== ISSUE 188 ==== CONSUMABLE ONLINE ======== [September 28, 1999] Editor: Bob Gajarsky E-mail: editor@consumableonline.com Managing Editor: Lang Whitaker Sr. Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Joann Ball, Bill Holmes, Tim Kennedy, Al Muzer, Joe Silva Correspondents: Michelle Aguilar, Christina Apeles, Niles J. Baranowski, Mike Bederka, Jason Cahill, Matthew Carlin, Patrick Carmosino, John Davidson, Andrew Duncan, Krisjanis Gale, Paul Hanson, Chris Hill, Eric Hsu, Franklin Johnson, Steve Kandell, Reto Koradi, Robin Lapid, Wes Long, Linda Scott, Don Share, Scott Slonaker, Kerwin So, Chelsea Spear, Jon Steltenpohl, Michael Van Gorden, Simon West Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, David Landgren, Dave Pirmann Address all comments to staff@consumableonline.com ; subscription information is given at the end of this issue. ================================================================== All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the editor. ================================================================== .------------. | Contents | `------------' INTERVIEW: Laura Ballance, Superchunk - Christina Apeles FILM REVIEW: Radiohead, "Meeting People Is Easy" - Michelle Aguilar REVIEW: Death in Vegas, _The Contino Sessions_ - Christina Apeles REVIEW: u-ziq, _Royal Astronomy_ - Krisjanis Gale CONCERT REVIEW: Tom Waits at the Orpheum Theatre, Boston - Michelle Aguilar INTERVIEW: Luke Slater - Krisjanis Gale REVIEW: Various, _KCRW Presents Morning Becomes Eclectic_ - Andrew Duncan REVIEW: Blink 182, _Enema of the State_ - Jason Cahill REVIEW: Steve Vai, _The Ultra Zone_ - Linda Scott REVIEW: Megadeth, _Risk_ - Paul Hanson REVIEW: Triumph 2000, _Phazed and Confused_ - Chris Hill TOUR DATES: Anti Flag / Dropkick Murphys, Art of Noise, Ben Folds Five / Fleming & John, Bis, Church, Ani DiFranco, Johnny Dowd, Gomez, Ben Harper, Indigo Girls, Luscious Jackson, Live, Men At Work, Tom Petty & Heartbreakers, Pietasters, Pilfers & Spring Heeled Jack, Pretenders, Royal Trux, Sean Na Na, Smash Palace, Sally Taylor, Type O Negative, Watsonville Patio, Weird Al Yankovic, Zeke Back Issues of Consumable --- INTERVIEW: Laura Ballance, Superchunk - Christina Apeles Stopping into Los Angeles for a two-night stint at the Roxy to promote Superchunk's latest record, _Come Pick Me Up_, bassist and co-founder of indie label Merge Records Laura Ballance, talked with Consumable Online over some drinks before heading off to soundcheck. And if you've ever seen Superchunk live, you're familiar with their high energy set where the whole band gives it their all and have continued to over their ten year career. One would think that after years and years of playing gigs across the U.S. and abroad, there would be a point where one or all of the band would tone down their set. Yet after seeing them perform for the third time within a year, that hasn't been the case. "I don't know, I guess maybe a couple years ago we were burned out, but I think as time goes on we've learned how to get along better over the years, and also just have more fun playing. We're not taking everything so seriously. If you mess up it's not such a big deal," says Ballance while sipping her Corona. When asked if she or Mac had ever plowed each other on stage, Laura confessed, "We've never actually fallen down but we've all hurt each other before, but not knocking each other down." So where do they find the energy to bounce around all over the stage night after night? "You just do it," Ballance answers. "I hate it whenever I see a videotape of myself playing. It's just embarrassing and whenever I see that I'm just like, I am never doing that again. I am not jumping around like that anymore; it's so stupid looking. But I find that when I'm playing I have to, 'cause otherwise I'll feel like I'm being a real stick in the mud. And, it's fun to do." Playing shows at clubs while on tour are one thing, but playing music festivals are another thing altogether. I last saw Superchunk play on Independence Day at "Ain't No Picnic" which had some twenty-plus indie bands staggered over three stages. "Well, 'Ain't No Picnic' was fun," Ballance admits. "We got to play with all the same bands two days before in Northern California, like Guided By Voices, Sonic Youth, Rocket from the Crypt. We've all known each other for years. That was an exceptional situation, that was fun. But European festivals are disgusting. There's not enough port-a-johns for everybody; it's just gross. I'm just like, get me out of here." As for their current tour across the U.S., Ballance shared Superchunk's preparatory ritual. "We do place bets at the beginning of the tour. We go through the entire itinerary and place bets on the attendance of each show, like we'll all put in a number. It's completely random so far who wins. I won a lot on our last tour because I used to be tour manager. What you win is not much, like the band buys you a drink, which is ridiculous because we get free drinks wherever we play anyway, and when we go out to dinner the band buys dinner." Since I am an Angeleno, I had to ask about her experiences playing Los Angeles. "I don't mind playing L.A. I used to hate it when we first started playing here, 'cause you get treated like shit. When people don't know who you are and you're in a band, you don't get treated very well. One of the first times we played here we played the Whiskey, opening for Sonic Youth. After we were done, they're like, 'Okay your gear is on the street, move your van.'" On the business side of making music, Ballance does not deny the pressure or desire to sell more records. "We haven't given up on that. There's no external pressure, but there has been internal pressure to do that. At one point we tried to get past 40,000 records and we hired someone to push the video, a single for radio, and it was a miserable failure. It wasn't fun. We ended up doing a lot of stuff we wouldn't otherwise do. We did more interviews than normal. Doing a few is fine but doing a ton gets really old." If you're wondering if she reads Superchunk interviews after they run, she doesn't. "Why do I need to read them anymore? I'm just fed up with reading about music. I read the 'New Yorker' a lot so I feel like I have some idea of what's going on the world. I used to not to be able to stand it. I used to think it was snotty. Now, I find that it's not." Though Ballance is sick of reading about music, she still has her radio tuned in, and not just to indie rock. "There's a lot of crap out there, but a lot of the hip-hop stuff I like, like Busta Rhymes. If I'm not listening