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Issue # 29 Sep 2001 thewigwambam.com |
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| Ignoring Objectivity Since 1998
WIG WAM BAM “Albuquerque zine of music & nepotism” 
LYRIC of the MONTH: “Why do punk guys/ Go out with New Wave Girls?” --Ron House (Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments) from the song Letter to a Fanzine |
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the Kalamath Brothers, Pleasure Forever, Sikhara, the Platitudes, the Jaded Set |
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[2001 comp CD] Persona Projector [s/t self-release CD-R, 2001] |
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Vol. I 5/01 Monkey Wrench “Vol. 1 Issue 1-Premiere August 2001” |
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| LOCAL
SHOWS |
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| the Kalamath Brothers 8/11/01 @ Launchpad I was quite disappointed. I went to see the Kalamaths on the strength of the “ex-16 Horsepower” blurb. Of course I didn’t expect 16Hp’s gothic hillbilly tunes, the trials & tribulations of those who have forsaken God (and vice versa). No, that’s a horrible thing to put on any band --expecting them to sound like a member’s former group; why would they have formed a new band if that were the case? (Billy Childish excepted). It was certainly about as far from 16Hp as you could get, good timey alterna-twang with congas an’ shit (the K Bros) featured the percussion guy from Yucker; (that’ll give you some idea). The small crowd however was quite happy and seemed to like them rather well. I guess its just me. I’m sick of so many bands having the idea that anything country-like has to be wide-eyed goofball shit; either that or just as bad, its polar opposite: slow-paced overly-reverent godawful mawkish slow strummers. Ugh. Is there anyone out there who can make up-to-date country music without hackneyed cliché? Anyone? Pleasure Forever 8/10/01 @ mecca From California (?) this three-piece was very composed; that is, the songs (although not wooden) were structured from beginning to end consisting of movements, intervals and other such (although not as pompous as that sounds). The singer sort of played lead on keyboards, the guitarist presented variations on a theme and the drummer was as melodic & lilting as a drummer could be. The music was as if director Tim Burton and Bad Seed Nick Cave were together composing hybrid prog-pop carnival music, trying to get a buzz from cheap liquor and expensive tobacco (…sigh…laudanum is so hard to come by these days!) with an open volume of the 19th century works of Arthur Rimbaud on the table. The last song built up to a crashing crescendo not unlike the finale of the Beatles’ 1967 A Day In the Life but as absinthe-inspired opium-eating fever dream set to an intoxicated music of the spheres. It rocked too. Sikhara 8/11/01 @ the Tower There’s no doubt there guys are good at what they do (compositional art noise improv pieces…or something) with drums, drum machine, horns, guitar. However it seems to me that this stuff would be more fun to play than listen to. But tonight it was a good accompaniment to the loops, clips and scraps of cinematographic curiosity that the good folks at Basement Films project on any blank surface they’re given an unobscured shot at. the Platitudes, the Jaded Set 8/25/01 @ Insurgo The Platitudes are a new one on me. From Sally Go Round the Sun (and the Launchpad soundguy), Chris’ drumming has a killer sound; the snare he’s playing is quite shallow and pops like rifle shots at blackbirds across an open field on a clear day. Although the band was billed as ex- Destructo!, we knew it couldn’t be NM expatriate Bob Tower. Local rocker Zed Stardust wondered if it would be their old drum machine. It turned out to be Allan G on tough-sounding bass. Eric (vox/guitar) wrote most of songs, many of them the mortal remains of the Uptight Anglo Bastards, who I never managed to see (with a name like that that I always thought they were anti-social beatniks or something). So that explained why the songs of a new group sounded so complete. Their sound is muscular pop, kind of the Lemonheads on steroids but minus the overdubs & double-tracking and with more sincerity (no matter what you might say about the Lemonheads, Evan Dando can write hooks so sharp they bite deep and draw blood). I quite enjoyed the set and hope to hear more soon. The Jaded Set were a nice treat. Since their drummer bailed just before they hit the road, the band carried on valiantly (punk-ly!) as a duo. Christon & Maria each traded off on an array of guitars & basses (as well as vocals) backed by a drum machine they hurriedly programmed before leaving Olympia. They are a bit of revisionist psychedelia ala Mazzy Star slipped underneath a combination techno/ lyrical singer-songwriter rock n’ roll pointing towards a droning Sonic Youth and the hard pop of Sugar. They’re the best out-of-town stuff I’ve heard in quite awhile. |
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| LOCAL
RELEASES |
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Burque Luv volume 3 2001 comp CD Fear Studios www.fearstudios.com Subtitled “Albuquerque’s synthetic, electronic & industrial music”, I was looking forward to hearing some local stuff I hadn’t before encountered. I was expecting some beat-heavy tunes I could hop around the house to. Shows how much I know. I wouldn’t even wanna wash dishes to this. It’s like a soundtrack to a lingering & painful suicide. Over 99% is dirge-like with unwavering tempos and the occasional morose voice tossed in that makes crusty punk vocals sound upbeat & positive. I couldn’t imagine going out to see any of this live; or maybe I could – but I’m picturing a roomful of kids standing around looking gloomy. Where’s the energy associated with electronic music? Well-known DJs like Rabbit In the Moon or even John Digweed (who looks like your investment banker for Christsakes) punch things up. The people on this compilation