The original article I wrote about Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash appeared in 2002 in an ezine called “Changes In Time” based in South Florida, commemorating the death of Waylon and the 70th birthday of Johnny Cash.  Some readers of CIT were upset that an article about Country singers was appearing in a Goth ezine, but the Editor graciously stood by the article.    When the death of Johnny Cash followed a year later,  it seemed like an era was over.    Nearly a decade after their deaths, Cash and Jennings still cast a giant shadow over the music world.

I certainly don’t fall into the common trap of calling something “Goth” just because  I feel some affinity with it, but I do  believe that the same principles  that led to the creation of the Goth Culture are shared by other people, too, and this makes us all sort of comrades-in-arms.   I first discovered the music of Outlaw Country when I was a teen.   A good friend of mine named Farley Howard introduced me to singers like Waylon, Willie, and David Allen Coe. I’ll probably lose what few Goth points I have left, but the first concert I ever attended was when Farley and I went to see Willie and Emmylou Harris perform at the Greensboro Coliseum.   (Farley later got a full scholarship from Harvard.   I got a bus ticket to basic training at Fort Sill, OK.)

The Outlaws gave me the first intimation that there were alternatives to the pop mainstream.   This was probably why going even further was easier when I discovered Punk and, later, Goth.     You will seldom hear singers like Waylon Jennings or Johnny Cash on today’s watered down, pop-country radio.    Yet they packed venues to the very last, and their album sales roll on today, regardless.

Jennings played bass for his childhood friend Buddy Holly during 1958-59.  Jennings had a close brush with fate in 1959, when he was scheduled to be on a plane chartered by Buddy Holly.   J.P. ‘The Big Bopper” Richardson was ill, and Jennings willingly let Richardson have his seat.   The plane crashed, taking the lives of all aboard.  Later, he roomed with fellow nonconformist Johnny cash.  Refusing to change his style from Country to Pop as the owner wished, Jennings left A&M records for RCA.  In the 1970′s, Jennings finally broke completely with traditional country music. Instead of the usual boring, weepy strings, Jennings added the electric bass with blues and rock rhythms, creating a sound that later became known as country-rock, embodied by performers such as the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Steve Earl.  Kicking a cocaine habit in the eighties, Jennings founded the Waylon G.D. Jennings Production Company.

Wearing a black cowboy hand and leather vest, Jennings looked and sounded like no one else.   Fiercely independent, Jennings steadfastly battled the record companies for control of his music.  He refused to record with the usual session musicians, and was highly critical of the Country Music Association.   A champion for lesser known song writers, Jennings embraced the Outlaw movement created by people  like Willie Nelson, who had fled Nashville for the freedom of Austin, Texas.

Typically, Jennings was the first to call fellow performers to task when the scene got out of hand, condemning their excesses and posturing in songs like “Luckenback, Texas”, and “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”  Jennings felt  a strong sense of community, refusing to attend award ceremonies because he felt that country musicians should not compete with other.   True to form,  when he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame,  Jennings sent his son to pick up the award, joking that the audience wouldn’t want to hear what he had to say anyway.

Johnny Cash was known as “The Man in Black”, and there has been no one else quite like him.  Like Jennings, Cash was a maverick who openly disdained the conventions of Nashville music.   Along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley, Cash signed on with Sun Records, home of the original Rockabilly sound.  In the early ’60′s, Cash collaborated with Bob Dylan and even appeared on Dylan’s album “Nashville Skyline”.    He wore a long black coat, in stark contrast to the gaudiness of most Country performers.   In 1979-80, Rockabilly emerged again from the ranks of Punk, eventually spawning Psychobilly.  Punks were trekking down to stores like Rock On Records in Camden Town to snap up records by Lewis, Perkins, Presley (especially the  “Sun Sessions” LP), and of course, Johnny Cash.  “Brand New Cadillac” from the Clash’s “London Calling” LP, was nothing less than classic Rockabilly.  From there it was a straight line of descent down to the Cramps’  “Sheena’s in a Goth Gang” of 1997.

