The
Hassle
Parts Unknown
Solvent
It's
Patrick
Wrist Error
Eric Chenaux + Michael Snow + John Oswald
Currently In These United States
Holding Pattern
Lead
Pipe Study
Name: Kitten De Soto
Name: Zoe Inane
Name: Ruby Damage
These three fugitives, collectively known as "The Hassle", are wanted for inflicting unnecessary noise upon the innocent civilians of the City of Toronto, composing gratuitously catchy songs in a new wave-inspired garage pop style, leaving their basement rehearsal space before music industry taste arbiters deemed sufficient time to have elapsed, causing more experienced bands to "look bad" (both musically and visually), befuddling solipsistic music journalists with their "rudimentary bashing", generally fucking shit up.
CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. PROCEED TO WAVELENGTH AND SHAKE THAT ASS.
Parts Unknown have been dazzling Toronto audiences since 1993 and Wavelength is thrilled that they are going to kick off the March installment of the Wavelength music series. Mason Hornet's Doc Pickles spent a chilly week in February picking the fertile brain of Parts Unknown frontman Derek Westerholm via e-mail. You can catch Parts Unknown on March 5 at Ted's Wrecking Yard. Admission, as always, is Pay-What-You-Can.
Hi
Derek, let's conduct an interview on e-mail. We can ping-pong it back
and forth as the week goes on...
Sure... I like ping-pong
Let's
start with pedigree. Your brother George is in Sinphonic, another well
respected Toronto outfit.
Yes, he's my brother... Or so my parents have always told me...
When
the two of you were growing up did you both want to be in bands?
I don't think the thought was ever entertained in any serious manner...
No more so, say, than being an undercover policeman like on TV.
Did
you come from a musical family?
No, but my mother frequently hums and whistles quite beautifully (honestly!);
And my dad's longtime passion has been recording & cataloguing music of
every kind; so we have always had music around us in the home when growing
up. Also, my grandfather on my father's side knew several languages and
travelled around the world keeping a diary in which he wrote about places,
as well as writing poetry & lyrics to songs in various languages and from
various regions as well as singing them all day long... So... Yes... I
would like to change my answer... The answer is yes; but we don't really
know how to play anything.
Any
sibling rivalries about your respective bands?
My brother and I; like my entire family; argue in reverse. We argue about
whose band is better, but we are always trying to elect the other's band
as the best. It's kind of like a sibling 'un-rivalry' rivalry. We've also
made guest appearances in each other's bands... So I can't say that it's
ever come between us.
Does
it help or hinder you?
If it weren't for my brother; I doubt I would have: ever listened to the
music that has ultimately influenced me the most; picked up a guitar (his
guitar); learnt guitar (he showed me the basics) or thought it possible
to get up on stage (he was doing it long before I was). So, yeah, I would
say it might have helped me just a bit.
When
did you decide that this was something you wanted to do?
I never did. It never seemed like it was really happening until it was
too late. I still do not know how to go about forming a band. They just
seem to form themselves, the damn things - then - you can't get rid of
them. I think the only decision involved comes in regards to not wanting
to do it. To actually answer your question, however, I would have to say
i've always had an affinity towards the written word; especially in poetic
form... And liked the idea of writing lyrics. Once you start doing that...
It's only a matter of time before songs follow. Then, next thing you know,
you're eating cereal for dinner & sleeping on floors.
Sounds
like your grandfather had a huge influence.
Yes, it seems that way; but I never knew him; perhaps it's a bi-generational
thing.
I've
always been interested in your lyrics, they don't really scan like typical
song lyrics, there are elements of poetry in there, I always thought you
could publish a song like "Chocolate Coffee Kisses" as a poem. I think
it's time to out you as a closet poet and demand that you select one song
lyric to publish in this issue's poetry corner. Come on, out with it!
Pick a song! You're on the spot!
Okay... I will forward you the complete & unabridged lyrics to Verdant
Green... Including the stanza that has been appended to the live version
we currently play in our set.
What's
the difference between a finished poem and finished lyrics?
Well, it seems you already know, because, Chocolate Coffee Kisses, which
you have cited, quite correctly did start as a poem, with the rest following
later. Generally, a finished poem will dictate the form of the song, or,
if the song was developed first, it will sound like the lyrics were forced
into the structure and doesn't quite fit. It's like the jigsaw puzzle
that has two pieces that don't quite match, so you grab a hammer and jam
them in. It is true, though, that traditional song lyrics quite often
do not scan the same as poetry, and I have always found that odd to my
way of thinking as I have always written in the manner you describe. It's
only now that I am beginning to touch on more song lyric-type writing
having been fascinated with that form of expression lately.
