LOCAL SHOWS NM venues, bands from here or there

Neko Case, Gingerbread Patriots, the Hollis Wake, Lousy Robot, The Onlys, Of God and Science, Oktober People, the Belmont, The Answer Lies, Unit 7 Drain, Selsun Blue, Oscillation:  Random Access Memory, Noir Effect, Raine Vivian, Day of the Automation, the Dirty Novels, Black Maria, the Foxx, Bad Wizard, The Witnesses, FiveHundred

LOCAL RELEASES NM bands, any label
Jason Daniello Everything Good [CD 2004]	Lousy Robot [demo CD 2004]	Unit 7 Drain LIVE [EP CD]

THIS MONTH'S CONTRIBUTORS

Dee Snarl's The Hard Stuff V/A Planting A Seed: A Compilation to Benefit Parkinson's Disease Research Discos De Rok [CD 2004] By Dee Snarl Westwood Tigers Hot Licks Demo [2004 EP CD] by Dee Snarl T & A Q & A with DJ Obenjyo & Razi

LOCAL ZINES

Hyperactive #1

LOCAL SHOWS

Neko Case
9/14/04 @ Lensic Theatre, Satan Fe

What a maroon..!

I wrote up this show last month and covered openers the Handsome Family but deleted the Neko Case part and...and... okay, okay, I actually just forgot to write about her at all, alright? Hmmm…that’s sort of telling in its way. When her first release The Virginian came out in 1997 on Bloodshot Records, I was knocked out. That fantastic voice, songs not your typical No Depression “interpretation” but an honest country record that Hank Williams himself could’ve liked, all the more remarkable because most of it was original and some even written with ultra-melodyman Carl Newman of Zumpano (now the genius behind New Pornographers).

Her successive releases lost twang like a set of guitar strings that haven’t been changed in twelve months. Y’allternative music maybe but while her debut was as honest as the sweat a coal miner's brow, the newer stuff is, well, still great really, but as her voice gets more refined, so does the material. I’m reminded of Alison Kraus who also knocked me out when I first saw her in 1986 guesting with the Tony Rice Unit up at the Santa Fe Ski area amphitheater when she was only 19. Everyone raved about her amazing voice but soon shunted aside her incredible fiddling and by the mid-90s wooed her into recording MOR dross while taking the exciting edge off her voice and tossing her fiddle into the dustbin. Tragic.

Neko hasn’t lost her way like Alison but I hope she remembers to put out a real country record or two for old times sake.

All that said, Case still has incredible control over her strong-as-an-ox-but-gentle-as-a-babe voice. Her material is intelligent and lovely but pretty much down-tempo all the time, leaving less and less room for differentiation between each song.

Still…
Still, it’s a thrill to hear those pipes live but I find myself looking forward more to the two or three belting-it-out vocal breaks she gets on each New Pornographers release rather than each new CD of her own.

Thank god that Gillian Welch-- the third of the triumvirate (with Case and Kraus) of unique and wonderful gals to come out of a country background in recent memory-- hasn’t yet smoothed herself out for market share.

Gingerbread Patriots, the Hollis Wake, Lousy Robot
@ Atomic Cantina
The Onlys, Of God And Science
@ Launchpad
10/23/04

I started out my night at the Launchpad for the kickoff of new local label, Detach Records which was sort of explained to me as a co-op or something but I’m not clear on the concept. Also unclear was the claim that each admission included a free comp CD but I never saw one or saw anyone offering ‘em.

Any-way, somehow Austin’s dreamy hi-fi band the Onlys will be releasing their next one on Detach. Sort of pyschedelia crossed with shoegaze, their set would’ve been enjoyed by more people if they’d had other than the opening slot which, in usual Launchpad style, is way too early. Not sure how that happened since its just etiquette that the locals take the less desirable spot --which often includes the closing set since a lot of the crowd has no etiquette either and leaves whenever their favorite is finished, leaving the out-of-towners playing only for the few local band members with enough class to stick around.

Next up was Of God and Science. Technical difficulties were rampant and drove me out of the club before I could give ‘em a decent listen so I ended up at the Atomic.

