that'll always score extra points What catches your eye? Well, beautiful women always catch my eye! So lhat's one easy solution to that! How about if you're a guy, like myself, and a big Warrant fan, and not too beautiful, and want to get backstage? (laughs) Well, sometimes lhat's just it! Why should people care about Warrant now? Cuz it's a killer show live! Mark: Rock Kentucky for us, eh, Jani?! We will!! 15 &[£&&$&. In the dirty world of rock n' roll, someone has to put the "dirt" in DIRTY....and those people we celebrate...the groupies! Ms. Rockett is one of my best friends and won't take shit from anyone no matter how long his hair is! This is a woman of strength and straightforwardness, who is willing to admit that the power of a backstage pass gets her hot, and the lure of a big hair band makes her rock! Without groupies, many metal bands would not have the party, bad boy attitude that they are known for! - Gill "Metal Queen" Grattan Nardwuar: Who are you? Ms. Rockett I guess I'm nobody you'll be sleeping with, unless you have long hair and a record deal! How did you get into this? I remember a friend of mine was bragging because she met Gowan, of all people, and I was jealous that she met someone famous. I just thought I better start meeting famous people myself, and that's how I got started. Who was your first conquest.....the first rock n'roll sleeping adventure you got involved with? And what do you think of being called a groupie? Does this bother you? Well, groupie has a lot of negative connotations to it actually, but it has a much worse connotation to it now then when I was wild about it. The name doesn't generally bother me because I know it's in jest! So when did all this start? When I was sixteen years old. I met a friend who took me to a concert where I met the Metal Queen, and she helped corrupt me. Metal Queen: Metal Queen corrupts ALL! Metal Queen, what exactly did you bring the groupie to do? Metal Queen: I handed her over on a silver platter. She was using me as bait to get into a show. "Give me a pass my friend will screw whoever'(laughter) But I was too realize thatwas what she was doing at the time. Was it at Foundations Forum '91 where you laid your first egg so to speak? That's where I lost my virginity! Who was it to? Was it memorable? No it wasn't memorable. He was Was it the guy from the Killer Dwarfs? God no! Why, does somebody in the Killer Dwarfs have a small one? Olher than Darrell? No, his name was Dirty Dee. He for a band called Charade. How have you been treated? Don't the bands treat you like shit? Don't they bang you around? Aren't they total sloths to you? Why are you a groupie of metal music? The bands aren't nasty to you. They're nice to you. They want you to suck their dicks! But, if you happen to show up in a city where their girlfriends are, then they treat you like shit. Why do you go through with that? Isn't it kind of dangerous doing that? Dating guys that are married and stuff? Well, you don't necessarily date ihem. It's just more for the high. You get to walk around and say, "Yeah, this is the guy I'm fucking. This is my backstage pass! Na na na na na!" What sort of perks do you get? Well, you get to walk around and there are 600 other girls who want to be doing the guy lhat you're doing. You get a laminate and you think you're hot shit and you get tons of free stuff. So it's the laminate, the free pass... it's not the guys cock . then? By no means! It's the guys record deal, his I band and his popularity that does it for you. I Ms. Rockett, how exactly do you know Slik Toxik? You don't want to know. I know them very well. I met the guitarist Kevin Gale in a | bar and I ended up dating him for a year a half. I We were interviewing Rob Bruce j from Slik Toxik and we asked him if any member of the band had impregnated any girls. This was a rumor we had heard. He denied this and you were INDEED impregnated by a member of Slik Toxik! I have the guitar players Kevin Gale's baby. Yes I do! What are the circumstances surrounding that impregnation? Nobody in the band really knew I was dating Kevin be engaged at the time and the only reason I dated hii record deal, famous guy bit. That sort of thing. Anyway, I got pregnant and Kevin didn't tell anybody about the baby because he didn't want his fiancee to find out. So you have THE Slik Toxik baby! I have the Slik Toxik baby and Kevin pays the child support. And Kevin has never even seen his own child? Never seen him except in a photo. What does it feel like to have a Slik Toxik baby? It feels like shit because he's a fucking asshole! He sends his child support every month and that's about it he offers no support otherwise! I have a box wilh his Juno Award and his sealed albums, t-shirts, and tons of photos, magazine clippings and stuff I can give to my son and say, this is your father! I would prefer for him to be involved but at the same time he's not, so ihere's nothing I can do about it! Metal queen: Slik Toxik are definitely no more, is this true? Definitely! Kevin is a security guard! Nick broke up with his wife and dates a stripper, as does Rob Bruce. They live together and Nick was just in a Molson commercial! Neil is managing a theatre. You went on tour with Roxy Blue, Wlldside, and Babylon AD? What was it like to go on tour with a band in that era? cool. You get to 3t whatever you * 91/92 wh« travel on the want. Everything because you have to people and doing laundry on the road sucks. What do you think about the changes that have happened in M.E.A.T. magazine? No it's called A.R.M. It's changed from the metal focus to the alternative. What do you think of bands changing that format? Mike Tramp, of White Lion now has a mohawk. I think Drew Masters and Mike Tramp are real big sellouts. If they really cared about metal music ihen they would still be dedicated to that. All they care about is money and popularity. Are you still cruising the metal scene at all? I understand you're kind of on the alternative tip yourself! Well, it's not a matter of not cruising the metal scene... ... have you gone punk? I haven't necessarily gone punk. Right now I'm really into Pennywise and I guess they're pretty punkish. That's a big change isn't it...going from Poison to Pennywise? I'd still prefer to listen to Poison, its just that Poison doesn't have any product out there! I supported ihem on their "Native Tongue" tour but nobody else did! But you've sold out in a way yourself, haven't you? Haven't you gone punk? It's not that I've sold out I'd prefer to listen to metal, its just not available to me. One of the bands I've been hanging out with lately is Tripping Daisy, and the only reason is because I'm slill doing the band thing, but the metal bands aren't out there! How does it compare being a groupie on the scene with metal bands to the new breed of alternative bands on the road? How do you compare the life of the bands? I personally think the alternative bands are a lot more disgusting! The guitar player from Tripping Daisy doesn't bathe at all on the road... so I guess ihe metal guys were a little more concerned with their appearance, and hygienically lhat was preferable! Also, the metal guys are a little ruder, like "we're cool, we're famous, we can be assholes!" But how about in sense of "dirtiness", are the alter-l native guys as "dirty" or women craving as thei metal guys? No, actually I find the alternative guys would rather do drugs lhani women! Is that the downfall of groupiedom in the '90's? It definitely makes it harder! Its harder to get backstage nowc days then it was. Sure, the roadies will give you passes if yo blow them, but you don't want to blow them....you want to blov a guy in the band! How do you get backstage at a gig? I personally pride myself on ihe fact that I've never had to do any-1 thing with a roadie, because lhat's sort of beneath you! You don'tB want