Well, Peg Miller wasn’t kidding when she said the new location for Chicago
House would be a surprise; it’s going to be located at the Austin Music Hall.
Gone are the times when her best acts would get too big for the former Sixth
Street club. “Now,” says Miller, “I’ve got so much room it’ll take ’em a
long time to outgrow me!” The birth of the notion came when she got to
talking to AMH owner Tim O’Connor at the infamous task force meeting on street
closure awhile back, and its fruition came this Tuesday when the papers were
signed. Miller believes that the “two criticisms people have about O’Connor”
are about to be history, as Chicago House’s relocation there should put an end
to people complaining that the venue doesn’t support enough local talent.
Miller will be bringing successful plays from local theatres to the AMH, along
with, of course, Austin music, starting with a big opening on the 22nd with the
likes of Betty Elders, Jimmy LaFave, Will T. Massey, and dozens of others. Oh,
and that second criticism of the Music Hall? Miller says she’s experienced the
new air-conditioning system and guarantees it’ll blow you away.
Another Spoonful
Now that ex-Reiver and current hotshot producer John Croslin has ended histemporary stint as bass player for Spoon, he’s headed back into the studio full
force. Croslin recently hopped up to Dayton, Ohio to produce eight songs for
lauded lo-fi-ers Guided By Voices, with whom he hung out during a previous
Spoon/GBV tour. “We threw ’em together with four-tracks and stuff,” says
Croslin of the new tracks, which are scheduled to appear on GBV’s upcoming
album. Croslin’s also finished work on the new Cattleguard album, and the band
says they’ve just mastered it and are preparing to release the CD themselves.
This week sees Croslin working with Shindig and Sick Little Monkey.
The Wannabes’ Croslin-produced EP, originally titled Destroy All Enemies of
the Wannabes,should be in stores as you read this, but the
five-song disc took some odd turns on its way to the shops. Originally slated
to contain all new material, plans changed after the band won their recent
NAIRD award, and the CD now represents more of a sampler of the Wannabes’
history, with one track off each of their previous two CDs, their cut from the
Jo Carol Pierce covers album, and two new tracks including the former title
song and a version of the Kinks’ “I’ll Remember.” Wannabe Kevin Carney says the
title change came about partially because Dejadisc owner Steve Wilkison thought
it was a bit harsh for a sampler, but Carney admits that the new title, I Am
God, is if anything more off-putting. Next up from the ‘Bes is
another full-lengther, with Croslin and Dave McNair tenatively scheduled to
produce it
Getting back to former Spoon bassists, Andy Maguire has two new projects
going, one a band with Pam Peltz, Susie Martinez, and Lisa Wickware (the latter
two who are exiting the Hormones) that “has no name yet but is ready to play”
(I guess they’re waiting for Peltz to have one of her precognizant dreams). You
might also notice that “Barbie Dahl” in the band Handfull looks a lot like
Maguire. Of the legal battles currently in motion between Maguire and her
former bandmates in Spoon, she declines to comment, noting only that “I’m
really happy to be playing now with nice people.” Britt Daniel was unavailable
for comment since, as always, Spoon is out on the road, but his close, personal
friend, “Drake Tungsten” does have a few things on his mind — found on a new
five-song EP from Peekaboo Records.
Oklahoma Friendly
Wonder why Bill Hicks once termed Oklahoma “the only state that Arkansas canmake fun of?” Just ask Rey Washam and Paul Barker of Ministry about their
problems there. Washam and Barker got the full Sooner treatment while driving
through the state. At one point, they looked in the rear view mirror to find a
fleet of police cars, lights ablaze, pursuing them. They pulled over and found
that someone had called the cops saying the band had been waving guns around.
The guys suspect the storyteller was probably a yokel they had previously
spoken with briefly while buying gas. After a search of the van, the two were
released without incident, and continued on their way to Chicago. Washam, by
the way, seems to be perfectly happy with his Ministry gig (he recently turned
down an audition for the drummer spot with the Smashing Pumpkins) and will be
heading back up to Chi-town and into the studio with Al Jourgensen next month
to get to work on their next album. Considering how long the last one took,
it’s good they’re getting a head start.
New York Groove
Bars across Austin shut off their jukeboxes last weekend to witness theButthole Surfers’ network TV debut on the Late Show, and it was quite a
show. After mumbling their name at barely audible levels, it took Dennis
Miller’s appearance and loud reference to the Buttholes being a “tight band” to
finally loosen The Dave up. While many commented on how cool it was that
drummer King Coffey was wearing an Ed Hall shirt on the show, one current
Superego member and former bandmate of Surfers bassist Owen McMahon points out
that “Now that Ed Hall broke up, [Coffey’s] Trance Syndicate will be stuck with
a load of inventory if he doesn’t plug ’em as much as he can!”
