==== ISSUE 72 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [March 28, 1996] Editor: Bob Gajarsky Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net Sr. Correspondents: Jeremy Ashcroft, Martin Bate, Dan Enright, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Sean Eric McGill, Tim Mohr, Jamie Roberts, Joe Silva, John Walker Correspondents: Dan Birchall, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron, Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Stephen Jackson, Daniel Kane, Mario Lia, P. Nina Ramos, Linda Scott, Ali Sinclair, Jon Steltenpohl, Courtney Muir Wallner Also Contributing: Joe D'Angelo Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann, Damir Tiljak, Jason Williams Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@pilot.njin.net ================================================================== All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). Permission for re-publication in any form other than within this document must be obtained from the editor. ================================================================== .------------. | Contents | `------------' INTERVIEW: Fleming & John - Stephen Jackson REVIEW: Weapon Of Choice, _Highperspice_ - Joe D'Angelo REVIEW: Weird Al Yankovic, _Bad Hair Day_ - Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Lush, _Lovelife_ - Lee Graham Bridges REVIEW: Fu Manchu, _In Search Of..._ - Mario J. Lia REVIEW: Global Communication, _Remotion_ - Lee Graham Bridges REVIEW: Varnaline, _Man of Sin_ - Dan Geller REVIEW: McRackins, _In On The Yolk!_ - Reto Koradi REVIEW: Prolapse, _Back Saturday_ - David Landgren NEWS: Barenaked Ladies, Black Crowes, Craig Chaquico, LIFEbeat, Neve Shalom, NJ At Night, Todd Rundgren, Sonicnet Chats TOUR DATES: AC/DC, Avalanchia, Barenaked Ladies/Bogmen, BE, Frank Black/ Jonny Polonsky, Deftones, Foo Fighters / Amps, Freewheelers, Gin Blossoms / 3 Day Wheely, Gravel Pit, Gren, Arlo & Abe Guthrie, Harvest Ministers, Kate Jacobs, Howard Jones, Love and Rockets, Oasis, Joan Osborne / Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies, Poi Dog Pondering, Professor & Maryann, Rancid/Rocket from the Crypt/O-Matic, Ruby, Ruth Ruth / Spacehog, Sting, Swales, A Ten O'Clock Scholar, They Might Be Giants, Tiny Lights, Trip 66, Urchins, Uzjsmedoma, Velocity Girl, Wrens Back Issues of Consumable --- INTERVIEW: Fleming & John - Stephen Jackson Fleming McWilliams, who is blessed with a beautiful voice and a cascade of ravishing red hair, met and later married John Mark Painter, a musical prodigy in his own right, while studying at Belmont College in Nashville. Together, they make up one half of the alternative pop band, Fleming & John; the other members being Shawn McWilliams (Fleming's brother), who plays drums, and Stan Rawls, who covers bass for the group. These days, they're swimming on a rising tide of enthusiasm, following the 1995 release of their album, _Delusions of Grandeur_ on REX, an independent label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Having recently signed with Universal Records, who is re-releasing and promoting the album, they now stand poised to ride an alternative wave to a national following. But the journey to where they presently stand has been a long and winding road from where they began. Consumable recently was able to talk to the duo. Consumable: How did you come to Nashville? Fleming: When I was in high school, there was this guy who wanted me to get into country music. So he would bring me to Nashville. I would take days out of school. And my parents liked him and trusted him. They knew this was all I ever wanted to do. So they were pretty cool with it. And we would come to Nashville and he would get me involved with weird little showcases, a pilot for TNN where Grant Turner from the Grand Ole Opry was hosting new singers night or something. That's how I became acquainted with Nashville. John: I had a friend that moved to Nashville that I came to visit, and I was thinking about moving here. But my parents wanted me to be in school. And so I wasn't even thinking about going to school, I was just going to move here, and we went to visit a friend of his who went to Belmont and he had this catalog lying around and I opened it up and saw recording classes, and music business classes and everything. And I thought, ok, this is how I can sell my parents on my moving to Nashville. C: Did you pick up the formal training at Belmont as far as string arrangements or did you pick that up on your own? J: Well, I did that when I was real young. Probably the best thing I did was study theory when I was real young. I got to where all that was pretty instinctive and I understood it all on a very basic level. Then I could just listen to music and come up with my own ideas, and use the theory to write it down. C: How would you evaluate the time you've spent in Nashville? Has it been a positive experience? F: There was a point about three years ago when we were kind of getting discouraged. We had made our big splash in Nashville. We had done development deals with companies, and at that point, to be on an independent label you had to be sort of underground. They didn't have independent labels for acts like us, and so we were sort of this in between thing, where we weren't really pop, and the adult alternative format hadn't really caught on yet. There wasn't really a place for us. We had industry people and record people come to see us play and they