to be with the roadies, you want to be ihe band...the prize! Like I wilh the metal bands, if you say to a roadie, "hey, tell Jani Lane of I Warrant I want to suck his dick!", they'd go tell him and he sends out I a pass for you because he wants you to do it! The alternative guys are I more like, "Hey tell Eddie Vedder I want to suck his dick", and they'll H tell you Eddie doesn't care, he's drunk in a corner somewhere! Have any of your friends had to do any of the roadies I and do nasty, disgusting things to get backstage? Actually, I have one friend who blew 8 Whitesnake roadies row! That's a lot of dick! 8 Whitesnake roadies! That is amazing! And those roadies were pretty gross! I also have a friend who did all [ 6 of the London Quireboys in a row! Wait....what happened here?! She went on their tour bus wilh Nigel, and she was having s< him, and the singer, Spike walked by. He said, "Hey, she's cute, 11 want to do her when you're done!" So he took his turn, and it I like that through the whole band! She didn't get I off the couch for 2 hours! How is she doing now? ■he's fine....actually Iggy Pop s the last guy she slept wilh! Are you the number one metal groupie in Canada? By no means! Metal Queen and I have a mutual friend, Tavie, and she's slept with at least 300 people! She must be the queen then! She is! She's just not very picky.....she'll do anybody who gives her attention! Of all the metal people, who put out the best? Ron from Babylon AD was pretty good but ** from Slik Toxik was phenomenal in bed! H< dick....he really can't go wrong with lhat! He doesn't have to do | much but lay there! Does he have the biggest dick in metal? I'd have to say it's the biggest dick I've seen, yeah! Although, Rikki Rockett, the love of my life, is supposedly very well endowed! And I plan to find out!! What would you like people to think about when they think about metal from 80's? How do you defend the big hair bands? All f think is that they were a lot of fun! They never tried to save the world they were just out there to rock and roll! What does it take to get invited backstage? Big breasts...small outfit! Nowadays you have to know somebody ihough you don't get "invited" backstage! At a Poison concert the guys had a laser gun that they shot at girls they wanted to have brought backstage! They'd shoot and the roadie would go give the girl a pass! I hear Metallica is bad too....they get their roadies to see which girl will be the most disgusting for a pass! What was some of the things they had to do? One girlfriend of mine had to shove drumsticks up her crotch and another girl had to lick a roadies balls! I didn't want to go backstage THAT bad, but I got a pass anyway, and I didn't have to lick anybody's anything! So this is what happens to a metal groupie? Any advice for groupies of the 90's? Don't have sex without a condom! As long as you realize its all a show, lies, and totally fake, wilh everyone being phony as hell, then you'll be fine! The music industry is a tough place....as long as you take it easy and accept it for nothing more, then its fine! Are you going to keep on being a groupie? Can we look for you in a backstage soon? Yeah, sure you can! I had to recover after having the baby, but now its time to get back into it! Look for me backstage!! Rock onl Yeah, bye! 16 JULY 1996 ■vilh standout tracks like "Horny ig One" and the rap opus "Yeah, :ouplet "You went from L.A. Guns vith Poison on the back of the I They may not have been the I biggest, they certainly weren't the I best, but Danger Danger were I probably the sleaziest glam band e for itself at the lum . | of the decade. No true fan of the should be without Screw It, I Danger Danger's sophomore effort, Son of A Bitch", "Slipped Her the B You Want It" wilh its unforgettable I to Enuff Z'Nuff/And you partied I bus'. First generation members Bruno Ravel and Steve West teamed I up with Canadian Paul Laine (who once sold shares in himself early ' is solo career) on "Dawn", the latest Danger Danger effort that es sexual entendre for themes of despair and alienation. But I enough of that- let's talk about the good times! -Mark Kleiner I Nardwuar: Who are you? I Bruno Ravel: (laughs) Who am I? I You are the Doctor! I I am the Doctor of Hell! That's me! (laughs) I You are Bruno Ravel of Danger Danger! I That's me! So, who am I...what kind of question is that? I So how the hell are ya? erything's cool. It's been a long time since we've had a I record out or had anything going on... I And you are Danger Danger! I For lack of a better name...yeah! I (laughter) I How do people regard Danger Danger? How do they I regard your band when they think of Danger Danger? I What do they think of? I Well, not too good! (laughs) Not too well! (laughs) It's weird...our are totally loyal, and they love us to death and they think s the greatest, and then the people who aren't in tune with it Ihink we're a joke. • Who is that? Who exactly thinks you're a joke? Because LA Guns think they are the only ones left. They didn't even mention Danger Danger. Well, there's a few of us left. There's Slaughter and Warrant... Metal Queen kind of regards you as the second tier of metal. You know, the underdogs. But Mark was there j to convince her otherwise. Mark Kleiner: You guys took it way ! further. I'm actually wearing my "California Cocktail Club" muscle shirt. What I'm saying is, you guys » the best pin-up band with the best shirts... I Well, thanks man. I appreciate that. I Mark: Do you guys still wear those muscle tees at all? | Not really, which is strange, because the "Danger Danger" lhat's d now is really a different band. The only thing lhat ties the two I together are Steve (West) and I and the fact that we like melodic songs and that we like playing the older material when we go play. I Because you guys had the craziest muscle T-shirts. I We had the good shirts didn't we? I Did any other band rival Danger Danger for most ridicu- | lous muscle T-shirt collection? 't think so. I What were some of your titles? "' len use condoms or beat it!" I actually had a Headpins shirt that is great. It said in small "All I need is a little" and then "Head" in I big letters, (laughs) We had a lot of "Blow me" shirts. Those were 'unny man. When I see a picture of myself wearing one of those .hirts I die laughing. We had a shirt that said "Cheerleaders take it n the ass" (laughter) Yeah, we were really rude back then. I Metal Queen: The dirty dogs of rock n'roll! I Actually, lhat's it! When we were putting the band together, we were **, fuck man, we're not drug addicts, we're not alcoholics, we like I sex! So, that was kind of our thing! I You're Danger Danger! So what's up nowadays Dr. I Ravel? Why are you wearing all this skater wear? I You're not Silverchair! You're Danger Danger! Where's I you muscle tees? I Well, this is true now but you have to realize lhat we're definitely I not bandwagon jumpers but at the same time I don't want to be a I dinosaur Even if I wasn't playing in a band, I'd still be dressing cur- I rent. You have to live in the present. I On "Donahue" recently there was a woman who was I talking about getting some of here tattoos touched up. I Oh, I know her! 1 Including, getting a "Bon Jovi" tattoo touched up....but she I was getting one tattoo removed though -which was a... I (Sadly) ....Danger Danger, (laughs) I Yeah, why was she getting a Danger Danger tattoo I removed? nt #yfafrt^ft_#/.