Along with just a handful of other bands in town, the Midnight Creeps have made
significant inroads towards utter and complete world domination over the last
half a year or so. The sleazy ones are now poised to drop the first bomb in
their musical campaign this weekend. It's called Punchin Skanks, Live at the
Venu, and it captures the ghoulish punks in fine raw-meat form. Until now,
the only way to hear the Creeps live were from some old bootlegs. "In the
beginning it's pretty embarrassing to hear yourself," says Jen Creep. "There
were some recordings people had where you could hear people near the recorder
talking about embarrassing things, too, which is really funny."
But it wasn't until a kid named John Linni introduced himself to the band and
proposed to record them that a proper live disc became a reality. "It all fell
into place. We met this kid John, who works for Blue Man Group in Boston, and
decided to record it with him. I'm sure we won't be happy with it forever. But
it sounds good, beefy, really clear, and we didn't screw up at all. He mixed it
at his studio. He was really easy to work with." Basically, the band tinkered
with the natural tracks a little, boosted the background vocals, and the guitar
tracks, and voila! A live CD is born. The track listing, for those
collector-types, is as follows: "I Wanna Punch A Skank," "The Kids Are
Screaming," "All for One and Fuck 'Em All," "Resentfully Yours," "Love Comes In
Spurts" (a Richard Hell cover), "Dirty Animal," and "Brainwash." Recorded in
Boston at the Vigilantes' last show in late February, it's a full set (except
the opener, which got cut off). "What we'll probably do is sell it at shows,"
says Jen. "After we're more established, we'll officially release it."
The live recording will likely stand in stark contrast to the Creeps' highly
anticipated upcoming studio disc, tentatively titled Doomed from the Get
Go, which will most likely be released this summer. "We love being on
stage," says Jen, "but we also found that we love the studio. Being there is a
whole different thing." In the studio, Jen serves as a cheerleader to up
the energy quotient. "I jump around and go crazy when [a part] is supposed to
be real intense and crawl around on the floor when a part is supposed to be
slow and creepy." Otherwise, the band invites friends to cheer them on while
they cut their parts. Anything to keep the Creep factor on "11."
In the short term, the Creeps have some impressive dates lined up. They'll be
playing the only US date of this year's Holidays In the Sun Festival in Asbury
Park, New Jersey. And they'll head out on a tour of the US (presented by
Punknite) in late summer/early fall with Carpo Regime, Funeral Dress, and the
Addicts .
For now, the Creeps are happy to be creating a seriously ghoulish punk buzz.
"Things have really taken off for us in the last few months," says Jen. "Once
you get your momentum going it gets easier. We're enthusiastic about everything
music-wise, stage wise, and we're enjoying the people we meet. It's certainly
not dull." With independent bands like the White Stripes, the Hives, and the
Strokes emerging from the major labels, perhaps the rules of the record
business are changing. Given that climate change, the Creeps, and any other
band with real style, have as good a chance as anyone out there to make
something happen.
The Creeps will celebrate the release of their live disc this Saturday at
the Green Room with the Sleazies and Rock City Crimewave.
MAX CREEK. Thirty-one years is a long time for anything, let alone
playing in a band, where the (unscientific) divorce rate is likely triple that
of a conventional marriage. I mean, how many bands do you know that have
been together even 10 years? Not many. The Max Creek folks are celebrating
their 31st year together this weekend, with a show at Lupo's.
"It's very cool to be around that long," says longtime band member Scott
Murawski. "In fact, it's very much like any relationship, where you have this
love-hate thing with people. There are elements that are truly positive, and
then there are some that I just can't stand. But the good outweighs the bad and
the good energy is totally worthwhile."
Oddly enough, it has been totally worthwhile for longer than many of their new
fans have been alive. In fact, the band's newest member, drummer Scott
Allshouse, was born in 1974, three years after the band started. The other
members, including Mark Mercier, Rob Fried, and John Rider, have been involved
with the Max Creek organization since the '70s.
Do they have any regrets about the path they've chosen? "Maybe we would have
made a conscious effort to play original music sooner," says Scott. "The fact
that we began early on by playing the Grateful Dead kind of hurt us a little,
even though we're not that way anymore. We never had a chance to prove
ourselves as an original band. But I'm pretty content with the way things have
worked out. If we had changed something, who knows? We may have not lasted this
long." On another level, the band does have the considerable respect of people
in the music industry. "Mark and I were called to audition for Phil Lesh
recently, which right there says something about the way we're perceived."
Max Creek will play three sets at their 31st anniversary party at Lupo's
this Friday.
LOTSOFNOISE.COM. Last summer Christine Saraullo and Ryan Lesser were
frustrated by the lack of publicity regarding the shows they wanted to see.
They found that some of their favorite shows, specifically those on the
Olneyville noise and experimental scene, were under-promoted (for many
reasons). Often, when they'd heard about a show, it was too late to do anything
about it. To combat the problem, they started a website to keep track of
things. And, without much ado, they introduced www.lotsofnoise.com. It started
with a Listings page of local shows in a calendar format to make it easy to see
what's happening every night. Since then, they've added a Bands page with mp3s,
a Listen page with tracks and videos from shows, and even of few interviews.
Arab On Radar was kind enough to let the site premiere their new video, "God Is
Dad." Cool pages. Check 'em out.
WANDERING EYE. Pat Healy of International Pen Pal writes in with
news of a show coming up this Friday night at AS220. They're playing with the
Rebecca Hart Project, who have roots here, along with Boston's
quizzically monikered the Subject. Admission is dirt cheap at a fin. $5. The
ultra-funky J Edward Orchestra hops a normally un-funky town on a
decidedly un-funky night this Sunday at Gabriel's in Warren. Nice to have some
tunes to talk about south of 195. Call 245-9517 for details. On Wednesday (the
8th), the Providence Wholebellies, featuring Chris Turner, Rachel
Maloney, Steve Jobe, Phil Edmonds, Rick Massimo, and Winnie Lambrecht, play the
Trinity Brewhouse. The show starts at 9.
E-mail me with music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.
E-mail me with music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.
Issue Date: May 3 - 9, 2002