liked us and liked our music and thought we were talented but didn't know how to market us. They didn't know where we would fit in. We had been through this over and over. We just didn't know where to go or what to do. So we thought, let's move to New York and get a following in New York like we had done in Nashville. There was an attitude, I think it's changing, but there was an attitude in the industry from LA and New York that, well the people in Nashville like 'em, but that's just Nashville. We thought of moving to New York really seriously, and we would have if we'd had enough money. We had a publishing deal. We were signed to EMI Publishing in 1991, shortly after the Extravaganza, but it was set up on albums. J: We weren't on the draw. F: So we couldn't get any more money from EMI until we signed the record deal, and it had been a couple of years and we still hadn't signed the record deal because the SBK developmental deal fell through. We were in a rut and John was finally getting work as a session player, where we didn't have to work in a restaurant. We knew that in New York, we'd have to start all over again and John wasn't guaranteed any session work in New York. So we came to EMI and said, "We really want to move to New York. We feel like we can really do something here, but we need money. We need help," and they wouldn't help us. C: Do you think the rock scene in Nashville is improving; is there some momentum here? J: Every time there's momentum, something starts to get going and levels off. There have been several bands in the last few years that put out records. Some of them are still playing and some of them aren't. F: I think it is better now because all the bands have learned what took us so long to learn, which is that you do your music, you put it out, however you have to put it out-- whether you have to put it out on a label or put it out yourself, then go play out. C: Can you identify a style or sound that is from Nashville, like the Seattle sound? F: The only thing the bands have in common, and this is another thing getting back to why we stayed in Nashville, I think it's very song-writer oriented. I think the bands here and people really know the value of songs and try to write songs. In Austin, there's an "Austin" sound. If there has to be a Nashville sound, I don't think we have it. J: I don't think anybody does. Back then, there was a definite cow punk, rock-a-billy type thing going. It was very identifiable. The bands were all cueing off one another. There could be four bands all playing in one night, and together it would make sense as a bill, but now it's not like that. F: I think there are a lot of good musicians here. I think that a lot of people that kind of grew up around here, grew up around musicians, studios, and instruments. I know the guys in Walk the West, and they, probably more than any other band, have sort of a Nashville sound. J: Yeah, Jason and the Scorchers and Walk the West have a lot in common. C: People say that until a band really breaks big nationally from Nashville, the scene here is not going to get better; it's not going to get any easier for bands to get signed. Some people think that you guys might be the ones to do it. F: I'd love it. That would be great if we could help out in some way. I don't know. I think it's hard for people to take. I think the country music thing overshadows every thing else in Nashville, and it's really hard for the industry to take Nashville seriously as a pop music or alternative music scene. J: I don't think they're going to see it as a scene so much as they're going to acknowledge that there's some good people here. I think there will be more of that. In Seattle, I think there's more of a movement. There's not a movement in Nashville except just to make music and do well. There's not a genre out here. C: The album was done before REX, right? J: We did most of it before we signed with REX. It was about 80 percent done and they knew we were working on an album already. We were thinking about going with RCA, and REX said if we ever get tired of dealing with RCA, to give them a call. I said, alright - and a half hour later we had a contract. F: RCA was serious and they were signing bands who had proven themselves and we hadn't proven ourselves yet. J: They were signing the Dave Matthews Band, and he had sold like a 150,000 records on his own. F: We were at the point where we were excited about the stuff we had put on tape, and were really anxious to make a record. And REX came along and said, ok we're going to hire college promoters. And they believed in us so much. They were small and they had this good distribution deal. J: And it was a one album deal. F: I don't know if we could have gotten that from anybody else. I don't think that they would have done it. So it kind of felt like this is what we have to do to get something out there and to be able to tour. To be able to move on to the next level, we had to get a record out somehow. J: And they were able to do enough with it that we got some things going in Atlanta and Virginia Beach and a few big southeast places. F: They had no money to promote the record but they did it anyway. They got us on some radio stations. J: We got enough going to attract the attention of the Universal people. C: What happened towards the end? Did it sort of fizzle out with them? J: They believed that it was only a matter of time before someone would approach them and