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Issue 27 . September 2001

In an industry filled with people who make their living knowing music, former MTV VJ and Farmclub host Matt Pinfield stands out by knowing more, possibly everything. And as thousands of music fans, industry leaders and aspiring musicians flock to New York to get a glimpse of the future of music, Pinfield will be hanging with Unsung Hero and Gig Records, hosting two very special musical showcases presenting some of the Mid-Atlantic’s finer bands, premiere emerging acts from across the country, and international sensations.

Leading up to this year’s CMJ Music Marathon, Unsung Hero, Jim Beam Back Room Sessions and Gig Records join forces Thursday, September 13, introducing regional favorites into the national spotlight. DC-Maryland-Virginia sensation Fidel will kick things off with a high-energy show, followed by Baltimore’s Sick Circle and Central PA’s Live Alien Broadcast. Long Branch, New Jersey’s Blue Scream will close the night. Special CMJ convention artists will join the rock portion of the bill, in addition to sets upstairs from eletronica artists 11:11 and DJ Ribbit.

More than 10, 000 music professionals, artists and fans converge on New York City every year for CMJ Music Marathon to celebrate today’s music and chart its future. Following days filled with industry panels, at night, CMJ presents the best in new music, live sets at NYC venues by artists from every possible genre — rock, electronica, hip-hop, loud rock, Americana, international, blues, jazz and other genres. Showcase sets from margquee talent will include Coldplay, Mix Master Mike, Pedro the Lion, Sparklehorse, Folk Implosion and dozens more.

Gig Records is the perfect example of the new music industry —idealistic, artist-driven labels steadily proving that it’s not necessary to be a big business to do big business. After just three years in existence, Gig has established a sterling reputation and a red-hot roster of upcoming and high-profile seasoned talent.

Friday, September 14, the label will showcase some of its emerging new talent, leading up to a reunion set from Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, the group’s only North American appearance to promote their upcoming Gig Records live album, a guaranteed standing-room-only affair that already has record-company executives and fans alike buzzing.

Founded in 1998, Gig Records already has the reputation for doing things different, applying a simple philosophy: “Work for the artists, as opposed to the other way around.” In a business driven by one-hit wonders and clone bands within genres, Gig strives to develop careers for their talent and seeks out artists based on their uniqueness.

“Most of my artists are people who were signed to major labels and it’s their second time around, and were jaded by the whole music-industry experience,” says Indian, Gig founder and president. It’s his second time around, too.

The music-biz veteran founded Gig after climbing up the ladder one rung at time: working as a booking agent for local and national artists in New Jersey clubs led to an internship at TVT Records, which led to a full time position working in radio promotion, marketing and artist development. Over the years, Indian worked on all levels assisting in the development of artists including Gravity Kills, KMFDM, Sevendust and Buck-O-Nine. After four years at TVT, Indian realized it was time to start a label that would do things differently than the majors. A small, tight crew with extensive experience in and beyond the record industry help Indian make his artists’ visions reality.

Distributed through Nile Rogers’ Sumthing Distribution, Gig issued the soundtrack for the View Askew film A Better Place, and the current roster includes Amazing Meet Project, Groundswell UK, Micheal Ferentino, Red Engine Nine, Nebula Nine, Miles Hunt, Dryer, Pure 13, Stephen Reso, the Vibrators, Virginia, and Youth Ahead.

>> Gig Records:
web: www.gigrecords.com
e-mail: indian@gigrecords.com
phone: 732.701.9044
fax: 732.701.9777

GIG CMJ SHOWCASES

NED’S ATOMIC DUSTBIN

Best known for the smash hits “Grey Cell Green” and “Happy,” 90s indie-rockers NED’S ATOMIC DUSTBIN take to the stage in NYC at CMJ this year, just for the fun of it — no imminent cheesy comeback album, no best-of disc planned, no impending Japanese tour. Having left an indelible mark on the UK charts in the 90s, NAD hooked five Top 40 hits in the UK before they took the final curtain and called it a day.

YOUTH AHEAD

Youth Ahead is an energetic power - pop/punk rock trio from New Jersey that's been creating a massive buzz up and down the east coast. Their music offers a fun mix for everyone to love and fits into a category along with Blink 182, Green Day and MxPx.

>> web: www.gigrecords.com/youthahead/

RED ENGINE NINE

Their current album, Wishing to Elvis, capped a string of appearances on compilations and television soundtracks, and the Jersey-shore rockers were nominated two years straight for the annual Asbury Music Awards’ top pop band and song of the year.

