The Beat Gose On

The Beat Gose On

AUSTIN

Since Willie Nelson stopped hosting Fourth of July Picnics (and not because of ants: the last one in ’85 lost $200,000) Austin’s biggest and best annual outdoor music-athon has been the T-Bird Riverfest on Memorial Day. Though only six years old, the event is already bathed in tradition. Every year, hosts the Fabulous T-Birds provide a top-flight line-up, concluding with a super jam session. Each Fest is fueled by rumored “surprise special guests” who never show. Each year it rains and every review of the show in the local daily mentions that the various downpours failed to dampen the spirits of the crowd.

This year’s 11 hours of music was provided by the Neville Brothers, Carlos Santana, Joe Walsh, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Doug Sahm, Bill Carter, the Neptunes and two performers who’ve hit all six Riverfests: Bonnie Raitt and Nick Lowe. “Austin is my favorite city in America,” Lowe says, “so a call from the T-Birds is all the coaxing I need to come here.” Raitt was too busy sitting in with various acts like the Nevilles, the TBirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan to explain why she makes a yearly pilgrimage to this rhythm and blues mecca.

Even though the appearances of Keith Richards, Elvis Costello and Robert Plant existed only in the minds of people who obviously have too much free time, the stage-sagging finale came close to spontaneous combustion. First the T-Birds called up Santana and Raitt for a little bluesbusting. Walsh, Art Neville and Lowe joined them on the next jam. The crowd really went nuts, however, when Stevie Ray Vaughan took up a position next to Jimmie Vaughan and the real blues brothers threw out sweet riffs like Santa tosses candy from a parade float. With Santana, Raitt and Walsh toeing the line for their leap into the fray, guitar fans were in heaven. The only person not enjoying the master axe-slinging was promoter French Smith who would owe the city—which owns the Auditorium show site—an extra $1,000 if the show ended after midnight. When the last number finished at 11:57, all but one of the 12,000 in attendance screamed for an encore.

Besides providing a full day of great music in conditions generally more civilized and comfortable than at most big outdoor concerts, the Riverfest gives yearly testimony that many people believe that Heaven is probably just backstage at Hell. Once they cross the chain-link fence that separates them from the great unwashed, hundreds of local scenesters jockey for preferred access and try to upgrade their credentials. The most-privileged passport was the green “artist” badge, followed in importance by passes labeled “crew,” “press,”

“VIP” and “hospitality.” The lower you rated, the less places you were allowed and the worse your view of the stage. Since most fringe residents couldn’t care less about the music, credential status was meaningful as a gauge of how important they really were. The snub lost much of its sting though, when it was discovered that actor David Keith (in town to play Elvis in Heartbreak Hotel) was tagged with the lowly “hospitality” badge. Last year’s partying thespians, Margot Kidder and Dennis Quaid, wore “artist” badges, but only because one of them was sleeping with Nick Lowe and the other had a Doberman on a leash.

Michael Corcoran

MINNEAPOLIS

Mention the Minneapolis music scene to any outsider and you know who’ll come to mind—Prince and the Paisley Park scene, Flyte Time Productions and some funky/soul stuff, Husker Du, the Replacements, maybe Soul Asylum, those white boy garage bands... Sure, there’s no denying that those guys got the story started, but there is no singular Minneapolis sound. There’s a club (try First Avenue/7th Street Entry, the Uptown, the Caboose, for starters) and a band every night for everyone—headbangers and hardcore alike. What follows is a guide to some of the faves. While they represent only a fraction of the groups which flourish here, they capture the diversity of the land of 10,000 bands.

THE RAID

“We don’t wear makeup for glam,” says Chainsaw Caine, “we wear warpaint!!!”’ And so they do. It is a Raid—led by some of the hardest rockers Minneapolis has never unleashed: Slave Raider (Chainsaw Caine, vocals; Nicci Wikkid and Lance Sabin, guitar; Letticia Rae, bass and vocals; and the Rock, drums). The Raid is like nothing else—it’s as Nicci Wikkid so aptly puts it, “a festival of insanity.” Slave Raider is that perfect combo of metal meets makeup, heavy rock eyeliner looks to match. In the land of Prince and the Replacements, the Raid is an anomaly, described disparagingly by some as a live version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

“There’s involvement, it’s an event/’ says Chainsaw. A Slave Raider show is an always an extravaganza—that never fails to rock the faithful. There’s a flash and energy, behind-the-back guitar solos and the biggest hair in local history. Slave Raider puts on s show—they, more than any band in Minneapolis, are real rock stars. And it’s no posing—it’s life. (The first time I met them—their chauffeur took us to the local metal bar called Mr. Nibs at four o’clock in the afternoon.. .in guerilla gear.. .wearing shades). “It’s not an image for image’s sake,” says Nicci. “I don’t go home and change into cords and a flannel shirt.” “Yeah,” adds Chainsaw, “the cool thing is it’s beyond image—its just the way it is now.”