to college radio at home I'll listen to the hip-hop station." She went on to remark on the music scene in the band's hometown of Chapel Hill, which has produced the likes of Archers of Loaf, Ben Folds Five and Southern Culture on the Skids. "We're outside of it now. There's still a strong Chapel Hill community, but we're not so much a part of it. There's a whole new crop of kids. We used to know everyone that was doing something." This is partly due to their touring schedule, as well as managing their Merge Records label, which celebrated its ten-year anniversary this year that carries such bands as Neutral Milk Hotel, The Ladybug Transistor, and Magnetic Fields. "Mac and I own and run it, and we have three-and-a-half employees who basically run it whenever we go out of town." Of course any business is not without its difficulties. "It's different every time, and there's always different problems. Lately there's been a lot of problems and not a whole lot of rewards. Whenever a record finally comes out it's okay. Just getting the whole thing together, signing a band you love, getting the tape of the record and going 'Oh that's awesome,' then the artwork comes in and it all comes together and when it does, it's just a perfect package." Ballance also contributes to the creative work. "I do a little bit of painting, not very much. In high school I took a painting class. I mostly paint when we need a record cover." The other members of Superchunk (McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, drummer Jon Wurster) have their outside responsibilities as well. In addition to the day to day demands at Merge, McCaughan has done three albums with his other band Portastatic, and he just started Wobbly Rail, a jazz label. Wilbur has had his side projects like Humidifier, with members from fellow Merge band Spent, while Wurster keeping up with fan mail and managing Superchunk's website. Needless to say, none of them have much leisure time. Ballance feels, "If I ever had free time, I would probably want to spend it painting." --- FILM REVIEW: Radiohead, "Meeting People Is Easy" - Michelle Aguilar In doing a little self-editing of my reviews previously published in this fine 'zine, it has occurred to me that I perhaps take too long to get to the damn point. I promise all of you reading this that I did so only, well mostly, with your best interests at heart -- in the interest of truth, your tight wallet, the dignity of your record collection -- but also creating an interesting read. Of course, there's a chance that readers don't want all this sociopolitical musical trend analysis mixed in with your album reviews, just something short and utilitarian. ("Am I going to like the new Atari Teenage Riot or not, Michelle?") And granted, four or five paragraphs seems a long time to get to what the heart of this review is going to say about Radiohead's documentary film, "Meeting People is Easy," directed by Grant Gee. Which is that it's gripping, amazing and a must-see, even if you've never thought of Radiohead as your kind of band. Whether you like Radiohead or not hardly matters. In fact, if you're a Radiohead fan, you might even be disappointed with "Meeting People Is Easy," as Gee's camera rarely is content with simple, detailed shots of the band live. Instead, Gee eschews that emphasis for a much greater statement about what it's like to do just over a hundred shows in eleven months. What may end up bitterly disappointing some Radiohead fans is that to a great extent, "Meeting People is Easy" sacrifices one-half of the usual goals of the rockumentary genre, which is to show footage of the band playing their music. Which is perhaps appropriate, since the premise of "Meeting People is Easy" is this: Radiohead's music is the last thing that anyone in the music press, at EMI Records, at any of the stadiums, at the afterhours parties, is thinking about as the band journeys to the center of the star machine. Gee elicits new meanings out of Radiohead songs like "Creep," "Exit Music (For a Film)" and "Electioneering," making them seem almost like they were meant to be a running commentary on the distance Radiohead feels from their audience as they travel the world to meet it. In this context, these songs feel like desperate little notes in a bottle sent into the vast, empty ocean from the shore of a deserted island, its sender praying for, but not hoping for, a meaningful response. Gee is very good at conveying that deserted island, i.e. EMI's carefully-constructed, emotionally sterile world of ever-changing cities, harsh fluorescent-lit airports, dimly lit limousines, or stages with blinding white and ethereal reds, blues and purples. It's a world that has very little to do with reality, an existence of constant hurry up and wait, of standing this way while flashbulbs assault the band for twenty minutes, of talking to journalists for the 80th time about how the band formed, of saying the phrase "Hi, this is Radiohead and you're listening to..." so many times in so many different languages that the band feels like a bunch of gibbering marionettes. For a band that has even a small amount of integrity when they first get on the plane, the whole experience is enough to drive one crazy. And indeed, as the film progresses, the members of Radiohead becoming increasingly disturbed and discontent with flitting through this surreal world at a pace far too quick to enjoy or even absorb, with passing numbly through a new city each day, from New York to Tokyo. Of course, presenting this idea as entertainment isn't new. The most famous example of this premise is played out in "The Wall" by Pink Floyd, a band which hovers over Radiohead throughout the documentary like Dickens' Ghost of Christmas Future. References to this band keeps popping up in interviews with journalists who compare the two bands, as well as in conversations between band members who use Pink Floyd as a shortcut reference to refer to the kind of industry-bloated band they worry they're becoming. As far as subject matter, Gee is not breaking new ground here. However, as he follows with his camera the aftermath of _OK Computer_'s phenomenal success, on Radiohead's 1997-1998 tour across five continents, his strength is in very discreetly, unobtrusively giving the viewer proof in the pudding. Gee shows the viewer for himself the numbing repitition of entrances and exits, of indistinguishable airports, subways, limousines, hotels, makeshift rooms, parking lots (where, inexplicably, some interviews are conducted in the open air) that Radiohead faces in its headlong rush around the