In
October of last year, we lost a musical pioneer who many consider to be
the father of alternative rock, Lou Reed. Hailing from an era where the
vast majority of teenage record buyers were still consuming “boy loves
girl” lyrical content, he and his band The Velvet Underground provided a
truly
alternative approach to songwriting and performing. Though seen at the
time as a commercial flop (their debut album selling less than 350,000
units upon release), his deadpan vocals and gritty prose contributed in
elevating rock to an art form, and went on to influence four generations
of musicians and still counting.
Whether consciously or not, one
such band that seems to have garnered influence and possesses many of
those same prodigious qualities is Providence’s Six Star General. Their
latest CD offering, Hair Supply is a concrete example of this
trio’s ability to move effortlessly from post-psychedelic trippiness to
hard metal authority, yet all the while remaining just esoteric enough
to leave the listener intrigued. The band is made up of Kyle Jackson on
guitar, Mark MacDougall on bass and vocals, and drummer Dan
Ulmschneider. Though each of these gentlemen have incurred some health
issues over the past year, which merely delayed the process of promoting
Hair Supply, these generals are back in service and ready for action.
The disc opens with the ethereal “Christopher Walken,” a rhythmically
driving, four-chord tour de force, that’s every bit as mysterious as
its namesake. In a musical styling reminiscent of The Flaming Lips, and a
stolid vocal delivery that evokes the aforementioned Reed, MacDougall
presents the listener with beautifully disjointed poetry: “You walk
in, Chris Walken claims he’s the king of New York… Milwaukee, Wisconsin
will keep all the teachers away….Keep smoking, keep joking, it all evens
out in the end.” Throughout, an angelic chorus subtly blankets the entire mix, culminating to a steep end, as the band-proper fades out.
The band changes course in the next track, the riotous “I Don’t Know
Where We’re Going (But I know That It’s Not Good).” Kyle Jackson dials
in his best Tony Iommi guitar-tone for this cautionary tale of inebriate
excess. “Thrill your brain with alcohol, let me buy this round for
you – You took too many shot glasses, so what are we gonna do… I don’t
know where we’re going, but I know that it’s not good.”
One surprise on Hair Supply was Six Star General’s raucous
rendition of Daniel Johnston’s “Life In Vain.” Done originally as an
acoustic number, MacDougall and the boys transform a whiny, teenage
angst-ridden song (featured last season in an episode of HBO’s original
series “Girls”) into a catchy, palatable rocker, far better suited for
national broadcast than its impotent original.
There is little wonder why Six Star General’s eight-song Hair Supply has
been nominated for Alternative Album of the year. In fact, the only
thing that has me scratching my head is one line in the band’s biography
section of their website: “[Six Star General] make very little money
from their music.” How can that possibly be true, considering the band
regularly plays to packed houses in rooms throughout New England? It’s a
disgrace and a scourge on the entire local music scene that talent this
extraordinary goes relatively uncompensated for their efforts. I’ll
have more to say on the overall topic in an upcoming article. But
suffice it to say that Six Star General has earned their stripes over
their past decade of creating absorbing alternative rock.
