Tucson Weekly: Soundbites (July 16

NOISE OF ART AT NIMBUS: It's not often that I receive press kits that include not only an artists' statement, but a résumé detailing grants and fellowships, as well as a list of performances, installations and exhibitions--but then Scot Jenerik is no mere or ordinary musician.
Sound Bites The San Francisco pyro-artist was featured on the cover of the San Francisco Weekly (November 12, 1997) with his most recent creation, an instrument known as "Thor": four-and-a-half feet of piping with multiple sets of strings and springs amplified by various pick-ups and electronics, which also doubles as a blow torch, and upon which he rages mercilessly. Jenerik's highly conceptualized, abstract and intellectualized pyrotechnical and aural experimentation is anything but (to make a bad pun) generic.
Said Jenerik to Manson Jones of Industrial Nation: "My performances tend to be about the conceptual manipulation of the physical; be it theoretical physics, perceptions of friends, or psychological constructs of reality. I am, however, not attempting to directly communicate my perceptions or experiences, but rather my attitude based on them. My performances are about physicality. By utilizing sonic noise and rhythms, fire and an extreme output of physical energy, I am attempting to create, through vicarious means, an environment of physical transcendence for the audience."
Pretty heavy stuff.
Jenerik is joined by composer and multi-instrumentalist Thomas Dimuzio on a 13-date tour cheekily titled "Noise by Noisewest." Their Tucson performance is at 9 p.m. Saturday, July 25, at Nimbus Brewery, 3850 E. 44th St. Each will perform solo, followed by a collaborative piece.
To be sure, this is not music for pop purists. It pushes the limits of our definitions of music, existing uniquely in the vibrant vital space where experimental music, performance art, dance and theatre converge.
Cortex Bomb opens the show, and Nadia Hagen of Flam Chen dances with fire in the parking lot after the show. Tickets are a meager $3 at the door. Call 745-9175 for more information.
RELEASE PARTIES: No one can accuse Bob Log III of walking the straight and narrow. Following his pillow fight/pajama party held recently in the Ladies' Room of the Loft Cinema--I would've loved to spread the word on this one, but found out about it too late to do so--he performs a celebratory release party at 9 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at the Yankee Doodle Pizza Palace, 1929 E. Grant Road. Fat Possum Records--home to R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among a cast of nefarious others (see "Playing Possum," Tucson Weekly, Feb. 26, 1998)--recently released his solo cassette and record single. Pajamas for this gig are optional, but please wear something, and do check out the late-night pizza and pasta specials. Call 325-1771 for information.
The Hillbilly Hellcats are back in town pushing their new release, Our Brand, with a show at 10 p.m. Sunday, July 20, at the Double Zero, 121 E. Congress St. This is their second release to feature Taz on skins. (He was the powerhouse behind the Reverend Horton Heat's first three albums, well before it was martini time.) The band follows up two spring performances here in the Old Pueblo, one each at the Double Zero and Club Congress. KFMA's "Hot Rod" Ron has featured them--along with show openers James Dead--among his sensational playlist of root, rockabilly and swing music. If you're wondering what to expect from the performance, check out Ron's show "The Checkered Strip" from 9 to 10 p.m. Sunday on your way down to catch the Hellcats' sensational live performance. If the Hot Rod-O-Rama at the Rialto last month revved your engines, don't miss this show. Call 670-9332 for ticket prices and information.
The Organ Donors announce the release of Mixed Blessing, their first CD, with a BBQ celebration from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday, July 19, at the Boondocks Lounge, 3306 N. First Ave. The band is scheduled to fill a Saturday slot once a month at the Boondocks, so be sure to watch for them!
On the subject of release parties, last Saturday's TAMMIES' Cantankerous release party at The Rialto Theatre, which featured performances by nine talented local bands, was an all-ages, unadulterated success. All the bands gave strong, though necessarily short, performances to a cross-section of local music fans. Shoebomb was the obvious favorite, though, sweeping the lobby of its lounging hoards to crowd the dance floor. Following their very tight, rockin' set Shoebomb, departed the stage amidst cheers for more--I actually saw people singing along. Bravo!
ANOTHER MUST SEE: Punk heroes The Vandals rock the Casbah with Nerf Herder and The Ataris, giving new meaning to punk underground at 9 p.m. Sunday, July 19, at the Double Zero, 121 E. Congress St. The show is all-ages, bar with ID. Call 670-9332 for ticket prices and information.
SIGNING OFF: The end has come, and as with all departures, that means it's time for thank you's and good-bye's. Times like these always seem to be marked by a particularly nostalgic song, and for some reason the song that comes to mind is David Bowie's "Rock and Roll Suicide," the live performance from Ziggy Stardust, The Motion Picture. It's the very last song on the record, which he prefaced with, "Not only is this the last show of the tour, but this is the last show we'll ever do," prompting the audience to fits of screaming. I'm at a loss to know why this particular song seems apropos, but there's such feeling and knowingness in Bowie's delivery of the opening lines, "Time takes a cigarette/And puts it in your mouth...." Pretty corny, huh?
I've never been in a position to write acknowledgments, and have snickered more than once at the countless, embarrassingly personal and flowery acknowledgments you find amidst liner notes--syrupy testaments that ramble on longer than Oscar acceptance speeches, and are usually just about as clever.
Nonetheless, since this is my last "Soundbites" column for the Tucson Weekly, I'd like to throw any semblance of self-consciousness to the wind and indulge my sentimental side by giving thanks to a few special people: Editor and publisher Doug Biggers, for taking a chance on an unknown writer; my editors Dan Huff, Mari Wadsworth and Jim Nintzel, who consistently made both the workplace and copy more interesting; The Weekly staff and freelancers for their unflagging friendship, support and patience; Jennifer Murphy and Max Cannon for the leg up and all the laughs; and lastly my very lucky stars. After a short vacation, I'll be switch-hitting for the music scene by heading into the A&R arena.
To all those involved in the Tucson music scene, struggling to do their part--I wish you the best of luck! Even when you've disagreed with the opinions expressed herein, it's been gratifying to know you're listening. Many thanks.

--Lisa Weeks

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