The Go-Lightly's - Metallica Party Live

The Go-Lightly's were a rompin' saucy rock-n-roll party machine! The band consisted of Kristi R. on bass and vocals, Zoe M. on keyboard and backing vocals, and Andy Yang (of Obstruction fame) on drums. Let's check out what a couple of 'em had to say about the history of the band:

"Originally, The Go-Lightly's were Kristi, Chris O. and Andy. Chris found out that I played the piano, then asked me to join. In fact, it was his electronic keyboard I used for the duration of the band. Our first practice (in Ron, Andy, and Travis' basement, aka The Hive) was, I think, also the last practice Chris partook in before leaving the band. Let's call it... over 'artistic differences' and leave it at that. Kristi was sort of the main song writer and band leader, and sang vocals with me backing her up. The band was sort of the illegitimate offspring of Leslie Gore and Heavens To Betsy. (You know, the offspring that goes off to state college and nurtures an ever-growing beer gut while trying to decipher The Doors keyboard solos). Complete with out-of-tune singing, no guitar, Kristi on bass, Andy on drums, and me on a cheap electronic keyboard.

Yes--the Metallica Party. I remember we all wore metal. Literally, I had on a tin foil skirt. I also remember our first (and last) show in a bar--remember that swanky bar that was just up Hill Street from the Red Star House? It had the shag carpeting and private vinyl booths? Super 70s swank? Well it was transformed into a Domer haven, and somehow we scored a show there opening for The Butterfly Effect.

We did a few covers: 'Dumb Head' (Ginny Arnell), 'Axeman' (H2B), a couple more... we also played 'Time of the Season' by The Zombies, and oh my was the keyboard solo ever challenging to figure out. But I did it, damn it! Our own song, 'Do It Right,' however, was probably our signature tune. It's the one that made them all scream for more, except we didn't have any more since we usually saved that one for last." -- Zoe M.

-----

"I remember how we would come together to write songs in The Hive basement. The girls had worked on some things and when we all came together, it would just be a jam session at first. They would lay down some melody and lyrics and I just kinda made up drum beats to go with the stuff. I can't even remember how many songs we had, I think only 6-8 songs. But the most memorable for me was 'Ash Rash,' which Kristi wrote after my smart move of putting actual ash from The Hive basement fireplace (there was one on the opposite end of the drum kit) on my face under my eye as 'makeup' for my halloween costume that year. I think it was a last minute thrown together costume of a beat up boxer, that I just threw that shit on my face. I would have been better off with a damn sharpie because the next day, my left eye had developed a peculiar rash where the ash had been and stayed there for a week or so. That was one of many dumb moves, but it gave way to the song... 'Ash Rash!'

I think we only played a few shows, the biggest one being at a bar that I can't remember the name of. Of course, we played at The Hive a couple of times. I mainly remember how fun it was to mix it up with those cool girls and how different and unique our sound was. It was a nice, refreshing change of pace from the other sounds on campus." -- Andy Yang

Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to see The Go-Lightly's perform, having moved away shortly before they got together as a group. But when Zoe gave me a copy of this live party recording a couple years later, it was like I could've just as easily been right there when it all went down. Listening to the cassette, everything felt so familiar. Perhaps because basement shows in The Bend for the most part all shared some common yet distinct, intangible qualities. As someone once wrote, "Just imagine 20 or so friends, an unimpressed out of town band or two, a pony keg, shoes, beer, and friendly insults flying..." --that's a pretty clear picture, and this show was no different. I'm glad this is the first live recording we are featuring here on our little blog, because it really captures the feeling (for better or worse) of so many of the dozens upon dozens of basement shows that were put on back then. It's nice to be able to re-live that a little, even if it's only for the 26-minute duration of The Go-Lightly's rockin' good set.

