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Spiels & Squeals, continued from page 4
known for but it also sounds a bit
lonesome on this recording. His frail
timbre wisks about the mountains of
melodies and reduces them to mole hills
before rebuilding the landscape to
introduce a new and improved American
plane that just screams "Yankee Doodle
Dandy" while galloping forth on "A
Horse Named Bill."
The spoken word piece, "Arkansas
Traveler," introduces a familiar
conversation between two men who
might have helped each other out even
more than they would admit. Only
Garcia could sound that cool in such a
"hokey" situation. . . IT'S POETRY
MAN!
2. THE SPINANES:
LABEL: SUB POP
Is there something missing here?
At first listen, you might not notice.
But read the liner notes and you will
find that drums and guitar are the only
instruments on this album (aside from
vocals).
There is an unbelievable amount of
bass drum in the Spinanes mix.
Overall, the album is good. The first
thing you may notice about the band is
that Rebecca Gates has a relatively
familiar sounding voice. She can sound
like The Breeders and other times like
Julianna Hatfield, but there is an
unbelievable amount of originality and
persona in her voice.
On a musical note. . . The guitar is
well-balanced throughout the recording
with just enough low end and treble. I
was able to detect one up, one toned
down Sonic Youth rip-off lick. It's not
hard to draw comparisons when
listening to The Spinanes, but
concentrate on the songs and the everall
groove and it is evident that they are
taking this one step further than folk or
alternative music.
It would probably be intense to
witness the Spinanes live. If you do,
4 ; Preston Reed
Ed Paukstis
Capital Times Staff
Preston Reed is a solo performer who is light years
ahead of his time. His uncanny ability to interpret,
imitate, and produce multiple orchestral ail
percussive sounds with nothing more than flesh, a
few fingerpicks and an occasional plastic slide is
astonishing.
Those who witnessed his performance in the
Gallery Lounge on Feb. 15 would agree that he is a
musician of extreme calibre and that he truly deserves
the title "Guitar Virtuoso."
Reed, who is left-handed but utilizes a right hand
style, plays the guitar in an unorthodox fashion like
a pianist. His left hand floats above the neck of the
guitar and is free to execute licks, grab unusual
chords and run scales. His right hand taps, plucks,
brushes, picks and produces percussive bongo—like
sounds.
"What I like about it (my technique) is that both
hands have a lot to do," Reed said,"this enables my
left hand to do more than just make chords."
Reed's technique might leave you wondering if he
is a contortionist but his style is so natural and fire
that it can also be envisioned as a canvas to paint
images.
"I like to give the audience a picture of what's
going on so they have a visual image of what the
song is about," Reed said.
The soft-spoken Reed played eight songs during the
performance, and somethat are on his "Border Towns"
cd.
Reed balances his folk sensibilities with techniques
that encompass such genres as jazz, pop, rock,
traditional and heavy metal music which form a
melting pot of musical forms and ideas.
The song "Tribes," like many of Reed's tunes,
encorporates open tunings which allow Reed to play
chords by simply barring one finger across any
number of strings. In its simplistic form, the style
is reminiscent of Richie Havens, although it does
encompass much more technique.
Reed employs many of the techniques mentioned
previously in the song, "Hit the Ground Running,"
which catapaults him to the composing as well as
conducting arena.
The song "Slap Funk" is one of the first songs that
Reed began playing in his unique style. There is an
overall "bluesy" feeling throughout, and the song has
a catchy bass groove that Reed creates
simultaneously with the percussion and melody
parts.
drop me a line
3. MEAT PUPPETS: TOO
HIGH TO DIE
LABEL: POLYGRAM
Wow! The Meat Puppets now fit into
the AOR radio format.
Yes, you can now hear the tune
"Backwater" followed by any number of
sloshy pop hits.
Unbelievable, but I still ask myself
whether this is a good or bed
phenomenon. It could mean that they
have succumbed to the boring and
meaningless capitalistic machine that
many of "alternative" acts have avoided
throughout the years.
But is this a logical assumption?
You see, it's not the bands fault that
they are becoming popular. They were
a driving force in alternative music for
13 years! So how could things change?
Did it take an endorsement from Kurt
Cobain to grab AOR and MTV reps?
Who knows? All I can say is that it's
a sharhe that it had to happen this way.
It is embarrassing for people who were
loyal to the band prior to the 19905,
and advantageous to the "band
wagoneers" in search of the next big
alternative act.