When
P.U. has pieced a song together, do you raid your old poetry books?
That happened more in the early days than it does now. Somewhere along
the line we began writing more songs as the result of collaborative jams,
where the song structure would be created first, and lyrics added later.
It's different for every song, though, and that is what I find interesting.
A song like Verdant Green was an instrumental until the recording process,
where the lyrics were written on the spot. Lately I have been intrigued
with the idea of divorcing the rhythm of the lyrics from the rhythm of
the song; which is especially difficult when you are also playing an instrument.
I have come to realize that some of the most interesting vocal approaches
(to my ear) have come from vocalists who do not play while they sing.
Being a singer-songwriter type can limit your capacity for expression
if you cannot walk & chew gum at the same time, so to speak. I have always
appreciated the ranters and lately been enjoying vocals that go against
the rhythm of the song, or create a polyphonic effect. Unfortunately,
my brain ultimately defaults into a failsafe mode where it just follows
what my hands are doing on the guitar. Further experimentation is taking
place...
Parts
has really utilized the Internet to get their material out. Has it helped
you hook up with new fans?
It's hard to know how it all links up. It is encouraging that there is
a resource that allows people to operate on a grassroots level, which
also has immediate worldwide attainability. The fact that it pisses off
the corporate face of rock and roll means it is all the more essential.
Anything that benefits the fans and bands directly, and hurts the parasites
is a very, very good thing. But like any other resource, it has its limits.
We have, however, sold a few discs in Japan, if that's what you mean...
And
now standard 'zine question: Is there a band you regret never having seen
play a show?
Prolapse. They broke up before I could see them. I wrote them an email
a couple of years ago, when they were thinking of touring the states.
They never replied.
Bastards.
Is there a band you regret seeing play a show?
US3. I don't know what I was thinking. They were absolutely horrible.
The most insipid, uninspiring, flat and unenergetic show I have ever seen,
which is odd, because I thought their album had a good energy. They make
Stereolab look like a crazed, high octane, rock and roll machine.
SOLVENT
web: http://www.suctionrecords.com/
Suction is a label he helps run. He DJs the first No Beat Radio Wavelength night. Time of occurrence, March 5/00. Here is their last meeting:
An Incomplete Radio Transcript: No Beat Radio in interview with Solvent, Oct. 29/99.
NBR:
Suction records is a label that you co-run with Gregory De Rocher; and
he is Lowfish and you are Solvent; and you also release other people....
SOL: We release some other people, mostly so far it's been us. We started
off, basically, as a vehicle for releasing our own music. From there it's
just gotten a lot of attention, so it's actually turned into a bit of
a serious deal now.
That
serious deal is kind of across the board, it's not just here, locally...
It's actually probably not even doing the best here, compared to other places. We seem to sell a lot in places like Los Angeles for some reason, and we're starting to do well in Europe, as well.
Is
there any rhyme or reason to this; are these places you've actively sought
out, or have they found you?
There was a little bit of hype that was generated about the label to begin with... we didn't know that it was going to become something that we were going to spend the next few years of our lives totally involved in. It started off with some interest - we noticed people in Germany started emailing us - not many - but as we started taking it seriously, we had to pursue it, so that's what we're doing now. We're pursuing those markets, because that's where the real market is.
You've
done some of that through the internet too...
Yeah, definitely. We started off by noticing people on the internet that had radio shows or wrote for magazines, and we started sending promos to them and then those people started going up through the ranks... but that's how we made most of our initial contacts, for sure.
NBR:
One thing I always notice with both of you [Solvent & Lowfish] is your
titles, and they always seem to stick out, and I was wondering how you
choose them?
I guess the thing about instrumental electronic music is in the early 90's, the stuff we always get lumped in with, like Aphex Twin and Autechre; their song titles always seemed to me like they were "we don't care about titles, let's call it 'xyz9000 cubed' "and that sort of thing, I guess at the time maybe it seemed like an interesting idea but I came from a pop music background and I was always into song titles, so, as a reaction to that sort of thing I took the idea of a song title...
if I'm not going to have lyrics, I should at least set some sort of mood, and I always liked words and so it was important for me to spend some time and come up with some interesting titles.
