February 2004

WAVELENGTH 200

JIM GUTHRIE
LES MOUCHES
GLISSANDRO 70
BUILDING CASTLES OUT OF MATCHSTICKS
FEMBOTS
THE BAR MITZVAH BROTHERS
I CAN PUT MY ARM BACK ON YOU CAN'T
ULTRA MAGNUS
CONTROLLER.CONTROLLER
THE BARCELONA PAVILION
LENIN I SHUMOV
AIDS WOLF
SEA SNAKES
LES ANGLES MORTS
NINJA HIGH SCHOOL
TV MIKE & THE ALL-CANADIA ALL-STARS

WAVELENGTH MUSIC SERIES
ALL I SEE IS RED
HOLZKOPF
KIDS ON TV
THE DESERT FATHERS
WICHES
THE PATIENTS
WINTARY

ALL I SEE IS RED

Purveyor of: Broken-beat hardcore jazz
http://www.alliseeisred.com

Comprised of John Hornak on guitar, Sty Laroque on drums, Mike Owen on bass, and Michael Butler on sax, All I See Is Red is a relatively unknown dub-jazz quartet getting some amazing indie press. They're also working on a studio (BMF Studios) that promises to be among the biggest in Canada. Ryan McLaren got the lowdown from Hornak.

What's the story behind your name? Mike and a friend of ours, Adrian, discovered it. We had a speed hardcore project at the time. When that didn't work out, Mike asked Adrian if we could use the name. Plus, the colour control doesn't work on my TV, and the only colour that works is red.

You guys are working on a kick-ass studio. Care to explain the details? We're putting in an SSL 6040 console with a 2" reel-to-reel and ProTools. When it's done it should be one of the single largest studios in Canada. This is wicked for us. Mike and I have been making music on computers since the first audio sequencers with no mixer and a single mic. DIY. Now we finally have the chance to do what we want as opposed to what we can.

How would you describe your sound? What are your influences? I have no idea. Broken-beat hardcore jazz? We all come from different musical backgrounds. I think we all can agree on Fela, Bitches Brew-era Miles, Mahavishnu, Sonny Sharrock – pure roots.

How do politics influence your music? As far as the ideas behind the song titles go, we're just asking that person to question where they stand on a subject. Politics unavoidably affect my life. I think everything that we do, art and video-wise, is affected by the political atmosphere that we're living in, i.e what's on CNN, PBS, CBC news.

How does music influence your politics? The first bands I was ever really into were the Dead Kennedys and Fugazi. I think music is mostly political in nature. People who make music for a cause will inevitably make better music than those who make it as a hobby.

What do you say to people who uniformly blanket jazz and math-rock influenced music as pretentious and inaccessible? I'm not sure. People like what they like in the most part because of what social circle they belong to. To the majority of people, music is a tertiary priority. There's a lot of amazing music that exists because of people that really make music their main outlet for expression as opposed to those who do it for commercial acceptance. On the flip side of this, I'm sure the guys in Nickelback truly believe in what they're doing. There are different kinds of people and equally eclectic music to suit everyone's needs. The college radio in Canada is a great place to find innovative music.

So why did you start adding a strong visual component to all your shows? I think mainly because I was so sickened by most video shows that I saw. They're usually a 30-second loop over and over again. I remember seeing Spiritualized back in like 1998 and being so disappointed by their video show. Right now we have over an hour of footage that we've shot ourselves. I hate seeing bands that use Baraka as a backdrop. Ron Frike is a genius; it really sucks to see bands use someone else's art for their own gain. There are, however, people who make it interesting. Do Make Say Think, godspeed you! black emperor, and southpacific used to have a good video show.

What does the future hold for All I See Is Red? We have a new record that we're releasing now called Terrorists Have Cut The Power, a short tour of Canada, back to the studio, recording, and then off to Europe to promote this record and hopefully bring something new.

HOLZKOPF

WAVELENGTH 199 — Sunday Feb 8, 11pm

Purveyor of: Prairie destructo glitch
http://www.holzkopf.vze.com/

In Saskatoon the noise blows loud and fierce. Springing from the small but fertile Saskatoon music scene, Holzkopf makes no bones about it. His feedback can lick your feedback. Jam Butty corresponds.

State your name and interests. I'm Jake Hardy. I write the music for Holzkopf. I like muscle cars, stunt drivers, loud explosions and long walks by the river.

