Failure
The ballad "Disappointment" is a bleak, dismal vision of failure. In the song, Kilbet explains "Late for an appointment/Closed everywhere/I can't find my way, anyways/Ah, disappoinment/just doesn't care." The closing track "Grind," which focuses on one falling into deeper despair, offers the reaffirming chorus "You got to grind/grind it out." What makes "Grind" special is the break in the middle in which Kilbey vocals offer a glimmer of hope, alone with only the minimalism of a piano to guide him.
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PHOTO; The Church
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usma : United States - Massachusetts | namz : North American Countries/Regions | usa : United States | use : Northeast U.S.
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MUSIC RECORDINGS REVIEWS Kilbey, Steve Wilson-Piper, Marty
PUB
Telegram & Gazette Corporation
AN
Document WORC000020070211dm410015k
SE ENTERTAINMENT
HD Church stops just short of overkill
BY John Scalzi
CR Tribune Staff Writer
WC 473 words
PD 18 July 1990
SN The San Diego Union-Tribune
SC SDU
ED 1,2,3,4,5
PG D-9
LA English
CY (c) 1990 San Diego Union Tribune Publishing Company. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LP
The Church, whose San Diego stop was the last of its "Gold Afternoon Fix" tour, took its characteristic guitar sound, combined it with the nightmare acoustics of SDSU's Montezuma Hall, and created an over-the-top 20-song soundfest that left ears ringing.
The band started off in noticeably lackluster fashion as the first five songs of its set suffered from muddy sound and disjointed playing. Lead singer Steve Kilbey delivered lyrics in an overly dramatic fashion, particularly on "Hotel Womb."
TD
Kilbey's delivery got better during the course of the set, as did the band's playing. At the halfway point of the set, the Patti Smith song "Dancing Barefoot" (in honor of the tour drummer, Patti Smith Group alum Jay Dee Daugherty), the band peaked in form and maintained its intensity level. The only thing left for the band to do from that point forward was to get louder.
Which it did, in logarithmic fashion. The last four songs of the regular set, starting with "Russian Autumn Heart" and ending with "Reptile," were exercises in seeing how much white noise could be squeezed out of a guitar. Guitarist Marty Wilson-Piper was particularly enthralled with throttling notes from his instrument, snapping strings and banging his tremolo bar; guitarist Peter Koppes was more restrained, turning out an effective guitar solo for "Reptile."
The encore sets (two of them) were even louder and more intense, and there was a palpable feeling of relief when, after the spectacularly drawn-out final song, the band finally left the stage. Not because the band did not give a good show (it did), but rather that, given one second more, the band would have lapsed into overkill.
The Blue Aeroplanes, who opened the show, are definitely a one- of-a-kind band. Lead singer Gerard Langley speaks ellipsoidal prose over a churning guitar background, looking and sounding like Elvis Costello caught in a bad existentialist play.
While Langley's lyrics can irritate (particularly with Montezuma Hall's acoustics; you can't decide whether to be annoyed with Langley's pretentiousness or the fact you can't hear what he's saying), the band members themselves are solid musicians. And they have a good sense of humor, as evidenced by the trashcan that dropped on the guitarist from above during "Days of 49."
Perhaps the most unusual fact about the band is that it has a dancer as a full-time member of the band. He's not a bad dancer, but he is awfully repetitive in his choreography, which looked for all the world as if he were a worker in a guano pit, simultaneously watching his step and shoveling bat bybroducts. Regardless, Blue Aeroplanes is a band that has (and is) something else.
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usca : United States - California | namz : North American Countries/Regions | usa : United States | usw : Western U.S.
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REVIEW ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT/THEATER The Blue Aeroplanes The Church Kilbey, Steve Langley, Gerard
PUB
Union-Tribune Publishing Company
AN
Document SDU0000020070623dm7i003t1
CLM Date book
SE LIFESTYLE
HD Members of the Church keep faith in selves
BY Mikel Toombs
CR Toombs is a free-lance writer.
