==== ISSUE 138 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [March 11, 1998] Editor: Bob Gajarsky Internet: gaj@westnet.com Sr. Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Joann Ball, Bill Holmes, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Sean Eric McGill, Al Muzer, Joe Silva, Lang Whitaker Correspondents: Tracey Bleile, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron, Jason Cahill, Patrick Carmosino, Arabelle Clauson, Krisjanis Gale, Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Robin Lapid, Scott Miller, Linda Scott, Scott Slonaker, Simon Speichert, Jon Steltenpohl, Simon West Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gaj@westnet.com ================================================================== All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the editor. ================================================================== Help rate Consumable! The Ultimate Magazine Database is allowing people rate their favorite online magazines - go to http://www.DOMINIS.com/cgi-bin/ZineQuery?category=Music&src=catpg&name=Consumable&submit=Search and enter the 'music' area, then go to Consumable to rate us! ================================================================== .------------. | Contents | `------------' INTERVIEW: Jules Shear - Joe Silva REVIEW: Ani DiFranco, _Little Plastic Castle_ - Jon Steltenpohl INTERNET WEB SITE REVIEW: The Beastie Boys Online - Robin Lapid REVIEW: Swervedriver, _99th Dream_ - Patrick Carmosino REVIEW: Jimmy Ray, _Jimmy Ray_ - Bob Gajarsky CONCERT REVIEW: Lisa Loeb - Jason Cahill SINGLE REVIEW: Primal Scream, "If They Move Kill 'Em" - Patrick Carmosino REVIEW: Fastball, _All The Pain Money Can Buy_ - Bill Holmes REVIEW: Air, _Moon Safari_ - Robin Lapid REVIEW: Dave's True Story, _Sex Without Bodies_ - Patrick Carmosino REVIEW: Soak, _Soak_ - Dan Birchall REVIEW: Tonebenders, _Tonebenders_ - Bill Holmes REVIEW: Brownie Mary, _Naked_ - Linda Scott REVIEW: Within, _Within_ - Dan Birchall NEWS: American Music Club, Blur's Graham Coxon, Cause & Effect's Rob Rowe, Veruca Salt, Rock Out Censorship, USA Songwriting Competition TOUR DATES: Bluetones, China Drum, Cravin' Melon, Dakota Moon, Dave's True Story, Dream Theatre, Everclear / Jimmie's Chicken Shack / Feeder, G. Love & Special Sauce / Alana Davis, High Llamas, Irving Plaza (NYC concert hall - www.irvingplaza.com), Ziggy Marley & Melody Makers, Megadeth, Misfits, David Poe, Princess Superstar, Promise Ring, Reel Big Fish / Pilfers / Mr. T Experience, Sherry Rich, Swervedriver / Libido, Third Eye Blind / Smash Mouth / Fat, Tim, Zeke Back Issues of Consumable --- INTERVIEW: Jules Shear - Joe Silva Despite the fact that his tunes have bolstered a few careers, or that he spearheaded a mini acoustic revolution by coming up with the concept for MTV's Unplugged program, Jules Shear's name may still only draw recognition from pop purists and breatheren songwriters. After a considerable gap between solo projects (his last LP, _Healing Bones_, was released in 1994), Jules has returned with an album of 15 original songs all recorded as duets called _Between Us_ (High Street). Born partially out of the "Writers in the Round" shows he co-hosted with Richard Barone in New York City, these latest outings feature a similar vibe - sympathetic voices and song craftsmen joining forces to take material to new levels. Included among the many vocal talents contributing to this album are Ron Sexsmith, Paula Cole, Roseanne Cash, Angie Hart of Frente!, and the legendary Carole King. Between mixing sessions for a new James Brown tribute record that Shear was contributing a track to, Jules spoke to Consumable. Consumable Online: With so many different people contributing in the studio for this record, have you come up with a way to take this on the road? Jules Shear: Well we're a few weeks on a few days off. I'm going to do it with a singer named Jenifer Jackson who is a New York singer/songwriter. We sound really good together and she can cover a lot of the female duetists that are on the record. I think we're going to do it really stripped down and it'll just be me and her singing songs. C.O.: Considering your lengthy history, doing solo work, being in a band, and acting as a songwriter for someone else, do you consider this project what you've been working towards? Is it an ideal situation for you? J.S.: There are so many things I like to do that is was ideal at the time that I did it and it's ideal for me now to be going out and playing these songs, but I wasn't really thinking about this as the ultimate record that I could make in my life. I don't really do that. But for the time period when it was conceived, it seemed like the perfect thing. Then again, doing this James Brown thing for the last couple of days has been ideal as well. That's been fun too. But it's a different kind of fun having fifteen different vocalists traipse into the studio and you have to deal with every one on a different level. So that presented it's own set of challenges, which I totally enjoyed. We got amazingly good performances out of everybody that came in. We didn't have anyone where we thought 'Well, they really didn't do it good enough.' Everyone who showed up is on the record. C.O.: Does this project have a similar resonance for you as the finales you used to do when you hosted Unplugged, where the guests from that particular show would get together and sing. J.S.: It's definitely got some of that to it. That's something I enjoyed doing. Because when you're not in a band, or especially if you live in someplace like Woodstock and you're not going out and socializing like in New York City for instance, then I tend to know people but we don't get to hang out. And I love that sort of camaraderie aspect of it all and I tried to do that on Unplugged. I love to get people to sing and play together, but it was kind of like pulling teeth sometimes on Unplugged. Some people are just inclined to do it and be more outgoing and other people are not used to it at all. Especially when it's a live situation in front of a huge MTV audience, they were loath to put themselves up to that for fear that it would not look good, so we had that problem a lot. On the record it was easier because you're in a more controlled situation. You can do more to make