globe. In most of your average fawning rockumentaries, this extremely artificial landscape is presented in small, cute doses like an episode of "Road Rules" or "Lonely Planet." But here, the repeated moments focusing on international directional signs, white arrrows, polygonal shapes and stick figures that vaguely recall the alien stick figures that adorn _OK Computer_'s cover art. They combine to become an almost chilling Esperanto for this strange world. Halfway through the tour, this existence begins to take its toll. Again, Gee powerfully lets the viewer see this himself. Seemingly random bits and pieces of interviews going on throughout the tour are included almost like data in a case study. In the beginning of the tour, for example, Colin Greenwood attempts to answer the same, uninformed, insipid questions over and over again from the music press with a modicum of respect and good humor. By the seventy-fifth show or so, he is sitting before a journalist, completely slumped in his chair, shrinking into himself, defensively pulling his stocking cap over his head like a child frustrated beyond the capacity of verbal expression. What seem at first to be gratuitously similar scenes of the band waiting backstage, taken together, paint the picture of a band hurtling quietly towards a collective nervous breakdown, or at least a break-up. Early on, we see the band members in intimate moments, comfortingly patting each other on the back. Towards the end of the documentary, we see the band members consistently standing far apart from each other and constantly plagued by far-too-bitter arguments over relatively minor issues, like who's going to do the next set of radio station i.d.'s, how long they have for soundcheck, who's going to sit through the next interview. Gee presents Radiohead's world tour as a pressure cooker for bands. "What exactly is the pressure cooker cooking?" one might ask. In a pivotal backstage moment toward the end of the film, Gee finally gets to that, crystallizing a conclusion to which he has been building throughout the documentary: Radiohead is a band afraid. Its members are living on borrowed time in this unreal world, with nothing to do but move from faceless city to faceless city, brooding about and dreading having to come up with a good enough follow-up to _OK Computer_. The mindless screaming of teenage girls at the Tokyo airport and the cheers from captive audiences on "you've hit the big time" shows like MTV's 10 Spot and the The Late Show with David Letterman along the way only seem to exacerbate their suspicions that they are frauds. This is not a case of creative block, for we see the band at one point in a makeshift studio committing to tape a brand new song that presumably will be on the next album. The real problem is hinted at right in the film's beginning. In various interviews, Radiohead's members indicate that they have little real understanding of what they did right with _OK Computer_. As far as they can tell, the album wasn't much different from its predecesssor, _The Bends_, and frankly, says Thom Yorke, they expected _OK Computer_ to be universally panned. This is put into a more menacing context later, in that pivotal backstage moment at the film's end, as Yorke talks grimly about how they'll never be able to top _OK Computer_ and maybe they should just quit while they're ahead. As he says it, it's clear that he's been mulling over this idea for much of the tour. But, Radiohead fans, don't get too scared yet. There is hope. One of the highlights of this documentary for the rabid fan is the footage of the band recording a promising new song on a rare day off. The song, "Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)," is fairly straightforward, less symphonic, less conceptual and more like material from _The Bends_ or songs on _OK Computer_ like "Electioneering" and "No Surprises." The end of the film does not appear to be the end of Radiohead. "Meeting People is Easy" is enough to make any struggling musician think twice about wanting fame and fortune. It also gives me a little more sympathy for those whiny, pouty rock stars I would normally be quick to judge as unbecoming ingrates. Still, I don't envy the discomfort I see in Yorke's face as he shakes hands with record company execs he's never met before, who stand with their arms folded behind their backs nervously, telling me how excited they are to "work" his art. --- REVIEW: Death in Vegas, _The Contino Sessions_ (Time Bomb/Concrete) - Christina Apeles Several bands, ranging from Massive Attack and Spiritualized, to Velvet Underground and Chemical Brothers, will come to mind upon hearing this release -- none of them detestable to this listener. Couple that with a number of guest vocalists stamping their sonic ensibility to his and her respective track, Death in Vegas's latest satisfies a gamut of musical tastes. With their ambient disposition intact, this time infusing rock 'n' roll gestures into the mix, Death in Vegas's _The Contino Sessions_ aims to hypnotize. Opening with Dot Allison (One Dove) on "Dirge," her fragile, adolescent style vocal accompaniment balances the composition, layered atop dynamic electronica. "Aisha" reflects more of a rock bent with none other than Iggy Pop offering his eccentric utterances to a backdrop of guitar and industrial beats, as organs close the song with a funk vibe. Onward to the noise-oriented "Broken Little Sister," the track has Jesus and Mary Chain written all over it, custom made for Jim Reid to let his sexual character shine through over subtle drumming and heavy guitar distortion. Meanwhile, pleasant cycles of strumming grace "Flying." Appropriately titled, in this six-plus minute song, feelings of being airborne are evoked with swells of discord and opulence. Bands like Scenic and Pell Mell are masters of this type of instrumental scene setting. And with "Lever Street," wrought with dijointed keyboard playing like you've just walked in on a jam session, though strangely romantic, Death in Vegas proves they are just as cinematic with their craft. As long as you favor the reverie of repetitive melodies, there is no shortage in _The Contino Sessions_. --- REVIEW: u-ziq, _Royal Astronomy_ (Astralwerks) - Krisjanis Gale It seems Mike Paradinas, aka u-ziq, is all finished writing "songs" designed to cause seizures in fifty percent of the human population and killing the neighbor's cat. u-ziq has refined and redefined his style yet again in order to stay current and possibly even gain some fans instead of enemies this time out. He hasn't forgotten what works, though. Still