What's Saskatoon like? How's the food at Amigo's? Saskatoon has a great community for music. The city is small enough that there are very few "scenes." Instead, we're all friends. I go to Amigo's a lot. It's the only established venue that books good bands on a regular basis. They also have amazing food. I've played there a couple of times, but they don't usually book a lot of electronic music.

Do you work well with others? I played an all-out noise set in a 30-capacity venue on 1000-watt speakers with a friend who makes walls of sound out of screams and effects. He passed out and burst blood vessels in his face from screaming. I can't think of too many collaborations that would match that intensity. There are a lot of famous people I would like to work with in theory, but I wouldn't be comfortable enough to let it all out during a concert or recording session unless I got to know the person really well. I'm shy and famous people don't like to talk to me.

How do you feel noise and feedback can be manipulated compositionally Feedback is my favourite instrument. With the kind of mixing board and sampler feedback I use, I can have a lot of control over the types of sounds that are made. That said, my set-up never produces the exact same sound twice. I can compose a piece by knowing what kinds of sounds and textures I want to have happen at a certain time, but it's a little bit of a give and take relationship. Sometimes the feedback and noise wants to do something, and there's just no arguing with it.

"The microphone loves the speaker / But they can never meet / Singing so sadly with feedback / Does anything else sound so sweet?" I was listening to that in the car. What do you think? That's pretty cute. I'm not sure how to respond. In proper context this little poem could make noise music seem romantic like Tom Jones. There is a sort of blissful plateau that can be reached with noise when the microphone does actually meet the speaker, or when the sound in general becomes so overwhelming that nothing else is given space to exist. All this talk is making me sound like all I do is noise. I should stop before I give people the wrong impression.
Do you have any fun sound installation ideas? Not really at the moment. Sorry. I did do a few for class assignments while I was in university. One was a radio sealed in a ziploc bag and submerged in a fishbowl full of water. There was a microphone taped to the side of the bowl and it sort of faintly picked up the radio broadcasts through the water. It sounded like a ghost of a radio.

KNAR

WAVELENGTH 199 — Sunday Feb 8, 10pm

Holzkopf is touring with his pal Knar, another noisy electronic fiend who has released recordings on dtrash and Digital Hardcore. For more info, go to www.discogs.com/artist/knar.

KIDS ON TV

WAVELENGTH 201 — Sunday Feb 22,

Purveyor of: Political post-punk karaoke party

Kids on TV are a bunch of crazy kids from this here fine city. They sing about being nasty, boss-hatred, and drugs. Kristine K corresponds with the band:

Kids doin' it for themselves. What would the world look like with no leaders, and where do you come in?

A leaderless world is a world without power but far from a powerless world. Kid power is anarchistic, however TV's representation of kid power always re-imprisons this energy back into the status quo. By contrast, KOTV's power surge leads by example popping wheelies in the sun.

You guys talk about hating on bosses and working for the man. Are you guys fighters? Who in the band has the most threatening presence to Mr. Bossman?

Kids on TV are definitely fighters to the end. Right now John is the most threatening to the boss man. He has brought seven claims against his former employer (local gay eatery Zelda's) for making illegal deductions. It is definitely worth investigating the Employment Standards Act, you be surprised what is within your rights. Hopefully out of this, my former co-workers and I will receive retroactive payment for all the money they took from us. Maggie MacDonald (of The Hidden Cameras) said my superpower is giving pay cheques and boners to all those who need them.

If Mr. Bossman surrendered company profits to you, do you go live large in NYC or share the $$$ with the good people in your neighbourhood?

When I was last in NYC, screening a short film that KOTV made for the Mix festival. I found so many New Yorkers talking about Toronto, which has not happened on previous visits. They spoke about how their night life was dead, and that they know ours is going on at parties like Vazaleen. There were lots of artists from Toronto showing their work down there. Toronto is on fire right now, so we would invest in some logs to throw into the flames.

Your lyrics suggest a fixation with sexual power and control. Is the audience supposed to participate in your performance by dancing or making out, or are you aiming to control the audience, rendering them powerless and at the same time making them voyeurs?

It is definitely preferred if the audience is freaking out on the dance floor and everyone along the walls is making out with each other. We do enjoy playing with the idea of voyeurism, at some of our shows Mikey and I have performed in a bed on the floor forcing the audience to gather round and look down at us. Although it is most fun when people jump in bed with us.

How many of you Kids still live at home?

We kids are fiercely independent, we left the nest a long time ago.

When was the last time you heard the Mini Pops version of "Video Killed the Radio Star"?

