By Niki D’Andrea
This weekend marks the New Times Summer of Sound “experimental” show. The event, scheduled to take place Friday, July 18, at Papillons Too (formerly Cell Block) in Mesa, features local eclectic outfit Janis Joplin Crap N Vomit, along with three other great local bands and headliners Estradasphere Trio.
JJCNV’s music is hard to label and difficult to decribe, and we apparently missed the mark with our preview of JJCNV (online now at our Web site and running in print this Thursday). Veteran music writer Serene Dominic -- known for his snarky, tongue-in-cheek humor -- wrote that the band sucked, and that “They can’t sing a lick, their music stinks, and songs like ‘Hamsterdam’ and ‘Frank the Beaver’ make you feel like an imbecile just by saying the title.” He also pondered how the band snuck past the “Summer of Sound Quality Control branch,” and made an analogy about the band being kicked off MySpace for its offensive moniker by MySpace’s Tom, who’s “every scuzzy stripper and child predator’s friend.”
As soon as the blurb appeared online, I received an e-mail from Janis Joplin Crap N Vomit. It seems they took exception to being compared to strippers and child molesters, and were offended by Dominic’s decree that they suck. I explained that Dominic was trying to make a joke in line with the bizarre humor that permeates JJCNV’s music and stage show (an assertion I still maintain), but the band didn’t find the blurb funny at all, explaining that, compared to the blurbs about the other local bands, theirs came across as nothing but derogatory.
So I revisited the JJCNV preview, and I can certainly see why the band was offended. And while I cannot speak for Dominic, I will speak for myself and say that Janis Joplin Crap N Vomit does NOT suck, in my opinion. If they did, they wouldn’t have been invited to play the showcase. In fact, the band’s blend of quirky early ’90s college rock, slanted indie pop, and indecipehrable experimental jams is some of the most fresh and innovative music being made in the Valley. And they are, without a doubt, the most misunderstood local band in town.
To judge for yourself, check out the tunes on Janis Joplin Crap N Vomit’s MySpace page, or better yet, witness the live show at Papillons Too this Friday.