The first Lousy Robot as a trio set was decent enough but I’ll reserve judgment until we see what the boys do now that the ultra-pop flavor of the previous quartet has suffered. If you lost one of your limbs, you’d be a little unsteady at first too.

To further fuel the centuries old New Mexican north vs south feud, I can’t recall the last time I heard a band from Santa Fe that I bothered with. Yeah, I know this sounds like a bigot’s justification “ -- oh but you’re one of the good ones” but the Hollis Wake were a treat for a girl-band geek like myself. Two singin’ writin’ gals with strong vox and crunchy alternapop? Oh yeah, and a guy sings too so you got all kinds of flavors, like banana-apple-strawberry or mango-papaya-spinach, not everyone a winner but still something to roll around on your tongue. Musically, I was into it (sorta pop-punky/spunky) but could do without the wise-ass “funny” lyrics --too close to novelty song territory or, worse, Green Day.

Finally got to hear the Gingerbread Patriots and Mr Brophy’s gentle sighing in the rain creations. Though not my preferred style, its fine work all around: well-crafted, thoughtful and reflective. With a few uptempo exceptions, its music that slowly sinks in, perfect for sitting in the Atomic’s cushy stageside seats. But I’ll armwrestle anyone in the crowd who calls it emo.

Of God And Science, Oktober People, the Belmont
@ Burt’s
The Answer Lies, Unit 7 Drain
@ Atomic
10/30/04

The Belmont is a side project of Weapons of Mass Destruction (or maybe WMD is a side project of the Belmont?). Sadly I’d have to put them into an emo bag but luckily for me its mostly all the loud parts with fewer of the softie stuff. And once again I’ll point out that my definition of emo has nothing to do with lyrics or emotion expressed but the musical style itself which wore quite thin for me sometime ago. But since the emo onslaught has subsided in the past year or two, I was actually ready to listen to these guys for what they are, which is a tight and musically proficient unit.

I finally caught the Oktober People --well, actually I did hear a tiny bit in the background during the woefully unattended Rock Against Bush gig at El Rey last month but I was clumsily flirting with a cutie and didn’t actually listen much. Sorry guys, but first things first. Even though one might drop these guys into the emo slot there was actually little of that type song structure. Yeah, they have the soft & loud interplays and all, and breathy vocals but the complimentary guitars of Sean and Nate are a formidable force, keeping my attention throughout. I think Sean’s the only guy I’ve ever met who actually knows what the hell to do with all those guitar pedals; there must be about three dozen of the things at his feet but all nicely arranged in a convenient carrying case. Anyway the two of these guys go well together just like those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups commercials.

Of God And Science is sort of mysterious to me. The first time I heard them I really liked what was going on but last time not so much (well, the soundmix was for shit) and this time I just wasn’t ready for their acousti-flavored soft-hearted rock. Which once again proves my theory that although everyone knows the mood of the band affects the set (bad day at work, lost guitar pick, the drummer stole your girlfriend again, etc) the audience rarely accepts any responsibility for its mood; no, not for how the band plays but in how you hear and listen. If I ain’t in the mood, I ain’t in the mood.

Just yesterday afternoon, I got back from working in the Las Cruces area, bummed that I missed a show there last night but was pleasantly surprised tonight by the appearance of another Cruceseno band, The Answer Lies. I haven’t listened to any-thing like this for awhile but they reminded me of three old ‘burque bands mashed together, no mean feat. It was like the Surlies, Scared of Chaka and Word Salad on the stage all at once. Maybe a Ramones influence or two but mostly honest hardcore sans metal, loudfastrules punk but with a pop blip here and three. Not a style I listen to often but not bad at all.

While in Cruces I stopped in my favorite shop, COAS My Bookstore where I spent my usual fifty bucks on good used & rare stuff but also ran into Zach (Rushmore Beekeepers and Vote For Pedro) who told me he was playing that night with Ten Seconds To Liftoff. Unfortunately I was on my way out of town and had to demur but he hipped me to http://lcscene.com/ just what I’ve been waiting for! Since the Dirt Records shop shut and Gawdamn Adam stopping sending his e-mail list, I could never manage to catch any shows on my three or four trips each year to El Pueblo del Jardin de Las Cruces. But this site is sort of a southern rocksquawk.com. Check it out…

I’m an idiot. I always forget how much I love Unit 7 Drain on stage. Maybe its because the recorded stuff has never knocked my socks off like they do live that I don’t toss them into the CD player while getting pumped to go out while, uh, shaving. Actually rocking out while dragging sharp steel across yer face is not recommended but sometimes it gets me out the door. Since it was a Hallowe’en set, I thought it would've been novel if Bobby didn’t wear make-up but you can’t keep a good cosmetologist down.

