wavelength

	January 2001 Pedestrian Status Drummer Amor de Cosmos Bantam Brothers Steve Shiffman The Golden Melody Awards Marmots
	PEDESTRIAN STATUS WAVELENGTH #46: SUNDAY JANUARY 14, 10:00pm Bryce Clifford, like myself, is a disillusioned fourth-year student at the School of Radio and Television Arts here in Toronto at Ryerson. Unlike myself, though, Bryce knows how to play a mean rawk guitar (quit fishing for compliments, Dunsmuir! -- self-esteem ed.), the work-a-day, sleeves-rolled-up, jump-up-and-windmill-at-the-end-of-the-song kind whose lineage surely includes the likes of the three B's: Bob [Mould], [Paul Wester]'Berg and, most especially (and unashamedly), the Boss of the E Street Band himself. When he's not cameoing on stage-left in the mighty Co-operators, he's playing in his own outfit, Pedestrian Status. Being mutually-outcast RTAers, I figured it'd be fun if Bryce and I played a little game of "Mad Libs" (a party game where players are asked to supply random NOUNS and ADJECTIVES to complete a story) in lieu of an actual interview. Let me introduce you to a new degree program with a lecture that you can survey just by showing up here at Wavelength and watching the likes of PedStat, whose forthcoming CD is still in production but is planned to be released in April 2001: BACHELOR OF APPLIED SLOPPY RUCKUS ROCK -- DANCIN' AND DRINKIN' ARTS (ADMINISTERED BY THE SCHOOL OF WAVELENGTH) Program Overview: THE SCIENCE-CRUD ROCK SCENE in Canada is a continuously changing environment which requires motivated individuals who combine WIT with GRIT. The PRE-A. MORRISETTE/POST-WYATT EARP age will be most open to those with both MUSICAL and CRIMINAL skills and the flair to recognize and act on new opportunities. An appropriate academic background for this program would include the foundation skills developed in the traditional TIFFANY/POST-TIFFANY courses which stress TOLERANCE, THE COMPLETE 'WEIRD' AL DISCOGRAPHY and the application of MODERATE PENMANSHIP to achieve results. Performance, COMBAT-ROLL and 360-DEGREE-JUMP courses should be chosen HASTILY to develop and indicate interest. Pedestrian Status' Bachelor of Applied RUCKUS ROCK program is designed to prepare students to perform the wide variety of TUMBLES which make up the profession of LOUD-SPEAKER communications. The program provides an integrated series of JAMBOREES to equip students with PLAGIARISTIC skills and a foundation of RAUCOUS knowledge. (Depart-mental Secretary: Craig Fraid Dunsmuir)
	DRUMMER WAVELENGTH #46 SUNDAY JANUARY 14, 11:00pm So there's this family, see, a family of Bairds poised to infiltrate and undermine the very essence of what it means to play music in this city. Bryden takes out his trumpet and plays with anyone he feels like, he just has to show up. Jesse and Jason infiltrate GUH, The Co-operators and countless other outfits to contaminate them with the Baird virus. Dad Orrin seems to be the evil genius behind this operation, indoctrinating his sons with the means to lead the Baird strain to complete world domination. Is there really a Nazi rocket scientist in South America cloning the Baird DNA to create an army of Baird supergroups? We at Wavelength have heard that Menudo was a failed part of this experiment. Or perhaps the only non-Baird member of Drummer, Shotgun Jimmie, is the real mastermind behind this proliferation of Baird-mania... why else would they let him into the band? And what happens to Shotgun Jimmie when he needs to reload? This and many more invigorating and exhilirating questions are answered Sunday the 14th at Ted's when they duel Pedestrian Status for the ultimate rock-meets-rollerskate contest, in a battle to the death to see just who rocks the most. A must-see. A hot ticket. An event to discuss over and over, used to illustrate to your co-workers just how cool, how in the know you really are. A night where you finally understand how Drummer can turn technical difficulties into a way of life. -- Nora Charles Partial one-act plays from past lives of the Drummer: BUT NOT FORGOTTEN ACT 1, SCENE 1 [It is well into an evening in April of 1991, in the auditorium in O'Neill Collegiate in Oshawa. All stage lights are focused on a single microphone, in its stand, in the middle of the stage. The wooden stage stretches back into the darkness.] [A student sitting in the front row points excitedly into the darkness. He desperately traces the silhouette of a nine-piece drum kit for his friend sitting beside him. Two girls laugh as the sudden flash from a camera brightens the room, long enough for them to see the black and white stripes of a zebra-skinned Marshall stack. An outrageous sight to them, but the envied purchase by any high school boy at the time. The glowing red rubies from the affordable smaller Fender Champs, and other noteworthy amps, pierced the darkness like a string of Christmas lights.] [A form emerges out of the darkness. Screams accompany MC Chris Dell as he takes the stage. He tries to recite a poem he has written. The poem is called "Bed". Every time he starts, the audience interrupts him. In frustration he introduces the first band.] Chris Dell: "Ladies and Gents... BUT NOT FORGOTTEN!" [But Not Forgotten's front man is positioned in front of the mic, with guitar in hand ready to rock.] Frontman: "This Band stands for one thing only... PEACE!" [Audience boos.]
