THOMAS TRUAXcolumn |
THOMAS TRUAX REPORTS FROM THE UK Sister Spinster tour journal. 11/12/02 I just played a really fun show in Cambridge at The Portland Arms and am on the train back from there. It's just after midnight and I'll have to wake up the folks back at the Kent Hotel when I buzz to get in after hours. In the day they say "Don't worry it's fine, 24 hour reception!" But you should see the sleepy eyed squint they beam at you when you wake 'em up to get in at 2a.m. It's not a bad little room, #41 (at 41 Lancaster Gate, oddly enough) but I hadn't anticipated being at the top of a six flight walk-up which is not easy when you're lugging a seventy pound case with a Hornicator and Sister Spinster inside as well as a guitar and a Guiness buzz and all your energy has already been exhausted in having flown in on the redeye and putting on a show the same night. However it hasn't been a problem to set up the Spinster in there and work on her a little in the afternoon. She got a little beat up on the flight over, so I've been haunting the local hardware and electronics stores here today to try and get her running smoothly again. Her debut at the 12 Bar on Monday night was a little dodgy (yeah, I love that word and I'm going to keep it back in the US!) but it didn't seem to matter to the crowd. Takes me back to the early days of the Cadillac Beatspinner when it was barely working rhythmically but no one knew better, it's existence alone seemed to be entertaining in it's own right. Here they are equally amazed that I got this mad looking collection of spokes, wires and motor through customs. Frankly, so am I! I was sure I'd be putting on an unscheduled performance for a bunch of stern faces in some back room, the bomb squad already on their way. We'll see if they let me back in the other way! Anyway, this is the place Joie DBG stayed in and as he said it is not half bad (aside from the stairs). As I lugged my case out of the Tottenham Court Road tube station rushing to get to soundcheck at Blang! I suddenly realized I had no clue where I was amidst the bustle of late rush hour London. It occured to me what a great title Joie came up with for his "Lost, Alone and Live in London" CD. I finally found the place hidden down in it's alley through some happenstance, and I can't think that I'll ever be as happy to see members of the military as I was upon stepping inside and coming upon the familiar faces of Major Matt Mason and Sergeant Buzfuz. The 12 Bar is a great little collection of spaces and one of the weirdest stages. The live space is a tiny cube with a stage about three and a half feet high and when you stand on it you find yourself looking straight out at the floor of the balcony which is right in front of you. So while you're playing the only faces you see are those of the few lucky people who grab the seats in front. In front of you are the feet of the people above and below you stand the decapitated bodies of the people standing who of course don't see your face either. If someone were videotaping above, and someone was doing the same below, you could composite the images and actually see the whole show! So it's good to do a lot of squatting down and tiptoeing throughout the act if you want to get an idea of who is there. In any case it was a great audience and fun to play in spite of my glazed state and Sister Spinster's objections to the lacking of steady power that seems to be the norm here. A really entertaining solo prformer, UM from Cambridge, followed me. I am not an easy sell on the singing to backup disk thing but this guy really has made a demented art out of it. Then the Broken Family band, and Seth (yes, NY Seth) dropped in and layed down a song. Major Matt was extremely charming in all his heartfelt glory as always and Sergeant Buzfuz with a girl named Kate on Hammer Dulcimer played some really beautiful stuff. Well, off to try and fix that DODGY footswitch now... -Thomas 11/13/02 OTHER ANTIS AND A NEW BAG FOR THE HORNICATOR Today was good. Not having a gig scheduled for tonight meant I could finally take a breath and sink in to being here. Did a session on Resonance FM station here along with some other antifolks who are having their big show at the Spitz tomorrow night. (I'm gonna do another on Sunday the 24th at 4 in the afternoon here (11 am NY time?)and it's broadcast live from resonancefm.com on the web if anyone wants to listen in). Bought one of those old-lady style plaid plastic shopping bags to have something a little lighter for carrying just the Hornicator around. The session was fun. Major Matt and Seth were there, and Eventually Jeff and Jack Lewis and Anders showed up fresh (well, not exactly the right word) off the plane, missing a bass and a sleeping bag lost at the airport (which is worse?!!). We all talked a bit about antifolk and the NY scene and our upcoming shows and each did a number or two. I did John the Waiter. One of the engineers was into it and offered me a gig next tuesday at the Public Life, which would have been great but I had to turn it down cause that's the night of my Klinker show. The hosts were very nice and we met them for a few pints at a pub around the corner after. A couple of literary types from the London Review of Books came by and invited me to join them for dinner, where we discussed Oliver Reed and Fellini and music and, of course, books. There's been a fireman's strike launched here and a lot of the tube stations are closed because of it. This could cause some problems in getting to the upcoming gigs, yikes! 