As unfair as it is to the band (which includes bassist/vocalist Anne Marie Griffin and drummer Les Nuby), it's hard not to be struck by the eerie similarities between the voices of Bondy and Kurt Cobain. The two share the same sort of nasal twang and a lyrical sense that often equates love and death. The gentle piano chording that colors the disc opener, "Lovely Isn't Love," belies the song's haunting message ("Lovely isn't love/Until it bleeds").
Shaking the Cobain comparison has proved especially difficult as Into the Pink was produced by Bondy's friend, former Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl. Bondy says Grohl was interested but initially reticent to produce the record for fear of altering the group's sound. "He was kind of like, 'I don't want to fuck with you guys.' He was also worried about whatever baggage might be involved in us working together and being paranoid about corrupting us and our sound, which was totally unfounded.
Casey McKee
Shoeless Joe: From left, Theron Wall, Chad Hines, Dave Wolfmeyer, Michael Wood.
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"The upside is we have Grohl attached to the record, which kind of makes it okay in a way. But at the same time, just because he's attached to it, a lot of people compare it to Nirvana more than they would anyway."
One association that Bondy doesn't mind is with the Sex Pistols. "I definitely think it's there. Which goes back to the point that if we do sound like [Nirvana] in any way, it's probably because we share a lot of the same bands as influences. A lot of journalism is short-memoried. It's like, 'Wasn't there punk before grunge?'"
Into the Pink is a record that isn't afraid to show its punk roots. From the "Holidays in the Sun" march that kicks off the title track to Bondy's 'bama boy does Johnny Rotten vocal sneer on "Pretty Please" and "Submissionary," Into the Pink is brimming with London '77-era influences. The sound is a bit of a departure from the group's previous full-lengther, Souls for Sale, which Bondy accurately characterizes as a "Stonesish scruffy, swaggery rock 'n' roll record."
The group's shift from a Memphis-style indie pop band to a punkish power trio also coincided with their departure from Merge Records. Bondy says the group was happy during their stay on the label but that the decision to leave the Southern indie for Capitol was purely practical. "We needed a van," he says, laughing, "and we wanted better distribution. Merge was great to us, but we wanted to play the game a little bit more, so to speak."
And as for those who like to portray Verbena as "neo-grunge"? "That's bullshit. We're much more like a snotty punk band than a grunge band," says Bondy. "There's none of that morose self-angst vibe that grunge had. I think we're a lot more empowering than that."
For those whose tastes run more toward the technological side, Modified will also be hosting a very rare appearance by German electronica pioneer Hans Joachim Rodelius. Rodelius' current "Indian Summer" tour is the avant-garde legend's fist ever solo outing. Better known as half of the influential duo Cluster (contemporaries of electronic experimentalists like Can and Kraftwerk), Rodelius is touring in advance of his forthcoming Global Trotters (a project featuring Rodelius and a constantly changing cast of contributors) album Drive. -- Bob Mehr Verbena is scheduled to perform on Saturday, September 4, at 9 p.m. Hans Joachim Rodelius is scheduled to perform on Wednesday, September 8, at 9 p.m. Both shows are at Modified. Contact Bob Mehr at his online address: bmehr@newtimes.com
