Tell me about: Ian Svenonius

only classic Make-Up song I can think of is "Here Comes The Judge" though I'm burning a bunch of songs from Destination Live and I Want Some for some reason before I sell them back

Seriously, I live in Philadelphia, and when Gregg first got here and The Delta 72 were happening, it was initially a breath of fresh air (around 96 or 97) when things were a tad stale around these parts and indie rock in general was in a real state of transition. The early parties he threw were sort of novel because there were no rock DJ nights here at the time. (Now of course, there's a zillion). In an indirect way, his chutzpah inspired me to start my own nights, Sugar Town (girl bands/DJ's)

Don't know him that well (just as the writer-band relationship), but strip away the haircut and the drama and gossip and he's an okay guy who's super enthusiastic and knowledgeable about music. I think he just started to believe his own hype. And in a music scene as small as this one, that can happen easily. This of course, doesn't excuse him for (allegedly?) fucking people over, which I really know nothing about.

I take issue more with the shallow morons who followed him around, hung onto every word he said, and then couldn't wait to tear him down so they can build up someone else. It's easier to do that rather than think for yourself. Thinking for some of those folks can have tragic consequences.

The music scene here can be really catty, cliquey, and apathetic, and people love to tear down anyone or anyone with the slightest bit of ambition. As a person really heavily involved with writing and/or booking bands, sometimes all that negativity and apathy can really eat away at you. Which is not a justification to get hooked on junk, but we all self-medicate at times, I suppose.

If I sound like a GF apologist, it's because the dude and his hair have been discussed and analyzed, ad nauseum all over town.

With that said, that article didn't exactly do him any favors around here. The last I heard, he's in Miami and I keep getting visions of a mod Scarface.

sara, you were OTM. anytime ive dj'ed with him, he was nothing but complimentary because i wouldnt pander to obvious shit.

just like valania, you're overlooking his rather serious drug problems. about two summers ago [the summer of cherry coke, i think], there was lots of crazy shit going on. accounts about how he would break into people's homes and take their records; somehow managing to steal the turntables from silk city for drug money. even worse was that lots of his hangers-on turned to the drug as well.

When it comes to drugs, I think what people put into their bodies is their business. His drug probs were addressed in the article, and I said that nothing really justifies being an addict. However, if he hurt other people because of it, then their anger with him is justified (like his former bandmates or his real friends or the people he stole records from). Greg's obviously no saint. Since I don't know many of these stories to be true (Maria does), I didn't want to talk out of school.

Like many rock scenes, the kind of drugs you do seem to define your social life, and once you get hooked, quitting means getting brand new friends, behaviors, etc. In a town as small as Philadelphia, this is not easy. Getting hooked on heroin is stupid for sure, but getting clean is probably ten times harder. (Not that I'd really know). Leaving town was probably the smartest thing he ever did.

What I was getting at was people who have had no dealings (good or bad) with Gregg just talking smack (no pun intended) about him because it's fun or it makes you feel superior (other than talking about the merits of Delta 72's music, which is what ILM should be about).

I just didn't want to add another knee-jerk Gregg Foreman knock-knock joke to the discussion.

With that said, I think Jon Spencer and Ian Svenious and Gregg Foreman were the right kind of frontmen for a particular place and time.

totally OTM. hahahahaha.

i was a huge fan of the delta 72. they moved to philly shortly after i came here for college. they definately had an energy that was lacking in local bands at the time. sarah stolfa was inspiring to me, at a time when few girls took to the stage in philly. [well, that hasnt really changed all these years later]

i still think "rich girls like to steal" is a mighty song.

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

Followed him on IG but he was always posting photos of his Escape-ism collaborator (I think?) Alexandra Cabral that were off and creepy somehow.

― Donald Trump Also Sucks, Of Course (milo z), Tuesday, July 28, 2020 1:05 PM

That's his girlfriend. (Not sure whether that'll make it more or less creepy.)

less, since she could presumably object to them if she had a problem with it