Monotonix
Where Were You When It Happened?
Long before I started this column, the combination of my religion and my interest in underground music resulted in numerous recommendations to check out the Monotonix.
It’s no secret that bands from Israel with followings in the U.S. are few and far between, so the ones that do stand out. Now, it’s true that Monotonix, who will play in Seattle at Neumos on Sept. 19, got started in Tel Aviv, but if you’re looking for some indication of that in their music you’ll be disappointed. The band’s raw garage rock sound owes more to the Motor City than the Hill of Spring. They skirt the edge of thrash, occasionally tangle with glam, and generally throw themselves headfirst into making as much noise as possible. They’re alleged to have been banned from most of the clubs in Tel Aviv, and tend to set up their minimal gear in front of the stage, right in the middle of the crowd if possible. But there’s melody and rhythm amidst the gritty chaos, vintage metal wound around thrash punk with ever-so-subtle a hint of pop (Seattleites may find themselves reminded of The Whoremoans).
Despite being around since 2005, the band just released their first full-length, Where Were You When It Happened?, on September 8. It’s a great first effort, and seems to capture their purported live energy, blessedly untainted by over-production.
Lady Rizo
Explicit, Confidential
A cross between Richard Cheese, Edith Piaf, and Hedwig, Lady Rizo is a delightful comedienne with a raunchy sense of humor and pipes like you wouldn’t believe. Her recent shows in Seattle were just the Lady herself, backed by some local musicians, but her usual act in New York includes The Assettes, musician-dancers with names like “LuLu Lamour” and “Chi Chi Jones.” She brings the wacky, covering Lady Gaga and Britney, even turning ‘60s pop classic “I Will Follow Him” into a psycho stalker’s ode to her prey. But she just as easily transforms into a real chanteuse, performing a heartbreaking rendition of “Lilac Wine” likely to leave the audience breathless. Her live show is the real treat, but if you’re not able to catch her, you can whet your appetite with her album Explicit, Confidential, available on CD or iTunes. It manages to capture at least some of her effervescent energy and contagious humor that, when witnessed live, will have you hanging on her every word. Sure, it’s not the same when you can’t see her wild eyes and towering blonde pompadour, but it’ll do in a pinch.
The Dapper Cadavers
Fall of the Dapper Cadavers
Are any of the members of Portland’s favorite crust-folk band, The Dapper Cadavers, Jewish? I don’t know. The band is shrouded in mystery, with no internet presence to speak of. They played Seattle at the Folklife Festival this year – busking of course, not on a stage. I was so impressed I picked up their self-released, very DIY EP, which, of its five tracks, features two songs with distinct Jewish connections.
The band does a jaunty version of “Dona Dona,” arguably the world’s most famous Yiddish song. Though often considered a folk song, it was actually written by two American Jews as a show tune in 1940, and was later a favorite of the 1960s folk scene (You may remember it as I do, from Jewish summer camps of yesteryear). They also cover “Korobeiniki,” which most folks know as “the Tetris song,” but was first a popular Russian folk song about a peddler. The Jewish connection is slighter here, but the peddler, trekking from town to town with his goods on his back or in a lone wagon, is a Jewish archetype that predates the deli owner or the studio executive.
Jewish or not, The Dapper Cadavers have put out a CD of excellent folk punk, a genre with a growing following, particularly in the Northwest. With accordion, washtub bass, banjo, fiddle, and sundry other instruments, the band’s sound is a delightful blend of a basement band practice and a front porch jam. Find them if you can; you won’t be sorry.