MANOS
"TOO HIGH TO DIE" is a great
album. The bandis playing better than
ever and "TOO HIGH TO DIE" meets
all the criteria of a traditional Meat
Puppets album.
Kurt Kirkwood's vocals glide and
weave throughout the chunky guitar
riffs and chords like a hot knife through
butter. The Kirkwood brothers can also
craft some mighty fine songs.
Many of these tunes are reminiscent of
early Meat Puppet albums. Perhaps the
two most comparable songs are "Shine"
and "Comin down." which could have
easily been mistaken for, or released on,
"Huevos" or " Meat Puppets II" because
of that clean, guitar sounding, "I'm
gonna ride this tractor to hell" type of
groove. Check out the killer guitar lick
:Turn
A traditional selection entitled "Day at the Races,
was a refreshing twist to the set list. This song also
has .a blues feeling, but is juxtaposed by a spacey
sequence, which is in turn counterpointed with a
tribal sounding percussion section.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of all is the
ability that Reed has to take a simple acoustic guitar
and push it to the next extreme which enhances the
instruments overall timbre and creates dramatic
interludes and climatic endings.
The "slurpy" slide guitar in "Groundhog Rebels
Against the System," is reminiscent of a pedal steel.
This song has an overall country blues influence
until it erogressco lo an aggressive delta blues attack
in strings. The conflict between these two styles
within the song is resolved by a moody interpretation
of proto type blues that extends way beyond feeling
down and out.
During the course of the performance, Reed
remained cool, calm, and collective and simply
thanked the audience for their favorable reactions.
Once in a while, he would reach into his pockets for
a slide or finger picks before moving on to the next
musical extavaganza.
Reed also offers remarkable interpretations of
many of the styles that he casually mixes in each
song.
The song, "Heavy Metal" is a prime example of
his '
adventurous capabilities on the acoustic guitar.
Reed offered an explanation for every song. Some
prolific, some serious and others uniquely
imaginative in the approach to songwriting and
composing.
One song entitled "Chatanooga," was written by
Reed after playing in Chatanooga,Tennessee.
"It was a beautiful afternoon and I was walking
through the streets that night. The whole
environment was so serene.that I was inspired to
write a song based upon the sound of my footsteps
hitting the sidewalk," Reed said.
It is hard to decipher one solid type of influence
that would categorize Reed's music, and for this
reason, he has been deemed "New Age."
"I don't know if New Age is an appropriate
explanation," Reed sighed. "I'm not trying to save
whales or anything! I think it could be best described
as "Creative Acoustic."
Reed's style is in a category all on its own and he
explains that he intends to be even more innovative
in the future
"There is always room for improvement and a need
to go beyond what I have already accomplished,"
Reed said
Capital Times
on the song "Station" and you will
know why Kurt Kirkwood is revered by
bands like; Uncle Tupelo, Pearl Jam,
Guns and Roses, Chili Peppers and
countless others.
"Violent Eyes" and "Flaming Heart"
represent the heavier edge that the boys
like to experiment with and reassures
loyal fans that the band is still into all
types of music from punk to country•
"TOO HIGH TO DIE" is not a
departure from any Meat Puppets
formula. It's an accomplishment that
marks the beginning of the end of the
beginning. Its altitude is marked, but
its destination is unknown. This
suggests to the world that someone in a
high place is changing the perception of
what we fans would be willing to die
for.
4. fIREHOSE:
operator
LABEL: COLUMBIA
This album is not a new release
I don't even plan to review it!
The reason it has been included in this
section is to inform and to educate. My
motive? Well, the Meat Puppets
released a new album and I felt that I
should not include one band without
stressing the importance of the other.
I had originally planned to make a
great long spiel about the history of
ex—SST recording artists, fIREHOSE,
but I had to re—approach the situation in
an econo-fashion due to time and space.
fIREHOSE was once the infamous
band the Minutemen until "bearish"
guitarist \ vocalist, D. Boone, was killed
in an automobile accident in 1985.
The Minutemen formed in 1978 out of
San Pedro, California. In the early
days, the band recorded in their garage
and sometimes in their living room.
In 1980, SST issued the very young
Mike Watt, D. Boone and drummer
George Hurley a recording contract.