here are the layered orchestral bits that make his music larger and more intelligent than most electronic music. The first track, "Scaling" is a perfect example. This neo-classical style has always been an underlying factor in a majority of his music, but it always seemed to be hidden beneath unnecessary noise. But on _Royal Astronomy,_ Paradinas allows himself the necessary headroom in the mix to let his talent, for taking traditional instrumentation in brand new directions, really shine. "Scaling" leads right into "The Hwicci Song," with the vocal cut "You want a fresh style, let me show you" laying out Paradinas' mission in creating this album. The orchestra set up in track one becomes layered with contemporary synthetic noise and an odd but clever percussion set. "Autumn Acid" gets right down to business, with a distorted guitar sound forming a foundation with a rock progression, framed by a strange bass synth sounding a bit like parts of The Orb's album _Orbus Terrarum._ A scratchy sort of percussion sits in the background while a very hard, slamming and mixed up break sits in the fore. "Slice" gets right back into that neo-classical sound, and quickly serving chunks of fat synth-rhythm sounding very much like Aphex Twin's _I Care Because You Do._ "Carpet Muncher" is a clearly a nod to Squarepusher, incorporating the same sort of funky organ lines, sweetly squelchy acid bass, and sped up, cut up, syncopated jungle breaks. "The Motorbike Track" is the hardest track on the album. Taking a cue from Gang Starr's "Royalty," Paradinas heeds the sample's message. "I need to knock that shit off for real. That's some greedy ass fake bullshit." A thick synth-guitar squelches and buzzes around as an absolutely punishingly fast break builds to climax, then stops. The bassline is equalized into the background, and the breaks get solos, then the bass slowly works its way back into the mix. And quite cleanly, Paradinas lets it all loose again, the faster break slamming right back in alongside the one-two jump-up jungle break. "Mentim" is just strange, and is indicative of u-ziq's previous work. Big fat distorted metallic piano pads panning chaotically left and right, in large blocks of chords, and framed by slightly detuned, spacey strings. This one's a bit too lengthy, but there is some enjoyment in it. Think of it as a means of providing the necessary, painful solace at the end of a long day, when things couldn't possibly get worse. "The Fear" is a nice, bouncy, happy track. Not pop, mind you, but very nice. This is vocalist Kazumi's recording debut. I have no idea what she's singing, but it sounds very nice. Maybe I could hear it if the mix was a little cleaner. But, perhaps that was Paradinas' point - to create a pop-sounding electronic track which doesn't compromise its emphasis on synth-sound. "Gruber's Mandolin" is like a chase scene from a cops-and-robbers silent film. It's quite clever, actually, meandering into some rather nice arrangements. "World of Leather" may have well just as easily appeared on the "Richard D. James Album" as it does on this one. But to give Paradinas proper credit, the style is a bit skewed from the Aphex Twin's. Part disco, part funk, part sloppy messed up electro, this one is definately fringe music. "Scrape" starts with some nice staccotto strings, followed by the same weird detuned bass sound used on "Autumn Acid," and framed by a quiet choir at the left, and a deep, fat second bass zooming around the middle. An interesting interlude, to say the least. "56" starts quite like Jean Michael's Jarre, if all he had at his disposal was a Commodore 64 for synthesis. But Paradinas seems to use the minimalist sinewaves well, as the track soon fills out with more layers of strange synth noise, and a really killer drum break, and then a second one with a hard-hitting cymbal filling in on occasion. Midway, a really haunting set of voices "ohm" and "ah" their way deep into your subconscious, reminding you of Radiohead's tune "Exit Music from a Film" on _OK, Computer._ "Burst Your Arm" is a super clean, super quick jungle track, true to the genre with an echoey organ pad, a bassline that is tweaked twenty ways to Tuesday, and more drum fills than you can shake your baggy cargo pants at. Kazumi returns for the last track "Goodbye, Goodbye." The title is rather fitting. Starting off with a deep, soulful bassline, and minimalist bits of tribal percussion, and then Kazumi's vocals filling out the top-end quite nicely, it's a perfect outro to this album, which covers so much ground. There are parts of this album which hail back to u-ziq's desire to create a new form of audio torture, but overall, Paradinas has truly reformed. Fans of electronic music diasspointed by his previous efforts should definately check out _Royal Astronomy._ --- CONCERT REVIEW: Tom Waits at the Orpheum Theatre, Boston - Michelle Aguilar A friend of mine recently said that Tom Waits has spent his entire career playing the role of an old man; which is funny, because at this point, time is catching up with Waits' persona. While most performers who have been around as long as him are aging, pathetic shells of their former selves, these days Waits appears to finally be settling into his proper age. And if his packed three nights at Boston's Orpheum Theatre September 19, 20 and 21 were any indication, he's in his prime. The ol' Tomcat may be clean and sober. Frank's Wild Years may be behind him. And yes, _Mule Variations_ may not have turned out to be the mind-blowingly innovative album many of his fans were hoping for, but this trio of shows proved that Waits' live performances are still a ticket to be envied. On a fairly bare bones stage filled only with Waits' usual pile of ethnic instruments and oddball keyboards, supplemented with carefully-placed lighting here and there, Waits kept his audience's rapt attention as he growled, shouted and stomped his black boots on the floorboards with gusto for two-and-a-half hours. Waits made the most of the fairly intimate opera house atmosphere, carrying on brief conversations with audience members, telling his usual anecdotes and generally walking back into Boston's collective embrace after a 12-year absence, providing a killer performance along the way. Waits is in at least one respect like Bob Dylan, who at this point in his career has the luxury of an enormous back catalogue to choose from. For the Boston shows, Waits culled together a set that had the attentive fan in mind, which bore little resemblance to "Big Time," or even his much bootlegged 1996 San Francisco benefit show at Oakland's