people feel comfortable. And I've always been attracted to singing with other people. I grew up singing with my brothers and I miss that sometimes, not being in a band. C.O.: Speaking of working alone, I didn't know that Todd Rundgren had produced your first solo record. J.S.: I love Todd. He's a really great guy. As far as his demeanor goes, maybe it's not my favorite demeanor as far as a producer goes. He cares a lot about the things he cares about, and the things he doesn't really care about, he doesn't care about at all. Now I tend to be a little like that myself and that's fine for me as an artist because I'll have a producer to look after things. But when your producer is like that it can be a little unnerving. There were many times when I would sing a vocal and he would say That's fine.' and I wouldn't think it was good enough. And I was really used to the opposite situation with a producer. I felt like he was settling a lot of times. But the plus side was that we liked a lot of the same music and as people we got along really great and still do when we see each other. I don't think we're all that compatible as an artist/producer combination, but at the time it seemed like an excellent idea. C.O.: Now as a producer, was it kind of tricky to coax certain things out of people performance-wise for this new album? J.S.: Yeah, for some people. Some people just come in and they do it and they know it's right and it turns out better than you imagined it was going to sound. When that happens, you take it as a gift. Other times, people were just unprepared. Like the same people who never did their homework in high school are still doing that to this very day out in the real world. They'll show up and just not know the song or think they knew because they went through it a few times on the tape. But when it comes down to hearing us sing together on tape, you just know it's not there. Then you have to get down and get it any way you can. C.O.: Were there any tricks you used to get people on track quicker? J.S.: If we had to do them separately, I would just have them come and sit with me in the control room just because it would make people feel like it was a more intimate setting, which is what I wanted for the record anyhow. Just talking to people about the songs (was another way), because generally they would just hear a demo of me singing both parts of the song with my part on far left and their part on far right. So even if it was like a female, I would sing the guest part in falsetto. That was all they had when they came in, so sometimes it was good just to sit down and go Here's where it's coming from and yes I really meant it to be like that.' Sometime you have to discern from people whether they're just singing it differently because they think it should just be different or whether they just remember it that way and they don't know they're doing it a different way. And in 90% of the cases, they thought it went that way and not that they were trying to improve it. A person like Carole King could make up something, change it, and actually improve it. C.O.: So generally it went fairly smoothly. J.S.: It went unbelievable smoothly. One of the things we talked about when we were first doing this is Is this going to be a nightmare working with people who are unable to sing the parts or can't sing the parts?' Doing a duets album is really opening up a can of worms, particularly if it's a whole bunch of songs that nobody's ever heard before. So it's not like doing classic songs with new arrangements, these are songs that when people hear these duets it's going to be their first exposure to that song. They're going to think that this is the template, this is the way this song was written to go, so I wanted to get it right first time around. C.O.: Was there anyone you tried to get that wasn't available? J.S.: There was one person we tried to get whose record company would not allow them to do the record and that was the only time. That was another thing that people told us when we started to do the record, was that 'You're never going to get permission from people to do this.' Sometimes it took a little bit of talking through administrative people to get them on the record, but only once did an attorney try and get in the way of the whole process and say that their artist couldn't do it. And that was unfortunate because it was with someone who I'd sung the song with live, but in the end that was the one Margo Timmins sang and she did a fantastic job and it's hard to figure that song sung by anybody else at this point. C.O.: Were there any songs that didn't make it on to the album that were a little more uptempo or pop-ish? J.S.: No. Every one of the songs was based around picking an acoustic guitar. That was part of the concept from the beginning, that the tempos were going to go from slow all the way up to almost mid-tempo. I just didn't want to make one of those records (that was all over the place). With Todd, he would listen to thirty songs I wrote and say Let's do a rock one, let's do a slow one, let's make this one psychedelic.' He had kind of a one-of-each' approach to do an album. On this record I didn't want that. If you put this record on at the beginning and played it all the way through...it was kind of a late night record where you could put it on and not get jarred half-way through. I wanted it to be all cut from one cloth and that was the way I approached it in the writing and we took it that way through the whole production process. C.O.: So where do you think you stand industry-wise at this point in your career? J.S.: You know, I try to create my own reality as far as where I stand. I try to bring the industry into my own reality, rather than me going to theirs. If I was going to do that I wouldn't be doing the music I do. I wouldn't be doing anything I do. I would be paralyzed basically. And so the only thing you can really do is create the climate yourself rather than figure yourself into one that already exists. C.O.: Is there anyone that you've wanted to write for and haven't been able to get a hold of? J.S.: No. I don't really go out looking for that kind of thing. Things kind of happen organically (with me). C.O.: Well was there anything particularly fun or memorable that happened during this record that