Thread - Music

The Giant Mums Were A Band From New York City Active From Late 1989 Through The Start Of 1997. The Various Lineups Consisted Of Mark Davis Guitar & Vocals David Roby Guitar & Vocals Chris McCumber Drums Dan Carlson Bass John Tanzer Bass Guitar Vocals And Wharton Tiers Drums & Engineering . The Giant Mums Weren't Meant To Be Contenders--Promotion Of Any Kind Seems To Have Been Anathema To Them Requests For Interviews Were Usually Forgotten About And Their Live Appearances Could Be Best Described As "sporadic" And They Only Played Outside The Safety Of The Island Of Manhattan Once . Not Exactly The Fast Track To Rock 'n' Roll Stardom... The Giant Mums Were Officially Formed In New York In October Of 1989 When David Roby And Mark Davis Two Strangers Introduced By A Mutual Friend Decided To Form A Band. Mark Recruited One Of His College Acquaintances Chris McCumber Veteran Of Countless Punk & Hardcore Bands From High School On To Play Drums. The Trio Two Guitars And One Drummer Began Rehearsing In Earnest. An Ad In The Venerable Village Voice Brought Them Dan Carlson A Fluid Bassist And Singer/songwriter. With Mark's Roommate Dom As A Manager The Band Set Forth To Get Some Gigs. Their Proud Debut Was At CBGBs Before The Old Sound System Was Dismantled And Now Sadly ? The Whole Place Has Been Torn Down . A Tape From The Soundboard Gave Them A Demo To Start Taking Around. Immediately The Mums Starting Gigging Wherever They Could--Downtown Beirut II On Houston A Lousy PA But They Gave You Free Pitchers Of Beer After The Show St. Mark's Bar & Grill Aka Spar & Kill Nightingale's Where Madonna Got Her Start! And The Pool Bar To Name But A Few Of The Usual East Village Haunts--And Started Garnering Some Local Attention. The Music Reflected The Diverse Backgrounds Of Each Of The Members--Dave's Byrds-Influenced Arpeggiated Folk/psych Rock Mark's Neil Young Homage Chris' Deft & Powerful Drumming And Dan's Penchant For New Wave Pop And Brian Wilson. This Incarnation Would Record At Various Budget Studios With Names Like "Hot Sounds" "4/8" And "SRS" With Decidedly Mixed Results. Ultimately Dave Mark And Dan All Had Very Different Ideas For The Direction Of The Band & By The End Of 1990 Dave And Chris Had Parted Ways With Mark & Dan. Fortunately John Tanzer Ex-Lion Tamers Great Wall/Big Fence Airlines To Name But A Few Had Caught The Band Live And Saw Some Sort Of Potential Lurking Beneath The Surface. When Word Got Around That The Mums Needed A Bass Player John Surprisingly Signed Up. John Had Previously Recorded At Fun City The Legendary Studio Run By Wharton Tiers Sonic Youth Pussy Galore Dinosaur Jr. Teenage Fanclub Helmet Unsane Bewitched Dustdevils Etc. And Through John The Mums Gained Entrance Through The Basement Door. The Mums Had Found Their Second Home And Started Recording Whenever Money & Time Would Permit. This Would Turn Out To Be A Fruitful Partnership And The Band Would Always Record In Wharton's Basement Paradise. The First Official Release Other Than The Color-Coded Cassettes--Red Blue Grey And Orange--That Still May Be Floating Around Out There Was A Bonus Flexi-Disc On Doug Wolk's Dark Beloved Cloud Records Included As Part Of The Cleaned Out! Tribute 7" To The New Zealand Indie Star Band The Clean This One Is Long Out Of Print But Pops Up On Ebay And MusicStack Now And Then . The Mums Covered "Whatever I Do Is Right/Wrong" Their Layered Fuzzy Drone Especially Well-Suited To What Was Essentially A One-Chord Song. The Mums Continued With Their High-Volume Live Shows Dave & John Employed Up To THREE Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi's In Their Sonic Arsenal! Playing The Continental Back When It Was The Continental Divide That Is And Served Tex-Mex Food In A Jurassic Setting Brownies When It Was Just A Little Stage Shoved In The Corner And Avenue B Was Too Far East For Most Folk Beowulf A Horrible Anglo-Saxon Theme-Bar Scene Of Sonic Youth's "Dirty Boots" Video Later To Become An Italian Restaurant The Chicago-Gangster Themed "Space @ Chase" On 3rd Avenue The Cafe Wha? And Sun Mountain Terrible Tourist-Trap Clubs In The West Village Under Acme The Spiral Upstairs And Down The Coney Island Sideshows-By-The-Seashore As Well As Numerous Other Venues Small And Middling. Soon The Labels Came 'round To Check Out The Mums And Demo Tapes Were Sent Far And Wide But No Deals Could Be Worked Out To Everyone's Complete Satisfaction. By This Time Airlines And Lid Were Also Considering