And you can’t keep this band down. To keep the razor reference thing going, they’re pretty damn sharp. And no I’m not saying all this because they inserted free CDs in every copy of the last issue (reviewed in this issue) except maybe ‘cause its a live recording it made me remember why I ought to go hear the Unit boys more often. They draw some really cute girls too.

Selsun Blue accompanying The Lost World (1925)
10/31/04 @ Guild Cinema

I have a love-hate thing going on with live accompaniment to vintage silent movies. On the love side, its good to see the old flickers on the big screen again even if they are somewhat stilted and heavy-handed (audiences weren’t very sophisticated in those days but then again, with creeps like Paris Hilton considered a star, neither are they today).

On the hate side, a purist like me detests the attitude of most musicians providing this accompaniment, like, wow! isn’t this zany freewheeling FUN?, rather than trying to compliment the movie. Occasionally (as also happened this month I'm told), a high class production rolls into town like Phantom of the Opera with a symphony orchestra instead of banjos and kazoos. Of course an orchestra at the Guild would leave no room for an audience and put the oboe soloist behind the popcorn popper.

Still, I enjoyed myself and Selsun Blue wasn’t half as goofball as many other bands on the accompaniment circuit. But the thing to keep in mind is that since the earliest days of movies (over a hundred years now) the music was at the service of the picture and not the other way around. In any case, I hope the live accompaniment trend continues and the relationship between band and film strengthens.

Oscillation
11/6/04 @ Cell Theater

Can’t say I know what else happens there but the Cell Theater was a new one on me, although I’d heard the name before. It was a surprisingly professional joint, given the neighborhood (downtown on the other side of the tracks, the nearest neighboring nightspot being a --uh--gentleman’s club and if that term’s not a denial of reality I’ll eat my hat). Due to the equipment (house & rental) the sound was well-mixed and crisp all around. And cleanliness..? I’ll put it this way: your mom wouldn’t mind using the Cell’s bathroom.

After hearing about this electronic music festival for the past few years, I finally made it on over to its second night, thanks to a free pass (what a bitch). While it wasn’t all what I had expected--what the hell do I know, I anticipated more dancey beats--it was good for me to open my ears a little.

Having no idea of the sched I rolled in much later (by about three or four hours)than I had wanted. Strange that I showed up in time for the last of Random Access Memory. They’re one of maybe two acts featured there that I knew anything of, sort of euro synthpop which was actually a good intro to the fest for me since they’re more accessible than the pure noise-o stuff. Even though I’d caught RAM at Burt’s a few times they seemed more in their own element here, playing mostly for their own crowd rather than the bar scene and Kentifyr skipping around all over the stage. Fun.

Noir Effect had been described to me a “metal without guitars” which got me all excited. All that stupid riffing is the worst part of metal-- bleedin’ wankers! While it wasn’t quite that--a bit more industrial maybe--there was some cool stuff going on, especially the keyboard guy. While I’m all for a live person instead of preprogrammed beats, digital drums still feel quite souless to me. In this instance the percussion volume was definitely way too low and seemed too far in the background to really move the band. I was digging at first but things seemed to kinda bog down after a few songs. Overall, though, I’d give Noir Effect good marks in spite of cookie-monster vocals, albeit of the quieter type.

I don’t know what it is about Santa Fe and music but I rarely heard anything good I like from the City Indifferent (bar bands, hippie bands, salsa bands, salsa hippie bar bands). Raine Vivian was my least favorite of the night…well, actually, I hesitate to put the word “favorite” anywhere in proximity to these guys. I like it less than just about anything I’ve ever heard and that includes the most vile emo ever recorded. When they were setting up, I was happy to see a full drum kit but recognized trouble instantly when I saw leather pants. As for genre, I dunno, maybe artboy faux-hard rock? Whatever it was, in comparison it makes Sammy Hagar sound like an innovator. I’ve enjoyed listening to my toaster more than this.

