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BY RICHARD MARTIN |
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Harvey Danger, Death Cab for Cutie, Actionslacks LaLuna, 215 SE 9th Ave., 241-5862 9:30 pm Tuesday, Oct. 6 $9.47 What's this rock world coming to? It used to be that when a band sang about teen angst and played buzzing guitars and jagged rhythms, you knew that the musicians would rather cut out their livers than sign to a major label. Sell out? Bands today seek out label deals, ever more eager to jump into the record-biz roulette wheel. "We need to be on a major label in order to even have a shot at reaching people," says Tim Scanlin, singer and guitarist for the Bay Area trio Actionslacks. "That's something we're actively pursuing." Scanlin, drummer Marty Kelly and bassist Mark Wijsen formed the band a few years back, releasing a debut, Too Bright Just Bright Good Night, that garnered positive reviews (like hundreds of other records) and introduced the 'Slacks to a few future fans. Then their label, Skene!, closed up shop. Homeless, Scanlin and his mates returned to the studio with a more boisterous batch of songs, an update of the late '80s Amer-indie sound that's distinguished by the singer's wryly observational lyrics. The cheekily named New York imprint Arena Rock took in the 'Slacks and issued One Word a few months back, and the band's been touring relentlessly since. Scanlin, who also publishes the fanzine Snackcake!, spoke with WW during a brief stop back in his hometown of Oakland. WW: You just returned from a six-week tour. What's changed since you first started playing out as a band? Tim Scanlin: This tour unequivocally demonstrated to us that the indie-rock infrastructure of the late '80s and early '90s is gone. There's a new infrastructure with bands like Braid and the Promise Ring that appeal to a younger audience. But the American indie-rock renaissance is over. I can't say that it was the most enjoyable tour. We played some really good shows. Only a handful of them sucked. Why did some of the shows suck? The audience for bands that I used to go see years ago has realized that it has to get on with its life, to get a job and get married and have kids. I think a lot of people have stopped going to shows. Yet I saw Actionslacks play at the beginning of your tour in Seattle, and you guys sounded revved up. Were you able to keep up the momentum despite some potholes? I think we're the best live band we've ever been now. We did like 35 shows in 38 days, and by the time of our last show at Spaceland in Los Angeles on Saturday night, we were kind of like a rock machine. Would you say that you're the best rock band in America? Duh! No, but seriously, we love to rock. There's a lot of irony in the lyrics, but there's no irony in the fact that we love rock music and we love to play rock shows. I'm a firm believer that if you're going to get on stage, you should get up there and go off. The studio is another arena. That's where we put on the horn rims and geek out and bust out the string section. But live, that's the place to go off. That's what it's all about. Between fronting a band and publishing a music magazine, you're probably in touch with the trends. What are some of positive and negative developments in the last decade? There are definitely more bands. That can be cool but also kind of annoying because a lot of the talented bands get lost in the shuffle. There's a glut, and there's a lot of bands that should probably still be in their practice room but are instead making albums and putting them out. The whole Guided by Voices thing spawned a huge boom in home recording, which is great, but unfortunately not everybody with a four-track is Bob Pollard. On the up side, as fucked up as major labels are, they have been signing some bands and at least giving certain kinds of music a chance. But they do have a track record for liking something and signing it and then forgetting about it two weeks later. Like Spoon. Elektra just dropped Spoon four months after its album came out. No way! I just talked to this guy in Ridel High, this pop-punk band from L.A., at our Spaceland show. I went up to him and said, "Congratulations on your A&M thing," and he was like, "Thanks, we're not on A&M anymore." They were on that label for like three months. It's ridiculous. The labels read all this press and think the bands are really hip. Then they want this feather in their cap, until they realize that the feather doesn't make any money. So why would you pursue being on a major? What would you do to make it work for Actionslacks? If you take a lot of money up front, it just gives the label a reason to drop you that much quicker. We don't need a lot of money. If we could have $15,000 to record an album, it would surpass our wildest dreams. That's not even enough for the catering budget for the Stones. You also need to make sure you're on the right label. Don't fool yourself. If you're not the new Third Eye Blind, you're not going to get the attention you need at some huge label.
originally published September 30, 1998
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