Fire Party (Amy Pickering, vocals; Nicky Thomas, drums; Natalie Avery, guitar/vocals; Kate Samworth, bass/vocals) existed from 1986-1990, and are an excellent example of the old chestnut about being ahead of one's time. Had they emerged around the time they were breaking up, they would have been widely embraced, at least by the riot grrrl community - they would have at least been more noticeable (I don't remember hearing about them at the time, and, while I was fairly isolated, I did read as much underground press as I could - not a peep did I discern...).
These nineteen songs represent the band's entire output, consisting of two EP's, a compilation track, and a John Peel session. They are an intense group of compositions, focusing on identity, culture and roles in an exploratory and critical way.
It does not surprise me to learn that Amy Pickering is in a choral group now (Ed. Note: Nicky Thomas, the drummer, is in a band called Mavis Pigott); her vocal power is impressive and intense, with a great command of projection and dynamics. Everyone else is equally impressive, particularly the driving bass and in-your-face drums. Yes, Time is a trickster - but for a few more years, fame (with all its dangerous lures) would have beckoned...
This is a three-grrrl, one-boi band from Los Angeles, which comes across as an indie Breeders, with a more conventionally accomplished lead guitarist - they are also all dykes, with the exception of D. Gomez, the bassist, who I'm hoping is a teddy-bear fag or switch-hitter with cuddly tendencies (Ed. Note: Don't worry - I was a single boy then...I wasn't allowing my hormones to commit adultery against my Arne... :) ).
These ten songs are well-recorded, catchy and energetic, in a fairly standard but nicely arranged guitar-bass-drums-vocals format (some of the songs have lengthy jams concluding them).
The lyrics make lots of references to cheesy cultural figures of the Seventies and Eighties, thus frightening those of us who lived through those years and desperately want to forget. However, the overall effect is boss and neato and keen, and I'd recommend this accomplished disc heartily.
(Ed. Note: this band has called it a day).
This Scottish grrrl quartet are proof that every Eighties band influenced someone.
In 1986, a group of women ranging in age from 17 to 21 put out an album as We've Got A Fuzzbox and We're Going to Use It (a name shortened to Fuzzbox by its slicker and generally useless second album). It featured short songs, performed simply and shouted out by youthful, enthusiastic and not always harmonized voices, and instrumentation that was equally basic and effective (though peppered here and there with some horns, keyboards and violins, also played by the girls).
Lungleg stick to the basic guitar, bass, drums and four voices format here, but it still reminds me of Fuzzbox.
The Shaggs can be heard in their peculiar tunings and rudimentary guitar solos (as this EP compiles two British releases, one of which was entitled 'Shagg the Tiger', I don't think the comparison is unintentional or uninvited).
By the by - there is a song on here entitled "Edith Massey" - about filmmaker
John Waters' OTHER big girl actress (and dyke). Yaay!
This is quite metallic and rocking, like a queer Red Hot Chili Peppers or Jane's Addiction, and I was hooked almost from the start.
The band (Ed Fritz on vocals; Andy Bartel on guitar; Glen Bassett on bass; Teddy Freese (since replaced) on drums) are very hard (musically), but still very sexy (even Teddy and Glen, the obligatory straight boys).
"Hey Mister" appears to be about prostitution and the complexities involved in it; "Suck"...hmmm...well, what would you THINK it was about?
This is considerably more raw that Extra Fancy (RIP), but just as fierce, uncompromising and ultimately touching.
My - what a queer rendition of "Let Me Be" by PF Sloan - wonder if it was meant that way...grin...
"Long Way Home" and "In The Dark" have a funky scratching quality to them I quite like. "After All" is sort of the ballad, but never gets sappy. "Tainted" is almost X-like.
I must confess "Love Me To Death" troubled me somewhat, but I'll assume it's ironic.
I give this disc two thumbs up (and not necessarily in the air, either).
Vol. 1 is a CD version of two vinyl records (with a few tracks omitted for licencing reasons and a couple of alternate selections tagged on in their place).
