90s …Whatever : Brainiac

 

There were plenty of indie punk bands in the 90s that all kind of fit the same mold.  Every once in awhile you ran into one that fit the bill, but added something more, and Dayton's Braniac was that.

They covered Tones on Tail's "Go" and there was an element of synth-pop to their noisy rock.  Maybe you could compare them to Beck or the Flaming Lips (or a loud Stereolab), but they were something altogether different bringing the Moog to the indie masses.

They were always a bit of a cult band, but the list of people who claim their influence is impressive: Nine Inch Nails, Muse, Death Cab for Cutie, the Mars Volta.

The band broke up after lead singer Tim Taylor died in a car crash in 1997, leaving 3 albums and several 7"s and EPs as their recorded legacy.  Band members have since played in Enon, John Stuart Mill, the Breeders, the Dirty Walk, O-matic and Shesus.

I was lucky enough to catch the band live and they were something else - a true jewel of 90s indie rock.

I wrote the above words over a decade ago. I probably wouldn’t add much except to say Brainiac were something special. Their cover of Go that I referenced appeared on the 1994 Mammoth Records compilation Jabberjaw: Pure Sweet Hell. 

Those compilations showed how varied and wildly imaginative 90s bands were. The first (1994s Good to the Last Drop) would feature artists like Helmet, Hole and Beck but also bands like Karp, Unwound, Chokebore, Surgery and many more - a variety of sounds of noise rock and post hardcore punk.  Pure Sweet Hell featured Man or Astro Man, the Bomboras and Low. 

In 2019, Hotshot Robot made Transmissions After Zero- A Brainiac documentary. 

In many ways, it is the perfect 90s indie band doc. Taylor’s death has frozen the band in time. It’s no doubt that they were one of the most interesting bands of the era. 

But perhaps there’s no better story of the way a band goes up and down. Brainiac feels the push and pull of commercial and artistic, of touring and working full time jobs, of being loyal to the indie label and being courted by the majors. 

Being from the unusual locale of Dayton , Taylor and gang make their own legend. It’s not all great as the band unceremoniously dumps their guitarist Michelle Bodine. But it also (like the other recent doc I saw about another Ohioan Stiv Bators shows how needle sized close bands can go from making it to breaking up and staying obscure)

Of note, a concert that I (and most everyone I know) attended is mentioned here so that was cool. 

It is hagiography but I don’t really find a problem with that. Taylor has the charisma to lead a documentary the way say Anton Newcombe did in Dig. I hate to say it, but the death froze the “What if”. 

Band producer Eli Janney mentions the way his band Girls Against Boys went through some of the same things and though he didn’t intend to, it feels like Brainiac would have ran a certain course. 

Yet that’s thjs cynical middle aged indie fan’s view. I can’t argue Brainiac was not a unique talent. One can draw an arrow to the latter success of superfan Cedric Bixler-Zavala in Mars Volta and At the Drive In. There’s no doubt that a major label, production from Rick Rubin, a tour with Rage Against the Machine could easily have made the band a household name. 

But the doc is much more than that. You might think Taylor was a genius as doc guests like Melissa Auf de Mar, Steve Albini, Fred Armisen, David Yow, Buzz Osbourne and Zavala proclaim (though if doubt few won’t find the music at least interesting). 

It is about the push and pull of creativity. The imagination of youth and finding similarly minded individuals. The make or break of going after your dream no matter what it costs. The fight between art and sales. 

The impact of Taylor’s death is perhaps the most affecting thing in the doc. The band members struggle to finds themselves once the band is gone. This emotional gravity definitely makes it a much watch.  

In 2023, the band got together to finish demos that they had been working on in 1997. These 9 songs form The Predator Nominate EP

90s Whatever: Licorice Roots

One of my favorite 90s records and great “lost album” is Licorice Root Orchestra by Raymond Listen.

In 1993, the Edward Moyse fronted Newark Delaware band released that album on Shimmy Disc Records. Unfortunately, the quirky record label that released albums by acts like King Missile, Daniel Johnston and Ween among many others was going out of business. So did the band Raymond Listen.

I thought of the album often. I remember thinking of them during the MySpace days. There wasn’t a ton of info but of course, these days there’s a bit more. They even have a rather reverential Allmusic profile.

What had happened after the band broke up, was Moyse reformed them after a brief hiatus, renamed them the Licorice Roots and released Melodeon in 1997. Albums followed in 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. These last four self released albums are available on streaming services.