Finally, Day of the Automation were up to clear the palette like sharp cheese after bad wine. In my narrow rock n’ soul worldview I couldn’t begin to classify this as music but Christian & Joseph tweaking electronic boxes made for some interesting stuff: a din like a jetliner in a nosedive that never quite crashes. As it got louder other things started happening like squeaks and squonks (whoa! too much the technical jargon here!). After ten minutes of hearing a sonic rumble, ya think you start to hear beats in it – or maybe there actually were but I fear I’m not intelligent enough to actually grok what this is all about. Still, its certainly deep into the realm of “outsider” music, something to scare off the teeming masses. It makes the Screamers sound like the Four Freshman.

Overall, I’m sorry I missed most of what took place here so its up to me to make a better effort next time. I think what puzzles me most though about much of the electronic community is how often the word “tribe” shows up. Just as with rock n’ roll, its perilous to identify yourself as a tribal entity because when the power’s out, your tribe can’t do shit. You could pound on the few non-digital drums laying around but beating on your Apple notebook don’t sound so good…

Anyway, it was good to hear some new (to me) stuff but should be no surprise that as I drove off I popped a Smokey Robinson cassette into the tape deck. Good to open up a little but I know what I like most…

the Dirty Novels, Black Maria, the Foxx
11/12/04 @ Launchpad

Technically, I arrived in time for the Fivehundred set but since I didn’t make it twenty feet into the club for twenty minutes, I didn’t actually hear or see the former Mr Spectacular.

I feel like a dick sometimes for writing about the freakin’ Foxx so much but when I see a house full of new people who are totally into it, I get a smug I told you so look on my face.

The Dirty Novels are criticized for being too Jagger/Richards but if you listen more carefully, you’ll see their strength is more Boyce/Hart with a touch of Barry/Greenwich, a fine pop pedigree. Keep in mind that besides loving '40s-50s Chicago blues, early '60s rockers adored all the classic Brill Building girl group hit singles. What I’m saying is that hook-y songs like Show Me are stronger than, say, the more rockin’ The Stars Won’t Shine For You. But then of course there’s Mi Amor Es Electrico which has equal parts of both and tosses my theory right out the window. Although this night’s set was too short (as was everyone’s) it sounded good due in no little measure to consummate soundman Chris (the Platitudes) and the Launchpad sound system, still the best downtown. For a band that one would generally categorize as rocknroll, Novels tunes are more delicate than they first appear and suffer badly from a poor mix more than any comparable band. Come to think of it, my favorite Novels sets have always been at this club. Anyway, all I can ask for from Las Novelas is to unleash some of the new material I always hear about.

I’ve been lax in my Black Maria attendance (as in not seeing them since last year’s X-mas ball at OPM) but their power hasn’t diminished a bit, still at the absolute top of the local heavy-rock heap. Since I rarely listen to the genre, these guys are sorta like the token black dude on The Mod Squad or Hogan’s Heroes--my personal token doom rockers. Except that unlike Linc or Kinch, these guys are not fake cool.

But I’ll never forgive ‘em for not letting me know about their summer show out on the Navajo rez. Over the past twenty years, I’ve hung around or worked on about twenty-one out of the twenty-three reservations in New Mexico and if Indi’n kids aren’t listening to reggae or hip-hop, they’re throwing down with fuckin’ metal, dude. Nobody rocks like ‘skins.

And since today is El Fiesta de San Diego, the santo patron of Jemez Pueblo, a sidetrack is appropriate. For the uninformed among you (and if you’ve lived in NM for than a year or two, what the fuck’s your problem) each of the nineteen Pueblo tribes have celebrations on the feast day of their patron saint. About five years ago, there was a buzz in the air during the daylong dances at Jemez. Most everyone is pretty much obligated to dance all day but the kids were on edge. After nightly practice for up to a week beforehand, after being on their feet for five or six hours with only short breaks, as soon as it was over, they scattered, changed into black tee-shirts and packed into pick-up trucks: Metallica was in Albuquerque that night!