# # That girl is a nut! She's from Florida, and it was think she had a Danger Danger logo on her ass. Mark: Did she get it during the "Screw it" recording sessions? No, she got it actually on the first album. She didn't even know us. She was in love with Ted (Poley) and she got his face next to the logo and then he blew her off. That's kind of embarrassing though... on nationwide TV here is somebody talking about removing a Danger ;s right? I Believe me, that's mild compared to some of the stuff lhat's been thrown at us. What exactly was thrown at you? We thought we were going to escape the clutches of Beavis and Butthead and we ended up on the best Beavis and Butthead episode of all time, which is the "Cornholio" episode. It's infamous, Mark: Which video is it? It's "Naughty Naughty". They don't go off on us too bad. I thought it was funny, I mean, compared to what they say about "Skid Row", "Poison" and "Winger", it was mild. They didn't even men- What is the Danger Danger stigma? Any band that released an album between 1987 and 1991 is now blacklisted. I don't know if you realize lhat, but even Motley Crue it happened to them. You can't get on the radio, you can't get on MTV, I don't know about MuchMusic, but you can't open a door here if you had anything to do with the so-called "Hair Band" era. Metal Queen:lt's the same with MuchMsic. The only time they play them is on request hour and they make jokes about it. Right. So you give people your demo and they find out what you were in and they don't want to sign you? That's horrible. That's the way it goes. You eilher have to deal with it and move on or just give up. e as far as image goe e a little baggier but I' She kept the band alive. Really? She is solely responsible for breaking us I think. Can you please give us a taste of why Danger Danger was THE party band of the late '80s and continue to party today? Give us the wildest ultimate sleaze story. Metal Queen: The baddest backstage story you can think of You are the guys that wrote in your liner notes "Send lots of naked pictures of girls only" All I can say is if you don't understand what our partying is all about all you have to do is come down to a show and see us play. Even ihough times have changed we still party as hard as we used to. I don't know how to put it but we definitely had a thing for the ladies and they were just always there. It was just one party after another. Girls flying all over the place. Metal Queen: What was something a girl had to do to get backstage? What was one of the big Danger Danger requirements? Nothing, she just has to have a pulse. Pretty much just show up. Have a pulse?!? There was stuff happening where girls would come down with their mothers and their mothers would be pushing their underage daughters to "hang out wilh him..he's cute" so there was a lot of nutty stuff going on. So this tour in the '90s...how are things different? Are those same people coming back claiming children? Did you father any children? Hopefully not. Are you married? No thank god, although I would get married if I found the right girl. We definitely have fun on the road. We go hog wild. Of course we're careful, we don't want diseases or anything but we really go nuts. Would you go punk? No....no you see that's where I draw the Ii I mean, I might wear a pair of pants that c not going to try to be something I'm not. Because Mike Tramp of White Lion now has a mohawk. Again, you could start chasing your tail and you'll just keep doing it for life. Me, I'm not ashamed of anything lhat happened wilh Danger Danger, even the "Bang Bang" and "Naughty Naughty"...everyone makes fun of that but I don't give a shit. We do what we do and there's a lot of bands that wish they could write songs that good so I have no regrets about anything. Are you "Green Day with envy"? No. Not at all. To be honest with you I like a lot of the new stuff. I don't hate what's going on now. Well you said you wished it was 1989 again. Well, just so it would be easier for us to get out there. It's a constant struggle. Metal Queen: Danger Danger are now the underground. It's not even the underground it's more a new generation. I'm not going to say it's underground because there are still alot of people that..I always ask myself what happened to the six million people lhat bought the "Unskinny Bop" Poison Album. Where did they go? Or what happened to the six million people that bought "Screw it"? (laughs) I wish. On your most recent tour, you connected with the fans quite a bit I imagine because you "The Doctor" and Steve West were THE party patrol. You were everywhere. (laughter) Mark: You were everywhere! At every photo shoot! Metal Queen: You took over Metal Edge and everything just rocked with your names on it. To quote "To all our female friends who have worn the load..stay sticky!" Oh my God! That's funny! Mark: That's hot! The hair on the bock of my neck just stood straight up. Did you ever let Ginger Lynn wear the load? Oh...I can't say that! Well how about Gerri Miller of Metal Edge? No Gerri is the best. She is great, .just a dear friend from New York. When the magazine started to take off we were in the thick of things and she loved us because actually we didn't grow up far from where she did so we had lots in common. She was like our den mother. ould play. As far as the old band ■ally should have been the lead What exactly do you guys do? What does "Go nuts" mean? Oh you know, multiple orgies. Steve and I were actually in competition to see how many girls we could be with in one night. What was the record? It was 6. Steve and I were tied. And was this at an orgy? No, this was just every night we goes, Steve got the most. He ai Mark: The drummer gets the most chicks? That's SO reverse! Well, it's because he looks like a singer and he acts more like a singer lhan Ted did. Steve definitely has a great attitude. After Steve it was Ted, and after that it was me. When you were partying with Enuff Z'Nuff did you ever partake in any orgies with them? Were you ever rolling around and suddenly you just clasp onto Chip Z'Nuff's rod? Not with Enuff Z'Nuff no. They're a little strange like that. They don't like share Anything else you would like to add Bruno? Be looking for our new album. It will be out in June and look for us on tour. Make sure you come down. Why should people care about Danger Danger? Because we rock. We're one of the few bands left that know how to do it right. Stay sticky! i7 BSg^esrsas Oh no! So you don't have your own castle? I'm into old buildings and castles. I belong to the English heritage so I go around looking at old buildings and caslles and all that stuff. Your drummer, McBrain, he looks pretty crazy doesn't he? He has a pretty crazy look! Yeah, he's not well. Did he ever break his nose? Yeah, a couple of times, he had it broken for him. What is it like having groupies? Do you have many groupies in Iron Maiden Steve? Well, our audience is ninety five percent guys, so we don't get too many of them, I must admit. How do fans make it backstage if they want to meet Iron Maiden? You would have to ask the road crew that one. Have you ever succumbed to any temptation at alt? Well, if I did, I wouldn't tell you would I? I first saw Iron Maiden live in Moncton in 1988, but little did I know when I saw them then, that in 1992, in Toronto, I would get a rare glimpse into a more "personal" side of this band! Namely, with bassist Steve Harris. In March/96 Nardwuar and I were able to have the pleasure of interviewing Steve one more special "one on one" moment with the bass god after the unfortunately cancelled Vancouver show! - Gill "Metal Queen" Grattan Nardwuar: Who are you? Steve Harris: I'm Steve Harris of Iron Maiden You're Steve Harris from Iron Maiden! Steve, what happened the other day? We were looking forward to the gig big time! Yeah, we were looking forward to it as well. It's a bit depressing really, but we played in Seattle and Blaze's voice was really shot so we had him checked out straight away after the show and he has laryngitis and bronchitis so....I mean...we've all been ill for a little while on and off, but obviously ihe rest of us can kind of get through that sort of thing but the voice is his instrument and that was it. He was told to rest for ten days so it's unfortunate but we've had to