you'll remember? J.S.: Angie (Hart) brought her mother with her (laughs)! After she left, we kept on saying She brought her mother with her!' Her mother was really nice but that was pretty unusual!! --- REVIEW: Ani DiFranco, _Little Plastic Castle_ (Righteous Babe) - Jon Steltenpohl Ani DiFranco has a small problem. She's almost happy (the bio calls it "lighthearted".) Having conquered her feminist demons, found love, and graced the covers of umpteen magazines, who can blame her for easing off on the gut wrenching, wound bearing lyrics that endeared her as a critic's darling and a fan's obsession. The album cover is the first give away. It's a brilliant, happy blue with a little plastic goldfish castle, bright orange aquarium rocks, and DiFranco's goofy mug plastered on the body of a goldfish. Not exactly the thick, obscured portraits of her last few covers. Look at it wrong, and you might actually see a little smile pursing her lips. Found within _Little Plastic Castle_ is a quieter, gentler side of Ani DiFranco than fans of her past few albums might be expecting. Her sarcasm and wit are still present, but the intensity is set down a few notches. On _Little Plastic Castle_, DiFranco gives us the poet inside her. The songs are sometimes nothing more than tapestries behind her verses, and she even goes as far as including a 14 minute track of free-form music and words called "Pulse". "Pulse" is beautiful and mesmerizing. It's a Kafka-esque ode to a self-destructing lover which finds DiFranco mouthing hoarsely "i thought: i would offer you my pulse, i would give you my breath." The music is cool and jazzy. A lazy trumpet plays over the silent surges of the repeating acoustic guitar line like the wandering thoughts of a sleepless, moonlit night. The lyrics are contemplative and wise, melancholy and hopeless. "We lie in our beds and our graves," sings DiFranco, "unable to save ourselves from the quaint tragedies we invent...". So maybe she's not so happy. But there's a new perspective on this album. For the most part, everyone else seems screwed up, and it's DiFranco giving them a piece of her mind. In the bruised and tender "Independence Day", DiFranco takes back a lover and pleads, "you can't leave me here / now that you're back / you'd better stay this time / cuz you say the coast is clear / but you say that all the time". In "Glass House", she tells the world, "if you think you know what I'm doing wrong / you're gonna have to get in line / but for the purposes of this song / let's just say i am doing fine." And for all of the pundits who comment on her ever changing fashion sense, DiFranco pokes a sarcastic jab in the title track. "Quick," she jabs, "someone call the girl police and file a report". But it's not just the lyrical perspective that's different on _Little Plastic Castles_. DiFranco experiments more in the studio this time around. This is the first album where she sounds like she felt comfortable recording her songs. "Little Plastic Castles" features a horn section which recalls the Mighty Mighty Bosstones at half speed, and "Deep Dish" brings back the horns for a bouncing, experimental piece that is reminiscent of Suzanne Vega's departure from acoustic folk a few years back. "As Is" finds DiFranco singing calmly to a quiet little tune and bending her voice around the title phrase like a pretzel. _Little Plastic Castle_ is exactly what you'd expect from Ani DiFranco in that it's different than any of her previous work. Unlike a major label musician forced to put out a carbon copy of their last album, DiFranco's individualist tendencies are unbounded. There are a few familiar tunes like "Loom" and a studio version of "Gravel", but the songs are first and foremost poems set to music. They're engaging to listen to, but they don't always follow the tidy verse-chorus-verse pattern. All of which makes _Little Plastic Castle_ an album that probably won't make it onto your local alternative radio station, but will make it to the discerning fan's CD player. If she was with a major label, such an album would be a disaster for the record execs. _Little Plastic Castle_ may not be the logical follow-up to _Dilate_ and _Living in Clip_, but DiFranco's sold more than a million albums doing things her own way, and there's no reason for her to change now. _Little Plastic Castle_ represents just another intriguing evolution in DiFranco's no-compromise career. --- INTERNET WEB SITE REVIEW: The Beastie Boys Online - Robin Lapid Computer bigwigs always talk about the far-reaching potential of the Internet as a vital tool for economic and social growth. But we all know what the Internet's *really* useful for -- hacking and proffering advance copies of the new Pearl Jam cd and making proper tributes to your favorite bands, like "The Beastie Boys Ate My Balls!" homepage. The collective Beastie Boys -- namely, the punk-rapping trio of Mike D, MC Adam Yauch, and Adam "AdRock" Horovitz -- are representin' well on the web, both officially and unofficially. The band has made ample use of the Internet's saturation ability to promote their numerous musical and philanthropic side projects. The fans, of course, are having their say as well. Herein, a primer to help weed through the net detritus and find those golden nuggets of b-boy representation. The official Beastie Boys website, "On the Strength of the Doo Rag," (http://www.grandroyal.com/beastieboys) is the first and best place to go for a comprehensive Beastie fix. It started life as a high-quality fanpage, but Mike D's Grand Royal label has since taken over, so it has both the latest official news and all the other nit-picky goodies a fan could ever want. In fact, most of the fanpages just steal their stuff from this site. Included are tons of archived press clips, quicktime videos, pictures, discography, the official mailing list faq, and relevant links, including the homepage of Milarepa, the not-for-profit (co-founded by Adam Yauch) organization which puts on the annual Tibetan Freedom Concert. There are also updates on the latest goings-on of all things Beastie, which more recently includes confirmation of a new album and tour this summer. The best links from this page include the 1995 Tour Diary (http://www.grandroyal.com/BeastieBoys/TourZine), an amusing behind-the-scenes look at the