The
other thing I noticed, which is a Suction trait as well as a Solvent trait,
is a sense of aesthetic. The whole cliche with this type of music to begin
with is that it was music with no personality.
I was never able to buy into all those cliches, I always wanted to give the music some kind of personality because my feeling about it when I was making it was I wasn't trying to be abstract, I just felt I was in the realm of instrumental music. So I wanted bold pictures, bold song titles, bold melodies. So from the packaging, to the wording, to the song titles, to the music I want everything to exude a certain type of personality.
I come from a background of the cult of the label, whether it was Mute, or even an artist with a real set image/way of presenting themselves; someone like Bauhaus, I was always into that idea of creating a "cult of the label" or a "cult of the artist" so that's what led me to wanting to do the same thing with Suction.
The
other thing I wanted to cover is the voice samples; and that was a theme
from the last album, too - little snippets and pieces that almost sound
like an instrument in themselves and suddenly end up not being that....
I used to listen to a lot of industrial music, Skinny Puppy and stuff like that and there was always a lot of voice samples. When I started making music, I was using voice samples as well. Now they would use voice samples that would actually say something, you know, very clich*d, industrial things like [assumes affected voice] "The War Is Coming, Get Prepared", so I wasn't using stuff like that but I was always trying to find clever little voice samples to throw in. And then I started feeling like "okay, this track has a certain type of mood and I'm trying to find something clever, are they working together?"
It never really seemed like you could find that all-encompassing sample, that actual statement that was going to sum up the emotion of the music. So I started getting into more chopping it up or messing it up; not just for the sake of doing it, but just because the sound of the human voice definitely adds something to the music.
The reason I started chopping it up was because it took away from the blatant message. Then I started realizing that it adds to the music and exactly like you say, it just became an instrument. I think "this song needs something...", well, then I start chopping up voices....
I
also wanted to comment on how, and I don't know if you're going to take
offense to this or not, but the two albums back to back kinda complement
each other in that it seems that it's definitely different but itis definitely
still Solvent and it's definitely a lot the same."
One of the ongoing things with electronic music in the nineties is that
it always has to progress and that to me is not working with my aesthetic
on music. I have an idealized aesthetic about what's good and what's not
and it doesn't necessarily have to sound like it's breaking boundaries,
because good pop music is always good pop music. It's not like I'm gratuitously
clinging to something, I'm just going for what's good.
It doesn't necessarily have to move forward, it doesn't have to go with the way the styles are changing - timeless music is timeless music...
Check out Solvent, Lowfish, and various other Suction collaborators at the very fine Suction website. No Beat Radio can be heard every Friday from 10 to 11 P.M. on CIUT, 89.5 FM.
http://www.angelfire.com/on2/dotdashrecordings/30.html
WRIST
ERROR
web: http://www.spoolmusic.com/wristerrorinfo.htm
Wrist Error are a duo whose deliberate/spontaneous aesthetic lurks within the spaces between dexterous intent and serendipitous chance, between the harnessing and surrender of control, a balancing act that requires both the settling/dismantling of sonic and gestural parameters and the confidence to risk, well, erring.
For over a year now, Kurt Newman (electric guitar, e-bow, pet-store comb, cheese grater, effects boxes, volume pedal, waveform generator/manipulator, etc.) and Mike Gennaro (customized drum kit, egg beater, muffin tray and other household items, not to mention the occasional turntable) have curated the Ulterior series at the Victory Cafe, home every second Thursday to recombinations of local, similarly-spirited musicians, and occasional host to such out-of-town luminaries as New York City's Eugene Chadbourne and Test, Chicago's Fred Lomberg-Holm and members of Montreal's Klaxon Guele.
Ulterior is also one of the few local outlets for free improvisation in the city, aside from Ronda Rindone's Improviser's Series at the Idler Pub every Saturday, Maury Coles' Improvisor's Pool at the Cameron House every Monday, and CCMC's Tuesday night residencies at the Music Gallery.
With a fervor for the subdued scrape-and-pluck intensity of the distinctly European axis of improv, Wrist Error pulse with a language all their own, one which always seems to convey (to me, at least) both the fleeting epiphanies and anxiously-awaited dread-end that need no translation.
