“It’s an exciting time to be in entertainment”
– Billy Morrison
Billy Morrison has always wanted to be part of a rock & roll circus. He may have forgone the greasy handlebar moustache, top hat and striped pantaloons, but with his new band Circus Diablo – quite literally “the devil’s circus” – Morrison seems to have found himself a group of misfit musicians that share his taste for all things sweaty, dirty and flashy…or in other words, all things rock & roll. “This band thrives when placed on a very thin tightrope,” Morrison says. “Fuck the safety nets.”
With a collective resume that includes bands The Cult, Fuel, the Almighty and Camp Freddy, the members of Circus Diablo know all about getting down and dirty with their music. Completed by Billy Duffy (guitar), Ricky Warwick (guitar), Brett Scallions (bass), and Charles Ruggiero (drums), the band released its self-titled debut on July 3rd and have kept busy touring the country and recruiting fans for what they’ve dubbed the “Church of Diablo.”
SuicideGirls caught up with Billy Morrison before a recent Ozzfest gig to chat…
“Its a different life with great adventures. I wouldnt trade it for anything.”
– Jenn Alva, Girl in a Coma
I find the band Girl in a Coma fascinating for several reasons: First – lead singer/guitarist Nina Diaz has a voice thats so powerful and seasoned, sometimes its easy to forget shes only 19-years-old. Second – bassist Jenn Alva is an out and proud lesbian. And third – Phanie Diaz has a name that reads like fanny but sounds like fawn-ie. To say the ladies are charming is an understatement – they have beauty, brains and all the gumption one would expect from a sassy Texas trio. Still, its their music – loud and clear alternative rock that has been compared to The Smiths, The Pixies, and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – that takes center stage.
Robert Pollard is best known as the songwriter and frontman of Guided By Voices. Though he didn’t release an album until the age of 36, today Pollard is about to turn 50, and over 2,000 of his songs have been released on records. His next two albums are twins called Coast to Coast Carpet of Love and Standard Gargoyle Decisions. They represent the two halves of Pollards musical personality: the sharp and melodic versus the heavy and dark.
But two albums wouldnt be prolific enough for Bob Pollard: his Circus Devils side project is going to see an international release for the first time with an album called Sgt. Disco. Pollard will be the first to admit that some people think he’s an asshole, but when I got the opportunity to talk to him on the phone from his home in Dayton, Ohio, it didn’t take long to understand how he manages to attract some of the most devoted fans in music.
“Sometimes being onstage is better than sex.”
– Brian Molko
Brian Molko, the always-engaging frontman of Placebo, has been around the world twice since SuicideGirls last checked in with him. Although Placebo has had a successful decade-long career in the UK and Europe, they’ve never managed a full-on conquest of America. This summer’s Projekt Revolution tour, headlined by Linkin Park, might be the Trojan Horse that finally gets them through the gate. Did Placebo take their new audience by surprise, or was it the other way around? I got a chance to talk to Brian as he was getting ready for one of the last shows of a year and a half of touring.
Hope you liked last week’s column about graffiti, it was probably the best post since the one about pirates. I was going to write something really great this week, I swear. But, drinks were had, songs were sung, and I have a stack of photo booth prints I can’t shown anyone. Fuck.
So, you’re going to have to settle for some music recommendations and that’s about it.
“If you’re creating something you want to see it through to the end.”
– Glenn Mercer
New Jersey’s The Feelies formed in the late ‘70s around the core of guitarists Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. Between their seminal first record, 1980’s Crazy Rhythms, and 1991’s Time for a Witness, their post-punk, Velvet Underground and Jonathan Richman-inspired sound evolved from their twitchy, polyrhythmic debut to more atmospheric, complex guitar pop, leading critic Robert Christgau to say of the final record of their original run, “the minimalism of Crazy Rhythms was always misleading.”
Post-Feelies, Mercer worked on several other projects, including the band Wake Ooloo and a solo record. Million left music entirely and for nearly twenty years, reportedly, didn’t touch his guitar, leading previous attempts to reunite the band to stall without his involvement. Now, Million is back, and for the first time since 1991, The Feelies have a new record called Here Before. Despite its self-referential lyrical winks to their past, the new record would sound right in their discography next to The Good Earth or Only Life.
I spoke with Glenn Mercer recently about the new record, his relationship with Bill, and how one band becomes R.E.M. while another unfairly disappears into semi-obscurity.
This Sunday (May 8th) our very special in-studio guests are the Dance Hall Pimps and Kristeen Young.
Originally from St. Louis, though now New York-based, Kristeen Young is more Kate Bush than Kate Bush (she has a staggering 4-octave vocal range). The insanely talented singer/songwriter has a new Tony Visconti-produced EP out called “V The Volcanic” and is in the midst of a 4-week residency at LA’s Hotel Café.
LA’s Dance Hall Pimps blend blues, rockabilly and Americana with punk rock and more than a hint of goth. Catch the 21st century show band’s eclectic electric mix at The Viper Room on Saturday May 14.
Listen to SG Radio live Sunday night from 10 PM til Midnight on Indie1031.com