Releasing Some Records On Their Own And Quixotic Records Was First Conceived As A Vehicle For Such A Venture. Armed With A Free Punk-Rock Guide To Record Pressing & Distribution Courtesy Of Dischord Records House Label For DC Stalwarts Fugazi The Bands Boldly Forged Ahead Into The Scary & Fragmented World Of The Indie-Rock Scene... The First Release By Quixotic Records Was Also The First Giant Mums Record The "Eyedropper" 4-Track EP. It Was Dutifully Assigned Catalog Number "QX001-7". This Was A Fitting Debut A Tight 4-Track Record With The Cream Of The Early Recorded Output. On One Side Was "Eyedropper " Followed By "Noonday Slum" The Other Side Had "I Wove Myself In" And "Railroad Flat". Recorded On Wharton's Old 16-Track These Recordings Would Introduce The Mums' Signature NYC Psychedelic Sound To The World. Press Clips Second Skin #4 Fall 1992 Alyssa Isenstein "The Giant Mums Play Ball In The Same Park As Swervedriver Yo La Tengo Hypnolovewheel And A Few Other Indie Rock Greats...The Rhythms Jiggle The Tunes Shake And The Vocals Hit The Mark...The Giant Mums Are Really A Band That Judging By This Great Single Could Be A Really Exciting Band To Follow." ND #17 Spring 1993 Daniel Plunkett "A Hard-Driving Tight And Bouncy Guitar Sound. Overall The Four Tracks On This EP Have A Good Chunky Sound Which Kicks. A Great Debut Single From This Group Which I Am Sure Are Bound To Create Some True Gems. This Is The Type Of Single You Have Always Dreamed About Finding In The Racks. The Track 'Railroad Flat' Is A Definite Favorite. Recommended." Outlet Spring 1993 Trev Faull "Densely Laden With Guitars & Electricity Building Those Riffs With Style And But For A Few Words This Would Have Been Classed As An Instrumental. By Track 2 They're Beginning To Rock And Put Blisters On The Moon Fuzz On The Wall. Side 2 Is More Melodic Lingering Like A Belltower 45 And The Final Song Backs Up This Theory Going Into A Glorious Psyched Solo. What A Wonderful Way To Spend 13 Minutes Of Your Life!" Your Flesh #27 Summer 1993 David Sprague "All Frayed Nerves And Jumpy Rhythms This Is The Kind Of Thing Where The Appeal Rises Depending On How Much You Miss The Feelies. Ex-Ex-Lion-Tamer And Current Airlines Guitarist John Tanzer Plays Bass But The Show Seems To Belong To Dave Roby A Fellow About Whom I Know Little Save That His Uncannily Impressionistic Guitar Slather Can Make You Think You're Hearing Any Number Of Players At Any Given Time. " The Following Year The Mums Sifted Through The Various Tracks They'd Recorded At Fun City And Released Two Of Them On The "My Uncle Hates Me" B/w "Tractor Feed" 7" Single Catalog Number QX004-7 . Press Clips NET #7 November 1993 Jamie Mowder "The Giant Mums Sound If Anything Is A Very Restless Mix Shifting From Tense Guitar Layered Over Hyperactive Drumming To Spacey And Cerebral Interludes With An Acoustic Feel To The Brooding Psychedelia Of The B-Side's 'Tractor Feed'. All In All This Is In Keeping With The Brand Of Unusual Well-Made And Eclectic Music That We've Been Seeing From Quixotic These Days." Alternative Press #69 4-94 Dave Segal "The A-Side Has A Long Instrumental Opening That Recalls The Coiled Power Of Mission Of Burma And Guitar Tonalities Of Daydream Nation Sonic Youth. This Abruptly Changes To A Pretty Pastoral Passage Worthy Of Meat Puppet's Up On The Sun. The Whole Thing Climaxes With An Over-Driven Fuzzed-Out Groove You Could Wind-Surf In....They Know Much About The Algebra Of Noise Melody And Dynamics." Melody Maker 3-19-94 Michael Bonner "...An Unruly Slice Of Punk Distinguished By Some Inventive Guitar Playing." You Could Do Worse #1 Summer 1994 Mark Lo "The A-Side Has Tight Drum Rolls And Scratchy Guitars Amidst An Overall Murky Sound. Then There's A Folky Lackadaisical Verse Before The Tune Revs Up Once Again Culminating In A Call-And-Response Shout 'My Uncle Hates Me/Who Cares!' The Flip Is Slow Droney Pop That Might Be Forgettable Were It Not For Some Excellent Guitar Work Reminiscent Of Karl Precola's With Early Dream Syndicate And Again Some Scant But Well-Placed Vocals. The Mums Are Approaching Something Good. The Upcoming Album Should Tell Us Whether They Got There Or Not." Well The Album Finally Did Come Out In 1994 Catalog Number QX010-CD And What A Treasure Trove It Was! It Spanned The Mums' Range From The Early Full-Out Punk Rock Of "Reflectone" To The Soaring Instrumentals "Sheep In The Blacklight Room" And "Yer Mudball". Track List 1. Short Attention Span