That said, there are some really enjoyable moments on the Metallica Party Live recording. Lots of laughs, plenty of "ALL-RIGHTs!!!" a-hollered (see the fellow to the left), fuck ups, false starts, and a brilliantly timed call-and-response "GO!"... "LIGHTLY!" intro from the crowd to get the whole thing started off with a bang. Zoe's keyboard solo in "Time of the Season" is truly off the chain. And "Do It Right" lives up to it's billing as the quintessential Go-Lightly's smash hit.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say this was probably recorded by Hardcore Ron, with something a little fancier than a mic hanging from the rafters of the basement ceiling. The cassette never had any official release, but rather was just one of those things that you dubbed yourself and passed out to your friends (I got mine as filler, if you can imagine, on the other side of a taped copy of a Neutral Milk Hotel record!). The Go-Lightly's did at one point record in Ron's studio, but it was one of those "let's hurry up and put something to tape before everyone leaves town" kinda deals, was never mixed or released, and promptly faded from the memories of the parties involved. Who knows, maybe y'all will get lucky and it will resurface and see light on this blog one of these days. Until then...

listen/download:


see also:
The Go-Lightly's on MySpace

Hey, Dummy - Fall In Line 7"

Welcome to another edition of Friends of the Bend! This time we welcome Jason, former frontman of Hey, Dummy, to drop some knowledge on us about the history of the band and their powerful 7" EP, Fall In Line:

My friend Dennis recently posted a photo album on Facebook titled, "Bowling Green, 1995-96: If You Can Remember It, You Weren't There." And this, my friends, sums up why it's taken me several months of prodding from Theodore and my own self-flagellation for being a flake to actually sit down and write up what little I remember of the Hey, Dummy years. What follows is a loose recap of a period in Hey, Dummy's life -- as told by the only guy in the band who, unlike his former bandmates, isn't making any kind of contribution to music these days.

Hey, Dummy was me, Tony Cavallario (Aloha), Mike McNeeley (No Sanctuary), and Eric Koltnow (Aloha, Six Parts Seven). The band was born from the ashes Chunk Iron Chest in the early 1990s when Mike and I were fortunate enough to connect with Eric and Tony to start what we hoped would be some amazing amalgamation of the indie/punk/hardcore/jazz/experimental music that we were each into individually and collectively at time. Earlier in Hey, Dummy's career, we tended toward really basic (and fast-as-fuck) punk rock, but Fall In Line can more accurately be described as a more mature (read: schizophrenic) Hey, Dummy that had finally grown into ourselves as a hardcore band benefiting from the skills of a classically trained percussionist and a superbly talented guitarist. Add Mike's ferocious bass and my untrained vocals to the scene, and Hey, Dummy was a case-study in controlled chaos. During rehearsals, I would watch Tony, Mike, and Eric work together to write the songs while I worked on lyrics primarily inspired by my own personal reckoning with what it means to be a white political activist in rural NW Ohio. While early songs were sarcastic jabs at our punk rock activist subculture, later Hey, Dummy covered more theoretical issues about white privilege, personal accountability, and animal rights (we were all vegetarian/vegan at the time).



The Fall In Line 7" followed our cassette demo Products of the Industrial (R)Evolution, which was recorded in the early 1990s at an old town hall in Rudolph, Ohio -- about 10 miles from our home base of Bowling Green, Ohio and located across the street from a cemetery. The demo was recorded in 1 1/2 days, but could have been done in a day. On the first day, we practiced and recorded all the songs to our satisfaction. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, we turned to the guy (whose name escapes me) to see how things sounded, and he told us that he accidentally forgot to hit the record button on the deck. He had been checking levels and monitoring our progress without ever actually recording anything. When our rage reached a peak, we looked at the guy, and he was asleep at his mixing board. He was purportedly narcoleptic and dozed off when things got a little stressful. We came back the next day and plowed through the songs and called it a day.