American tour for _Ill Communication_ . Nearly every date is catalogued with setlists, pictures, and the necessary Beastie anecdotes (i.e. the time they snuck into a waterslide park afterhours, the NYC Madison Square Garden performance and afterparty, Mike D's explanation on Billy Joel's honorary status as 'the Fifth Beastie Boy'). The Grand Royal Records webpage (http://www.grandroyal.com) links you to all the bands on the label, including AdRock's BS 2000 side project and some outdated information on the GR magazine. But there's also a link to the interactive web-version of 1992's sold-out premier issue, with its infamous Bruce Lee cover story. This first issue epitomizes the best reasons to love the Beastie Boys -- the music for sure, but also that punk-ass, tongue-in-cheek cool filtered through hilarious in-jokes. Included in this issue are interviews with friends like Luscious Jackson and Def Jam's Russell Simmons, a fashion spread which pays tribute to Joey Buttafuoco, and Beastie-style music reviews (sample: Soul Asylum, 'Whatever The Fuck Their New LP Is Called' -- Mike D: 'This is why most white people suck. Who stole the soul? Soul Asylum.'). The official GR pages are pretty impressive as far as content, but only mildly so concerning graphics. Expect bigger and better as an apparent web- initiative has been ordered, so GR may be upgrading the entire site in anticipation of the new Beastie Boys album. Overall Rating: 'Jiggy' (i.e., flair, style, very worthwhile). You might think the official mailing list (subscribe majordomo@grandroyal.com) would be just as rewarding. But you'd be wrong. Most of the high-volume traffic consists of e-mails wondering "So when's the new shit gonna drop?" and posts that just wanna show off some gangsta- inflected lingo. There are some promising posts, including information on the new album, but even that was filtered from mtv online. The same goes for the alt.music.beastie-boys newsgroup. Ratings for both: "Wack" (i.e., bad, as in "what if Sean "Puffy" Combs sampled Celine Dion's Titanic theme song?" kind of bad). For other Beastie Boy jiggy-ness on the Web, Sonicnet has exclusive coverage of 1997's 2nd Annual Tibetan Freedom Concert from New York (http://www.sonicnet.com/tibet/97). It contains realaudio and -video clips from many of the bands that performed, including almost the entire Beastie Boys set. For the best in beastie links, the Ultimate Band List saves you a lot of search-time (http://www.ubl.com/artists/001024.html); it includes categories such as audio and video links, brief intro's to fan pages, and much more. --- REVIEW: Swervedriver, _99th Dream_ (Zero Hour) - Patrick Carmosino Alan McGee parting ways with Swervedriver and signing the likes of Super Furry Animals and Three Colours Red in their wake just can't bode well for Creation Records. Especially when the Swervie's fourth disc, _99th Dream_, is chock full of the sounds that made the label famous. Walls of guitars, ponderous lyrics and pop sensibility continue to be the calling cards of this Oxford-bred ensemble. Originally cast into the same shoegazer box as early-90's peers Lush, My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Curve, Swervedriver's 1991 debut _Raise_ (A&M Records) proved to be on the perimeter of that genre, trading more on chunky yet thoughtful metallic sounds. Seven years on, _99th Dream_ may ironically be the light that sparks the 'dream pop' revival. For one of the best things about Dream is that it never makes grandiose rock and roll promises, only to let the listener down later on. It delivers the goods in its own time and space. Check out the care-free instrumental "Stellar Caprice" for proof. The languid guitar layers, headed up by a harpsichord like lead, makes one wonder what would have happened if Pet Sounds-era Brian Wilson had shared some of the substances he had with guitar boy wonder/brother Carl. "Stellar Caprice" is an electric godchild to the Beach Boys' "Let's Go Away For Awhile". Swervedriver's pop abilities are also on exhibition throughout this record. In fact, the band reaches a nirvana in sound when it pulls from such sources as _All Things Must Pass_ -era George Harrison (the title track) mixed with a horizon-stretching view a la early Pink Floyd ("She Weaves A Tender Trap"), a simple indie-pop philosophy ("These Times") and a link to the current Oasis/Verve axis ("Wrong Treats"). Adam Frankiln's soulful vocals, are as ever, a soulful glue that gives Swervedriver an appealing warm sense of what they are doing (check out the wry harmonies on "In My Time" for proof!). The fuzz box/flange heroics of Franklin and fellow guitarist Jimmy Hartridge make it all the more fun. You can really get a grasp of this on the album's barnstorming closer "Behind The Scenes Of The Sounds & The Times", where the Swervies provide a sonic boom that lacks the false angst of...say... Smashing Pumpkins. Perhaps Swervedriver's former labels (Creation, A&M and Geffen) fucked up indeed! --- REVIEW: Jimmy Ray, _Jimmy Ray_ (Epic) - Bob Gajarsky The history of 1950s music is littered with music performed by black artists, and then achieving a greater level of 'popular' success, in a watered down format, by a white performer. Elvis' career can be rationalized by his later successes, but is there any doubt that Pat Boone destroyed "Tutti Frutti" or "Long Tall Sally"? Falling somewhere between the two extremes that Elvis and Pat present is that of Jimmy Ray. The 22 year old East Londoner (Walthamstow, to be precise) has already captured the hearts of radio programmers with the rockabilly meets 90s sound of "Are You Jimmy Ray?", and if initial feedback is any indication, slick-backed hairdos may be poised for a comeback because of Ray's charismatic personality. A first listen through _Jimmy Ray_ echoes George Michael's "Faith" days - complete with his Wham backing singers of Pepsi & Shirlie. Traces of Andrew Ridgeley's former partner are evident in the music long before the recognition of a title which echoes back to Wham's heydays of the mid-80s; "Let It Go Go". While Michael brought more of a dance beat to his reinterpretation of the 50s, Ray adds univentive drum loops. Prior to his breakout single, Ray's career followed the same course as many other English wanna-be musicians; jobs at Woolworth's