In 1985,  Cash and Jennings formed The Highwaymen along with fellow Outlaws Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.   From 1985-1995, they released three albums: Highwayman, Highwayman 2, and The Road Goes on Forever.    Cash’s “American Recordings”, released in 1994, has a cover that is more “gothic” in a purely American way than any other album cover.   Accompanied by only his guitar, Cash’s voice rolls out of the darkness like the approaching Apocalypse, not the special-effects laden razzle-dazzle Apocalypse of today’s cyber world, but the Apocalypse of old-time preachers, mountain bards, and nightmares of our childhood.  Scorned by  country radio,  “American Recordings” impressed fans old and new, as did the follow-up album “Unchained” in 1996.  Cash’s albums included covers of songs by such diverse artists as Soundgarden and U2. In 2000, Cash included an impressive rendition of Nick Cave’s “Mercy Seat” on the album “Solitary Man”.    Later, he evocatively covered Nine Inch Nails “The Hurt”.

I’ll never forget standing on a street corner in Camden Town in 2002, listening to Cash’s rendition of “The Hurt” coming from a nearby store.   When I was in High School, I was in a very short-lived band and sang “Folsom Prison Blues” in the school talent show and later during an appearance on the local radio station.   Never in my wildest, most demented  dreams did I ever imagine that nearly thirty years later I would be in the UK, dressed in black, listening to Johnny Cash.   But somehow it was fitting.

According to Cash, his dark clothes and stark music were symbolic of the poor, the dispossessed, and the unfortunate.  Over 50 years after the release of his first single, the enigmatic Cash remains an original who has never been copied.  Musically, he has influenced scores of artists across a broad spectrum of musical styles.   On the liner notes for ‘The Essential Johnny Cash”, Cash is praised by such diverse figures as Leonard Cohen and   Goth-poet Nick Cave.

To paraphrase David Allen Coe, if that ain’t Goth, you can kiss my….

MC:   When we spoke in Pittsboro, you commented that if a performer can’t simply stand up and sing a song with a guitar, then that song just doesn’t stand on its own.  This was a great observation.  Can you expound on this a bit more?

EA:  I just feel that most songs should be able to be stripped from all the production and layers that we find in the recorded version or a large scale performance and distilled down to just their bare bones, and if the song doesn’t hold up, then, perhaps there wasn’t much to it after all.  I recognize that there are still exceptions to the rule.  Techno for example, cannot, nor should not be played on an acoustic guitar, and its still a valid form of music, but for most songs, if you can’t take all the razzle dazzle away and still have something of worth, then perhaps its not worth much to begin with.

MC:  One of the first things that strikes people about your music is how intensely personal it can be.  With some bands this sounds contrived, but certainly not in your case!  Emma, for example, said that it was as if you are  on a dissecting table in front of the world, and it almost makes the listener feel as if they are intruding somehow.  In another interview you mentioned that you have tried to capture the “the tiny personal deaths that happen to everyone”.  I think you have succeeded admirably,  I think that one of the mistakes many artists make is that they try to capture the most shattering emotional events in their songs, which frequently sounds contrived.  What are your thoughts?

EA:  The small events are where the most interesting things happen.  There are nuances therein that can lend themselves greatly toward creating poetry out of the ordinary, “so much depends upon a red wheel barrow…”
I recently wrote he lyrics to a song a friend of mine wrote.  He plays under the name Escape the Clouds.  The concept for the song was a walk on the beach as the sun rose.  This is just one example of turning something simple into a song.

MC:  One of the things I vastly admire about your material is that you have the uncanny ability to pierce strike right at the listener’s soul, as it were.    As I mentioned in the review, I simply love “An Abandoned Building”. I feel as though I am standing right there, amid the decaying walls.  It’s not always the deep emotional hurts that make us the most pensive and reflective.  Was this a conscious direction on your part, or did it simply evolve?  By the way, are you a history buff?