Learning our lesson, we recorded Fall In Line with our friend Mike Pennington at Eric and Tony's house, our practice space and future house-show mecca. The 7" received some favorable reviews in HeartattaCk, MRR, and other zines that put us in the Born Against or Submission Hold camp -- brilliant family with which we were all pleased to claim kinship, though never felt quite deserved. Incidentally, the sleeve and liner notes were designed by me and cruelly document my early career as a self-taught graphic designer. I loved collecting old encyclopedias and children's books -- lifting illustrations and photos with abandon for use flyers, zines, and myriad other projects.

Recording Hey, Dummy was a small part of our history, though. The joy we got from the band was playing live shows around the Midwest on a handful of small tours. A trip down the East Coast to play with Pink Collar Jobs, Griver (future Hellbender) and others took us all the way to Gainesville. Midwest tours took us to South Bend to play with our friends, and we even found ourselves in Kalamazoo and Chicago playing shows with Los Crudos and Charles Bronson. And here's where the "if you can remember it, you weren't there" comes in. So much of our short history was enveloped in brilliantly great parties with friends and extended punk-rock fam that it's all a nostalgic blur to me. It's hard for me to point to specific instances where Hey, Dummy changed my life, but the overall experience of learning from these guys and just sharing in the experience of playing music that made people happy (or challenged people in some instances) was an overwhelmingly formative experience for me. Bad recording quality and all, I still love to listen to this shit.

-- Jason

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I go back a long way with the guys from Hey, Dummy. Jason, Mike, and I all went to high school together, and I spent a lot of time traveling back and forth from The Bend to Bowling Green, OH throughout the mid-90s. I witnessed the earlier incarnations of the band (Chunk Iron Chest, The Schlitzed), and watched their sound mature and gain momentum as Hey, Dummy. Their shows were always so much goodness, and was lucky enough to see them play numerous times in various locations. For me, there's really something special about witnessing good friends create great music, which was part of the reason for starting this blog in the first place.

Hey, Dummy was kind enough to host Chikkenhead and Obstruction for various shows in BG, and we did what we could to return the favor. They played in South Bend twice; once at the Green House with Ground Round, and another time at Clifford the Big Red House with The Mad Dogs, Obstruction, and a couple others I can't recall at the moment. The first show was a lot of fun, as they let me stand in on second guitar for a few songs (which they probably regretted soon after). The second show was a tad bittersweet, because although their set was through the roof, Jason ending up losing his voice, putting "the big kabosh" on the Hardcore Ron Studios recording session planned for the following day. A real shame, as the band was near the top of their game and would've really shined under Ron's recording mastery.

Thus, we are left with this great EP, Fall In Line. Whatever is lacking in production is more than made up for with energy and emotion. I, too, still love to listen to this shit. It was self-released by the band in 1997 on Saturnalia Records.



And here's a link to the Hey, Dummy bandcamp page, where you can find the rest of their recorded works.

Hace Frio - The College Years (1995-1996)

Say hello again to Hace Frio, your indie pop rock friends. Hace Frio was Dave McM., James J., Vinny C., and Rose S. (though I don't believe Rose is featured on this cassette). Let's hear what a couple of these guys had to say about the band:

"Hace Frio was a band for the fun of it. None of us could play instruments except Vinny on drums, but we had loads of fun making up little pop songs. We actually played a load of shows from Michigan to Chicago, and did a mini-tour with emiLy, which was a highlight of our life as a band in the summer of '96. Over time we got a little tighter, wrote better songs, and rocked Nazz into oblivion. Our best show was playing with Chisel in the basement at 702 W. Angela Blvd, or perhaps playing University of Chicago with an audience of about 60-70.

The College Years was the first recording, with loads of songs. We were inspired by the general output of bands like Guided by Voices, although we fell short in the lyrics and music departments. What was great about Hace Frio was that even though we were short on instruments and green behind the ears, we got to listen to far superior bands like emiLy and learned to appreciate Joe's masterful guitar playing, and the general elan of the band. Plus Vinny covered up any musical lapses we had." -- Dave

"When we started, Dave and I seriously had no idea how to play. Our first show was quite awful, but we all loved music, had an idea and went with it.