supplementing failed attempts at a Smiths-inspired band (The Cutting Room) and a pop/techno group known as A/V. But it was his partnership with Con Fitzpatrick in early 1997, coupled with their love of fifties music, that yielded the right combination. "By February, 1997, I had some rough demos," Ray remembers. "I was keen to produce my album by myself, but Lincoln (Elias, Sony U.K. representative) said 'I know this guy into Fifties rock and roll and contemporary pop music, just like you.' That was Con Fitzpatrick...we got on straightaway, and ended up co-producing most of the album." "I Got Rolled" is likely to be the second single, with its "Wille and the Hand Jive" guitar chords. "Trippin' On Baby Blue", the most original song on the album, might have its harmonica-based introduction right out of "Love Me Do", but the remainder of the track is strong, with a slight nod to a faster version of "Tears of a Clown", yet still maintaining a sense of individuality. While there are other singles to be plucked from this bird, _Jimmy Ray_ doesn't offer an endless supply of perfect three and a half minute singles. At thirty five minutes in length, Jimmy Ray's self-titled debut album is more likely to gain converts from the alterna-something region than to recruit people who were around when Palisades Park was an attraction AND a song. Let's just hope that the younger set take a look back at the Carl Perkins' and Little Richard's of the fifties before they dub Jimmy Ray the next Jimmy Dean. --- CONCERT REVIEW: Lisa Loeb, Tramps, February 27, 1998 - Jason Cahill Well before the release of Lisa Loeb's two albums, people were talking about her live performances. In Manhattan, she frequently played at CBGB's Gallery, a small, intimate club known for its great acoustics. There, audiences would find themselves completely transfixed by her smooth, flowing vocals and smart, girl-next-door looks. Those in attendance recognized her as something special each time she took to the small stage, sometimes with her band, sometimes with just her guitar. Since then, her music has matured and developed a rich texture. Her recent show at Tramps on the lower west side of New York City was evidence of just that. Her set consisted mostly of selections from her two studio albums, as well as songs from a never released tape she used to sell for the bargain price of $10 after her shows. Supported by her ever-changing band Nine Stories and a three piece string section, she solidified her status as one of music's finest pop stylists, mixing together smooth, wistful ballads with infectious pop songs, both ripe with her trademark melodies and pitch perfect vocals. "Truthfully" and "Let's Forget About It", both selections from her latest album _Firecracker_, are both proof positive that Loeb deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as artists like Shawn Colvin and Aimee Mann, female vocalists with a great ability to craft songs which are rich in vocal quality and illustrative lyrics. "Waiting For Wednesday", "I Do" and "Taffy" were also standouts, each as catchy and fun as the other. The addition of the string section added new dimension and life to a familiar favorite like "Hurricane", giving the song a maturity and brooding texture otherwise lacking. Disappointments? Not many, but a few. One in particular was Loeb's scaled down version of "This", a slow, meandering ballad off _Firecracker_. In numerous past shows, Loeb has performed this song as an energetic, up-tempo pop song. In fact, it appeared as such on her early demo recordings. But in keeping with the version of "This" which appears on _Firecracker_, Loeb performed it without any of the intensity the song originally contained. That aside, Loeb's performance was as solid as any of her early shows in the small clubs of New York City. The venues might be larger, but she still manages to hold an audience with just her voice and her guitar. --- SINGLE REVIEW: Primal Scream, "If They Move Kill 'Em" (Creation U.K.) - Patrick Carmosino Remixed by Kevin Shields, the sheer beautiful noise coming from "If They Move..."s first seven-some odd minutes makes you think that the next My Bloody Valentine record is right around the corner. In fact, this must be the new MBV record, no doubt? A buildup, from mellifluous horns to the types of blares that have brought Shields tinnitus on, is the theme here. There's so much going on in the end, between the superpounding beat and the layers and layers of supersonic sounds, that leaves the listener wonderfully stunned and just muttering in a style not unreminiscent of Mr. Lou Reed. The Scream's haunting version of "Darklands" is Bobby Gilespie's tribute to his original brethren, the Jesus & Mary Chain. The gorgeous-ness of this version certainly sounds like a right thank you for the Reid brothers allowing Gillespie to be their Moe Tucker, if just for one album. "Also" features a haunting, _Atmosphere_-esque synth coda at the end and on the remix which sort of explains why this single is dedicated to Ian Curtis. All this plus an extended version of "If They Move, Kill Em" in the original, Vanishing Point-style makes this one of the few current import singles worth plopping down your $11.99 on. --- REVIEW: Fastball, _All The Pain Money Can Buy_ (Hollywood) - Bill Holmes No doubt you've heard the leadoff single, "The Way", which has exploded out of the box like a rocket even though the album hadn't been released yet. Good news - there's more where that came from. Fastball's second album is almost culture shock for fans of their first. Not that it's better - although it is - but more that it's so...well.... different! Where _Make Your Mama Proud_ owed a debt to The Replacements; this second platter is much more along the lines of Wilco's _Being There_. Refined but not restrained, Fastball takes it up a level, albeit at an angle. And that single! If the sneaky intro of "The Way" doesn't hook you, the irresistible chorus will, especially with the incredible barrelhouse piano sound that drives it along. Hot on its heels, "Fire Escape" borrows from The Dylan via Byrds playbook (the first verse is a nod to "All I Really Want To Do"), and "Better Than It Was" uses ringing twelve string to marry early Tom Petty with latter period Band. Vocalists Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga carry the harmonies well, just enough torch in their twang to please y'alternatives and rockers alike. (And speaking of The Band, "Out Of My Head" will make any of their fans do a double take). Impressively, Fastball has channeled their exuberance without sacrificing the content. Not as frantic as their debut, _Pain_ is solid when it's more soulful - "Slow Drag" and "Which Way To The Top" are standouts. And if it needs to kick a little ass, no problem - "Sooner Or Later" is a killer, and should be a smash if anyone is awake at the House Of Programmers. The boys even swing with horns on "Good Old Days", which features a Chicago/Asbury Jukes horn chorus that carries the melody until the guitar solo shreds it just for the hell of it. By the time the record closes with the haunting "Sweetwater Texas", you've touched all bases and scored. As has the band. --- REVIEW: Air, _Moon Safari_ (Source/Caroline) - Robin Lapid I have a feeling that _Moon Safari_ started out as an interactive movie. It's 2 a.m. and you're relaxing in the chill-out tent at a rave, exhausted from a rigorous night of dancing. You close your eyes to soak in the dark, and float through soundscapes filled with jazz, soul, and mellow splashes of old-school Atari sound effects. The sensual sounds overtake you. You'd fall asleep, but then you wouldn't hear the music. Versailles-born Nicolas Godin and Jean Benoit Dunckel are the writer-directors of this album, weaving pastoral pop and jazz into hybrid electronic songs. They've infused their aural visions with an array of keyboard and piano sounds, hints of acoustic guitar, and the occassional whispers of a sultry French soul-singer. This music carries more sonic levity than traditional ambient -- the pop instrumentals, the moog, and the Space Invaders effects keep the mood relaxed but intriguing. It sometimes verges on the overly inocuous and airy (no pun intended). "Sexy Boy," the U.S. radio single and perhaps the weakest track, is more droning than hypnotic, with its persistent soft-techno whines and keyboards. But _Moon Safari_ is more a complete journey into a mood, a sum of its parts rather than a loose collection of standout singles. Just when I feel the music drifting away into weightlessness, it brings me back down to earth. "Remember" is a track you really can't forget, with elegant strings following the gentle ebb and flow of keyboard burbles. "Ce Matin La" begins almost like an ambitious Abba song, before drifting off into some breezy, buoyant sax and violins. Someone labeled them "post-house," which is a difficult definition in the techno/ electronica realm -- a "post-" prefix here and a "-core" suffix there, and you've got a thousand different sub-genres alone. To me, it's the sound of spaceships, violins, and seductively sunny days in the French countryside, the latter of which is, incidentally, where the album was recorded. No "post-" or "-core" for me, please; just give me Air's red-wine version of dub-ambient. --- REVIEW: Dave's True Story, _Sex Without Bodies_ (Chesky) - Patrick Carmosino Dave's True Story makes a clever kind of jazz, almost designed to charm generation x-ers and the bunch of punks that preceded them. 'Cause you see, guitarist Dave Cantor and chanteuse Kelly Flint came from that gen-w bunch. They make smooth, cabaret jazz that definitely wouldn't sit too comfortably with the Kenny G set (unless said set thought that by listening, they were being way radical). Instead, _Sex Without Bodies_ is the _Trinity Sessions_ for the cappuccino set! Like the Cowboys Junkies classic, Sex... was recorded in a church, hence the perfectly suited reverb that wettens the sound. Unlike the latter's dark, western obsessions, Sex...s tunes rely mostly on today's quintessential, thirty-something, cosmopolitan experiences. Written mostly by Cantor, the songs center mostly on the maturing perspectives of sex and romance, sometimes living in perfect harmony and sometimes at each others throats. Witness "Spasm", in which Flint coos about desires that could swallow you whole but later admits they're not the real thing,...just a spasm. On the title track, the author has discovered that virtual sex is so much easier that he/she may never go back to the real thing again. All this is sorted out in the warmth of a shuffle beat, late-60s Zombies-feelin' melody and warm vibes, mind you. But after all the ups and downs of the casual dating life, we get "Nirvana", which is probably one of the most charming denials of actually falling in love that one can come across. With only Cantor's guitar playing early-Style Council/EBTG, Wes Montgomery-inspired licks, Flint regretfully ponders I cant deny this stranger in my skin, I guess it's just nirvana has set in. Talk about a song custom-built for a girl I know on Mott Street! And that goes to demonstrate who gets _Sex Without Bodies_ and all too effectively. It achieves that downtown feel all too well. Most of the songs sport not only Flint's cooing and Cantor's kool guitar, but also stand-up bass, shuffle kit and bongoes. With its additional beatnik feel (although DTS dismisses all that in "Daddy-O"), it's no wonder why Dave's True Story also attracts the Vin Scelsa/Idiots Delight crowd who also fawned over the Washington Squares folk revival ethic of the late 80s. The only wrong move made which I cant stand, but the mentioned crowds will probably love is DTS' take on "Walk On The Wildside". Yes, it is one more thing that _Sex Without Bodies_ has in common with _The Trinity Sessions_ (on which "Sweet Jane" was effectively blown apart and put back together), but it doesn't embellish on anything Lou Reed's original laid down and comes up short: best left for an encore. Other than that, _Sex Without Bodies_ is a nice, comfy experience...for that warm fuzzy feeling inside. Chesky Records can be contacted at PO Box 1268, New York, NY 10101. --- REVIEW: Soak, _Soak_ (Interscope) - Dan Birchall If you enjoy bands like Live, Alice in Chains, Collective Soul and Our Lady Peace, but find yourself wishing their songs involved a bit more in the way of samples, audio loops and spoken-word rapping, Soak's eponymous 1997 release may be just your cup of tea. To be sure, the fivesome - vocalist/guitarist Jason Demetri, guitarist Leigh Alexander Mason, bassist