Since I no longer have the CDMOM as an outlet, I’ll just tell you it’s been a long time since I’ve listened to an album as obsessively as I have been to Consonant’s self-titled debut. I love those dense drums and that meth-fueled energy.
I also like the back story of band leader Clint Conley: bassist for seminal early-’80s post-punk band Mission of Burma, 15 years away from music (including his current day job as a producer on a TV news show), then a new band assembled from indie-rock superstars (including ex-Dallasite Matt Kadane, formerly of Bedhead and currently of The New Year).
(Trivia: That last link mentions a Bedhead show in Cleveland seven years ago. “It was a Wednesday night, there were a couple of hundred people there to see us, and we couldn’t figure out why all these people who were there to see us were yelling and just causing a ruckus the entire time. We basically had confrontations with the audience, because there were people who just wouldn’t shut up, yelling for songs and things. It was one of the most bizarre shows we ever played. I’m kind of scared about going back!” I was there! It was July 4, and I was in Cleveland to visit my buddy I-Huei, now making rock history as a member of Sea Ray. It was actually a great show, in a divey storefront space downtown. When it was over, the fireworks were going off over the Cuyahoga River.
One final note: Sea Ray has finally crossed over from “best unsigned band in America” to proud new member of the Self-Starter Foundation family, which makes them brothers of Clem Snide, Enon, Les Savy Fav, The Mooney Suzuki, and other fine acts. New Sea Ray album out this summer — I’ve heard just about all of the tracks in one form or another and trust me — it’ll be worth your $12.)
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Small world. Back in high school those guys used to live next door to my best friend in WF.
So why were the people causing a ruckus?
Here’s something else on that Cleveland show. Bedhead, it’s important to remember, was a very quiet band — lots of whispered vocals and slowly picked guitars:
One concession that Bedhead made to tradition was a full US tour right after the release of Beheaded. It was the longest they had ever been on the road, but overall they found it to be a positive thing for the band. Their music is certainly out of the ordinary in a bar, and the audiences ran the gamut from quietly attentive to…Cleveland.
“We had never encountered anything as bad as Cleveland was,” says Bubba [Kadane, another band member]. “After we played the first song one guy was just yelling ‘Powder!’ It was absolutely unbelievable how much he yelled it between every song. It was completely obnoxious. It got to the point where it was sort of confrontational. The opposite extreme is when we got to San Francisco and the Bottom of the Hill was sold out; there were like 350 people there and they were all completely quiet. All the good shows definitely made the tour worthwhile. That’s why Milwaukee was nice; there may not have been the numbers, but the people who were there were more like how I see myself as an audience member. I guess when you go see a band like us you’re not there just to get drunk or whatever.”
I do remember one or two people being sorta obnoxious. That said, they were great that night — the other time I saw them, the audience was quiet and respectful and Bedhead sucked. Maybe a little audience annoyance is what they needed.
One other potential factor: the opening band that night was Windy & Carl, and they were awful. So maybe the audience was a little peeved.
I may have to give Consonant a try. Just yesterday I was thinking how it has been a while since I was really blown away by a new band or album. Actually, I ordered Single Frame’s cd based entirely on pitchfork’s review and I’m hoping for the best. It just came today and so far so good.
CONSONANT! Fuck, yes! The disc is just an astonishing piece of music, all the way through. Taking nothing away from Roger Miller’s genius, I always felt that Clint Conley never fully received his due as, IMHO, the better songwriter and singer. It is wonderful to hear Conley on his own, and, yes, his back story is inspiring. I saw Mission of Burma last year on their mini-tour in San Francisco, and they were all having fun, but it seemed like it was really something special for Conley, who essentially walked away from performing for 20 years. Jesus, who among us could just stop doing something for TWO DECADES and then come roaring back like we’d never been away? Money paraphrase from an interview with Conley around the time the CD came out: “I was so excited about the new band, I went through a little bit of a rock star phase, even bought leather pants. Kinda freaked my wife out.” Coda: He was wearing the leather pants for the Burma show in SF. Rock on, Clint.
SO glad that you’re reccing new music. (I was having CDMOM rec withdrawal.) But then I come here, and then I go to check Emusic, and I’m happily downloading RIGHT NOW. AIFG!
Lately I’ve been happy with the new New Pornographers and some Princess Superstar. But not at the same time.