Following our recent retrospective on Fudge’s underground classic The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness, we were honored to speak with the band’s frontman, Tony Ammendolia. We talked about Fudge’s aspirations for the record, what their scene was like leading up to its release, and what music Tony currently makes! You can check out the transcript of our interview below:
Prior to the recording of The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness, what were the band’s/your aspirations for the album? We wanted to make a record that captured our live sound as much as possible with higher sound quality than the singles we had already released. What we actually made was pretty different than what we set out to make, but by the time we realized it we didn’t have much left in the budget to make some of the big changes we wanted so we tweaked as best as we could. What were the musical inspirations or reference albums that informed what we hear on The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness? We had very diverse musical tastes, but at that time we were listening to a lot of Sarah Records stuff as well as Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, Moonshake, NWA and a bunch of dub reggae. While lots of guitar-based alternative acts of the time hailed from the UK, Washington, and New York, Fudge was from Richmond, VA. Was there a strong alternative scene there? How did you and Fudge get into alternative music/culture? The scene in Richmond was generally heavier than what we were doing. Punk, hardcore and metal were pretty popular, but there was a small alternative scene too. David Jones [Fudge guitarist] and I lived in Northern Virginia just outside of Washington DC and we had a really great radio station WHFS that played great music that you wouldn’t hear anywhere else. We also went to live shows in DC at the 9:30 club as well as other venues there. Were there any musical contemporaries that you deeply connected with? Any particular bands we should check out? We did a bunch of shows with Versus, Small Factory, and The Dambuilders. All of them were really great. I think Versus is the most underrated band of that time period. Can you recall what the recording process for The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness was like? Did it differ from the 7” releases prior to the full-length debut? Nothing really different there except we had more time to record it than anything else we had done up until then. Any memory of the guitars, amps, and pedals that are heard on The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness? My memory of the equipment is not great, but I was playing an old Fender Mustang a lot back then through a Fender Tremolux amp. I think David was playing his Jazzmaster a lot at that time too. Was there a focus on technical execution vs. production aesthetics (ie guitar effects, mixing, etc.) in making this record? Did any particular aspect of The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness take time to get right? I think the production was at the forefront of our minds at the time. We tried a few things that were a little different like running the entire mix through massive reverb on part of a song. We recorded a couple of guitar parts through a microphone that one of us was swinging in a large circle over our heads to get that Doppler Effect sound. After the album’s release, Fudge played dates with legendary UK punks, Buzzcocks. How were those shows? Did their audience react kindly to your material? That was a great tour and we even met Nirvana backstage. They came to see the Buzzcocks. By the time we were on that tour, our sound had changed a little and I think the Buzzcocks fans liked us. For an album that many have labeled as a shoegaze release, what makes The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness so great is the wider range of musical styles that come across through tracks such as “20-Nothing Dub”. How did you perceive Fudge’s place in the landscape of alternative/independent music in the 1990s? Even back then I don’t think we really fit into a box very well. Sure, there were shoegaze elements, but we liked a lot of different stuff and it came through in our music. Listening back to the follow-up album, Southside Speedway, there is an emphasis on conciseness and melodicism throughout. What inspired this sudden shift in direction, considering its release comes only one year removed from The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness? Not sure really. Maybe some of the Richmond scene rubbed off on us. Maybe it just felt immediately gratifying on stage. Shoegaze was dead? I really don’t know. Haha. Southside Speedway would ultimately become Fudge’s last album. Has the band ever considered writing new music? Do you still play/write/record? We were in the process of recording demos for a third record when we broke up. The third record was yet again a departure from the first two records. The rough mixes we still have sound really good to me, but we will never go back and finish any of that. David Jones and I started playing again in recent years. Our current band is called B4NK M4CHIN3 and we have a 5 song EP called Leisure, Recreation and Stability and it’s available on all the streaming platforms. It is probably closer to Southside Speedway, but there are elements of the earlier stuff in there too. The Ferocious Rhythm Of Precise Laziness recently turned 30 years old! In retrospect, how do you view/feel about the album? Any chance that we could see its debut on streaming platforms soon? I think that record has some good moments. I don’t think it will ever be available on the streaming platforms though. Thank you Tony for being the first of (hopefully) more interviews to come on Noise Is Power Music! We are thrilled to have gotten the chance to document some of the history of one of our all-time favorite bands.