Paramount Theatre for his friend Don Hyde's legal defense fund. Fans looking for old favorites got a list that went back as far as _Closing Time_. Based on Internet reports, this set, and even Waits' patter, wasn't all that different from shows he's been doing around the country, but he still has the charisma to make his audience feel like he's choosing the songs off the cuff, especially for them. The fact that Waits' backing band always had a close eye on Waits for cues that they sometimes couldn't help missing, and that they occasionally got flubbed up when he would sing counterintuitive, syncopated vocal lines, enhanced this conceit. (The band's mistakes were actually kind of charming in this way.) The penultimate example of Waits' charisma that night was probably when he coaxed the audience into a sing-along of "Innocent When You Dream," in which he pretended to end the song four times, only to raise yet another chorus, provoking so much laughter the audience could barely sing their part. By the last reprise, even the band was fooled. Many of Waits' old "hits" were seriously reworked, some to the point where they were hard to recognize until halfway through the first verse. Old chestnuts like "16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six" and "Jockey Full of Bourbon" lurched and rambled or sped along so differently from their album versions or from other live performances that they practically became new songs. Newer songs like "The Earth Died Screaming" and "The Ocean Doesn't Want Me Today" seemed even more chilling than their album versions. "Screaming" was set loose in overdrive, as Waits turned his head up to rafters, rasping out both the verses and the choruses unrelentingly at top volume, so that the song became one long, anguished lament. Despite providing these favorites, Waits demanded a lot of his audience, peppering the set liberally with songs from _Mule Variations_ including a soulful version of "Hold On" and the "Rain Dogs"-style "Get Behind the Mule." But Waits doesn't tend to attract the casual fan, and the crowd cheered just as hard and with as much recognition at new songs as they did the old ones, even when in the middle of his set Waits sat at the piano and asked the audience, "Do you want to hear a new one or an old one?" and then joked, "Go to hell!" when they responded overwhelmingly in the latter. But then again, that might be because "The Eyeball Kid," (off _Mule Variations_) was the song that people were mentioning on their way out the theatre, the unquestioned highlight of the night. Throwing his trademark reflective confetti around himself like a wino having a one-man party, Waits' rasping, gravelly ravings -- combined with a simple but eerie light show and truly weird, indistinguishable ear candy from the backing band - breathed new and surprising life into "Eyeball." The same goes for "Filipino Box Spring Hog," a song which had a stunning public debut with Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica at the 1996 benefit show but seems robbed of life on the new album. Waits' Orpheum show at proved that no matter what you might think of his latest album, there's no denying that when it comes to a live show, the old man's still got it. --- INTERVIEW: Luke Slater (Part 1 of 2) - Krisjanis Gale Consumable Online had the opportunity to interview Luke Slater recently while in New York City prior to the release of his latest album, _Wireless_ (Mute). Here's some of the excerpts of that interview: Consumable Online: How'd your career in music begin? Not the industry-bio, but the real truth. Luke Slater: I can't even remember what the biography said; I'll be absolutely honest with you. It was just love of music. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but, even when I was just a small kid, I was into music in a strange way. I used to do some weird shit. I wasn't really a "hanging out with people" sort of a kid. CO: So you were in a basement with an 808 getting freaky with a tape loop, and what not. LS: What happened was we had this piano in my house and I used to have piano lessons when I was a kid, and I got really bored of those lessons. I don't know what it is, but in England, it's becoming like a ritual for kids to have piano lessons. So it slightly tipped my mind about piano lessons. When I got to a certain age, I started thinking: "Well, why am I doing this? I don't really want to learn these pieces of music; I don't really like what I'm playing." I started doing this thing, where I'd take the piano apart. And, my dad had this like old reel to reel. It's really old, and, when you recorded on it, it sounded really kind of warbly. CO: When you played it, it had this kind of cheap flanging in there. LS: Yeah, exactly. So I used to take the piano apart and sort of detune - there's three strings for each note - some of the strings. So you get a real fat sort of honky tonk sound. I used to like to record that, and overdub it with any old shit. That's how I grew up. CO: When did you get the first drum machine? The old beat up 808. LS: The 808, alright. I was in a band when I was 13. I was the drummer. I don't know why I was doing it, actually. But what I do remember was the keyboardist had an 808 - and a Prophet V synth. We were at one of these band practices, and he didn't come. So I had to use 808 for the drums, and I played bits on the synth. He just never turned up to get his gear, and I've still got his 808. That was a change; that was around the same time when electro came to England, and it totally changed my life. CO: What factors, at that time, shaped your unique style? And what were, and still are, you major influences from the early electro period? LS: When I first heard electro in England, it was the first type of music, that was dance music that wasn't a song. It had to do with rhythm, and noise. It wasn't pop music. There wasn't anything like it at the time. You had stuff like Northern Soul, but that was still soul; it wasn't electronic When I heard electronic music, that was it. And I haven't changed, at all, since then. Those factors that I liked about electronic music, is why I'm doing it now. CO: Which artists did you listen to in the beginning? LS: If I really had to get it down, it would probably be Captain Rock and Pacman. Captain Rock was an electro thing. It was two brothers, called the Elene brothers on a label called NIA, from New York. They wrote tons of shit, under different names. And this is where I got into this thing that made people release stuff; the same people, creating different psuedonyms for what they were doing. They