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Volume 2, Issue 21
September 28 - October 11, 2000 |
| Concert Listings |
Jessica Vogelgesang
Phish is back! Yes, they are the band still better known around town for being banned from Red Rocks than for their new CD, Farmhouse. But hey, who didn't throw a party in their youth when the parents were out of town or take the car out for a spin without asking only to bring it back with a scratch, or worse? Are your parents still holding that over your head or did they finally calm down and let you finish growing up? In their defense, that was years ago and many feel as though the Phish Phans have done some growing up over the years. Perhaps it is time to forgive and forget, show some tolerance and move on.
Something else has changed over those passing years -- the sheer number of Phish Phans has grown exponentially. They have created their own community both real and virtual with Rolling Stone dubbing them "The world's most wired group." It is a deserved title held collectively by the four members who make up Phish: Trey Anastacio/guitar and vocals, Jon Fishman/drums, vacuum, yes vacuum, and vocals, Mike Gordon/bass and vocals and Page McConnell/keyboards and vocals. No other band has a stronger presence on the web except perhaps (you guessed it) the Grateful Dead. A search of the Internet lands a whopping catch of Phish-related websites and they are not small, immature web sites that need to be thrown back but the web equivalent of catching a ten pound bass. Page after page of detailed information about the band, about the fans, about media coverage, possible Phish sightings and about how many times "Fee" has been the first song of the second set. The Frequently Asked Questions section on one site www.phish.netis so large they recommend downloading it to save time and Internet charges.
With well over 160 Phish-related websites, it is as if one is wandering the streets of a city marveling in the diversity of its various neighborhoods. There is The Phellowship, located www.phellowship.org, an organization for fans who choose to remain sober (no ganja goo balls for you) and Operation Minnow at members.tripod.com/minnows/ for the under-17 crowd. The Phunky Bitches site located at www.phunky.comprovides a place for women who love Phish to meet and communicate, and yes, much like a unisex bathroom, it is dominated by girls (but guys are welcome to visit, too). There are sites dedicated to individual band members such as People for a Louder Mike and CK5 taking on the responsibility that the 'fifth member of Phish,' Chris Kuroda, the lighting director gets the recognition he deserves.
The list of sites goes on and on, but there is only one official website for the band, which is www.phish.com. It features up-to-the-minute tour information with specific directions to the various venues, a list of rules and regulations for each, as well as a listing of nearby hotels, restaurants, campground, and hospitals. It boasts an extensive merchandise catalogue with over 100 different items and features some Phish products available only through the web. It also averages 2.5 million hits a month. To say that Phish fans are extremely active on the Internet is an understatement. If the cyber world could be viewed from a satellite in space, the Phish community would appear as large as the eastern seaboard of the US.
For the more nomadic followers of Phish, those who are on the road for months at a time living out of the back of a van, e-mail becomes an important form of communication essentially taking the place of the traditional mailbox and many times acting as a calling card to keep in contact with other fans they meet along the way. Without a permanent address or phone, it becomes a way to stay in touch with family and friends. Simply pull into town and stop off at the local college, library or cybercafe, log on and catch up on what everyone is up to. Going beyond e-mail, fans can even sign up for pager service and begin receiving set lists, ticket releases and other Phish news distributed for free to pagers and cell phones.
Many Phish fans' use of the latest technology is not limited to the web. Phish actively promotes taping at their show, even going so far as to sell special taper tickets by mail order. A stroll through the tapers section behind the soundboard gives one an impressive display of expensive microphones poised atop stands reaching 10 feet in the air, their cords connected to the latest in technologically advanced DAT recorders, producing live recordings with a sound quality never dreamed of in the Deadhead's days of yore.
Instead of reaching for the phone to call their attorney, as some unnamed bands might do, Phish has updated their taping policy to include MP3 trading, and decided to celebrate the whole advance in tech-nology by making available in MP3 form a previously unreleased studio version of "Strange Design." Athree page document on their website details what is accept-able and what is not with regards to MP3's. It's not the normal response one would expect from many of the more popular bands these days, but then Phish and their Phans pride themselves on doing things differently, outside the box, some might say 'abnormally.'
It appears as though Phish is leading the pack and ushering in an era when abnormal approaches to promotion, marketing and distribution will become commonplace. Who else could get 75,000 people to attend a paid concert in the swampy Everglades of Florida without radio play or press promotion? They must be doing something right. So log on, and welcome to the "Age of Phish".