11/15/02 Good show at the Spitz: the antifolk thing draws a good crowd here. Again, strange and wonderful to work my way through the unfamiliar grounds here, finally find where I'm going, walk inside and feel like I've suddenly arrived at a great night at the Hoot. Kimya, Toby, Prewar, Matt, Jeff, et al. I really love the nervous conviction with which MMM delivers his set. Wonderful irony to hear a room packed full of fans singing along "I don't wanna be a rockstar anymore." Lots of people asking me "but what IS antifolk?" Since I'm from NY they think I must have an inside story but it's refreshing to see that here where flavors of the month come quickly and then die in a backlash nobody seems quite sure what flavor we're all representing here. I'm glad what I'm doing w/ the odd instruments and such will only help add to the enigma, but I'm also sorry that once you've got a label on you and someone THINKS they know what it is they might dismiss you as something they don't like before they give it a chance. I shared a cab back across town with Kimya, Toby and Mike and Dina. Talked about food most of the way. They were all fresh off the plane from earlier and hadn't eaten and Mike was planning to hunt down some food near the hotel but unfortunately in this area there isn't anything open very late. Mike looked devastated. It turns out our hotels were literally about a block from eachother by coincidence, strange how the whole world seems so small suddenly. I had a sandwich waiting in my room that I thought I'd be happy to give to Mike as he looked so damned starved but I couldn't face the idea of waking up the reception people this late twice in a row so I had to eat it myself, sorry Mike. Those characters were all off to Newcastle(?) the next morning so I wont see them again 'til NY. 11/17/02 HORNICATING APPRECIATED IN LONDON Quite a few things have transpired in the last few days. One of those is that I've been hit with a terrible cold, which sucks, but you've gotta soldier on nonetheless. The rains come and go quickly here, but are often heavy, and they ALWAYS wait for me to go outside it seems, and when I go in they stop , and so on. So Friday I got drenched on my way to a meeting with a guy from BMI here. Their offices are really posh, somebody's making money off somebody's music, and something tells me it isn't the people making it. But they were very nice. The Kashmir Klub was nearby, and though I had contacted the booker Christian there months ago they had been all booked up (even the open-mic type nights!!), but he did invite me to come by to check out the space. Feeling gutsy, I popped the Hornicator into the old lady bag and hopped down there. Outside, I put the thing on my shoulder and with the long spring hanging into the bag marched downstairs and started inquiring where I might find Christian. Someone who turned out to be the MC asked who I was and if I was playing and I said I wasn't scheduled but... She shook her head doubtfully but was curious nonetheless then Joan Coffey(sp?) overheard my name and said "so YOU'RE Thomas Truax" and as I was demonstrating the Hornicator to them Christian appeared and by that time the M.C. was saying "You've GOT to put this guy on for a song!" It worked. He asked if the shopping bag was part of it, and though I said no he insisted on me taking the bag with me on stage, it was really the straw that broke the camel's back, although later he also confided that he had received a message from our mutual friend Lach that if I should happen to walk in he should put me on. Thanks Lach! Since it really was kind of a glorified open-mic in there I played John The Waiter and it went over great, even though I unplugged myself halfway through by accident (some quick witted voice yelled out "Hornicator Unplugged!" and the crowd roared). So that was great fun. If for nothing else I know I will be remembered by atleast a few people here as the Man With The Hornicator. It is truly my can opener. Sunday I played the Golden Lion "Come Down And Meet The Folks" afternoon in Camden town. It's kind of an Americana event so I was a little nervous but what the hell. I've got to say if there's ever been a more cartoonish and colorful collection of characters than that of the Tailspin Tavern in Wowtown, it's here! There were kids and elderly people and animals running around even, everyone seemingly having a hell of a good time. Should Tanya Montana or Al the Groundhog