Scandinavian Indie Digest Vol.1 Issue #05
Scandinavian Indie Digest Thu Mar 24, 1994 Volume 1 : Issue 05
There are 11 messages totalling 605 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Roskilde Festival 1994
2. Pleasurehouse
3. Pleasurehouse Interview
4. Pleasurehouse again
5. List things
6. Festival news?
7. A West Side Fabrication rules!
8. dates for summer festivals?
9. BQ - Revisited EP (2)
10. West Side...
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Date: Wed, 2 Mar 1994 12:52:16 +0200 (EET)
From: Kimmo S{{skilahti
Subject: Roskilde Festival 1994
Hi!
The first news about the line-up for forthcoming Roskilde Festival in
Denmark have reached the distant shores of Finland. According to
today's morning paper the festival will be held 30.6 - 3.7. and the
line-up will include at least Boo Radleys, Grant Lee Buffalo and
Tindersticks. The first of the headlining acts was also revealed,
namely Aerosmith (who cares?).
The festival is probably the best in Scandinavia, so if you happen to
be around at summertime, don't miss it!
I'm sure our Danish readers will give more info on this (do we have
any yet?)
Kimmo
------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 1994 11:00:28 +0000
From: hernande@manitou.ensmp.fr
Subject: Pleasurehouse
Well, good news : Erik seems to be back on the Net and I hope the list will
be a little more lively !
>Regarding Pleasurehouse: Yes, I have info, interviews and whatnot.
>I'll post that info as well, asap.
It is therefore time for me to ask again some question about this band
(Pleasurehouse) that I have never been able to listen to but whose "This is
how it feels ep" is in bargain in my record shop ! Is it worth buying it ?
How does the band sound ? Is there any relation with the Inspiral Carpets
song ?
Of course, any other person than Erik may answer my questions :-)
Bruno
-----------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 1994 16:30:15 +0100
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: Pleasurehouse Interview
Sorry about the bad english and the lack of names etc. But I'll post
more about Pleasurehouse in a few hours time. //Erik
____________________________________________________________________
Pleasurehouse Interview 23-Apr-93
Pleasurehouse played live at a local place here in Linkoping, and of course,
yours truly was there to record and interview this 'new' Swedish indie band.
Most of the questions were answered by the drummer, as he was the one who
talked the most (and told enough jokes to keep everyone else in hysteria. :))
[S] = singer, [D] = drummer, [B] = bass player, [G1] & [G2] = guitar players.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME: GREAT CONCERT GUYS!
S: It was okay.
ME: IS IT OKAY IF I DO AN INTERVIEW WITH THE BAND FOR A ZINE I'M WRITING FOR?
S: Yeah, grab your stuff and come up to our room. It's just up those stairs.
We have to sit down, and have a few beers. (smile)
ME: OKAY, I'LL BE THERE IN A FEW MINUTES THEN.
S: Yeah.
[Well up in their room, I found everyone sitting around a big table,
plus a few other people, who introduced themselves later as friends
to the members of the band. Everyone was drinking beer, except the
bass player, who explained he was the driver for the night.]
ME: HOW LONG HAS PLEASUREHOUSE BEEN PLAYING?
D: Since 1986... (laughter). Back then we had a different line-up though.
S: We started 1986, but it was only last year we were signed with West Side.
The CD you got there [Marseille] is our first release really, but the
songs on it are really old for us now.
D: We had a different guitar player then. He played with another band at
the same time, and sometimes he didn't show up at rehearsals, so now we
have this new one from Smaland (pointing at a guy in a sofa who nods).
G2: I played with My Favorite Martians before. Bass though. You heard of
them? We only released one single.
S: He didn't play on 'Marseille'.. only joined a couple of months ago. You
like the tracks on the CD?
ME: YES! I ONLY BOUGHT IT A MONTH AGO, BUT I THINK THE SONGS ARE GREAT.
I WOULDN'T BE HERE IF I DIDN'T. (smile)
S: Haha, that's true. Well, we're sick to the teeth with those songs.
We've played some of them since 1986, like 'This is how it feels'
and 'Happy when you leave', and you know, it's really boring to play
the same songs over and over again.. I mean, 1986!
