FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
Garage goes digital
Breaking the rules, Curse of Horseflesh release something to remember
By Aubrey McInnisCurse of Horseflesh with the Mants and Huevos Rancheros
at the Republik
Friday, March 21What this town needs is a band that can shake things up. A band that can make their audience dance like lima beans in a frying pan. A band that can play music that will drive people into a drunken state of happiness (even though it may only be the band in a severe state of intoxication). Like a band with a percussionist who stands up while bangin' on the skins and hootin' into the microphone, a saucy and swingin' bass player and a lush of a guitarist. I was directed to meet Curse of Horseflesh.
The Curse have a lot on their agenda this week. Their debut full-length comes out Friday and is a 32-minute sizzler entitled Burning Up the Jade. The release has been highly anticipated by a growing number of fans, previously appeased by a series of 7-inch singles.
"We had fun making it," says Alan Wayne, guitarist and vocalist for Curse of Horseflesh. "We recorded it in our practice cave, a few nights at a time. We'd actually started recording some of the instrumental tracks in a legitimate studio, but it sounded like session musicians, so we started over."
Somewhere between garage rock and twang, the Curse's release is on the conspicuous CD format. Compact disc is a format usually ignored by garage rock bands who are traditionally vinyl loyalists. And Wayne knows all about the ins and outs of vinyl. He's the operator of Roto-flex records, a local indie label kicking out garage rock singles - on vinyl.
"(Burning Up the Jade) acoustically challenges the notion that CD is this big hi-fi medium," the other vocalist Tim Finnegan states, assuring that all the scratchy sounds have been maintained.
Will die-hard garage rockers have to struggle to summon the courage to try a digital purchase?
"Possibly, but I don't give a shit," Wayne admits. "Personally, I think records sound better in most cases, but they're not cheap to make.
"I don't like buying $20 albums. Most of the people that complain are tone-deaf anyway and wouldn't be able to notice the difference. The regular Joe doesn't care about the format, he just wants to hear the songs he was too drunk to remember the night before."
Remembering the night before will be a challenging feat for both the band and fans this Friday. Celebrating the new release, Curse will be performing their third Nitro-A-Go-Go, an evening chock-full of Calgary's finest garage rock bands. Not only will they be performing to the couple hundred people in attendance, but to the country as CBC continues to broadcast Nightlines from Calgary.
"There's a bit of pressure as for the CBC thing. You know, they don't like it when you say 'fuck,' or break a string. It shouldn't be that big a deal, we're essentially still a live band." Al comments.
"I'd be surprised if we didn't show up drunk and guitar-less at the next show," bassist Tia Travis laughs.
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