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 PREVIEW We're No. 2! Neil Gust and his bandmates have been around the rock 'n' roll block before. Older and wiser, they're back for round two. BY LIZ BROWN 243-2122 EXT. 325 |
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The Minders, No. 2, Magic Fingers EJ's, 2140 NE Sandy Blvd., 234-3535 10 pm Thursday, Feb. 4 Cover Three figures climb onto the vast Crystal Ballroom stage on a Monday night in late January. A modest drum kit at the back is the biggest thing on stage, and even the lanky, six-foot-plus singer is dwarfed under the high domed ceiling and bright lights. The trio launches into an ambitious set of guitar-driven, power pop and rock songs. Despite the gaping distance between these human points of a triangle, they manage to play off each other's energy in a decent set. Nearly a year ago, No. 2 played its first show on the less intimidating stage at EJ's--one of the band's favorite places to play. Not long before, former Heatmiser singer/songwriter Neil Gust had asked former Atomic 61 and current Jr. High drummer Paul Pulvirenti to help him record a couple of his latest songs. Encouraged by Quasi's Janet Weiss, Gust later invited former Calamity Jane, Starpower, Consolidated and Semi-Sweet member Gilly Ann Hanner to join in on bass. They recorded and then began to play out. No. 2's shows have been few and far between since then, but it's not due to laziness. The trio has spent much of the last year recording its upcoming album at Jackpot Studios with the help of Larry Crane, Joanna Bolme and Elliott Smith. Rather than wait around for a label to give them the green light, Gust and friends forged ahead on their own. Now they just have to find the right label to put out their first album. Gust admits they've learned from past label deals not to put the cart before the horse. "Yes, we've all been burned by labels before," he says. "Yes, we'll be more careful about whom we work with for this [record]." The confident songwriter is quick to point out, "We don't have to sign with anyone. We could put it out ourselves if we wanted to. I just don't want to deal with that. It's a lot of work." Hanner agrees, citing Semi-Sweet's experience self-releasing its ill-fated CD. "It's really hard if you can't advertise at all," she says. "Everybody's on tour, everyone's in a band, everybody puts out a CD. It's really hard to get to a level where people know you enough to even go and look for your CDs. It would be really nice to have someone deal with the business end of it. You get burnt out." These three have had their share of tour burnout, too. They all agree that low-budget, self-booked tours can be hellish and disheartening. "We toured for four years, and the tours didn't get better--they got worse," Pulvirenti says of his days with Atomic 61. "We played just in front of the sound person once. Nobody gives a shit about you. It makes you not want to go out there." Hanner recalls a disastrous Calamity Jane show opening for Nirvana in Argentina. The fans demonstrated their distaste for the punkish girl-band openers by spitting and throwing dirt clods at the stage. "There were guys on their friends' shoulders pulling their dicks out," says the animated Hanner. "I had thought 'Whoa, we're gonna be rock stars,' and they're like, 'No, you're not. You're gonna go back home to your broken van and your broken guitar, and you're not gonna have any money and you're gonna hate your bandmates because there's no one else around to hate.' Then we broke up." No. 2's opening spot on the upcoming Elliott Smith and Quasi tour should be a smoother ride than the ones this bunch has seen in the past. Starting in late February, the tour includes West Coast dates and other as-yet-unconfirmed shows. All three especially look forward to playing the lauded Filimore Theater. Asked whether anyone hesitated to sign on to a tour featuring two of Gust's former Heatmiser bandmates (Smith and Sam Coomes of Quasi), they shake their heads emphatically. No question; it's a great gig. Despite the constant comparisons to Smith, the other principal Heatmiser songwriter, and with the shadow of that band's history constantly trailing him, Gust appreciates the rewards he has reaped as a result of his past. For example, one of his songs from Mic City Sons (Caroline), Heatmiser's last record (and major-label debut), appeared in the movie Zero Effect. The money Gust made on the deal paid for a good deal of No. 2's recording costs. "It was kind of great because it totally turned into a new record," says Gust, referring to No. 2's upcoming release. Gust's adept songwriting, which he started to hone in his first band, forms the backbone of No. 2's debut. A five-song demo tape reveals a maturation of the skills he contributed to Mic City Sons. On the up-tempo, edgy "Critical Mass," Gust's cool, lucid voice chides a nameless, star-struck character who's made it big: "Are you happy to be this scared? Are you thrilled to move this fast?" The driving, punk-paced "Nobody's Satisfied" races to a clean finish from the first note. Gust's penchant for British pop shines through on songs like the laid-back, pretty "Pop in C." Keyboard parts and second guitar tracks on some songs result in a fuller sound than the trio exudes live. (Gust hasn't ruled out adding another member at some point.) On melancholic, introspective laments like "Move It Along," where Gust's voice turns vulnerable as he reaches higher in his range, one is reminded that Gust and Smith come from the same musical pool. Whether or not the public lets go of the past, Gust and his bandmates
are moving along. When the conversation shifts to the future of No.
2, Gust sounds like a proud father, leaning forward over the tiny table
and speaking matter-of-factly. "We want a good label to put out our
record, someone who likes it," he says. "We want to get better, and
we want to have fun and keep playing music and survive off of it. I
could spend the rest of my life trying to get better and be happy."
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