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June 26, 2004
Immortality of Punk Lies in Bands Like Glassjaw
By Danielle Moskowitz
So they say “the punk cause is dead,” but if its influence continues to affect the music world, maybe they’re wrong.
When CBGB punk rockers the Ramones were quaking the New York underground in the ’70s, the Sex Pistols were rockin’ England and making it mainstream. Then it was “old schoolers” Agnostic Front and Murphy’s Law leading the independents through the ’80s into the early ’90s with their more aggressive take on punk. At the same time, Seattle’s Sunny Day Real Estate, New Jersey’s Lifetime and San Fran’s Jawbreaker were creating a more emotive kind. The melting together of the two approaches breathed life into the lungs of a hybrid style: post-hardcore.
It was 1995, and growing up in a Long Island town, my pre-teen friends and I fell for a local band-whose members were not much older than us-that was experimenting with the innovative genre. The band’s name was Glassjaw.
Two years later, I moved to New Jersey, where GJ fans were far fewer than in Long Island. But by 2000 their deal with Roadrunner records helped spread the good word across state borders. Soon, whenever the band played in New Jersey, you could hear kids asking, “When are we seeing them again?” minutes after the band walked off stage.
Their Roadrunner debut CD, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Silence,” has the unforgivingly candid vocalist Daryl Palumbo exploring self-deception and his battle with incurable Chrohn’s disease.
On the cut “When One Eight Becomes Two Zeroes,” he sings: “There's no other I can turn to, / if not you, heart, / who else can I believe?" And on their title track, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Silence,” he sings:
That burning feeling …
I'm wasting away ...
I'm the matador of the children's ward ...
It's typically Sunday. I'm digging a hole.
After signing with Warner Bros. in 2002 and releasing “Worship and Tribute,” Palumbo seems to be in a better place mentally. His lyrics are not so depressing. But why did the band switch to a major from an independent label?
“Warner Bros. Shared the long-term vision,” Palumbo said in an interview. “I’m not really fan of most major labels and how they conduct their business, but I really felt at home and that what I was going to say was going to be listened to.”
Don’t worry-“Worship and Tribute” is not short of exploding anthems by any means. Having been tremendously affected by 9/11, these New Yorkers put out the tracks “Cosmopolitan Bloodloss” and “Radio Cambodia” on the “Worship and Tribute” album with lyrics such as: “Hit is one more time for our men in uniform” and “It’s the heart of nuclear winter and you can bet I’m scared as hell.”
After 12 years, 25 member changes, two almost-break-ups and a decade on the road, vocalist Palumbo and GJ drummer Larry Gorman have started a side-project, the band Head Automatica.
Collaborating with some heads on guitars, bass and keyboard like “The Bastard Prince” (that’s the name he goes by), Jim Greer, Jarvis Morgan Holden and Craig Bonich. Famed producer Dan “The Automator” Nakamura of the Gorillaz album helps in the beat-making, body-shaking goodness.
Head Automatica’s feel-good-post-punk-garage-rock-shake-your-ass-new-wave-hip-hop-edgy-disco puree is ultramodern and fresh, yet poppy enough to be on radio.
For real, though, who would have thought that these post-hardcore heroes would evolve a brand of music that would make you dance-but not in the pit?
“The most drastic shift has been ‘Worship and Tribute’ to the Head Automatica ‘Decadence’ record,” Daryl Palumbo said in the interview at PNC Bank Art Center this summer before opening for the Civic Tour-But why now?
“I was touring with Glassjaw forever and never really had the chance to do the type of music that I always listened to and always wanted to play the most,” he said. “So when I knew the 18-month span of touring was over for the ‘Worship and Tribute’ LP, I knew I should seize the moment.”
Maybe it was brazen of Daryl and Larry to let Glassjaw chill for a while and shift focus on new endeavors, but their cult-like following doesn’t seem to mind. At their first shows before “Decadence” debuted on Warner Bros. last month, kids were packing into small venues like Chrome and CBGB’s, vibing and singing along.
That delicious angst-ridden, independent attitude that Daryl rocks is now topped off with a fiery coolness.
“Brooklyn is Burning” drops in with Daryl declaring: “I hear all the people cry. I see all the people nod. I got what the people want.”
Old-school beats, perfectly placed horns and tambourine, and scratchy, unrestricted rock guitar make for the ideal party anthem.
The song titles on the record don’t lie.
