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Weightlifting
with Strings Diehard Trashcan Sinatras fans, rejoice! After eight years in which the Trashcan Sinatras released only B-sides and a single EP, Snow, the band is back with Weightlifting, an album largely funded by the band. The collapse of Go! Discs, the band's long-time record label, left the Trashcan Sinatras facing bankruptcy. After several years of flailing due to their unstable financial situation, the Trashcan Sinatras have thrown themselves back into the mix with some aid from the Scottish Arts Council.
Musically, not much has changed. Their music has always been catchy indie pop with mellow, pretty vocals. Weightlifting is no exception. Overall, the music is distinct, despite moments when the lyrics are sometimes crippled by the use of clichés. Fortunately, the instrumentals are good enough to make up for it. The fast songs are catchy and danceable, while the slow songs are meandering, lovely creations. The use of strings is especially masterful and adds a new dimension to the tried-and-true mixture of guitar, bass and drums. Unfortunately, sometimes the Trashcan Sinatras are too reminiscent of other well-known Brit-pop acts. There are several moments during Weightlifting when the Trashcan Sinatras could be mistaken for U2. The Trashcan Sinatras were founded in 1987 by vocalist and acoustic guitarist Francis Reader. The band was discovered in a bar by Go! Discs, and a popular single, "Obscurity Knocks," preceded the release of a full-length LP. After releasing their debut record, Cake, the Trashcan Sinatras achieved moderate success in both the United Kingdom and the States. In 1992, the original bass player, George McDaid, left the band and was replaced by current bassist Davy Hughes. The other members, drummer Stephen Douglas, guitarist Paul Livingston and guitarist John Douglas, have been with the band since its formation. The release of Weightlifting marks a new era for the band. Over a decade of existence, the Trashcan Sinatras have proven that staying power may be what it takes to fight their way into the mainstream. Fans and new members to the Sinatras' bandwagon will enjoy this long-awaited addition to a solid repertoire.
Soldiers
Come of Age
I remember, years ago, watching Marty Larson-Xu, Evan Seroffsky, Oliver Brown and their former guitarist Luc Gunn completely unleash on their instruments with pure fury and soul. I knew at that point (as did many fans back in the day) that the Soldiers were destined for greatness. Such rock 'n' roll greatness, I remember telling a friend, that I could already see their VH1 "Behind The Music" special with the drugs, the booze, the in-fighting, the model-dating, the break-ups and the reunions. No, it's not a jinx. I do hope the Soldiers avoid everything that threatens their success. But all great bands, the ones with the greatest legacies, end up that way. There were awkward moments during those first few years, when someone in the band lost time with someone else and songs just kind of flailed into an entropic anti-climax. But that was fine. It lent a rawness to the music: a forceful, cocksure energy. Currently, the Soldiers are on the verge of blowing up as East West Records just re-released The Two EPs album (a collection of two Soldiers' EPs originally released on Gearhead Records), and Atlantic records prepares to unleash their major label debut So Many Musicians to Kill. On a recent, blessed, sunny Eugene day, I talked with Larson-Xu over a pitcher of Pabst at the Horsehead. Although he's surrendered the military fatigues in favor of a new pair of Diesel jeans, the trademark bandana was still wrapped tightly around his forehead in true Hendrix fashion. Looking across the table, I realized that the pimply, quirky kid that I saw years ago kicking over flaming missile canisters at the EMU Amphitheater had matured into a confident, independent young man, hopefully prepared to take on the pressures of major label life. When I asked him about how the band was dealing with all the attention over the last few years, he said they were excited, but weary at the same time about the public's perception of them. "I think every band to a certain extent has dreams of being a huge act," he said. "We want to get the music out to as many people as possible and be able to make a living playing music. But at the same time we want to keep our music credible. A lot of people don't understand that we've been around that long. They think 'cause all of a sudden there's this big explosion with Jet and the Hives that we're some band that just cropped up in the last year or two." But where the guys from the Strokes, probably the most popular of the '70s throwback rock bands, never bothered listening to Television as teenagers, or as adults in the prime of their career for that matter, the Soldiers not only listened to Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine, they took notes. You can't get tired talking or reading about the Soldiers. Sure, they said some things in the infamous MTV News "You Hear It First" interview that reflected a cocky irreverence for their small-town start. But who hasn't, at one point or another, bitched about Eugene and its rock scene? Besides, James Mont-gomery, the article's author, skewed the story just slightly, tailoring the Soldiers' image to fit the MTV "jaded teenage band" archetype. Montgomery made it sound like the band completely loathed Eugene. But Larson told me that the Soldiers will always consider this town home. "We have serious Eugene pride," he said. MTV can mold our beloved Soldiers into some bubblegum rock band the pop music world knows how to digest. It doesn't matter. We know the Rock 'N' Roll Soldiers are the real deal.
Don't
Be Fooled The Leah Quinelle All-Stars Featuring Happy have a lot in common: a love of music and booze, the same LQASFH tattoo and a healthy appreciation for boys.
"We're all boy-crazy," says Asia, LQASFH guitarist and vocalist. The other two members are Happy (vocalist, guitarist, banjoist and pennywhistler) and Robin, who is usually the drummer but sings and plays guitar as well. The Leah Quinelle All-Stars Featuring Happy got their name from their first drummer, Leah Quinelle, in order to convince her to join their band. However, Leah Quinelle left after only one show. To convince Robin to join the LQASFH as their new drummer, Asia and Happy wrote a song about Robin entitled, "The Sexiest Drummer in New Orleans." The women describe their music as "crushcore," a LQASFH term for awesome all-girl rock that is sometimes narrative, but always written with a sense of humor. The lyrics are largely autobiographical tales about boys, getting drunk, sex, sleeping in cars and Pikachu. And even though the women have all written their share of sad songs, the ladies of LQASFH don't ever take their personal pathos too seriously. "Our hate songs are also almost love songs," Happy says. Even their angry songs are light-hearted, fun, danceable and, more recently, experimental. LQASFH's newest full-length album, G, C, D, Go!, was recorded in five days while the then-homeless band house-sat for a friend. It was the band's first attempt at a concept album. "A lot of musicians will say, 'You can play any song using just G, C, and D,'" Asia says. So the band sat down to see how many different songs they could create in that short time frame. Seventeen songs later, the band had a new album, plus an EP recorded in one day before leaving Iowa for tour. But on future records, the LQASFH want to go in a different direction: no love songs. Now the three multi-talented women travel together in a cluttered van, spreading their love of music and boys to the world. They hope to make stadiums full of adolescent boys cry, and have met some tearful admirers while on tour. But Asia has a more specific demand. "I'm still waiting for someone to throw underwear at me," she says.
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