Audio By Carbonatix
What makes a scene? No one knows for sure. In Austin it’s the mystique. In New York and L.A., it’s the mass of population. In Chicago and New Orleans, it’s the history.
In this town, we’re still figuring that equation out. Sometimes it works and sometimes, well . . . One thing that is working is the Valley’s recording industry. Bands and solo musicians continue to crank out tapes, records and CDs. For the third time since the beginning of the year, Sun Tracks presents a review of what’s new on the local recorded music scene.
As always, we didn’t get to everyone, but never fear, the next local roundup is already in the works. Everything reviewed here should be for sale at local record stores. If not, ask about it. If you or your band has a tape, record or CD, send it to us and we’ll include it in the next roundup.
FISH KARMA teddy in the sky with magnets
(Triple X)
Neither animal, nor vegetable, nor mineral, nor scaly, gill-sucking thing that goes bump in the night, Fish Karma has teamed up with the only other person on the planet who can understand him, Mojo Nixon, to record what Fish’s many fans (eleven, not counting family) are classifying as an album.
A longtime societal prognosticator, stalker of fads, evil-eyed editorializer and all around smart ass, the Tucson-based Fish is Pete Seeger’s evil twin. His guitar is deliberately out of tune, he talks instead of sings, and if you’re a sacred cow, particularly an artistic one, look out. When it comes to drawing telling portraits and whipping out the wicked blade of satire, Fish doesn’t miss.
In “An Artist’s Lament,” for instance, he scores a direct hit on the 1991 tortured artiste mindset, “I think I’ll put on my black clothing and go downtown and sit in a dimly lit, overpriced cafe and scribble in my notepad.”
And then there’s the opener, “Swap Meet Woman.”
Combing the swap meet for some bargain “lovin’,” Fish spies her: “There’s one now, Lord/She’s vicious and she’s mean/Sittin’ under a Confederate flag/And swiggin’ Jim Beam.” A Mary Kay cosmetics saleswoman who uses Tater Tots and Summit wine to get her through the winter nights, Fish’s beauty comes at a price. Turns out that he has to share his prize: “She dances topless out at Elmer’s Pub on I-10/Her cellulite and press-on nails draw lust in the hearts of men/She shimmies and shakes to her favorite Bob Seger tune/Catches cigarettes from all the alcoholics in the room.”
Although it’s a little localized–how many people in Connecticut will get the joke?–this one’s an all-Fish classic.
Some of the other highlights contained in this slim but powerful jewel box are “Baby, Let’s Be Methodists Tonight,” “She Is the Mammal” (a love song), and “Die Like a Dog.” Mojo and Tucson pal Al Perry lend able instrumental assistance, but it’s Fish’s deranged vision that makes this a cracked classic.–Robert Baird
ESTEBAN
Duende
(Sound Designs of Arizona)
Guitarist Stephen Paul, or Esteban, as he claims he was nicknamed by Andres Segovia, mixes new-age leanings with classical-guitar music. The latter influence wins every time and becomes the measure of what is either dull or outstanding on Duende.
Both the title cut and a number called “River of Man” are feather-light portions of decaf flamenco music that leave the listener frustrated–Esteban’s command of the guitar guarantees he could present the real thing if he wanted. Without the strong melodies and complexities of genuine Spanish classical music, both cuts become merely directionless chord thrashing.
Esteban rectifies the problem when he includes Bach’s Preludio in D and Lauro’s Valse Criollo. The pieces not only supply what’s been missing melodically, but also prove what a great guitarist Esteban can be when wrestling with heavyweight material.
Esteban’s sandwiching of classical selections between his own writing invites harsh comparisons. But the contrast also shows how Esteban’s knowledge of great music sometimes assists him in turning out potent new-age sounds like his composition “Mesopotamia.” Here the guitarist interweaves his flamenco flash with a distinct melody and fitting instrumental support from labelmates Mirage. Serious music fans will appreciate how the song’s greater intricacies resemble standard classical-guitar writing.
With its mix of gems and clinkers, Duende makes for an interesting lesson on new-age music’s major weakness. On one disc, the listener can hear Esteban showcase the appreciable difference between songs with direction and rambling mood music.–Dave McElfresh
JIM DeBLOIS
Nuclear Love
(Local tape)
Jim DeBlois is to world-beat what UB40 is to reggae: a tame, speciously ethnic alternative to the real thing.
