Sunday, March 04, 2012
The Little Guitar Army in Maple Ridge: the best of my bad cellphone photos
Awesome show in Maple Ridge tonight - the first time I've had a chance to see the Little Guitar Army since Mellow replaced Linda. Having my share of issues around change, I hadn't known how I would feel about the switch, but it turns out that it doesn't negatively impact the intensity of the band in the slightest. True, Mellow is a somewhat smaller presence onstage than Ms. Stang, but then, so was Adolf Hitler; and the less show-stealing nature of Mellow's performance has the appealing effect of foregrounding the songs and enhancing the sense of this band being a collective unit, an organic entity, a real army, as opposed to a vehicle for the scarily unhinged fantasies of being (for instance) trod on, whipped and humiliated that followed from their previous incarnation. And Mellow is a strong singer and appealing stage presence in her own right, and the songs remain, while not exactly the same, as awe-inspiring as they ever were. I had almost forgotten how good some of these songs are, actually - world-class rock that will likely never be as widely appreciated as it deserves, truly on par (and I do mean this as praise) with the 70's classic acts (AC/DC, Nazareth, Cheap Trick, Blue Oyster Cult and more) that inspired them. One of Vancouver's very best bands... Cal sported facial hair and dedicated "Can't Fix Stupid" to his ex-wives and parole officers; and Tony Bardach, witnessing my struggles with The Wolf's ATM, kindly bought me a beer - thanks, Tony! Also thanks to the Likely Rads' Jay Raymond for making this happen (I almost got a contact high from his body odor). The keepers of my cellphone photos follow...
Your comparison of Stang's stage presence to that of Hitler's is quite accurate. She has been known to throw up the Nazi Salute every now and then and often brags of her German heritage.
ReplyDeleteLGA will never be as big as they could be because they continually get in their own way. They block their own progress, which is unfortunate because they could go very far. Imagine how well they'd do in Japan! They are a great band.
Pt 1 of 3
DeleteCal is a conceptual genius and, a killer guitarist and songwriter...however, he's a chronic self-saboteur of an equally high level.
Around the time that we were "gifted" a phenomenal (and, freaking expensive) video from David Tamkin and, his then wife, Tammy...where David and Tammy brought in all kinds of industry professionals, called in many favours (helicopter anyone!) and, no fee cameos by a few well know actors. A video which became the talk of the town and, had 20k views in the first 5 wks from it being released!! Cal started to become noticeably uncomfortable.
I and ywo other bandmates began to forge a path that would capitalize on both the video, the Army/live musical experience and, the complete shitshow of the various members behind the scene.
I had been negotiating with Ampeg Amplifiers to get our 2 bass players a sponsorship for 4 of their mini SVT speaker cabinets and, 2 of their mini Ampeg SVT heads. With an option for doubling that if we moved up to playing bigger venues and/or festivals.
I had also started to reach out to West Coast venues and, Indy Breweries in each city where potential gigs would be performed.
We'd travel by bus and, advertise the brewery in the upcoming city with advertising all over the van and, give each brewery 6hrs during the day of the show to use LGA as they pleased (film a commercial, radio spots, in store/parking lot meet n greet/video showing, etc). This would be in exchange for $$$ towards bus rental and hotel rooms.
And, the most genius plan was for David and a small crew to accompany us, filming as required, capturing the true epic dysfunction, band infighting, alliances within the members and the absolute comedic gold (intentional and, not) for an (at 1st) online REALITY SHOW!!! I always thought that THAT would be fucking EPIC!!
The article actually compares mellow to hitler. It blows my mind that someone would call linda a nazi for being proud of her german heritage. I suppose this person also feels that all proud canadians support native genocide? Or is this just an opportunity to slag someone you have a personal grudge against. Oh well, it seems Linda continues to steal the show nearly a year after her departure.
ReplyDeleteSo true. Jay smells awful. Its like an old lady ate a dozen eggs and farted through an onion. Also lga are a band. So, all in all, a pretty factual article...
ReplyDeleteActually, um, you're wrong on both counts: it compares Linda to Hitler, not Mellow (read it again); and it hardly constitutes a slagging of Ms. Stang. Linda was awe-inspiring, and her odd flirtation with signifiers of Nazism ALWAYS seemed to me a) ironic, and no sign whatsoever of her being a Nazi; b) thematically relevant to the band and its flirtation with militaristic images; c) a perfectly appropriate to the "Nuremberg rally" aspect of the rock concert. It would have been fully in keeping with her aesthetic to perform in an SS uniform, even - something no less a figure than Lemmy has flirted with, and he's not even German! I mean nothing but fondness and praise for Ms. Stang - she was a terrific performer who, one hopes, will find another venue in the city for her art. I mean, dig, there's a *reason* why I hadn't seen the band since she was replaced...
ReplyDeleteAll the same, they ARE still a great rock band in their new incarnation, and Mellow has her own thing going, which is quite workable. Can I not write this without making enemies of someone?
Really. I read it as mellow, like hitler is smaller in stature than linda stang. What am i missing? My comments are directed at the first comment. No issue with your article at all. I just think the first comment was mabe by a hater.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Hitler is smaller in stature than Linda Stang - but that doesn't mean I'm comparing Mellow to Hitler (which would further imply that Linda is smaller in stature than Mellow, right?) You're reading it like this:
ReplyDeleteMellow
.
.
Hitler
.
.
Linda
When what I meant (perhaps unclearly) was:
Linda
.
.
Hitler
.
.
Mellow
Anyhow, um...
Have you been drinking Al. Be honest. Regardless, i was responding to the first comment. Your article is great. I stilk think that line reads as something like 'mellow, may be smaller than linda, but so was hitler' i.e. she does not lose impact because of her stature. I will corner you on this over a beer sometime.
ReplyDeleteI actually like the lineup with Mellow Friesen. I can see this band doing very well this year. I don't think anonymous knows what they are talking about; Linda Stang was really good, Mellow Friesen is a great replacement,she does hold her own and I love watching this lady. First time I saw her was when she was in The Muscle Bitches
ReplyDeleteI actually like the lineup with Mellow Friesen. I can see this band doing very well this year. I don't think anonymous knows what they are talking about; Linda Stang was really good, Mellow Friesen is a great replacement,she does hold her own and I love watching this lady. First time I saw her was when she was in The Muscle Bitches
ReplyDeleteI actually like the lineup with Mellow Friesen. I can see this band doing very well this year. I don't think anonymous knows what they are talking about; Linda Stang was really good, Mellow Friesen is a great replacement,she does hold her own and I love watching this lady. First time I saw her was when she was in The Muscle Bitches
ReplyDelete