Neutral Milk Hotel references pop on the few band reviews I have seen. I definitely sense some Marc Bolan/ T Rex but the Flaming Lips psychedelica is certainly there. Articles on the band are scattered over the years, but fun to read as most everyone who heard them fell in love with them.

If there is any criticism it’s the more recent stuff does sort of blend in together. One critic blamed Moyse’s distinct vision. But it’s also worth making note of Allmusic’s biography- that the band predates NMH, Olivia Tremor Control and Apples in Stereo

 

1993 - Shimmy Disc

90s…Whatever.: Mepiskaphales

 I can't do a series on alt-music in the 90s without some mention of 3rd wave ska. Being a big fan of new wave and a total Anglophile, I always loved the "second wave" of 2 Tone crowd (Specials, English Beat, Madness). And yes, I do love the original Jamaican stuff. 

Third Wave ska took that Two Tone sound and added a 90s punk feel to it. Bands came across the country and across labels, but in many ways, Moon Records in New York was the home.

Critics generally didn't go for it, but cult genres like this, it doesn't matter. Ska has went in and out of favor over the years, and seems to be back again. For the most part, when ska did break through, it either was heavily polished with a pop sound (No Doubt, Mighty Mighty Bosstones) or as a joke (Less than Jake, Bowling for Soup, Reel Big Fish). Even bands like Goldfinger, were still generally held to a modicum of success.

I am glad that I saw quite a few of these bands who almost always were a fun time, whether they became national acts or regional acts that have grown via the internet years. The Bosstones were one of the best live bands on the planet.

I also saw ska and ska-adjacent bands: The Toasters, Murphys Law, Rancid, Hepcat. MU330, Johnny Socko, Skankin Pikcle, MU330, Blue Meanies and the Dance Hall Crashers.

One of my favorite albums is 1994's God Bless Satan by New York's Mephiskapheles.

If you can't tell from that, at least the track listing would let you know it's a bit of a joke mixing the Devil and Ska. I can only imagine it owes a great deal to 1990's Devil's Night Out - the Bosstones' debut- which was one of the first albums to give ska a metal edge.

Produced by Bill Laswell, it's an album that seems likely to have connected with a big crowd if more people had heard it- catchy tunes set to strong musicianship played fast and tight. On the other hand, of course, as with much of the third wave genre, it's all played for jokes. Still, it's an incredible example of what the best of the genre was.

The band released two more albums before breaking up in 2001, riding the ska wave to its top and then fading along with the scene.

The band did reunite in 2012and have been pretty active touring since; as the Third wave becomes popular again. They have recorded two EPs since the reunion - 2015s self titled six song EP which was engineered by All/Descendents guitarist Stephen Egerton and 2019s four song Never Born Again. 2023 saw the release of a live album "Live at Supernova Ska Fest 2021"

1993 - Koch/Moon/Pass the Virgin Records

Doc Watch: Looking for Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders

 There is something about Johnny Thunders. I have spent many of my years seeking out every tidbit about him. Separately, I have run into others who have done much the same.

I got into the New York Dolls and so it was only a matter of time, I suppose. But after 1977s LAMF and 1978s So Alone, there’s not much else held in critic acclaim. But that didn’t stop me from picking up the two ROiR cassettes and as the internet opened up sharing, I sought out every recording I could find

What is it about Thunders? I suppose that so what the #rockdocs 2014 Looking for Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders is trying to find out.

The doc does a fairly in depth look at the Dolls career- going light on some of the early years but hitting the highlights and doing good coverage of the final days including the stint in the band by Pure Hell’s drummer Spider Sanders.

Even as someone obsessed with the Dolls, I learned stuff.

The doc has the right mix of important people. Of course, many are no longer with us. Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain is probably as expert as anyone, as was Thunders friend famed photographer Bob Gruen. Sylvain has passed away now as has Dolls manager Marty Thau, and Heartbreaker sidekicks Walter Lure and Billy Rath. Thunders compadre Jerry Nolan has long gone but two significant others are interviewed. Thunders biographer Nina Antona is here as are musicians who played or toured with Thunders.

Malcolm McLaren who was famously the Dolla manager in their final days is present via interview footage. And of course, most of all, Thunders himself is telling his story via archive interviews.

The Thunders story isn’t often told, as it’s such a mess post So Alone. But here it is - a life and career where success is constantly being snatched away by Johnny’s penchant for self destruction.

