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Small Town Soap Opera:
Pulling Teeth with the
ROCK*A*TEENS
I f rn shaking my head as I sit on William
I \ I Brandon's bass guitar case. This has
simply gone all wrong. The Rock*A*Teens have
just finished their set opening for Man or
Astroman? at the 40 Watt. It's quarter to one
when I finally get a chance to talk to Brandon and
lead vocalist/guitarist Chris Lopez. I'm half-drunk,
they're tired, and everyone seems more interested
in reading the scrawled graffiti that proclaims
“Drivin' n' Cryin' kick much ass" and "Ceiling Fan
are a bunch of fags" across the pale walls than in
talking about anything.
I had been warned. The previous reporter who
had been sent to interview Lopez returned rag tag
and disheveled, timidly holding a dog-eared scrap
of paper containing what little information he
could glean from the Cabbagetown songwriter. The
decision was quick: get the band together for a
group interview, thereby lessening the effect of
relying simply on one reluctant rock star.
Incompetence and miscommunication followed.
What I thought would be a scheduled and orga
nized interview, became a mere impromptu talk
with people who seemed more eager about
checking out the new Astroman lineup out on
stage.
"Hey, what's that there? That thing with the
top on it." grunts Lopez as he nods towards the
table at my side.
"What? My beer?" I respond.
"Yeah. Let me have that beer."
"You want my beer?"
"Man, I'll get you another one later. C'mon."
Brandon is amiable, laughing at the request.
Soon, drummer Ballard Lesemann enters the room.
To the delight of Lopez, he is carrying two six
packs of beer. There is a general roll call ques
tioning the whereabouts of Justin Hughes, the
apparently well-behaved second guitarist who
never seems to be found. Lesemann and Brandon
are pleasant and possess a fair
amount of knowledge about the
band, but it doesn't seem to be
enough.
Brandon joined the
Rock* A'Teens just over a year
and a half ago (He is credited on
last year's Baby, A Little Rain
Must Fall as Brandon Smith), and
Lesemann only just joined the
ensemble last Summer, just
before the band recorded Golden
Time, the new album to be
released by Merge on March 23.
The man who wrote most of the
songs on that album, though, is
slumped on a sofa, with com
plete disregard for the idea of
discussing his work.
"You don't like to talk about
your songs, do you?" I question
Lopez.
"Not really."
"Well, ideally, what do you want to talk
about?"
"Why don't you just ask us some fucking ques
tions?"
Where the hell is Justin?
The show had been rough. Unlike most
Rock*A*Teen gigs, which showcase a variety of
songs from the band's five year-plus career,
tonight was almost entirely made up of songs
from the new album. While the band has seen
worse nights — such as when Lopez broke a
guitar string, refused any replacements, and spent
almost the entire gig stumbling around the stage,
playing lead singer — the performance didn't live
up to the material on Golden Time. Produced by
Rob Gal in Atlanta, the album is the best
sounding recording the band has ever released.
Lopez agrees: "The latest record is really hi-fi.
Well, as hi-fi as we can possibly record."
The band is tight, the songs swing like no
other Rock*A*Teens album, and the work as a
whole makes up for some of the ground lost on
Baby. A Little Rain Must Fall, which suffered both
from the loss of drummer Chris Verene and Lopez's
decision to overdub the drum tracks himself.
While songs like "Teen Muscle/Teen Hustle" and
"N.Y. By Helicopter" from that album sounded
great live, on disc they lacked the punch.
Lesemann's presence on Golden Time opens the
band up rhythmically — especially on "Small
Town Soap Opera," with an intro just waiting to
be sampled by Master P — and having a live
drummer around for practice and whatnot obvi
ously tightened the band up.
"Not that Chris Verene was any slouch,"
remarics Brandon, "but having Ballard around
made a big difference in the sound. It was a lot
different, but it was a lot easier to work with."
Brandon also credits the fact that the band
had more time to work with Gal on the album,
adding flourishes such as keyboards and strings
that enhance tracks such as "Across the
Piedmont" which is probably the closest to
Motown soul The Rock •A* Teens have ever
approached. Lopez's continuing improvement as a
lyricist is also evident in songs such as "Little
Ceasar on a Bicycle." Lopez is
taken aback by the accusation
that the lyrics' references to
"Little Ceasars" and "Napoleons"
recall the work of Nick Cave and
Tom Waits.
"Little Ceasar — that's a
movie. There's a movie titled
Little Ceasar, y'know?" responds
Lopez. "The song is about this
young kid in my neighborhood
who just owns the street. There's
all these strange ghetto kids who
rule this intersection in my
neighborhood."
Lopez continues on the topic
of lyrics: "A lot of it's self-depre
cating humor. Y’know, a lot of
writers like Stipe and Cave and
Morrissey get taken very seri
ously, but what they're singing is
very funny. It's all camp and
humor. I just don't think people
really listen. We're thinking of printing the lyrics
on the Merge website."
After Lopez unexpectedly departs to watch
Man or Astroman?, Lesemann sums up the innate
strangeness that being a Rock*A*Teen entails:
"It's wierd. It's like we're coming from four
completely different tracks and somehow we meet
at the same place, and it works."
John Britt
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