WC 988 words
PD 17 July 1990
SN The San Diego Union-Tribune
SC SDU
ED 1,2,3,4,5,6
PG D-4
LA English
CY (c) 1990 San Diego Union Tribune Publishing Company. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LP
The Church relies heavily on faith. From its inception a decade ago, the atmospheric Australian rock quartet has leaned on intuition and trust to guide the way.
"In fact," guitarist Marty Willson-Piper said, "the Church is the only band in the world that you can get in without an audition. Because I got into the Church without an audition. If you have to be auditioned, then you're not the right man, or woman."
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Willson-Piper, a native of Liverpool, England, was given his chance in 1980. Having endured the frustrations of trying to make it as a musician in London, he had been in Australia only two weeks when he chanced upon the fledgling, and more accepting, Church.
"I was a guitarist and I was at this gig, and they just kind of took a liking to me, the way I looked and the way I was, I suppose," said Willson-Piper, who performs with the Church tonight in San Diego. "And they just said, `Hey, we're looking for another guitarist. You look like you can play.' And I said, `Yeah, sure.' "
The Church elicited much the same answer late last year when it undertook a "search" to replace longtime drummer Richard Ploog, who was relieved of his duties after the recording of the band's current album, "Gold Afternoon Fix" (Arista).
"When we realized we had to replace Richard," Willson-Piper said in an interview from Vancouver, "we kind of looked at each other and said, `Well, huh? This guy's been in the band for 9 1/2 years, how are we going to find a new drummer?' And we literally looked at each other and went, `Well, Jay Dee Daugherty, I suppose.' "
The choice of the Brooklyn-based Daugherty was inspired but not surprising, since the former Patti Smith Group drummer has established his adaptabilty by playing with Tom Verlaine and the Waterboys.
"He was kind of like this perfect totally hip and brilliant drummer who floats between all these kinds of arty bands," Willson- Piper said. "It just seemed to be a perfect situation for us to ask him to join us. And we literally phoned him up and he said, `Yes.' "
A bit more unexpected was the departure of Ploog, who "was kind of losing his inspiration," Willson-Piper said. While Willson- Piper, singer-bassist Steve Kilbey and guitarist Peter Koppes were becoming more interested and excited about playing, "Richard was going the opposite direction."
The remaining three members of the Church have kept up their interest in the group in an unusual fashion -- by working on solo recordings. In the two years between "Gold Afternoon Fix" and its predecessor, "Starfish," Willson-Piper made "Rhyme," Koppes did "From the Well" and Kilbey released "Remindlessness."
Unlike most bands, where solo projects tend to represent ego- flexing that leads to splits and breakups, the Church may have strengthened itself by allowing its members this freedom.
"I'm not making solo records so people think that I'm great, in an egotistical sense. I'm making solo records because I write songs and I play guitar, and I'm a musician and a songwriter and that's what I do. Consequently, I'm going to put records out," Willson- Piper said.
"I do know the fact that we do have the solo records does bring the Church as a band closer together, and makes us more focused concentrating on what we're trying to do."
It's difficult for Willson-Piper to judge the impact of the unexpected success of "Under the Milky Way," the Top 40 single from "Starfish."
"I mean, `Milky Way' was the thing that made us more known, and as far as I was concerned that was a fluke," he said. "It's a good song, but we've had lots of good songs."
Certainly, the song's success has not altered the musical approach of the band, which Willson-Piper describes as "a bit of a bunch of guys who like to jam, you know."
Not overly concerned with song structures, the group has developed a reflective style that draws from the moody and at times meandering offerings of early Pink Floyd, "but it's the Pink Floyd that people don't know about," Willson-Piper said. "It's the Pink Floyd of `More,' it's the Pink Floyd of `Meddle,' the Pink Floyd of `Obscured by Clouds' -- in between Syd Barrett and mega-success, that Pink Floyd."
