Happiness is Pansy Division's revenge
(Oct. 25, 1998)
Pansy Division has one goal down, one more to go.
The first was achieved in 1992 when guitarist-vocalist Jon Ginoli and bassist-vocalist Chris Freeman, longing to live in a world where a gay rock band could exist, formed the punk 'n' pop group. Six albums later, including the recently released "Absurd Pop Song Romance" (Lookout!), they have set their sights even higher.
"Now our goal is: Why not be the first gay rock band to have a No. 1 hit?" Freeman said recently. "That's a powerful thing to go for, because that would mean there's a really big change in the world. That's what we're hoping for, but we want to do it on our terms. We're not willing to lose control what we're about in order to do that."
There may not be a No. 1 hit among the new album's 14 tracks, but that's unimaginative radio's loss. Pansy Division is funny, evocative and refreshingly honest. They're at their most compelling on "The Best Revenge," telling others "It doesn't get you anywhere to wallow in your own despair, 'cause happiness is the best revenge."
"Along the broad scope of Pansy Division," Freeman said, "when you're young and you're figuring out you're gay and everyone's pretty much telling you you're going to have a crappy life, you're going to be unhappy, so we sort of had that slogan as Pansy Division that we're going to be out there celebrating and being happy and having fun shows, rather than the dour Morrissey aspect. Life is what you make it, and if you want to have fun, have fun with it."
Pansy Division's popularity has been on a steady climb since its 1993 debut album, "Undressed," and a subsequent tour opening for Green Day. Freeman, however, noticed things tapered off with their last LP, "More Lovin' From Our Oven" (1997).
"It didn't seem to sell very much," he said. "We didn't want to spend a lot of money on promoting the record, but we did tour on it.
"A lot of people know we're gay already. At this point, after six records, people have heard about us and they know we're the premier gay male rock band, so now we don't have to shove it into people's faces anymore. It's enough for us now to try and speak for as many people as we can in the human experience rather than the singular thing. In the past, our songs have been shocking; we were out for the shock, at first."
Pansy Division always has been bare-bones punk rock, but it developed a pop edge when drummer Luis joined in 1996 and guitarist Patrick Goodwin was added a year later. Producer Steve Albini also gave "Absurd Pop Song Romance" an infusion of spirit and hook-sense.
In 1992, Freeman wasn't sure Pansy Division would work at all.
"We started in San Francisco playing to modest crowds," he said. "It was really strange, our first goal was, 'Let's play in a straight rock venue,' and we were really scared. We thought we were going to get beat up. We didn't know what was going to happen. We became successful in San Francisco, and we started selling tapes of what became our first record on Lookout. We were documenting the sales; we sold so many cassettes to this store, so many to that store. We went with Lookout because they had the money when we wanted it. It was really a crapshoot.
"The band has survived this long because Jon and I are tenacious. We've almost broken up a few times, but we just keep looking at each other, saying 'This band deserves to exist because the fans want it,' not so much because we're interested in being huge stars. I don't necessarily believe in destiny, that we were supposed to exist, but it is sort of weird that way. It's worth it, for some reason."
BWF (before we forget): Join Pansy Division on the Web @ www.pansydivision.com. ... The Pansy Division album discography - "Undressed" (Lookout!, 1993); "Deflowered" (1994); "Pile Up" (1995); "Wish I'd Taken Pictures" (1996); "More Lovin' In Our Oven" (1997); "Absurd Pop Song Romance" (1998).
Raid!!!! Papa Roach overruns rock with 'Infest'
(July 2, 2000)
At least one member of the rock-rap quartet Papa Roach enjoyed every minute of a rare two weeks off the road for the first time since February.
Drummer Dave Buckner spent time with his family and girlfriend in the group's native Vacaville, Calif. It was a welcome breather, diverting his attention so much that he was shocked to learn that Papa Roach's debut DreamWorks album, "Infest" (released April 25), sold nearly 100,000 copies last week, climbed to No. 12 on Billboard's Top 200 chart and recently was awarded a gold record for sales of more than 500,000.