S.I.M.S. Like Old Times
That proposed album of Pariah demos won’t be the only musical tribute to thelate Sims Ellison and the suicide prevention foundation in his name. Now in the
works is a compilation album that’s looking for bands and a label, and early
signs show that it could be a mighty big project. The usual suspects, like the
Butthole Surfers, Meat Puppets, and Toadies are tentatively involved, says
brother Kyle Ellison, and some surprises can be expected as well. He’ll know
more about the project’s progress soon, perhaps even by the time of the big
SIMS foundation benefit tonight (Thursday) at Liberty Lunch. The evening begins
at 8pm with a fashion show accompanied by the music of the Living Pins,
continuing through the evening with SSIK, Michele Solberg, Sunshine, Johnny
Goudie, and others.
Respect Your Elders
Fans of Betty Elders who were worried about her future at Rounder Records(which bought the label to which she was signed, Flying Fish) recently waged a
small e-mail campaign aimed at one of the company’s co-owners, and some
reportedly received a gruff “cease and desist” command from the Rounder honcho.
Elders says that the exec is a longtime friend and must have been “having a bad
day.” One fan who partook in the Betty-boosting says that she instead received
a pleasant reply assuring her that a new album was in the works and that she
should “channel the energy” she used in e-mailing him to calling radio stations
when that disc comes out instead. Meanwhile, labelmate Peter Keane has his own
Rounder/Flying Fish album coming out next week. Titled Walking Around,
the new disc was produced by Bill Morrissey and includes guest shots by Champ
Hood and John Hagen, among others.
Mixed Notes
Looking for more news on your favorite local bands? Both Pop CulturePress and Thora-Zine are out with new issues right now, and both
have audio freebies included as well. PCP has two of the bands off
their free CD, the Wannabes and Cotton Mather, performing at Waterloo Records
this Friday at 5pm. Meanwhile, Alcohol, Drugs and Driving and Apathy
Trend have split up again and both have new issues out… Remember Jaws of
Life? Well, you don’t have to rely on memory anymore, as the band is reforming
in the wake of Swine King’s demise. They’ll be playing with Hyperfluff and
Pocket FishRmen this Friday at the Hole in the Wall… Speaking of which, the
Hole has their next CD planned; a compilation of artists who play their Monday
“Unplug This!” nights… Plywoodstock is on again, scheduled for August 31 at
the Zendik Farm. Confirmed acts so far include the Motards, Cactus Smack
Conspiracy, Brown Hornet and Blort… The Killer Bees expect to have their
first new studio CD in five years available in eight to 10 weeks. They’ve also
recorded a live show in Paris for future release, but that recording almost
didn’t happen when the person who had brought them to France found out his
girlfriend had been on the tragic TWA flight 800 (the Bees had taken TWA flight
803). Plans call for the recording to be dedicated to the victims of that
flight and their families when it is released… I hear that the new 45 from
the Ridgetop Westernaires is in actuality Wayne “the Train” Hancock performing
two originals with Chris Miller on steel, Todd Wulfmeyer on take-off guitar,
and High Noon’s Kevin Smith and Shaun Young on bass fiddle and traps,
respectively. That’s according to a post on the net from ace critic Mark Rubin,
who declares that “I’ve got a copy and pronounce it bad-ass, but what do I
know?”… One good reason to go to KVRX Night at the Blue Flamingo next Monday,
with Gomez, Bongo Hate and Provocative Elbow, is to see whether the headliners
will continue to earn their new nickname of “No-Show-mez”… Quentin Tarantino
may have seen more films in the last week than most people see in a lifetime,
but that didn’t stop him from catching some live music in the blah blah capital
of the world. QT was spotted enjoying the Asylum Street Spankers after Kung Fu
night last Wednesday, and even stuck around ’til after 2am through a bit of
poetry slamming. Monday’s end-of-fest party at Antone’s found Quentin and
compadre Rick Linklater running late and looking haggard, but they did get to
check out some of the Monday night blues regulars… Schwaggert will be playing
the first of two farewell shows next Wednesday at the Hole In The Wall. Their
guitarist, ex-Neptune Steve Watson will be moving to New Orleans to join Jake
Flack, another former Neptune, in $1000 Car, who just signed with
Margaritaville/Island Records… Some bands make movie soundtracks, while
others are bound to go straight to video. Paul Minor, the mind behind the
Superego, says that MTV’s travel video, Road Rules: Trippin’ the
Americas, will feature music from the S’ego album…
— Contributors: Christopher Gray, Raoul Hernandez, Andy Langer, Margaret
Moser
This article appears in August 16 • 1996 and August 16 • 1996 (Cover).