And especially on the Church's occasional, more upbeat numbers, such as "Metropolis" on "Gold Afternoon Fix," the influence of the Beatles is heard.
"The Beatles were just part of my growing up," said Willson- Piper, the Liverpudlian who now lives in Sweden. "I think it's hard for anybody not to have been influenced by the Beatles, really. Even bands who don't sound like the Beatles might have arrived at where they're at because the Beatles laid the groundwork for them to do it, in a way."
The Church, which tends to be more monochromatic in tone, has not been nearly so adventurous. However, its recent success has at least brightened up the group's concerts, which in the past tended to be somber affairs.
"Although the original intention was to be serious about it, we've kind of started to enjoy being serious about it because we've had a result. We might be serious in our approach, but we're kind of happy about where our serious approach has taken us," Willson- Piper said.
What: The Church, with the Blue Aeroplanes When: Tonight at 8 Where: Montezuma Hall, San Diego State University Tickets: $18.50 (plus service charge) Information: 278-TIXS Toombs is a free- lance writer.
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usca : United States - California | namz : North American Countries/Regions | usa : United States | usw : Western U.S.
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INTERVIEW ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Marty Wilson-Piper MUSIC Willson-Piper, Marty Ploog, Richard
PUB
Union-Tribune Publishing Company
AN
Document SDU0000020070623dm7h0041q
CLM Pop review
SE LIFESTYLE
HD The Church -- charismatic it is not
BY Mikel toombs
CR Toombs is a free-lance writer.
WC 368 words
PD 21 May 1988
SN The San Diego Union-Tribune
SC SDU
ED 5,6
PG D-8
LA English
CY (c) 1988 San Diego Union Tribune Publishing Company. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved.
LP
The religious affiliation of the Australian rock band that calls itself the Church isn't readily apparent, but this is obviously not a group of charismatics.
The Church made that point laboriously clear last night at the El Cortez Convention Center -- where, ironically, its concert had settled after being bounced from the North Park Theater, now the site of a real church. Matching deliberate tempos and deadpan vocals in a controlled performance, the group shortchanged the folk and pop elements that occasionally lighten its drone-prone style.
TD
To be sure, there was a serious (and then some) attempt at art on the Church's part, but the band's style doesn't succeed at much more than craft. As craftsman, the musicians were indeed impressive. That should be no surprise because, even though the band has just recently been discovered by the MTV set, the Church has been holding services since the beginning of the decade.
Drummer Richard Ploog was noteworthy, as he laid down a strong beat -- and was the band's only smiling presence. Meanwhile, guitarists Peter Koppes and Marty Willson-Piper (looking much like R.E.M.'s Peter Buck) provided the obligatory string-bending, often aiming for a hypnotic effect and achieving, at the very least, a relaxing one. (The Church, it seemed, is one of those bands that worships at the altar of the guitar.)
Even when added to the group's generally lucid lyrics, delivered portentously by bassist Steve Kilbey, all of this added up to very little. To end up on the plus side, the Church needed a more dynamic arrangement to counter Kilbey's dry vocals, as on "Oh, Columbus," or the brighter, poppier sound that some of the group's vintage (circa 1982) songs possessed.
Far brighter than the Church were last night's opener, the Rave Ups, although their star has dimmed a bit recently. With strong hometown underpinnings in the folk-country-rock tradition of the Byrds, the Los Angeles band proved that it could survive the fleeting trendiness of the "roots-rock" revival.
Toombs is a free-lance writer.
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REVIEW
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Union-Tribune Publishing Company
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Document SDU0000020070706dk5l00dfe
SE ENTERTAIN
HD Church's fans hop along faithfully as band drops early sounds for new
BY JIM PONIEWOZIK
WC 891 words
PD 29 June 1990
SN The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
SC MLWK
PG d10
LA English
CY (c) 1990 Journal Sentinel Inc. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights reserved.
LP
ASKING WHAT the Church's songs are "about" is like asking the same question about a Jackson Pollock painting.