"That's where it's at, at No. 12? Oh, man, that's nuts," Buckner said recently. "That's crazy. I heard we sold a ton of records last week. But I really don't want to hype up on the record sales, because the Backstreet Boys sell a lot of records but I don't like their music; I don't think they're the coolest thing on Earth. I mean, it's cool that we sold a lot of records, but that doesn't necessarily make us cool. It just means we sold a lot of records, which is cool for me because it means I don't have to have a day job."
That's the P-Roach philosophy in a nutshell: Have a blast while it lasts.
"I never expected this," Buckner said. "There's always like talk when we were kids hanging out with friends in the living room. We were like, 'Man, if our band got signed, we'd do this and we'd do that.' But I don't think anyone ever really thought we'd ever get this far. I always thought it would fizzle away and we'd go on with our lives, but this thing just kept on building. We made a little snowball and tossed it into an avalanche.
"In this business, there are no guarantees. Who's going to know in the long run if it's going to work out or not, but at least we're having fun right now. I'm making a little money to put away for after I'm done being a 'rock star.'
"I'm hoping it lasts, but you've always got to prepare for that rainy day. You can't just 'Party like a rock star' till it's all over. I'm having the time of my life right now, but just by watching VH1 and 'Behind the Music,' you know this shit does not last forever. Hopefully we'll be able to make records that we'll believe in and that are successful enough to keep us afloat. Nothing's forever."
Still, with "Infest" and the riveting first single, "Last Resort," swarming the charts, four guys from the onion capital of the world sure have beaten back the odds.
Buckner, singer-writer Coby Dick, guitarist Jerry Horton and bassist Tobin Esperance formed Papa Roach while in high school in 1993. They were just kids in a garage band kicking out the jams, but somewhere along the way they developed their own gritty, aboveboard metal-meets-hip-hop style.
The more they toured (playing in clubs they weren't old enough to enter), the better they got and their following swelled.
By the time they graduated, they already had a self-released album, 1995's "Caca Bonita." Other discs followed, as did some high-profile gigs, touring with Kid Rock, Static-X, Incubus and Bad Brains.
"As an underground band, we went through cycles where sometimes things were up and a lot of times things were really down," Buckner said, "not musically and rockin' shows, just in the department of 'I'm broke,' 'How am I going to make my rent next month?' I went through a lot of down periods, where I was barely scraping by. It was especially hard right before we got signed; I had zero money. There was no money in the bank or in my pocket. In a way, it was kind of liberating, because I'm poor so even if people do come after me for money, 'Sorry, I don't have anything to give you.'
"I did a lot of stuff right before the band got signed. I had to take odd jobs because those were the only ones that would work around the band's schedule. I had offers to work at Wells Fargo doing computer stuff, but I couldn't take it because they wanted me to be there from 9 to 5 every day. Imagine that. I'm like, 'I can't do that, I'm in a band.' They're like, 'Get out of here, Buster. Good luck with your band, but you can't have this job.'
"Things weren't always to this degree now. It wasn't like we were always this focused, this well-oiled machine. We started out as a garage band, just kids having fun, and we just kept taking it to the next level until it got to where it is. We always felt we had to step it up, that you can't be happy with where you're at musically. You have to keep evolving and keep things new and exciting."
DreamWorks entered the picture, impressed with the band's musicianship and Dick's bold, candid lyrics. "Infest" tracks touch on suicide ("Last Resort"), attention deficit disorder ("Thrown Away") and alcoholism ("Binge").
"Broken Home," about the impact of divorce on children, especially hits home.
"There's some statistic I heard that half of all marriages end in divorce," Buckner said. "Not all marriages have children involved, but I'm saying there's a lot of kids out there whose parents are divorced. Or at least in my case, my biological father wasn't there to raise me. My adopted dad is the one who was there for me. It's the same with Coby's life and Tobin's parents are divorced. That song hits home for three out of four of us.