were just putting out tracks, but the Elene brothers, did tons of shit. And it's only later on, you realize just how much they'd done. And people like Marly Marl. He's one of the original hip hop dudes, man. His beats were so raw, unproduced, and rough. It's brilliant. It's people like that. CO: Of all places, living in Horley, how did you hear the sounds of Chicago and Detroit? LS: It was about 1987 and we were going to go meet this bloke down in a club in London, who was setting up a label. We wanted to put stuff out; it was a club called the Sound Shaft which was mixed with a gay club called Heaven. We walked in there and there was this DJ in there, whose name was Steve Bell; it wasn't actually a gay night, I think it was a mixed / gay night. He was mixing records; it was cool, man. I thought "That would be me." So I made some [mix tapes], gave it to the blokes around the club, and I ended up playing down there every week for a year. You see, at that time, there were so many clubs with DJ's, who were talking between the records. There was a lot of kind of Luther Vandross shit going about, and that kind of soul stuff. It was a bit like "Okay, everybody - the next one's coming up here, and I hope you enjoy it." It was all a bit like that, flashy and nice. I just couldn't stand it. CO: And that was around the time you released Freebase. LS: Yeah, with Al Sage. CO: What other aliases have you recorded under? LS: Planetary Assault Systems, Deputy Dog, Morganistic, 7th Plain and Clementine. CO: When did you finally decide, and why, to start recording under your own name? LS: Because it was the right time. All the time I thought "I'll use my name when it feels right..." I didn't really want to start off just doing one thing in the beginning; I was doing so much stuff, for so many labels - DJAX, Peace Frog, and GPR - all at the same time. And the only way to do it was to use different names. Because a label takes the name, and you can't use it, for a certain amount of time. So that was a way around it. But now it feels right. It's a different ballgame, what we're doing with my name; everything that comes out on Novamute is what we're doing live. CO: So basically you wanted to have as many names as possible, and experiment the hell out of...what it was you were trying to do. But now you feel like you've arrived at a point where you can safely produce, under your own name. LS: Yeah. I can do anything I want to. We just wanted to put out a lot of records, because there was nothing out there, especially in Britain. When we started in Britain, getting our records sold and played, was the hardest thing in the world - because (in England) the media used to be so kind of silky and smooth. We were coming out with all the hard stuff and everything, and it was a bit odd to hear stuff like that, but we didn't care. We were making records to play in clubs, for me to play, and the clubs were happening. That's what it's about. It's just about putting out records and then playing them out. CO: In your own words, describe your style of music... LS: Electro-tech; I mean, what we did with _Wireless_ is electro, with bits of rock, and hip-hop - like street beats mixed together with soul. I wanted to take the attitude from some of the early electro, because the early electro was big music. I really wanted to bring back that kind of that large sound and do something different with it. We wanted to do something we could do live, that was powerful. Part 2 of this interview will appear in the next issue of Consumable. --- REVIEW: Various, _KCRW Presents Morning Becomes Eclectic_ (Mammoth) - Andrew Duncan Living in Indiana, radio is something that is nothing to be desired. Like most metropolitan areas, National Public Radio reigns with a stiff-upper lip when it comes to escaping a conglomerate of Top 40, alternative rock or country stations. However, world news and classical music is the price one usually has to pay. Thank God there is KCRW, a Santa Monica, California radio station located at 89.9 FM. Santa Monica may be thousands of miles from the Midwest region, but it is only a click away via the Internet. At www.kcrw.org, one can access this NPR affiliate station (yes it is an NPR station) and listen online. The thing that sets this station apart from other NPR stations is their brilliant use of local programming. Shows with crafty titles like "Metropolis" and "Chocolate City" showcase intelligent music that is innovative and resourceful for the modern world. But the program that has set the standard for modernizing music radio is called "Morning Becomes Eclectic." The show plays artists like Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and Tricky on the airwaves, when other stations would not even dare. Throughout the week, a band will occasionally stop by the KCRW studio to either unplug or rev things up on air. Now, KCRW and Mammoth are bringing these on-air performances to digital technology with _Morning Becomes Eclectic_, the CD. The goal of any compilation should be to attract the person with a sense of familiarity, but lure and tempt the person to check out other artists as well. This compilation does a great job at that, offering a collective of both well-known and obscure artists with a variety of musical styles involved. Singer/songwriters like Joe Henry, Beth Orton, and Sixpence None the Richer offer their acoustical talents. Air brings a softer approach to their '70s-space electronica with "All I Need." The Freestylers juice things up with a dancehall number, and Buffalo Daughter gives their two cents of satirical viewpoints with "Socks, Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll." Other artists, from Lyle Lovett to Mercury Rev, offer their talents to the CD as well. Even Semisonic and Cake, both radio-friendly artists, earn some respect. --- REVIEW: Blink 182, _Enema of the State_ (MCA) - Jason Cahill How perfect that the indelible image associated with Blink 182 happens to be that of the band running naked through the California streets, as they do in the video for "What's My Age Again?". Perfect because it's the kind of frat-boy mentality which is so pervasive on Blink 182's latest release, _Enema of the State_. In fact, the band seems to be enjoying the recent popularity of low brow, scatological humor, even appearing in this summer's low brow masterpiece, "American Pie". Remember the "Internet" scene where a band and their monkey watch as Jason Biggs attempts to seduce a foreign exchange student? Yup, that's them, monkey and all. But, before you dismiss the band outright as purveyors of uselessness, take