"You wouldn't write the songs if you could set it down so easily in words," said Church guitarist Peter Koppes.
TD
Instead, the band writes the rock 'n' roll equivalent of tone poems. Starting with a mood or abstract idea, the band tries to invent the lyrical images and experimental guitar sounds that will make a listener feel the same thing.
Koppes said that if you did question Steve Kilbey, the Church's bassist-lyricist, about his lyrics, "I think he'd have a hard time explaining what goes on in his head when he writes. He's more interested in richness and color."
So don't bother trying to translate lines like "Apache gunman in the boiling crowd/Nightmare descent into Jericho City" (from "Myrrh"). If you think a Church song sounds sort of plaintive, or triumphant, or mystical, you probably get the point.
On its latest album, "Gold Afternoon Fix," the band touches all those bases and more. The songs range from the jubilant single "Metropolis" to the brooding "Pharaoh," which echoes the Occidental flavor of much of the album with its droning guitars.
" `Pharaoh's' a pretty good example of us creating a dark, Egyptian sound . . . I guess that's why they call us a `psychedelic' band," Koppes said. But he dislikes that tag, which he said connotes "childish" music.
"Maybe `surreal' is the word," he said.
But this doesn't mean that the Church makes precious performance art; its songs avoid riffs and cliches, but they're also tuneful, often furious rock songs with an accent on pretty melodies.
Nor does it mean the group's music is inaccessible. In 1988, the band scored a Top 20 hit with "Under the Milky Way" from the album "Starfish." Already a underground and college radio staple with five LPs to its credit, the Church suddenly had a mass-market audience as well.
"Some people think `Starfish' is our first album," Koppes said. He said that at concerts the fans didn't know where the other material came from. "They must have thought we were incredible {songwriters}," he said.
On the tour that brings it to Summerfest Friday, the Church is not playing many songs from its early albums, Koppes said, not because of the new fans, but because the band has moved on from the soft, jangly sound that marked those albums a sound many younger bands have since plundered in imitation of the Church and R.E.M.
Koppes added that its audience had proved loyal, delving into the band's back catalog. "Our fans tend to be collectors."
They have plenty to collect. Besides the seven Church albums, Koppes, Kilbey and guitarist Marty Willson-Piper each have three solo releases. The band denies that the solo activity is a sign of trouble. But, after dissension during "Fix's" recording, drummer Richard Ploog took a one-year "leave of absence" that now appears permanent.
"We're not really considering working with him at this stage," Koppes said. "Richard was falling out of step with the group and wasn't really enjoying it."
The band replaced Ploog with former Patti Smith Group drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, with whom the group plans to record its next album.
But Koppes said the remaining members were more united than ever.
"We've developed to the point where the band's more involved in writing together," Koppes said. Kilbey was the chief songwriter in the past, but all of "Fix's" songs have joint credits; Koppes said most of the songs began as jams in the studio.
And jam they can. In spite of the band's lush arrangements and Kilbey's breathy vocals, the Church is a surprisingly fierce live band. The linchpin of its sound is the team of Koppes and Willson-Piper, perhaps the most unique guitar duo in rock music.
Rather than one guitarist soloing wildly while the other pounds out chords, the two use their guitars like a string section, using volume control, feedback and echo to create sounds like synthesizers, brass sections or even bagpipes. They don't wail like Clapton or flail like Hendrix; they simply know the guitar and its voices better than many better-known guitarists.
Koppes said the band, which in the early days was playing eight gigs a week in Australian clubs, now found the studio more fulfilling than the stage.
"Writing is the most exciting part of being in a band," Koppes said. "If you create something that's really great, that points to the future . . . that's what it's all about."
On his solo albums, Koppes said he used a broader range of instruments, including keyboards, for a more overblown sound than the Church's. "I tend not to know where to stop," he said.
But Koppes said that although the Church's songs were becoming even more symphonic and carefully constructed, the band still would let the guitars do the work.