“Please Please Please (Young Hollywood)” exposes the debauchery of Tinsel Town and with its “Thriller”-like feel, “Disco Hades” puts movement in the bodies of the rhythmless. You’ll be singing along to “Disco Hades”: “I’m drinking heavily to slur my stroll and get some rhythm … / Maybe you can help me I am looking for someone to dance with / You know I hate dancing by myself.”
Rancid’s Tim Armstrong arrives fashionably late on track seven for “Dance Party Plus.” What starts off with a Glassjaw scream turns into flamboyant, elastic vocals. Tim’s distinct, coarse voice and a surprise female harmonization quickly make for the most unpredictable and complete song on the album.
When The Ramones started in 1974, they began liberating hopeless kids by showing them that anyone could have a voice and start a band.
Doing what you want and living up to your own expectations is what attracted people to punk then, and why they find sanctuary in it today. To ever allow punk to confine you to a certain sound or dress would be suffocating its very spirit.
Realizing this, Daryl and Larry agreed that sometimes it’s not about keeping the sound of the genre as much as it is preserving the independent mind-set.
Joey (May 19, 1951-April 15, 2001), Johnny (Oct. 8, 1951-Sept. 15, 2004), Dee Dee (Sept. 18, 1952-June 5, 2002) and Tommy Ramone would be proud.
Full interview is below.
DM: What inspired you to start Head Automatica?
Daryl: I was touring with Glassjaw forever and never really had the chance to do the type of music that I always listened to and always wanted to play the most. Then Larry (GJ's drummer) showed the same interest in music as I and we knew it was time to do another record so when I knew the 18 month span of touring was for the "Worship and Tribute" LP was over I knew that I should just seize the moment and do the record. No matter what I was going to do, Larry was going to play with me any way. And Automator, we're just huge Automator fans. I know Automator through friends back in NY so I called him up and tried to make it happen and we did.
DM: And on the album, you're playing guitar and bass?
Daryl: Yeah, on the album me and Larry play most of the stuff but in the band I just sing.
DM: Glassjaw's had twenty something members over the years. Since you've always known how to play bass and guitar, what kep you from just starting to play in GJ and stop trying to make a five piece work?
Daryl: When we would write it was always just me and Beck (Justin Beck, GJ guitarist) would man the ship and on those records I played some things but we always wanted a band. Beck and I always live by the idea that we wouldn't want anybody in Glassjaw who we could play their instrument as good us. We always try to stand by that and when we would see that that was not true we would stop. When we would realize we were way better bass players than somebody who's playing bass then we knew that it wasn't good anymore.
DM: Did you ever discouraged with all the member changes, like Glassjaw just wasn't working out?
Daryl: Yeah, yeah. Totally. There were two points in the history of Glassjaw where I had kind of left. Once I had started singing for a band called Stillsuit in NY but it didn't really last very long so we did Glassjaw full time after that. There was another time I was going to join another band somewhere down the line but I don't know what happened. But yeah, I've gotten discouraged. Oh yeah! I was a senior in high school and I was in the hospital. It was one of the first times I had gotten really really sick because of Crohn's disease and I remember being like, "I don't want to do it anymore." Being in the hospital made it clear what type of music I wanted to play. So we wound up doing Glassjaw and yeah, there were 25 different member changes over the years anyway.
DM: Would you say all the member changes kept shifting the direction Glassjaw was moving in?
Daryl: No, nobody ever shifted the direction Glassjaw was moving in. Me and Beck always knew what it was and what it would be. And nobody ever really left because they didn't like the music either. It was because they had to do other bands. Band on Long Island are incestuous. Everyone's played in everyone's band. I was in like every Long Island band at one time or another.
DM: What's going on with Glassjaw now? Are you working on a new album?
Daryl: We're together we just haven't been rehearsing and having the official Glassjaw all star squadrant meeting. Todd (GJ guitarist)started his own band called Easy Tiger. Beck works a lot, he's a very smart, business oriented man and I've been doing this. Eventually it's going to get on track. I kind of know what record I want to make with Glassjaw and I think Beck does too and everytime we talk we get a better of idea of what we're going to do.
DM: Why did you guys decide to go with Warner Brothers?
Daryl: Well any label was more the right label than Roadrunner, but Warner Brothers shared the vision, the long-term vision. I'm not really a fan of most major labels and how they conduct their business but I really felt at home and I really felt that what I was going to say was going to be listened to. 2 1/2 years later I'm really happy having chosen Warner Brothers.
DM: How did you guys get hooked up with doing a tour with The Cure?