Attending this annual feast yet again this year, I can’t claim the same kind of devotion -- all I did all day was watch people dance and eat bowl after bowl red or green chile stew --I still felt kindred in making sure we hit the Black Maria set when me and the Colonel got back to town. I just wish I could’ve brought a bunch of the Jemez (and close neighbor Navajo) kids along with me.

So even though I missed the Black Maria gig out in Dine bikeyah, the boys still made sure I got a clipping of the October profile in Oklahoma’s Native American Times.
Baa shil hozhoogo.

Bad Wizard, the Witnesses, Fivehundred
11/13/04 @ Golden West

Cool. Two shows two nights in a row that were sorta Mods vs Rockers as in shake-your-hips vs the metallic edge. Tonight the overlap was more apparent however especially with New York’s Witnesses and Bad Wizard.

But first, Fivehundred is straight up slap your ass cockrock, and pretty damn impressive for a trio. What Christian does with a mere two guitar pedals creates an amazing wall of sound. But watch out ‘cause you’re taken by the collar and slammed headfirst into that wall, leaving you with a busted nose and loose teeth but you’re likely still smiling through it; weak and bloody but grinning like a simian.

The Witnesses have come a long way since their 2002 imitation Stones demo on that split 12 inch with the Alarm Clocks. No mistake, early Rolling Stones are a good starting point but too many bands can’t manage to progress past that (not surprising since Mick and Keith never could either). What I heard tonight was pure rock n’ soul, the kind that makes me wanna dance all cool and shit, and not like some flailing white man --don’t get me wrong, I am a flailing white man and will sadly never dance like the brothers & sisters on Soul Train but I try. Speaking of brothers, that’s a heroic ‘fro that ex- ‘burque boy Oakley Munson has been sporting for a few years. I never really knew the guy but got lots of shit for playing those snotty high school kids the Rondelles on Rebel Radio. A little later, Oak even hosted a broadcast at his place, pre-FCC busts.

Tonight, the Witnesses got me and the small portion of the crowd who came out for them going (it was pretty obvious who of the audience was there for the Witnesses and who for Bad Wizard, almost like the red and blue states thing. God bless Amerika). Three vocalists is nice too, each with their own style: Oakely nasal and on the edge of screaming it out, Darian Zahedi (lead guitar) with a solid rock-it-baby range and L.A. native Bonnie Bloomgarden (keys) sounding like, well, an L.A. session chick, strong, deep and of the Joan Jett school: a rocker girl through and through. In spite of some early 70s funk-leaning soul the Witnesses are closer to late 60s blue-eyed R&B but a good marriage of the two with rockn’roll. (I’m purposely ignoring the Thin Lizzy bits).

Bad Wizard represents what took place, say, about five years later when rockn’roll was poised to become just rock. They’re at the other end of the spectrum: boogie-fuzz rock (the ultimate outcome of what the MC5 pioneered and way less classy). No doubt they know exactly what they’re doing and do it well but just not my cup of tea especially with the guitar parts all squealy and way down the neck. In my personal rockn’roll formula, once you’re below like the eighth fret for more than about five or six seconds, its just wank, no excuses.

Although they both rock out and we know that rock is all about sex, there’s big differences in the two bands’ take on it. Bad Wizard style may be about raw fucking but it isn’t sexy. The Witnesses retain the romance that I personally demand in my fave music, sentimental bastard that I am.

LOCAL RELEASES
Jason Daniello Everything Good [self-released CD 2004] www.jasondaniello.com

Yeah, the reviews are in and already bringing up Mr Daniello’s former project, Naomi with Mr Hathorne. Ok, I'll add a few cents into that purse --but after that we’ll just get on with it…
Showcasing the best of Jason’s strengths, you could bookend this release with the self-titled The Hopefuls CD of 1999 (which despite the name was for all intents & purposes solo Ben Hathorne; you can’t fool us, man!).

The very first hard-strummed downstrokes of the opening What You Can caught me off guard and made me sit up and take note. In fact I hit the Track 1 button less than a minute in just to get the feel of that strong intro again.