0 Comments
Happy Monday, all! Thank you to any new readers of our publication.
We have been keeping busy behind the scenes; Working on some cool stuff that we are beyond excited to bring your way soon! In the meantime, we have been loving the fantastic remaster of Cocteau Twins' underappreciated 1993 release, Four-Calendar Cafe. Have a listen to its opener, "Know Who You Are At Every Age" to kick off your week! Hope all is well out there! Make sure to catch Out Of Circulation this Thursday from 2-3 PM EST. Today marks a very special day. While Sunny Day Real Estate first returned to playing live back in 2010 at Coachella, the release of "Novum Vetus" marks their first new song in 10 years! Serving as a teaser for the band's re-recording of their classic debut, Diary (to be released May 3), their latest composition features dynamic changes and harmony that the band has mastered over their career.
Check out the official video for "Novum Vetus" above and check out dates for the band's upcoming tour here. Looking at records and bands in retrospect, decades removed from their initial release, can be a difficult task to accurately accomplish. While it is simple to listen back to obscure records and find hidden gems, deciding what in particular made those records obscure is a different beast. We found ourselves facing this dilemma upon discovery of The Death Of Cool, the third full-length offering from London dream-pop trio, Kitchens of Distinction.
Released in 1992, only a year after My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless defined the psychedelic aesthetic and woozy production that would become permanently affixed to the genre, Kitchens of Distinction would not follow suit. The Death Of Cool is an album chock full of brilliantly-nuanced pop bliss (with a healthy serving of fuzzed-out guitars), but the album’s packaging leaves little to the imagination. For better or for worse, the Aztec art that graces the front cover poorly represents what lies inside, serving as a prime example of the old “Never judge a book by its cover” adage. You could also argue that Kitchens of Distinction sounds like they would make music more in tune with brit-pop giants like Blur based on their name alone, but you would be remiss to make such a generalization. Nonetheless, what matters most is the music. The Death Of Cool excels in this criteria with flying colors, as dull moments rarely establish a presence throughout its runtime. Kitchens of Distinction wear their influences on their collective sleeve, as layers of both acoustic & electric guitar work together to complement the Ian McCulloch-esque vocals of Patrick Fitzgerald. Have a listen to “Breathing Fear” and envision it as an Ocean Rain b-side. It is a composition that occupies the same level of quality, which can be said for many of the album’s tracks. The opening couplet of “What Happens Now?” and “4 Men” make for an invigorating opening, which is perfectly balanced out with the sublime “On Tooting Broadway Station”. “…Broadway Station” sticks out as one of the album’s strongest attributes, as the band’s masterful command of dynamic control is on full display. If you stopped listening to The Death Of Cool following that track’s conclusion, assuming that track is the album’s best would be a safe bet. Luckily, it only improves from here! The aforementioned “Breathing Fear” pairs nicely with both “Gone World Gone” and “When In Heaven”, a grouping of tracks that come across as updated takes on the 80s output of Echo and the Bunnymen. It is difficult to describe exactly what has driven us to make this comparison, but we urge you to listen for yourself and see if you hear any similarities! That said, any similarity to possible influences are shrunken by “Mad As Snow”, the true pinnacle of The Death Of Cool. “Mad As Snow” is the archetype of songs that warrant instantaneous replay. The gradual build to peak grandeur that Patrick Fitzgerald, Julian Swales, and Daniel Goodwin conduct is quite breathtaking. It unfairly makes the great tracks that come after it seem pedestrian by comparison, but regular listens to The Death Of Cool will reveal the merit of tracks such as “Smile” and closer “Can’t Trust The Waves.” While the true Death Of Cool may have come at the expense of the band’s visual art choices for this album, it certainly did not affect the music they were able to create. For fans of 90s alternative and guitar-driven psychedelia, Kitchens Of Distinction are an essential listen. Happy Monday, everybody!