Punk had burned itself out, and the post
punk movement that spawned such acts
and notables as Black Flag, Husker Du,
Richard Hell, The Jam, The
ng a gui
mr. machinery
It was hard for the hose in those early
years but they put out a great debut
album entitled "Ragin full on" in 1986
and "iPn" in 1987. The following
albums are also note worthy- "from
ohio", "fl yin the flannel", "live totem
pole" and "mr. machinery operator.-
Their latest effort has debued on a
major label. Does this mean that they
are destined for stardom? Well, I don't
know if these guys could stomach
being a figureheadin the limelight. It
seems that they just love to play music
for a living.
—FACT— Mike Watt is the true
bearer of the flannel shirt... but that's
another story.
FACT -- Each and every
fIREHOSE album is dedicated to the
tar
SUPPORTED BY: PROVOST'S AND DEAN'S OFFICE, lAA, SGA, OFFICE
OF RESEARCH AND GRADUATE STUDIES, CENTER FOR PENNSYLVANIA
CULTURE STUDIES AND CORE HAMILTON BANK.
Replacements and many others began to
take hold of young alternative America.
The Minutemen recorded many great
albums, but perhaps the most notable
is "Double Nickels on the Dime." This
release launched the band into a
cult—like status. They also made a low
budget video for rn
"This Ain't No
Picnic."
The Minutemen drew immense
inspiration from their Arizona
counterparts, but were sadly silenced in
1985.
Mike Watt had been immensely
devastated by the loss of his long—time
companion and bandmate. He went
into seclusion for a number of months
and didn't even bother to reform the
defunct Minutemen.
Enter Edward Crawford (a.k.a.
,ed from
ohio). Crawford was a consumate
Minutemen fan who had bt*ii
transformedfrom a James Taylor freak
into an electric guitar player after
witnessing one of the band's concerts.
Crawford was also shaken by Boone's
death.
In late 1985, he made a bold move. He
placed a call to Watt, who couldn't be
bothered with talking to him, and then
made the trip to San Pedro to audition
for Watt. Somehow, Crawford and
Watt clicked and decided to form a new
band.
nto an orchestra
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH SCHEDULE
SPONSORED BY PENN STATE HARRISBURG
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wocti 31
memory of D. Boone
S. fIREHOSE: Big Bottom
Pow-Wow
LABEL: COLUMBIA
Imagine the scenario. . . . Flea, Mike
Watt, and Chris Kirkwood sitting
around in the studio talking about the
power of the bass guitar with Les
Claypool via phone hook—up. Bass
summit of the 90s? A meeting of the
minds? Well, yes and no.
It is obvious that the project was
conceptualized and executed by Watt.
Watt is acting as MC, which is fine but
he often overpowers the comments and
opinions that his guests offer. Still, if
you ever had the privilege of talking
with Watt you would realize that he is
the type of person who lives to be a
loud mouth anarchist. His
conversations are loose and figurative
and often dart lickety-split from idea to
idea, which is also evident in his
approach to playing bass.
This recording does not include many
of the technical aspects of thumping on
the "boom stick." These four string
madmen explain their attack as a vent
for aggression and anger. These feelings
circulate throughout the depths of the
bass cleff and plummet right onto the
stage for you and me to absorb.
Flea talks about the similarities
between Led Zeppelin and Charlie
Mingus. Watt relates the legend of Don
Quixote as why the bass is important
to a band and Chris Kirkwood sounds
like he's adding fuel to Watt's fire,
which causes many of the excerpts to
self—combust. Les Claypool often just
sounds foolish.
MARCH 1994
i.;4g>MN:„ AT, jw„
OPENING FOR EXHIBIT
TXYWN''ow t CElsTrtg, 5-7 PM,
sizolog RoosevEvi ,
railwr
RovaAm . CLINT AWI)H
AMltissisrP°ANTlV°R-ALLinit°lll; PRIBSTWX444I42S
MOF4SSOR IN AMERICAN
GALLERY LO
UNGE 12-1 P..M.
fSCORDS
INPINTTE VA RIMS: WOMEN'S
wommsrs msrokr, wailers uvzs
ixonza. Immo, ARCHIVIST UTOVERS/TY
OP MINNESOTA LIBRARIES
GALLERY LOUNGE 7-8:30 P.M.
February, 28 1994
There is a lot to be learned through
these conversations, and the cd is an
excellent investment for all Meat
Puppets, fIREHOSE and Chili Pepper
fans.
The "BIG BOTTOM POW—WOW" is
a strange ceremony shrouded in
mysticism. Only a die—hard fan would
make the time to attend.