Big Block 454

That’s a Nice Hat
Big Block 454
MP3.com

Arghh! What the hell is this? This doesn’t sound like Blink-182! What sort of song title is “I Name This Child Acker Bilk”? All four songs sound different. The guitar is too loud; the vocals remind me of that crap called The Residents. “I Was Just About to Yodel” — what is that all about? Why would anyone who seemingly grew up listening to krautrock, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, and punk rock try and make a record? This stuff is too challenging. The drumming is tribal, the songs shift and shimmer like those wavy lines you get in your peripheral vision when you eat the wrong sort of mushrooms. No wonder this stuff is hard to find — no major label is gonna put this stuff out. Hell, you almost have to have read a book to like it. Doomed to commercial failure, these four tracks of joyful self-expression are. Go back to making lace dollies out of double helix strands, why don’t ya?

Note to those readers who traded in their sense of satire for an SUV: Big Block 454 is the perfect future of music for those of us who keep the hi-fi down the hall in the room called “Planet X.” This music leaves holes in your head nothing else can fill.

Originally published Ink 19, 2002

Niacin

Deep
Niacin
Magna Carta

What appears to be an interesting idea on the surface — a trio made up of bassist Billy Sheehan, drummer Dennis Chambers and John Novello on Hammond B3 — never gels into something new and rich. Instead, it sounds like a CD made up of all the “boogie” parts of prog-rock songs — ya know, the bits in Deep Purple tunes when Jon Lord would wail on the B3, giving Ritchie Blackmore time to light a smoke or something? Listening to this release brought back frightening memories of summers in high school, riding around in a beat-up car having my ears pounded by King Crimson, Zappa, and ELP. While sorta fun then (of course, beer intake may have played a part in the experience…), it only sounds old now. The only cut on the record to feature vocals (by former Deep Purple growler Glenn Hughes) and guitar (by Toto’s Steve Lukather, of all people!), “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be,” doesn’t really add much, and all in all, you end up wishing that the three artists here had tried to perform an homage to Booker T and the MG’S instead of ’70s arena rock.

Originally published Ink 19, 2000

Robbie Gennet

Pianarchy
Robbie Gennet
Niggles Music

Can’t judge a book by looking at the cover. On first glance, this record would appear to be yet another 20-something rebel on a trust fund wanting to make the world think he’s the next Trent Reznor. Clad in black, longhaired, and demonic-looking, you can almost hear him in music store, pounding out “Teen Spirit”, annoying the clerks.

Ha.

Robbie Gennet is instead a remarkable self-taught pianist, who seems to unleash on the keyboard a lifetime spent listening to Metallica, Frank Zappa, and a bawdyhouse barrel roller. The record, featuring nine untitled improvisational works, is eye-opening. Grand at one moment, sly and laughing the next, the works resonate with a fierce command of the instrument and a hell-bent vision of a musical world. If the words “solo piano” bring to mind horrid visions of New Age music or stuffy dead Europeans, try Pianarchy. You might never hear a piano the same way again.

Originally published Ink 19, 2000

In Cold Sweat: Interviews With Really Scary Musicians

In Cold Sweat: Interviews With Really Scary Musicians
Thomas Wictor

Although the title is somewhat misleading for ¾’s of the book, the artists covered here- Gene Simmons of Kiss, Peter Hook of New Order and Jerry Casale of Devo are interesting characters. Simmons speaks almost entirely about himself as a figure, and hardly at all about his playing (all the interviews were originally done for Bass Player magazine). Casale pulls no punches in relating the life and times of Devo, who truly were “Pioneers who got scalped”. But the books final piece, the interview with Scott Thunes, is where the scary part comes in. Thunes claim to fame was as Frank Zappa’s bassist in the late ’80’s. He is widely considered as the reason that the group disbanded- a point he agrees with, by the way. From there Thunes never really latched on anywhere, bouncing from stints in Fear to some session work with former MC5 legend Wayne Kramer. A brilliant bassist who describes his playing well, but even more enlightening is his thoughts on gaining your musical voice, and why he doesn’t consider himself either a rock and roll bassist, or actually very talented at all. Illuminating (and scary) stuff.

Originally published The Big Takeover, 2001

Ozric Tentacles

Live at the Pongmasters Ball
Ozric Tentacles
Snapper Music

Aggressive, tight 21st century prog rock, sorta akin to a more updated version of Gong or maybe a trippier Rush without vocals. These guys have been tripping out for over 20 years, and it shows — this is a very tight musical unit. Granted, the material is all rather similar, but you could say that for most groups, I suppose. The liner notes would lead one to expect a union of “…Frank Zappa and The Chemical Brothers,” which is rather far from the mark. Being an instrumental band, they suffer none of Zappa’s embarrassing potty humor and OT doesn’t go in for 45-minute guitar solos as the late, vastly overrated Zappa did (praise be…). As for the Chemical Brothers reference, I think “chemical” is the operative word here — dude must be trippin’, because this stuff couldn’t be further from “Block Rocking Beats” if it tried. If your tastes run to King Crimson, Rush, or perhaps some of the Dixie Dregs’ more frantic moments, then this is your cup of mushrooms. Also includes a two-hour live DVD. Get dosed and bliss out, brothers and sisters.

Originally published Ink 19, 2002