The world-beat lite offered up by DeBlois–an inarguably talented singer and guitarist–isn’t unlistenable. The Jamaican riddims on “Jimbawe” and “Meanwhile in St. George” may be ersatz, but they’re still reasonably alluring. You can imagine these tunes being played at a yuppie’s Caribbean-theme barbeque. Something to listen to while nibbling on jerked shrimp.
Granted, you can’t expect all music with cross-cultural influences to be roots conscious. But you can expect a middling amount of originality, which much of this music lacks.
“Spring Break (Basura Blanca)” has a diluted tropical flavor and lyrics that sound tailor-made for a beer commercial: “Well it’s spring break just what you ordered/Gonna head south of the border/Gonna take ice and a cooler/Gonna leave book and ruler.” A note to any future corporate sponsors–this song comes complete with pop-top sound effects.
To its credit, Nuclear Love is well-produced and boasts slick, clever cover art. Of course, when you’re dealing with yuppified world-beat, a professionally turned-out product is a given.–John Blanco
SX
Untitled four-song tape
(Woofa)
What is it about lead vocalists who insist on having three names? Witness Danny Joe Brown, David Lee Roth, and now Billy Joe Milligan of SX. The longer the name, the shorter the male member? Seems like needless pretension to me.
SX is another L.A. Strip clone, producing competent but undistinguished hard-rock/metal. Most of the standard hard-rockisms apply here: lots of hair, clothes with rips and fringe, and a bigger-than-rock attitude. The music? Oh yeah, the music. You get so entranced looking, you forget to listen. It’s straightahead guitar-bass and volume. None of the tunes or lyrics is particularly memorable. As a vocalist and sex object, Billy Joe Milligan is just okay.
It’s the old story. If you’re gonna work in an overloaded genre, you’ve gotta be way, way different.–Robert Baird
DEADLINE SCREAMER Untitled
(Local tape)
With a name that sounds like it came from a newsroom mental-health report, the band behind this six-song tape goes for the throat. The music is punk/hard-core with definite metal/hard-rock leanings. Close as it is to poseur metal, this kind of loud guitar rock is usually a lot more interesting than that genre, and Deadline Screamer is as well. The music is decent, high-decibel noise. There aren’t any big hits lurking here, but the band doesn’t embarrass itself either.
Lyrically, there are better-than-average nods here to the environment (“Green Grass”), U.S. foreign policy (“What’s It Gonna Be?) and of course, good old-fashioned punk nihilism (“Nonsense”). “Nonsense” is also the tune where John Vible Powers (I told you they all have three names) has his most passionate moments, when he screams the chorus, “What the fuck are they talking about?!”
Soundwise, this tape is strangely uneven. On one tune, the drums stand out. On the next, the guitar is so forward in the mix that everything gets drowned. And much of the vocals sound like they’re coming out of a well. Still, not bad.–Robert Baird
TONY “T” “Undercover Lover”
(Festival Entertainment)
Cassette single
The key to understanding cassette singles is that they aren’t really singles. They’re an excuse to do the same tune a couple of different ways. There will be a slow version, a fast take and, inevitably, a dance track with a hyperactive drum machine pulsing away in the background.
Fun as that sounds, it puts a lot of pressure on the tune in question. If the song is lame, one version is more than enough.
Fortunately, “Undercover Lover” works in all its versions. By putting out his first single, local singer Tony “T” is casting his hat into the overcrowded lagoon of vocalists who sing soul to a rap beat.
“Undercover Lover” is your basic slick and sexy dance track, presented here in three different mixes: “LP,” “instrumental” and “club mix.” Given a big, professional production on all three versions–keyboards are everywhere and every cymbal sounds like a forest of brass–“Undercover Lover” is full of moaning women, drum-machine effects and odd, alien keyboard sounds.
Tony’s voice is adequate, but his lyrics–“Let’s make love/I thought you’d never ask”–could use a little work. But then, lyrics aren’t the point here. Moving to the music is. That’s probably why the club mix works best. –Robert Baird
MARGO REED Margo
(Local tape)
Margo Reed is talented enough to pump new life into even the most worn-out song material.
She goes so far as to open her first recording by jumping into “Be Happy,” a down-on-one-knee bit of fluff that barely escapes the feel of a Vegas telethon act. But escape it does, solely because of the singer’s strong, upbeat vocals.
Reed whips the odds again when applying her confident stage strutting to the dusty standards “Blue Skies” and “It’s All Right With Me.” The lively renditions prove why she has had years of success as a local entertainer.