have walked in they'd have felt right at home. Breadfoot's going to be loved here. I only did a couple of songs but again it was very enthusiastically received. When you see kids running around with Hornicator stickers stuck to their foreheads it does give you pause to wonder "what have I wrought!??" Sergeant Buzfuz and I went for some indian food after. I am still having a great time but this cold, ugh! Dropped a CD off to Stevo at Some Bizarre today, whose offices just happened to be across the street from the Up All Night offices here, from where I'm writing this now. Play the Spice of Life open mic tonight. That's the Antihoot of London. I'll let you know how it compares... Cheers, Thomas Thurs 11/21 London I'm still battling this terrible cold (nothing a nightly incubation in a bunch of loud smoky pubs wont fix, eh?). I do feel a bit better than I did 2 days ago when I played the Klinker at the Sussex pub (tues). That was truly a strange night. Despite a reccomendation listing in Timeout, the turnout was a bit dissappointing. The Extreme Quartet (actually a Quintet when including special guest one string violin player from Africa) both opened and closed, sandwiching my set wih a crazy free jazz frenzy propelled by Hugh (also the club's host) who I'd have to say may be the closest thing to a Hendrix the freejazz/experimental world has. His battered acoustic guitar became progressively more battered, he stretched a pulled but not quite broken string over his head, using his own skull as a slide, did slides and a million other special things with a precariously balanced pint of Guiness, and most impressively stuck his hand through a hole in the BACK of the body of the guitar, plucking the strings through the front hole from INSIDE the guitar! It was extreme indeed, and I have to admit that even with my wacky instruments in tow, I felt outdone by the whole insanity of the guys performance, though it seems even his bandmates were getting a little more of Hugh than they were comfortable with especially when a balanced pint on the strings became balanced no more and shattered on the floor. Last night doing a short add on 'Special Guest from NYC' slot at the Buffalo bar was more rewarding. There were even a couple of kids dancing up front as soon as I launched into 'Shooting Stars', which was nice. The other bands were mostly standard modern rock, a lot of talent but not pushing any envelopes. I enjoyed it nonetheless, especially the Primms. I'm staying at Phil's place now in Battersea, first few nights on the hallway floor. Awakened in the morning by a batch of letters dropping on my feet through the mail slot. Now a roommate's gone and I've got an easier place to rest. My time here is winding down and I wish I could come across some brilliant ideas to really leave a mark here, but the cold I've got tells me to mellow out and save my energy for the upcoming shows which include 2 on Saturday. The time slot for the Rota (rough trade afternoon) show is now 3:30 pm which sucks, as I thought the party itself didn't start 'til 4. If anyone reading this is here in London and planning on coming down please try and get there early! Gotta get off this machine now.... Cheers, Thomas Saturday 11/23/02 or as in London: 23/11/02 ROTA, SPICE AND COTTAGE PIE Wow what an amazing Day! The Rough Trade Afternoon gig turned out cool after all, despite some struggles with feedback and my looping system and Hornicator due to the fact that the stage area is set up in such a ridiculous way that the speakers are set up BEHIND you, which would be a nightmare situation for any soundman. No one knows why it's that way at the Notting Hill Arts Club, but we deal with what we must. The 3:30 thing turned out not to be a problem, as they ran way behind in soundchecks and didn't even open the doors until 4. I went on soon after and there was a fairly good crowd there. Took a drink in spite of myself, it was the first place I've played here where they actually offer the musicians a free drink or two, probably since from the get go you know it's not a paid gig anyway (no one has to pay to get in either). In the US it's pretty standard that you get a couple free drinks as a performer, but not so here. Tip jars don't get passed much either. Usually the cover charge for most smaller clubs here is 5 or 6 pounds (around $8/$9 US right now) which is what you might pay here, unless you're used to Sidewalk, etc. It doesn't usually roll back to you as a performer until you start drawing in a significant number of people though, so for someone like myself who is just starting to try and establish himself here it's actually beneficial to play these free gigs where in theory you expose yourself to a greater number of listeners. Plus it's just fun and weird to be playing at 4 in the afternoon, meeting a lot of mad hungover music lovers. So my set started off kinda terrible but once I realized I had to lay off the looping and just play songs it went over well. Sergeant Buzfuz hawked