After hearing Jason on & off for oh maybe eight years now I still can’t get over that voice. Its almost too good, so smooth and even fuller with (ahem) age. Its no studio trick either, the man sounds just like this on stage. Its uncanny. Its almost as if--well, no…JD’s too nice to have made a deal with the devil but maybe a pact with some vocals guardian angel...?

Although I prefer my Daniello tunes with more crunch and jangle (as in “and the Argonauts”), this remains a fine release, mostly of the thoughtful and romantic singer-songwriter genre. And somehow, with no obvious references, it puts me in the mind of Rubber Soul/ Revolver-era McCartney.
Too, I wasn’t surprised to see Ryan Martino credits all over the place: producer, engineer and mix-man and it shows.

Lousy Robot
[demo CD 2004]
www.lousyrobot.com

Specifics first: the recorded version of No Big Deal is heart-rendingly beautiful and for that reason alone puts this demo at the top my list. List of what? Any list, every list, whatever. But there’s plenty more to get happy over .Together Somehow is like the best Archies cover you’ve ever heard if Archie finally realized he lost sweetheart Betty over a bitch like Veronica. And clocking in at a crisp 2:02, its pop perfection. The disc is pop heaven and the happiest music ever about feeling so bad.
I guess one isn’t really supposed to review an unfinished rough mix since it isn’t exactly what the band wants the general public to hear. But since this is the best demo of the year, who cares.

This is kindler gentler Lousy Robot. Yes, you heard right: that’s Lousy Robot who aren’t exactly known for junkie stupors or napalm death killing sprees so you may ask how could they possibly get any kinder and gentler? The answer is, very well.

The vocals roll out as easily as Mr Smoothie himself Chris Issak, the pop hooks are right there but comfortably insinuate themselves into your ears instead of grabbing you by the collar.

Its Sunday morning Lousy Robot and I don’t mean hangover Sunday morning but sitting back at ease Sunday morning: the aroma of bacon and toast and eggs wafting, you’re casually reading the paper with some cutie who just spent the night with you and you don’t have to be anywhere for hours and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if you missed that appointment anyway.

Unit 7 Drain
LIVE [EP CD]
www.socyermom.com

Yum! My favorite flavor of Unit 7 Drain: live! Though way way way too short (a measly three songs?) this is my favorite U7D release yet and no its not because Harry & the boys generously distro’ed 130 free copies last month in these very pages (you missed it? where the heck were you!?) but because its fifteen minutes of live Unit, REM-reminiscent with a synthpop kick and Robert Smith looking over their shoulders. It doesn’t cause me to dance like soul or R&B but I can’t stand still either when the band is in full effect.

If you missed the free copy, it ain’t exclusive to this muckrakin’ rag: follow the links at the Socyermon page and pull a buck out of your wallet.

THIS MONTH'S CONTRIBUTORS

One Divine Hammer Dept.

Since editor Captain America is too much a wimp to handle squealing guitars, drummers with fingerless gloves and hair-whippin’ singers, we at Wig Wam Bam always welcome submissions by this guy.   Yes, reviews of things we’re ignorant and ill-informed of, this is…

Dee Snarl’s The Hard Stuff

V/A
Planting A Seed: A Compilation To Benefit Parkinson's Disease Research
Discos de Rok [CD 2004]
www.killorbekilled.net/derok

Albuquerque’s Roger De Rok put this compilation together as both a tribute to his late mother, and a fundraiser for the Parkinson Alliance. What you get is 25 bands playing 68 songs (all previously unreleased!) of hardcore/thrash; they keep it fast and short: little if any metal (except, of course, parodically) and few if any breakdowns or similar nonsense. “Name” bands include Crispus Attucks, Robot Has Werewolf Hand, and HeWhoCorrupts. Locals Bulletrainmafia put in a good showing, and Noisear demolishes in a fit of inspired sickness as usual (and Damage Deposit includes sometime Burque resident Mario Barrio, and rocks it). This is a good sampling of some extreme, non-commercial hardcore (those last two words used to be redundant), and it’s for a good cause, (and it’s got a thick booklet!), so bust it out.

