STROBE - 1993
The conventional wisdom about getting popular in LA is to slog it out in clubs for years and cultivate a
grounds-well of-A & R interest before getting signed. But conventional wisdom
holds little merit for
They’ve finally released their first album, Year After Year, and have expanded their lineup to allow them to play live. Why didn’t they follow the usual pattern of development in LA.? “We didn’t even attempt it,” says singer/bassist Jeff Martin. “Why play here ? We were a studio group-there was no thought of playing live.” Guitarist John Berry comments, “We never had a band-it was always the two of us in the studio and we never thought anything would happen. We were just doing it for kicks.” Martin adds, “We didn’t think [what we were doing] would be an accepted thing. It was a little too heavy, a little too personal.”
Heavy,
indeed.
Martin and
Thanks to their toy chest of sonic gadgets, their slow,
dense sound is even more satisfying live than on record, as the
guitarists’ psychedelic swirl becomes looser, riding dynamic waves of crests
and calm. “He’s got the whole armory of effects going,” laughs Martin. “Yeah, everything’s on ten... Rrrrooowwww!” says
Success cannot come too soon for
Michael Kamensky
photos by Carol Sheridan