So many good times! Early on we hijacked the WVFI van for a weekend, it was 107+ degrees outside and we headed to Chicago to record our first demo songs in Sweep the Leg Johnny's basement. Quite an insane experience, we probably shouldn't have made it there and back, but we survived. We had a mission, what that was is anyone's guess. Vinny's awesome drumming, and Rose's sweet violin sounds, along with sheer determination, led to much better song writing and towards the end some really amazing shows." -- James

This cassette features a diverse selection of sounds and directions, from indierock and punk to instrumental noise and poetry. Who could forget "Anne" -- a poppy toe-tapper that is sure to stick in your head all day once you give it a spin. You've gotta also love "Dyngus Day" -- an homage to the Bend and it's most beloved local holiday. And "Center Aisle" brings the rock with it's full-on Dead Kennedys-style choruses.


The College Years was recorded in 1995, and released on the eSTaTe record label (what is it with capital letters in the middle of words with this crowd?). We'll leave you with a little something from an unlisted cut at the end of the tape:

"Ahh the College Years... when old Smitty said, 'Kick back, look at the spectacle of life kid, absorb all the wonderful French minds and let it all slide down your throat like a Werther's Original,' he had it right! And this, this is our gift to you: The College Years by Hace Frio 1995-1996. Yes... and then I'm going to kill you and eat you. But that's alright. People will call me a cold-hearted fiend, but enjoy the recording."

listen/download:


see also:
Hace Frio on MySpace

July - April Twentieth

Who better to speak on behalf of July than Ms. Kate B.:

Most teenage girls today wouldn't think it, but in the pre-Alanis days of the early 90s, when a strong woman in music meant Janet Jackson or Madonna, or maybe Pat Benatar (which was on occasion mistaken for Kate's vocals?) a band with a woman singing about taking charge of her life and wreaking havoc on those who wronged her was, apparently, a revolutionary thing for some of the female audiences who heard us -- or at least that's what I heard at shows, especially the few times we played away from the band's house. The sad fact was that very few bands in the Notre Dame family had female singers at all, and those who did generally opted for a sweet and gentle delivery. So when July appeared on the scene, we turned some heads if only for the sheer novelty of it. And personally, I think the time was ripe for women to be getting up and demanding attention, on stage and in general, which is something that happened a lot in the early and mid 90s, especially in the punk and indie scene. Still, I don't see July as a chick rock band, even though I tried to sing it that way. I was amazingly lucky to start off playing with a group of amazingly tight and talented musicians who could craft powerful and catchy tunes that could stand up to my novice singing and songwriting. What I lacked in stage presence, those guys made up for in strength and ability, and if I had it to do again, I would have just done more of it.

Here is the official story: Prior to coming together as July, Ernie C. (bass), Ted K. (drums) and Justin M. (guitar) had played with another singer as Grope for Luna. Two weeks after starting to practice with Kate B. on vocals, we played our first show at the "Farewell to Bush Bash" at Stonehenge on the ND campus, which consisted of four songs. Not so great with names, we played our second show as Freezehead, and Kate also vetoed Sweep the Leg Johnny as a potential name (we'll let the history books weigh in on that choice) before we settled on July as a name.

In practices, Ted's drums were so loud that the other instruments had to be turned up to match, so the boys usually never heard the vocals until it came time to play live with a proper PA. I think the balancing act between an art-rock guitarist, a jazz drummer, a riot-grrl singer, and a Fugazi-loving bassist produced something really special and unique, if very much of its time. Or, to quote Joe C. from our entry in Maximum RocknRoll's Book Yr Own Fucking Life, "A great great grindy power pop punk kinda sorta thing with PJ Harvey-esque vocals."