Westwood Tigers
Hot Licks Demo [2004 EP CD]
www.westwoodtigers.com

This Albuquerque trio kicks ass! They tend toward the fast, snotty side of hardcore punk, but mix it up with some midtempo parts, some screaming, even a few breakdowns (not that breakdowns should be encouraged…). Hooky, but not annoyingly so. I really love the quick, hard-as-nails drums. The song titles are cool, too; I’m not sure who some of these people are, but apparently many of them ride the cockhorse, and I suppose that’s probably about right. Complaints: this was obviously recorded quickly, which is not a bad thing in itself, but specifically in the “spacey/loose” part of I’m Not A Fan Of Lacerations Of Any Sort, the rhythm gets a little spacier than I’d prefer; and Greg’s snotty vocals occasionally veer a little too far toward faux-Brit/Billie Joe for my personal taste. Anyway, this is a good taste of a good, high energy band. Buy the CD and dance around in your living room, then go to the show and spazz out for everyone else’s amusement!


T & A Q & A with DJ Obenjyo & Razi

Awhile back (issue #57), Benjyo submitted an interview with Albuquerque ex-pat Nicole Morier now of Electrocute, formerly in the Golden Showers, an old ‘burque band and a twisted one at that. Now that Ben-wa is coming out of his Luddite shell, he’s conducting more e-mail interviews. This time we have Bento vs Razi, Golden Showers mastermind. –ed.

Razi: hey Benito, Nicole's finished with her album that turned out very swell, is coming out now in Europe and January in the US. Mia [Dime] is out and Holly is in. I'm glad to hear you getting around, Is there any of your art on the net, I wanna see some. Tell Rocky I love him. Here are the answers to
your fun questions:
Obenjyo:  Love the 12"; when's the full length coming?
R: Should be out by now, still on Trans Solar Records and it's titled Pointless Shoes.
O: Coming to the US soon, possibly 'Burque?
R: I dunno, was at SXSW last March, probably next year.
O:  You are Boy from Brazil, but Nicole helps out as well, anyone else  involved?
R: Hell yeah! Christoph de Babalon, Patric Catani both former DHR recording artists, Captain Comatose, Angie Reed (ex-Stereo Total now on Chicks On Speed records). some Australian lad called Conrad from the Devastations, Gonzales. I write, co-produce and sing. I’m not the greatest instrumentalist.
O:  Why is the FBI interested in you?
R: Everybody is interested in me.
O: You were born in Palestine or Germany?
R: Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
O: What's it like to be a kraut sand nigger?
It's scary and fun like any good horror movie.
O: Did you ever play with or were you ever a member of Stereo Total?
R: From 1995 to 1997 I was the regular bass player and since, a guest now and then, I contributed a track on Bezel Goings solo record and me and Nicole participated on their remake of Chritiane F. as a play last year.
O: How did you get started in music?
R: I was a real rock journalism freak early on and really wanted to write about music professionally after reading the liner notes on the Cramps Gravest Hits credited to some professor of rockology, I thought, wow, you can study rockology? Later in life I came to the conclusion that being on the creative end  would be the best critic and analysis on the subject.  But the reason why I got started is most likely  Iggy's photograph on the sleeve of raw power.
O: Do you think Golden Showers will ever reform?
R: We just played last Saturday for the Boy From Brazil and Electrocute record release, I am still in pain from it. So once every few years we do play, we never really broke up, we just disbanded...
O: Do you eat blood sausage?
R: I don't eat pork, it's a religious thing that most people won't understand.
O: The U.S. fashion magazines seems to have a mild interest in  Berlin now; any comments on that?
R: There are a lot of ex-pats around here, maybe that's a reason. We don't really get US fashion magazines around here. I'm not really aware of it. Fashion in the hip sense of the word is kind of pathetic and I do have compassion for its victims.
O: Have any side projects apart from Boy from Brazil?
R: I fool around with Nicole sometimes(I mean a lot), but most of that material ends up in BfB or Electrocute, but I am seriously thinking of forming a new band called Swastika.
O: How come you don't do many songs in German, and can you sing in  Palestinian?
R : I don't have a feeling for German in music, I might have tried in the past, not much came out of it. I did something in Arabic with Einstürzende Neubauten in the mid 90's that turned out ok.
O: What are your feelings on Israel?
R: Well, I don't understand how anyone can treat people the way Israel treats Palestinians. But, I do work with an Israeli artist (VJ Sniper) for the visuals of Boy From Brazil.
O: Did you see the Berlin wall come down? Did that do anything  for or to you?
R: Yes, I saw the wall come down the night of my birthday. It didn't do too much for me, but Berlin became a much cooler place to be since.
O: With Germany being a somewhat more liberal country than the U.S., could  Boy from Brazil ever be big in Germany? Does the average Berliner like what you do?
R: No they don't really like or get what Ii do, they don't really understand rock'n'roll as a concept, which is kind of what Boy from Brazil is about. I don't think BIG is the accurate term, but I hope for some
recognition in the UK., France, Japan,  the US of A. I shit on Germany and everything that comes and goes with it.
O: Whose your favorite musician/entertainers of all times?
R: Probably Elvis... Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, dead people mostly.
O: Any invitations to play Brazil by chance?
R: Not yet, they must have enough boys to snuff for now.
O: Apart from Germany which country is showing the most interest in  you?
R: F.B.I.  C.I.A  MOSSAD
O: Could you tell me a good or bad Alburquerque story about  you?
R: Once,  I was waiting for my order at Lotaburger and some Native American/Mexican put a helmet on, pulled  a chainsaw out of his pick up Truck and told me and my friends, "get out of my country you white people!" We were scared, but delighted to have such a freaky story to tell.

