Tell me about: Ian Svenonius

Even though I have a closet of vintage dresses and go-go boots and about a zillion records from that time period and its 11 revivals,I can totally relate to not feeling hip enough for the room. I always had a mixed relationship with the scenes that sprang out of The Delta 72 and Gregg's early party, "Uptight," which later expanded under the umbrella of the behemoth Making Time. I loved the music, I loved the fashion, and I loved the energy, but I hated the people and the overall vibe. I found those people really unapproachable, and I'm sorry, when you dress mod or '60s in general and get caught up in it all, a big part of it is having a sense of humor and fun. They also didn't support other similar parties going on by people way more knowledgeable, yet less fashionable or "cool." And you couldn't seriously talk about music with those people or damn near anything else. It's sad, how what started off as something very exciting sucked the life and the soul out of the scene, and now all people want to do is go to DJ nights and be hipster fashionistas.

back on topic: i think i got to see each of ian s.'s bands live up to and including the make-up wherein i lost interest. no idea what the bands he's in now (weird war and scene creamers) are like. i have no problem with people into fashion, except that they tend to not tolerate those that aren't in the know (like me). i mean, that quote above in the gregg f. piece about "shlubs think they can go onstage looking like superchunk roadies" is kinda funny, but ultimately telling about that kind of mindset that a lot those d.c. fashion club kids had/have (curmudgeon alert!).

as far as baltimore scenesters giving attitude (all too familiar with that too), well that's lame. just stomp on their toes or slap them out of their pouty reverie and remind them what city they're from. despite the efforts of certain d.c. wannabes (*cough* convocation of.. *cough*) baltimore is too working-class for any amount of posturing like that to be taken seriously locally.

Sounds like Philly has a similar relationship to New York as Baltimore does to DC.

just noticed that i still have my copy of the first n.o.u. 7", probably the best thing they did. i have to hand it to them for not sounding like every other d.c. band and doing something original. the metamatics are probably the only other one i can think of that did this.

(When you said Goodwill I hope that was code for 'a microwave oven.')

m.

Ian Svenonius POX:

"Last Train To Cool"
"Joy Of Sound"
"Pow! To The People"
"Born on the Floor"
"AK-47"
"Baby It's The Best"
"Mockingbird Yeah"
"Depression III"
"I Am Pentagon"
"Caught Up In The Rapture"

"They Live by Night"
"Today I Met the Girl I'm Going to Marry"
"Cool Senior High School"
"Evidence Is Everywhere"
"How Pretty Can U Get"
"Spectra Sonic Sound"

xpost - I know the Metamatics have a record, that's what I had heard originally but it wasn't mine and I don't have a turntable, had thought there might have been a reissue?

daria - the metamatics s/t is lp only, which is a shame. saw them at fort reno and they were really good, like the contortions but noisier. the singer was also in all scars and i think he does solo electronic stuff. only just learned of the et at it band which also has a girl who was in meltdown and i went to school with. i may have seen the early incarnation of meltdown, they went by the name pleiades, it was pretty cool to see those teens get up and play like that.

anyone remember the happy flowers?. they were kinda like the wolf eyes of the late 80s. they may be my favorite dc band, though i guess technically they were from virginia so they don't count.

not sure if ian and michelle were/are a couple but i always just assumed it.

also, apparently meltdown has a cd out on the archigramophone label.

Metamatics have a discography CD on Troubleman Unlimited that is amazing (and contains their songs from the split 7" they did with The Make Up, on Svenonius' Black Gemini label). Metamatics drummer Malcolm McDuffie was also in Crom Tech. The singer, Chuck Bettis, now does experimental electronic noise stuff as Trance & the Arcade.
Gabe Andruzzi now plays in the Rapture.
Anyways, yeah, Metamatics were awesome. I only got to see them once -- opening for Fugazi at Fort Reno (Summer '93 I think), but it was an amazing show.

As you can tell, I am super into all this DC stuff...

sherm, i think it shut down about 4 years ago for shows. i dont know if seth and the revolving cast of characters still live there anymore. one of the housemates didnt want live music and there was always the fear of being shut down by the cops due to zoning issues.

man, i really miss that place.

Never saw Happy Flowers, but a few years ago they played some reunion shows as an opener for Yo La Tengo. Apparently the one whose stage name is Mr. Anus has a doctorate in something and is doing professional stuff at a think tank. (Wonder what his resume looks like.)

mr. horribly-charred-infant runs the official happy flowers website. "Dr. Anus" hahaha

one of my roommates is an art transporter/installer and he says he sees the guy pretty frequently at openings and such. always flanked by two attractive girls and looking and smirking at him like "you know who i am, guy who's into punk rock. yeah, this is what i've got going on."

Not rushing to the defence of IS but I always feel like this kind of thing says less about the guy who can supposedly transmit convoluted sentences with his facial expressions and more about the guy who thinks he's interpreting them

well, i know my roommate pretty well and he's a smart dude and i trust his takes on things and he and i both still dig Ian Svenonious and his bands. it's just an image to laugh about.

but yeah, the dude is known to go to openings with a girl on each arm. come on.

the svenonius book 'the psychic soviet' is totally hilarious.

i really enjoy his interviews on the vice tv. he's a funny guy!

lol @ his new band's song "600,00 Bands": http://www.myspace.com/feltletters

"fifty thousand sound like Can/ fifty thousand sound like Manfred Mann"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zz74pBb4ZA

I love all the songs on the Felt Letters MySpace page but I sort of doubt they'll ever put anything out besides that one 7" (which would be a real shame): http://www.myspace.com/feltletters

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2011/02/25/ian-svenonius-on-the-bruise-cruise-maybe-this-is-the-first-step-of-indie-rock-going-vegas/

He's emceeing the Bruise Cruise--garage and indie bands on a Carnival cruise ship

The Black Lips, Surfer Blood, Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, The Strange Boys, Turbo Fruits—and Vivien Girls

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2011/02/25/im-on-a-boat/

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40532/bruise-cruise/

That crazy guy

saw adds for this and was suspicious but lol Ian cracks me up:

"You think of disco and electro-funk and funk music as being obsessed with space travel. Garage rock—they talk, maybe, about cars, but never boats. In gospel music they talk about the train. Psychedelic bands talk about planes. I’d say garage rock is usually very land-based."

Chain and the Gang!!! this is great

I didn't like the record as much as Weird War, but C&tG were so great live. I wish I could remember this one bit he did about waste in the air. the birds are flying around up there in the sky and there's so much waste. think of all of that real estate up there, just being wasted. those birds aren't doing anything with it. haha, I don't know, anyway it cracked me up.

Kinda love Chain and the Gang TBH. I love everything Ian does and I don't care if you don't

I dig this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZU1ppG2Hj4

one of my roommates is an art transporter/installer and he says he sees the guy pretty frequently at openings and such. always flanked by two attractive girls and looking and smirking at him like "you know who i am, guy who's into punk rock. yeah, this is what i've got going on."

This is pretty much why I like him

Chain and the Gang album is great, one of my favorite things from last year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1qu0skW4F0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULx01IhtlsI&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLAA4DA8EE338ED155

Chain and the Gang live are not so good nor is his other current band Felt Letters. I may be in the minority with such beliefs though. I find his stage presence these days annoying and his vocals less than impressive. Sacrilege I know.

I see from pals on facebook that the Makeup just did a not-publicized reunion gig at tiny little Comet Ping Pong in DC tonight. Kid Congo(DC resident and former member of Gun Club, Bad Seeds, & Cramps) was doing garage oldies with Fugazi's Brendan Canty on drums. I was watching the Orioles beat the Nationals in baseball. Oh well.