D: Yeah, but 'Blind' was okay tonight, don't you think? I think so..
Felt great to play that one (drums on his knees), and they (referring
to the audience) were with us on it, dancing and all..
S: Yes, that one did okay. It's good to hear that you like the CD though.
It was to be released last october, but the company [West Side] decided
to wait until march this year. We got a good review in Aftonbladet..
[a Swedish evening-paper] Three 'plus'.. not bad at all really.
ME: A COUPLE OF NEW SONGS TONIGHT... ANY CHANCE WE'RE GOING TO SEE SOME
NEW SINGLES OR PERHAPS EVEN A NEW ALBUM SOON?
S: Nine songs. Four from Marseille, 'Breathe', 'Summer', 'Blind' and
'This is how it feels'. Then we played 'Cindy', written by our new
member [the guitar player] which will be out on flexi with the next
issue of Sound Affects together with a song from Easy [another band].
We also played 'Candyfloss', 'Vals', 'September' and 'Six Eyes'.
'Six Eyes' wasn't really written today [they said it was, to the
audience during the concert] (laughter), but we did write it this
week.
ME: HOW ABOUT THE LYRICS? ARE THEY WRITTEN TO SOMEONE SPECIAL OR...?
S: They're written like to a friend. Some of the songs are really
for someone I know. But I really want people to have their
own thoughts about what the lyrics are about. I think that goes
for all lyrics.. I wouldn't for example go and ask another singer
what the lyrics are about.. I have my own picture, you know?
ME: SO THE NEXT THING IS THE FLEXI WITH SOUND AFFECTS? NO SINGLES?
S: No. We have a lot of songs though..
D: West Side is like this. You sign with them, they release your first
album, and then they try to sell you to a bigger label. He (the owner)
sits in his house up in Skellefte and is having fun. Sort of like he's
just doing all of this as a hobby. He puts a lot of pressure on the
bigger labels though, to sign bands from West Side.
ME: YOU SAID YOUR NEW GUITAR PLAYER WROTE 'CINDY'? YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO
WRITES SONGS AND LYRICS FOR PLEASUREHOUSE THEN?
S: No no. He's writing a lot of our new material. He really did bring a
lot of new ideas to the group.
D: Yeah. Before, we played and then went home. After he joined, we're
a lot closer, and spend a lot of time together (the whole band) outside
the studio. More like a group now, if you know what I mean.
ME: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT 'HERRGAR'N'? [THE PLACE THEY PLAYED AT]
S: Small scene. [everyone agrees]
G1: Did you feel it swaying? I felt it A LOT. It was like, wow.. if I'd
leaned a bit more forward, I bet it would've gone over. (laughter)
D: I heard my drums all around me! I couldn't...
S: And the first time he told us about that, was when we had two songs left
to play!
D: Yeah but.. [the other members laugh] ...they fixed it then at least.
G1: You heard my effects-box? It died several times, so I had to kick it
to get it to work again! I felt kind of funny, standing there and
kicking the box all the time. But no-one seemed to have heard the
difference..
ME: I DIDN'T. [everyone laughs]
G1: Well.. It sounded fine when it worked..
ME: HOW ABOUT SOME REGULAR INTERVIEW QUESTIONS? HOW OLD ARE YOU?
S: 24..
G2: He's 32! (pointing at the drummer laughing)
D: See! He's writing that down! I won't say.. [everyone laughs]
ME: OKAY.. FAVORITE BANDS (INSPIRATIONS)?
S: Moose, My Bloody Valentine... Suede's latest single is good. I also
recommend Dinosaur Jr's 'Bug'. Lately, I've been listening to The
Auteurs though. It grows on you.
D: Boo Radleys, Sonic Youth...
G2: Soundgarden
ME: HOW ABOUT SLOWDIVE OR CURVE?
S: uh.. no. They're too slow, if you know what I mean.
D: Definitely no.
S: And the whole Grunge-wave really sucks.
G1: I like Alice In Chains.
S: What's that? (laughter)
ME: SWEDISH BANDS? MINDSCAPE, SUREDO, A SHRINE?
S: Don't say Mindscape..
D: We don't like them.
S: No. They had one good song.. their hit. Suredo, yeah, they're great.