LOCAL ZINES NM music on Video Disc

Hyperactive #1 48 pp, 8 _ x 11”, bi-monthly (?); free http://hyperactivemusicmag.com/ Another local pro music magazine tosses its hat into the ring and as always I hope for the best but after years of watching these attempts, I don’t get excited anymore. As usual, my yardstick is the local band angle (rock or suck?) so I was not encouraged to see Lisa Loeb and Ghostface in the features. On the upside though almost every out-of-towner in these pages was actually interviewed while here or en route to here with an exception or two, like Snoop Dog (a dumbfuck who ought to be turned away at the state line anyway). I'm hoping Hyperactive interviewers will bring a local focus to their questioning. Better was the fact that a few of these pieces referenced the out-of-towner's actual show here but more detail is needed. Its not enough for me to read that yes, so-and-so played here in support of their new record coming out next week and they think its their best yet; I can find that info anywhere online, big deal. I wanna know not only what songs they played but how (ie: not just a set list but were they any good), did the soundman do his job, what's the venue like good and bad, what was the band's attitude onstage, do they like red or green, and so forth. A generic piece may help as a show preview, to help you decide whether its worth leaving home for but after the fact there's no point in writing it up (or reading it) if the writer has no interpretation to offer; otherwise its merely more promo. Which brings me to my usual complaint about every local pro music mag I've seen yet: where's the honest critique? Convince me why should I give a shit (or not). I want the journalist's opinion and assessment, not a regurgitated press-packet data. Even the long co-opted Rolling Stone does better than that. Now I'm not saying that magazines with a focus like Hyperactive or Transmission should write the drivel I do here. Though loathe to admit it, years ago I realized that Wig Wam Bam is not really about music but about me: my thoughts and opinions on a topic I'm passionate about. Its part-obsession, part ego, and a big, big part emulation of all the great punk paper zines that hipped me to DIY music ten years ago, all of which are either now dead or became slicks which--sorry-- ain't "zine" any more. I'm also well aware that while I continually complain about local music mags doing "puff pieces" , I write most about my friends' bands. True. But except for a couple of people (hey Zac), I didn't know them before but became friends because I like and respect their music. But there I go, talking about myself again (egotistical bastard). Okay: here's what I liked about Hyperactive: the (unfortunately few) local band features; the fact that "local" here includes neighbors from AZ, CO and Austin as well as ex-'burque bands; Dandee's ass; local promoter profiles; and even though it has nothing to do with local music, a section of soundtrack reviews is a great idea, if more of them said half of these songs weren't even in the damn movie, don't fall for this shit. What I didn't like: c'mon! not every artist featured or reviewed can be great. Obviously anyone who writes about music has likes and dislikes and likely has heard more than their share of crap over the years. Ignoring your own opinions does a disservice to your readers and to the band as well. While no band is obligated to believe any critique of them, neither should they believe every good word written.