It may well be. Shunned and misunderstood by many, the Raid may laugh last and longest. “We are going to put Minneapolis on the map,” says Nicci, “It’s something other than funk head-, quarters. No more fucking garbage bands.”

THE TRIP

Long distance. It’s Trip

Shakespeare calling from Toledo. Sure they live in Minneapolis, but they’re hard to find at home. The Trip is out on tour again, playing clubs and colleges throughout the Midwest. It’s part of their plan, as bassist John Munson puts it, “to conquer the Midwest by force, by storm, to sing our way into the hearts of America.

It seems to be working. Trip Shakespeare (Matt Wilson, lead vocals/guitar; Dan Wilson, keyboards and guitar; John Munson, lead bass and Elaine Harris, drums) may be the most popular of the up ’n’ coming Minneapolis bands.

Musically, Trip is characterized by their knack for melodic hooks and literate lyrics. “The melodicism,” says John Munson, “comes from a lot of elements, not just the Alex Chilton and Raspberries thing. There are jazz sensibilities in thf» riffs and melodies along with the classic folk rock sound of Led Zeppelin and Buffalo Springfield.” Trip Shakespeare is indeed an amalgam of diverse influences which show up on the band’s first LP, Applehead Man. The title cut and songs such as “Fireball,” “Rose,” “Washington Street Bride” and “Pearle,” illustrate carefully layered instrumentation and elaborate vocal harmonies. All this gets wrapped around lyrics which Matt Wilson promises “will never disappear into a bottomless phrase.. .It’s all there.” Avant-garde pop rock for the discerning listener.

THE WESTIES

“We’re a five-piece band that does original music,” says Kraig Johnson. “Yeah,” adds Terry Fischer, “we’re suburban boys trying to be rock stars.”

Well, yes and no. I mean, the essentia! facts are true. Run Westy Run does consist of five exiled suburban boys—those Johnson brothers; Kirk (vocals), Kyle (guitar) and Kraig (bass), Terry Fischer (guitar) and Bob Josyln (drums)—and they do play original music. But so do a million bands in a million garages in a million cities. Run Westy Run is a great band—some sort of sick psycho-killer machine fueled by hard rock fast times and a smokescreen of stories where fact is inseparable from rumor...

It all began about two and a half years ago, when the Westies (who had all played in other bands) converged by happy accident. Since then they’ve released an LP, a single, and recently finished their second album (Hardly Not Ever on SST) at “King Shit” Ron Parker’s Mirror Image Recording Studios in Minneapolis. The current material is as hard-driving and mesmerizing as anything the band’s followers have come to expect. More songs afc>out sex, drugs and domination— songs like MYork Of The King Of The Zebra Pants,” "Iceland Queen,” “Skeleton,” which are undeniably original yet reminiscent of earlier hard rock heavies. There’s an Iggy influence, some Stones, a touch of Zeppelin and Aerosmith, a mintite or two of the Doors. Great stuff—songs that invade your brain and rule your body. Solid, unshakable rhythms mixed with subtle guitar riffs and sometimes crazy, sometimes shaky vocals. Perfect.

And every show is a surprise—“It’s like opening a present,” says Kyle. “It’s something that just has to be unwrapped, it unravels, it just happens.” And so it does, emerging as a mixture of the band’s mood (And just what will they wear? Are there new haircuts? Or false eyelashes from the ’60s? Will the beers and cigs hold out? And, tell me, who will go down in flames tonight???) and the audience’s input. “We can’t really go if the audience isn’t jacking us off,” Says Bob. “We gotta soak off them—they gotta soak off us..

Nancy Heitzeg

NEW YORK

ATLANTIC RECORDS' 40TH ANNIVERSARY

Through the miracle of lead times, Atlantic Records is well on its way to a 41st Anniversary celebration, one we’re sure will be the event to top all events—including their 40th Anniversary bash. But since we were invited to the 40th, and we have all kindsa pictures and all, we figured “Heck, why not make our jobs easier, run all these photos and not increase the editorial budget any.” We’re so sensitive.

Anyway, the bash itself was every bit as enthralling as our friends in hype-land promised. No there wasn’t a Stones “reunion,” but for the occasion, the three remaining Led Zeps got together, as did the Coasters, the Rascals, and most importantly of allj Iron Butterfly. Now if ariyone can find members of the original Free (who recorded the killer “Day Of Decision For Lost Soul Blue” for the label back in 1966), it’ll be time to start layin’ the groundwork for the next party...