want to buy the record out. They were prepared for that. F: But they actually felt that they could be the ones to break us. And it was almost sad when some other people were coming with offers because they had known that they would have to let us go on with other people. But they were really disappointed because they wanted to be the ones to break us, and they were so close. They could have done it if they'd had more money. Some people from Atlanta that work with Uni Distribution, they had been to our shows in Atlanta, and we were getting some air play in Atlanta. They told the marketing guy [at Universal], "You really need to check out this band, Fleming & John." So they finally got hold of our manager, and we sent them the cd and they called back and said "We love it. We love the cd." Then Doug Morris and his partner, Melba Winter, came down and we had a big meeting at REX, with the REX people and the Rising Tide (now renamed Universal) people. J: Doug's first words were, "I think you've got a hit record and I want it. What do I have to do to get it?" F: That impressed us right off the bat. We thought, this is the first time anyone has ever come in and had the guts to say something like that. For years and years and years people just ran us through the mill. J: People would say, "Well I like it but I don't know if anybody else will." F: "You all have really great ideas, but then you have to do something to make it weird. Why don't you just keep it simple and normal?" After getting all this input from record people it was telling us that, if we don't sell the kind of records that they want us to, then all of a sudden they could be telling us how to write songs. At least right now, coming into the company, it just seems like they appreciate what we do and they see us as career type artists. Right now we're just really happy at Universal, with the staff they have. They're really music appreciators. And they're keeping costs low. They'll spend half of what people normally spend for a video. C: Is that getting you some airplay? J: It's not been released yet. They figure to submit it to MTV soon. There's like a timing thing. We're doing the Conan O'Brien show on April 2 and that's going to be a big thing for us. C: Let's talk about the music. When you sit down to write, do you write from bursts of inspiration, or do you, like some songwriters in Nashville do, slug it out and say "I'm clocking in and I'm going to write songs today?" F: No, I could do that. I don't want to just throw something out, but I wish I had the discipline to sit down and say "What are my ideas today and get 'em out on paper. We kind of write slowly because I write the lyrics and the melody, or get the melody ideas together. I might not have the whole melody to the song. I might just have a chorus and an idea for the lyrics and then come to John and sing it to him and say, "I think it should be like this." Then we kind of work together. But I initiate the idea, so he has to wait on me. J: We usually don't finish anything until we need it. We'll have little fragments of ideas for six months. C: Do you just work off of feelings, or are there concrete things that trigger an idea for you? J: On "A Place Called Love," I'd been working on the tuning, the intro and the riff in the middle of it, on my own. I was telling Fleming about it and she had been working on a song, ironically, in the same key, the same mode. F: That riff just fit. It was one of those things. C: So you basically start with a melody that you hear in your head and you give that to John and see what he comes up with, as far as the harmonic arrangements? F: Exactly. I think that's why it works. Usually it's melody and I think John likes having a melody because it inspires the voicings that he finds, instead of a counterpart or a counter melody. It makes it easier for him. It's funny, when we travel, we don't really get a lot of time to spend alone. This is something we need to do, but with a lot of people around it's kind of hard. You need a little privacy, and on the road you're not getting privacy. We just bought a small, inexpensive four-track to carry with us on the road, and we actually put down some ideas. But that will be great if we can get more time, cause we're really going to have to write on the road. It's difficult to do, but we're going to have to. C: Perhaps I'm reading into it with my own impressions, but I feel that your music is very affirmative, that there's a sense of hope expressed in the lyrics; and yet, there seems to be a certain doubt that accompanies that hope. F: I think that's very true. We enjoy life. But I think that the doubts that I do have kind of creep out into the music. "I'm Not Afraid" is probably a psychologist's dream. It was written five years ago when I was first beginning to feel that I was an adult. All of a sudden there was this world, and I was an adult living in this world and it was scary. Before John and I got married, it was actually written as a quirky kind of love song. I'm afraid of all these things but I'm not afraid of you. C: It's an interesting idea that expresses at the same time the fear and the hope and the trust that you invest in someone. F: That's really what life is, I think. You have hope and you have fears. You try to learn to cope with the fear. Fleming and John's debut album, _Delusions of Grandeur_, was re-released nationwide on March 26. --- REVIEW: Weapon Of Choice, _Highperspice_ (Loosegroove/Sony 550) - Joe D'Angelo It's one thing to be influenced by another band. Everyone can cite at least one band that has made a direct impact on their lifestyle and, consequently, on their music. I might have been a completely different person had I not heard Pink Floyd's _The Wall_ at such a young age. But when influence translates into mimicry, problems arise. Weapon Of Choice are influenced by some of my favorite bands, P-Funk, Sly and the Family Stone, Fishbone and one of my least favorite, Steely Dan. After hearing Weapon of Choice's direct imitations, I now tolerate Steely Dan and cherish the others as priceless treasures. With a distinctly West Coast sound, Weapon Of Choice ringleader Lonnie "Meganut" Marshall, along with his seven circus cronies, released _Highperspice_ hoping to fill the funk-pop void left when the mainstream retreated from deep soul and worthwhile grooves. Good luck. To permanently fill a void, originality is essential. Mimicry may temporarily sate, but it is only a pacifier. When it's gone, hunger for the original intensifies. Weapon Of Choice's worthiest boon is that, taken at face value, they make music that is essentially kind-spirited and fun. Songs like, "Blindside," with a digable bassline and catchy chorus, and "Spade," a hip-hop-fueled poke at racism, leave you humming along and tapping your feet, although you'll swear you've tapped this beat before. Despite a blatant P-Funk hook, the haunting "Count Maculuv" is both blacksploitaciously humorous and genuinely moving. _Highperspice_ is a great drive-with-the-top-down, summer-roadtrip soundscape. For the true funk aficionado, _Highperspice_ does not overwhelm with its innovativeness; rather, it may disappoint for its lack thereof. However, if freaky exuberant fun is what you crave, _Highperspice_ will soothe your pangs with an unobtrusively smooth salve. --- REVIEW: Weird Al Yankovic, _Bad Hair Day_ (Scotti Bros.) - Bob Gajarsky Weird Al Yankovic, the king of parodists, has returned with his latest sendoff on today's pop stars, _Bad Hair Day_. Five parodies grace this album, with two of them hitting a bullseye. "Amish Paradise", a take-off of the Coolio/L.V. #1 hit "Gangsta's Paradise", and "Gump", using the music from the Presidents of the United States hit "Lump", both rank in the Al hall of classics, for their humorous lyrics and well-played musical backing. Older fans of Soul Asylum who insinuate "pop sellout!" with their latest release will find some justification as Al turns "Misery" into "Syndicated Inc.", an average ode to today's television re-runs. Unfortunately, the U2 song "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" (which gets transformed into the dentist song "Cavity Search") and the TLC penned "Waterfall" (now "Phony Calls") are both boring -in their lyrical content as well as performance. Even the appearance of Bart Simpson and Homer's favorite bartender, Moe, can't save "Phony Calls". His original songs, which often get overlooked, are sometimes musical gems of a format - witness prior homages to the Talking Heads ("Dog Eat Dog") and the Devo dedication "Dare To Be Stupid". Two new ones continue this tradition: "Everything You Know Is Wrong" is a long overdue tip of the hat to the eccentric early days of They Might Be Giants, and "Callin' In Sick" points up to the Seattle scene including Nirvana's "Come As You Are". And, as always, the "Alternative Polka" medley, is good for a laugh. The latest release by Weird Al Yankovic, _Bad Hair Day_, won't win any converts to the king of parody's camp - and this release won't generate any monster sales. But, those who are Close Personal Friends of Al will want to purchase this disc - and web surfers will want to check out more information at http://www.loop.com/~bermuda/index.htm --- REVIEW: Lush, _Lovelife_ (4AD/Reprise) - Lee Graham Bridges After several listens to this album, I put it aside and hoped I really wouldn't have to review it. But I soon realized that I have to tell people about this album--that I have to tear up the newest release from one of my most favorite bands, Lush. What a disappointment I have found _Lovelife_ to be. From all the pre-release chatter on the Internet, and others' attempts at describing of Lush's new sound, I tried to avoid expecting much. I wish I could make a lot of intelligent commentary about what Lush sounds like on this album, but from a true fan's more emotional viewpoint, it is basically just far more dry and meaningless than what I expected. But what makes this album an atrocity is not just one single flaw, but a combination of failures. One problem is the full degeneration of the band's ability to create their trademark ambience, at least in the recorded format. The second is that most of their beautiful musical structure, nature of chords, song's progression, etc., are also lacking on _Lovelife_, and hence, so is the warmth and vivacity contained in previous works. The third is the set of trite, substandard lyrics Miki and Emma wrote for this album. You may even find yourself wondering, "is this the same band?" The album revolves almost entirely around emotional turmoil in relationships. "Ladykillers" is about manipulative men. "Single Girl" presents the ups and downs of single life. "The Childcatcher" explores the problematic age gap in a relationship. "Ciao!" relates a very happy separation and features guest vocals by Jarvis Cocker of Pulp. "Olympia" is some kind of bittersweet