It has been years since listening to those Li'l JonBenets sing their hearts out, but those tired, tarted-up tinies on the album cover will haunt me forever.

Which wayward-gone post-punk hero needs re-education the baddest?

David Byrne vs. Julian Cope? David lost all credibility when he became Paul Simon. Go back to the basement.

THE DESERT FATHERS

WAVELENGTH 201 — Sunday Feb 22, 10pm

Purveyor of: Purveyors of: Art-metal = avant-pop
thedesertfathers.com

While it seems like indie-rock is at a point where nearly every band getting praised in the press sounds like a mix between so-and-so and some rehashed 80's band, The Desert Fathers have recorded The Spirituality, one of the first purely original records in years – and the press love it! The album's producer Steve Albini called front-man Acquaman's vibrato guitar playing "cool as shit" and nearly every popular punk-rock magazine in North America has said that The Desert Fathers are among their top bands to watch for in the next few years. ryanlikestorock spoke with Acquaman by email to see what he thought about their unique vision, the attention from the press, Albini, and running their own record label.

Who are you?

Where are you from? What do you do? Robin (drums), Theo (synth), The Real (bass), Acquaman (guitar, vocals). Real and I grew up in the hinterlands of (New York City). By hinterlands, I mean asshole. I grew up in Rockaway, the place the Ramones sang about. We met because we used to work maintenance in this beach club. We used to get stoned and hide out in empty cabanas. Our drummer Robin is from Omaha. He moved here to rock. Theo, our synthesist, is a very new addition. He was temping at this law firm that we work at when we are tragically broke. This place is far from exotic, and even farther from enjoyable.

How would you describe the music of The Desert Fathers?

We've thought of a couple of monikers for what we do: art-metal and avant pop are our favourites. We sometimes tell people to imagine what Van Halen would sound like if they were doing a set of My Bloody Valentine and Nirvana covers. The music is part ethereal, part piercing. It's supposed to be trance-like, all-encompassing. It bends. The idea is for you to feel seasick. It's like lying in an old unfinished basement on acid.

Your debut album has created quite a stir in the independent arts media. How do you feel about that?

I think there has been some good stuff written about the record. I truly feel as if some writers/mags have been totally on the money. Stop the Pop, Indieworkshop, Delusions of Adequacy to name a few. And it's very pleasing to have someone understand a record so personal as The Spirituality. I don't want to come off as if I have a chip on my shoulder, but a lot of the bigger mags have no guts. They play it safe by writing about the same old tired shit. If I wanted the same old tired shit I would turn on the radio. This is supposed to be punk rock. I want a record to fuck with my sense of reality. I want a record to make me think I don't know shit. I want a record to make me think I know everything. I want it to confuse me and enlighten me. But the truth is, writers can't make money writing about more expressive/creative sorts of things, and bands have a hard time making money doing it, so no one does. But like I said, this is punk rock in an ideological sense, and if we are going to fail as a business venture, then God, fuck it – we want to go out swinging.

Why did you make the decision to work with Steve Albini outside his Electrical Audio studio. Why did you record in so many different studios?

Acoustics. We just didn't think the acoustics in Steve's studios were what we wanted for the record. But in the end, a good majority of the guitar tracks ended up being cut at Electrical anyway. Electrical is one of the finest studios in the world.

What's next for The Desert Fathers and your Threespheres record label?

The Fathers spring tour is what is currently on our minds. We have a Forms record planned for this year. We have a limited edition Fathers record we may put out, or perhaps have another label put out. New Fathers full length in early 2005. We're going to try to do a Forms/Fathers tour this summer. Our ultimate goal is to get Threespheres to the point where we are completely self-sufficient.

WICHES

Purveyor of: Triple-decker pop perversions

Randy Ray has been releasing albums and playing one-off shows in Montreal, NYC and Toronto for nine years. Originally called Randwiches, the new band is called Wiches. Nowadays, Randy will tell you his music is a cross between The Ramones, Erik Satie and Mississippi John Hurt. The line-up for this Wavelength show will be Randy on guitar/voice, Victoria Klingenstierna on organ/vocals, Paul Watson on sonorous experimentation and special guest rhythm section of Katia Taylor and Justin Small. As a pleasant twist, Randy turns the tables on us and asks Wesley J Ramos, Star DT and Jonny Dovercourt of the Wavelength crew some poignant and hard-hitting questions.

