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Issue 29 . November 2001

PLUG UGLY:
anger as a fuel

When Plug Ugly’s Anthony Marino raps about night clubs, he’s not talking about bars with live music. The night clubs in “Betray” are nocturnal cabals, something closer to fight clubs. No dancing here, just silence where murderers are at work. Listen to Anthony and find yourself in darkness, clutched by the throat and tied at your wrists.

Anthony’s older brother Dominic, Plug Ugly’s other MC, wears his heart on his sleeve. A flame tattoo starts at Dominic’s right wrist, rising to his elbow. Written atop the flames, in gothic capitals, is the word “anger.” It’s a reminder of a dark time in his life. He declines to mention specifics, but he’ll talk about the feeling.

“Anger’s not an action,” says Dominic. “It’s a state of mind. There’s a difference between anger and being angry. You can’t stop somebody from having anger inside, but you can stop people from acting angry.”

The Philadelphia band have been have been on the worse end of aggression. In 1999, founding member Dave Albert was killed in a brutal road-rage incident. It was the kind of life-changing event that could make a friend mad enough to kill, or turn him off to violence forever. Plug Ugly’s reactions were somewhere in between.

“We don’t preach non-violence,” says Dominic. “We just preach a positive, productive attitude toward everybody. Go someplace with a positive attitude. Have self esteem, have a positive attitude, treat people with respect, doing the right thing, being a good person. You can still be in a hardcore band, you can still be angry. You can still be pissed off.”

Raised in Bristol, the Marino brothers grew up alternating their listening loyalties between punk and rap, depending on which type of music was running hot at the time. Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, Minor Threat, the Exploited, NWA. In 1994, Anthony and Dave formed the band, mixing the best of their favorites. Dominic joined shortly. Two MCs, no DJ, no problem. Anthony beatboxes like a pro.

“Once they hear ‘rap,’ automatically, you’re categorized as one of those New Rap Bands. I call us a hardcore band,” says Anthony. “We wanted to play hardcore shows with bands like Earth Crisis and Snapcase. Because that’s the message we’ve always had. We’ve always been positive hardcore. It just so happens that our lyrics were rap-style. That’s our vision of the band.”

When drummer Mike Grisolia dropped out this year, Plug Ugly’s reputation preceded them, and ex-downset. drummer Chris Hamilton quickly accepted the invitation to join. The current lineup has recorded three songs with producer Phil Nicolo (Boiler Room, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Life of Agony) so far, and the band spent October writing new material. Hamilton, guitarist Joe Weston and bassist Justin Fourreux write the music. The brothers Marino write in a rap style, improvising and composing around themes.

Since September, fans have found new meanings in tracks from 1999’s Media Assassins CD, telling the band that “My Pride,” “Loss of Life,” and “Mind Jack” are new anthems, songs that vent the negative to find a positive. Coming from a band that has fought through the unthinkable, Plug Ugly’s new material should continue to speak to the moment. Chuck D described rap as the street version of CNN. And if the national mood reflects anger and loss, Plug Ugly are front-line reporters.

“I really, really think that we got a good connection,” says Dominic, recalling Plug Ugly’s first show after the 11th. “People’s heads were where ours are all time the time.”

The Nicolo-produced demo is available to download from the band’s website, and the band haven’t made plans for their next batch of songs. They might turn up on a disc. Plug Ugly might attract some label attention. They’re not sweating it. They don’t want it all. They just want their piece. Dominic explains his idea of success as being able to “make a living in the industry,” playing shows, writing.

“It’s something I love,” says Dominic. “If anything else happens, yeah, sure, it happens. It’s not why I play shows. It never was.”

>> Relevant Info:
booking/management: Joe Romano
215.561.2200 x265 days
609.291.0563 evenings
e-mail: info@plugugly.com
web & downloads: www.plugugly.com

SPINEBELT
spinbelt welcome keyboardist
philip dragon to the family

Spinebelt, 51 Peg, Tapping the Vein, Carfax Abbey and Rezin join the Unsung Hero Concert Series at Reading, PA, Friday, November 30th @ Hiester's

The much-maligned keyboard has actually contributed to some of hard rock’s more murderous moments. No matter how you rank Van Halen’s 1984, there’s no denying what was wrought by the hands of Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. That convergence of industrial, metal, goth and hardcore set the stage for Central PA’s post-genre metallic band, Spinebelt. Technology helped the band build a better machine — and, as they say, every tool is a weapon if you hold it right.

