Mitchell Matter Smatter
Bleeps and Blurbs From One THE BEST '80s Alterno Rock Periodicals
Issue #11, Jan/Feb '85 - Picking Up The Bits And Pieces
Sara Romweber has left Let's Active, and Mitch Easter and Faye Hunter have broken up. Faye's still playing in the band, though, and they've added Jay Peck formerly of Minneapolis' Figures and Crackers, as well as Tim Lee, who used to be a Windbreaker...former Reverb, Ric Menck may be putting out his own single. Menck's also playing with two bands in Des Moines, where he goes to school...Oh OK have broken up, with Lynn Blakey and Linda Hopper both heading to Washington D.C. to start a new band...Chris Stamey produced the next Buzz Of Delight record with Don Dixon. Rumor has it that Stamey's next disc will be more commercial sounding. ...The people at I.R.S. have decided not to continue working with A&M Records anymore, and since they've got an option in their contract that covers that, they can do just that. That means I.R.S. gets the talent, A&M gets the back catalog. So don't look for anymore I.R.S. discs 'til after March when the break takes effect. I.R.S. has signed both Beat Rodeo and The Three O'Clock, who's disc may be produced by Michael Hedges who's worked with Siouxsee And The Banshees...Volcano Suns have re-formed with a new line-up....Mission Of Burma's live album is just about set for release on Ace Of Hearts...R.E.M. is back in the U.S. after visiting Japan and Europe, including London where Mike Mills and Pete Buck spent a drunken morning in the company of Robyn Hitchcock who was, according to Buck, ' in a horizontal position' most of the time. Here's Robyn's description of R.E.M. as told to our interviewer: "It's like someone stuck in a pine forest and a wind comes up...and you put some food on the table and all the food gets blown away... and chips are all over the grass or whatever and you open a bottle of wine and a wasp flies into the wine and you can't pour it out 'cause it stings you..."
Yeah. That's it....
Issue #11, Jan/Feb '85 - The dB's Get Their True Start (To be scanned in it's entirety at a later date...I promise!)
Peter Holsapple:
"It happened when I was in high school, when I bought a copy of Radio City by Big Star," he says with more than a touch of awe. " I remember putting it on my parents' Magnavox and just, like, taking off. I knew it was a perfect record the first time I heard it.
"It's been more then ten years since that record came out and nothing's come close to it. As far as I'm concerned, Alex doesn't ever have to do anything else ever again."
For Southern boys with rock 'n' roll dreams, Alex Chilton was hope, proof that there was life beyond boogie. He was promise that even in the Allman Bros. heyday, a kid from Memphis or Athens or Winston-Salem could make pop music that mattered. Winston-Salem is a town of big, old money. Kids go to R.J.R Reynolds High (as in cigarettes), run around Hanes Park (as in underwear). According to some, Ernie Shore, the man who served as Sheriff for many years, only landed the post because he had once pitched a perfect game in the big leagues. But to the 20-odd Winston-Salem youths who harbored big r 'n' r dreams, the key to their city was the Carolina Theater. The theater now houses a school for the arts, but when Gene Holder and Chris Stamey and Mitch Easter and Will Rigby and Peter Holsapple and Ted Lyons and a bunch of other you never heard of were growing up in Winston-Salem, the Carolina Theater was where those rock 'n' roll dreams got real.
Gene Holder:
" They used to have kiddie shows there every Saturday and before they showed some horror movie, they'd have a band play. It's strange, but I remember watching those bands and then going home and listening to Beatles records, and for some reason it was really obvious that I'd end up doing this for a living"
When the kids started putting bands together, Easter and Stamey were the most sought after: Mitch had the longest hair, was a local guitar hero and, by some accounts, the best drummer in town; Chris had some recording gear and knew how to read music. There were the H-Bombs (with Holsapple and Easter), Sneakers (with Stamey and Easter), and Little Diesel (with Holsapple, Rigby and for a while, Stamey and Easter). Holder was known to everyone partly because his hair changed colors a lot, and while Rigby was a relative latecomer to the combo scene, he still was one of the more notorious locals. " I had heard about Will", Holder recalls, " heard that he was crazy. I was at this H-Bombs concert on evening, watching this weird guy and thinking to myself, now that must be Will Rigby there. The only person acting any stranger than him was Peter, who was up onstage in a combat helmet."
Issue #11, Jan/Feb '85 - Mountain Man Weds Sheep Dept.
Streets Living Theater LP Streets Living Theater
SLT answers the question, " What would The Doors have sounded like if Mitch Easter produced them?" The members of SLT wear their influences on their sleeves, making comparisons inevitable. Scott Sheridan's deep, urgent growl recalls Morrison at his rawest and the lyrics are a fair approximation of the Lizard King's street poetry. When Marlon Cherry kicks in with his moody organ and fluid guitar licks,well, it's deja vu.
Of course, comparisons are never fair to a band with songs as strong as SLT's. "Waiting For You" and "Life You Save" are forceful, uptempo rockers that show off a driving rhythm section and a knack for songcraft. "Baby Don't Care" is punctuated by a bluesy saxophone and a climactic guitar solo; "Impossible Love" successfully marries synthesizer riffing and '60s spunk; even the seven minutes plus "Russian Tea" (with atmospheric keyboard washes, acoustic guitar and recorder) works, although it's hard to deny it's resemblance to "The End."
Originality is not SLT's strongpoint, but they're still a lot different than many "new garage" bands and even a few of the pop combos who've passed thru the Drive-In lately. And They've got more soul, to boot.
Jim D.
Guest Of Staphs EP The Wind (Cheft)
Overlook the nonsensical cover and the disproportionately overblown Mitch Easter production credit and you have a New York pop trio's successful six-song EP. The production is clean and pro; "House On Fire" comes off better than the more derivative garage rock, and "If I Go One Way" overcomes it's own funkiness to become danceable. The vocals sometimes careen into false British accents in the Beatlesque, XTC-ish stuff. The attitude is somewhat inconsistent, but it's well worth listening to
Kier Strejcek
A Date With Mitch Article From Let's Talk/Let's Active Fan Club Digest
Issue #14, January '86 - Mountain Man Weds Sheep Dept..
Real Nighttime LP Game Theory (Enigma)
Let's Active or not, Mitch Easter has managed to have a hand in the best pop album of 1985. Frisco-based Game Theory has been churning out solid records for about three years now, but this Easter produced, full length album marks the first time they've managed to sustain such quality over an entire disc.Vocalist Scott Miller emits a Stameyesque whine the likes of which haven't been heard since Stands For Decibels and writes slightly off-kilter tunes that range from lilting to hyperkinetic. Miller relies on synths nearly as much as guitars, and Easter adds just enough quirky studio effects to push the project over the top. I'm not so sure Game Theory could pull off such material live, but the album's wonderful.
Glen Kenny
Issue #15, June '86 - Picking Up The Bits And Pieces...a.k.a. Scratches And Bites
By: Kitten "Oh yeah, oh yeah" Kaboodle
...and last, but not least, our own Angie Carlson, has joined Let's Active. As I seem to remember her last assignment was just to interview Mitch Easter. Guess she passed the audition...that's all for now, I'm off to interview Mel Gibson. Maybe I'll get a part in the next "Road Warrior." Keep watching...
