|
The Noise- issue 122 November 1992
"A IS FOR AWFUL...B IS FOR BAD..." by Paul Austin
"C is for criminal...D is for Dad..." It came seemingly outof nowhere in January of this year,
and every time you flipped on college radio, there it was- "Alphabet Song", a seven inch by a band simply known as Kudgel.
Despite the fact that they'd been kicking around since the summer of '90, it was that song (and to a lesser extent it's flip,
"Eskimo Pie" that sparked a high decibel crowd blaze Kudgel still enjoy, one that should see its fans flamed by the release
of the band's new single, half a Swirlies/Kudgel double pack. You'd be hard pressed to say that Kudgel hadn't enjoyed success
up to that point; it's just that they rarely strayed from the local Middle
East-based noise rock scene, and their handful
of fellow exponents of such. "It's true," says the Kudgelmaster General, one Mark Erdody. "We've been a band for almost two
and a half years and we've played the other clubs maybe once each. Nobody else has really seemed to care about putting together
bills where people can really have a whole fun night out, instead of checking out a band they like when it's sandwiched in
the middle of two other totally different things. And at the Mid, if there wasn't a bill you'd fit well onto, they'd let you
work with them and create your own."
Erdody is the sole survivor of the original Kudgel trio (also included were drummer Austin Garafola
and bassist Don Bush), but it was always his band anyway; if you go to many shows locally you've seen him countless times,
and likewise Kudgel seems- or had until the new lineup- an extension of his personality that merely required extra hands to
round out the strumming and whacking. It's happily ironic that Erdody's mug looks so familiar. "When I first came here and
started going to shows, I'd point out Sam from Chloe to my brother and say, 'man, that guy is at every cool show that happens.
When I get a band together, I'll know it's working if I see him there.' And at our first show, there he was." Erdody laughs
heartily. "I mean, he wasn't there to see us, but I still thought it was so great." Call it an omen - now Mark's a local celeb
himself (although mention of this turns him kinda red), and he sure balances enough plates to merit the limelight - aside
from Kudgel, he mans the turntables weekly at WHRB's Record Hospital, put in a stint as Middle East booking agent that helped
bring a sea of indie talent through town, and runs his own record label, Cinderblock, that has put out not only the "Alphabet
Song" single but discs by Madbox, Slughog and Spore. Next up, to bring us full circle,is Chloe.
"Kudgel wanted to put something out," explains Mark, "but I eventually realized that sending
unsolicited tapes out, even to indie labels, is just a big waste of time. And now with my own label I can see why - you can
only put out so much, and there are so many good bands. So I put our single out myself, and it worked really well. We got
distribution for Cinderblock through my friend Mike at Sonic Bubblegum, and all the 'Alphabet Song" singles are gone except
for my personal stash, so we sold about 750 of them. The great thing about the label is that it can help bands out directly.
When I saw Madbox I said, 'I've got to put out a record by you guys', and instead of waiting around, we could just do it.
The band and I split the cost until the money comes back from the distributor, but you can just keep the records coming. Bands
get taken more seriously with some vinyl out even if it's only a single. And if anyone's record helps them move up to a bigger
label, great, more power to 'em."
Which brings us to the new single, actually half of a double pack that Kudgel share with the
Swirlies, and co-released on Cinderblock and Cambridge's Nervous Records. Pressed up to coincide with a short East
Coast tour the two bands did together a couple of months back, the package's Kudgel sides are a new original, "Over Easy",
and a cover of the late and chaotically great Red Bliss' "Get You". Both cuts feature the new lineup, flanking Erdody with
guitarist Kevin Germaine, bassist Zack Lazar and drummer Matt Nicholas. The songs are two of several recorded in a marathon
session with New York noise band specialist Wharton Tiers, a high profile knob twiddler among the indie set for his work with
Dinosaur, Helmet, Sonic Youth, et al.- suffice to say a stack of the material he's worked on would look a lot like your hippest
friend's record collection. And in a bit of deja-vu, the Kudgel seven inch hits the racks just as a member bids the band adieu. Erdody
pressed up "Alphabet Song" knowing his original bassist and drummer were moving away from the area, and did it as much to
document what they'd accomplished as to grease the slide for future Kudgely endeavors. As "Over Easy" and "Get You" strafe
the airwaves, guitarist Kevin Germaine has found that wedding bells and power chords don't always mix and is dropping out.
"Kevin is definitely the best guitaris I've ever played with," laments Mark "but he's moving
on and that's cool. When Zack joined the band he could barely play at all, but he was a great guy and a great friend
and that was enough to want him in the band as far as I was concerned. And he got better as we got better. Maybe other
bands would have done things differently, but we played right out pretty quick because Kudgel has always gone for
action rather than waiting around trying for perfection. And Kevin really helped then, his guitar made me worry less
about mine when I was singing and made the sound really huge. And now Zack's playing is fine. It was really great when
the playing caught up to the person, because now it's just like we want it, and I know we can pull it off as a trio while
we look for somebody to replace Kev. Actually, it looks a lot like (classified) will be joining, which is really
exciting, but it's not set so don't print that or anything. But she'll really add a lot. When she first approached
me I was totally surprised because her thing is so different and she's really popular doing that. But then I thought, (classified).
Wow! But don't print that or anything."
Not that Kudgel don't have enough going for them anyhow - their bare-boned squall always seems
to find a place on the radio, likely because superfan Erdody hears enough new music at WHRB and at clubs to know what he likes
and what he doesn't. "I tell everyone that even though we're loud and messy and I scream a lot, we're a pop band," nods
the bespectaled guitarist. "The songs are all pretty different even though there's obviously things we love to do, the noisy
stuff. But there's so many of these Amphetemine Reptile wannabes out there now, we're trying to keep our distance from that,
it can get so bland. All that macho stuff, that New York attitude, everything. I hate seeing bands when I'm just
looking at these bland fuckers standing up there playing. It should be fun. And when you get onstage you want to go crazy,
to really let it go so people watching can do the same.
You can't slip a costume on your stereo, though, and Kudgel's new single sure reinforces that
their music can do the job by itself. It grinds, it squeals, and it rumbles around like a Sherman tank might if the driver
has had a few too many. It goes forward, but colorfully so, and you don't take it for granted that it's gonna quite make it
all the way. If Kudgel has to lose a member everytime they make a single this good, let's hope they shuck another one. Real
soon.
"Our old bassist Don left Kudgel to go back to school," laughs Mark Erdody, "and he's doing
great. And now Kevin is leaving because he just got married, Kudgel seems like it's this vehicle for people to grow up in."
Another laugh from Mark Erdody, this time an even bigger one. "The only one who hasn't grown
up yet," he smiles, "is me."
|
