laily oar Hwl
BYJOHN MCLEOD
STAFF WRITER
AfterthreeU.S. tours, anumber
of 7 inch releases and a full
length CD release, the mem
bem of Hellbender have de
cided to give their home town of Chapel Hill
a chance.
“We hadn’t really played here with any
kind of seriousness until recently, ” said Wells
Tower, guitar player for the trio.
After four years of playing for small crowds
across the country, sometimes too small to be
called a crowd, the members ofHellbender are
ready for a more appreciative local following.
“People are starting to likeus in Chapel Hill
and it’s nice,” said A1 Burian, bass player and
singer.
The band recently played a number oflocal
shows surprising those who had never heard
of them with their tight delivery of punk rock.
But acceptance in Chapel Hill has not come
easily for the band, according to Burian. He
said their punk style has caused some people
to think they are some type of “hard-ass” band
on a mission.
“I think it is funny to be conceived of as
some kind of hard-ass,” said Burian. “In con
text, I completely think I am not, but I am kind
of a big mouth. In punk rock circles we aren’t
extreme at all, but here everyone says, ‘Wow,
you explain all your songs and were talking all
this shit!’ We are going to play in New York
this weekend and will be considered the
wimpiest, crappiest Green Day imitators with
nothing to say. I guess it’s all just context.”
Part of the reason Hellbender is so obscure
in these parts is that the three members of the
band—Burian, Tower and drummer Harrison
Haynes all went separate ways for college.
Instead of playing in Chapel Hill during their
summers together, they opted to tour across
the country and record 7 inches whenever
they could.
“Basically, we started by recording some
songs and putting out a 7 inch,” said Burian.
Pipe Downs Fitz of Depression With Snotty Liberti
Have TV commercials ruined your at
tention span for good? Do you refuse to
eat anything that can’t be microwaved in
less than a minute? Do you take five-
minute breaks
between ar
ticles in USA
Today to let
the headache
subside?Then,
friend, put
down that
Phish album
before youhurt
yourself. What
you need is
speedy punk
rock to match
RICHARD ALLEN
Pipe
Six Days Till Bellus
(Jesus Christ)
B+
Fitz of
Depression
Let's Give it a Twist
(K Records)
B
the pace of your fast-forward life. Local
miscreants Pipe and Olympia, Wash.’s
Fitz of Depression give you just what the
doctor ordered with their brand new al
bums, both of which clock in at under 30
minutes and collectively offeryou2s songs
of wild-eyed abandon, the vast majority
of which slam-bang to a halt just before
the two-minute mark.
DISCOGRAPHY
Pipe
“Submariner" split single with Small
(Matt Label)
"Astray" b/w "Warsaw" 7-inch
(Merge)
Ball Peen CD EP (Sonic Bubblegum)
"Human Gutterball" b/w "Figure
8" 7-inch (Merge)
"You're Soaking In It" b/w
"Trouble" 7-inch (Amish)
Six Days Till Bellus LP (Jesus Christ)
Fitz of Depression
"Pissbutt" b/w "Red Shoes" 7-inch
(Blatant)
Self-titled 10-inch EP (Meat)
Let's Give It A Twist LP (K)
Pepper's —(
Pizza •,
Sunny Place / / \
for Shady People
127-129 K. Franklin St. Downtown Chapel-Hill j
Next to Varsity
Time to Give Chapel Hill a Chance
■Tf wsllipp
I!!* jjß j KSH
Despite national tours and a loyal following. Chapel Hill’s Hellbender aren't well known at home.
“Then we went to college for a year
and that summer we did a short
tour. It went really good, well it
didn’t, but we thought it did.”
“The stories we had to tell people
when we got back were enough to
compensate for how bad it was,”
said Haynes.
The band tours more than the
average local band. Burian said he
thought it was important to play
every chance possible—something
that is hard to do locally without
wearing out your welcome.
“Despite what we were saying
about how it sucks to play for just three people,”
Burian said of a particularly humbling show in
South Dakota, “another thing I have learned is
that you should play any chance, anywhere you
can.”
