Nightskimming

A fond farewell to '98

by Michael Caito

Fabulous Itchies

This year was successful for numerous acts who made or continued to make inroads on recognized labels from Revolution to Sub Pop to Radical to Ryko to Velvel, but it is the continued excellence by numerous bands based in the area that is cause for celebration. Label-wise, Load, Atomic Action, Mobcore, Big Noise, North Star, Softwind and more contributed in taste and sales, the most estimable Flydaddy Records relocated to Providence from Newport, Magic Eye and Vermiform moved here from out of state, and start-ups like Brentwood Estates proved to have good ears. Not that the following is by any means exhaustive, but here's a touch of what went down in '98.

Purple Ivy Shadows' No Less the Trees Than the Stars (Slow River/ Ryko) met with success on their tour. Though Mark Cutler's follow-up to the tremendous Gasboy, titled Skylolo (Monolyth), received little airplay, those with sharp eyes could have found the tempting Six All the Way cassette a good appetite-whetter. The Amazing Crowns picked up a new guitarist and drummer, delivering shockwaves with the Colonel's (Jonny Maguire) departure, but toured all year and didn't skip a beat from Australia to ESPN. The Colonel picks his spots on the DJ tip now, and a night with him and Hula Bomb (Dennis Kelly) makes for serious listening. Kevin Fallon's Poorman's Songbook (Joker's Wild) spotlighted his virtuosity and humor, and also mid-winter the Rebuilthangartheory / Bermuda split 7" indie single arrived, as did a tasty 7" from Roachender with Degenerates and Stalking Leaver. Gringo released a full-length and broke up, which was a shame as they were a very funny band. Bob Angell (ex-NewPaper columnist) joined with superb Boston-based singer Kelly Knapp on a nice cassingle from Wing Chun Records, and also 'round Valentine's Day MacKinley ("Mac") Odom debuted for Roomful of Blues (as Sugar Ray Norcia's replacement), as did John Wolf. Plan 9 released their first record in years on J-Bird outta Connecticut, titled Pleasure Farm, and Mark Mulcahy exorcised some demons on his Mezzotint solo release Fathering, finding the Miracle Legion frontman in excellent form while Mark's sometimes-bandmates Davey Mac and Spot spent the year with Frank Black, recording in Los Angeles and touring avec Monsieur Noir. Middletown's Gail Greenwood toured with L7 but continued to have horrible taste in hockey teams, while Pete Laviolette helped re-kindle the PB's, assisted by rejuvenated Vezina winner Jim Carey 'twixt the Civic Center pipes, while cheapskate Harry Sinden seems hellbent (mostly wallet-bent) on maintaining mediocrity at the Fleet, despite the game's finest coach and a good young core including lanky Friars alum Hal Gill. But where were we?

Heavy hitters State of Corruption got it mostly right on their Back Room Sauce (Swingin' T-Bag) CD, and the now-in-limbo Highway Strippers released a fierce EP Stories for Stags (Mobcore Records, which is also home of SoCo's Arson Family, who enjoyed a banner year on the compilation tip).

Steve Maciel did yeoman work for the 1 of 52 project to combat hunger, and WBRU resuscitated the Rock Hunt, with fine sets by Gruvis Malt, The Agents and ultimate champs the L.U.V.s. Folk Support Group checked in with their debut CD (after decades together, on and off) with a sublime Slowly Rollin' (Secret Mission), and Big Noise checked in with the multi-CD comp Digital Side of the Moon. The Velvet Crush's Heavy Changes (Action Musik) was somber -- and brilliant -- as a "you blew it" statement to Sony, and V Majestic's split single with Medicine Ball on Irregular Records, commemorating both bands' participation in the west-coast Terrastock Fest sophomore effort, was a gas. Landed released Dairy 4 Dinner on Load, and followed months later with their fine everything's happening (Vermiform), one of the year's finest. Arab On Radar did a single for Ben, and theirs is one of the highly-anticipated 1999 LP releases. Kilgore kicked all kinds of azz on the OzzFest tour, supporting their debut A Search for Reason (Revolution), another '98 apogee, and Mother Jefferson released Evil Smokes (All the Money), making for a furious few months in the listening room.