First off, thank you to all that caught the return of Out Of Circulation this past week! If you missed it, it is now available within our past episode archive. Be sure to catch this week’s edition on 1/25 from 2-3 PM EST, as we promise to have a strong crop of tunes ready for your enjoyment. Aside from that, the announcement of Drug Church finishing the recording process of their next release has us quite excited. The album will be their first full-length release since 2022’s Hygiene, which saw the band expanding upon the melodic tendencies of their breakout 2018 record, Cheer. The band has established themselves as one of rock’s greatest current live acts over the last few years, which has only raised our expectations for the new album. Additionally, release of The Chisel’s WHAT A FUCKING NIGHTMARE is in a little over two weeks! Out February 9 via Pure Noise Records, the album’s singles have previewed the abundance of ferocity and infectiousness that is sure to come with its full release. Stay tuned for more this week; Thanks for being here! Here at Noise Is Power Music, our daily listening habits vary widely. That said, a large percentage of our time is devoted to finding the best of 80s alternative, punk rock, and underground style. In the year 2023, Academy Order’s A New Kind Of Fear made it easy to find all these sounds in the same place. For fans of The Chameleons, Drug Church, and early American hardcore, Academy Order has successfully melded sounds of decades past into an intriguing and rewarding listen. A New Kind Of Fear is the type of album that confidently stands beside classics such as The Cure’s Pornography and Bauhaus’ The Sky’s Gone Out, while maintaining an air of modern pacing.
Academy Order may not shy away from their influences, but they have used them to craft a diverse batch of tunes that warrants repeat listens. The vocal pairing of Matthew and Norelle Green keeps the album’s hooks colored and varied, which is perfectly backed by Academy Order’s strict rhythms and melodic guitars. Single “The Devil Spoke” serves as a great example of the band’s unique blend of new wave and early hardcore; Two genres that often work distant from one another. Other favorites of ours include “Remember The Night” and “Death In The American South”, though A New Kind Of Fear provides a consistent listen throughout! At the time of publication, Academy Order has announced their Spring 2024 tour! Spanning much of the East Coast, the tour kicks off at the end of February in Virginia. Be sure to keep this band on your radar, as we remain happy to see them keeping the spirit of early alternative offerings active. Happy Monday, all! Thank you to everyone that’s made our past two weeks back in-publication successful. It feels great to be back! We hope for the first new episode of Out Of Circulation’s second season to be this Thursday, though our new airing time will be 2-3 PM EST. Also, a happy 34th anniversary to The Sundays’ magnificent debut album, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic (Released today in 1990!). We’ll be sure to give the album a special listen today, as should you!
Looking forward to a great week! The Lemon Twigs’ newest single, “My Golden Years”, launches the power-pop revivalists into 2024.