John Moyer, percussionist Heath Macintosh, and oddly-named keyboardist Turdlben - aren't the first to generate catchy hard-rock tunes. Demetri's not the only vocalist out there whose lyrics are actually intelligible. And they're not even the first hard-rock band to make use of extensive sampling, as fans of industrial music or Queensryche's _Operation: Mindcrime_ can attest. But in successfully bringing these elements together, Soak manages to carve out a niche of its own. The resulting sounds are diverse, and the band easily shifts between portions of their style. As the first full-length release from a band that's only been playing together for a few years on the Dallas scene, the album is surprisingly polished. None of the tracks on this album will have you reaching for the fast forward button and the band really shows its strength and range in the middle four songs. "Shutter Gut (Caroline)" features sample-laden verses driven by a funky bass riff. "Me Compassionate" has a fast-paced, industrial feel. "Street Monkey" is a slow, jazzy instrumental. And the vocal harmonies in the chorus of "Transcendental Drift" are excellent. Overall, the band delivers music that's technically and artistically solid without being pretentious, with plenty of what listeners want, and a few surprises thrown in. --- REVIEW: Tonebenders, _Tonebenders_ (Yep Roc) - Bill Holmes Mixing Memphis Stax/Volt soul, greasy horns and the filthiest Fender Rhodes sound I've heard in years, North Carolina's Tonebenders have flushed the fashion and issued a CD chock full of hip shaking grits. Lounge music my ass - eschewing vocals on most tracks, these guys cook up music so varied, flavorful and saucy that Quentin Tarantino could work backwards and make a whole movie just based on the groove. What gives the record such charm is the tightrope walk between laid-back riffs and combustive chops; the listener feels like he has stumbled into some great party in a back room yet there's more direction than pure jam. Boasting ex-members of both Whiskeytown and Six String Drag, somehow the quintet sounds nothing like either. Think more along the lines of _Exile On Main Street_ era Stones on some of the vocal tracks (guitarist Jim Pendergast, when he does sing, has that combination drawl/growl that almost sounds Cockney), yet capable at any moment of echoing Pere Ubu, If or The Yardbirds (and in the case of "Rudy The Frisbee Assassin", all three at once!). The two-man horn section sounds like more because they don't play the standard horn parts we've all heard a thousand times. Different, like Morphine is different, but not *like* Morphine. How to describe a band like this? Yeahhhh.......if you have a sense of adventure, appreciate roots rock and Southern soul and aren't afraid to get a little jazz on your fingers, I highly recommend the ride. Those with pop sensibilities will probably like the Credence-like leadoff track "Soda Pop Quiz" or the Jaggerisms on "Favorite Dress"; I prefer the funky but chic "Der Der Der" even though I have no idea what that means. Yep Roc is a small label from Raleigh North Carolina, so you might not find this everywhere. I was hooked at a listening station in a small Chicago store. You can try your luck at 919-929-7648 (REDEYE202@aol.com) and thank me later. --- REVIEW: Brownie Mary, _Naked_ (Blackbird) - Linda Scott From radio station djs to fans jamming the clubs, Pittsburgh, PA is a strong supporter of its local bands. Since Rusted Roof blasted off for the big time, local prognosticators have predicted the next big thing will be The Clarks or Brownie Mary. If having the highest placed fan would decide, Brownie Mary would get the nod from President Clinton. Both the President and Chelsea became fans when Brownie Mary performed for the Democratic National Party at the Annual Democratic Saxophone Club Fund-Raiser. Hard to believe this band with its almost charismatic stage presence was formed just four years ago and in that time went from playing college parties to winning the Graffiti Rock Challenge - where the band went up against a hundred other East Coast bands and came out on top. Brownie Mary has a loyal following in the mid-Atlantic region, and they continue to perform at over 150 gigs a year, each one an energy-filled show. Brownie Mary was formed in 1993 by Kelsey Barber (lead vocals) and Rich Jacques (guitar). These two are the band's heart with bass and percussion slots currently filled by Ron Bissel and Mark Rajakovic. With Kelsey's powerful, gritty female vocals combined with Jacques' rhythm hooks and melodic guitar, the band has an alternative-pop-rock sound similar to The Cranberries, The Pretenders, and No Doubt. The band recently signed with Blackbird and put together their third CD, _Naked_ - but first to receive a national focus. It remains to be seen if listeners will give it the same attention outside of the Pittsburgh region. Hopefully, they will give it a chance, as the band has written some good material, surrounded by earthy vocals, and well-crafted melodies. _Naked_'s smooth sound is attributed to the hiring of producer Kevin Maloney (Sinead O'Connor). If you like strong female vocalists and pop rock, _Naked_ should be on your musical shopping list. Brownie Mary is now on its way up and out of Pittsburgh, and on the road. As the band says - if all you have is the CD, you can't begin to say you've heard Brownie Mary. --- REVIEW: Within, _Within_ (Fish N' Brook) - Dan Birchall You never know what you'll run into backstage at a heavy-metal concert. Last summer, my wife and I saw a fan hand a CD to each member of a west-coast metal band. Moments later, as the band stopped to say hello to us, one of the bandmembers covertly slipped us their copy of the CD, unopened. It stayed in a box for a few months - times were busy - but eventually, my wife became curious. She gave it a listen - and hasn't stopped raving since. It didn't take long at all for me to give it a try as well. For starters, it's definitely _not_ metal. The label's web site at http://www.fishnbrook.com/records/ warns visitors that "this music may be too relaxing." Yes, it's new-age neoclassical, with guitars, piano and keyboards. You may have heard it on new age radio shows - it debuted on the Airwaves Top 50 chart at _New Age Voice_. The combination of