Weren't we supposed to play with them at Skylten [local place] ?
D: Yeah, but the guy who owns that place don't want local, or 'small'
bands to play there anymore. He's more into known bands now, like
Thastrom and so on.. It's really sick because that place was made
for like, unknown bands, you know.
S: So the last thing we heard was that they didn't have any date for
our gig, and they just let it go. Sad though.. Would've been fun
to play with 'em. A Shrine, yeah, they're also good. Also on the
West Side label.
ME: WHERE ARE YOU PLAYING LIVE NEXT?
S: We were to play in Norrkoping together with Blue (another Indie band)
from Orebro, but we haven't heard anything about it for a while now.
We're playing in Orebro though, in may, and then in Skelleftea.
D: Yeah, see, we have this deal, like, Blue's coming to Norrkoping to
play, and we're going to Orebro to play. Like a switch...
ME: YOU'RE ALL FROM NORRKOPING THEN?
S: Yeah... well, not our new guitar player, who, like I said is from
Smaland.
ME: OKAY.. NEXT GENERIC QUESTION: FAVORITE DRINK?
S: Carlsberg. [everyone agrees]
D: ..and Gin/Tonic!
ME: GROUPIES? HOW ABOUT THAT?
S: (laugh)
D: You wish! (laugh)
ME: OH YEAH, YOU HAD ONE SONG ON THE LATEST WEST SIDE COMPILATION..
S: Yeah. They called us one day, said that we had ten hours to do a
song for the compilation if we wanted to be on it. So we did
'You will never know', and the week after that, the compilation
was out.
ME: HAVE YOU RELEASED ANYTHING ELSE, EXCEPT FROM MARSEILLE?
S: Well, we've been on two compilations from West Side, and then it's
that flexi with Sound Affects. That's all.
D: If you don't count the demo tapes.. (smile)
S: Haha, we won't give out those though. We sound like.. [he says the
name of a group, which unfortunately, I can't remember. Sorry.].
We didn't sound at all like we do today. You wouldn't like them
if you like how we sound today.
ME: ANYTHING FUNNY HAPPEN TO YOU WHEN PLAYING LIVE?
D: Why don't you tell him about our release-party?
S: Okay.. we had this release party, for Marseille, and there were a
lot of people at this place, and of course, we wanted to do our
best. So we go up on stage, and starts to play. And it sounds
TERRIBLE! Everything was wrong. The sound came from all directions,
and no-one could hear what they played or sang. Later, we found
out that they had a 17-year-old sound technician, who just started
to work there.
D: He was just practicing there!
S: He must've been! It was a disaster! [laughter]
[at this point, most of the members of the band had gone downstairs
to the party to mingle, and someone who worked at that place came to tell
us that they wanted us to leave, because it was really a room for the
employees, the rest of us decided to join the others downstairs.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I talked a lot to the singer and the drummer, and asked them about
the lyrics and more about other bands they liked during the rest of
the night, but I guess we all had a bit too much to drink at that
point (Gin/Tonics for the drummer :-)), and I just don't remember
everything they said too well. Better to leave it out, than to
perhaps, write stuff they didn't say. :)
When the drink-bar closed, and there were no more Gin/Tonics available,
they decided to leave. Their instruments and gear was carried out to
their van. After I got my copy of Marseille signed by the members and
we had found one of the guitar players again (we lost him a couple
of hours earlier ), and after the band told the management of the
place that they didn't like to be thrown out from the room they were
supposed to be able to use, they drove off in their van.
------
To order a subscriptions to the Sound Affects magazine - call +46-11100053.
(you get a free CD with your subscription. Either PLEASUREHOUSE - Marseille,
or one of the West Side compilations (they've released four so far)).
PLEASUREHOUSE - Marseille. West Side Fabrication 1993 WeCD 042.
Breathe, Summer, Blind, Happy When You Leave, Regrets, This Is How It Feels.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
----------------------------
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 1994 14:16:25 +0000
From: hernande@manitou.ensmp.fr
Subject: Pleasurehouse again
After reading Erik's interview of the band, I decided to buy their "This is
how it feels EP" because I thought that I would never see it again in the
future, here in France. At least, the musical tastes of the band (liking
Moose and MBV and disliking Curve, for instance, were similar to mine !)
were interesting.