"I'm not bitter about it, but Coby's had some issues to deal with and that's why he wrote the song the way he did. I've got to admit, the first time I heard the song, I was like, 'Damn, that's heavy.' "
Now, about that band name ...
"We admit that Papa Roach is one of the stupidest band names ever," Buckner said, with a laugh. "We thought of better names. I got tired of the band name real quick, I was like, 'Let's change it, like shorten it down to P-Roach,' but by the time it got to that point, we had already developed a fan base and it was too late.
"Coby's stepdad's last name is Roatch, and their grandfather was always called Papa. It's as simple as that. Everyone's like, 'You smoke roaches, right?' That's when we decided to make the meaning of the name about the actual insect. Coby sees it as being a mascot, a symbol of longevity, because after the nuclear war, the only thing left is the cockroach.
"I like to use the analogy of what's going on with us right now. Like after this whole rap-metal craze is over and has seen its day, we still want to be around making music. We want to have longevity to our career. After the fat is over, we will be able to overcome that, because we actually write songs that are good and mean something to people."
THE FIRST RECORD I EVER BOUGHT: "Beastie Boys' 'Cookie Puss.' I bought it on tape. The Beastie Boys changed my life. I got into them because my uncle, who was in high school at the time, used to babysit me and he'd play 'Brass Monkey' all the time. I looked up to him and wanted to do the things he did, so I went out to the record store and bought 'Cookie Puss,' not knowing they had the other record ('Licensed to Ill') out at the time. 'Cookie Puss' is one of their old French imports. I was listening to it and thought, 'What the hell is this? It's not anything like 'Brass Monkey.' But I was intrigued by it; one of the songs is nothing but them making crank calls to an ice cream store. On the flip side, it's a dub reggae kind of song."
THE FIRST CONCERT I EVER WENT TO: "The Jacksons' Victory Tour. My mom took me. I was like 8 years old. It was awesome; I wondered, 'How did they put this together?' It was cool to see a concert at that level and see what it's all about."
THE LAST CD I BOUGHT: "Well, it might be better to rephrase that question to 'What am I listening to lately?' That would be the advance CD of hed(pe)'s new record. I'm friends with the drummer, and we're talking about doing some shows together, so he floated me an advance copy. I'm getting into it right now."
BWF (before we forget): Papa Roach is infesting the Web @ www.paparoach.com. ... The band is scheduled to appear July 14 on NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." ... The Papa Roach album discography - "Caca Bonita" (Onion Hardcore, 1995); "Old Friends From Young Years" (1997); "5 Tracks Deep" (1998); "Let 'Em Know" (1999); "Infest" (DreamWorks, 2000).
Graham Parker: No more Mr. Nice Guy
(Oct. 3, 1996)
Look out, G.P. is on the loose again.
With last year's "12 Haunted Episodes" behind him, Graham Parker has gotten the wispy, acoustic touch out of his system. His new Razor & Tie album, "Acid Bubblegum" (released Oct. 1), welcomes back the G.P. we know and love: You know, the one capable of eloquent, deeply twisted tirades.
"I thought this record should be diametrically opposed to my last album," Parker said recently from his home in Woodstock, N.Y. " '12 Haunted Episodes' was very acoustic, basically a 'Blood on the Tracks' and 'Astral Weeks' kind of album, unashamedly. That was the area I was going for with that record.
"I thought this one should be more pissed off. I thought it was time for that again; I felt in that mood. That was the kind of songs I was writing, and it became apparent that I should sequence it in a way that people get the general drift, that G.P.'s back and he's pissed."
Few escape Parker's wrath among the 13 tracks, from the Gulf War blast "Turn It Into Hate" to "Obsessed With Aretha," in which he skewers R&B wannabes. Then there's the intensely personal rumination, "Sharpening Axes," declaring "I'm not selling molasses, I'm not pushin' tea/ I don't appeal to the masses, and they don't appeal to me."