Their debut CD, Tempo Tempo, is the inaugural release for Newman and Gennaro's own Ulterior recordings imprint.
Craig Fraid
ERIC
CHENAUX + MICHAEL SNOW + JOHN OSWALD
Wavelength is proud to present three of Toronto's most respected experimental musicians, performing as a trio:
Eric Chenaux (ex-Phleg Camp, Life Like Weeds, now with Michelle McAdorey), John Oswald (CCMC, world-renowed composer, the genius behind Plunderphonics) and Michael Snow (CCMC, world-renowned painter and filmmaker).
This evening of free improv from the outer planets will also feature a special screening of Snow's classic 1966 experimental film, Wavelength.
CURRENTLY
IN THESE UNITED STATES
1.
Check off your three biggest influences...
¯ Pavement
Sepultura
Gastr Del Sol
Tortoise
Radio Active Cats
Devo Manowar
¯ The Boredoms
Sex Pistols
¯ Public Enemy
2.
From those mentioned above, quote your favourite lyrics, excluding "I
am anarchy!"
Pavement: "Slavic princess with a rose in her teeth, do you suppose
she would bite you if she could, insane cobra split the wood";
Boredoms: "Coke is eet!";
Public Enemy: "Word is Bon, kids miss ya when you're gone, but life
still goes on, you think they give a fuck??"
3.
Your cassette is titled "Father-Son Reconciliation Scene", how
is your relationship with your father?
The same as always, only he can't tell when I'm being sarcastic or humourous
anymore.
4A.
From what age did you live in Milton and how has it affected your development?
From 11 to 18, and it made me bitter, cynical and apathetic.
4B.
As well as the lyrical content of your songs?
My songs are either about nothing or me freaking out about my relationships
with women.
4C.
Did other members grow up in similarly desolate environments?
Craig's from Newmarket, Alana's from Ancaster, Jonny's from Scarborough
and Mike is from North York. I think I lucked out.
5.
What is Currently's definition of Punk?
To find the answer to that, we look to the film C.H.U.D., about 73 minutes
in. That part. And a man's gotta be a man in order to be a man.
6A.
State names, ages, contributions and rank of the members of the band.
The only member of The Band I can think of is Robbie Robertson, and I
can't say jack shit because I never met the guy.
6B.
Draw a pyramid graph illustrating these ranks in the power structure of
the band.
Matt Alana Craig Jonny Mike Robbie (not presently in Robertson live version
of band)
7.
Holding Pattern has been together for three years and has a total of one
recording; what is Currently's year to recording ratio?
I wake up every April Fools day paralyzed with soul-crushing terror.
8A.
What mathematical symbol best describes your music? (Please circle)
‡ Ü % µ 1 † Á
8B.
Please circle the appropriate symbol to complete the equation.
Currently In These United States ( > = < · ) Holding Pattern
9.
What is Currently's favourite brand of beer?
My Christ is the same Christ as your Christ.
10.
Draw a Venn diagram comparing Holding Pattern to Currently in These United
States.
C.I.T.U.S. Holding Pattern
AN INTERROGATION OF THOSE CALLING THEMSELVES LEE AND SCOTT OF HOLDING PATTERN BY C.I.T.U.S.
1.
What do you eat that enables you to write kickass riffology?
Coffee, beans on toast, and Scott's famous green hummus.
2.
Being in a band is like being married. Discuss.
If Holding Pattern is a marriage, we're Mormons. Gay Mormons. Holding
Pattern is more like a family: Scott and Lee are the little boys (sexy
little boys) and Evan and Kristian are the Mommy and Daddy. Please don't
get a divorce.
3.
If a train leaves Mississauga at 3 P.M. and accelerates to 120 km/h within
12 minutes then cruises west for 2 hours, how many posters will an old
man on Queen St. rip down?
The answer is "Matt's ball-biting jaws". (Thought you guys could fool
us eh? We've ridden the GO train.)
4.
Which superhero best represents H.P.?
The Thing. (although the runner up would have to be Hen-Pecked Hero, the
name of Kristian and Scott's former band whom they are always trying to
turn us into.)
5.
If the first letters of your names were arranged as a word, which would
it be: KLES, SELK, or LEKS?
Lee: Of the three available choices KLES would be the appropriate answer,
though LEKS is not only our favourite vegetable but also represents the
order of importance.
