Back in the late '80s, while most of the country was poisoning themselves with
the glam hair metal of . . . oh, you know, those bands, lots of folks in
Boston were listening to great post-punk and hard rock bands like the Bags, the
Volcano Suns, and Big Dipper, recording for labels like Ace of Hearts and
Taang! John Darga, now the bass dude for Fast Actin' Fuses, was in the middle
of all that ruckus with a band called the Wrecking Crew, a semi-legendary
outfit that remembers the scene in Boston at the time pretty fondly.
"Back then we used to call it hardcore punk," he says. "Today there's the punk
scene and the hardcore scene. It's divided. Back then there weren't enough
bands to go around to have a split scene, so everyone -- skinheads, punks --
supported everyone else." Darga's new act, formed from the ashes of the
Wrecking Crew, Suckerpunch, and Sinner's Club, also features singer Kevin
Darling, guitarists Scott O'Dowd and Andre Stoopid, and drummer Jim Maxine.
"Today, a lot more people are involved in the hardcore and punk scenes. And
you can buy all your punk attire at the mall. A friend of mine and I were
joking around that these punks don't get beaten up anymore. Back in 1987 if you
were walking around Kenmore Square at the wrong time, you were in danger of
getting beaten up. There would be carloads of drunk normal dudes looking to
punch the lights out of people like us. And they did." Ah, those were the days,
when mohawks, leather, 5/4 tempos, and super-throttled guitars meant you were
an outcast. Today, those hallmarks make you just one of the crowd.
Fast Actin' Fuses formed after Darling moved to Providence and Darga moved to
New Bedford. There were a few bands in between for both, including the Sinner's
Club, which split just as its star had begun to rise. They broke up a year and
a half ago. "It was mainly a falling out," says Darga, refusing to release too
many details. "But after that broke down, I swore I was gonna give up on
music." He had already begun studying macrobiology in school and started
digging that. But then, once a punk rocker, always a punk rocker. "I got a call
like two months later from the band saying they needed me in, so I joined. So
much for taking time off." Darga still works in his field of study during the
day, as does Darling, who's a tattoo artist. But both peel off their civvies as
the night falls, to reveal super-punks.
The band will celebrate the release of its debut album, Sayonara, in
Cambridge and Providence this week -- Thursday up at the Middle East in and
Saturday at the Green Room. The dual release is largely because half the band
-- the other half -- hails from Beantown. "Right now, we're concentrating on
getting established in both Boston and Providence," says Darga. "We usually
split our time half and half. For a local band, we feel if you play the scene
more than once a month, people get tired of it." Fast Actin' Fuses play each
city every six weeks or so. But now, with the CD coming out, they'll be
branching out into New York and DC.
Recorded back in February at Hybrid Studios outside of Boston with former
Moving Targets bass player Pat Leonard, Sayonara is a barrage of great
post-punk hard rock reminiscent of the Lazy Cowgirls, Miracle Workers, and
other blues-based punkers. The two-guitar sound gives the band's drive heft,
especially on the AC/DC-styled "Psycho-delic-kill," with a cool lead line
adding sting to the power chords, and the stomping hate-wracked hardcore
"Nuthin' New."
"The studio was great this time because we never felt like the clock was
running. Hybrid is called Hybrid because it's part studio, part house, so it
never had that pressed feel." Still, FAF pounded out the tracks, doing all the
main recording in a single weekend and Darling going in and laying down his
vocals in a single day. "I was surprised at how quick everything got down,"
says Darga, "especially the vocals."
But Sayonara doesn't sound rushed. It sounds like a bluesy punk record
by a bunch of guys who grew up listening to '70s hard rock. Screw that glam
shit. "It feels like we're really solid and into it," says Darga of the band
and the commitment they have to FAF. "We get a lot more done when we get
together now. We're not fooling ourselves with this whole thing. We all have
responsible careers, some have families and mortgages, so the band is primarily
for our own entertainment. If someone asked us to tour for a month I'm afraid
we'd have trouble pulling it off." Still, there's no separating FAF from its
hardcore rock, regardless of the story and the situation. Sayonara might
mean goodbye. But say hello to a band you should meet.
The FAF CD release party takes place at the Green Room with the Sleazies
and Random Road Mother (from Boston) on Saturday, June 8. Get there
early.
WALTON'S MOUNTAIN. After 15 years as the first president of the
Stone Soup Folk Arts Foundation, Richard Walton, the great and
gentle bearded man so many of us knew for his warm and funny onstage
introductions, has stepped down from his post. "Although my devotion to Stone
Soup is not the least bit diminished," he said in a letter, "I thought the time
had come, not an easy decision for me to make."
Not an easy decision is right. Walton has been the guiding light of the Soup's
successful 21-year run and his wisdom will certainly be missed. He led the
organization through a hellish few years while the Providence Place Mall
construction endangered its audience (the last site of Stone Soup was in the
shadow of PPM) . Then he and the Soup's fine board of officers made the risky
move to Pawtucket, Slater Mill to be exact -- a quick romp from downtown
Providence, but an uncertain relocation to say the least. Thanks to Walton and
company, however, the move proved to be the right one and the Soup at the Mill
flourishes today. Walton leaves the organization in the best shape it has ever
been in. "Even as I feel some relief," he writes, "I feel some sadness because
Stone Soup has been such a central part of my life for nearly 20 years."
We feel sadness, too, Richard. Good luck making the best of your free time and
good luck to Walton's successor, Rick Wahlberg. He'll have a tough act to
follow.
WANDERING EYE. The Blackstone River Theatre will present an evening of
Cape Breton fiddle music with rising Celtic fiddle star Jennifer Roland
and her band this Saturday (the 8th) at 8 p.m. at the Blackstone River Theatre
(549 Broad Street, Cumberland). Admission is $12. For reservations/ information
call 725-9272. Plus next Wednesday, the Blackstone hosts Irish supergroup
Solas. Led by dazzling instrumentalist Seamus Egan, the band is simply
one of the best Celtic outfits of our time. And, rumor has it that their new
album is a departure from tradition: it's a covers album of songs by Nick
Drake, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, and more, done in the inimitable Solas (Gaelic for
"light") style. Check out the album and the show -- you'll leave with a big ol'
Irish grin on your face, even if you're Italian. Admission is $15, and advance
purchase of tickets is highly recommended.
E-mail me with music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.
E-mail me with music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.
Issue Date: June 7 - 13, 2002
