Caterwaul
Caterwaul was a band that came together in the mid 1980s in Phoenix.
Betsy Martin was the singer and lyricist, with guitarist Mark Schafer, drummer
Kevin Pinnt, and bassist Fred Cross completing the quartet.
Betsy has the kind of voice you either love or hate - a sometimes harsh and
whiny, and at other times, melodic and smooth. The band creates a wall of sound,
with Mark, the guitarist, using heavy, echo-laden distorted guitar with ample
use of subtle vibrato bar. He sounds like The Edge of U2, if Edge decided to use
a Marshall instead of a Vox. Mark does very few solos, and is content to drive
to songs with a dark, foreboding tone. That is why I like his playing - simple and
to the point.
Caterwauls second release, Pin and Web, shows the band in an evolving stage, with a few of the songs being radio-friendly. The Sheep's a Wolf received airplay on MTV. The band had relocated to Los Angeles and continued to tour.
Portent Hue came out in 1990, when I first heard the song Manna and Quail. This song was not really radio-friendly, and I recall the DJ saying something smug about it. But it caught my attention and I was able to find it at a local record store. From the first listen, I was impressed with this band. They were different than any other band I had ever heard, particularly the vocal style of Betsy and Marc's guitar playing. At a time when the guitar world was dominated by heavy metal shredders (who I appreciate as well) along comes Mark, doing the opposite.
Interlooped on Portent Hue is a great example of the wall of sound Caterwaul creates. Portent Hue contains my personal favorite, Million Years. Betsy and Mark play mandolins on a few of the songs on this CD, and Million Years mixes the mandolin with a punchy bass line, and with an e-bowed guitar effect in the background. Alex Aprodishiac seems to be the bands tribute to the movie and main character in A Clockwork Orange, and takes the wall of sound to an extreme.
Pin and Web contains many fine songs, the kind that takes your imagination places when you put on the headphones and listen to it. Catervowels , Not Today and Barnacle are my standout songs, with Barnacle featuring the band in the first part, and showcases just how that wall of sound worked.
Caterwaul disbanded in 1991, after recording Killer Fish.
The record was release in 1996. My first impressions' of Killer Fish
was that they were trying to be more mainstream, and I mean that in a good way.
The wall of sound was there, but toned back a bit. Betsy's lyrics, often indecipherable,
were very clear, and the songs seem shorter.
Betsy moved on the Purr Machine, who is still together and just put out a new release, Starry. She is every bit as good with Purr Machine as in Caterwaul.
There is a Myspace page for Caterwaul, which contains videos and interviews with the band, and a few of the songs off of Killer Fish.
Lost Arts Management was the bands label. You can buy a few of the records and CDs there as Portent Hue is out of print. The Nature Of Things, the first LP, is there. I own this Lp, and bought it directly from Betsy, who was kind enough to write me a thank you note for buying it!
I really liked this band, and still listen to them today. Purr Machine shows Betsy still in fine form and is worth checking out if you like her voice. I do not know where Mark Schafer is today - I hope he is still playing guitar in some form.
Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane was one year younger than me. When I was 15, I was just learning
how to play the guitar, struggling to get my fingers to go to the right place and to
get my right hand to work with my left hand. At the same time, Shawn was playing
lead guitar for Black Oak Arkansas. Child prodigy? I would think so.
Back in the 70's, a young guitarist with advanced skills was rare. And Shawn did not stop there. He was an accomplished piano player, drummer and song writer.
Shawn studied piano and cello when he was four years old. He started playing guitar at eight. He started his professional music career at 12 and 14 he was hired to play for Black Oak Arkansas. Video available on YouTube shows Shawn playing at age 16 as BOA was in the end of their career and playing a hybrid of rock and fusion jazz.
Shawn left the music world briefly to pursue academic studies. He was known for reading multiple books in a day. A few years later he started up his career again, forming a band called The Willys, who became the house band at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. While there he caught the attention of many musicians, and did sessions with Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash on the Highwayman 2 release.