“Playing for three people in South Dakota is
Pipe is by far the catchier of the two,
mostly due to singer Ron Liberti’s
astoudingly snotty voice - Billie Joe, King
Ad Rock, and other such pretenders
should kneel at his feet. As for the lyrical
content, song titles like “Bowling for
Fuckers” and “Breakfast in Veronica”
are fairly indicative of the topics Liberti
addresses - at least I assume so, because it
ain’t exactly easy to understand him some
times . The other three guys keep the music
tight and to the point -1 don’t think there’s
a guitar solo anywhere on this record, just
spastic power chording over hopped-up
beats. And once you tire of pogoing to
this record in your crummy little South
Campus dorm room, go see them live -as
much for the beer can air war that inevi
tably ensues as for anything else.
Fitz of Depression have been around
for five years, but this is their first album,
which isn’t surprising once you give it a
listen - when your 15-song live set lasts
half an hour, putting out a full album
must seem a daunting task indeed in this
age of 60-minute CDs. The Fitz appar
ently just threw up their hands in despair
and gave us what they had, which turns
out to be 12 songs in 24 minutes. Moreso
than Pipe, their music lends itself to direct
comparisons with older bands like the
Ramones and the Misfits (Ramones fans
might mistake one or two of. these for
Ramones covers). Unfortunately, FOD’s
vocals lack the character of Pipe’s and
tend to be pushed back in the mix. That
notwithstanding, the energy keeps things
on track and moving along nicely.
“So if these ‘punk’ bands is so good,”
you say, “What’s with the above-aver
age-but-not-outstanding marks you give
'em?”
Well, both of these discs are great for
quick energy, kind of like a Dr. Pepper
Big Gulp or one of those Power Bars you
buy at convenience stores that bear more
than a passing resemblance to dehydrated
calf tongues. Unfortunately, when you’re
dealing with a bare-bones musical style
like old-school punk rock, the songs have
to grab your attention quick or else every
thing just blurs together and you find
yourself examining your fingernails in
stead of eyeing the stereo. Both of these
discs have the grabbers (with Pipe leading
in that department), but they’ve also got a
fair amount of tunes that get lost in the
DIVERSIONS Music
Last Release:
Hellbender full-length
CD (Bohemoth)
Next Show:
no local shows in the
near future.
among many younger people.
“It’s weird now as far as the indy-rock scene is
concerned, or really just about anyone over 16,
anything that is sincerely political is viewed as
being kind of nerdy,” Burian said.
“They think it is alright to be political if you are
laua
Pipe (above) and
Fitz of Depression
(right) prove that
Chapel Hill and
Olympia, Wash.,
have more in
common than just
good 'pop' music.
stew.
At least that’s how it seems to a regular
guy like me, not a video-game-addled
hophead like you who’ll probably find
ANTHONY HOPKINS
B STARTS TOMORROW ■■■ii■l■Si|2c■fi■lSSfl■■3
rvrurw i y \w,t ii > MCHAEIDOUQAS AND DEMI MOOSE
RI.\I)YI()\\K\K n rn nn nr iss
(PRET-A-PORTER) V 111 L L £OB
The year's most seductive comedy. 1 11111 9:30
81 1 1:3 °;; 4:,5 * 7:00 • 9:45 U /ULU/UHL M
better than just sitting on your
ass in South Dakota, ” Haynes
said.
The band’s latest effort was
a two-month tour and saw the
release of a full length CD.
The band also recorded four
songs with Caleb Southern in
December that willbe released
on a compilation and on a 7
inch sometime soon.
Burian said he felt that the
way the band deals with is
sues in their lyrics goes against
a general attitude of sarcasm
this stuff symphonic. Get it now, and see
if you don’t toss that expensive Ritalin
prescription right out the window and
shimmy yourself into the floor.
being a smart-ass about it, but sincerity is not
okay,” Tower said. “It’s interesting to look at
our lyrics because they have gone from the
macro to the micro, politically. They used to be
sort of, broad indictments of the housing indus
try or something, whereas now they are more
about hanging out and thinking about stuff. I
don’t know, it seems a little bit more honest to
do it that way; to bring them down to a more
personal level rather than trying to have some
big, aloof doctrine.”