cancel eight sold-out shows...a real pain. How is "Eddie" doing these days? Is he fitting intoj things? Well, he's not fitting into the gigs we've been doing in the States! and Canada...we've actually used him in Montreal and Quebec! because they were bigger venues, but then we shipped him off toj Japan because we couldn't physically fit him in to a lot of the shows we were doing after that. But yeah, maybe next time we come back we'll be able to use him here again. What's it like to be without without Eddie after being together for all those years? Well you know , there's enough guys in the band who are ugly enough, so we can get by without him. How do you deal with people who say, "I can't listen to Maiden unless it's Bruce!" How do you deal with those fanatical fans that won't give your new singer Blaze a chance? Ahh, we haven't really had too much of lhat to be honest with you and anybody who has come to a show thinking that, I think within the first 3 or 4 songs ,they've changed their mind anyway. What exactly did Capitol Records do to you? Didn't they (laughs) say, "No Bruce, good-bye!" And this is after you've sold Well actually, Metal Queen has a little story on that., like 40 million records for them. They're real assholes Metal Queen:l don't know if I should share this ornoi for dumping you guys in the Maiden! know....this is kind of personal info... You could get into trouble here! Metal Queen: I could get YOU into a little bit of trouble! No, not me! That's okay..you're talking to Canada! Go ahead Metal Queenl Can't get me into ble...l'm divorced! Metal Queen: Well...(impressed) Really?!? Well, you were married when I was there so I wasn't sure. Anyway, I was on the bus, drinking, talking, hanging out and we got a little cozy! (laughs) And let's just say that Metal Queen is now a # 1 Iron Maiden fan! (laughs) So thanks, you've really given the Metal Queen a special intimate moment together. There's a picture of you two (laughs) Metal Queen: Yeah, I have my Polaroid. Well, if you've got a Polaroid, you had better send it to The Sun in England, and they'll print it! Metal Queen: (laughs) They'll print anything! Yeah! Thanks very much for your time today Steve. Why should people care about Iron Maiden moving on to the year 2000? A very good question. Maybe you should ask our fans. f Keep on rocking the free world [ Steve. Doot doola doot doo... Dodo.... Actually, you've got it completely wrong. We actually bought ourselves out of the contract. They didn't dump us at all We're still with EMI in the rest of the world... and with Capitol, we just didn't want to stay wilh a company that didn't believe in us anymore. Steve, do you have any money after buying yourself out of the contract? I mean, are you still rich? Are you doing okay? Personally I mean? Well, not really, because I've just come through o divorce...(laughs) No, I'm not doing it because of the money. I love playing, otherwise I would have given up doing it long ago. Would you ever sell out and go punk? No, no, definitely not. Because a lot of bands these days are jumping on the punk bandwagon. But you would never go punk would you? No, we just do what we do. We've got the best collection of songs at any given time, and people will take us or leave us for what we are. Our attitude is the same as it was fifteen years ago when we first came over. Maiden will never die will it? Well, it will only die when we decide to lay down and die! You were never glam were you? Were Iron Maiden ever glam? No, I don't think so, not really. We were never into the make-up and all lhat kind of stuff. You were METAL M.E.T.A.L! METAL! You guys were kind of older and wiser than the rest of the bands. You were real metal weren't you? Well, I don't know what we are. We just do what we do. We don't analyze it like you do. Do you guys still wear Spandex at all? Only when we get out of bed, but not on stage anymore. When did that stop? I don't know really, when we grew out of them I suppose. Probably got too big for them! I split the seams and stuff, (laughs) I don't know, I suppose I'd lop it all off if I got fed up with it really. But I don't think it's necessary. Metal Queen, you love long hair don't you? Metal Queen: Ohhhh long hair ROCKS! That's awesome! It's not really the hair that makes the band, it's the BAND that makes the band... ....yeah, it's the BAND that makes the HAIR! (laughs) Metal Queen: It looks great! When I think of Iron Maiden I kind of still think of that pageboys medieval haircut thing. Do you collect anything ancient like swords or castles? Yeah, I've got a few castles and few swords..yeah. Really, please, elaborate! (V but Steve let me say thank you for a very charming evening in Toronto about four years agol (laughter) Metal Queen: I don't want to put you on the spot here but- Well, you didn't give me your phone number so....(laughs) Metal Queen: You invited me to Cleveland, but I had to decline unfortunately, but thanks very much for a nice evening. I always wanted to tell you! That's quite alright. I don't remember it, but that's quite alright. Metal Queen: I didn't think so, that's the hardest part about it. Metal Queen did get to see your bus though. Metal Queen: Yeah, we sat on the bus (my girlfriend and I) with you and some of your road crew, and I guy named Tony... he was the photographer for you? Oh, Tony Matcham probably! Metal Queen: Yeah, we were having a great time charting, hanging out; it was groat. How did you get backstage Metal Queen? Metal Queen: Well, the thing is, one of your road crew came up and asked my girlfriend and I... ... there you go, see I told you ,it was the road crew. Metal Queen: He invited us onto the bus, and we obliged! And you got on the bus Metal Queen...okay, contin- Metal Queen: (laughs) I don't know how far we should go with this...I don't mm m® b&§> totDi YOU ARE A (Check one): __ BAND/MUSICIAN _PR0M0TER _REC0RD LABEL/DISTRIBUTOR LIVE MUSIC VENUE _MANAGER/AGENT_STUDIO_OTHER (elaborate below) NAME: "'A ' ' -; ? DESCRIPTION (15 words or less): CONTACT(S): ADDRESSES). PHONE: EMAIL: _ FAX:. URL- FILL THIS OUT AND MAIL/FAX IT TO US BEFOREJuly 15, 1996 233-6138 SUB Blvd., Vancouver, BC V6T1Z1 fax:(604)822-9364 18 JULY 1996 PERRYSCOPE PRESENT OSBQVRNE vith special guests ■fcl-i-ei^aiav? MONDAY JULY 29 GENERAL MOTORS PLACE TICKETS FOR THE JUNE 6 SHOW WILL BE HONOURED O M O N SUNDAY AUGUST4I; GENERAL MOTORS PLACE I J DOORS 6:30PM SHOW 7:30PM I G spi DEAD CAN DANCE WEDNESDAY ADGDST 7 the orpheum theatre 1^951 8pm show (MSffii; S T A ard the retrospective on the big videc screens showcasing all of Ozzy': and shows with the late grea Randy Rhodes. After aboul five minutes of this visual feast, Ozzy took the stage to the tune of 16,000 screaming fans and 1 5,999 lighters. Ozzy looked like a grandad compared to his three young and buff studio musicians alongside him. After hobbling back and forth on the slage, waving his arms and shouting "I can't hear you," and "The crazier you go, the crazier I go!" he cooked up a reol blizzard with "Paranoid," complete with fractal visuals flashing on the screens Next, Ozzy kept the crazy train rollin' wilh "I Don't Know " Near the end of the song, Ozzy started to lose his voice and I started to sing "Goodbye to Romance," a cheap ballad which allowed the crowd to sway their orms. Suddenly, Ozzy slipped backstage, as we were left with these three unknown souls playing the same chords over ond over again. Was Ozzy scared of flying beer bottles again? Not the case, Ozzy's old vocal chords just couldn't booed the tattooed dancer as the house lights went on. Outside, the war pigs were barking at the moon with their big hair and smoking the sweat leaf as they chanted "Ozzy! Ozzy!" and eagerly awaited his return in the afterlife. Longhaul TRISTAN PSIONIC READYMADE SIANSPHERIC GAZE Saturday, June 8th Anza Club The evening began with a quiet