April Twentieth was recorded live at Dalloway's Coffeehouse on, natch, April 20th, I think 1994. Rommell DD is taken from a Richard Brautigan poem. The cassette was released on the Rent To Own label as RTO5.

listen/download:


see also:
July on MySpace

Teenage Dope Slaves - Kill Gerard Cosloy

This gem comes to us courtesy of John D. (Chisel, Edsel, etc.), and is quite the early 90's rarity. A big thanks to John for hooking us up!

The music of Teenage Dope Slaves could be described as noisy, discordant indie punk, at times with Slint-y spoken vocals, ranging all the way up to some nicely distorted howls. In this band, we find John stepping away from the skins and instead handling guitar and vocal duties. TDS also featured Dennis McN. on bass and vocals, and Jeff J. on drums, vocals, "tape junk" and samples. Dennis apparently went on to become head writer at Saturday Night Live. Cool.

Here's what John had to say about TDS:

"Originally a four-track band project. We were supposed to play a show but I was punched in the face by some neighborhood wannabee gang banger during a party at the house and we canceled."

The cassette was recorded in December of 1991 at the Rokkhouse on Joe C's 4-track, and is noted as Rokkhouse 001.

listen/download:


see also:
Teenage Dope Slaves on MySpace

(Rokkhouse photo shamelessly swiped from Facebook -- thanks Jeff!)

Chisel vs. Brian, Colin and Vince - Spectacles/One in Ten 7"

Chisel and Brian, Colin and Vince... two acts you know and love. This split 7" finds them paying each other homage by covering one of the other's classic tunes.

First up, we've got Chisel turning out an amped up version of BCV's charmer, "Spectacles," which was originally featured on their Just Trying to Help cassette. Technically, though, this tune should be entitled "Spectacles/Pillow," as the final chorus romp is borrowed from another BCV song ("Pillow," duh) found on the Bucket O' Fun N' Stuff N' Yeah CD. Regardless, this is a power ballad of massive proportions--well, for Chisel anyway. You have to grin a little at the almost over-the-top treatment Ted Leo and the boys applied here. A punk rock kid once told me he thought this was the worst Chisel song he ever heard. But I think if that same fellow listened to it now, years later, he'd have a greater appreciation for what was going on with this recording. It's a fun, rocked out jam, and knowing Chisel-- you just gotta love it.

Aside from it's debut on this piece of wax, Chisel's "Spectacles" was also played over the closing credits of the Songs for Cassavetes documentary.

The flip side has Brian, Colin and Vince toning down "One in Ten," which can be found on Chisel's Nothing New album. This folked out rendition takes the original rocker and smooths it out with BCV's patented three-part harmonies and fine acoustic instrumentation. Put it on and sail away...

And just for grins, check out this unearthed, less-than-enthusiastic review from the high & mighty punkers at HeartattaCk, issue #6:

Arghh, why me! Why did I choose to review this. Since I chose to, I will choose to not have my ears hear it. The Brian, Colin and Vince side was 2 acoustic songs that were so boring. Just stop now. The Chisel side was pleasant after listening to BC&V. The packaging wasn't half bad. If college rock is for you, then give it a try. RR

This record was recorded in May of 1993 by the infamous John Nuner at the Miami Street Studio down in the Bend. It was released on the Sudden Shame label as SS005.



see also:
Chisel on MySpace
Brian, Colin, and Vince on MySpace


Scorecard insert from the 7"

The Butterfly Effect - Now Everybody

In the summer of 1997, Ron G. mentioned he wanted to start a band with me when he got back to South Bend in late August. Later I found out that his idea was something where I was playing drums and he was on bass, but by the end of the summer I had a pile of new songs written on guitar (some left over from the end of The Cuba Five) that I was eager to play, and so The Butterfly Effect was formed. Vinny C. was living in Chicago at that point, but was convinced to come to South Bend on occasion as a temporary drummer. Not long after our first practices, Vinny moved back to South Bend and is still living there. About a year later, we recorded Now Everybody-- at Plinko Studios, our friend Garth's basement studio over Thanksgiving weekend. Four days before recording, I completely lost my voice. Timing is everything, as they say.