Spinebelt formed in 1997. The band trace their attitude to Metallica, Kiss and Van Halen, but the bands that really turned singer-guitarist-songwriter Butch Lloyd’s head were markedly less badass.

“The new wave guys like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, the Cars,” says Lloyd. “I just heard those things, and I thought, Man, That could go really well with heavy music. When I first stared hearing about bands like Ministry and Einstuerzende Neubauten and Throbbing Gristle and Skinny Puppy, it was really an eye opener, because I had never heard bands that sound like that. They were definitely taking the electronic aspect into a heavier realm, but it still wasn’t the what I was hearing in my head. What I was hearing in my head was a new-wave band with really heavy-ass tunes.”

Bent on creating that music, Spinebelt adopted a no-cover policy, and quickly developed a following for their original material. They soon became charter members of the Mid-Atlantic’s thriving post-industrial scene, a supportive community of regional artists that have created a cultural-exchange circuit for like-minded artists based in cities from Lancaster to Annapolis to DC.

Spinebelt originally formed as a two-guitar, no-bass outfit, and quickly grew into one of the area’s few bands capable of fluidly shifting between lead bass, synths or guitar. The band rose to prominence with a lineup of Lloyd, bassist-vocalist Bill Atkinson, percussionist John K. and keyboardist-sampler-vocalist Josh Warsteiner.

That lineup recorded two EPs, a full-length CD, and a home video. Spinebelt’s February 2001 EP, A Small But Very Permanent Hell, saw the band score a warm reception from retail, press and fans, with songs including a revamped version of 2000's regional hard-rock radio hit, “Christopher Walken.” Hailing from an area better know for its agriculture, the group built a reputation singing about chaos, control, conflict, lies, destruction and imminent doom.

Prominently featured in the Gimmie the Medicine compilation, a who’s-who of regional hard rock, the Hell track “It’s All Running Out” — a obsidian slab of betrayal — is a taste of the band firing on cylinders: savage growls, bombastic drums, a serrated bass line, quicksand keyboards and punishing guitars.

The success of A Small But Very Permanent Hell saw the group shift its already busy touring and writing schedule into overdrive, preparing to make a break beyond their home turf. But for keyboardist Josh Warsteiner, the next steps on the rocky road represented a lifestyle he couldn’t commit to, and he and the group amicably split. Enter keyboardist Philip Dragon.

A Canadian expatriate, Dragon relocated to Central PA last year, and went on to play in several bands and work on different projects. For the fan of Skinny Puppy, Moby, Roy Orbison and Cradle Of Filth, something clicked when he discovered Spinebelt. When a slot opened in band’s lineup, Spinebelt made a mental list of all the standout keyboardists they’d seen in the area, and they invited Dragon to audition. He jumped at the chance and survived the audition process, selling the band on his skills and vision.

“He’s an incredibly musician, but that alone is a small piece of the pie, especially in the Spinebelt camp,” says Lloyd. “We needed someone that was going to totally fit the role. He just slid right in there. It was almost scary how easy it was.”

In addition to adding to the band as a second songwriter, Dragon plans to fully exploit his keyboards’ capabilities, fleshing out the Spinebelt sound through the creative use of sampling and effects.

"I'm looking forward to working towards and taking the ride with Spinebelt, taking the music to an international level and touring,” says Dragon. “Y'know… world domination. I'm also really looking forward to getting to know and interacting with the fans of the band."

“Buckle and Strap,” Hell’s official single, is still receiving airplay, but the band have shelved the track’s video to coincide with the release of their next LP. Originally planned for a fall release, the disc has been pushed back to early 2002. The band recently wrapped a whirlwind tour to give fans a chance to say goodbye to Warsteiner, and following some fall shows to work out the new lineup’s chemistry, Spinebelt will return to the studio in December.

So have Spinebelt been able to create their ideal music yet? In Lloyd’s estimation, “Buckle and Strap” and “Needle, Prick” are all the way there, but the band aren’t letting it rest at that.

“It totally blows my mind to be able to play with the caliber of musicians that I do,” says Lloyd. “It blew my mind to be able to, for the first time in my life, have guys that could really fulfill the vision of the music we hear in our heads. But with that comes the determination the striving to do more and do better.”

[ UH ]

>> Relevant Info:
web: www.spinebelt.com
band e-mail: info@spinebelt.com
booking: Dan Kelly, dkentertainment@hotmail.com
phone: 610.589.9590

CORRECTION: In September’s issue, Tapping the Vein’s bassist was incorrectly listed as Mark Butler. Mark Burkert plays bass for Tapping the Vein.