song about life's difficulties. The press release describes "Papasan" and "Tralala" as "exercises in heart-wrenching balladry." It's strange this is said when nothing on _Lovelife_ matches the potency of previous "ballads" like "Never-Never" or "Desire Lines" from _Split_. Supposedly "'Ladykillers' and 'Single Girl' positively drip with adrenaline" and "'Last Night' [exudes] an affecting eerieness." Wrong again. Although "Ladykillers" and "Single Girl" are very catchy tunes, and the trippy, dark "Last Night" is the only example of Lush's classic musical ability on _Lovelife_, you still haven't heard adrenaline or eerieness unless you've heard Lush's _Spooky_. Current fans may have a very hard time with Lush's sudden abandonment of that which made them a true stand-out, and so dear to those fans. By the same token, people enjoying _Lovelife_ with no prior exposure to Lush may find themselves very disoriented upon listening to past releases. This is how _Lovelife_ has created an unappealing gap in what is an otherwise impressive history. Even without referring back to Lush's exceptional previous work, _Lovelife_ is, at best, nothing special. No decent music fan expects a band to stay with the same style throughout their history, or to not jump to some other style. But what Lush has switched to is not a style so much as a current musical trend...a bad brew concocted either because the band really does like this sound, to sell more records, or because they forgot to show off their talent this time. --- REVIEW: Fu Manchu, _In Search Of..._(Mammoth) - Mario J. Lia With thick distorted minor chords, and monster gooves, Black Sabbath defined the sounds of 70's rock. Sabbath's songs were filled with power chords broken by quick and memorible riffs. Many bands have tried to copy that sound, and they have failed. Next up to bat is Fu Manchu. This is their debut on Mammoth and it surly won't be the last. For those of you who have not yet heard Fu Manchu let me set the scene for you. Scott Hill has the fuzzy distortion of his guitar turned up well past 10 providing an massive wall of sound. Eddie Glass has a guitar that sounds like a toy stun gun, but make no mistake, he shoots to kill. His awsome riffs and supersonic solos will make any Randy Rhoads fan stand up and listen. They are backed by Ruben Romano (drums) and Brad Davis (bass), who provide a stong backbone for this power-house band. On top of it all are Hill's lyrics and voice. "The lyrics aren't about one thing; they're usually about nothing." he claims in a deadpan voice. A sample of the lyrics from the song "Seahag" will show you he's right: "I'm living in a freak show/I sink down low/I got away ridin'/I'm king of the road". Nevertheless fans of early Sabbath and the likes of Monster Magnet you will search no more, and love every minute of _In Search Of..._. And for those of you who desperately need deep and emotional lyrics there's always the new Mariah Carey album..... --- REVIEW: Global Communication, _Remotion_ (Dedicated/HitIt!) - Lee Graham Bridges On the inside of the plain-looking three-tone _Remotion_ jewel box, under the clear plastic that holds the CD, one can see Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton, otherwise known as Global Communication, posing for the camera. With _Remotion_, these two very ordinary seeming men create something similar to what a lot of people might simply call techno. Yet there's much more to this record than that. _Remotion_ is made up of their remixes of songs by Chapterhouse ("Delta Phase," "Epsilon Phase"), Jon Anderson ("Amor Real"), Warp 69 ("Natural High"), Reload ("Le Soleil et La Mer"), The Grid ("Rollercoaster"), and Nav Katze ("Wild Horses"). The remixes on _Remotion_ are slow and low--just as the two think the music should be. According to their manifesto, the goal is to "create an awareness of personal emotions within people, and to stimulate a state of relaxation." "People are starting to lose touch with themselves as individuals," Middleton explains, "through techno overdose and the whole rigmarole of '90s lifestyle. We're saying hold on, slow down and chill out a minute. Take it easy, you're a human being." So is this just chill-out music, to be played in the background at parties? Not really. The album is very easygoing, but this is supposed to allow for a greater exploration of the human senses. Pritchard and Middleton want the listener to consider how the music affects the way they feel, and perhaps how it stimulates other senses. "People take their senses for granted--we want to make people more aware that they can feel these things," says Middleton. Which obviously means taking some individual time to let the music do its work. Global Communication apply this concept to _Remotion_, delivering the relaxation one would expect, and more. You can order directly from HitIt! Recordings (phone: 312.440.9012, fax: 312.440.9241, e-mail: hitit@aol.com). For more info on Global Communication, check out their website at [http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~cs92bbm/gc/gc.html]. --- REVIEW: Varnaline, _Man of Sin_ (Zero Hour) - Dan Geller Upon listening to this cd for the first time, I began to wonder how this relatively new indie label, Zero Hour, is able to release so many records. It seems to me every time I turn around there is a new band with a release on this label (Grover, Space Needle, etc.). But then as the disc played on I realized this