On a scale of one to ten, how much do you weigh?
Wesley J Ramos: Eleven.
Star DT: The net wt. of winter is 6.75 ozs.
Jonny Dovercourt: Heavy.

Who puts the "art" in artificial?
WJR: Rod Stew... his name no longer has any use for the word "art."
SDT: and winter has a regular flavour with Flouristan to stop tooth decay.
JD: Officials.

Jimmy Page – genius or drug-addled hack?
WJR: He produced Zeppelin II and Houses of the Holy so he had an iota of genius in him somewhere. But Page and Robert Plant are rock and roll's most notorious con-artists (and yes, hacks – drug-addled or otherwise), who would've taken credit for writing "O Canada" if given the opportunity.
SDT: A month ago I bought a huge tube of
JD: Gack.
Why do people like what they like until they love it and then hate it?
WJR: Are we still talking about Jimmy Page?
SDT: Crest tooth paste
JD: Dualism.

If Wavelength were a body of water, what would it be?
WJR: Lake Titikaka. Perhaps Apollonia will get naked and dive in.
SDT: and when I put it in the bathroom
JD: Superior.

If Wavelength were a baby, what would you name him/her/it?
WJR: If it were a girl: Jessie. If it were a boy: Jesse
SDT: I looked at it and said, "Winter."
JD: Wavelength.

It has been said that if Christ were alive today, he'd be locked away or killed before anyone realizes he's the Messiah. Similarly, what would happen if the Beatles (Pete Best era) played Wavelength?
WJR: Ol' Pete would have gotten really drunk and fallen down the Sneaky Dee's stairs, so the guys in the band would've asked Eric Abboud to sit in on kit. Then Stu Sutcliffe would've made out with your girlfriend while you went to the bank machine. Of course, George Harrison was under-aged during that time, so he would've had to sit next to Dwayne Slack all night.
SDT: December 4, 1968. (That was a quiz!)
JD: Apocalypse.

THE PATIENTS

WAVELENGTH 202 — Sunday Feb 29, 11pm

Purveyor of: Stomach-pumpin' rock'n'soul

Because they knew the band better and he knew his own questions would be completely rote and boring in comparison, Craig Fraid handed off his assigned interview with Stu and Chad of The Patients to mutual friends The Onakabazien and Mastapowerful. They drank beer and shot the shit while Craig did absolutely nothing. Thanks, guys!

The Onakabazien: So, what did you do last night? Stu: I spent all my livings on shit. Chad: I stayed inside on the pyramid.

The O: I went into an alleyway; each side of my brain went through a wall and I woke up confused. Mastapowerful: I got really fucked up! I figured out a lot of shit I had previously forgotten, and then I got really sick and almost died, and now I'm here talking about it and I don't know what sense any of it makes. So how do you guys know each other? Chad: Well, I was eating a vegan meatball sandwich that I got from Mr. Sub and it was Klankafied [O–speak, meaning bad or evil, often related to Freemasonry]. I took it back; I was freaking out and I was gonna complain. I thought it would be the same person I bought it from earlier that I would be complaining to, but it was this other guy who didn't know why there was a fingernail in my submarine. He had just taken over for the other guy and I was like "Alright, that's cool." I was like "Hey, I want my money back or a new sub or I'll sue you." We talked about jazz and he gave me a soda and said, "Let's do this!" So we came up with a lawsuit, but we didn't have enough money for a lawyer. While we were talking about how we would proceed, we found that we had the same taste in music, so we started playing in a band together. The guy I'm talkin' about is Stu, by the way. He's my little buddy.

Masta: Is it true that you recorded your new EP in a gold-plated, dollar-sign-shaped swimming pool? Say that five times fast. Are you Richie Rich? Chad: Ha ha. Stu: Yeah, I'm Richie Rich!

Masta: What is your idea for a perfect show? Chad: A lot of statues of sheep-children, cause I'm goat-horny. (Stu plays song on acoustic guitar)

Masta/O: Damn! That was beautiful. Masta: Is that something you've been working on, or did you just make it up now? Stu: Well actually, my mother used to serenade me with that song when I was 3. It is beautiful, isn't it? Chad: Yeah, that was beautiful. What was that line again? "Happy birthday dear Stuart, happy birthday to you?" He used to make me play that all the time, then I became imPatient and quit.

The O: Do you believe in miracles? Chad: This one night, I was at the end of the line, and I looked by the toaster and this rat jumped off the top of the fridge and landed into a bucket of water that was collecting ceiling leakage. Then I saw the light. Stu: The rat was probably after cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is a miracle!

