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Greetings from beyond the grave:
In the midst of The Nebulas' self-imposed "creative hibernation," I had a
chance to catch a rare double-surf bill on the way home from our Utility
Noodle Research Sewage Facility (appropriately named for the way it smells,
not because of what we're working on). Boston's own Gein & The
Graverobbers traversed down the modern-day river Styx (aka I-395) & arrived
in Hades (aka New London, CT) - home of the Coast Guard Academy and
Connecticut College (where rich people like Alan Alda's daughter go to
school) to join forces with 9th Wave.
Actually, there were three bands on the bill in the upstairs performance
loft of the converted fire station known as Station 58. First up were the
Skinwalkers in their first public performance - originally billed as
"garage," this four-piece local combo actually exuded more of a mid-80s
goth-pop vibe with more non-surf effects & processing on the guitar than
warrants further discussion on any of these lists. They were actually
pretty tight & for some reason drew the largest crowd of the night ( Idon't
know - first show? lots of friends?). Suffice it to say, if you have
digital cable & saw The Cure's live version of "A Forest" on VH-1 Classic at
3:30am & liked it, you have an idea of where these guys are coming from.
The lead guitar player (and I guess frontman) really looks like Robert Smith
after a month off coke and in a McDonalds (ignoring the nutrition chart
posted near the bathroom of course). Yes, he was overweight &
disheleveled-looking. But enough about them... it's surf time.
Next up - Gein & The Graverobbers: Fiery performance and morbid-looking as
usual - by design of course. I hadn't seen our Beantown bretheren (and
sisteren) in well over a year & I missed them. They picked up right where
I last saw them - dominating lead guitar - furious lo-fi double-picking with
the ghoulish presence that can only be Gein! After vacationing in the
netherworld, original drummer Sloth has resurrected his position atop the
pile of involuntary post-mortem stool (drum stool, that is) & rarely missed
a beat. The performance was excellent - guitar way up front in the mix
without the help of the sound guy - it was ALL the '64 Twin. I am now
convinced: if you're going to play through a Twin - suck it up and get a
pre-CBS - There IS a difference. After touring with our very own Senor Rudy
"Dirty Sanchez" Rodriguez-Dominguez Jr. III (who also owns a 64 blackface
Twin), and hearing Gein's green reissue Jazzmaster through one, I can
honestly say my hearing is now impaired, but the quality is worth it. In
this drummer's opinion, nothing beats a Showman, but if you're playing an
away game & can't smear blood on someone else's carpet & don't feel like
towing your Super Six with you, the 64 Twin will show you the path of
darknesss. In addition to playing songs from "Hang 10," The Graverobbers
previewed a bunch of new tunes from their forthcoming CD, "Songs in the Key
of Evil" due out in a couple of weeks, which would coincide with the full
moon, or is it the new moon? I don't know - well, one of those lunar
phenomenae. Anyway, you can pre-order this slab via paypal right here
I just did - and damn me to hell. If you like The Phantom Surfers (sans the
porn), The Mummies, The Trashwomen (sans the occasional shreiking) & any
kind of authentic lo or mid-fi surf in all of its raw beauty - the way it
sounds when you play it live - then get this.
Taking the stage after Gein, 9th Wave busted out an aggressive set
containing the harder-edged songs from their last two albums (reworked in
full with organ and/or rhythm guitar and in some cases, flute) as well as
select cuts from their forthcoming release, Time Tunnel (due out in 2003).
The permanent fixture of Sandy as the multi-instrument utility player
really adds another dimension to their sound & really fills it out, without
taking away from the lead guitar or rhythm section. After the mild exodus
of the Skinwalkers' booster club, the crowd remained consistent through both
Gein & 9th Wave's set. Still, there were more people watching this event
unfold upstairs, than there were in the bar downstairs taking in P-Diddy's
All Star Hip-Hop review. So I guess surf is still alive in the east,
despite the zombie makeup.
toofastjim
The Nebulas
www.thenebulas.com