label signs good bands. And, I guess since the bands are good it can afford to keep putting this stuff out knowing that someone will buy it. Varnaline's first release _Man of Sin_ shows some real potential. A single man, Anders Parker, recorded this entire album on his own and proved himself somewhat of a good (there is that word again) song craftsman. According to the press kit the songs on this recording were all written "through a guitar, a sheet of paper and a voice." This is a good thing; as a musician, a good rule for me has always been if you can play a song on guitar alone and still think it is good, it probably is. But Parker did not stop there. Anyone could write a bunch of mediocre songs on a guitar so Parker had to do something to set them apart. This something was production. The production on this cd is textured and varied. Unfortunately, not all the chances Parker took worked out. Slower, more guitar oriented songs such as "Thorns & Such" and "Little Pills" seem lost in the translation from guitar to finished product. They are still acoustic guitar songs, and in the context of this album that is a bad thing since many of the tracks became so much more. Some of the more successful tracks on the record include more upbeat songs like "The Hammer Goes Down" and "In the Year of Dope". These songs have a bigger sound that would actually lead one to believe that Varnaline is a band and not just a guy with some songs and a lot of equipment. Since this outfit is now a bonified band with the addition of John Parker and Jud Ehrbar, future releases will hopefully continue down this path of actual "band" songs. Tracks that turned out the best were the weirder ones. Songs like "Dust" and "No Decision No Disciple" very wonderfully reflect Anders' roots in bands like the aforementioned Space Needle (he is referred to as "the elusive third member" of this band). These songs have the low-fi fuzz of the _Voyager_ cd which is by far the best release from this New York label. The techniques used to record tracks like these is very interesting. The songs still retain the subtleties that make them interesting and then are coupled with the droney din of tape hiss. The Zero Hour bands seem to know how to do this in a way I have not heard before and it really works. This technique works for Parker's songs extremely well since the undermixing of vocals and guitars does not allow any one instrument to stand out and leaves space for everything. It is at times like this that you realize the concept of Varnaline is a very solid one that holds much promise for the future, if the addition of the other musicians allows the evolution of the project into an actual band. --- REVIEW: McRackins, _In On The Yolk!_ (Shredder) - Reto Koradi These three guys from Vancouver bring a whole new dimension to the great chicken or egg dilemma. Chicken and eggs are standing on stage together, and they play punk! Things have gotten even weirder recently with the McRackins, the (drummer) chicken was replaced by a dog... Funny dresses are not all they have to offer, though. There's a lot of fun shining through in the music. Granted, it's nothing fancy or new. This is good old punk rock, only that the lyrics are about vegetables instead of anarchy. Sort of like the Ramones on steroids, or Toy Dolls meet Suicidal Tendencies. If we were one of those college mags, and not a cultivated E-zine, we'd probably say that this album "kicks ass". Well, we can still say it kicks ass. As a fan of this genre, you're guaranteed to thoroughly enjoy _In On The Yolk!_. The McRackins are also proud of their productivity, they plan to reach the mark of 100 songs released in 15 months with another 10" in April. The CD can be mail ordered for $9 (postpaid in the U.S.) from Subterranean Mailorder, P.O. 2530, Berkeley, CA 94702. E-mail to mel_cheplowitz@bmug.org for more information. --- REVIEW: Prolapse, _Back Saturday_ (Big Cat) - David Landgren A swirling maelstrom of the rantings of Mark E. Smith, the grinding guitar work of Thurston Moore and sweet girlie-pop vocals of Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses) thunder down the drain with enough energy to wake the dead. All this and more in the shape of a Leicester six-piece. She (Linda Steelyard) sings, he (Mike Derrick) shouts in a thick semi-comprehensible Scottish brogue. This, on top of some serious hardline disc(h)ordant rock that has its roots in Can. At times an almost industrial rock sound with bass (Mick), guitar (David and Pat) and drums (Tim). Their own claimed refernces, comparisons and influences include early Fall, Sonic Youth, Faith Healers, Pavement, Pere Ubu, Joy Division and so on. I would also throw in a serious comparison with Blurt, and to a certain extent, the ringing guitars of early Cure. They would want you to believe that Prolapse is "where yer anal organs fall out of yer backside", haha! they're just joshing. They actually sound like a reasonable loveable bunch; in any case they have a fine ear for a tune. This is Prolapse's second album. The first, _Pointless Walks to Dismal Places_ was released in the UK in 1994. All in all, this one is a very refreshing listen. My theory is that the days of the all-male band are dead and gone. The most interesting stuff happening now is with groups with both boys *and* girls. And with the dual (duelling) vocals of Kate and Mike, Prolapse have a lot going for them. The comparisons are easy to make. The first