>> web: www.redenginenine.com

STEPHEN RESO

The former lead singer/songwriter of Harrisburg, PA's now-defunct Underground Cartoons has just signed a deal with Gig Records, with his first release for the label set for the Fall. A full band fills out the artist’s sound, each song a personal anthem.

>> web: www.stephenreso.com

War machine, rock star, one-woman train wreck, budding guitar goddess — meet Lisa Christ Superstar, singer and guitarist of the high-speed Philly guitar-rock trio that shares her name. In the Do-It-Yourself spirit, Lisa is fast on the way to becoming her own savior in a modern-rock era that has failed to produce any high-profile fret shredders.

Lisa Christ Superstar formed after the members’ previous bands failed to satisfy their musical ambitions. Drummer Scott was a journeyman who had recorded with numerous Philly bands including Paraplegic. Bassist Blunker was a founding member of Philly’s infamous Bad Luck 13 Riot Extravaganza, and had played with Lisa in Savage 3D. When that band came to a rocky end, Scott, Blunker and Lisa formed Lisa Christ Superstar to create what Lisa hoped would be “a unique brand of female-driven guitar rock.”

Lisa’s guitar career at the age of four, but it wasn’t until she was a teenager, when she heard Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown,” that her interest in the instrument would become a consuming passion, Jimmy Page’s play infecting Lisa for good, leading her to what she describes as “great musicians” from Keith Moon to Eddie Van Halen.

Scott brings, in Lisa’s words, “a huge progressive streak” to LCS, the drummer a fan of obscure cutting-edge hard rockers Mr. Bungle, FantÔmas and Voivod. Blunker, like Lisa, draws on fierce guitar across the ages, from Sabbath to Iron Maiden to the Minutemen. For Lisa, Black Flag and the Sex Pistols would temper the excessive bombast of her favorite classic rock icons, and under those influences, Lisa Christ Superstar are lining up for a spot on the breaking wave of pure hard rock, beside bands like Fu Manchu, the new Rollins Band and Queens of the Stone Age.

The LCS live show resurrects the art of lead guitar. Given room to work, Lisa runs rampant on the stage, her Strat clearing the way for her. “I love being onstage, playing a solo, putting my guitar over my head, putting it between my legs, putting it on my knee. I’ve got to — this is my time to show my stuff.”

Recorded live in a just six hours at Pump Town Studios, mixed by Frank Phobia and produced by Joe Mattis, the Lisa Christ Superstar EP captures the energy of the band’s live show, and the band have two tracks are slated for inclusion in national-release compilations. LCS are continuing a strategic Mid-Atlantic gig schedule, aiming to further develop a fan base, keep interest high and secure label support. And if Lisa has her say, when the next generation list their guitar heroes, they will include some girls. The fan reaction to date indicates that it could happen.

“Guys will come up to me, like ‘You were fuckin’ awesome. I haven’t seen anybody play like that for a long time,’” says Lisa. “It just makes me feel good. When a girl comes up to me, it makes me feel great. They love the band as a whole, and they love the fact that I’m up there, playing. They haven’t seen that in a long time.”

Blond Fender Strat, Hot Rail pick up, Marshall stack, 5150 head, Marshall Major 200 Watt Head. Lisa lists some of the musicians that inspired her to play “that full-on rock with a lead guitar right in your face.”

Jimi Hendrix
I sing when I play, and I think about Hendrix. Hendrix sang over these crazy riffs. It’s not like he had all this crazy equipment. I’ve got the same guitar he does. We’re working with the same tools. If he can sing and play in crazy time signatures, I can do that, too.

Jimmy Page
He just is it. He’s an amazing songwriter. And the way he kind of swaggers, and the leads he plays, I feel his leads.

Ted Nugent
I like Ted Nugent, everything about him. He’s got that energy. He’s a showman. He’s up there, running around like he’s got it.

Eddie Van Halen
I have “5150” in my head. The sounds he gets are amazing. He plays and he’s smiling. I think that’s just great.

James Honeyman Scott
A great underrated guitar player. The first two Pretenders records are just amazing. He plays some great solos, really good solos.

Chris Haskett
I just love that whole band. Some of the best music I’ve ever seen and heard are the first few Rollins Band records.

Yanni
Stinking Lizavetta, their guitar player is Yanni. He is so good. He lives that guitar onstage.

Wino
Wino from Obsessed. He is fucking amazing.

Lisa Says...

UH: Where did the name come from?