I had read about Shawn in the guitar magazines during the 80's, but had yet to actually hear him play. He was the type of person who wanted to do things is own way, and did not seem to care about achieving stardom. In 1992 he wrote, recorded and played all the instruments on Powers of Ten, and was named by Guitar Player Magazine in 1992 as Best New Talent. Interestingly, he made second place in Keyboard Magazines list of best keyboardists. He toured with the Powers of Ten album, did instructional videos and taught music in a number of European Conservatories.
In 1994 he started collaborating with bassist Jonas Hellborg, releasing several albums. They toured with drummer Jeff Sipe, with many of their concerts being totally improvised. It was well known that Shawn did not practice much. The three recorded Temporal Analogues of Paradise and Time Is the Enemy during this time.
"His contribution to music can only be understood by listening to his collective works which crossed many genres. An endless learner, a passionate reader and a keen observer, he always appreciated the good in everything.
He was a musician first, then a guitar player... an incredible piano player and a heck of a drummer. His love for all forms of music was vivid in his works. During the last few years of his life, he immersed himself in listening to and fusing Indian classical music into his sound. His endless pursuit and quest of knowledge was amazing. Shawn Lane will always be remembered as long as his music exists in our world." Souvik Dutta
In 1999 Shawn and Jonas worked with V. Selvaganesh,and moved their music into a kind of South Indian fusion. Shawn became well known in India and made many trips there.
Shawn had health problems in 2001, and took a break from performing. Unfortunately, his comeback to music was cut short as he passed away September 26, 2003 following lung surgery.
I have listened to songs off of Powers of Ten and an amazed of the versatility Shawn had. He could play faster than anyone, as evidence on Get You Back and turn all that off to play the emotional Eqpilogue For Lisa, dedicated to his late sister.
Give a listen to Shawn. You will be amazed at what he accomplished in his short life.
Official Shawn Lane Sites:
A tribute site run by his sister
Neko Case
One recognizes Neko Case's voice instantly: smooth as silk, with a country twang.
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, her lastest release, showcases her strong voice and
eccentric lyrics, along with the band Calexico,and The Band's Garth Hudson on a few songs.
She sticks to her folk roots on Fox, which the songs are stories, many based on
Ukranian folk stories. Margaret vs. Pauline compares the life of two women, one
rich, the other working in a canning factory; Maybe Sparrow tells the cautionairy
tale of being warned about danger and ignoring it, with a slight spiritual message.
Neko has been around in the music scene for quite a few years. She recorded and toured for several years as Neko Case & Her Boyfriends and with The New Pornographers. She maintains control over her recordings, and has turned down offers from major records labels because of it. She is comfortable in country or rock, and seems to have found her own niche in the music world. Neko has at least seven recordings out, either as a solo artist, or with The New Pornographers, The Sadies, Corn Sisters. She also has recorded a DVD, Live in Austin on Austin City Limits.
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood wound up on many "Best of 2006" lists, such as No.1 on the Amazon.com music editors' picks and no. 2 on NPR's All Songs Considered. The album debuted at no. 52 on the Billboard Top 200 albums list.
She is also an accomplished artist, illustrating most of Fox Confessor's CD insert.
Kings X
King's X are a Texas band whose origins go back to 1979.
They were a small part of the world of christian rock, working with
Phil Keaggy. The band members, Doug Pinnick - bass, lead & backing vocals,
Ty Tabor - lead & rhythm guitars, lead & backing vocals and Jerry Gaskill -
drums, percussion, backing vocals,have resisted being identified as a Christian rock band.
Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, their second CD released in 1989, is considered to be their landmark album and in their most creative songwriting period. Ty Tabor's guitar work was extraordinary. Ty was famous for his tone, and kept it secret for years. It was revealed he used a Norlin L-5 solid state amp as a preamp.
Kings X have at least 14 CD's out, and have yet to achieve mass popularity, even after a blistering set at a recent Woodstock concert, and the admiration of many well-known bands. They have struggled but still are together and will release a new CD, Go Tell Somebody, in 2008
King's X was ranked #83 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.