The Heartbeakers hit the London scene as talented veterans led by Thunders and Nolan. Their playing heads and shoulders over the young punk crowd. Unfortunately, the LAMF album is sabotaged by crappy recording. Nolan fights it, but it is released as is. The record label (Track Records) has become a bit of a joke propped up as a way to still collect royalties from the Who's catalog)

Thunders finds compatriots in Peter Perrett and Phil Lynott for his next album So Alone but success is to elude him.

Over and over again, Thunders seems to sabotage himself. His dependence on drugs ruin his road to the fame he wanted and wrecks his family life. Meanwhile, his stage show becomes more and more about the car crash he had become. He breaks up and continually reforms the Heartbreakers to make money off final and reunion gigs.

Thunders joins with MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer to start a band called Gang War. Drugs always seem to get in the way. He works with producer Jimmy Miller (Beggars Banquet, Exile on Main Street, Sticky Fingers) but it doesn’t lead to a successful album.

There’s a lot of great footage of Johnny. He pursues acting and occasionally records. He definitely had the rock n roll look. Whether they knew it or not, every American glam band of the 80s were trying to copy Johnny as did plenty of hip indie bands like the Strokes.

Johnny’s story doesn’t lend itself to a cohesive story as there are more downs than ups but this movie tells it well.

Famously, Thunders dies in New Orleans and it has always been controversial. Some suggest he was killed, but the police classified it as an overdose.

Thunders seemed to be making peace with himself in those final weeks which imply that his heart wasn’t ready to go on. At the same time, the details seem sketchy and inconsistent.

This movie is down really well and really tells the story of someone who became a cult personality. Someone who had become a bit of an unknown and yet a legend. Someone who was the life of the party but also often sad. This at least presents a document that will keep his legend alive.

90s…Whatever: Pony

In the 1990s, Homestead Records was this cool indie label and in 1994 they released an eight song album called Cosmovalidator by a band called Pony. 

 I immediately fell in love with the band who this day are probably the closest thing that I have heard to replicating the Pixies. There are other influences or sounds but the fact they start off a song with the lyrics “I met Black Francis in a dream” let you know their intentions. I was hoping for big things but even with a tad bit of media attention, they broke up after.

 In 1996, Homestead released El Dorado- ostensibly a second album but really just an odd and sods cleaning of the closet. I thought they were going to break through, but what I didn’t expect was how. 

You see the drummer and vocalist for the trio Jimmy James would become much more famous as James Murphy who does business as LCD Soundsystem. Info on Pony seems rare probably not helped by many artists with the same or similar name. Even Murphy’s Wikipedia bio neglects detail on the band. 

 There was for a time a MySpace presence but now the top Google hit is a years ago Reddit thread on the LCD Soundsystem subreddit. Both albums are on streaming now. Allmusic and Spotify listeners also tend to group 2006s Motorcar with the bands work and though it sounds similar, Last FM distinguishes it as a separate three piece band based out of Boston. That the band broke up in 95 and were New York City based leads me to believe the new band is not related. As does the band’s Last Fm bio, whose short two paragraphs is perhaps the closest thing to a definitive bio on the internet. 

It says the band had a lot of inner animosity and these days, guitarist Dallas Crowe teaching at a Liberal Arts College and bassist Kitty DuBois running a successful business on the lower East Side. Anyway, I love this album (EP or double EP if you will) and still think it’s great 

1994 - Homestead

 

90s…Whatever: All

As a teen in the early 90s, I started hanging out with skaters and digging teh hardcore punk rawk.  I had already got into MTV style alternative rock but these new friends were digging their older brothers' cassettes like the Descendents, Minor Threat , and Minutemen  Now, by the time we were old enough to buy our own music, those bands were all gone, and so we waited with baited breath for any new music from All, Fugazi or fIREHOSE.

All never really hit the heights of the Descendents (though it basically was the same band with a different singer), but they were a perfect soundtrack for skater youth.  In famous punk lore,Descendents lead singer Milo Aukerman was more interested in pursuing a career as a scientist)

All went through three singers in the 90s, and I caught them live (Scott Reynolds on vocals at the time) and they were a fun punk show.  The bald headed guitarist Stephen Egerton being one of the more memorable characters of the punk scene. 

In 1995 (with singer Chad Price), they made their bid at the big time, signing with Interscope and releasing Pummel.  Pummel is generally disliked by critics (Allmusic gives it only two stars out of five), but it’s not a bad disc. It has a seemingly radio ready single “Million Bucks” and sounds like a precursor for what rock radio would play for the last part of that decade. 