The EP contains 4 songs : "Cindy", "This is how it feels", "Perfect summer"
and "Happy when you leave" and, in spite of what Erik could probably think
:-), the band plays the same kind of music than Popsicle, that is typical
power-pop.
And I must say that I have been slightly disappointed by this EP. The
overall sound on the EP is good but with the exception of "Cindy", their
songs are not very good, a little boring...
On the other hand, "Cindy" is really good ! It really reminds me some
Popsicle songs (especially "Sandy", and not only for the names of the songs
:-) and there are some catchy tunes that work well.
In the interview, the band said that this song was written by their new
member and that the other songs were quite old. So perhaps there are good
chances that their new songs sound like "Cindy"...
Can anyone (well, Erik seems to be the only person caring about
Pleasurehouse...) tell which direction they are taking now ? Is the new
member bringing poppier things to their music ?
Bruno
----------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 1994 02:36:34 +0100
From: chief@lysator.liu.se
Subject: List things
Yet again I fail to follow through on what I have promised, and I'm sorry
about that. Seems like taking care of two mailing lists, and being on
several others as well as having a life and studying is really time
consuming for me. I have promised a lot of information, esp last week
about Easy, Pleasurehouse, bands on the West Side label, interviews with
Souls etc. Now I'm in the middle of an exam period, there's a distance
between me and someone close to me, there's some trouble on the other
list.. I can go on, giving you excuses for not taking care of the list
as I would like to, but I won't.
I can only hope that the list will stay as it is right now for a few
weeks time until things are back to normal around here, and that you
understand my predicaments (sp?) right now. I will take care of the
UNSUBSCRIBE requests as soon as possible as well. Sorry about that all
of you who have tried to unsubscribe the last week.
Once again, sorry.
/Erik
P.S. Pleasurehouse: Yeah, I also think Cindy is their best song so far.
They are looking for a new guitarrist (or was it bass?) right now
around here. I've seen some ads, but I don't know if they have found
one yet. I think there will be some time before their full-length
album is out though. D.S.
--------------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 1994 13:18:55 +0200 (EET)
From: Kimmo S{{skilahti
Subject: Festival news?
Hi again!
Just wondering if anyone has heard anything new about
bands scheduled for the summer festivals in Finland,
Sweden, Denmark??
Inquiring minds want to know...
Kimmo
---------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 1994 13:17:04 +0200 (EET)
From: Kimmo S{{skilahti
Subject: A West Side Fabrication rules!
Hello!
Is this list dead, or is it dizzy?
(A Bear Quartet allusion to start the day!)
I had heard a couple of great tracks by Bear Quartet already before,
but was I surprised when I heard their latest album, "Family Affair"!
A local 'megastore' is going out of business and I managed to find the
CD in the 'everything must go' sale for a reasonable price, on top of
everything great! For those of you, who are not familiar with the
band's sound, I might say that they sound a bit like Dinosaur Jr.
(when they were interesting) and Pavement, just like thousand other
bands, but Bear Quartet does it only much better than the rest in the
genre.
I haven't been often as impressed and surprised by an album as this
has proved to be. When I first put it in the CD player, I listened to
it five or six times through non-stop! On the next day, I listened to
nothing but it. And the magic continues still this day, though I'm
not as obsessed by it any longer.
What is interesting is that I can't really say what is the particular
aspect that makes them so divine and superior to their competitors.
Their songs are good, they play well, the sound is fine, lyrics seem
to be well-written (haven't checked them from the inlay card yet), but
none of these factors alone can explain the monstrous effect on me.
Rather it is something that goes beyond the surface... something that
seems very wise....warm...human... (I admit this sounds quite naive
and romantic, but that's the way I am :-)
Anyway, what I'd like to know (if anyone's still reading) is if their
other releases are as ecstatic? I seem to remember that they released
not only the above mentioned album last year, but two others as well!
Any other bits of info are most appreciated as well.
Another CD I picked up from the sale was "Carnivore" by Puffin. It
sounds great as well, a bit more Boo Radley-ish at times maybe. I
haven't had time to give it many a spin yet, as you surely understand
from my rambling above.