But her flair for bouncing through fluff becomes a problem when she tackles her other love: the blues. Struggling for authenticity on weighty numbers like “St. Louis Blues” or Bessie Smith’s “Sugar in My Bowl,” Reed still sounds like she’s hip-swinging through a Vegas show. The hint of insincerity grows when she and pianist Buddy Weed attempt to squeeze seven classic blues numbers into a medley of almost as many minutes. This low-cal blues homage leaves Reed sounding too much like a sequined Billie Holiday wannabe. Entertaining, maybe. Believable, no way.
If you want a superior entertainer and don’t think that following a 1914 W.C. Handy blues classic with a Stephen Sondheim show tune is more than a bit of a reach, you’ll love Reed’s new recording. But if you want your blues free of the grease paint, better find it elsewhere. –Dave McElfresh
KENNY LOVE Just Want to Dance With You
(Kaprikorn Produktions)
Recently arrived from Houston, Kenny Love is a mature soul vocalist who seems to be capable of a lot. Yet another variation on the cassette single format, this tape contains two tunes, the hold-her-close ballad “Just Want to Dance” and the upbeat “All of My Love.”
Not to slight the music here, but the sound alone makes this tape worth having. Love spent a bunch of time and money recording and mastering these two tunes, and it shows. This is by far the most professionally produced local tape I’ve heard in a long time.
Musically, two songs aren’t enough for any wide-ranging judgments, but “All of My Love” is a danceable, keyboard-driven tune whose best moments come when Love launches into a funky, Al Jarreau-style scat refrain. Throughout, Love’s voice is clear and strong. It sounds like a bizarre criticism, but it may be too clear. Love’s diction is precise to the point of being overpolite. He comes off a little stiff in spots.
But that’s nit-picking. This guy’s got talent. Now what we need is an entire album.–Robert Baird
THEATRE OF ICE AND BULLETS FOR PUSSY
Rock Star Autopsy
(Local record)
Listening to “Creature,” Theatre of Ice’s contribution to the Rock Star Autopsy single, it’s easy to conjure up images of ghoul-punks in black eyeliner, pentagram necklaces and Alien Sex Fiend tee shirts. This is dated stuff–from the plodding circa-1983 goth-rock rhythms to the lyrics about “dark rites” and blood-filled “sacrificial cups.” Obviously we’re dealing with a band that’s worn out its copy of Mighty Sphincter’s The New Manson Family.
Forget Autopsy’s flip side as well. The only purpose of the two abrasive dirges by Bullets for Pussy is to make Theatre of Ice sound creative by comparison. –John Blanco
THEATRE OF ICE Radio Is Going Insane
(Local record)
Theatre of Ice doesn’t take its spook-rock so seriously on Radio Is Going Insane. The “Monster Mash”-style opener, “The Gallows Dance,” sets the five-song EP’s mostly lighthearted mood. With its background party noises and thumping beat, this song sounds like disco night at the local morgue.
On the record’s best cuts, the band doesn’t dabble in cartoon gore at all. The cover of the Residents’ “Semolina” is an utterly goofy but likable surf-salsa hybrid. “El Soundo Mundo” is catchy Latino pop with a comically inept opening shout (“uno, dos, cuatro, cinco”–whoops, forgot a numero, guys).
It’s nice to see these overgrown spooksters put away their Halloween costumes on some of the new songs. For a band that’s always been about as scary as SCTV’s Count Floyd, chucking the horror shtick can only be considered a wise career move.–John Blanco
SHAGNATTY
Dreadlock Patrol
(Jah Music Works)
White folks singing about Jah are always on shaky ground, but somehow this longtime Arizona reggae group does manage a listenable pop-reggae sound.
Make no mistake, it’s reggae American-style. Ska and rock influences abound. The grooves here are run-of-the-mill. The strongest ingredients in the band’s sound are the vocals. Because Shagnatty has the annoying, everybody-knows-us habit of not listing its members’ last names, I can only say that “Dan’s” voice is what holds this group’s music together.
On the downside, Shagnatty’s overdependence on keyboards is irritating. Keyboard sounds from pings and pops to straight organ-electric piano accompaniment make up most of what’s on this tape. At times it gives the music a poppy, bubblegum quality that isn’t pleasant.
But then, this entire tape is a studio project. Given the number of instruments played by one person–Dan plays sax, drum and sings lead–a lot of this music couldn’t work live unless a few additional players were added. Adding more players probably wouldn’t be a bad idea, even in the studio. Test-tube reggae can be too neat and tidy.–