"Lyrics should be fun, fun in whatever direction you're taking," Parker said, "whether it's the pastoral, bucolic '12 Haunted Episodes' thing or 'Impenetrable' (off the new album), which is nightmarish. It's almost classic rock. It's Zeppelinish or something, I don't know. There's something about it, it's heavier than anything I've done for a long while."
"Get Over It and Move On" also is vintage Parker, latching on to a hook and reeling in listeners with typically vivid imagery.
"Again, it's lyrical games," he said. "That's another nightmarish lyric. I think I woke up from a particularly twisted dream, something about a girl with an umbrella breaking my legs.
"It's like word association and scene association. In a way it's a bit like the song from 'The Mona Lisa's Sister,' 'Get Started, Start a Fire,' where there's a lot of imagery about something that makes sense internally and it's followed by a punchline, a chorus."
There's no magical way of writing songs, Parker said. He just sits and lets it fly off his pen.
"Most of the stuff is junk, it's too literal or too ordinary or mundane," he said. "Then I get into other areas of thought, which are not so normal areas of thought, and that's where I get my best lyrics from.
"It's sort of like an out-of-body experience, where words are coming and ideas are coming. It's a period of flowing, and in that period, about two months, that's where I write a whole album."
"Acid Bubblegum" came to him quickly, especially in the studio.
"Nearly always I try to get the track down in the first or second take," he said. "This album was no exception. I cut 14 songs, as a matter of fact, complete with overdubs and everything in 13 days. I was tear-assing around with the coffee machine in the studio. I was literally sprinting to get it done and keep it hot and not let anything get stale at all.
"Most of the tracks were first takes, and that's the way I like to work. Beyond that, you really start to lose perspective. They lose their immediacy. If something grooves and there's no major mishaps and the drummer looks happy, that's usually my cue."
Parker's biting reversion comes at the right time: On Oct. 1, Arista reissued his landmark "Squeezing Out Sparks" and packaged it with "Live Sparks" on one disc, and last month the New Jersey-based indie Buy or Die released the tribute album "Piss & Vinegar: The Songs of Graham Parker," featuring cover versions by the Smithereens' Pat DiNizio, The Figgs and Frank Black, among others.
"I think these labels have departments that specialize in 'Okay, let's go down from A to Z,' and when they get to the P section, Parker pops up and 'Okay, let's repackage Parker,' " he said. "Fortunately, I've been dealing with individual people (at Arista) who care about the record. They're into it. The great financial machine, though, doesn't give a damn."
BWF (before we forget): The Parker album discography - "Howlin' Wind" (Mercury, 1976); "Heat Treatment" (1976); "The Pink Parker EP" (1977); "Stick to Me" (1977); "The Parkerilla" (1978); "Squeezing Out Sparks" (Arista, 1979); "The Up Escalator" (1980); "Another Grey Area" (1982); "The Real Macaw" (1983); "Steady Nerves" (Elektra, 1985); "The Mona Lisa's Sister" (RCA, 1988); "Live! Alone in America" (1989); "Human Soul" (1990); "Struck By Lightning" (1991); "Burning Questions" (Capitol, 1992); "Graham Parker's Christmas Cracker" (Dakota Arts, 1994); "12 Haunted Episodes" (Razor & Tie, 1995); "GP & The Episodes, Live From New York, NY" (Classic Compact Discs/Razor & Tie, 1996); "Acid Bubblegum" (Razor & Tie, 1996); "The Last Rock 'N' Roll Tour," two-disc live set, Graham Parker & The Figgs (1997).
Rahsaan Patterson isn't star-trippin'
(April 3, 1997)
From the moment he first sang in a church choir at age 6, Rahsaan Patterson appeared destined to serve and protect "straight-up soul." He just didn't know when.
"I've had quite a few opportunities to make an album since I was 15," Patterson said recently from his home in Los Angeles. "But I felt I wasn't ready then. I wasn't comfortable with lyrics and being put out there for the world. I had to get the confidence first."