track, "Mein Minefield, Mine Landmine", starts off in a gathering wail of feedback, and then kicks off very much like the opening track to Sonic Youth's _Goo_. After that we're into a ringing Mary Chain-style guitar piece, "TCR", with Kate's vocals clearly soaring over the top of it all, and then "Framen Fr. Cesar", where we meet Mike and are acquainted with his fondness of bellowing through a megaphone, or some weird device that renders his words nigh on incomprehensible. But then, that may also be the Scottish blood in him. Closest comparison would be Blurt -- a heavy, rhythmic boogie. Introductions over, we get into the meat of the album. "Every Night I'm Crucified (7,000 Times)" is a massive track. I think they intend this one to be the single. It's got a big, fat drum track; essentially without vocals, and ends with the most haunting guitar wail, the kind that sends you into a retrospective trip, as anyone who has heard of "All I Want" or "Too Personal" from the Mekons will know (which for some reason came to mind when listening to this). My favourite track on this album is "Zen Nun Deb", an early-Cure, Joy-Division-with-girl-vocals piece. Probably not as representative of them as some of the others, but that's probably why it stands out so much ahead of the rest. The only real weak point: "Irritating Radiator", which is just that; sounds like a noisy, aimless jam and the taping equipment happened to be switched on. On the other hand, there is "Flex", long slow instrumental, very Sonic Youth, that slowly winds up into a pounding, blistering rocker; the kind that sends the mosh pit into a frenzy. Definitely not the one you'll hear on the radio - the damned thing must go on for quarter of an hour. The album closes with a melancholic dirge, "Strain Contortion of Bag" as if the whole band were suffering total exhaustion; no doubt they were. To sum up, there's really only one less-good track in the whole lot of _Back Saturday_, which makes for a pretty good batting average. Long may they play. --- NEWS: > The Barenaked Ladies will be at Tower Records on Sunset in Los Angeles on March 28 at 1 pm. > The Black Crowes next album will be titled _Three Snakes and One Charm_. It is currently being mixed, and is tentatively set for a summer 1996 release. > Former Jefferson Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico will be having a real-time, audio presentation of his April 9 concert at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. Information on the concert, his latest release _A Thousand Pictures_, as well as other information can be found at http://www.jazzonline.com/radio/craig2 > LIFEbeat, the Music Industry Fights AIDS organization, will be honored by the Minority Task Force On AIDS (MTFA), on April 29, 1996 to recognize their work for launching UrbanAID 4 LIFEbeat, an AIDS awareness campaign and mega concert, focusing on the urban community. Motown Records President Andre Harrell, LIFEbeat Executive Director Tim Rosta, and supermodel/journalist and LIFEbeat Boardmember Veronica Webb will be among those honored at the gala dinner, "Harlem Nights", at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. > On Tuesday, April 30, The American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam will host a benefit concert on behalf of the Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam village and school (where Jews and Palestinians live and work peacefully, since 1972), at New York City's Merkin Hall. Internationally acclaimed Israeli-born recording artist David Broza, whose grandfather, Wellesley Aron, co-founded the village, headlines a bill that includes Jordanian-born percussionist Hani Naser and David Amram. Tickets for the benefit concert are priced at $35.00 - $500.00 and are available by contacting American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, 121 Sixth Avenue, #507, New York, NY 10013 or calling (212) 226-9246. >njatnight has just opened a web page at http://www.njatnight.com which caters to the entertainment industry in the New Jersey and surrounding areas. njatnight posts calendars for night club events including rock, dance, comedy and others, and links to artist's and club directories and their web pages. In addition, njatnight lists local concert events, has online chat pages, publishes news articles and includes a directory of music/entertainment and rock-related websites. > Todd Rundgren has released two complete music videos from his 1993 interactive album _No World Order_ - "Change Myself" and "Fascist Christ" - to the Internet and Compuserve communities at no charge to viewers. These are available at the National Association of Music Shareware World Wide Web site (NAMSnet 2000), located at http://www.mw3.com/nams/ and is hosted by Music Interactive. > Upcoming chats on Sonicnet include: April 1, 7 Year Bitch, 7:30 pm: http://www.sonicnet.com and on Prodigy (Jump SONICNET): April 4, Chuck D., 7 pm. Onyx will appear on April 9 at 7pm on the web site and at 8 pm on Prodigy. --- TOUR DATES AC/DC Apr. 1 St. Louis, MO Keil Center Apr. 2 Kansas City, MO Kemper Arena Apr. 4 Dallas, TX Reunion Arena Avalanchia Mar. 29 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom Apr. 3 Boston, MA Avalon Apr. 4 New York, NY Irving Plaza Barenaked Ladies / Bogmen Apr. 1 Phoenix, AZ Gibson's Apr. 3 Denver, CO Paramount Apr. 4 Boulder, CO Glen Miller Ballroom Apr. 5 Fort Collins, CO Lincoln Center Apr. 7 Minneapolis, MN Fitzgerald Theatre Apr. 