"We've developed this manifesto of remaining a guitar band, of imposing this restriction on ourselves. {The guitar} is such an amazing instrument there must always be new ways to use it."
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Journal Communications Inc.
AN
Document mlwk000020011115dm6t00ck2
SE NEWS
HD The Church's cult hears newer material
BY DAVE LUHRSSEN
WC 308 words
PD 30 June 1990
SN The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
SC MLWK
PG a26
LA English
CY (c) 1990 Journal Sentinel Inc. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights reserved.
LP
Headlining Summerfest's Rock Stage Friday night was one of Australia's rock exports, the Church. Although their mass popularity rests precariously on one hit, "Under the Milky Way," the four- piece band built a cult following since their first forays to these shores in the early 1980s.
The Church passed through several distinct phases in recording seven albums, but the fans who packed the Rock Stage bleachers were treated to the newer stuff especially songs from the recent disc "Gold Afternoon Fix" at the expense of older material.
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Making their way onto a blackened stage as synthesized ghostly sounds clamored distantly, their entrance set the concert's mood. The colors on the Church's palette were mostly dark.
A melancholy atmosphere prevailed, established by minor key melodies as well as Steve Kilbey's breathy, grave vocals. Guitarists Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes engaged in dark symphonic exchanges, building tension and providing the aural drama often lacked by the material. Though trance-inducing in intensity, the dueling guitar solos were anchored throughout by the stridently insistent rhythms of Kilbey's bass and the drumming of newcomer Jay Dee Daugherty, who recently replaced Richard Ploog.
Standout selections include a ringing, guitar-heavy take of "Terra Nova Cain," the sepulchral "Pharaoh" and the more upbeat love song "Metropolis."
Because of Blue Aeroplanes' last minute cancellation, Milwaukee's Die Kreuzen moved up to the spot preceding the Church. While using many of the over-tried cliches that sound tired in the hands of average hard rock bands, Die Kreuzen twisted those same tricks, bending them into new shapes, running them into the ground in pursuit of their own musical vision. Their set was a howl rising from stormy punk metallica, setting an energy level the Church were unable to equal.
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Journal Communications Inc.
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Document mlwk000020011115dm6u00cqk
CLM ALBUM REVIEWS
SE WEEKEND PLUS
HD Aztec Camera hits with `Stray'
BY Don McLeese
WC 519 words
PD 3 August 1990
SN Chicago Sun-Times
SC CHI
ED FIVE STAR SPORTS FINAL
PG 53; nc
LA English
CY (c) 1990 Chicago Sun Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights reserved.
LP
Aztec Camera. "Stray" (Sire/Reprise) (STAR) (STAR) (STAR) 1/2
Hailed as the teenage British wonderboy of the early '80s, Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame has become very much his own man, fulfilling the praises that sounded premature when the likes of Elvis Costello and Mark Knopfler were championing him. Written, sung and co-produced by Frame, the fourth Aztec Camera album is easily the most substantial effort that he and his ever-shifting supporting cast have released.
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The first two songs are the best, and show the range of mood that the album encompasses. The title cut offers the sort of jazz-tinged introspection more characteristic of a band such as the Blue Nile, though Frame has more than fashionable melancholy on his mind. Following "Stray" is the uptempo "The Crying Scene," the album's first single, a seize-the-day anthem that rings with conviction.
Elsewhere, Frame sounds like he's trying a little too hard on "Good Morning Britain," a duet with Mick Jones (Clash, B.A.D.), while showing the value of melodic understatement on "The Gentle Kind" and "Song For a Friend." Throughout, the material is literate and well-crafted, performed by Frame as if the songs provide a window to his Scottish soul.
Hex. "Hex" (Rykodisc) (STAR) (STAR) (STAR)
Though identified only as Hex on the album cover, this collaboration between Donette Thayer and Steve Kilbey will likely strike chords of recognition among alternative rock fans. Thayer was formerly a member of California's Game Theory, while Kilbey fronts the Church, a popular Aussie import.
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