EA:  I cannot be so bold as to say that It’s a conscience decision.  The things that strike you, just strike you.  My parents were selling the house that I grew up in and it got me to thinking about how I saw a house and what the time spent at that one meant to me.  I got a chance to go back to the house when it was still empty and it made me a bit sad to think of all the events that had taken place in every room, rooms I would never get the chance to be in again.  They are someone else’s  rooms now.  I wouldn’t say that I’m a history buff, but I do enjoy learning about the past.  Almost all things that once were intrigue me more than those things that might someday be.

MC:  We had discussed via email the difference between songs that are simply stories, with no real connection to the listener, and songs that resonate with the listener.  For me, a clever story may be entertaining for a few listens, but if something about the song doesn’t speak to me, it won’t be on my personal playlist, no matter how competent the musicians are.   Do you think that the more evocative a song may be for some people, that it may be less accessible to other people?   Or am I just over-analyzing?

EA:  There’s no way to tell what’s going to hit with a person, or an audience.  It even depends on how that individual is feeling at that particular moment in time.  I even had a girl ask me during a performance why I didn’t play more upbeat songs.  After the performance she apologized and to a degree retracted her question.  There are as many ways to connect with a listener as there are directions to walk in an open field of grass.

MC:  Your CD is marvelous proof that the old adage of “less is more” can be absolutely true. With some bands I get the feeling that they try too hard to fill up all available space.  What do you think?

EA:  To touch on the earlier question of a song standing up with just its bare bones, I would say that adding more instruments is like adding layers of clothing to an outfit.  If its summertime, then if your throwing on layers and layers of instruments, you might end up suffocating the song.  Ya gotta know which songs fit with what seasons.  Some tunes need those layers to add to the drama, some function better alone.  The trick is figuring out which need it and which don’t.  …and then sometimes you’re broke and can’t afford that marimba player, so you say screw it.

MC:  Who are some of your favorite musicians?   Does anyone in particular inspire you from the past?

EA:  These are my go to guys/gals  Lyle Lovett, John Denver, Dolly Parton, Tom Waits, Crystal Gayle, Willie Nelson.

MC:   I understand you have a project going on with Davenport and Winkelperry’s. Can you tell us a bit about this?    What else are you up to?

EA:  The Davenports and I are working on completing the Victorian Dead kickstarter project that reached its goal this past  April. I’ve written 8 songs about famous Victorians and the gals are going to record introductions to each of the subjects.  I also have a 6 song e.p. coming out of all nautical themed songs in early November.

MC:   I like your anachronistic  fashion sense. it seems like many clothing companies have jumped on the Steampunk bandwagon, sort of sullying the waters.    How did you acquire your wardrobe?  Do you have any fashion tips for fashion challenged males like myself?

EA:  Thrift stores, online, and wherever you can find a good buy.  I would suggest to any fashion challenged males that they keep it simple, stick to basics, and classic colors.  One should not add more pieces than they feel comfortable with wearing.

MC:   You mentioned elsewhere that it was sort of challenging producing ‘Let This House Burn Slowly” as a solo project. You certainly did a great job.  The production is superb.  What do you consider the most positive aspects of doing this solo?

EA:  It was easier than projects I’ve done in bands because I was the only one who needed to be happy at the end of the day.  There were no late night band meetings discussing the mix of a particular song.  Each song came out the way I wanted it.  I hope no one gets me wrong, I do enjoy working within the band dynamic, but its an entirely different route to take towards completing a project.  It was challenging in the sense that so much more does fall on just one persons decision and pocketbook.

MC:   Is there anything else you would like to add?  I look forward to catching you in Pittsboro in a month or so.  Thanks for the interview!

EA:  I recently went to a one day punk festival for a bunch of bands from the 80′s and 90′s.  These bands and the fans are from the last generation that really embraced all things tangible. CD’s, vinyl, stickers, t-shirts.  These little items are the lifeblood of a musician.  They are mementos of the occasion and items to pass down or wear proudly.  I hope fans don’t ever completely lose that “need” to get the album on vinyl, even though they already have it downloaded.  You cannot beat actually having something to hold onto or put in your stereo.

http://www.eliaugust.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eli-August/127927807072