and honest performance by occasional m.stake didn't take away from their catchy tunes. Following Gaze was Sonic Unyon's Sianspheric, who blasted themselves away with heavy music from outer space Det, singer-i Sianspheric managed to have a really complicated, loud sound thot still seemed tedious. Most of the crowd seemed to have come to see the recent Shindig winners, Readymade. By packed and the free President's Choice ripple chips were all washed down Some audience members loosened up and braved their hip haircuts onto the dance floor Readymade put on a multi-media performance, adding slides of war scenes ond olher images to their energetic soundtrack When they were told to finish off their set with one lasl song, they rebelled and managed to make the song last over sixteen minutes. Finally, Hamilton's Tristan Psionic were up, and their raw, powered bassist nearly killed one of her bandmotes as she rocked out. Tristan Psionic put on a good live show, exceeding expectations from listening to their new CD, TPA flight 028. Namiko Kummoto QUEERS SMUGGLERS HI-FIVES Saturday, June 15 Seylynn Hall You're 17-years-old, stuck in North Vancouver, and from outta nowhere comes an all-ages show feoturing The Hi-Fives, Smugglers, ond the Queers. You spike your hair and thank your fairy- godmother as you ride your board to the show. There were heaps of the aforementioned grateful youth al the Mint/Lookout Records gig in ordinarily lame North Van. The Hi-Fives (from Berkeley) hit the stage hard, arm flailing, legs stomping, and the kids went nuts — understandably so. These guys rock. Simple beats and just- having-fun-being-young-and-mis- erable lyrics (check out Welcome to My Mind] joined lo bring us a crazy surf-punk type of vibe. In other words, their music made me wanna do crazy things. By the time the Smugglers came on stage, the high school gym atmosphere of Seylynn Hall was a thing of the past. The sons of West Von delivered in spades, rockin' the crowd in an all too short set with "She ain't no Egyptian" and "Especially You". Nope, they didn't strike me as all lhat original, but their music is more than just a little catchy and they put on a great live performance In fact, both Ihe Hi-Fives and Smugglers are quite tive with the audience. The Queers offered pure form of punk. Totally unadulterated. Unfortunately, they don'l seem to want to have anything to do with the audience, which was a shame. What a waste of an intimate venue. Their songs bob between the angry and not- so-angry categories, but the New Hampshire group definitely exude buttloads of energy with "High School Psychopath II" and "This Place Sucks." Catch any of these three bands if you get the chance — they're worth it. Especially the Hi-Fives. Dorothy Parvaz VELOCITY GIRL FUZZY Thursday, June 13 Town Pump Even though Velocity Girl is currently touring to promote their new album. Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts, their sel at the Town Pump consisted mostly of songs off their previous release, Simpatico. Judging by the crowd's reaction lo the old male- rial, thot was fine with everyone anyway. Granted, Gilded Stars has just been released, but from first impressions, the new songs don't have the same vim and seem lo indicate that ihe group has moved into a mo As Velocity Girl are a shoe- gazing band, I wasn't surprised at the lack of excitement in their sel this evening, but ihey seemed particularly low on energy. I guess the bottom line is that ihey managed lo entertain, bul this was because of the material that ihey chose lo play. Opening band Fuzzy, from Boston, proved lo be a worthwhile group lo catch. Their sound is a combination of really good pop songwriting and vocals rounded out by strong inslrumen- tals. The band is fronted by two women who know how to rock, and the excellent songs off their first full-length, Electric Juices , translate well in conert, as they are as catchy and enjoyable live as they are recorded. Andrea Gin PHENOTONE TICKERTAPE PARADE THE SECRET THREE WAVESTATION PORT NOISE COMPLAINT SCOTIA (MYSTERY GUEST) Wednesday, June 19 Starfish Room As the mystery guests were setting up, I was delighted to see a young duo, o gal playing acoustic guitar and ihe occasional keyboard bits and a guy playing pretty lead parts (save for the cn- entice the audience in this intimate setting. I could probably write this whole review on Scotia's beautifully charming, soft continued on with droning chords on keyboards that made my innards jiggle. Wavestation reminded me of new wave bands Depeche Mode and New Order, with their Brit-pop influenced music and gothic/indus- trial electronic beats. The last couple songs of Tickertape Parade were more suited to their name than their first, a prog-rock lune, sounding like music you'd hear when the train appeared on Mr. Roger's TV show. It was a definite relief to me to be able to hear a singable tune — not that everyone has lo have a tune. A melody was somelhing I missed in the Secret Three's set, leaving me a little uneasy and confused, lean see thot the Secret Three, containing former members of Blaise Poscal and Meel Daisy, are the local post-rock answer for addicted Tortoise fans, bul unfortunately, I couldn't quite identify with it all. To finish off the night and to rattle your trance into a different slate was Phenotone. I'm noi well versed ;chno m :, buth I. This* ::,p.*** con be. Two guys hunched over their computers were twirling knobs as we heard busy beats, bassline thuds, springy sounds and a foundation of notes which established the key ■med mto a decorous Although it was o bit overwhelming for my level of comprehension, I was surprised ot the diversity of local lalent displayed al this venue in * rhops the musical genres showcosed this evening indicate the direction the local music scene will, follow, as keyboc 2 2 JULY 1996 cnnvERSE nnCERTS UMUM* ^H_-_iv _-__r *•*»■ _m v^_i - ^TvB «—■ ■ ■ — — — VJ J* Thursday July Fri. July 1 2 Sat. July 1 3 SPACEHOG TRACY BOIMHAIVI 7 YEAR BITCH with special guests TANNE & SHINER TUES. JULY 23 doors 9PM STARFISH ROOM show 10PM Murderecords/MCA Recording Artists superfriendz I with guests Murderecords/MCA ReconSng Artists I THE LOCAL RABBITS I phis guests FRI. JULY 19 *SA STARFISH ROOM Tickets at Track, Scratch, Black Swan & Highhfe Record Stores All Ticketmaster Outlets or Charge By Phone 280-4444 FEATURING TOP WORLD CLASS SKATERS & RIDERS INCLUDING: Syd Clark • Judah Oakes • Alex Chalmers Ben Couves • Sam Devlin • Ben Nichol Barry Walsh • Steve Caballero • Mike Frazier Neal Hendrix Remy Station • Steve Alba Tom Fry • Angi Walton • Jake Joyce Rene Hulgreen Sergie Ventura • Rick Thome Jess Dyron Forth • Dave Paine • Ron Wilkerson plus local Sktenkrlidm I RIDINGTHEII ft. Ml PRO MO AAMP A STREET COURSE' I AND 7 HOURS OF MUSIC ON 2 STAGES WITH: I Fishbone • NOFX • Pennywise • Rocket From The Crypt • CIV • Goldfinger • Lagwagon . Dancehall Crashers • Fluf • Deftones • Meices CJSF {^jj 1000 Mona Lisas • Unwritten Law • Red 5 Wednesday July 10 Plaza Of Nations 750 Pacific Boulevard South GATES • 3:00 pm SHOW - 4:00 pm Tickets at Track, Scratch, Black Swan & Highlife Record Stores, P.D.'s Hot Shop, Vert, Boarding House (Richmond), R D S Skate (North Van), Coastline (Victoria), Gold Coast (Nanaimo & Courtney), District (Nanaimo), Pit Stop (Nelson), Fluid (Langley), Division (North Van & Surrey), Westbeach, Grandma's (Abbotsford), Board Kennel (White Rock), all Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone 280*4444 BAU GIRLS Bali Girls (Bittersweet) Bali Girls don't write songs, tfiey create moods. Now, these aren't necessarily pleosant moods, but moods nonetheless. Drums pound, boss rumbles and rolls, guitars whine and crash, amps hum and squeal. Clalterings and throbbings from nowhere bleed into the mix. At iheir most abstract, Bali Girls approach the heavy anti-ambience of Earth and the