Masta: So are you feeling that hit yet? (Chad pets Stu, Stu grimaces) Stu: You know, we're not lovers or anything.
(Chad frowns and leaves the room)

The O: Awww, look, you hurt his feelings. Masta: Apologize to that bitch. Tell us the miracle of cottage cheese. Stu: It's Friday fun for a Monday schedule. Hamburger Helper times Pi. Infinite wisdom.

Masta: Did you know you can make pie out of Hamburger Helper? Stu: I didn't know that. (Chad re–enters room)
Chad: But it couldn't be better than hair pie!

The O: When is the last time you both cried? I've been cutting onions for months, but no use. Chad: I just purchased this Roky Erickson diary off eBay, Collected Thoughts: '73-'84. I understood it. You can imagine.

Masta: I did acid with Roky Erickson! (Stu and Chad pause)
Stu: I met Lou Reed. He was cool...

Masta: Why are you guys such cunts?
Stu: Well, I... Chad: What?

WINTARY

WAVELENGTH 202 — Sunday Feb 29, 10pm

Purveyor of: The flaming laptops

www.wintary.com

Wintary started jamming in high school, took a break for university, and jumped back into the Toronto scene last November. Their sound is a stimulating mix of electronica, indie-pop, and the wonders of the tape machine. Peter Denes handles bass, guitar, and singing backup; Anthony Lorusso creates the beats and sequences, and commands the keyboard; Serge Slipache is responsible for guitar, bass, and singing lead. Wintary warmed up to Sarah Kolasky.
How has your day been so far? Peter: My car broke so I had to get a ride with Anthony so I'm sad. Anthony: And I broke his car, actually. We were working on a film with my dad's pick-up, and I backed up the pick-up into the back of his Jetta, and his Jetta went like wooshhhhhooo [illustrates collision with hands], so the back is all screwed up.

What are your favourite CD's? Serge: My favourite CD is Strawberry. It's a band from P.E.I. They've only released one CD, I don't think they're around anymore, but it's my favourite CD. It's called Strawberry, Broken Heart Audio. It's the best CD ever. Peter: I like Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers. And the last song I downloaded was by The Books. Anthony: The first Pixies album, Come On Pilgrim. It blows my mind away. The Pixies and The Flaming Lips are by far my favourites.

How do you go about writing your songs? Serge: I think it's pretty organic with us. I would have a riff that I'd come up with after listening to one of Anthony's beats, or I'd have a riff and we'd sit together and come up with a beat. And it just kind of grows, and that's why [our music] sounds different, I think, we just let it happen. Whatever happens to the song, we keep it. And then after we record it, we never go back and change it. [laughs] You get used to it so much that it just becomes a part of you, and even if you notice the mistakes afterwards, it is what it is, and it's done. You just move on to something else.

Since you are all involved in filmmaking, do you have any favourite films or directors? Peter: Well, I think since I went to film school, everyone expects me to say Godard or something, but I actually really like Back to the Future, Part One. I'm not ashamed to say it.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be? Anthony: I'd be a horse. A wild horse. I'd wanna be one of those horses in, where is it? Umm, I'd wanna be an Iranian horse. That's what it is.
Serge: An Iranian horse?
Anthony: A Persian horse, that's what I wanna be. A Persian horse.
[further discussion of horse]
Peter: I think I'd wanna be the biggest whale. Just swimming around...
Anthony: What kind of whale would you be? A killer whale, or a sperm whale or -
Peter: The biggest whale.
Anthony: A sperm whale.
Peter: Yeah, I'd go under water, and splash the water.
Anthony: That's pretty good.
Peter: Swim beside boats.
Anthony: You might get killed though.
Peter: Then I'd go really deep.
Serge: I'd be a monkey. A big monkey.
Anthony: I wanna be a monkey, too.
Serge: No, no, no, I'm a monkey!
Peter: A silverback.
Serge: Yeah, the silverback gorilla! I'd be a silverback gorilla.
[further discussion of gorilla]
Peter: I wonder, out of all our animals, who would win? Do you think a whale can beat a horse?
Serge: A whale is a vegetarian, isn't it?
Anthony: I can run away from Serge, though.
Serge: A silverback gorilla doesn't give a shite about nothing! A silverback gorilla stays in the jungle.
Peter: You can ride the horse.
Anthony: Oh man! Damn you! You're always telling me what to do, even in other lives!