aren’t doing any ecstasy that’s for damn sure. Opiates would be more fitting. And if I was in a heroin stupor, I’d prefer the Velvet Underground or even fucking Leonard Cohen to this. Or maybe I just misunderstood, not knowing the terms. Electronic must mean something totally different than techno and these cuts are individual creations instead of someone spinning/ scratching other people’s work on dual tables. So it’s not fair to judge this by an unjust comparison. Okay, very well. I don’t like this CD compared to anything. Silence would be more exciting. Persona Projector s/t self-release CD-R, 2001 I hear these guys are ex- or formerly Pixelvision who I hadn’t seen so I can’t tell you how different or not this band is from that one. Except generally speaking, it doesn’t sound so different from a lot of the current emo/indie thing but tending towards screamo not unlike El Paso’s At the Drive-In (which in turn sounds influenced by industrial-pop weenies like Rage Against the Coke Machine or whoever). Also generally speaking, this stuff isn’t my cup of tea but then again what the fuck do I know. But allow me to mention that I heard At the Drive-In before you did ( I wasn’t impressed then either but that’s not the point of the story). It was back in 1997 while rummaging around in a great punk record shop I stumbled across in El Paso. It was a little hole-in-the-wall joint in a cool hole-in-the-wall neighborhood full of Mexicanos who probably didn’t care for these ugly white kids in their ‘hood. I can’t remember the name of the place but it was gone when I went back last year. Anyway, I picked out some great El Paso 7”s that I still listen to (Fall On Deaf Ears/Rope, Revolucion X) and then asked the counter dudes what other local shit I should buy. They recommended El Gran Orgo, Drive-In’s debut (?) CD. I think I’ve listened to it less than twice since then. So the point of the whole ego-wanking story is take this review with a grain of salt if you dig this sorta stuff. |
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Lobotomy #6 Vol. I 5/01 12pp, ½ legal, whenever, (?), free dailylobotomy@yahoo.com I don’t run across this zine too often (hence the cover date of this one which I only found recently) but its business as usual with pieces on NAFTA FTAA, the WTO and the other buzzwords (buzzacronyms?) that all good little protesters ought to know. Nothing too in-depth this time which may confound those unfamiliar with such issues. It’s a fine line between informing the reader (i.e. converting them to your views) and boring the fuck out of people whose eyes & ears glaze over when encountering politico stuff. Hence, the most interesting stuff to me this time around were the more personal pieces. This is generally because people interest me more than issues, but the issues interest me in that they affect people on personal & social levels. So what I’m getting at is that I wish the Lobotomy would address the so-called “Free Trade” issues in terms the average schmuck will understand. Monkey Wrench “Vol. 1 Issue 1-Premiere August 2001” 8pp, ½ SIZE, whenever (?); free avariceangel@yahoo.com This new zine is focused on Albuquerque’s industrial/ DJ/ electronic/ hacker scene. I’d guess there’s a word for it all but since I know nothing of any of it, this is a good window for me to peek it to see a bit of what it’s all about. The very first page tells me that if I don’t know the music of Tommy T and Diverje, then I’m “not listening to the local scene at all”. Of course I don’t agree except that I’m definitely not listening to that particular local scene. There’s a whole bunch of scenes here that never cross paths (and in the case of the mooks [y’know, those “dudes” wearing red ballcaps backwards like Fred Worst of Limp Bizness] I feel blessed by that circumstance). Later Tommy T is quoted as saying that “computers [are] our source of everyday life” which would be like me saying that that first Ramones’ album is the source our everyday life--that’s true only in my little portion of a scene. I mean for some people, there’s grown men (grown men!) with names like Snoop Dogg or P. Diddy who are the source of every-day life. Sad but true… Anyway that’s all just nitpick bullshit on my part. Monkey Wrench is actually very good for a number of reasons. First, the print quality and lay-out is extremely clear & readable (not surprising given that computer statement) unlike lots of punk zines that appear as if they really don’t want you to be able to read ‘em anyway, you fuckin’ asshole! Second, speaking of punks, the editors here have a great snotty sense of humor that all you safety-pin-in-the-ear crowd should be able to appreciate. Third its well-written, again commiserate with the educated crowd you may associate with hacking and such. It was mildly interesting to a non-industro/tech music person like me to see a DJ’s playlist from a particular gig. Not that I recognized many of the names (Legendary Pink Dots, the Bad Seeds, plus the more commercial industrial bands that you’ve likely heard of too) but the one I’m most familiar with is Garbage who are sort of techno-ish but actually very alterna-pop (very good alterna-pop I might add); their inclusion surprised me for that very reason. The record reviews were obviously written by someone who knows what they’re talking about. What was missing here was where they’re from, what label, etc; I suppose that stuff is available online if you care to look ( I probably won’t). But my interest if piqued enough that I may just go to a show or two they list as upcoming (Icon Of Coil in particular). Here’s hoping that Monkey Wrench continues. Any well-written zine that’s passionate about it’s subject matter is always welcome. |
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Wig Wam Bam (by Captain America PO BX 4865 Albq NM 87196 captainamerica1941@hotmail.com) |
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| Wig Wam Bam is written by Captain America |
po box 4865 | albuquerque, nm 87196 |
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