8 Madison, WI Barrymores Apr. 9 St. Louis, MO Westport Playhouse BE Apr. 9 Commerce, TX East Texas State College (w /Radish) Apr. 10 Arlington, TX J. Gilligan's Frank Black / Jonny Polonsky Apr. 2 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's Apr. 3 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall Apr. 5 Grand Rapids, MI Reptile House Apr. 6 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre Apr. 8 Bloomington, IN Second Story Apr. 9 Columbia, MO Blue Note Apr. 10 St. Louis, MO Galaxy Deftones Apr. 1 Norfolk, VA Bait Shack Foo Fighters / Amps Apr. 2 Cleveland, OH Agora Theatre Apr. 3 Toronto, ON Concert Hall Apr. 5 Worcester, MA Worcester Auditorium Apr. 6 New York, NY Roseland Apr. 7 Baltimore, MD UMBC Fieldhouse Apr. 9 Raleigh, NC Ritz Apr. 10 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Park Freewheelers Apr. 8 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern Apr. 10 Ottawa, ON Barrymore's Music Hall Gin Blossoms / 3 Day Wheely Mar. 28 York, PA Wolf Gym Mar. 29 New Rochelle, NY Mulcahy Gym Gravel Pit Mar. 28 New York, NY Brownie's (w/The Figgs) Gren Mar. 28 Tallahassee, FL Down Under Arlo & Abe Guthrie Apr. 4 Milwaukee, WI Shank Hall Apr. 5 Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre Apr. 6 Wausau, WI Wausau Grand Theatre Apr. 7 Oshkosh, WI Oshkosh Opera House Harvest Ministers Apr. 6 New York, NY Sine Apr. 9 Boston, MA Phoenix Landing Apr. 10 New York, NY Fez Kate Jacobs Apr. 6 Middletown, NY The Listen Inn Howard Jones Acoustic Tour Apr. 10 Alexandria, VA Birchmere Love and Rockets Apr. 1 Washington, DC 930 Club Apr. 2 New York, NY Irving Plaza Apr. 3 Boston, MA Paradise Apr. 5 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's Apr. 6 Toronto, ON Lee's Place Apr. 7 Cleveland, OH Odeon Theatre Apr. 9 Chicago, IL Cabaret Metro Apr. 10 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue Oasis Apr. 10 Vancouver, BC PNE Pacific Coliseum Joan Osborne Apr. 1 Raleigh, NC The Ritz Apr. 2-3 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse Apr. 5 Richmond, VA The Barn Apr. 6 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory Apr. 8-9 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Poi Dog Pondering Apr. 1-2 Boston, MA Paradise Apr. 4 Northampton, MA Pearl St. Apr. 6 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Apr. 9 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle Professor & Maryann Apr. 9 New York, NY Rodeo Bar Rancid/Rocket from the Crypt/O-Matic Apr. 2 Columbus, OH Newport Ruby Mar. 29 Vancouver, BC Starfish Room Mar. 30 Portland, OR (KNRK Radio Show)/venue: La Luna Mar. 31 Seattle, WA Moe Apr. 2 Salt Lake City, UT DV8 Apr. 3 Denver, CO BluebirdTheatre Apr. 6 St. Louis, MO The Galaxy Ruth Ruth Mar. 30 St. Louis, MO Galaxy Apr. 1 Columbia, MO Blue Note Apr. 2 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck (remainder of dates with Spacehog) Apr. 4 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre Apr. 5 Denver, CO Blue Bird Cafe Apr. 6 Salt Lake City, UT DV-8 Apr. 8 Vancouver, BC Town Pump Apr. 9 Seattle, WA DV-8 Apr. 10 Portland, OR La Luna Sting Apr. 2 Toulouse, France Palaise des Sports Apr. 3 Bordeux, France Patinoire Apr. 5 Lyon, France Tony Garnier Apr. 6 Marseilles, France Le Dome Apr. 7 Toulon, France Zenith Omega Swales Apr. 4 Champaign, IL Mabel's A Ten O'Clock Scholar Mar. 28 Memphis, TN Barristers Mar. 29 Chicago, IL Fireside Bowl Mar. 30 Cleveland Heights, OH Grogg Shop Mar. 31 Battle Creek, MI Basement Apr. 1 Kalamazoo, MI Club Soda Apr. 2 Bloomington, IN Bluebirds Apr. 3 Columbus, OH Stache's Apr. 5 Lexington, KY Area 51 Apr. 6 Dayton, OH Submarine Galley Apr. 7 Bowling Green, OH Howard's They Might Be Giants / Swales Apr. 1 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue Theatre Apr. 2 Champaign, IL Virginia Theatre Tiny Lights Apr. 6 New Brunswick, NJ Court Tavern Trip 66 Mar. 28 Wilmington, DE The Barn Door Mar. 29 Wilkes Barre, PA Manis Green (WDRE show) Mar. 31 New York, NY Coney Island High Apr. 06 Washington DC The 15 Minute Club Apr. 10 New York, NY Don Hill's Urchins Apr. 4 Pomona, NJ Stockton State College Apr. 6 New Brunswick, NJ Court Tavern Uzjsmedoma Apr. 1 San Francisco, CA Paradise Lounge Apr. 9 Lancaster, PA Chameleon Club Velocity Girl Apr. 5 Charlottesville, VA Trax Apr. 6 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy's Apr. 7 Columbia, SC Rockafella's Apr. 9 Jacksonville, FL Club Down Under/Florida State Apr. 10 Orlando, FL Sapphire Supper Club Wrens Apr. 1 Hollywood, CA Whiskey A Go Go --- To get back issues of Consumable, check out: FTP: eetsg22.bd.psu.edu in the directory /pub/Consumable ftp.etext.org in the directory /pub/Zines/Consumable Gopher: diana.zems.etf.hr Engleski Jezik/Music/Consumable or Hrvastki Jezik/Glazbena Rubrika/Consumable (URL) gopher://diana.zems.etf.hr:70/11/eng/Music/Consumable http://www.westnet.com/consumable/Consumable.html (WWW) http://www.westnet.com (CIS) on Compuserve Notes: GO FORUM (Delphi) Music Fandom forum; GO ENT MUSIC Web access contributed by WestNet Internet Services (westnet.com), serving Westchester County, NY. Promotional support provided by Music Interactive (http://musicinteractive.com), a free online resource for aspiring musicians and other music professionals seeking to expand their careers, networking, music skills and scope. Address any written correspondence to Bob Gajarsky, Consumable Online, 409 Washington St. #294, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 ===