For now, the band has to split up again until
Haynes and Tower finish school. They plan to
play a lot in Chapel Hill and the surrounding
area this summer while making two-week tours
up and down the coast.
“In a way it’s weird to play where you are
from because it’s like playing for your family,
but just extended family,” said Burian. “But it’s
really comfortable and nice, it’s something we
have never really experienced.”
wyyc To? 10
The 10 most played albums on studenHun radio
station WXYC, 89.3 FM, as scientifically calculateo
by music director Spott Call 962-8989.
1. Dama & D’Gary
The Long Way Home (Shanachie)
guitar rrtagic from Madagascar
2. Paris
Guerilla Funk (Priority)
hardcore rap with a point
3. Various Artists
Stolen Moments: Red, Hot 8 Cool Red Hot)
btoys team up with jazz greats
4. Pipe
Six Days Till Bellus (Jesus Christ)
Chapel Hil action rock
5. Dr. Isaiah Ross
Call The Doctor (Testament)
onetnan blues band
6. Spatula
Even The Thorny Acacias (Jesus Christ)
driving music from the masters oi song construction
7. Digable Planets
Blowout Comb (Pendulum)
hip hop from a mixed bag of influences
8. Zen Frisbee
I'm Mad As Faust (Flavor Contra)
mideastem guitar wizardty._from Chapel Hi
9. Davka
Davka (Interworld)
traditional jewish music fused with the world
10. Cardinal
Cardinal (Fly Daddy)
early '7owlyte wimp pop
Join the Diversions Staff..
Bea part of the hippest
entertainment section,
We’re looking for:
book reviewers
theater reviewers
and other cool dudes.
Call Alison Maxwell at 962-0245.
Nell (PG-13) |
Nightly at 7:00*9:30
Star Trek-Generations
Nightly at 7:30 • 9:45 < PG >
Sat. & Sun. Matinee 2:30 • 4:45
*- 4
Dumb & Dumber
Nightly at 7:00 *9:15 (PQ ' l3)
Sat. & Sun. Matinee 2:00*4:15
Thursday, January 12,1995
King Brooks
Continues
'Hits' Reign
It takes most artists several years and
many releases before they have enough
good songs to produce a greatest hits
album. But when you are the reigning “king
of country,” you get to work on a shorter
time table. It was just six years ago that
Garth Brooks’ first, self-titled release hit the
market. He caught
the attention of
country music
fans everywhere
with that album’s
first single “If
Tommorro w
Never Comes.”
The song hit num
ber one back in
1989, but then
that’s no real sur
prise. Every single
Garth Brooks has
ever released has
gone on to become
a top ten smash.
| BAKER BURLESON]
Garth Brooks
The Hits
(Liberty)
A+
Brooks’ popularity exploded in 1990,
with the release of No Fences. No Fences
included “Friends in Low Places,” which
Brooks describes as “probably the biggest
song I'll ever do.” He’s probably right. In a
career that has covered the pensive (“Un
answered Prayers”) the raucous (“Ain’t
Gonin’ Down”) the controversial (“The
Thunder Rolls”) and the honky tonk -
“Friends in Low Places” was the song that
really put Brooks on the map.
Now four years and three albums later,
Brooks has included “Friends in Low
Places” and three other hits from No Fences
on his The Hits CD. Brooks has taken sev
eral interesting turns with The Hits. First,
there is the price. In a day when a CD can
command upward of $lB, Brooks has dic
tated a lower price for this CD. It can be
picked up in die sl2-sl3 range in most
stores.
Secondly, the CD is being offered in
limited number for only a limited time. A
smart move on Brooks’ part for two rea
sons. It creates a greater demand for the
product, and it will not cut into his already
staggering album sales. Included with The
Hits is a Garth Brooks “Zoom CD, ” which
includes 30 second clips from all of Brooks
See BROOKS, Page 8
toixjrc £ corvipviA' .
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