The tape included the following liner notes from Chris O.:

Though catchy in a grandmotherly fashion, the "From the mouths of babes" argument is hardly compelling. First, it seems to slight the unsightly. What right-minded grandmother would stoop to such a lowbrow dis? Perhaps if said grandmother had an envelope-pushing band of her own competing for market shares in the highly competitive South Bend, Indiana market and not simply biannual envelopes garnishing pop-up greetings and five dollar bills, one could start to see the seedlings of an intergenerational "scene conflict." And what sort of credence should be given to grandmothers making claims of "hipness" to current styles of punkrocity? Certainly their modes of thinking concerning current modes of coolness are outmoded. What kind of person is comfortable hearing their grandmother refer to a person as a "babe"? At the very least, it seems more grandfatherly! In the use of the word "babes," which seems most problematic, one might say that these aging laggard women mean "bab[i]es." The classic definition of the entire phrase then meaning "Interesting and insightful witticisms come out of babies' mouths." A few quick consultations with fellow consorts immersed in the "indie-rock subculture" revealed a short but thorough list of things that "hipsters" have witnessed coming out of the mouths of "bab[i]es": "a silvery stream of spittle," a "gaseous flow of small iridescent bubbles," and a "nickel." "The Butterfly Effect," then, seems to have very little to do with infant intellectualism.

At this point it should be noted that "The Butterfly Effect," the rock troupe, should not be confused with "The Butterfly Affect," a theory proposed in 1949 by Gerald Gootes and Florence Shingles of the University of Notre Dame concerning the higher IQ scores of Irish-American, Columbian-Italian, and African-American male toddlers subjected to the intensive spinning of Butterfly mobiles above their cribs as infants. (See "The Butterfly Affect," Nervous Parent Magazine August, 1949) The Butterfly Effect, with an "E," in fact rejects intellectualism in both grandmothers and infants. The Butterfly Effect rejects both the objectification of themselves as "babes" and the preposterous notion that they would resort to drooling or sucking on loose change to feign intellectualism. In fact, contrary to the opinions of the so-called "intelligentsia," The Butterfly Effect seek not to move your pituitary glands or bowels, but your sing-along mouth, heart and butt, respectively. The music seeks to kick and the lyrics seek to move. In the end, one must hope that if an emergency caucus was held, and all the infants, psychologists, grandmothers and vicariously emotional hipsters showed up, the Butterfly Effect would give them one heck of a sweaty show.

I should know.

The title comes from the final line of Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. The lyrics to "Little Ode on St. Anne's Day" are a poem by Jim Carroll. I gave him a copy of this tape following his reading at Notre Dame and he briefly joked about me hearing from his lawyers before telling a story about being in the studio with Rancid. The sample in "Fat Man and Little Boy" comes from the beginning of Patton. The effect at the end of "The Idiots Dance" is a deliberate rip-off/homage of Pink Floyd. "The Idiots Dance", "The New Gods of the Underground", and "Twenty-Three on Twenty-Four" were re-recorded for the second Butterfly Effect album a year and a half later.

listen/download:

see also:
The Butterfly Effect on MySpace

Streganona - 4:4

Ahh chilluns... here's a special treat for you. We're kicking off a new feature of the SBP90s blog today -- Friends of The Bend! Periodically we'll be taking a break from the SB 90s local scene to highlight some of the fine out-of-town acts that came through our little burg to show us a good time.

And talk about a good time -- who could forget the handsome lads of Streganona! Hailing from the Hyde Park area of Chicago, they ascended on The Bend (maybe twice?) thanks to a connection with our good pal Dave M., if I'm not mistaken. They rocked our bodies and stole our hearts, sparking much debate as to which band member was the sauciest (the drummer, of course!). Smooth and sexy basslines, driving and frenetic guitarwork, dual singing and screaming vocals, and oh those beautiful beats... what's not to love!

