Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Beautiful Noises

And now a word from Q&A correspondent Fester Bangs...

Sometimes, a local release comes across our desk here at Metro Pulse that's so deftly essayed, so emotionally compelling, so beautifully crafted and musically prescient and revolutionary and potentially life-changing that we simply feel that we must not fail to bring it to your attention, else we will have fallen woefully short in our vital mission to properly enlighten the reading public.

And then there's the other stuff. Like, for instance, the new CD from former Come-Ons guitarist Dugan Broadhurst, Intuitive Research Wins Again, released under the delectable pseudonym "The Pinkest Pee." Twelve tracks of bizarro tape loops and quirky sampling, IRWA is either a) a work of mad genius, or b) an indicator of progressive, malignant dementia. (It should be available soon at one of the finer local indie record stores near you.)

But seriously, folks, Dugan's a good fellow, a wonderful artist and a very creative musician. He's also a former Metro Pulse employee, and he might still be here had not our production manager found one too many dead rodents and spent aerosol cans in the backroom cubicle he once occupied.

And if you don't like the fact that we're writing about our own former employee, then start your own mother-f______ alternative-f______ newspaper and write stuff about whatever f_____-up insipid crap you think is interesting. And f___ you.

MP: Now that I've listened to the CD, I have to know: What were you thinking?

D: I don't know. I just like making noises, seeing if I can put them together in some coherent form. Of course, coherent is a relative term; some people might say this is garbage, that it has no musical quality. I have an appreciation of it as "chance music." I built the tracks very intuitively. I have an idea when I start, but the final track usually sounds nothing like it. It sort of becomes its own monster.

MP: Um, OK, but how do you excuse—er, explain the pseudonym, "The Pinkest Pee."

D: I came up with that a long time ago, as a name for another solo project. At the time, I was a vegetarian, and I had really gotten into eating steamed beets. When you eat a lot of steamed beets, and then you go to the bathroom, well....I thought it was the most amazing thing. It made me laugh at shit—no pun intended. I also thought it was cool that the name sounded like the Toni Morrison novel, The Bluest Eye.

MP: That is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. So tell me, where did the samples you used on the record come from?

D: A lot of places—some of them are taken from my own recordings, my own guitar playing. I also got hold of some [Napalm Death drummer] Mic Harris loops. He did some side projects, like Scorn and Hednod, and this record called Logghi Barogghi by Scorn really inspired me. It's very stuttery, which I love. I don't like to have real consistent rhythms. I love hip-hop and electronic beats, but I don't want to do dance music. I like things that sort of subvert the dance beat. I like sounds that you can think of visually, that open the tracks up to more interpretation. On one sample, the sound of the drum's high-hat cymbal reminded me of a little Japanese business man running up a hill. And there was another layer of sound on the same track that made me think of little ice sparkles in the air.

MP: Crack addiction is an ugly thing, Dugan. Can you tell me how you might play this stuff live?

D: I've already spoken to the people at Pilot Light about the possibility of doing a show. It'll be largely improv, probably with three CD players, a mixer, some effects processors and a couple of guitar amps. It'll be a really dense, swirling sound onstage.

MP: You are completely insane. Seek professional counseling immediately. But before you go, I have one last question. Boxers or briefs?

D: F___ you.

"Local" Music Review

October
All The Rage

From the "Beat your head against the wall till there's nothing left but a bloody stump" dept.:

Coming from just over the mountains is China Grove, North Carolina's October. And you guessed it, they're headbangers. The fearsome foursome claims influences from several genres of angry, white boy rock. But (lucky for us) there's none of the omnipresent rap/metal hybrid going on.

October's sophomore album, All The Rage, dwells in the lower recesses of metallic sludge. Apparently, these guys turned the treble all the way down, even on the guitars. What you're left with is a downtuned, distorted barrage of endless riffs, bashing drums and atonal, hoarse vocals. And that's a good thing. The band comes off sounding like a hybrid of Kyuss, Flipper, early Swans and Black Sabbath. Sure, it might wear you out after a while. But I don't think the band ever intended to soothe their audience.

Oddly enough, the band's bio claims a heavy stoner rock influence while the cover displays a straightedge emblem. Which leads us to today's burning question: are stoner rock and straightedge lifestyle choices or musical styles? Let's hope for the latter. Bongheads and "straight and alert" jocks both scare me.

Known for their tight, relentless live shows, the October boys have shared stages with major metal bands such as Entombed, Sick Of It All and Crowbar, not to mention a couple of appearances at the highly esteemed Milwaukee Metalfest.

On the CD sleeve, it says "coming to a dump near you." It's good to see that the band has set attainable goals. And guess what, this Saturday they're bringing their feel-good, "Up with People" style show to the 319 Club. So dust off that Motorhead shirt and get ready to cleanse your soul with a heavy dose of weekend warrior catharsis.

—Emma "Next week I'll tell you where to Go." Poptart