i r I
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Kitchener-Waterloo is not exactly a seething cauldron for bands to brew in; K-W can barely support the few venues it has. Local musicians are thus caught in a quandary: is it hard to be in a band here because there are few venues, or because there is little interest outside the university, or does the former cause the latter, or the latter the former? Excepting the blues hot spot Fop the Gator and the yuppyidinosaur graveyard Lulu’s Roadhouse, local bands have the pauper’s choice of basically only the two UW venues, Club Fed and the Bomber, and a few real world joints, such as Phil’s Grandson’s Place, the Huether Hotel, and once in a while the Princess cinema. But, bucking the odds, K-W has spawned a few bands of note. The following list is by no mean? complete. Ken and Bri I only know of this duo from a tape that they sent to Imprint, Contrasts. It is on sale around the region, but they won’t be playing live around here in a while as Bri is studying in Rome and Ken in Stuttgart. Sort of New Age, sort of folk, sort of Pink Floyd, it is interesting in that it takes a direction different from most. If this is your thang, check it out: they do it as well as anybody. Gordie Gordo and the G Men There is something cosmic about these guys. The first time 1 saw them was exactly a fortnight before the summer solstice, and the second was exactly on the date of the lunar eclipse. In fact, they left the stage exactly eleven minutes before the apex of the eclipse. Unrelated? It is up to you to decide. However, the first time you see them, gentle reader, you will become as dependent as I on them. You will need to witness
September
1, 1989
again their aural sacrifices and the Pink Furry Guitar: you will need repeat exposure to the diabolical Sweet Angel Honey Baby. They are Ii ke heroin to me. Describing their music is foolhardy, if not impossible. Mister T Experience comes close, though, to mapping their hard edged power pop. Humourous and nasty, Gordic Gordo and the G Men are chiefly responsible for our continued existence. Gord)~ Ramble Returning students may know this outfit as Garden Bower Gord Bolan (the patronymic] go1 a new drummer and changed tht name, but he and partner Pau: Weiler made sure the trio3
The cosmos and Gordie Gordo
I
sound remained the same. Interestingly enough, the word ramble is a perfect explanation of their sound: mellovv, drifting, and owing a lot to the Velvets and Meat Puppet& though I have no idea if the latter was actually an influence. They have released two albums and a few tapes as Garden Bower. Very good on vinyl, but bring a friend and a deck of cards if you see them live; they rival the Cowboy junkies for stage presence. Music to talk by. Jizmo Jizmo, a synonym for aesthetic terrorism. A lifestyle: mind fuck. Shunning the past and ignoring our doomed future, Jizmo ruthlessly lives the now, forging concensus reality as they step on toes and crush skulls. Not art, not pretty, but necessary. File under: life. The Rhinos The Rhinos take a bit of jazz, a bit a funk. a chunk of humour,
and serve it on a platter of solid pop rock. No categories here; they play everything from their crowd pleasing punk rave up Andy to acoustic renditions of Jacques Brel compositions. Danny Michel sort of fronts the Rhinos, although the band appears seamless and in no need of leaders. But Michel is a hell of a showman and this, combined with the band’s deft song writing and obvious musical talent, raises the Rhinos well above the average bar band with jazz pretensions. I really like this band. Some Cliches Wither This is the brain child of late night CKMS man Frank Fowlie. Some Cliches Wither are a free form jazz band (mind you - my knowledge of jazz and jazz categories is embarrassing] and they gig around the area on occasion. They have at least one tape out and have a cut on the CKMS album, A Giant Leap of Faith. In fact, it was Fowlie working in tandem with CKMS music boss Jacquie Bruner who put together that CKMS product. From this list of bands, both the Rhinos and Gordie Gordo also have
Tree frogs lay down songs on said album.
and die. “I _ am _ the __last- person in the world to call for music that is more approachable; I believe musicians should play how and what they want. But if you want to be different (read: boring), be artistic, or else I am forced to call it what I think it is: uninspired pretense.” Judge for y ourself, but be warned.
Suburban Distortion I haven’t listened to their second tape, Semi-Detached, since I reviewed it last fall, So, why think of new nasty things to say when I have the luxury of quoting myself? “The plodding drum machines combined with little instrumentation and a dirge for a voice are more fit for a perverted requiem than for music they claim has been compared to the Velvet Underground.
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