Troy Dilley's guitar work and Lisa Cardinali's piano and keyboard talents yields a very relaxing instrumental sound, and given the smooth merging of the sounds, it's not surprising that the two are romantically linked as well.. If you like classical music and artists on the Narada label - or are just looking for a way to mellow out - Within should be quite enjoyable. --- NEWS: > Two American Music Club discs - _Engine_ and _The Restless Stranger_ - have been reissued with three additional tracks. > Blur's Graham Coxon has started his own label, Transcopic Records. The first band to be signed are Assembly Line People Program out of Chicago (a Fugazi/ Make-Up type band). More information can be found at their official website, http://www.transcopic.com > Rob Rowe of Cause & Effect will be appearing at an intimate instore acoustic performance at Bill's Records in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, March 21 at 7 pm. > Nina Gordon, one of the co-founders of Chicago-based Veruca Salt, has quit the band. According to representatives at the band's label, Geffen, the future of the group remains in doubt. > Rock Out Censorship, a group dedicated to (as the name implies) limiting censors of albums and concerts, is now on the web at http://www.theroc.org > Entries are now being accepted for the USA Songwriting Competition - sponsored by BMI, Guild Guitars, D'Addario Guitar Strings, Musician's Friend, Cakewalk Music Software, Superdups and the American Songwriters Network. For further information on the contest, check out the web site at http://www.tiac.net/users/asn/songcontest.html The competition ends on May 31, 1998. --- TOUR DATES: Bluetones Mar. 22 Aberdeen Music Hall Mar. 23 Glasgow Borrowlands China Drum Mar. 16 New York, NY Coney Island High Mar. 17 Washington DC Metro Cafe Mar. 21 Austin, TX Maggie Mae's Mar. 23 San Diego, CA The Casbah Mar. 24 Costa Mesa, CA Club Mesa Cravin' Melon Mar. 20-21 Isle Of Palms, SC Windjammer Mar. 23 Hilton Head, SC Monkey Business Dakota Moon Mar. 16 San Francisco, CA NARM Mar. 17 Los Angeles, CA Viper Room Dave's True Story Mar. 18 New York, NY Arlene's Grocery Mar. 20 New York, NY Hotel Galvez Dream Theatre Mar. 17 Leipzig, Germany Halle Auensee Mar. 18 Erlangen, Germany Stadthalle Everclear / Jimmie's Chicken Shack / Feeder Mar. 16 Indianapolis, IN Emerson Theater Mar. 17 LaCrosse, WI Hollywood Theater Mar. 18 Omaha, NE Sokol Hall Mar. 20 Salt Lake City, UT Salt Air Pavillion Mar. 21 Boise, ID Union Block Mar. 22 Spokane, WA Met Theater G. Love & Special Sauce / Alana Davis Mar. 17 Rochester, NY Water St. Music Hall Mar. 19 Boston, MA Orpheum Theater Mar. 20 New York, NY Roseland High Llamas Mar. 16 Atlanta, GA The Point Mar. 17 Athens, GA 40 Watt Mar. 18 New Orleans, LA Howlin Wolf Mar. 20 Austin, TX Waterloo Mar. 21 Austin, TX Electric Lounge Mar. 24 Los Angeles, CA Troubador Irving Plaza (NYC concert hall - www.irvingplaza.com) Mar. 16-17 Saw Doctors Mar. 18 Rockey From The Crypt Mar. 19 Shawn Colvin Mar. 20 Joe Satriani Ziggy Marley & Melody Makers Mar. 16 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Mar. 18 Tampa, FL Univ. of Southern Florida Mar. 19 Panama City Bch., FL Spinnakers Mar. 20 Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues Mar. 21 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Major League Soccer Mar. 23 Gainesville, FL Florida Theater Megadeth Mar. 17 Akron, OH Rhodes Arena Mar. 18 Rochester, NY Harrow East Theater Mar. 19 Hershey, PA Hershey Park Arena Mar. 20 Lewiston, ME Central Maine Civic Mar. 21 New York, NY Hammerstein Mar. 23 Baltimore, MD Michaels 8th Avenue Mar. 24 Norfolk, VA Boathouse Misfits Mar. 13 Oklahoma City, OK Will Rogers Center Mar. 14 Springfield, MO Juke Joint Mar. 15 Peoria, IL Madison Theater Mar. 17 Pittsburgh, PA Graffiti Mar. 18 Richmond, VA Alley Katz Mar. 19 Portchester, NY 7 Willow Street Mar. 20 Providence, RI Lupo's Mar. 21 Worcester, MA Palladium David Poe Mar. 13 Pittsburgh, PA Rosebud Mar. 14 Philadelphia, PA Tin Angel Mar. 20 Austin, TX Westside Alley Princess Superstar Mar. 20 Austin, TX Fat Tuesday's Mar. 21 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad Mar. 23 Tucson, AZ Congress Mar. 24 Los Angeles, CA Al's Bar Promise Ring Mar. 17 St. Louis, MO Side Door Mar. 18 Memphis, TN Barristers Mar. 19 Dallas, TX Orbit Room Mar. 20 Austin, TX Electric Lounge (Sxsw) Mar. 21 Houston, TX Fitzgeralds Mar. 23 Knoxville, TN World Of Gifts Mar. 24 Atlanta, GA Under The Coach Reel Big Fish / Pilfers / Mr. T Experience Mar. 16 Casper, WY Industrial Building Mar. 17 Boise, ID Bogie's Mar. 18 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre Mar. 19 Portland, OR La Luna Sherry Rich Mar. 20 Austin, TX Coppertank Mar. 24 Nashville, TN Zanie's Swervedriver / Libido Mar. 20 Chicago, IL Metro Mar. 21 Minneapolis, MN 7th St. Entry Mar. 22 Milwaukee, WI Shank Hall Third Eye Blind / Smash Mouth / Fat Mar. 16 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room Mar. 17 East Lansing, MI MSU Auditorium Mar. 18 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theater Mar. 19 York, PA York College - Wolf Gym Mar. 20 Alfred, NY Alfred Univ. - McClane Center Mar. 21 Ypsilanti, MI E. MI Univ. - Pease Auditorium Mar. 23 Eau Claire, WI Zorn Arena Mar. 24 Minneapolis, MN Northrup Aud. Tim Mar. 16 New York, NY Brownie's Mar. 17 Richmond, VA Twisters Zeke Mar. 16 Costa Mesa, CA Club Mesa Mar. 18 Salt Lake City, UT Spanky's Cinema Bar Mar. 19 Boulder, CO Club 156 Mar. 20 Denver, CO 15th Street Tavern Mar. 21 Kansas City, MO Davey's Uptown Mar. 23 Lawrence, KS Replay Lounge Mar. 24 New Orleans, LA Dixie Tavern --- Founded in August, 1993, Consumable Online is the oldest music reviews publication on the Internet. To get back issues of Consumable, check out: WWW: http://www.westnet.com/consumable (Delphi) Music Fandom forum; GO ENT MUSIC To subscribe to Consumable, send an e-mail message to consumable-request@westnet.com with the body of the message stating "subscribe consumable". To unsubscribe, send a message to the same address stating "unsubscribe consumable". Web access contributed by WestNet Internet Services (westnet.com), serving Westchester County, NY. Address any written correspondence to Bob Gajarsky, Consumable Online, 409 Washington St. #294, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 ===