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F orming and maintaining a rock band can be as frustrat
ing and difficult or as easy and carefree as one wants.
Local band Umpire formed nearly a year ago as that rare
item, the carefree side-project that's nonetheless deter
mined to play serious songs.
The band initially began as a side project conducted by
local Kindercore band Gritty Kitty's fairer half, drummer
Jessica Slavich and bassist Polly Hanson. They played their
first gig opening for Gritty Kitty in August. 1997. “We opened
for ourselves!" says Hanson with a laugh. “We prolxably
wouldn’t have gotten a show otherwise."
the way Jessica and Polly played together and off each
other, and I liked their voices very much."
Hanson plays bass and Slavich plays drums in Gritty
Kitty. In Umpire, however, all three members share various
instrumental and vocal duties and experiment with song
ideas.
“These Umpire songs are important.” explains Hanson.
“That’s why we’ve taken them out of the context of Gritty
Kitty. They're important in a very different way that requires
specific attention. Umpire allows us to express ourselves in
a different way in a different environment than Gritty Kitty...
and I get to play drums ’’
“Yeah. Polly’s a really mean drummer!" adds Slavich.
“It’s all one big fill”
Well, sort of. Umpire music often arranges one big
chord after another with a delicate drum beat under
neath. The songs do sound different from the Gritty Kitty
material; they’re far more atmospheric with chiming,
droning chords, a decidedly slower tempo and an
emphasis on mood rather than heavy rhythms. Think
Galaxie 5(H). Lush, Yo La Tengo, and sundry bits of the 4
A.D. back-catalog.
Slavich explains. “It's not straight-forward rock and
roll or indie pop. It’s kind of more feminine. The songs
have a lot of strength. I think, but it's coming from a dif
ferent place than pounding drum beats and throbbing
bass "
Hanson ados. “Gritty Kitty is much more of a pop ven
ture — a little more straightforward Umpire is taking all
the ideas that might be just a little wacky and expanding
on them Also. I Chink our songs are sadder than Gritty
Kitty's. We’re not sad. though."
Look for a new split cassette release from Umpire and
Smitten Kitten — a lother Gritty Kitty side project con
ducted by guitarist Jason Taylor and his wife Julie — out
soon on Little Lion Records.
While local musician Rob Lomax (ex-Lost Man) played
drums at the first few shows. Slavich and Hanson would
often utilize a drum machine on recordings. They eventually
called on local timekeeper Tom King, a longtime member of
Athens favorites Love Tractor and a frequent collaborator in
Douglas A. Martin’s band HoneyComb. This will be King’s
first official show this week.
“I heard some recorded Umpire stuff recently and I really
liked it." explains King. “I felt naturally drawn to it. I liked
Ballard Lesemann
WHO; Umpire
WHERE: Lunch Paper
WHEN; Tuesday, June 2
HOW MUCH: Cheap.
C,OWftoy rtoVTH
AU the little \f<m of, YMtej pieces of peoples’ frustration...
Py-. ^ n — charismatic leader of a musical group.
il UriUTldn See singer, guitarist.
See also '80s keyboard player. Didn't someone ever tell Fred
LeBlanc that drummers cannot be frontmen? Even Phil Collins lets
someone else pl2y drums when
he tours. You just can't play
drums and direct a live show. It
is one of the unspoken rules of
rock and roll.
New Orleans' Cowboy Mouth
tends to do things a little dif
ferently. The band takes its
name from a line in a Sam
Shepard play about a man con
vinced he can be the next big
thing. "You gotta grab all the
little broken up, busted pieces
of peoples' frustration," he
says. "You gotta give it back to
them bigger than life — you
gotta be a rock n roll Jesus
with a Cowboy Mouth."
So it was rock Jesuses that they set out to become, and indeed
Cowboy Mouth live may leave you feeling saved and sanctified. The
band is a strange fusion of country, rock, and gospel, jarring you
with a neo-honky-tonk ditty ("Hey Bartender") one minute, then a
straight-up rocker ("Jenny Says") the next. The band seems to take
pleasure in extremes. Fred the drummer places his kit front and
center. He stands up, he flails, he wails — if anything, he'll con
vince you that a drummer belongs on the front of the stage. John
Rav Mansfield
WHO: Cowboy Mouth, Everything
WHERE: Georgia Theatre
WHEN: Wednesday, May 27
HOW MUCH: Call
Thomas Griffith, the lead guitarist, usually tries to compete with
Fred on who can make the most sudden movements on stage. Paul
Sanchez (guitar) and Rob Savoy (bassist) wisely just play and
leave the theatrics to their band mates.
The release last year of the
band's major label debut. Are
You With Me? on RCA records
has catapulted the Mouth from
regional to national success,
and the band continues to tour
250 dates a year, it seems they
don't want to deviate too far
from what got them 10 this
point. The band will play practi
cally any venue where thei f fens
will gather. Fred says: "The goal
is everyone getting off. Life's
not about fitting it, it's about
finding your place". It seems
Cowboy Mouth has found theirs.
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