As time has gone by, nearly every critic will make some statement that the Descendents were before their time and their influence far exceeds the money they made. This is true. The band captured the nerdy American teenager with melodic pop played super fast in a way that hasn’t been done before. 

Now, of course, you can list dozens of bands from Blink 182 to Green Day and from more obscure bands that appear on the WarpedTour to bands that appear on the radio like All American Rejects and Fall Out Boy. (As an aside, I generally hate most of this genre, but it’s almost impossible not to find some Descendents songs that you will like)

But even though Pummel would seem to be a mix of the right band and the right time, even with MTV coverage and an appearance on Conan O Brien, never became a household name. 

In 1996, the Descendents would reunite. and a generally successful comeback.  Both Descendents and All continued to tour and record in subsequent years.  In many way, the Descendents had overshadowed All, though All’s constant touring made plenty of fans in the 90s. These many years later, All seems almost forgotten since Milo’s return 

I just watched Filmage, the 2013 documentary covering the Descendents and All. It’s a strong case for the band of humble beginnings. Unlike the stories of art school some bands have, it starts with some fishing buddies. Unlike previous punk bands who sang about politics, this band sang about food, unrequited love and being picked on at school. Their drug of choice was coffee. 

The film has to feature drummer Bill Stevenson who has been the driving force of both bands, but does a great job of featuring all members. 

The band was strongly influenced by a somewhat forgotten Los Angeles band The Last. The doc features some of the people who were in the scene that followed- Keith Morris, Mike Watt, Kira Roessler and Chuck Dukowski and then the bands well known fans who came later like Dave Grohl, Mark Hoppus of Blink 182, Fat Mike of NOFX and a list of others like members of MxPx, Pennywise, Less than Jake, Rise Against and others. 

Even casual fans will like the documentary which does a nice overview of the band in a light hearted way. Stevenson’s personal life features at the end. The band comes out at the end, perhaps not famous or rich like those who took their formula did, but largely pleased with what they have accomplished. 

90s…Whatever: Matt Keating

1 love to write about music and I want to include all matters of records, maybe even great albums  that got miscategorized.

There is no doubt, Matt Keating should be in the initial batch. Even his allmusic profile seems like a bit of a slap in the face. Accurate as it may be, it paints a picture of Keating at the same level in the 90s as budding singer-songwriter like Elliott Smith and Mark Kozelek (I might throw in labelmate Mark Eitzel as well) except he never took off.

I realize "underrated" and "unheard" are subjective. Someone like Freedy Johnston probably fits that, but at least there are a fair amount of people who have heard him.

Keating's first two albums are incredibly strong. I pick Scaryarea as my favorite because I really love it but Tell it to Yourself is also good.

Allmusic damns Scaryarea to 2.5 stars and stops reviewing him after his fourth record- 2002s Tilt A Whirl. Probably not surprising that the attention dropped off after his last album with Alias Records- 1997s Killjoy.   

It does occur to me that I do think I have Killjoy in my CD storage. 

It also occurred to me that I should see what Keating has been up to, and he has 12 albums listed on his website. The most recent being re-recordings of Alias material appropriately called Greatest Misses which was released in 2019. 

The album before that was 2015s The Perfect Crime. I have dropped the needle on some of it and I don’t share the enjoyment of the hype on his press release page, but Keating still strikes me as someone who could have more great albums in him. 

I am probably not doing a good job here of expressing how much I do love his first two albums. I can only imagine the difficulty in his career was tied to the Rise and Fall of Alias Records - which went from these weird (but great) bands like X Tal and Hypnolovewheel to a point where they were launching bands like American Music Club and Yo La Tengo to major labels. 

I recently thought of Keating again when talking about the College Music Journal Presents Ten of A Kind- a stab at capturing the best unsigned bands in 1988. That compilation has one bona fide success (Material Issue) some almost famous bands (Gunbunnies, Paul K and the Weathermen) and some ‘never was’. 

The best song on there (outside of the brilliant pop song “Valerie Loves Me”) is by a Boston band called Circle Sky, whose credits make it clear is a vehicle for Keating. 

Anyway, I am glad that every couple of years or so, he comes back to mind and I get these records out again. Scaryarea is (no hyperbole) an all time favorite of mine. . If you like smart songwriter pop, look him up.