There's something about being back home that makes you feel good. You remember all the times you went clubbing, listening to the bands that struggled to book jobs every week at the same clubs. Some bands got lucky. They had regular gigs at the more popular places in town, and were only usurped when somebody really special came in to town on tour.
Most of the bands that play at clubs in the city are cover bands-bad versions of Tom Petty and various hits of 1985 are among cover bands' favorite tunes to mangle. But every now and again, a club will take a chance on hiring a really talented original band, hoping to give them a boost in the music world.
I spent my high school days in Tampa, Florida, the oft-named heavy metal capital of the country. Great for music lovers, right? Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the heavy metal genre. A good seventy percent of the bands in the bay area escaped my scrutiny. But thanks to a local community radio station that loved local music, I was exposed to a wide spectrum musical variety.
So, how do I go about picking my favorites? Well, I thought I'd go by the CDs in my collection. If a local band is good enough to make it into my CD collection, they have to have a pretty polished, not-like-everyone-else type sound. And they have to be interesting. I like bands with an interesting background, or at least an interesting following. Well, here's a short list of my favorite small-time-hometown bands, only one of which has made it big.
Clang, Pol Pot Pie (Rump Roast Records, 1992): Well, if you want interesting, Clang certainly fits the bill. The band, made up of four professors from the University of South Florida's Tampa campus, somehow finds time to teach, play regular gigs, and record quality CDs at the same time. Clang was billed as Tampa Bay's niftiest alternative band before alternative hit the big time (well, we in Tampa like to think we're only a week behind Seattle). All tha paper said Clang had a funky, fresh sound, which made them the most popular darlings of the Tampa Altie music scene. I went to see them at a free Friday afternoon concert in the park one summer, and I was blown away.
Clang used not only the usual complement of guitar, drums, and keyboards, but lots of synthesizer and horns to make their sound full and different. It's really hard to describe, but as a whole, Clang kind of reminds me of that Mighty Mighty Bosstones' tune, "Someday I Suppose." Just some really neat regular rhythm section stuff with eclectic horns and synthesizer piled on top. In concert, Clang's sound was a little harsh, more grating than I usually liked. But I heard a bunch of their singles (if you can call non-mass-marketed, individual songs from an independent band's release singles) on that Best Little Radio Station on Earth I mentioned earlier, and I really liked their studio sound. I bought the CD. I have never regretted it.
The disc, which is not Clang's first release, Pol Pot Pie, opens with a man telling you will rock your baby to sleep with this tune, a little ditty called "Sleeping Pill." The vocals wind around each other like they were born that way. Then the tune turns to more of a guitar-driven rock, with really fast in-your-face lyrics. The end of the tune calms down again to a normal pace, but the transition is almost seamless. Clang has a way of combining funky, syncopated rhythms with soothing vocals to create a sound you've never quite heard before. "Mary, Mark, and John" is an example of just that sort of combination-the band's lyrics are rather dark and scary, but the music is pleasant, almost always happy. And that weird combination is why I like them.
Halcyon, I'm Naked and I'm Going to Paris and Slightly Confusing to Strangers (1993, 1995): If you like the Indigo Girls (oops- a painful subject for concert organizers, eh?), you will really like Halcyon. Originally just a guitar/vocal duet between founders Stephanie Callahan and Debbie Hunseder, Halcyon has evolved to include a bassist and percussionists. And the new instruments have expanded their sound in a new, pleasant direction.
I first heard the duo at the Taste of Tampa food fair-a great way to sample area restaurants for mere dollars-outdoors in the spring. Callahan and Hunseder were brilliant, taking advantage of the open air venue to project their clear harmonies over soothing guitar chords, spiced up with exceptional solos by each. I bought their current CD, I'm Naked and I'm Going to Paris the next day. I even tried to get their old tapes, but a friend told me they were long gone, gobbled up by the band's large and loyal area following. Halcyon appeared on that same little radio station and were humorous and engaging, making me like them even more (that personality thing, remember?).
Halcyon had a regular gig at a local coffeehouse in South Tampa, but I never got there for their weekly concerts. I even missed their album release party for Slightly Confusing to Strangers. But when Halcyon was again scheduled to play at an outdoor venue close to home last summer, I was there. This was the first time I had heard the full complement of instrumentalists, and the sound was exciting, more than just ballads. There was pep, vigor, and excitement as the band dedicated each song to someone different in the audience. During a set break, the band began signing CDs for fans, and I waited in line for an hour just to say hi and get my CDs signed. Now that's popularity.
The sound of the whole band is almost a spiritual experience, as the band has tried to make it. The lead and harmony vocals are powerful rather than delicate, and the catchy percussion ideas are the soul of the new sound. The bass rounds out the low end of the spectrum, making the sound a little less hollow (though it's hard to improve on something I liked so much already).
My favorite song has to be "Fire in the Church Tonight" from Paris. It has Hunseder and Callhan's trademark vocal styles and bongo drums that give the song some more flavor, though I could do without the extended drum solo as the coda. Halcyon's songs are usually love songs, but there are some thought-provoking lyrics which deal with prejudice and acceptance in a prejudicial and often violent society.
Snapdragon, Drinking Watermelon Sugar (Pound Records, 1995): Well, okay, so Snapdragon is not from Tampa. They're not my hometown band. But they're from Augusta. My parents used to live there, and I have friends there now. Close enough. Besides, I really like them. So they make the cut.
Unfortunately, I've never seen them, but Snapdragon is a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend's band. Another reason to like them-with connections like that, I may be able to get a backstage pass someday. I really like their CD, though. Vocalist Tara VanDevender has a beautiful, lilting voice that makes me think of skipping through the garden on a sunny day. This style is especially evident on track four, "Orange Crush," when VanDevender inserts doobie-doos into the bridge.
The best way to describe Snapdragon is pretty. Their guitars jangle, their bass doesn't boom, their drums aren't pounding, and their vocals are bouncy. I just like 'em.
The Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Inevitable and Hot! (Mammoth 1994, 1996): I grew up in Durham The Zippers are from Chapel Hill. So they count. I feel almost wrong writing about them, though, now that the Zippers are getting airtime on G105. "Damnation" is popular with the Triangle Top-40 fans, though no one knows quite why. I first heard the Zippers' The Inevitable through a friend, who had heard it from a friend, well, you know. I love hot music of the 20s. I was hooked. I saw them in concert when they came during reading period last spring, and the Zippers sure do put on a show. Dressed to the nines, the five musicians play their hearts out, as you can tell by their faces and the sweat streaming down their faces after only the third number.
When Hot! came out this summer, I bought it almost immediately, if only to play with the cool interactive stuff on the disc. I must confess, I liked The Inevitable better, but I still like Hot!, if only for more Zippers to play with.
Now the Zippers are on national tours, and hardly ever play around here anymore. But I catch them when I can, and I still think they're better than Superchunk.
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