We may have selected five releases that defined our 2023, but The Lemon Twigs’ Everything Harmony has distinguished itself as the release that has yield the most replay value. When discussing the brothers D’Addario (Brian & Michael) that front and craft The Lemon Twigs’ music, their knack for evoking shades of past power-pop giants while avoiding contrivance is a true feat. Most bands that attempt to accomplish what Everything Harmony does come off as archaic and nostalgia-bait, but The Lemon Twigs have mastered the art of paying homage via creation of high-quality new art. In brief, The Lemon Twigs rule. In anticipation for the band’s newest release, “My Golden Years”, we remained baffled as to how the band would be able to follow up such a landmark album for 2023. That said, after our first listen, their strategy became clear: "Don’t worry about expectations; Let’s have fun!" “My Golden Years” became a staple of the band’s live set while supporting Everything Harmony, though the joyous and ever-playful nature of the tune can fully be felt in its studio recorded format. The same brilliant harmonies and Sunflower-era Beach Boys sheen that define Everything Harmony have not vanished, as they are arguably emboldened by the tightness of this track. It does not surprise us that the latest from The Lemon Twigs is great, but it has greatly increased our expectations for the band’s follow-up LP. Check out the music video for “My Golden Years”, directed by Ambar Navarro, at the link above! “My Golden Years” is out now via Captured Tracks. It is rare that we feel so strongly about a record that we let its contents speak for itself. The Chameleons' final album of the 80s, Strange Times, is one of those cases. We shared our love for their post-punk classic, Script of the Bridge via review back in November, though the group's expansion of their sound pallet on Strange Times is truly remarkable. Serving as home to the group's biggest US single ("Swamp Thing", an anthemic and trippy tune), the guitar maestro of Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding find themselves experimenting with newfound ambient fascination and glorious delayed-leadwork. Sprawling epics "Caution" and "Soul In Isolation" are offset by tight compositions "Mad Jack" and "Tears", making for a well-balanced listen. The synth-pop of the album's latter half (check out "Seriocity"!) shows the development of the band's core songwriter, Mark Burgess, as Strange Times establishes itself as one of his more ambitious works.
While The Chameleons are a crucial group for any fan of 80s alternative and post-punk, Strange Times expanded the band's scope beyond prior releases. The album is currently not available on any major streaming platforms, but have a listen at the YouTube stream linked above! Happy Monday, all! This week marks the first major snowfall along the Northeast of 2024, but we were honored to check out the debut performance of Grace - Jeff Buckley Tribute on Sunday. Held at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity (Florence, MA), the evening’s stellar performances were previewed by a curated selection of Elliot Smith and Nick Drake tunes over the house PA. This simple action introduced us to the fantastic acoustics of the Bombyx, as the venue’s past-life as a church lent itself well to natural reverberance and ghostly ambiance. Nonetheless, the house music perfectly dovetailed into James Bird’s opening set, drawing musical inspiration from quintessential folk-stylings and lyrical themes of classic Roman myths. Bird did an excellent job at setting the tone of the evening: A true sense of remembrance and reverence for the work of Jeff Buckley. Tasked with performance of Buckley’s seminal 1994 album, Grace, Grace - Jeff Buckley Tribute accomplished their ambitions with flying colors. Vocally and instrumentally, Grace is an album that requires extreme attention-to-detail and genuine care to do justice. While Buckley’s original cover of “Hallelujah” (originally written by Leonard Cohen) has inspired countless reinterpretations of the song, many of the tracks that comprise Grace have been left untouched since Buckley’s untimely passing in 1997. For drummer Jon Fisher, bassist Josh Hirst, lead guitarist Lucas Solórzano, and vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tony Bernardo, the absence of Grace in live music venues served as inspiration to start their band. Taking to the stage with a note-perfect rendition of “Mojo Pin”, the band’s dedication to honoring Buckley’s memory was evident.
As the band navigated their way through renditions of Grace classics (“Last Goodbye”, “So Real”, “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”), the vocal prowess of Tony Bernardo consistently amazed via his confidence and connection to Buckley’s material. It could be considered easy to simply learn someone else’s material, but to tastefully impart oneself into another’s music is hard to do. Without question, Bernardo and Grace - Jeff Buckley Tribute possess the fluency and love of Buckley’s music necessary to provide an authentic live experience of Grace. We are honored to have caught their debut performance, though we patiently await the announcement of future dates! Thank you to anyone who enjoyed last week’s coverage of Hum’s recent reissues and Fudge’s excellent album, The Ferocious Rhythms of Precise Laziness. More to come soon! |
AuthorCarl Giannelli is a Connecticut based music advocate, songwriter, journalist, performer, and physical media preservationist. Archives
May 2024
Categories
All
|