In what was my fave live event of the year, Stone Soup had a fund-raiser for the ailing Rosalie Sorrels, and it would've been hard to pack more love (and talent) into the Undercroft that night, with short sets by Laura Berkson, Fred Small, Joyce Katzberg, Aubrey Atwater, Bill Harley, Aubrey's "Crayon of the Quelled" and more. Super night.

Sugar Ray Norcia went solo on Sweet &Swingin' (Bullseye) and the Amoebic Ensemble went international on the French Stupeur & Trompette label's Amoebiasis. Erin McKeown left Brown but released Monday Morning Cold (TVP), further embedding her position as "folkie to watch." Dropdead released an(other) eponymous full-length, this time on Armageddon. Probably my favorite band, with lots to say and a determination to say it. Get Dun Records released a six-band, seven-inch, eight-song comp, and Jonathan Thomas debuted the Pataphysical Circus at AS220, whose year was bolstered by a grant from Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest, and Roomful's year of changes settled with the addition of Steve Kostakes and Greg Silva. Six Finger Satellite's Law of Ruins (Sub Pop) was arguably their best since Pigeon, but its presence was tempered by the loss of co-founder John MacLean, who was superb through Ruins. Throwing Music / Ryko released my favorite disc, albeit a reissue: In A Doghouse, which encompassed their debut cassette debut LP, Chains Changed EPand five early songs re-recorded by TM's final lineup. Kristin Hersh continues releasing music on Throwing Music, and now lives in Cali. Combustible Edison released The Impossible World (Sub Pop), which stretched their kitsch to encompass wider realms, the Double Nuthins single on Baby Doll Records was a scorcher, as was Pendragon's long-awaited Beyond Borders -- A Celtic Journey. Did a rare video review but made it worthwhile -- Cheryl Wheeler's What Do I Care I Don't Have Any Kids Construction Company -- and was rewarded by her later remarks in the Journal saying she hadn't even watched it. Well, I did. It was cool, and my mom agreed. So the hell with videos . . . I'll leave those to Jim and Ralph at Acme and Frank at Obsidian.

Rap/hip-hop-wise, my sister and I brawled constantly about the comparative merits of Jay-Z and No Limit's success despite a crap movie, a crap Snoop record (his best track was the single with Keith Sweat) and Master P's inevitable return to earth after a killer stretch. Lauryn Hill rocked my shit hard, as did Noreaga and, to a lesser extent, the Beasties.

Back to local: 'Round Midnight at the PBRC brought together aspiring MCs and DJs while Bucket, Lefty and Fred Tha Great continued to lead and inspire on the One and Two, the Agents turned a corner with For the Massive (Radical), and Shed kept the metal molten with Mosaic (Sike). Judy Stillman's superb Enchanting Holiday Chamber Music (North Star) will easily outlast the Christmas season, both String Builder and Vivian Darkbloom came through with compelling cassettes, and Meridian 1520's single on Brentwood kept the needle busy on the Victrola. The Fabulous Itchies blended old and new successfully on Here Come the . . . (Big Dummy), but other than that, nothing really happened. The Philharmonic extended a successful run under Larry Rachleff, opera buffs have something to cheer about, and the criminally underrated Bob Franke kicks off '99 in style on Saturday at Stone Soup. If you grab this particular odious tabloid edition early, don't forget the Agents/Crowns at the Mist on New Year's Eve. Thanks to all, especially the undersung Friars fan who catches some of my many grammatical and factual errors in this logophile's pursuit of audiophilic, uhh, kicks.

There was so much more, so let's do it some more. Ready . . . steady . . . .