dissonant space-noise of Hovercraft. This disc is often eerie and moodily evocative. Unfortunately, it is just as often annoying and tedious. Annoying when guitarist Brian Burnside attempts to sing, tedious when the songs — which tend to be plodding dirges — drag on past the seven-minute mark. At just over an hour, the dark, oppressive mood of this release is too much for anyone to sustain, unless you happen to be suicidally depressed. Besides, the band's musical talents don't seem to justify such a length. Still, the album has moments worth hearing, especially "Roadside Memorial", a droning Irack with a near-gothic, funeral-like feel. Best of all, it's under six minutes. (Bittersweet Records: 920 Broadway, Ste. 1403, New York, NY, 10010) lohn Lucas BEATRICE NINE little stars hung upside down (Zero Hour) Beatrice Nine, a trio from California, will probably not win in the originality sweepstakes, but ihey are sweetly and gently quirky. The mean-spirited amongst you can play "spot the influences" (Guided By Voices, REM), but Beatrice Nine never get too jarring and have no guitar solos, so I like 'em. It's always enjoyable to throw on a CD that you can listen to without skipping tracks and lhat really is no small accomplishment. It also progresses from quiet to loud tunes and I do prefer the first three quarters; it does slide a bit into typicalness at this stage. They should've continued in the vein of "To Girlfriend", a near perfect mix of buzzy guitar, stalely piano and maracas. Little stars hung upside down is not a CD you'll rave about to your friends, but instead will find yourself enjoying in quiet ways. June Scudeler BRAND NEW UNIT No Heros CD All for Nothing 7" (Heartfirst Records) After many delays, the wonderful new six song BNU CD is here. It's on ihe Heartfirst Label, which seems to love Vancouver hardcore as of late. Hearfirst has also released a BNU 7" which contains 3 songs on the CD, plus two new ones. Good for wax eat- BNU can always be counted on to get down to business and show us lhat they have unequaled punk rock skills. This shiny disc lets us know they are still running the show: the songs are catchy and thick, the vocals are clean, and the guitars are sharp. There is no place for a wuss cuz the edge is way more aggressive lhan the first CD, Under the Big Top (Excursion Records), This is awesome, high energy punk thot kicks the asses of the big guns on Epitaph and Fat, ond they're i your own backyard. So buy rhe: andg * forn of cuz they definitely ha\\ known to tear it up. Suki BUCK-O-NINE Barfly (Taang!) The title of this CD tells you right away that you're in for some fast, hard ska punk based on drinking, smoking, and drinking. Tracks like "Calling in Sick" and "Full Metal Bree" just cook, as well as covers of Operation Ivy's "Sound System" and Musical Youth's "Pass the Dutchie". This CD isn't ground breaking or anything but if ska punk's your thing, check it out. Ska-t BUILT TO SPILL The Normal Years (K) The Normal Years is a compilation of Built to Spill's singles and compilation tracks. These are your standard angst-ridden songs about failed dreams, failed relationships, anxiety and other shifty things lhat happen. The music is very simple, stripped down, punkish rawk. I like the bitter slant in the lyrics, especially the puns such as in "Joyride": 'I screwed her and she screwed me/But we never once had sex.' Yes, this does sound like relatively conventional indie rock, but Built to Spill create it in a way lhat makes the genre proud. This is a pretty cool disc and a definite keeper. GQ BUTTHOLE SURFERS Electriclarryland (EMI) This latest effort from ihe Butlhole Surfers proves they are not afraid avenues of music. Tracks like "My Brother's Wife" and "The Lord is a Monkey" are a fusion of rock, punk, new age and just plain weird shit. The track everyone seems to talk about when mentioning Electriclarryland (Hendrix would not be pleased) is "Pepper". It is easy to distinguish ihis added ingredient from the regular 'Surfer sound. Although a good tune for ihe mainstream, "Pepper" suffers from overproduction with it's rhythm- sequenced drum. I'll stick to the "Cough Syrup(s)- and "Thermador(s)" of the album which contain more of a raw "T.V. Star" sound with a dash of country flavour. While there is no shortage of innovative experimentation on Electriclarryland, the album is definitely not a let play all day CD, but it has its mo- SB DEAD CAN DANCE Spiritchaser (4AD) This is the usual Dead Can Dance mixture of "world beat" sounds, wilh more of an African bent to them. Dead Can Dance have pretty much left iheir Celtic and medieval roots behind and have become very mellow on Spiritchaser, almost too much so. Their previous release, Toward the Within, a live CD, featured some very hip moving Arabic inspired Iracks, but not much on Spiritchaser inspires this activity. Spiritchaser is beautifully crafted and recorded quiet-times music that firmly puts them in ihe New Age section of the record June Scudeler FALLING SICKNESS Right on Time (Hopeless) For a group from Riverside, California who started as a joke in 1989, this release does seem like it's right on time, considering the explosive resurgence of ska and punk these days. Not to say that this is a bad thing, 'cuz if it's done well, it's pretty damn catchy, as Falling Sickness are, with songs like "Start Over", "Mixed Up" and the signature shout-out "Ripperside". So forget about No Doubt and Goldfinger, check out Falling Sickness, "four rude punx from Ripperside, CA" who'll have you skankin' and shankin' in no time, boss. Bryce Dunn FASTBACKS Here...They Are: Fastbacks Live at the Crocodile Cafe (Lance Rock) When Seattle's Fastbacks put oul their first speedy punk-pop EP (Fastbacks Ploy Five ol Their Favorites, No Threes Records) way back in 1982, who would have guessed that they'd still be around, doing the same old thing, 14 years later? That's right, the Fastbacks haven't changed, in spite of departing (and returning) members and a world that: 1) brought fame and fortune to one of their old drummers (who was transformed into a rock star with Guns V Roses); 2) made Seattle, however briefly, ihe music capital of the world; and 3) perhaps the last straw, hos gone on to revere the bands following in ihe Fastbacks' crunchy melodic footsteps. If there really was jus- n ihe universe, the Fastbacks >uld [ * far I tha, Green Day, and Kim and Lulu's distinctive cheerful (and insouct- antly off-key) harmonies would be as well-known as Lennon and McCartney's, but, as we all know, things don't work that way. Instead, here's a low-profile live record to tide us long-time fans over until the next Sub Pop release, thanks to Nanaimo's Lance Rock Records. And ihis recording really does catch the Fastbacks' inimitable live show (one hopes the home-town crowd was bigger lhan the cover photo would indicate), from the scanty and ingenuous stage banter—"Sorry we're kind of boring and old up here, but that's our lot in life"—to the speed with which ihey launch into one physically impossibly fast song after another. (Don't they ever get tired?) The catchy tunes, the songs so rapid you think you're playing the record at the wrong speed, and that darn modesty are all part of the delightful Fastbacks tradition, one I hope Janis M. FU MANCHU In Search Of... (Mammoth) Have you ever been to one of those monster truck rallys? Well, neither have I. I get the feeling, though, lhat if you want all the screaming diesel mudfest without the rednecks and obnoxious pre- teens, you could do a lot worse than put on this latest platter by California's Fu Manchu and LET 'ER RIP! These guys sweat real rock'n'roll. Straight from their dirty, ungroomed mustaches right to your hi-fi. Go straight to ten on your volume knob! Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Marq De Souza THE FUMES Self-Appointed Guardian of the Machine (Empty) Speaking from personal experience, the few visits I've made to Spokane, Washington in the past have been pretty memorable, but I don't think anything could compare to actually living there, which The Fumes do. Now judging from these 1 3 pissed-off punk blasts, I think it's sofe to say lhat things aren't exactly all wine and roses, and listening to the lyrics, I would guess ihey speak from personal experience too But ihe music is really the kicker here — intense, solid-as-o-rock chops that hit in all the right places. Next time you feel like traveling to Washington, make sure to add Spokane to your list of pitstops — The Fumes will be glad you stopped by, even if it may be the last place you'll ever want to be. Sryce Dunn GASTR DEL SOL upgrade & afterlife Drag City Like my friend Ezmerelda said when she handed me this CD, melody." Weil, I don't know if she was talking about upgrade & afterlife. It ain't like Ezmerelda likes Lionel Ritchie or anything, but I guess she just figures that Jim O'Rourke can get a bit self- indulgent at times. While it's true lhat he's no Lionel Ritchie, there's no trace of indulgence in this latest release. And there's plenty of melody, you just gotta listen a couple times to find it. Be patient. Old Jimbo and his cohort David Grubbs leave out most of the catchy hooks and take a bit of time to develop their songs, but what else can you expect from gash* del sol? There's fun for the whole family in this one. Weird, ambienty electronic tracks, sitting next to sparse, melancholy guitar tunes and haunting piano pieces. But it ain't exactly a hodge-podge. The boys do a nifty job of blending everything together. You're listening to moody crooning and atonal guitar, and then you hear these soft kettle whistles in the background, and then these electronic chirps and chirrups, and then, just before the whole song self-destructs, you find yourself wondering "what exactly is the difference between a chirp ond a chirrup?" Johnny Loaf-Boy MICKEY HART Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (RykoDisc) Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart explored traditional percusion-based music on his previous olbum, Planet Drum. Given its quality and beauty, Planet Drum must have been a fluke, as Mystery Box is hideous. Perhaps Mickey has lost direction now lhat Jerry's ashes are truckin' down ihe Ganges, but that's no excuse for this abysmal attempt at pop. To be fair, there are moments. Some of the percussion work is great and "Only the Strange Remain" is almost listenable, suiting Mickey's limited vocal abilites perfectly. However, the whole project is just woefully wrong- headed. Rob Hunter's lyrics are so banal thot even the Dead wouldn't use them and aren't helped by the delivery of a soul diva trying to sound folky who performs most of the vocal work. While Mickey's previous works have shown an understanding of world musics, ihe 'ethnic' chants on Mystery Box seem to be variations on "When the Lion Sleeps Tonight." Even a title like "John Cage is Dead" deteriorates into mediocrity after fifteen seconds of fauxavant-gardeism. Worst of all, AOR schlock pedlor Bruce Hornsby is recruited for piano duties. I guess there's a reason Mickey Hart was only the drummer for the 'Dead. Barbara Andersen HOWIE B. Music for Babies (Polydor) Howie B. is a very popular fel- low. All sorts of British music folks want to collaborate wilh him. On his first solo album, Music for Babies (written for his daughter), Howie shows ihe influence of one of those collaborators, a certain Brian Eno. Howie has great technique ond taste, so this is a great sounding album. The programming is perfect, the sounds are unique, and ihe occasional muted beats lhat pop up are groovy enough to indicate his hip-hop background. Unfortunately, ihere isn't much else to get excited about here. The ambience makes for nice, soothing noises, but Howie's cool analytical distance from Ihe music makes for an intellectually interesting but bland album. There is one very good piece of music, the groovy but far too short "On the Way Again." It's also at the end of the album, by which time the seven very long songs lhat precede it have put me to sleep. Maybe I'm too old to appreciate Music for Babies. Babies like pacifiers, but I like a bit more substance. Jovian Francey IDA / Know About You (Simple Machines) I don't know who Ida Machado Shafer was, nor do I know what makes Ida, Virginia so special. But I do know lhat the New York trio who are the band Ida create enticing, magical lullabies. / Know About You hasn't left my the few albums that makes me glad it's so long (nearly an hour). Daniel Littleton and Elizabeth Mitchell's vocals are, for me, the focus of the band; they sing clearly ond strongly, but there's a certain charming vulnerability that underlies it all. Each voice con stand on its own, although in most songs, they sing together, harmonizing effortlessly. Think of, and it's not as weird, or bod as it may sound, a cross between the Indigo Girls and Tsunami. At times, Elizabeth's singing is ex- Toomey's wails (it's probably no coincidence lhat Jenny signed Ida to her own label). The music is definitely folk-influenced (which I'm always attracted to, but funnily enough, the cover of an old folk rune, "When I Was Now," by Gndy Kalett), with the occasional use of acoustic guitar, but the overall sound is hard to describe. Both Daniel and Elizabeth play guitar, often both doing rhythm or both playing pretty lead parts. Sometimes it's just strummy guitar and harmonies (a la Retsin), : 2 4 JULY 1996 very similar to more straight ahead slow/hod, soft/loud indie rock like Seam and Yo La Tengo. The third part of the trio is Daniel's brother, Michael, who only drums when necessary, sitting out about half of the twelve tracks. When he does, it's perfect. Mellow, melodic, and soothing, the core Ida are accompanied by Rose Thomson (Babe ihe Blue Ox) on bass, Rick Lassiter on stand up bass, and another Littleton member, Cecilia, on viola and violin. No wanking, no ego trips, just beautifully arranged, mature pop songs wilh lyrics like: "Well, maybe it's true I'm barely there/ So easily mistaken for your favourite chair/ Like a perfect and graceful fading/ Where I thank you for giving me nothing." meeko KOSTARS Klassics with a K (Grand Royal) True to their hip hop alliances, these girls show off an impressive ability lo make their lyrics rhyme - and if that wasn't proof enough of their talents in this area, they've recruited 2 boys whose names rhyme, the incredibly sexist brothers Gene and Dean Ween of Ween, to sing back-up on one of their songs. In fact, this first release of the Kostars (Vivian Trimle and Jill Cunniff of Luscious Jackson), is a name dropper de-luxe, with Luscious J's Kate Schellanbach and Gabby Glaser and Breeders' bassist Josephine Wiggs helping But no amount of rhyming and special guesting by kool friends can save this album. The Kostars will be a disappointment to most Luscious J fans. I appreciate their move away from the very produced sound of the second Luscious J album, but while this pared down "hippies with keyboards" sound is raw, it is also without funk or flare. LAND OF THE LOOPS Bundle of Joy (Up) Land of the Loops is one feller, Alan Sutherland, goin' crazy with keyboards, drum machines, samples, and, funny thot - loops galore. He takes care of the "beats, rhythms, bass and treble" on all 14 tracks, and has a sense of humour that shows in his choice of samples, ranging from sound bites of old commercials to an interview on Seattle's The End radio. Electronic and dub-infected, it's sometimes ambient, ond sometimes funky — always fun. Half of the songs are made even better with vocals, courtesy of real live people, such as Heather Lewis (yep, of the fabulous Beat Happening), who sings like an angel who thinks she's a dog, and Simone Ashby, with pleasant, and