	AMOR DE COSMOS WAVELENGTH #47 SUNDAY JANUARY 21, 10:30pm Amor de Cosmos (reunited just for Wavelength!) went shopping for a psychic on Yonge Street on Saturday, January 6, 2001. The following was obtained: Psychic: OK. Two questions--what sort of band are you guys in? Leanne: We're in a pop rock band called Amor de Cosmos. P: And how long have you guys been together? Kenton: Hmm. Maybe we should be asking you! L: ...four and a half years, let's say. P: I get good vibes. Something brought you guys together for a reason. You guys are all related, aren't you? K: These two are [points to Rob and Duncan]. P: Brothers? OK. I thought there was something there, but I wasn't sure... I get good energy. You're all on the same spiritual level. Do you understand what I mean when I say "spiritual"? I'm not talking religion, OK? L: Are we going to record an album? P: It'll be in the works... November of this year. There won't be nothing signed, though, until January or February of next year. OK? I'm straight -- if I feel like this band isn't going to go the way it's supposed to go, or any of the gigs aren't going to go the way they're supposed to go, I'm going to tell you. It's going to go well. But the record deal -- I'd say... 2002, maybe early 2003... in that time frame. L: How will our gig on the 21st be? P: I get good vibes off it. But I'll tell you the truth: it's not going to go as planned. Something is going to delay you guys going on stage. I don't know if that makes sense... I'm just going with what I feel. Like... if you're set for ten, don't be surprised if you don't go on until quarter to eleven. But... I feel it's good, but it's not "the one" that's opening the doors. Is there a gentleman around you guys with salt-and-pepper hair? Somebody with salt-and-pepper hair who knows of the band -- and he might not know all of you guys personally -- he's really going to open a lot of doors for you guys. L: Duncan wants to know if there are any love possibilities, of finding a girlfriend through the gig. P: There's a specific woman there, right? Is she blonde? Duncan: Uh... I'm colourblind. P: I feel blonde hair, shoulder length, just past the shoulder. Hazel coloured eyes. Greenish brown eyes. About five foot seven. But nothing will kick off in that until May. It's going to be a very slow process. D: Nice! P: Summer Love. Hold your horses, but it'll come. Summer Love. Give it time... [to K] You do the writing, right? K: I do a good chunk of it, I guess. It's usually between Rob and me. P: That's good. You're a good team. You've been having a block lately, but that's ending, around mid-February. [to L] What do you do with the band? L: I play drums. P: You don't sing? L: I sing too. P: Your singing's your stronger point. Except you doubt it. [to D] And yourself? D: Mostly trumpet... a little bit of keyboards. P: Trumpet... you're fabulous at that. But I feel you doing more. I can't quite pinpoint what it is. I know you want more... you don't manage the band, do you? D: No. But I play in a couple of other bands. P: That's what it is! It's venturing off into the other bands. But honestly? Stay where you're at. Rob: Am I going to play guitar or bass at this gig? Do you get any thoughts on that? P: I get guitar... I get guitar... You know what? I feel you doing half and half. You're going to switch back and forth when you feel you should. Do that. [to D] There is somebody around you and your brother. Somebody protecting the two of you, a guardian angel. You guys are twins? D: Uh... no. K: They're just wearing the same coat. P: [to R] You've got the older spirit. [to D] And you've got the younger spirit. Even though you're older, you've got the younger spirit. You [R] act... too serious. R: Sorry. P: Too serious. But at times, that's good. It gets everybody moving. But be patient. Stop arguing. Settle down. You guys are rushing. Keep it at the slow pace and things will work out. Good luck. I wish you guys all the best.
