4t5THOmnibusThufsday; DecerNbef 8; 1988
Look
listen
and
leam
c
with The Toll's music
By ALLISON PIKE
Stsff Writer
in this day and in this society
we are bombarded daily by songs
that set out to do little more than
entertain for three or four min
utes songs that are hits today
and forgotten tomorrow, if the
"ooh, baby baby's" and the "yeah,
yeah, yealYs" of modem popular
music have gotten you down,
check out The Toll - your cherry
in the bin of rotten apples called
popular music
The Toll consists of two cousins,
Brad Circone and Rick Silk, along
with Brett Mayo and Greg Bar
tram. In their four years together,
The Toll has developed a complete,
professional sound. Its debut LP on
Geffen Records hardly sounds like
the work of novices. But what
stands out most is this band's
Intellect Its a band that makes
you want to think. With provoc
ative, poetic and often riveting
lyrics, the songs conjure vivid
images and symbols.
Lead singer Circone delves into
the heart of his emotion and
shouts his feelings at the top of
his lungs almost Jim Morrison
style. Circone says he isn't a good
poet: "I use too many symbols"
Many would probably disagree.
But he says his lyrics would be
nothing without the complimen
tary music of his bandmates.
The Toll certainly has a big sound
By MATT BIVENS
Associate Editor
Last week, Cathy McHugh
made a promise she almost
couldnt keep.
At the end of her column of
girls' restroom ramblings she
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- one that would be hard to
contain in a small nightclub or bar.
The musical style never bores -it
makes the listener live and
experience as the music does.
"We want the listener to drift
away with thought," Circone said;
One tool the band uses to accomp
lish the emotional connection with
the listener is the narrative form
of songwriting. There are three
such songs on the debut LP titled
The Price of Progression.
The cut. "Jonathan Toledo" be
gins with Circone asking-. "How far
has the white man gone to drive
the stake into the ground?" Cir
cone leads the song into a narra
tive about a scene he and his
cousin viewed in Santa Fe. N.M.
elderly ladles lined up against the
wall of The Plaza in Santa Fe selling
blankets.
If you have ever traveled to
Santa Fe, most likely you have seen
these women, and most likely you
didnt think much about it You
might even have bought a post
card of these women. But Circone
and Silk saw more. Both have
Indian blood and grew up with a
grandfather who instilled them
with Indian tradition.
in the song, Circone says the
women have their backs against
the wall "because they're afraid
we're gonna stick another knife in
them." He paints a cynical picture
of how the Indians have been
treated, but the song is not one-
.rashly announced that, "in the
interests of being fair, next
week's graffiti will be devoted to
men's restroom writings. I
promise."
Poor, silly Cathy. At first, she
looked at the chance to explore
The Great unknown of the men's
room as an adventure of sorts.
True, a potentially embarrassing
adventure - Cathy's a girl and
all but an adventure
nonetheless.
But someone pointed out that
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The Toil demonstrates an intellectual rock style on its new album, "The Price of Progression.
sided. Circone also presents the
point of view of the white man.
"We wanted to express views."
said Circone. "We wanted to tell
a story, but not preach. We dont
want to be that strident"
All of The Toll's songs are aimed
at "expressing views." in "Anna-41-Box,"
Circone tells in a feminine
point of view about a middle-age
woman trying to break the "ser
vile chains" put on by her husband.
The narrative portion of the song
features Circone vocally enacting
a sex scene between the unwilling
Anna and her husband an act
that Anna proclaims is the "cru
cifixion of womanhood."
"I though it was amazing " said
Silk of Circone's female viewpoint.
"I couldnt believe how Brad had
a column about men's rooms
written by a woman wouldnt be
very believable. People would call
up and ask if the column was
true, just like they do for Police
Roundup (which is true): The
phone lines would be tied up for
hours, Cathy's journalistic credi
bility would be nothing but a
wistful memory, Student Con
gress would defund the DTH ...
So here I am. Writing about
what other people write about
on the wails of restrooms.
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gone over the edge in being a
woman."
Circone says he didnt find it
hard to make the adjustment "it
wasnt difficult to step into a
womanly pose" said Circone. "Lov
ing a woman, those things rub off
on you."
For "Living in the Valley of Pain,"
Circone assumed the voice of a
child to deive into religious guilt
and Catholicism. Circone and Silk
were raised as strict Catholics, and
say this song came from interper
sonal experiences. Jameson Rain is
the main character, a youth who
struggles for creative freedom,
but is punished by the Catholic
church and his parents for trying
to be an individual.
"Its a miniature example of
. in between restrooms, I came
up with some really stunningly
insightful things to say about
graffiti and the people (I use the
term loosely) who indulge in it
b Many people who write on
restroom walls think they are
really deep, leaving jewels of
wisdom for the less erudite to
lap up while they sit with their
pants around their ankles. For
example:
"Man must rise above the
heavens; only then will he truly
understand the world in which
he lives" Socrates.
Gee, thanks for sharing that
with me. Truly, I'm a better
person for that pointless snatch
of Creek wit, especially since its
been taken completely out of
any context that could have
made it meaningful or
enlightening.
n Most people who write on
the walls of toilets plagiarize
shamelessly:
" offered my , honor, She
honored my offer, and all night
long, l was on her and off her."
Sure, its poetic and a nice
image. Its also on every rest
room wall from the Lenoir Com
mons to the Hardee's in South
Hill.
a Most people who write on
the walls of toilets cannot spell
and have lousy handwriting.
r M-tJonx. have, any really ; $ood
J
...
i
what we went through," said
Circone. "Catholic American grand
parents dont want to hear songs
like 'Anna its a lashing out at the
consquences of trying to be crea
tive. Its individuality vs. Catholic
and sexual guilt"
The other six tracks on the LP
are shorter, a little lighter, some
times even danceable. "Word of
Honor" is sung with an Alarm-type
enthusiasm. "Stand in Winter" is a
good old rock n' roll song that
shouldn't be too far from radio
airplay. The Toll is committed,
though, to avoiding producing
what Circone calls "otherwise
formula, homogenized songs."
"This LP "is a questioning, a share
in feelings. Thats what rock 'n roil
should be a coming together"
needed to be said.
n Of all the people who write
on restroom wallsthe funniest
and wittiest are those who are
responding to other graffiti
writers.
When you're sitting there in
the stall, whistling and twiddling
your thumbs and scanning the
sports pages, you cant help but
notice the surrounding so-called
thoughts of the restroom literati
that came before you. And
there's always that itch , to
respond, to tell all these twits
what twits they are. But then
again, you dont want to sink to
their level.
So, l have to cheer for those
souls who in one brief, pithy
line make a preceding graffiti
geek look as dumb, pretentious
or illiterate as he deserves.
For example, there is this
response under the Socrates
quote:
" drank what?" Socrates.
Now thats sort of funny. At
least for graffiti.
Let me close this hellish chore
with a confession. This isnt a
sample of campus graffiti its
all from the Lenoir Commons
men's room. It was the only one
deserted long enough for me to
copy down the pointless ram
blings of these sad losers. I
certainly wasn't going to sit
;;;ther.and a)i3Y.,grati-jfn front
:6fpeppteMmearvC riavemy pride.