Interview byMr. Dane
Take three boys from Austin, Texas, and one from England, give a little flame, add a horn or two, a pinch of punk, two shakes of rock n' roll, a punch of Bourbon, bring to a boil, let cool, then enjoy a hearty dish of the Dead End Cruisers. One of punks' best kept secrets will be appearing live at the Lion's Lair September 30th.
The kids are on the road supporting their new release, "The Patron Saints of Wheless Lane," available on Unity Squad Records.
Mr. Dane asks Neil Curran a few questions just for the hell of it...
Q: What motivates you to get out of bed every day, go to work, and then commit yourself full time to a rock n' roll band?
A: Well, it's not getting any easier as we get older--that's for sure. It's tough to find time for it sometimes, I suppose. But giving it up would be like losing my right arm, and I've become quite attached to that. As long as the good times outweigh the bad, we'll keep on doing it.
Q: How's the Austin rock scene treating you? Do you feel like you're getting the respect you deserve there and nationally?
A: In the scene here we definitely have respect. We've been around a long time, so if nothing else we have staying power. In regards to the press here we get little to no notice. Nationally, we can't complain much. People certainly wouldn't know us from our previous tours unless they happened to be in the Holiday Inn bar in Witchita.
Q: What goals do you have for the band?
A: Write increasingly self-indulgent albums, make lots of money and fight anyone who says we didn't deserve to "make it."
Q: What do you think of the posing that goes on in the punk rock scene, especially those singers who attempt to have cockney accents?
A: If you can do it, you do. If you can't, you pose. It's up to the audience to work out who's who. The fake accents amuse me more than anything. I mean it's a bit pathetic when you think about it. The shame of it is that it's so common for a punk band to have an affected singer that we get lumped in with that too. It distracts from what's important -- the fucking lyrics and music.
Q: How long have you lived in the States?
A: I've been over here more on than off for thirteen years, and, believe me, my accent was a lot thicker (get a few drinks in me and find out).
Q: Did you grow up seeing the 1970's bands that influenced your brand of rock n' roll?
A: No. As far as all the greats, I missed them all. If I'd only had an older brother instead of an older sister....
Q: Where is this tour taking you?
A: This one's taking us up North from Texas and over to California, then down and back again. We're currently supporting ourselves, so any help would be appreciated.
Forget the accusations of this band ripping off Wire, because no one-- including you-- ever listened to that avante punk anyway. You only have the "seminal" Pink Flag in your room because some record store snob told you they were "influential," and you bought it to show that you "get it." Well, you don't "get it," and to further confuse things, Elastica turned its twisted smear of Blondie/Buzzcocks/Stranglers into widespread popularity about five years back by allegedly stealing a few Wire riffs with their jumpy song, "Connection."
If that is the case, then Elastica created something Wire never did, record sales! Of course, the defenders of the Wire legacy will also point to lead singer Justine Frischmann's romance with Blur's Damon Albarn as a weakness; he wrote all their songs, right? So much for trying to please the cynics.
Half a decade later, and Elastica has finally appeared with its much
anticipated sophomore attempt, The Menace. Much has changed along the
way, and while they will still be compared with Wire, Frischmann is much
more of a force than before. Maybe it's Justine Frischmann's messy breakup with Albarn or the departure
of guitarist/ writer Donna Matthews, but she puts down a pretty tough
persona throughout. She's terse and gruff with the fun wiped off her face, a
bit of an aloof stranger. The music, frankly, isn't very friendly either. It's
modernized punk -- like a messier version of Boss Hog without the sexual
come-ons. They dare you to come close and watch with just enough hooks to
keep you in the room. "Generator" might be the strongest of the batch-- but it's
never apparent if the group wants you to stick around. In the end, Elastica
will please critics with The Menace and leave their fair weather fans
panting for the next Travis to appear, which-- other than that lousy cover song from
the Volkswagon commercial (" Da Da Da")-- seems to be their intention.
B
--John Davidson
This Boulder-based band has put together a nice disc with some good tunes, shifting gears about every other song between a sound deeply-rooted in reggae with some pretty smooth rap over the top, or a sound damn close to Rage Against The Machine.
The 311 crowd will find this very familiar sounding. Not like that is a bad thing. With this CD, this band is putting just the right amount of effort forth to get a sound that has already been carved out. What sets them apart from the aforementioned bands is the lyrical content. While sounding like Rage, they are not setting any political fires. When in 311 mode, the lyrics also seem a little more peaceful and the melodies a tad less nursery rhyme-ish.