Every so often I will read a music review that I find simply amazing.  I have to wonder if the reviewer actually listened to the album at all!   Their comments seem to have no relationship to the music.  Song titles will be mangled.  Non-existent instruments and vocals will be mentioned.    There are also reviews that consist of two or three sentences which are so general as to be meaningless.   “This is great Goth music!  If you like the Sisters of Mercy you’ll love Band X.”    Well, not necessarily…. could we have a bit more information please?   One of my favorite negative reviews was of a Deathrock band where the reviewer fumed and complained  because the vocals were “high pitched” and the album didn’t “rawk”.  Huh?   The reviewer obviously didn’t listen to much about Deathrock at all.  Another such interview railed that a CD was “monotonous” and I truly had to wonder if all he did was listen to the first 10 seconds of each song.

I will be the first to admit that I certainly have many faults as a reviewer.  Nevertheless, I try to adhere to a few basic rules when writing a review.   I research the band to gain some insight on where they are coming from, so to speak.  I will often listen to a CD for an absurd amount of time (my apologies to the bands), to get a comfortable understanding and appreciation for the music.  Only then can I deliver an informed, relevant review.  Sometimes, the mundane world doth intrude, as we used to say in the Renaissance faires.  I may be painfully  slow to complete a review or an interview.  This is my fault entirely.

Some people may be forgiven for believing  that I suck up to bands, because my reviews are almost always laudatory.  The reason for this is that I do not do negative reviews.    If I truly do not like a CD, I  do not  review it.     Regretfully, I  hear many more albums than I review.   But  if I feel no affinity for the music, it would be a disservice to the bands and fans  for me to review it.   On a few occasions I have had to do quite a bit of soul-searching over this.   Some reviewers seem to think they must tear a CD apart every once in awhile to show they have “teeth”.  Oh please.  I want to turn people on to to good music, not discuss music  I  get nothing out of.  After all, to paraphrase Lawrence of Arabia, my time is limited.   Regardless of what I think of a band’s music, I have no desire to trash them out. At least they are doing something.  I might not like their music, but others may. I will leave it to an appreciative fan to review them.  Fortunately, this has created very few awkward moments for me.  I will not pretend to like someone when I do not; or pretend to like music that I do not.  I am sure that this comes with a price, but it is a price I am more than willing to pay.

In the past, I have reviewed music available in the mainstream because they originated in the underground, or they have connections to the Goth scene.    These days, I don’t waste my time. I only review underground music.   If an band is available in major music outlets, information on them is easily found in the mainstream media. They don’t need underground support, and they usually couldn’t care less about it.   It’s sad when bands forget or move past their underground roots, but it happens.  I prefer to concentrate on bands that support the underground and are part of it.

Midnight calling is cfree, and I derive no income whatsoever from the ezine whatsoever.  I do it simply for love of the Music and the Underground.  I am more than happy to support a band by buying a CD or merch, but since my funds are limited  I am very appreciative when a band gives me a CD to review, and on the rare occasion when I am given free entry into an event.  (Thanks, Emma!)    I also deeply appreciate it when a band provides a link to an interview or mentions it on their website.  Much like in the underground poetry scene, the only acknowledgement many of us receive is from our fellow travelers.   However,  if a band or artist is unpleasant to deal with, I will spend my time and efforts elsewhere.    Life is too short.   Those who are more concerned with scene politics than their music do not need me.  I’m sure Rolling Stone has them  on speed-dial, anyway.

Unfortunately, not everyone who frequents the Underground is there for the music or culture. Some promoters and DJ’s who tout themselves as leaders of the underground have the attitude of :  “Just shut up and buy our tickets/pay our cover.”    They exhort us all to “support the scene”, but these Bottom-Feeders are in it for profit and ego, not love of the music.   Gee, if our only role is to throw money at someone, we can just run into to the mall.  At least it has a food court.    Personally, I will not support anyone who abuses or takes advantage of bands.    I don’t care what their “status” is.  I once heard that a friend of mine, who is also very involved in the underground, and  I have  “bad reputations” because we don’t kowtow to the “right” people.   Oh yeah?    I have a novel idea for these types.  Try treating people decently and keeping your word.