a good long listen (alright, clocking in at just more than 35 minutes, a good long listen might not be possible, but...) to the punk rock anthems packed within Enema. True, the songs are pure testosterone, but useless they are not. "Dysentery Gary" is a three minute anthem of angst and bitterness, "Adam's Song" is a deep song of adolescent depression, about as mature as Blink 182 can get without breaking into laughter, and "Don't Leave Me" is an absolute gem of a punk song. In fact, in terms of pure content, _Enema of the State_ might just be one of the year's most satisfying releases. Of course, the majority of the album's lyrical content is of the low brow variety. Nowhere is this more apparent than in "The Party Song", where the band sings of keg stands, porn and phone sex. But perhaps the album's finest lyrical moment comes near the end of "Dysentery Gary", where vocalist Tom DeLonge sings the following - Fuck this place / I lost the war / I hate you all / You're mom's a whore. Lennon and McCartney they are not. So, if you're looking for introspection and reflection, you've come to the wrong place. Instead, Blink 182 have created what amounts to a Fraternity party masterpiece. In fact, you could say that _Enema of the State_ is the musical equivalent of a beer funnel - it's over quickly, but leaves you feeling great, if not slightly bloated... --- REVIEW: Steve Vai, _The Ultra Zone_ (Epic) - Linda Scott In 1990, Steve Vai released the classic _Passion and Warfare_. Vai doesn't know how to make a bad solo album, but three follow-ups, _Sex and Religion_, _AlienLove Secrets_, and _Fire Garden_, didn't challenge _Passion and Warfare_. _TheUltra Zone_, released September 7, is destined to be a classic and perhaps even surpass _Passion and Warfare_. Steve Vai learned hoe to play the guitar from Joe Satriani. Practicing ten hours during the week and all weekend, he grew up to be Frank Zappa's protege and "stunt guitarist." Later, Vai was in Diamond David Lee Roth's band, and then in Whitesnake. To make his own kind of music, Vai embarked on a successful solo career. A man of integrity and intelligence, he also dabbles in beekeeping, sits on the Board of Governors of NARAS (the Grammy organization) and recently founded the record company Favored Nations. Vai notes that his biggest influence is Jimmy Page but also cites Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck and Ricky Blackmore among guitarists he likes and draws inspiration from. You can hear these influences on _The Ultra Zone_. The album is primarily instrumental, but Vai does sing on it. Over time, his singing has improved, yet sometimes he seems to be talking instead. But when he lets his Ibanez axe speak, there are no complaints. _The Ultra Zone_ has all kinds of songs. Some tracks will appeal to advanced guitarists, but there are also many tracks for the rest of us. Highlights include "Frank," a rocking tribute to Frank Zappa, and the beautiful "Jibboom," written in memory of Stevie Ray Vaughan. "Windows To The Soul" is a wonderful guitar ballad where Vai's guitar weeps with sadness. "Here I Am" features Vai on vocals, and this one has catchy lyrics and rocking guitar solos. "Voodoo Acid" gets high marks for shifting from Middle Eastern influences to a dance groove. In contrast, "Oooo" is a powerful metal track. Variety and quality are found throughout _The Ultra Zone_. If you like guitar music, _The Ultra Zone_ is a must for musicians and the general listener. Steve Vai's produced another stunning album, and it's available now. Vai will do a 14 month tour in support of the album, beginning October 10. Here's hoping he's looking forward to it as much as we are. --- REVIEW: Megadeth, _Risk_ (Capitol) - Paul Hanson The name of the new Megadeth CD _Risk_ comes from something Metallica's Lars Ulrich said to vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine through the press. Ulrich said that he thought Mustaine was talented, but that he should take more risks. So that's exactly what goes on with this disc. Megadeth has definitely taken a lot of what Ulrich said to heart. Perhaps the biggest risk (and that'll be the last time I use this word in this review) is the track "Ecstasy." First of all, Mustaine strums a clean tone guitar. Second, there is a tambourine played on the two with the snare. Finally, it is nearly impossible to hear Marty Friedman's licks throughout the song. The mix of the song allows the hi-hat to overpower the guitar. And yes, everyone by now has probably heard "Crush 'Em," the first single and also the theme for Bill Goldberg in WCW. The main thing you'll pick up on with this CD is the added electronica' element added to most of these songs. The days of thrash metal a la _Rust in Peace_ are gone. Mustaine says in his press pack that he believes the fans of the band expect them to grow. And quite definitely, the band is growing. While this was a tough disc to get into, I now would say it is pretty good. _Risk_ starts with "Insomnia." with some digitally enhanced violins that add a new dimension to the song. The second track, "Prince of Darkness", is the closest Megadeth come to thrash metal. The band is taking risks. They are risking their audience that they have building since _Peace Sells . . . but who's Buying_. Is the risk worth it? Most definitely. This is a much more adventurous album than its predecessor _Cryptic Writings_. Does it measure up to _Rust in Peace_? Definitely. Where _Rust in Peace_ succeeded in creating a new wave of thrash metal bands, _Risk_ should encourage more musical outings from other metal bands. Already Def Leppard and the Scorpions have taken a turn toward a more melodic sound, believing metal can be more than the usual guitar/bass/drums lineup. Unlike Metallica, Megadeth have maintained their integrity with this CD. --- REVIEW: Triumph 2000, _Phazed and Confused_ (Derailed) - Chris Hill A mix of pre-apocalyptic, urban, instrumental landscapes, French film soundtrack, and laconic, club-filling space rock, _Phazed and Confused_ follows a map drafted in the minds of ex-Spectrum guitarist and producer Richard Formby and vocalist Howard Storey. Formby, who's worked with some brilliant bands in his career (the defunct Spacemen 3, the serenely noisy Mogwai, The Jazz Butcher, the sparsely beautiful Dakota Suite, and Spectrum), now steps from the supporting cast to a leading role with Triumph 2000. He writes all the music, with Storey taking co-writing credit on the three vocal tracks ("Baris", "Happy Ever After", and "Out There"). The instrumentals comprise the majority of tracks on the