As for players, I don't think you need to look elsewhere. The Get On
Board disc showcases some great musicianship. The whole package is
nicely done -- yet not overdone. Sucker is surely gaining a fan base that is well deserved. I would recommend that
music lovers of this style should get on board and support this act.
C+
--Tenswing
You might pop this disc into a car stereo and upon first listen, wrap your vehicle around a pole. While waiting for an ambulance to arrive, you might start tapping your broken leg and shaking your snapped neck to these tunes. After a fistfight with the paramedic over whether or not you are going to the hospital without your new CD, Malt Liquor Baby, you realize-- "Hey, I think I like these guys."
This is a huge collection of eclectic songs that range from funny to deep thinkers with music to back up either of the moods. This is like old Talking Heads or Violent Femmes, but better. What I love about this CD is that the band is so unafraid to sound just how they want to. At first, I really thought that the singer was bad, until I figured out that he is only as bad as he wants to be. You have to love the art of noise in this case.
This disc is put out by Oblio Music which is a new, local online music
store. They specialize in Denver music and offer it up at a very low prices.
I would recommend picking up this CD if you like eclectic, fun tunes. This
might not make it to radio, but I like to think that that is a good thing.
The Acoustifuxx just might make it into your stereo and refuse to come out.
You can pick this disc up online at obliomusic.com
and for pete's sake, if you play it in the car, drive safely!
B+
--Tenswing
Sometimes it seems that there are more DJs spinning out tunes then there are musicians creating and producing techno. Apparently anyone can step up to the tables and spin away. Right?
One might think that a DJ just flops down any old record they please and then can blare out rhythms that can drive a crowd into madness. Right?
Becoming a DJ however, is more than that. It involves technology, patience, and, of course, the music itself.
As with any adventure, the journey into the wonderful realm of a DJ begins with purchasing the correct gear and knowing how each piece effects the other.
To start, one has to have a record, just the simple vinyl that everyone has been using since the dawn of time. They cost anywhere between $7 and $11 and can be very difficult to find because they go out of print so quickly.
Not all records are the same. Some play at different speeds. This is where turntables come into play.
Turntables look like simple recordplayers, but they are much more sophisticated. For one thing, the platter, (the flat surface that spins the record) can spin backward in addition to forward, a feature called back-queuing. Most DJs and dance clubs use the Technics brand, which according to DJ Lampshade of Colorado Springs, is one of the best.
A "slip disc," which is also placed on the platter, allows the record to stop. This permits the DJ to hold a beat in a particular song, back-queue, or scratch the sound without losing the speed that it spins the record at.
The tone arm is a bar that holds the needle and moves along the record, located on the turntable. The needle is essential because it takes the vibration from the record and turns it into an electrical impulse that produces sound. There are different types of needles; some are used for scratching, some for trance, but overall, Lampshade says, any needle will work.
The next piece of equipment that is essential for a DJ is the mixer. It looks curiously like a switchboard, but it allows the music from each platter to be combined or played separately. It can also add effects such as echoing.
A basic mixer will have at least two channels, one for each platter. The DJ can play one channel to the other by using a cross fader, which is a horizontal bar that a DJ will slide from one side to the other to fade in and out of the records.
Headphones are another important part of the mixing process. A DJ will usually cover one ear with the headphones so to listen to the channel that's not being heard by the audience and hear the music that is playing out of the speakers at the same time. This permits the DJ to compare each song and mix the songs together by beat so that one song will transition into the other smoothly.
The final tools of the trade are the speakers. A club or party will usually have huge booming speakers facing toward the audience, so technically the DJ can't hear what's being played. The DJ would need to have a monitor pointing directly toward the DJ so the DJ can hear.
"You don't need masters speakers when you're practicing, just something to hear with," Lampshade says. Now that the equipment is all there, the next step is learning how each piece connects with the other.
Lampshade says that a basic techno song has 16 to 32 beats per measure and every 16 to 32 beats, a change or break in the music usually occurs. At these breaks, a DJ will enter the next song at a similar beat.
The next job for the DJ, besides matching beats is mak-ing sure that the pitches of each record are the same. They do this by using an equalizer that allows them to adjust what and how much frequency is needed.
Then a DJ will use a trim to adjust the volume so that when they bring in the next song, it's at the same volume level that the playing song is at.
That's when the DJ fuses the song to the current one, eventually fading the old one out by using the cross-fader.
"You have to listen to learn, and you have to know how music's composed," Lampshade says. "I hardly ever dance through a mix anymore, I'm constantly listening to what other DJ's are doing."
--Kendra Nachtrieb