Dancing About Architecture
by Ken Lieck
Hot Butts!
Well, I for one was not prepared for the debacle that was the Butthole
Surfers' big U.S. tour kickoff last Thursday at the Austin Music Hall. I knew
that Paul Leary's mother was very ill and that he was not in the cheeriest of
moods, but talking to new bassist Owen McMahon the previous night after the
band's Capitol Records-sponsored schmoozefest at Stubbs', I had gotten quite a
rosy picture painted from his stories of recent European shows. Gibby Haynes
had been wonderful to work with, he said, despite what anyone might think. What
he didn't take into account was the effect you'd get if you put Haynes and a
couple thousand or so fans under a magnifying glass in the sun. (Honestly, most
missionaries probably don't have to deal with the sauna-like heat the
Austin Music Hall generates in the summer. If they do, they should look down;
they're probably already in a cannibal's pot.)
The heat under Haynes' collar was clearly on display during his swearing,
mike-smashing antics on the Music Hall stage, however, when his voice processor
began malfunctioning -- which then led to Leary muttering "thanks, goodnight"
as Haynes stomped off stage with the rest of the band in tow. (They all came
back a few minutes later when the technical problem was fixed.) Haynes had also
been reportedly raising quite a fuss over "Paprika," a more savage than funny
parody of the Surfers' radio hit "Pepper," that's been getting airplay at 101X,
the station where he once functioned as a deejay. The station admits that the
parody's creator, the deejay known as Whipping Boy, failed to get proper
clearance to use the song's tune and expects to receive a cease-and-desist
order soon. This however didn't stop Haynes from having a screaming match
backstage with a station rep that night, nor does it lack irony since just a
few weeks ago 101X jock Rachel Marisay threw a hissy over unauthorized sampling
of her voice on Sweetpea's new album, released by Surfer King Coffey's Trance
label.
The Surfers' tour appears to be going on as planned, with at least one change:
Sincola will be taking the place of the Supersuckers on the July 4-6 dates.
Shock the Monkey
All this talk about Lone Wolf picking up after the late Sector 2 label has
finally borne fruit. The Bill Ham-owned label has signed not El Flaco, whose
name has oft been linked with Lone Wolf, but Pushmonkey, and has further
announced that the band will be opening for Kiss on their upcoming Texas shows.
First up from the new alliance will be a five-song, self-titled EP featuring
their song "Caught My Mind" (currently #1 at KLOL in Houston), two new songs,
one tune from their 1994 debut Maize, and their cut from this year's
KLBJ Local Licks Live CD.
Shut Up and Bitch!
All right, time to put your money where your mouth is. The Street Closure Task
Force Committee is asking the public to come forward at a public hearing and
voice their opinions on the closing of streets for paid and non-paid events
(you know, festivals and like that). The hearing is next Tuesday at 7pm at Town
Lake Center, located at 808 Barton Springs Road, next to the Filling Station.
Tornado in a Tin Cup
I believe I may have noted previously that the Texas Tornados have a song in
the upcoming Tin Cup movie, but did I mention that it's the lead track
in the film? The band reportedly took extra special care on the track, "A
Little Bit Is Better Than Nada," which also happens to open their new Four
Aces album and will probably do so on the film's soundtrack album as well.
Reprise Records honcho and Tornado fan Bill Bentley says the movie is being
touted as "Bull Durham for golfers." He also confirms your guess that
the Tornados will remain the on-again, off-again project they have tended to
be. "It's good that they get away from each other once in awhile," says Bentley
of the four strong personalities. He also notes that Rhino Records is hard at
work on a double disc retrospective of early Roky Erickson work, going back to
his time in the Spades, but that it's slow work. "Rhino wants to do it so
[Roky] will really benefit," says Bentley, and finding out who has the rights
to what is slow work. The company is shooting for a release next March -- but
they already missed their previous deadline of last March, so don't hold
your breath. Meanwhile, look for Roky to make a rare live appearance next
Tuesday at Antone's, where there's a benefit for his brother Mikel Erickson.
Stu Stu Studio
Producer/engineer Stuart Sullivan says that 81/2 Souvenirs'
recording sessions have been going well, with around nine songs done and plans
that call for finishing the project by the end of the summer. Miss Lavelle
White's album, meanwhile is done except for horns and mixing. The band on the
album includes the likes of George Rains and James Polk, the latter of whom has
finished work recently on a new album of his own. The Toadies recording that
Sullivan has been working on with Paul Leary is far from over, though both the
Toadies and Leary are currently off on tour. Sullivan says that he expects at
any time they may call and "fly me out to wherever they are" to work on a tune
or two. He adds that work with the band has been sporadic, as was originally
planned, and that the songs they've worked on so far are destined for
soundtracks, compilations and the like.