Scott: No, Lee, ELKS would be a more accurate pecking order, and is also
a horned beast.
6.
Discuss the importance of Pineconesex-face to the Holding Pattern family
tree.
Though Lee was the only member of the pattern that was in PSF, Tim the
drummer for PSF originally thought that Kristian was going to be in the
band, not the similar looking Lee. Despite Tim's lasting resentment the
two (Lee and Tim) managed to remain friends, and eventually Lee, Tim and
Scott all lived together.
7.
Scott, you write righteous basslines. Is it your haircut?
No, but the hair helps me get the ladies.
8.
Lee, is there a name for that funky leg dance you do? (You may not sardonically
respond, "That funky leg dance".)
I personally have no name for it, but I have been continually and viciously
attacked for "pivoting".
9.
Evan seems to be in 18 bands. Is this due to the Evan Cloning Project
we've heard so much about?
Lee: Scott, do they know something we don't?
Scott: Perhaps, Lee, because WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.
Lee: Are they onto us?
10.
Where did Kristian get his glasses?
Hakim optical.
END!
Wavelength's deep space correspondent Aster Oid asked Toronto's new psych-rock trio Lead Pipe Study for a list of answers to non-existent questions.
The following is what they would have replied, in exact numerical order. The questions are infinite, actually. Create your own. Take questions from interviews in other publications. A whole world of vaguely amusing possibilities remain. Sound confusing? Good.
In the meantime, Wavelength crew members Paddy O'Donnell and Doc Pickles will question the answers:
1. Fuzzy dice, a mirrorball,
lots of red shag and ski goggles.
PO'D: Describe the last Beck video you saw?
DP: Welcome back Lead Pipe Study from your tour of Scarborough pool halls.
What impressions do you have of their fine city?
2. Parachute a hundred
highly trained monkeys on Nathan Phillips Square. They'd be heavily armed
and on skates so they would quickly control the ice. We figure it should
be smooth sailing from there.
PO'D: Assuming all fascist uprisings these days start from the palatial
surrounds of City Hall, what tactics do you think Mel Lastman will eventually
have to resort to in order to propel his Megacity towards world domination?
DP: Well you've certainly got quite a following in Scarborough. But how
do you plan to bring your music to the rest of the megacity?
3. Hot and sweaty,
extremely active, and above all polite.
PO'D: What was your lead singer voted most likely to be in the class of
1996?
DP: That sounds awful! What kind of monkeys?
4. Our facial hair,
volume, and ability to make a comeback.
PO'D: What's stopping you from appearing on Mike Bullard?
DP: Well at least they have their manners. But why would they do this
for you? What makes you think these sweaty monkeys can even skate?
5. Years of experience
in basements.
PO'D: To what do you attribute the musty odour emanating from the band?
DP: Why don't you love me?
6. Probably a combined
length of about 36 inches.
PO'D: A train, a bus and a blue Honda Civic all leave Brandon, Manitoba
at the same time. They are all travelling towards Truro, Nova Scotia.
The train is travelling at a speed of 70km/h, the bus is travelling at
a speed of 40km/h and the Honda Civic is parked at the nearest Tim Horton's
but planning on leaving soon. Assuming that the laws of space and time
are holding and the train engineer is drunk, how far apart do you expect
each of these vehicles to be in relation to each other when they pass
through Leamington, Ontario?
DP: How much bacon do you eat in an average sitting?
7. Everybody is within
reach, and is easily understood, but at the same time is trying to take
up as much space as possible.
PO'D: Describe your drummer's family life.
DP: Why do you want to hatch your dumb-sounding scheme at Nathan Phillip's
Square? Why not Ted's Wrecking Yard?
8. Absolutely. That
means no one's realised we've stopped playing.
PO'D: Have you found that audiences can't tell the difference between
the club's sound system and your live performance once your set's over?
DP: Is it better to have an audience of easily understood people?
9. He lights all our
joints with a kiss.
PO'D: Your personal athletic trainer works on your wrists, knees and elbows
to keep them from seizing up due to the pressures of repetitive motion
strain from an exhaustive gigging schedule. Describe his unusual homo-erotic
methods of keeping your limbs from feeling constrained and heavy.
DP: Why don't you let my dog go near your hamster?
10. That's depending
on whether the rabbits are dead or alive.
PO'D: Would you like to see a kinky magic trick?
DP: Will you be my love bunnies?