There are too many DJ’s who do not support new music.  Refusing to introduce new music  is doing both the bands, the fans, and the subculture a grave disservice.  This also gives casual club-goers the erroneous impression that “there is no new Goth music” and contributes to the vicious cycle of ignorance.   If it’s on your flyer: play it.  If not, don’t say it.   Enough with the latex clad girls wearing Nazi-looking hats on the flyers.   Leave that for the Fetish Nights.  And please, don’t put Siouxsie, Robert Smith, or some model with a mohawk  on your flier if all you play is Electro-Dance.

I extend a heartfelt thank you to all the bands who make the music that has made our scene what it is today.    Sometime in the early ’80′s this music  changed my life forever.   And thank you to all the DJ’s, promoters who support them.  Thank you to all the fans who have made it a part of their lives.  And thank you to all the readers of Midnight Calling Ezine. Without you, MCE would not exist.

On that note, I will close this somewhat rambling monologue.  Don’t mind me.  Halloween is fast approaching.

I had never heard of the band Risha before I received their debut single “Ptakha”.   I do not usually review singles, but out of curiosity I gave this a listen.    The first song hit me l ike an  anti-matter torpedo blasting an enemy attack ship off the Shoulder of Orion.   Stunned, I thought “Who ARE these guys?”     I discovered that Risha is a trio from Russia consisting of Irina “Rishafox” Lvova performing vocals; Andsy Ostrav on guitars; and Alexandr Suprun on drums.  They are all veterans of the music scene.   I am generally a fan of “heavy” music, but the music  of Risha transcends mere musical stylistic labels.    They manage to masterfully combine traditional Russian Folks songs with Industrial, Metal,  and electro.  I am  a huge fan of Russian Folk , but I would never have thought it possible to successfully merge it with these styles.    Listening to “Ptakha”, I stand corrected!  This blows all the  Industrial/Metal/electro  Medieval and folk-based music  that I have ever heard right out of  this dimension.  Risha is the new standard!

After a deceptively smooth beginning, “Ptakha” (“Bird”)  dives on the listener like a ferocious bird of prey, with sledgehammer guitar blasting the senses, accompanied by steady,  percussion which plods like a mailed warrior.  A bit of ’80s sounding bell effects add a nice touch.   Lead guitar fiendishly spirals around the utterly wondrous vocals, which feature excellent  layered harmonies, dissonant and sporadic with masterful split second timing.   Electro loops and effects hover in the background, and at about two and a half minutes the lead guitar erupts    amid the pounding soundscape.    Suddenly the song drops ominously, with the vocals becoming rather forlorn, then the grim tide of sound  surges to a finish.

“Maslenitsa” has a bit different dynamics, but the same majestic interplay between the nearly brutal metal/industrial sounds and the  pure, captivating vocals.   There is virtually a call-and-response pattern between the vocals and guitar that is mesmerizing.  After  swirls of synth the vocals  suddenly fall silent.  The percussion abrupt changes tempo,  with New Wave-ish synth loops in the background as the guitar strides forth in full grandeur.    Sudden split second harmonies are absolutely soul-catching and alluring.    Right  before the song finishes, the harmonies rise, then slow  into a very fetching “hey-hey-hey-hey” and the song ends on a nice touch of slide guitar.

“Golubka” (“Dove”) has a ominous, dark into, edgy guitar, and a hint of dance-style electro.  Then the hammer comes down with  metal thunder, along with inexorable percussion, and striking, crystal harmonies glittering among the vocals like diamonds. Suddenly the vocals are only backed by echoes, pensive, and then followed by excellent layers of harmony and counterpoint.    A heavy onslaught of sound ensues in reply,  as dissonant vocals gleam.  Some stunning guitar work emerges, and then the song ends with descending synth.