cd, however, and rightly so. "TFS #8" and "TFS #4", though part of a series, are two distinct pieces. "TFS #8" is joyous and bubbling, programmed drums cavorting with cloudy keyboard runs. "TFS #4" is a moody slice of film noir, eerie notes appearing out of a fog which recedes, then envelops the listener over its 5:30 runtime. It's reminiscent of Vangelis' "Blade Runner" music or the Tangerine Dream score for "The Keep". "Untitled (Colonne Sonore)" evokes a '60s French romance soundtrack scrambled with a moody alto sax. "Oscillate" drives instrumentally through Godard's splendid "Alphaville", headlights illuminating the bleak urban landscape. The keyboards exhale like bellows and the drums provide an uneasy, steady meter for the track. But for true film splendor, "Neumatic" wins the Oscar. Nearly 16 minutes of Middle Eastern wonder, multi-instrumentalist Formby wanders like Lawrence of Arabia over a swirling desert of drums, keyboards, and droning ambience, that eventually coalesces to an acoustic guitar which guides the listener to journey's end. The three vocal tracks also deliver. "Baris" centers around a mesmerizing bouzouki rhythm, hypnotic as a cobra swaying back and forth. "Happy Ever After" - "if there was a God, right now where's I'd pray/if it's all in my head, come and take me away" - runs its lyrics about a dark, edgy love. "Out There" drifts through desolate sonic surroundings: "pressing on your lifeless lips/give me just one kiss/just when you think there's nothing out there/she is/with liquid eyes and arms outstretched/ she holds a demon grip/and like some crippled adolescent/you just bite your lip". Love isn't a sanctuary, it's an oasis with a bleached skull resting on the waterhole's edge. The disc concludes with a remix of "Baris" by Overseer, and "Droppin' It (Triumph 2000 Mix)", a driving guitar finish to 67 minutes of aural travelogue. _Phazed & Confused_ is a strange journey. With Formby as attentive guide, it's one worth taking. --- TOUR DATES: Anti Flag / Dropkick Murphys Oct. 1 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Oct. 2 Chicago, IL The Metro Oct. 3 Minneapolis, MN Univ. of MN Oct. 5 St. Louis, MO The Galaxy Oct. 6 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck Oct. 7 Denver, CO Ogden Theater Oct. 8 Salt Lake City, UT Bricks Oct. 9 Boise, ID Bogies Oct. 10 Seattle, WA RKCNDY Art of Noise Oct. 7 San Francisco, CA Slim's Oct. 8 Los Angeles, CA Coachella Music & Arts Festival Ben Folds Five / Fleming & John Oct. 4 Omaha, NE Sokol Hall Oct. 5 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue Oct. 8 Atlanta, GA Alexander Memorial Coliseum Bis Oct. 1 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern Oct. 2 Atlanta, GA Echo Lounge Church Oct. 1 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Oct. 2 Providence, RI Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel Oct. 3 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club Oct. 4-5 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom Oct. 6 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle Oct. 7 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Oct. 8 Memphis, TN Newby's Ani DiFranco Oct. 1 Hartford, CT The Bushnell Oct. 2 Binghamton, NY Broome County Arena Oct. 3 Albany, NY Palace Theatre Oct. 4 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid Hudson Civic Center Oct. 6 Washington, DC 930 Club Oct. 7 Norfolk, VA The Boathouse Oct. 8 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolf Auditorium Oct. 9 Raleigh, NC The Ritz Johnny Dowd Oct. 1 Buffaloy, NY Mohawk Pl. Oct. 6 Pittsburgh, PA Bloomfield Bridge Oct. 9 East Lansing, MI Mac's Bar Oct. 10 Chicago, IL Schuba's Fleming & John Oct. 3 Reno, NV KLCA Show Oct. 9 Boston, MA WBMX Show Gomez Oct. 1 Los Angeles, CA John Anson Ford Theater Oct. 2 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore Ben Harper Oct. 5-6 San Luis Obispo, CA Cal Poly Oct. 7 Sacramento, CA Uc Davis Rec Hall Oct. 8 Berkeley, CA Greek Theater Oct. 9 Indio, CA Coachella Music And Arts Festival Indigo Girls Oct. 2 Davidson, NC Baker Sports Complex Oct. 4-5 Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre Oct. 6 Lowell, MA Tsongas Arena Oct. 7 Syracuse, NY Landmark Theatre Oct. 8 Fairfax, VA Patriot Center Oct. 10 Hanover, NH Dartmouth College Luscious Jackson Oct. 4-5 New York, NY Irving Plaza Live Oct. 1 Raleigh, NC The Ritz Oct. 2 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium Oct. 3 N. Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues Oct. 5 Lake Buena Vista, FL House Of Blues (Fl) Oct. 6 Pensacola, FL Bayfront Auditorium Oct. 7 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues Oct. 9 Pelham, AL Oak Mountain Amphitheater Oct. 10 Little Rock, AK Robinson Auditorium Men At Work Oct. 1 Petaluma, CA Phoenix Theater Oct. 2 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues Oct. 3 Bakersfield, CA Kern Co. Fair Tom Petty & Heartbreakers Oct. 1 Philadelphia, PA First Union Center Oct. 2 Virginia Beach, VA Virginia Beach Amp. Oct. 4 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion Oct. 6 Bloomington, IN Assembly Hall at Indiana Univ. Oct. 7 Chicago, IL United Center Oct. 9 Detroit, MI The Palace Pietasters, Pilfers & Spring Heeled Jack Oct. 1 Orlando, FL Sapphire Supper Club Oct. 2 West Palm Beach, FL Respectable Street Oct. 3 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre Oct. 5 New Orleans, LA State Palace Theatre Oct. 6 Houston, TX Fitzgerald's Oct. 8 El Paso, TX Club 101 Oct. 9 Mesa, AZ The Nile Theater Oct. 10 Pomona, CA The Glass House Pretenders Oct. 9 Atlantic City, NJ Sands Casino Oct. 10 Boston, MA Foxboro Stadium Royal Trux Oct. 1 New York, NY The Cooler Oct. 2 Philadelphia, PA Kyber Sean Na Na Oct. 7 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry Smash Palace Oct. 8 Haddonfield, NJ Three Beans Sally Taylor Oct. 1 Boulder, CO Tulagi Oct. 8-9 Eureka Springs, AR Ozark Folk Festival Type O Negative Oct. 1 Detroit, MI St Andrews Hall Oct. 2 Toledo, OH Main Event Oct. 4 Chicago, IL Metro Oct. 5 Milwaukee, WI The Rave Oct. 6 Minneapolis, MN The Quest Oct. 8 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre Oct. 9 Salt Lake City, UT Club DV8 Watsonville Patio Oct. 3 Boise, ID CD Merchant Oct. 6 Provo, UT ABG's Oct. 8-9 Laramie WY Buckhorn Oct. 10 Ft Collins, CO Starlight Weird Al Yankovic Oct. 7 Phoenix, AZ Arizona State Fair Zeke Oct. 1 Riverside, CA Overtime Oct. 2 San Francisco, CA Bottom Of The Hill Oct. 9 Seattle, WA The Break Room --- Founded in August, 1993, Consumable Online is the oldest music reviews publication on the Internet. 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