Finally, another A West Side Fabrication band has been getting quite a
lot of radio play here in Finland lately (even I have heard one or
their songs twice, and I don't own a radio!). The band is Carpe Vade,
or Carpe Wade, or Karpe Vade, or... you get the picture. Well, the
name may be totally wrong also, my memory is a bit hazy on this
subject.
Anyway, their song "Medicine" sounded quite fine, reminding me of
Therapy?. The DJ on the radio said it was from their just released
debut album. Any info, opinions, reviews?
Sorry this got so long (once again), but there hasn't been a lot of
traffic lately.
Kimmo
--------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 94 11:33:15 +0100
From: bds@ipp-garching.mpg.de (Bruce Scott TK)
Subject: dates for summer festivals?
When dates and places for the summer Open Airs up North become known,
could someone post them to the list? It is a bit far, but if they are
late enough I might make one.
Gruss,
Dr Bruce Scott The deadliest bullshit is
Max-Planck-Institut fuer Plasmaphysik odorless and transparent
bds@ipp-garching.mpg.de -- W Gibson
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Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 12:23:10 +0100 (MET)
From: Petter Tiilikainen
Subject: BQ - Revisited EP
A short review of Bear Quartet's recently released
EP, Revisited.
This EP contains 4 new songs, and 1, Revisited, from the mini-cd
'Family Affair'. The songs are generally in the same style as
'Family Affair', with an exception of 'I'm slow' which in opposite to
the title is a faster song, and maybe the best aswell with the exception of
Revisited.
This time they have mixed the vocals higher and they have also tried to
implement some other instruments such as piano and organ (?), and all I
can say is that it turned out great!
This is a brilliant EP, worth every one of those 55 sek I paid for it.
Songs:
Revisited
I'm slow
Wear that jacket
Hot Meal
Captial Breath
'Got myself a hot meal, slipping thru my high heels'
best regards, Pettter Tiilikainen
-----------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 12:46:51 +0100 (MET)
From: Petter Tiilikainen
Subject: Re: West side...
I think that anyone who liked 'Family affair', would love
'Cosy Den'. And their first album 'Penny Century' is also
a good one, even tho. the quality of the songs may vary.
(Contains some bq-classics like I got the door and Hrrn Hrrn)
Regarding A West Side.. there is a lot of crap on that label
aswell, but other bands on the label are that I think are good:
(ofcourse this is only my opinion)
. Fireside (popcore a la Quicksand, one EP released
(soft boy) with a full-length album +
another EP to follow)
. A Shrine (I've only got 'Li and Friends' and that is
the only release I know of...)
. Blithe (I've been told that their latest album should
be as good as BQ, even tho I don't know,
cos I haven't heard it (Only heard a few songs..)
. Stardog (I've only seen them live, + heard one song from
A West Side strikes... vol IV, and it was
impressive.... Heavier than most of the other
bands on West Side....)
. Mufflon 5 (Dinosaur wanna-bees? Well maybe... but it's good!)
Got one album called 'Boca Juniors' and it's cool...
best regards, Petter Tiilikainen.
'Coffee sparkling minerals nothing much at all the smallest day'
---------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 14:35:09 +0200 (EET)
From: Kimmo S{{skilahti
Subject: Re: BQ - Revisited EP
According to Petter Tiilikainen:
* A short review of Bear Quartet's recently released
* EP, Revisited.
*
* This EP contains 4 new songs, and 1, Revisited, from the
* mini-cd 'Family Affair'.
So "Family Affair" was considered as a mini-album in Sweden?
Here in Finland they charged 124,90 Fmk for it (fortunately, as I
reported yesterday, I got it with a reduced price)!
* This time they have mixed the vocals higher and they
* have also tried to implement some other instruments
* such as piano and organ (?), and all I can say is
* that it turned out great!
Sounds great! The only slight complaint that I had with "Family
Affair" was that the vocals were not very audible!
* This is a brilliant EP, worth every one of those
* 55 sek I paid for it.
Does anyone know if A West Side Fabrication has a mail order
service? Or if there is a mail order company in Sweden that
has their releases in stock? Or even if there is a shop in Finland
which has their stuff???
Kimmo
End of SI Digest #1.05
**********************
Last updated Dec 07, 1994 by The Chief
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