2. Wond'rous Spiny Creature
3. Minutes Later Nothing Gets Out Every Stain
4. We Made It Sing
5. Speedpills Velocitous!
6. Reflectone
7. Mossy Said
8. Sheep In The Blacklight Room
9. Trashly Fay
10. Thread
11. Yer Mudball
12. Deny Delay
13. Seen You Mini-Sad Press Clips Baby Sue #17 Summer 1994 Steven Fievel "Not Only Does This Disc Feature Some Of The Best Song Titles Around We Made It Sing? But It Also Features Some Absolutely STUNNING Songs. The Giant Mums Definitely Have An Instantly Identifiable Yet Indescribable Sound That Is Addictive...This One Knocks My Socks Right Off. Simple Unadorned Pop Tunes...Nothing Short Of Sheer MAGIC." Snipehunt #20 Summer 1994 GF "Every Song Is A Hook I Can't Shake. The Exhilarating Blast Of Fresh Air Is That They Aren't Trying To Be Anyone Else. Just Having Fun And Bringing Us Lonely Reviewers Along With `em. Not Punk But Little Five Year Olds Playing In The Dirt With Scissors And The Good China. I'm In Love." Option #58 September/October 1994 Chris Crisafulli "The Giant Mums Produce A Thick Loose Fuzzy Sound That Seems To Be Slowly Oozing Even When Drummer Chris McCumber And Bassist John Tanzer Keep The Tunes Moving Along At A Blistering Pace. The Lazy Drifting Vocal Approach Calls To Mind The Finer Moments Of The Meat Puppets And Laid-Back Stuff Like 'Sheep In The Blacklight Room' And 'Deny Delay' Also Have A Meat Pups Feel. But On A Tune Like 'Speedpills Velocitous' The Band Can Rock With Ramones-Power. There Are Plenty Of Post-Punk Squiggles In The Mums Sound But Once In A While Such As On The Lysergic Jumper 'Thread' They Come Off Like Something Really Interesting From One Of The Pebbles Collections. Add It Up And These Guys Have Delivered A Good Chunk Of Demented Entertainment. Pay Attention To Future Releases." Trouser Press Guide To '90s Rock 1997 Ira Robbins "Compared To Airlines The Giant Mums Have Stranger Concepts 'Minutes Later Nothing Gets Out Every Stain' And 'Sheep In The Blacklight Room' Are Only Two Of The Odd Titles On The Giant Mums The Chorus Of 'We Made It Sing' Begins 'meow Meow Meow' As Well As A Singular Sensibility And For The Most Part An Aggressive Jagged Guitar Attack. Wharton Tiers' Production Makes The Most Of Intriguing Compositions Shaping The Band's Fill-In-The-Void Playing...Into Moderate Wind-Shear Excursions That Keep Moving Forward. By Early 1994 However Chris McCumber Had Had Enough Of The Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle Which Is Essentially Hauling Around Lots Of Heavy Expensive Equipment And Sitting Around In Bars Until 3 In The Morning And Decided To Pursue His Career In Video And Film Production. John And Dave Continued As A Guitar Duo The Dwarf Mums Which Opened Up For The Tall Dwarves On Their First US Appearance At Under Acme Even Playing The Mums' Very First And Only Show Outside Of New York City At Silk City In Philadelphia They Got All Of $25 For Their Troubles . The Dwarf Mums Got A Pretty Good Reaction But It Just Wasn't The Same Until Wharton Tiers Offered His Formidable Services Behind The Drum Kit Just Check Out Wharton's Records Brighter Than Life And The Followup Twilight Of The Computer Age . The New Trio Began Recording New Tracks In Earnest Trying To Collect Enough Material For A New Album. Despite A Well-Received Appearance At The Benefit For The Coney Island Freakshow At Irving Plaza Gigging Would Remain Sporadic At Best And The Need To Make An Actual Living Took Up Most Of The Band's Free Time. The Mums' Final Show Was In August Of 1996 A Sweltering Flipped-Out Fete Replete With Naked Sweat-Lodge Caterers & Gong Healers At The Source Of Life Center A Marxist Loft Space In The 20s On The West Side. This Would Be Their Finest Moment ? Joined For A Few Songs By Fletcher Buckley On Sax And Paul Johnson On Lead Guitar Both On Generous Loan From The Wharton Tiers Ensemble . Fortunately A Tape Has Been Found Of The Second Set From This Show And Two Of Those Tracks Were Released As MP3s. In 1997 Tired Of The Grind Of City Life Dave Packed Up Quixotic And Left New York City For The Country. The Mums Effectively Were History At Least For The Time Being. The Early 90s Had Become Part Of Another Era. Their Second Album Which Contains Some Of Their Finest Work With Wharton Including The Mega-Freakout "Quasar" And The Ever-Popular "The Driver" So Far Remains Unreleased. read less