It was worth the wait: His first brush with stardom came as a cast member of the music-oriented TV series "Kids Incorporated." Then came commercials, demos and backup sessions. He then honed his songwriting style with friend Jamey Jaz, co-writing the platinum-selling "Baby" for Brandy and "Back to the World" for Tevin Campbell.
Now, with the release of his self-titled debut MCA album, the 23-year-old Patterson has truly arrived. He appreciates the words of critical praise heaped upon the album for its searing, soulful nod to idols such as Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan, but Patterson said he is just following his natural course.
"It was never a dream of mine as a child to make records," he said. "This was just the next step. As a kid, I dreamed of a better place outside this world, of open fields, flowers and trees. I never had dreams of being a star. It isn't what I'm about. There's nothing wrong with having those dreams, but it's just not me."
Patterson said R&B-driven singers like D'Angelo and Maxwell have made it easier for him to be accepted, but he is tired of constant references to "old-school soul."
"It's not new," he said. "Soul never went anywhere. I just want the music to speak for itself.
"I grew up on Phyllis Hyman, Tavares, Rufus, Randy Crawford and soul songs that were orchestrated with strings. I wanted to do what came out of me. It's not about a classic '70s soul movement. It's back to basics. Some people are making it more complex than it is."
BWF (before we forget): Fans can find out more about Patterson on the Web @ www.mcarecords.com.
Paw puts its imprint on the rock world
(Dec. 10, 1993)
Candlebox, the pseudo-grunge act signed to Madonna's Maverick Records, has been bad-mouthing its rock counterpart, Paw, in its own backyard.
At least that's what lead singer Mark Hennessy hears from a bartender at their regular haunt in hometown Lawrence, Kan.
Hennessy and bandmates Charles Bryan (bass) and brothers Grant (guitar) and Peter Fitch (drums), bleary-eyed from eight months of nonstop touring in support of their A&M debut album "Dragline," are in Austin, Texas, and someone runs in to tell them Candlebox is in town.
"No way," Hennessy shouts to the visitor. "Find out what time they're playing and we'll go there and make some trouble." Hennessy explains the situation, foggy as it seems:
"The last time we came through Lawrence, the bartender says, 'What's wrong with Candlebox? What happened between you and Candlebox? They didn't stop saying bad things about you the whole time they were here.'
"We've never met the guys in Candlebox. We don't know anything about Candlebox, so I'm going to threaten one of them to find out what's going on and just make it more interesting. If there's some animosity between us, I want it to be for a reason."
There's certainly no comparison between the two bands, other than both play hard-edged melodic rock and have become critical favorites this year.
Hennessy then tries to downplay the inexplicable feud with Candlebox, saying he's a snob when it comes to bands anyway, since he personally prefers the sweet sounds of Kate Bush and Tori Amos over any rock group (excluding maybe Tad ... and Paw).
Paw, above all else, isn't afraid of anyone or anything, because it has succeeded even beyond its own wildest dreams.
With an impressive demo and an equally eye-opening performance at Austin's South By Southwest music conference two years ago, Paw knew there was no place like home when the major labels came calling.
Is it to their advantage being away from the rock capitals?
"Totally," Hennessy said. "Personally, it's to my advantage because it's a nicer place to live and breathe. It's a nicer place to grow as a band. It's cheaper and more comforting. I can't think of any disadvantages, really.
"It's happened for us, even though we live in Lawrence."
The underlying theme of the tracks on "Dragline," from a runaway boy's love for his dog in "Jessie" to the sexually explicit "The Bridge," is simple: it's okay to love and hate a person at the same time.
"It was just a product of what was happening in my life at the time when I wrote those songs," Hennessy said. "I'm not a chauvinist and I'm not a sadist by any means, but it seems like I've been in too many relationships where women make me feel sadistic or crazy.
"If the record was written today, it probably wouldn't be written that way. Now we've all matured to a certain point. We've not as angry or out of control with some of our emotions."