	BANTAM BROTHERS WAVELENGTH #47 SUNDAY JANUARY 21 10:30pm If you were into the legendary Oklahoma City Frat Pack sound of the late '70s, you're probably well aware of the rise and fall of the Bantam Brothers. When their respective Tab and Fresca addictions snuffed out Evan and Paul Bantam's once-promising futures as American icons, they disappeared from the face of the music scene for close to two decades. Evan Bantam surfaced in Toronto fronting an innocuous "indie" project, Doubleday, in the mid-90's, but hardcore trailer trash fans were confused and dismayed by this music, calling it "pretty boy pop" and "touchy-feely faggot shit". The mighty Amor de Cosmos, however, were touched in a special way, and have hauled the Bantams back from rehab for what Wavelength organizers hope to bethe beginning of a soon-to-be-legendary comeback. Doc Pickles caught up with them at a strip club in east-end Toronto. It was difficult to get a read on what they were saying or how they were feeling, but the BBs seemed excited about getting back on the stage: What exactly happened after the Bowling Green concert in '83? Evan: We did some soundtracks. Paul: We don't like to talk about the old days. What puts the "broth" in Brothers? Paul: Chicken. Evan: Organic chicken. Paul: Free range. Evan: And it was the fault of the gunman. Paul: And marketing awards. Are people ready for the BBs' new look? They loved your Max Bygraves-on-diet-soda look in '78. Paul: The look is Dionne. Dionne sedate. Quite nice. Evan: We've been kind of lucky because we were cool, and then there was a period where we weren't cool, but now we're working on something good right now. Tell me about your days on tour with Platinum Blonde. Evan: The fourth member of Platinum Blonde painted my mother's house. He quit just before they got big. Paul: Oh my mens, my mens. We discovered old school. We do night courses in old school. Are you and America more than just "friends"? Evan: I must have blocked it out. I've had sex with that Courtney Cox after she was in that Bruce Springsteen video when I was playing bass. She must be, like, 60 now? Did that skinny guy really pop all those diet pills? Evan: We shouldn't really be talking about that. But yes. Paul. I've been getting healthy for a long time. Do you feel comfortable talking about your experience in the Ezra Pound rehab clinic? Evan: How about a canto to the park? When I see that fucking yo-yo again... Paul: We did some of our best work in rehab. Turned over a new leaf. A new bud. Tell us about the charity work you've been doing for housepets. Paul: Birds don't count. Evan: I'm tired of your anti-bird rhetoric, you anti-bird bastard. Paul: Hey, a Bantam is a bird. What are your plans for this upcoming Disney picture about Ted Danson and Tony Danza in a monastery? Evan: We pitched Disney an animated Life and Times of Louis Riel but they didn't go for it. Paul: In this business you knock on a lot of doors. Some of them open, some of them don't. So are you off the aspartame and high on life? Evan: The Bantam Brothers is a scared straight project. Paul: To get high.
	STEVE SHIFFMAN WAVELENGTH #47 SUNDAY JANUARY 21, 9:30pm Steve Shiffman, singer-songwriter-guitarist extraordinaire with T.O. trash-pop heroes The 4-Star Movie, talks to his old buddy Jonny Dovercourt about his upcoming solo appearance at Wavelength... It seems you have become a dual citizen, at least of New York and Toronto. Can you give us a cost-benefit analysis of living in both cities? It's true I have been spending a lot of time in both cities. It's true that Toronto is a lot easier on your wallet than NYC. I try to save going to the movies for Toronto, which sounds like a loopy concept. This is a rare solo show by Steve Shiffman. Why so rare? Can we expect to see more in future? I used to play solo shows all the time, and then I just stopped mainly because I liked playing in a band so much -- the process of exchanging ideas and being able to bring it together in a live moment with other people. And with a band there's more opportunities in the arrangement department, which is something I've tried to concentrate on for the past few years. But there's also a neat challenge in playing something bare bones so that people can really hear it for what it is, and in arranging it with one instrument so that it can still bend ears. In any case, I've amassed some new songs, so this will be a good way for me to exorcise them. It will be interesting to see whether people will be able to hear the arrangements I hear in my head when I play these new songs, and if that's an impossibility, then whether these songs work purely on their own. As for future shows, if I feel like doing it I will -- I pretty much just follow my gut when it comes to how and when I play. Have you seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon yet? If so, is it not ALL THAT?! What about O Brother, Where Are Thou? I have seen both. One of them twice. I had a film professor once who kept using expressions like "vis-a-vis" and "mise-en-scene". I won't do that. What on earth are you wearing in that photo? A five-week beard, I think. And now, the question on everyone's minds, what does the future hold for The 4-Star Movie? As soon as The 4-Star Movie is ready to roll again I will be there with bells on, but we are currently a member shy and both Darin and I feel strongly about continuing only when we find a balance with someone that can equal or better the energy we had. As anyone who has seen us in the last six months knows, there was something really special going on and to not hold out for that magic, even a different one, would be truly wasteful.
