Newspaper Page Text
Page. 28 • Flagpole Magazine February 7, .199
Animalogical in J||anta
Yes, here is the Flagpole, colorbearerof
Athens’ alternative music, covering an act
not from Athens, not coming to Athens, and
not what you’d really call alternative, either.
But rules, as they say, were made for the
Baptist Student Union.
Animal Logic is a band on the I.R.S label
that consists of Deborah Holland, vocals
and songwriting; Stanley Clarke, bass and
other strings; and former Police member
Stewart Copeland, percussion. The band’s
name made a brief appearance in the
“coming soon” section of Georgia Theatre
ads, but their Athens date has been can
celed They will play Atlanta’s Cotton Club
on Sunday, February 11.
The press kit says that Animal Logic got
together when Clarke and Copeland dis
cussed forming a pop band, but they
needed someone to sing and write the
songs. After rejecting "hundreds of tapes,”
they heard a two-song demo by Holland,
and two weeks later the newly-formed trio
was playing a big show in Brazil. When they
returned from the land of vanishing rain
forests, they entered the studio. Two years
later, Animal Logic releases their suspi
ciously-titled debut album, Animal Logic.
Holland was kind enough to grant an
interview from the I.R.S. offices in California.
She remembers the demo tape given to
Clarke and Copeland; “The two songs were
Spy (in the House of Love)’ and 'Firing Up
the Sunset Gun.’ A publisher who admini
sters the Police catalog in the United States
had started taking an interest in me as a
songwriter. He’s the one who played the
tape for Stewart.”
Holland describes the subsequent
whirlwind one-date tour of Brazil as "wild.”
She explains; "The most people I had ever
performed in front of before Brazil was
about two hundred. And Brazil was like
eight thousand. It was absurd."
Why Brazil? "Stanley was going down
there anyway,” says Holland. "He used to
go down there every year end take different
bands, and they thought it would be a really
safe place to sort of test the waters.”
Safety may be a key concept with Animal
Logic If Copeland and Clarke wanted a
pop singer/songwriter, then they got ex
actly what they were locking for. Holland
admits fha* •* l *t Clarke and Copeland add
to her music bends the songs away from the
strict pop style with which she wrote them.
"It was pretty different. I tended to be a
little more conservative in my treatment of
my own songs,” she says. “Only because
you get rejected from record companies—
you start taking less and less chances.
Because of who they [Copeland and
Clarke] were, they’re allowed to take more
chances. I love it I’m thrilled.”
Copeland’s and Clarke’s rhythmic and
jazzy influences don't detour the songs too
much from the mainstream, however. The
music isn’t exactly experimental Even with
the liberty her partners have given Holland,
she's still not sure she wants to write more
progressive songs. "I’m not concerned with
whether it’s commercial anymore. I know
that. I’m a pretty traditional songwriter. But
I’m not worried if, lyrically, it would fit into
top-40 radio or anything like that."
Speaking of lyrics, Holland says in the
press kit that she writes about “‘normal
things, aoproached from a slightly different
angle.”’ In this interview, she says, “I did say
that, didn’t I? I’m starting to regret that
quote."
She then convinces herself to stand by
the statement. "Yeah, I think that’s true
Take the song ’Elijah.’ It’s basically a song
about wanting love to come into your life, but
I’ve made waiting for a man to come into my
life like waiting for the prophet Elijah—it’s
sort of about a Passover satyr. I think that’s
a little askew from the norm.”
She says of her music in general: “Well,
it’s not manufactured; it isn’t formulaic song-
wr iting. It has some life to it, I think. Not as
much life as an R E M. record, mind you. It
ain't Milli Vanilli, I know that.” (And thank
god.)
Although it is tempting to call a collabo
ration of high caliber musicians a project of
sorts, Holland insists that Animal Logic is a
band. "Yeah, we don’t like the p-word.
We’re talking about doing another record.
The band’s already been together for two
years.”
The members of the band get along well,
too, reports Holland. "We’re friends.
They’re really great guys. I really lucked
out.”
Holland is making some music sans
Animal Logic, despite their band-ness. She
lives in Los Angeles, so she’s close to Hol
lywood, where it’s rare to find a movie with
out musical accompaniment. She says, "I
did a soundtrack to a film called ’The Cir
cuitry Man’ that’s coming out Easter. It’s like
a futuristic, apocalyptic, comedy romantic
thriller. I did some songs for it, but then I did
the actual instrumental score, also.”