In three short, productive years, Slugworth has grown from grunge band wannabe
to rock band certainly-is, a local group easily worth a weekend headliner slot.
If you're a non-believer, head to the Living Room this Sunday and grab a copy
of their new disc, their second, called Elevate. It's the sound of a
band with a clear and coherent vision and an ability to execute that vision
with style and enthusiasm.
"Back in 1995 I honed in on what vision I wanted," says
bandleader/singer/guitarist Satyr. "I wanted a power trio, a three-piece modern
rock band." Back in 1991, when grunge was beginning to take root, Satyr
discovered it to be his holy grail. "Hearing what was coming out of the Seattle
area really inspired me. I still don't hear much these days that stacks up
against bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple
Pilots. Today, when you listen to the radio you've got the heavies like
Godsmack, you've got rapcore, and then metal like the Slipknots and the
Systems. But there are also tried and true rockers, Nickelback, STP, Foo
Fighters, bands who like to write melodies."
There are lots of tunes on Elevate. Many will be magnetically drawn to
Nirvana comparisons, especially on songs like "Never It Seems" and "Tuesday
Mourning." Throughout the album, Rick Miller's bass bounces rhythmically in and
around Satyr's slashing riffs, while Dave Avery's drums add immense power and
some surprisingly tactile dynamic. If it sounds like the Nirvana formula, it
is. But that doesn't diminish its effectiveness. On the contrary.
"When a band works you can tell, and I think we've got ours working pretty
well," Satyr admits. "Part of it is hard work, part of it is luck, timing, the
climate, everything has to be going on to gel." You can hear them coalesce on
the epic Zeppelin-cum-Soundgarden thunder of "Painfully Aware," and the
visceral metal chords/arpeggiated shimmers on the opening of "Inspired." Then
there are the great guest spots: Shed's Dave Lysik and the brothers from
Donnybrook on the galloping, appropriately titled "Trampled," and the Freakshow
boys show up for a cameo on "Little Bag." "It was a blast working together with
everybody," says Satyr. "We worked pretty hard on these songs, and I really
feel like we nailed them."
Where Slugworth's debut, Myriad, was a decidedly local release,
Elevate is intended to be quite the opposite. The band will reach out to
any and all national outlets, gladhanding whoever seems to care, and marketing
themselves without reservation. Considering it's one of the best straight-on
rock records of the year, they have every right to be optimistic and
ambitious.
"This is a bona fide quality piece of work, the one that we want everyone to
hear even beyond the local scene." How will they get it out there? "Simple.
We've got to make contacts. We've got to go up on the scaffolding like window
washers and talk to people through their office windows. We've got to do
everything short of getting arrested."
Recorded with Joe Moody at Danger over the course of the past year, the
experience was spontaneous, satisfying, and fruitful. "Joe understands rock. We
had really good sessions in the studio and Joe knew exactly what we were after.
Besides, the studio is one of the few places in life, like going to the movies
or having sex, when your mind isn't cluttered with all of life's problems. It
feels great, it's zen. You can escape from all the crap. That's what we did on
this album. Escaped."
Slugworth's CD release party is on Sunday, December 9 at the Living
Room.
That Pendragon can find so much joy in recording after 18 years together is a
testament to the dedication of its members, the quality of their repertoire,
and the enthusiasm of their fanbase.
Pendragon is comprised of Bob Drouin on bouzouki, fiddle, and mandolin; Phil
Edmonds on whistles, button accordion, and synthesizer; Russell Gusetti on
guitar, concertinas, and five-string banjo; Mary Lee Partington on vocals and
bodhran; and Ron Schmitt, their most recent member, on drums and percussion.
Throughout their history, the band has embraced the many-tentacled traditions
of Celtic and Celtic-inspired music and presented them in their own inimitable
way, full of honesty, purity, and lots of their own stylistic verve.
But beyond being inspired by those traditions, Pendragon's music specifically
celebrates the lives and lore of generations of New Englanders who brought
traditions from Ireland, Scotland, England, French Canada, and other distant
shores to the banks of the Blackstone River. Their latest album, Finding Our
Way Home, the second album on the band's own River Folk label, is one of
their best sets yet, a perfect blend of the genuine and the stylish, and an
exciting hybrid of classic and contemporary.
"We're really happy with this one," says Gusetti, adding it's been almost four
years since their last release. During that time most of the band members had
busied themselves with the renovation of the Blackstone River Theatre, one of
the great area artistic revitalizations of recent years. "The theater got in
the way of this one," says Gusetti, "but of course it was worth it."
The hiatus gave the band more time to choose and develop new material,
something they've grown expert at during their stint as oeuvre explorers.
They've also spent the time learning new instruments and stretching new musical
muscles, and they were eager to display that strength in the recording studio.
"The whole project just fell into place. Every one of us brings something to
the table. We all play these various instruments and we wanted somehow to
feature the versatility and the diversity. We normally invite friends to record
with us, but because we had so much to do on our own, we limited it to members
of Pendragon. It was a neat ensemble project."
Mixed, arranged, and produced at Diamond Hill Studios in Cumberland with Barry
Martin, the record, limited to a two-week period, was a joy to make. "The setup
was beautiful, like an old ski lodge, and we were instantly comfortable," says
Gusetti. "Barry has excellent ears and great equipment." Their decision to
concentrate their recording time also helped them maintain creative cohesion
and focus. "Normally, when you record over a long period, you have to spend so
much time doing mike placement and other tedious stuff. But when you can record
every day, you don't have to fuss with that and you can just focus on the
creative aspects of your music. You also save time and don't burn out as
easily."
Finding Our Way Home represents the sheer breadth of musical territory
Pendragon can traverse, from homegrown jigs, reels, and slow aires to Cape
Bretton/French Canadian instrumentals and ballads, from contemporary folk to
worldbeat and a bunch of other unpredictable blends in between. "Everybody had
a big creative burst," Gusetti enthuses. "We wanted to get it out there. It was
very much a creative process, and because we made the commitment to record the
way we did, it enabled us to do all of this.
Pendragon's CD release party is on Saturday, December 8 at the Blackstone
River Theatre.
WANDERING EYE. Jimmy Jack Stark plays a solo acoustic show on
Thursday, December 6 at Brewed Awakenings (5 Memorial Boulevard, Providence)
from 8 to 11 p.m. Donnybrook's next show is at Lupo's with Tree
and Times Expired on Friday. Get there early. Good news for the
Marlowes. They've been invited to play at the prestigious International Pop
Overthrow Festival in New York City. The festival's inaugural New York showcase
will run through Sunday. This is the second time the Marlowes will perform at
the festival, the first being in Los Angeles in 1999 at the famed El Rey
Theatre on a bill that included the one and only Velvet Crush. The Marlowes
will be performing at the Luna Lounge on Ludlow Street in Manhattan on the 9th
with Gingersol, Asteroid #4, Rialto, and others. For more information, go to
www.themarlowes. com or www.internationalpopoverthrow.com. The Becky Chace
Band debuts the video for their single "Absolute Warhol" on Saturday(the
8th) at the Green Room. The entertainment begins at 9:30 p.m. and will
culminate in the video's premiere. The video is directed by RISD student
Dominika Jurazsek. Joe Rockhead and ZOX opens. ZOX, a Brown-based
outfit, churns out a dastardly mix of punk, rock, and reggae (with violin).
Colorful and promising. The show is 18-plus and admission is $5.
E-mail me with your music news, please, at b_gulla@yahoo.com.
Issue Date: December 7 - 13, 2001