Jazz By the Numbers
The Clarksville Jazz Poll results were announced this week, with the
Chronicle's own Jay Trachtenberg taking Best Music Critic. Trachtenberg
also shared Best Jazz DJ with Paul Ray in a KUT sweep that also included Best
Jazz Radio Station, Best Blues/R&B Station and Best World Music Station.
Among other notable winners are Jazz Artist of the Year Pam Hart, Songwriter of
the Year Lourdes Perez, Composer of the Year Rich Harney, and Best Vocal Group
Bells of Joy.
Mixed Notes
Pushmonkey aren't the only ones who know how to get good opening gigs. Ned
Henry opened for the Cowboy Junkies here and will continue to do so for two
more weeks of gigs. Of course, he does have the advantage of having a twin
brother who plays with the Junkies. That's always a good way to get your demo
tape heard by the band... Junior Brown may be physically in absentia,
but while he's off touring with the Mavericks until August, his presence is
still felt in Austin. KVET-FM added his "Venom Wearing Denim" to their playlist
three weeks ago and the more current country-oriented KASE followed suit last
week. Brown has made a video for the song now; maybe they can play it on that
big screen TV over at the Continental Club (hidden behind Elvis) while they
await his return... Speaking of radio, mere weeks after returning to KNNC, Ray
Seggern is taking off for a Marketing and Promotions job at two Tulsa stations,
including a K-NACK type and a classical(!) one. Says Raydog, "Now I'll be
dealing with both kinds of blue hairs"... Kris McKay's new Things
That Show album has hit the racks. She'll be doing an in-store for the
record at Waterloo Records at 5pm this Friday, with a Hole in the Wall gig that
night and a Waterloo Ice House performance on Saturday. And have you checked
McKay, Clarksville Jazz Poll Best Female R&B Blues Singer Christina Marrs,
and the gang out in their gospel persona as the Jubilettes during Friday happy
hours at Stubbs' yet?... Jimmie Dale Gilmore has an in-store at Waterloo next
Wednesday at 5pm. His Braver Newer World will hit stores the day before
that. You can still post questions to Gilmore through Friday on Texas
Monthly's web site at http://www.texasmonthly.com... Beth Black has a CD
release tonight (Thursday) starting at 7:30 at Pulpo Loco for her new eponymous
disc... Javelin Boot have finished recording their fourth full-length CD and
have found that they have a "fervent" fan base in Japan (one of the Cotton
Mathers must've accidentally left a Boot disc there while on their "Denny's
Across Tokyo" tour). In the words of young Naoko, "Yours are full of pop tune
-- some feel very powerful, some feel very sweet. I feel like listening to a
soundtrack album -- because there're various good songs!!!"... Remember to take
a Super-Soaker with you next time you go see Sangre de Toro if you want to be
the big winner in the squirt gun wars... Maryann Price has got not one but two
albums in the can and ready to go. One is a "folked-up swing" effort with
various "murder ballads," the other is comprised of mostly Cole Porter tunes
recorded at a 1992 Cactus Cafe gig... Blaine Hurlbut has got a tribute to his
late Woodshock partner Phillip "Stepchild" Sellstrum on Tuesday at Stubbs. The
Bart Brian Band, Salaman, Ponty Bone, Big Pow Wow, and the Gay Sportscasters
will be performing... We got a fax here at the Chronicle this week that
states "UT psychology professor needs subjects to DRINK FOR SCIENCE & GET
PAID. For information: 471-8993." If this doesn't end up being the most-called
phone number in Austin history, my name's not Henauder Titzhoff! Maybe they'll
bring back the Texas Tavern if it goes over well... Monkey Boy Records are
starting what promises to be a monthly event with this Sunday's barbecue social
at the Chicken Ranch on Congress south of William Cannon. The occasion is a
release party for Myra Manes' "Baby Back Ribs" single, but Pocket FishRmen,
Pretty Mouth, Phantom Creeps, Fuckemos, El Flaco, and others will be playing as
well... Local label Dejadisc has just signed Steeplejack, whose music they say
comes "from a perspective where humor and terror are inexorably bound
together." No, they're not from Westlake Hills, they're from Minneapolis. On
the other hand, the same label has lost Richard Buckner, whose next album will
be coming out on MCA instead of Dejadisc. Buckner, who was in town at the
Electric Lounge on Monday, is heading out to Tuscon to record with J.D. Foster
and the Giant Sand rhythm section before returning to Austin later this summer
to do overdubs with Gurf Morlix....
-- Contributors: Christopher Gray, Raoul Hernandez, Andy Langer, Joe
Mitchell,
Margaret Moser