Doing right by Buddy: Rush's Neil Peart pays tribute to a drumming legend
(Oct. 14, 1994)
Singer Geddy Lee and his wife are happily immersed in parenthood, while his Rush bandmate - drummer Neil Peart - has been busy with a baby of his own.
During down time away from the Canadian power-rock trio, Peart assembled some of today's greatest drummers to perform big-band arrangements in a tribute to late drummer/bandleader Buddy Rich.
As producer of "Burning For Buddy: A Tribute to Buddy Rich, Vol. 1" (on Atlantic Records), Peart found himself in a completely alien environment.
"It has been such a positive experience, even though the recording wasn't the greatest two weeks of my life," Peart said in a recent phone interview. "As difficult and stressful as it was, and being the leader and the diplomat and sometimes I felt like I was going to have a heart attack or a stroke, still the people I came in contact with and the magic that we created I will enjoy, I'm sure, forever."
The guest list was a who's who of drummers. Among them: Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson), Billy Cobham (Miles Davis, Quincy Jones), Omar Hakim (Weather Report), Simon Phillips (The Who, Peter Townshend), Ed Shaughnessy (Count Basie, Doc Severinsen), Matt Sorum (Guns N' Roses, The Cult), Steve Ferrone (Average White Band), and - of course - Peart, considered by many the best rock drummer around.
Each drummer performed with the 15-piece Buddy Rich Big Band, recording - in Peart's words - "entirely live off the floor" over two weeks at the Power Station in New York. The album's first single is a big-band version of Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces."
The "Burning For Buddy" concept is a result of Peart's disappointment over his performance in the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert, organized by Rich's daughter, Cathy, in 1991.
"I spent a lot of time preparing for it and rehearsing for it and trying to learn as much about the styles as I could and getting advice from drummers I knew," he said. "My expectations were so high and I worked so hard to make it perfect that when situations beyond my control made it come off less than perfect, I was at first disappointed.
"But being a logical positivist, I turned it around and said, 'Hey, we've just got to do it again and do it right and then I'll be happy.' Sure enough that was the panacea, and that's been in my mind over the past several years. Making this record, for me, put that ghost to rest, playing big-band music under controlled circumstances."
Like many his age and younger, the 42-year-old Peart was exposed to Rich solely from his regular appearances on "The Tonight Show."
"He was (Johnny) Carson's perfect foil," he said. "He could come out and do an amazing performance with the band and a stunning drum solo and then come up and trade wisecracks with him.
"People have a misconception that I'm a longtime hero worshiper of Buddy Rich, that this fulfills some long, frustrated ambition. It's really not like that. I only saw him on 'The Tonight Show.' I didn't buy his records. I never saw him play. I never knew him.
"He was just the greatest drummer in the world, and that was that."
Rich died in 1987.
Peart's own fascination with drums began when he saw "The Gene Krupa Story," the 1959 movie starring Sal Mineo as the drumming legend. His interests shifted to rock, inspired particularly Keith Moon of The Who and Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Years later, he rediscovered his affinity for big bands.
There is no comparison, Peart said, between making "Burning For Buddy" and anything he's ever done with Rush.
"Rush is a self-contained cottage industry, in the truest sense that we make ourselves happy all the time," he said. "It's not a democracy where two guys vote for their ideas and the other guy's left out. Everybody has to be happy.
"The thing we do have in common with big-band music is that we really like a well-arranged structure within which to be free. All of us like to have a framework established beforehand, which is a hallmark of a big-band arrangement."
Considering his own standing in the rock world, Peart doesn't let the glowing adjectives go to his head.
"I know where I've learned everything, so I'm properly humble about it," he said. "I just know that I'm a product of all that I've learned and that I stand on the shoulders of giants. I love that quote because it's so real.
"Anything anyone might admire about what I do, I can pretty much tell them where I learned it, adapted it or was inspired by it. They all come from somewhere."
BWF (before we forget): The second volume of "Burning For Buddy," released in June 1997, featured the work of Kenny Aronoff, Bill Bruford and Simon Phillips.