REASONS TO LOVE THIS BAND
This is an article on the weekend from scene magazine. it came with a picture but you know me with my computer eliteracy. anyways, its the scene with girls against boys on the cover, pick it up.
Fronted by two extremely attractive, very young women, this London area quartet takes such silly comparisons with more grace than they probably deserve. rather than whine about the inevitable, Lorien Bethenjones, Andrea Wasse, Clay Corneil, and Link Cushman have chosen to embrace some of the fun aspects of the seasoned spices. In fact, they have incorporated the girls current hit "stop" into their own healthy stable of sugar-coated indie pop originals. Surprisingly, the spice girls cover accualy fits within the perameters of the bands club repertoire.
The resemblance does not just start with "stop", the weekend also known for
their use of mini-skirts and make-up. However, as with everything else about
this band, expectations of exploitation are quickly replaced with the knowledge
that the whole show is just that-a show. The result is a somewhat skewered view
of the band that sees itself as more playful than sexual, and definitly more
innocent. After a weekend show, one walks away with the kind of smile provoked
by watching a baby sister play dress up. While talking to the band, it quickly
becomes clear that their enthusiasm for rock runs as deep as their love for
play. Amid a cacphony of non-sequiters from "nutty" keyboardist Cushman, the
rest of the band rambles off a history of learning to play their instruments
on the fly. Since they came togethor a few years back, the band has been
keenly aware of the dangers of not being taken seriousley, or worse still,
dismissed as a novelty. "Were defintily serious about it" says bethenjones,
"But its not like we want to go onstage and say were so deep, its all about
having fun." And fun is what bethenjones and crew are definitly all about.
When I asked her what sums up their drive to play and record, bathenjones can
hardly contain her mockery for some of rocks well-worn cliches. "We just live
to rock, and we rock to live." When the laughter finally subsides, the tone
changes slightly and a true explanation comes forth, "We try really hard not
to come across as a very serious band. We dont want to be one of those bands
that plays around and just takes themselves so seriousley. But I wouldnt want
people to think of us as goofy either." Of course, if they ever wanted to become
that "goofy band" all they would have to do is follow the advice of cushman,
"We had this idea for a weird little off-shoot band called the new velocity go.
It would be a totally exploited plastic band. I mean they would just be so
completely honest about being exploited." Corneil (playing abbot to Cushmans
Costello) takes the description a step further, "We would be like the spice
girls with Phillit Glass working for them." While the final flight of fancy
seems rather far fetched, the weekend are sure to continue as the one,
refreshingly saucy ingrediant in Londons rock 'n' roll stew.
-------Aiden Crawford