The remarkable thing about these three songs is that they have a variety of style without going outside the basic components of Folk and Metal.   The listener dares not sink into complacency.  Other bands use sheer volume to batter at the senses, but Risha inexplicably wields their heaviness of sound like a rapier, that transfixes the listener.    I absolutely love the vocals.  The intricacy, beauty,  and pinpoint precision of Irina’s  vocals are pure magic that gives a keen edge to the blood and iron of Andsy’s guitars and Alesandr’s percussion.    Eastern European Folk songs,  particularly Bulgarian and Russian, send a chill down my spine when when done well.   “Ptakha” passes this test like a snowstorm roaring across the steppes at midnight.   Risha’s fusion of Folk and Metal  is pure art, and I fervently await a full length album.

http://www.myspace.com/risha.band

http://www.risha.su/

“Pink Narcissus” from Plastic People (Sebastien Ficagna) is a unique CD that has been called “‘French rock cabaret”.  There is some truth to this description, but really, there is much more to “Pink Narcissus”.      There is definitely more than a touch of Post-Punk and even New Wave,  but the deft use of accordion and harmonica combine with Ficagna’s masterful lyrics and arrangements to provide a truly original and mesmerizing album.

The guitar on “Puppet (In Secret)”  begins with  a Latin sort of flavor, and the accordion gives an archaic counterpoint that paints a vivid backdrop to the edgy lyrics.  Suddenly, the guitar reminds me of Pink Floyd.”Nothing Is Eternal” begins with deathrock guitar followed by accordion, and supported by steady percussion and bass.   The song does have a very Post-punk feel, that is heightened by the guitar about two minutes into the song.  The bass becomes a driving force, and the guitar gets more strident, then a touch of  xylophone or keyboards gives a momentary lull before the guitar erupts and virtually grabs the listener.   ” My Boyfriend Alien”  is simply marvelous.  The lyrics are humorous, yet remarkably sincere.  The guitar is catchy, and sometimes dissonant, providing an infectious edge that keeps the song running though your head long afterwards.  “Is he sleeping with another man….no, no, no NO!” This sort of reminds me of  the quirky genius of Devo.  At four minutes, you think the song is over, but wait, there is a very cool finale with subtle piano that provides the perfect touch.  “Love Song” is one of my  favorites.   The accordion has a wonderful Old World feel.  “This is a song for my dog/a love song for my dog…/I am lonesome for my dog.” The bass and percussion combine with evocative piano to turn the song practically into a waltz.     Bass and staccato percussion this awesome song.   Next up is a melancholic and very introspective cover of “In Heaven”.  At a little under two minutes, the song erupts into a wall of sound, with a catchy woodwind effect in the background, weaving amidst the militaristic  percussion.   “Mr. Dream” turns on the energy, with very edgy, deathrockish  guitar and rapid-fire  percussion backed by steady bass. This takes a discordant, eerie turn right before the finale. “Is it a dream???“  The harmonica lends sort of a Western touch to “The Tangible Tension”.  The galloping guitar and steady percussion are like a bounty hunter riding out of the desert.  About three quarters of the way through an  unexpected flamingo flourish, and echoes in the refrain are very effective.   “We are only children of the silence…“

Carnival sound effects precede “Elements of a Love Affair”, which is an absolutely stunning song.  Big Band meets Cabaret, while piano meanders hauntingly and sometimes discordantly through the forceful basslines as   percussion pushes like a deranged drill sergeant.   The vocals are magnificently arranged with a razor edge appeal, dangerous and sleek.    “My Picture” is poignant, yet amazingly compelling at the same time.  I really like the percussion on  this, and the sudden disconcerting shift at  the refrain.   An excellent cover of Tuxedomoon’s “In a Manner of Speaking” follows.  This has the cadence of a hot jazz speakeasy number, and the arrangements evoke shades of Aladdin Sane era David Bowie. Layered vocals add a nice touch.   The last song is appropriately titled “This is the End”.   A funky sort of beginning combines with a touch of 70′s soul juxtaposed with rather evil electro effects in the background, and the song ends with a sound of thunder in the distance.  Thus ends a marvelous musical journey.

The production of “Pink Narcissus” is excellent, both musically and lyrically, and will appeal to fans of everything from Post-punk to Steampunk.    Imaginative and masterful, ‘Pink Narcissus” is simply a great CD.  Don’t miss it!

http://www.myspace.com/plasticpeoplefr