It compiles 27 obscure recordings from 1965-1966 of all-female bands.
Some of the selections are obvious Beatles impersonations/tributes/ripoffs, and suffer accordingly (though the Beatle-ette's "Only Seventeen" is not too bad).
The Belles' "Melvin" is "Gloria" re-written for a boy.� It is quite funny, and I like to think that was intentional.� The Chymes do charming intricate pop that I'm sure someone in the Bangles must have stumbled across.� The Daughters of Eve's "Don't Waste My Time" is an early proto-feminist anthem, joining the ranks of "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore and "These Boots are Made For Walking" by Nancy Sinatra.� The Continental Co-Ets' "Melody of Junk" is a grooving surfy instrumental that sounds naggingly familiar *grin*. � The Whyte Boots' "Nightmare", despite its being an obvious Shangri-Las take, is a wonderful piece of teen angst.� The whole CD, to a varying extent, is marvelous both musically and historically...
Vol. 2 is not quite as rewarding.� Nevertheless, there are some gems.� 1959's (!) "Go Back to Your Cadillac" by the Darby Sisters is sarcastic and well-arranged; the boppy "Look For Another Love" by Lonnie's Legends and the Currents is catchy and progressive, for a Playboy record; "Hey Hey Ha Ha" by the Crazy Girls shows that you don't need complicated lyrics to have an attitude; "There You Go" by Millie Rogers shows that wonders can be done with a very limited but spirited voice; Karin Verros astonishes with the ferocious "You Just Gotta Know My Mind"; Venus Flytrap, one of the few actual all-girl instrument-playing bands on this volume, presents the beautifully melancholy "The Note", though the record it was dubbed from was clearly in bad shape; the Uncalled Four channel Lois years ahead of her time; Gale Haness presents the hysterically camp reefer madness tale "Johnny Anders" (it's meant to be serious, of course); and the Indigos do a very early anti-war song, "He's Coming Home".
As I've said, these two are essential pieces of music history - but they are good party discs as well!
Does Iggy Pop really require much of an introduction? Evidently not the artists on this collection, who, to varying degrees and in different ways, show his influence quite clearly.
A significant portion of the performance royalties and all of Iggy's mechanical royalties on this go to LifeBeat, an organization set up to help musicians with AIDS.
Some of the tracks here are stunning (Seven Year Bitch's "Shake Appeal"; Monster Magnet's "Gimme Danger"; Lunachicks' "The Passenger"; Joan Jett's "I Wanna Be Your Dog"; Jayne County's "Down on the Street/Little Doll"; Extra Fancy's surprisingly gentle, sweet and sad "Sell Your Love"; even the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Search and Destroy"); others are okay (NY Loose's clumsy "Lust For Life"; Blondie's restrained and crooned "Ordinary Bummer"; Lenny Kaye's attempt to make "We Will Fall" interesting). Only two do nothing for me (the rather embarassing take on "1969" by Joey Ramone and the wildly cartoonish Misfits' version of "I Got A Right").
All told, the 20 artists here owe some debt to the likes of Iggy, and it's nice to see it partially paid.
By the way - you will notice that the booklet and the CD box back contradict each other in terms of the track listings. The back of the box is right.
These two CDs document just some of an indie rock festival that took place in Olympia, WA in July, 1994 (a new one has just come out from the 1997 festival).
Thirty-eight bands are represented, including Mecca Normal (whose rendition of "I Walk Alone" is made very literal when Jean strides far out into the crowd to 'sing' without a microphone, leaving David stranded on stage); cub; Team Dresch (who tell a side-splittingly funny, if also sadly true, story); Mukilteo Fairies (I could almost make out the words this time; guess I'm getting used to hardcore thrash!); and Stinky Puffs (Jad Fair's stepson's band - nice to see the mantle of indie geekdom being passed from one generation to the next - I mean that nicely, by the way!).
While there are significant omissions, such as Bikini Kill and Beat Happening, it still seems cool and a good snapshot of parts of a scene...fun stuff...
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