CDs for me after which was super cool. Sister Spinster broke at the end but I was able to fix her later only minutes before soundcheck at my second gig of the day at Spice of Life. The Phil Collins 3 followed me and when I asked them why it was that they call themselves that they said it's because the singer's going bald. The similarities end there, as they were a screaming noise fest in caveman costumes that would have made the real Phil's hair stand on end (ha ha). A lot of other bands seem very attracted by the concept of replacing their human drummers with a Sister Spinster. A bit of running and tubing got me to the Spice for the second gig and that one was probably my smoothest set of the whole tour so far but a strange room to play, doesn't have a rock vibe to it, not sure I can put my finger on it, but not a bad place. Not rough enough around the edges maybe. Hard to imagine the Sex Pistols playing in here. Incidentally this is the same place that the London 'Antihoot' gets held on Mondays, which was fun, and significantly different in these ways: Phil is not Lach, nor does he try to be, and the place has to be cleared by quarter past 11, so there's no Chamomile campfire business and even with a late number you might still be able to get some sleep before your day job next day. Saw a lot of talent. Everyone wants to come and play New York. Uh oh. Anyway since the kitchen closes at 9 and I went on at 8:40 and didn't want to eat before I played I actually decided to place an order for a Cottage Pie via Hornicator from the stage about 8:55. That went over with quite a bang and it was a good show overall. Exhausted but energized by the special reinvigorating powers of rock and roll. I really enjoyed a band that played after me called Flipron, I think we were well suited for the same bill, they had a kind of dark carnival flavor. They invited me to play another gig with them when I come back next spring. To be ejected from a pub on a weekend night in London's West End just past 11 is quite an experience. This is a serious drinking culture and the streets just fill with a phantasmagoria of stumbling drunks, bewildered and frightened tourists, weirdos of every dimension imaginable all criss-crossing and pushing their way towards the soon-to-close tube tunnels or fighting for space on the packed night busses as they hurl themselves to and fro through the crowds. It's absolutely mad. Dragging my roller case of contraptions over the cobblestones through this crowd I guess I fit right in. Back in the US. Sister Spinster, the Hornicator and I all made it back across the pond and through customs with only a few minor dents and scratches, and are all taking a break in Wowtown for Thanksgiving to rest up and repair before heading back to New York to get to the business of giving the new CD a proper birth (sold out of the advance copies on the tour- minus a handful that between the Sergeant and I were inadvertently left on a buss on the way to the Klinker, but they may find there way into circulation via the hands of someone who will never have discovered them otherwise). The Sunday radio appearance (again at resonance FM) and the final show at Baggage Reclaim (also held at 12 bar making my appearances there fitting bookends for the tour) went especially well. Richard Sanderson who hosts the night is great, he's like the London's version of Irwin Chusid, even physically to a degree, championing obscure, strange and wonderful music from all over the map. It's the Fall, it's the Residents, it's yodelling... It was an especially warm and receptive audience (after all the complex potential problems with the crazy contraptions I'm using I had to deal with the mundane drag of the batteries running out in one of my pedals!) but practice in dealing with technical difficulties has trained me to keep these kind of things from killing the show. Also I was much better at dealing with the multi-level structure of the club this time after having dealt with it before. There were great other acts on the bill, all different from eachother but complimentary nonetheless. I really enjoyed Keith John Adams, a quirky singer/songwriter with a load of different instruments including Toy Piano. Here's a guy that's got a record deal and some things going in the US, but claims he can't move an inch in the UK. Also stylish, cinematic trio The Remote Viewers and Richard's own short set of songs with a mini-accordion were great. It's too bad he's going to discontinue this night after March of next year (too exhausting to organize). There really is something great going on in London with the way particular nights are set up with a pesonality and complimentary acts. He invited me to come back for the closing show, however, and I'd be a fool to turn that down. Rolled my stuff out down Denmark St. past the crack dealers and the cops pulling in to bust 'em, on to the last night bus of my trip and back to Phil's. Well worn and happy to be home, but can't wait to go back. |