a little more cutesy, singing. Some of the songs are made even more interesting with samples of traditional-sounding Asian vocals. Maybe now that keyboards and drum sequencing are becoming more fashionable and accepted in the indie rock world, more folks will check out this interesting compilation of neato sounds. Indie-pop, dub style. LEGION OF GREEN MEN Spatial Specific (Plus 8/Virgin) What a pleasure to review trippy eleclronica that is not only Canadian, but is also very good. Though on Richie Hawtin's label, the seminal Plus 8, the music this Ontario duo makes really has little to do with the monotonous bleeping squelchiness of Plastikman. Unlike most of their peers, LoGM haven't forgotten the value of melody, as the gorgeous "Philosopher's Stone" proves. Despite its length (being as long — ie, very long — as most techno/ambient albums), Spatial Specific doesn't get boring. The simple, unique rylhms, analog squiggles and bits of found sound are all there, but it's the emotion of the music that sets it apart. There is a palpable, delicate sense of sadness in these the almost poppy textures of "Mosaic Eye Evolutionary Approach" with its plaintive vocal refrain. This is powerful music for any genre, and an anomaly for anyone who thinks electronic music is empty and devoid of soul. Barbara Andersen MURPHY'S LAW Dedicated (Another Planet) Murphy's Law is not a typical hardcore band. You can tell thot from the very first line in the opener, "Don'tBother Me:"l just wanna have some fun.' These guys may call themselves hardcore, but they sure owe a lot to good old punk rock. "Dysfunctional Family," for instance, is simply a rewrite of the Ramones classic "We're a Happy Family:" 'Daddy's in the basement, Mommy's on the couch/Brother is who-knows-where and time is running out/ "Bitter* is a generic angry hardcore song, but it is an anomaly on this album which, frankly, is full of goofy tunes about liking fat girls and smoking pot. The only track lhat really grabs me is "Still Smokin," a great instrumental ska number complete with horns. Now, ifMurphy's Law could find themselves a vocalist who sang instead of shouted, ihey could transform into a fantastic ska group instead of a tolerable h.c. band. (Another Planet Records: 740 Broadway, New York, NY 1003) John Lucas PALACE MUSIC Arise Therefore (Drag City) 'How could one ever think any- thing's permanent/ How can you sleep when I'm going away/ I haven't a reason left in my head/ To not go away ...' And so begins "Stablemate," the first track on the latest Will Oldham offering. Arise Therefore. This time it's Palace Music, not Palace Brothers, Palace, or Palace Songs; it's almost a solo outing, but not quite: Will is joined by brother Ned on bass, guitar, and additional singing, and David Grubbs (Gastr Del Sol) on piano and organ. Once again recorded by Mr. Steve Albini, this is a much sparser follow-up to last year's full- bond effort, Viva Last Blues. Will has chosen his faithful drum machine as percussionist, but it's more effective when just his words and guitar lull you into a comfy depression. Still folky/ bluesy, the drum machine makes for a less warm feeling/sounding lhan his other minimalist recordings. This is by no means a unique effort in ihe Palace discography, but a necessary one nonetheless. meeko POSIES Amazing Disgrace (DGC) It's been ihree years since ihey "frosted Iheir beaters," but The Posies have returned with Amazing Disgrace - easily their rawest, angriest, and most jagged effort Jon Auer and Ken Sringfellow have, once again, written a great and diverse whack of runes ranging from the chaotic and blistering ("Grant Hart"), to the sweet and pretty ("Song #1 "); from the simple and straightforward ("Ontario"), to the weird and off the wall ("Broken Record"). And, of course, ihey are all stuffed full of catchy melodies and perfect har- Production has always been an extremely important aspect of Posies' albums. They're not satisfied to simply record their songs; instead, ihey seem determined to create a sonic eargasm. The Posies have certainly developed and moulded a unique sound and style which I feel they can deservedly call their own. Fred derF THE RAINCOATS Looking in the Shadows (Geffen) Those legendary but little-heard British all-female post-punkers, The Raincoats (recently revived and signed to a major label due to Kurt Cobain's affection for ihem), have never been easy to define. In spite of their punk credibility and connections, fhe self- titled first album, which came out in 1979 (now reissued by DGC) certainly wasn't punk — it felt too slow and quiet, the melodies and harmonies were complicated and unsettling, and hell, they even used a violin! After all these years, you kind of have to wonder what The Raincoats'new offering is going to be like, but as it happens Looking in the Shadows is similarly quirky, sweet, prickly, and indefinable, with songs lhat seem to scorn simple hooks and only grow on you gradually. And don't be fooled by the guitar charts that come with the lyrics—the arrangements are also somewhere between ihe traditional pop guitars/bass/ drums and subdued prog rock, full of weirdly interwoven theramin and moog noises, guitar effects pedals, and yes, violin. Perhaps my favourite song, "57 Ways to End it All," even has a couple of whistling parts! As a confirmed guitars and girls fan, I have to admit that I generally like The Raincoats better in theory than in practice, but this CD is gradually, very gradually win- favourite indie record store, and lifted your eyebrows at the sleeves with iheir crude line drawings of naked, or near-naked, young women straddling huge phallic objects. I mean, what kind of an all-girl band promotes itself like that? For that matter, what kind of all-girl band writes lyrics like, "Tie e up, i stinkin ning n Janis M. SEROTONES The Soundtrack to Your Life (Independent) Quasi-Beatlesqueha vade from the opening to the end of ihe disc, which is a rare treat. However, the Beatles would always vary ihe types of harmonies they were doing. On this album, the oft-repeated background "ahs," "ba-ba-ba-ba- ba's," and "ooh-ah-la-la-la's" eventually become quite predictable. A few of the lyrics are great, but many are trite or seem like forced rhymes: "we'll go on/for so long" or "we'll shine for/like a star"... Also it should be noted that one track, "Green Gables," bears an uncanny resemblance to "She" from Green Day's Dookie album. The rhythm guitar work is wicked. At moments, I envision samurai warriors bottling with their weapon of choice: the Fender Stratocaster. The tones too seem impeccably worked out. That said, my main criticism of the mix is that in every song the guitars seem to be ihe focus. True, they are quitar-rock band, but ihey also have some really nice, hooky melodies and harmonies rhythm section. I would have liked to have heard those elements re- Sound like the guitarists mixed it. For a first indie effort, a commendable finished product. I recommend it for anyone looking for good quality local stuff. Dave Silverman SLOW GHERKIN Double Happiness (Raj) This 9-piece from Santa Cruz fall in lhat middle category of current ska bands — their music is tight and arranged too well to be ska punk, yet they have all the fast paced energy and crazy lyrics. Still, Ihe traditional side of the band comes out in some of ihe instrumentals and wicked horn arrangements and solos. Some great latin ska influences in songs such as "Salsa III" and "Este Toro", also a surfy spy tune "Operation Thunderballs" and a ska rendition of "Hava Nagilah". 17 songs in all, including the wicked "Thumbs Down to Generation X"!U Ska-T SMEARS Like Hell (Headhunter/Cargo) Maybe you've seen their singles (put out by that naughtiest of record labels, Hell Yeah) in your slut...Pee in my face " (in aWhor plays guitars adorned with stickers that say "Super Pussy" and "S>U>C>K/C<0U>B p