	THE GOLDEN MELODY AWARDS WAVELENGTH #48 SUNDAY JANUARY 28, 11pm A phone conversation between The Golden Melody Awards' Kurt Newman (best known for his work with improvisers Wrist Error) and Jonny Dovercourt: Who makes up The Golden Melody Awards besides yourself? The Golden Melody Awards is myself on lap steel, guitar and banjo, and Ryan Driver on Realistic™ analogue synth, organ, electric harpsichord, sleighbells and caterwauling. Can the GMAs be comfortably slotted in the realm of free improv? No. The easiest way to describe it would be a cross-pollination of minimalist composition and pop and country & western music. Is it similar to The Silt? Ryan would be better equipped to answer that, but I'll say that it's primarily instrumental, though The Silt have compelling instrumental passages. But it works in the same way that they take interesting and playful risks in altering or expanding on existing song form. We share that preoccupation, though playing with form is more the point. There's been a lot of talk about the intersection of '60s minimalism with pop or country in indie-rock, and we felt there was a version of that that we hadn't heard yet. What sort of setting can your music be best absorbed in? Really good in an elevator or on a transcontinental flight or at a tea party. Would you agree with the assertion that improv works best live rather than on record? I really love live improv and I really love improv records. I think I prefer to listen to records though, which probably goes against the grain. There's an exhiliration in live improvisation which very rarely translates to recorded medium, but very often that aspect overshadows the incredibly formal features as a compositional form. There's as much or more consistency within a body of improvised recordings as there is with any other form -- the way in which sounds are arranged, the way in which noise and pitch interact, the way small sounds are manipulated, the way in which space and dynamics occur. Will The Golden Melody Awards be recording soon? It's my sincere hope. I think Eric might record us on minidisc and he'll cook us spicy fries. So there won't be any overdubbing? One of the ways the minimalist pop thing happens is it stems from an interest in music where it seems there's barely enough happening for it to seem like music. How do you feel about the impending "awards season"? I love awards of all sorts, but I love The Golden Melody Awards best.
	MARMOTS WAVELENGTH #48 SUNDAY JANUARY 28, 10pm Marmots are cute rodents that live on the West Coast. They are also an eight-piece "chamber garage" ensemble led by composer Martin Arnold on melodica, along with Allison Cameron on organ, Stephen Parkinson on Casio synth, Ryan Driver on analogue synth, Doug Tielli on trombone, Sandy Baron on violin, Eric Chenaux on electric guitar and Kurt Newman on pedal steel. Despite the free improv associations of a lot of the players, Marmots isn't improv, is it? No. It's really about composing, but away from the accoutrements of European art music history. The person who's been playing hardcore or indie rock or free improv, if you give them a line of melody to play, their interpretation is so different than that of someone who's had it drilled in them how to push those long, arching German-sounding lines. If I give a line to Kurt or Eric, I'm more likely to get a blues inflection, but it doesnt' really become a genre issue. When they see a series of pitches, you get a different set of valences than you'd expect. What sort of setting can your music be best absorbed in? One thing I was aware of was that I wanted to move out of the rarefied spectacle of concert halls. I've always been drawn to lofts or informal spaces that way. This gig will be interesting because it'll be the first time we've been sound-reinforced. The ambient noise usually isn't that big a deal because the music can absorb it. It should come across as this sort of quiet, meandering, ambient folk music. You can just let it sit in the background if you want, but it can operate in a whole lot of different contexts. Marmots is really a direct response to being exposed to the free improv scene; my training is academic. I moved here from Victoria after I got my PhD, along with some other composers. We were all fairly sure we'd be working within the infrastructure of contemporary classical, but that all fell away. Was that liberating? Yes, definitely. The problem with the new music scene is it's always hitting its head against the financial wall, so all the talk turns out to be about support or grants. It's a real morass that way. I grew up with pop, I wasn't classical at all, so it's been great to get back to that garage-band aspect. It's better to deal with people who were thinking more about music than programming strategies. Can you tell me something about the animal marmots? They're whistling rodents, they make these sounds which come out as high-pitched melodies. The idea of a meandering tune that doesn't really come into focus was something that came really close to the heart. -- Jonny Dovercourt