The four songs on this cassette were recorded on the bass player's 4-track in February of 1995, which is probably shortly before the time they came to play for us. I've got two copies, and they both have different covers. Maybe yours is different, too... I'm not sure how many variations exist. A note on the sleeve says "For optimum sound quality, Streganona suggests a decreased midrange and a maximized volume." I recommend you comply!

listen/download:


Got a suggestion for a future "Friends of The Bend" feature? Who was it you remember that came to town and rocked the house (or basement, for that matter)? Leave a comment and let us know! Thanks!

emiLy - engineering means i Like you

"It's Mike's turn to be in the zone! Mike, welcome to the zone... "

So, my first entry on South Bend Power Nineties. I am in the zone.

Imagine a time when you could load up the beat-up old Chevy Suburban, drive west all the way across the state of Illinois to a place called Galesburg, unload guitars, amps and drums, carry everything up a long flight of stairs into a small studio serving as a radio station at Knox College, set up and play a live set that was simultaneously being aired over the radio and recorded for posterity, then break everything down again, carry it back down to the truck, go eat dinner, then do it all over again that night, 'cept this time instead of a radio station it was a show at the campus coffeehouse with a crazy fast hardcore punk band called Haymarket (one of many). I get tired just thinking about it, but we're old now.

Well, we did it, thanks to two guys at Knox College, Trent and Cyrus, who heard our Finer Time 7" (see previous SBPN blog entry below), liked it, enough to invite us to their school to do the radio broadcast and live show. They were also nice enough to let us crash at their place before driving all the way back to South Bend the next day, and feed us excellent vegetarian cuisine. Oh, and allow moi a superfreakout nostalia session of Atari 2600 geekness: Yar's Revenge. If you're out there and reading this, thanks you guys.

"All right! ... I'm in a much better mood now... "

I think this recording accurately captures the intensity and range of emiLy at the time, the 1993-1994 version of emiLy. Joe had reached the zenith of his screaming-lyrics ways, the songs were getting longer and more complex, and we were still screwing up just enough to keep it punk.

According to Doug, regarding this recording, here's "other pertinent info gleaned from the insert: recorded in two hours on april 9, 1994 (FOURTEEN YEARS AGO?!?? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!!!?!?) in the WVKC studio at knox college in galesburg, il." That about sums it up.

Thanks.

listen/download:

see also:
emiLy on MySpace
emiLy on last.fm

Brian, Colin and Vince - Just Trying to Help

"Like Crosby, Stills and Nash but a lot funnier."

Brian, Colin and Vince were three young men that played quirky and fun acoustic music. Songs ranged from sweet and sappy to completely goofy and ridiculous. Either way, the trio was always entertaining. You'd be hard pressed to see these guys perform and not have a good time. The live track included with this collection, "She Never Had a Chance," does a pretty good job of capturing the jovial feeling that was the BCV on-stage phenomenon.

Colin once offered this description of the band:

3-part harmonies, a million songs, Brian was the leader and star – such a great songwriter and guitar player, Vince sang great harmonies and played bongos... Trees hugs and rock and roll was a motto one day. We were not hippies, but I think hippies thought we were fun... Some ex-ND kids think this is the best band I’ve ever been in.

Looking back, I remember long stretches of time where the song "Hypothetical Situation" would make a weekly appearance on my college radio show. It seemed to be the perfect tune to encapsulate how broken my heart felt at the time (awwww...). Ahem, continuing on... "Spectacles" would eventually end up being covered by Chisel, and released on a split 7" where BCV and Chisel swapped songs (more on that in a future post). But the original version offered here is an outstanding take in it's own right.

These 30 songs were put to tape in a Morrissey Hall dorm room in April of 1992, and self-released on cassette. There's a little bit of banter in between tracks, which adds to the overall charm of the recordings. The cassette was actually re-issued a year or so later on Colin's Sudden Shame label as SS007.



see also:
Brian, Colin, and Vince on MySpace