LCS: I was in this band with the guys from Bad Luck 13, a side band. And the guitar player, Psycho Mike, from Bad Luck 13 named me Lisa Christ Superstar. We all had these punk-rock names. He just gave me that name, and it just stuck. And when Blunker and I decided to do this band, we just went for that. It fell into place, the name, the artwork, the logo. It’s great. Jim Altieri did that. He did that logo, and it’s just phenomenal. It worked out perfect.

UH: Last month, everyone I interviewed was into Radiohead. And this month, a couple of the bands are emphasizing playing.

LCS: I don’t know anything about Radiohead. I know about them, but I’ve never bought any of their records... There are so many bands that come through town and sell out that I’ve never heard of. It amazes me. I might have five or six bands that I just love, and that’s all I’ll listen to. And on the new stuff, I’m just like “ehhh.” I’d rather listen to how it started and the beginnings of it than ten years down the road. When I hear something, I just think “Oh, Motorhead does it better.” So I’ll just listen to that. There’s not that many new bands that I like that much that are really popular right now.

UH: What’s your practice regimen?

LCS: I stopped taking lessons for a couple years, and after that, what I would do, I would just put old blues on, anything with your basic E, like John Lee Hooker. And I’d play my lead back to it, to the track. And that’s basically how I learned to play my leads. Or if the record was on behind me, I’d just play my lead. I don’t worry about playing the guitar player’s lead. I’ll play my own lead on top of it. That works for me.

UH: How’d you get from John Lee Hooker and Eddie Van Halen to having the Black Flag sticker on your guitar?

LCS: Well, the Sex Pistols came in there shortly after that. To me, the early Rollins Band and Black Flag was just all that raw energy. And the first few Rollins records, I think, are amazing. I think The End of Silence is a brilliant record. It’s one of my favorite records. Hot Animal Machine is one of my favorite records from Rollins. They can play. They can play. They’re just great players.

UH: The Unsung Hero review of your disc side that it sounded like the band members were racing each other. Was that an accurate impression?

LCS: We didn’t do that intentionally. We recorded it live. I’ve always wanted to record this way, where it’s just as if we were playing in a club. So the three of us went in, I played my leads live, we played as we would do it at a club, because I wanted to capture that energy. I don’t believe in punching my leads in. I don’t really like doing any of that kind of stuff. We did the whole thing in six hours, recorded five songs in six hours.

UH: How’d you hook up with each other?

LCS: My bass player and I were in a pretty good band together. I’ve been playing in Philly for a while in previous bands, and I always knew what I wanted to do. I had a three-piece unit before, but I kind of screwed that up. I always wanted a three-piece. I love three-pieces. I was with my bass player in one of my old bands, and we were talking, and I was like ‘Let’s do this. I have a vision. I don’t want to mess around, I don’t need another guitar player.’

UH: The band is from Philly, but you have a pretty well-balanced gig schedule all over the region. What’s the band’s goal?

LCS: I have to work with what we can do. I have to work with our schedules right now. I want us to play Philly every two months and play the rest of the shows in a good area so we get a good buzz going in different areas. I see a lot of bands, and they overplay themselves in the city. And I’ve seen some of the greatest bands outside the city, and some of the places outside the city really want great rock music.

UH: What’s your philosophy toward solos?

LCS: I’ll play what’s required for the song. Some of the jams will stretch out a little longer. I might even, at some point, do a guitar solo, just me. Or have a drum solo or something like that. That’s awesome. You see so many bands nowadays with two guitars, and it’s kind of lost... I don’t know, I like seeing people stand out with what they do, to see showmanship like that.

UH: What’s the band’s writing process?

LCS: All three of us write. And we’ll usually bring a riff in, or one of us will bring a song in, and then we work together to make it the best. We’ve got to take some things into consideration, and we just try to work it with each other to do the best that we can do. We just want to be the best band we can be.

UH: What’s it like to be a woman taking the role of guitarist and front the band?

LCS: A lot of times, people think if I’m in the band, I’m the singer. That used to bum me out, but now I’m like ‘Well, just wait until we start playing.’ I love it, although I do feel it’s worked for us. It’s just what I do. It makes us stand out, and a lot different. I’ve only seen one or two female guitar players. There’s Lita Ford and Joan Jett and Rider from Nashville Pussy. Other than that, I haven’t seen anybody that really kicked my ass. And we’ve been getting a lot of metal fans that love us.

>>Relevant Info:
web: www.lisachristsuperstar.com
booking: booking@lisachristsuperstar
e-mail:
lisa@lischristsuperstar.com
blunker@lischristsuperstar.com
scott@lischristsuperstar.com