Daryl: The man who produced the two full length Glassjaw albums, Ross Robinson he also produced the new "Cure" record and my manager works closely with The Cure as well and manages Ross Robinson so our world is running in the same circle as The Cure. The music speaks for itself on the Head Automatica record. I think we exemplify a lot of the essence of "The Cure" which was dancey-pop. A lot of what we do is dancey-pop with the whole shit-kick and bar-rock thing too. It just made sense to do that tour. I don't see a tour that would make more sense especially summer festival tours are where it's at. I've been doing summer festival tours for three years in a row now and I kind of like it.
DM: Can you talk about the shift in moods from "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence" (Roadrunner Records 2000) to "Worship and Tribute" (Warner Brothers 2002), musically and lyrically?
Daryl: The most drastic shift has been from "Worship and Tribute" to the Head Automatica, "Decadence" record. I mean you grow up. We wrote the contents of "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence" between 1996 and 7 and 1998. You grow so much. It wasn't like me and Beck wrote that record when we were 50. You don't change much from 50 to 52 but we wrote that record when I was 17 till I was 19 so that just pretty much guarentees when a person's going to change the most. Time changes everything.
DM: Is it ever hard to perform older songs because it brings you back to a certain time in your life?
Daryl: Yeah, yeah it does. It's not that it's hard to play them though. I won't play a song if it's about something I don't believe anymore. There are things that I embodied as a person nine years ago that I don't embody now.
DM: What is success to you as a musician and someone who's been playing music for so many years?
Daryl: If you're happy that's about all I care about but that's not how everybody measures it. I just want to be happy and keep playing music. That's successful. If I make money that's just money, that's not success. I won't mind making money right now. I've worked for a long time so to make money isn't too bad but that's not how I define my success. The fact that I've been playing music for twelve years and loved everything I did for the most part is successful as hell.
8.10.00
Butterflies. You know what those are, right? When you can't seem to calm down, no matter how hard you try; and neither does that fluttering feeling in your stomach. Well, I had those for a good 10 hours before this show. Why, you ask? Read on and you, my patient friends, shall learn the reason.
We were scheduled to interview GlassJaw in the late afternoon prior to show time at 6:30 (which turned into 7:00, mainly because shows held at the Palladium are rarely, if ever, without fuck-ups on behalf of the venue's part). We met and talked with vocalist Daryl Palumbo inside the very air-conditioned and very lived in Winnebago for a little under an hour. He seemed just as psyched for this show as any of the string of performances that preceded it. He and his band members are young, still hungry, and proud and grateful to be touring alongside of greatness (a/k/a: Deftones) and the show that GlassJaw gave the audience was proof of that.
The band took the stage and immediately began to taunt the anxious audience with a guitar intro that crunched then savored, lingering through the cavernous auditorium, then plowed into what would be an electric 30-minute performance that spotlighted songs from their Roadrunner Records debut "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence". At first, I couldn't get over how small each of the members were in comparison to how huge their sound was. These boys from Brooklyn had their work cut out for them, playing to a capacity audience of hardcore Deftones disciples that screamed "Chino!" at every given chance. However, all of my reservations about GlassJaw were laid to rest. This band must be seen in a live setting to be truly appreciated. Don't miss your chance when they go back out on the road for the second leg of their tour with Earth Crisis. You can thank me later.
The Palladium (otherwise known as "the shittiest venue on Earth") played host again to one of the most supercharged artists to ever grace it's ungrateful grounds. This tour in support of their latest Maverick Records release "White Pony" is one of the most anticipated and revered of all rock acts currently on the road. Deftones also just so happen to be one of three of my all-time favorite bands ever, which lent to those butterflies I mentioned earlier. This was a big night for this band, and for me.
Proudly sporting my VIP bracelet and green satin deftones/white pony photo pass, I strode nervously into the photo pit armed with a digital camera, and a killer Minolta complete with mondo-zoom lense, and proceeded to stake out the best spot to shoot "The Man" from. A half hour went by before the natives started getting restless. To entertain myself for a few seconds and relieve a little tension, I snapped a couple of shots of the anxious mob that seemed to literally be crushing itself to dust behind me.
Another cool element to the obnoxious waiting time was that Christian (Chino Moreno's adorable little boy), was scampering about onstage, testing the drums, the mics, the keyboards, and purposefully placing his Daddy's water bottle on Abe's drum riser for him, so he could find it when he got thirsty. Adoring Christian's sweetness and his uncanny resemblance to his father was enough to take some of the edge off. I snapped a picture of him as he innocently picked up the microphone that laid there ominous and motionless on a white towel, waiting for it's master to breath life into it.
Before long, the air went black, and screams brushed through my hair. Showtime. The butterflies were back. Stef's shadow was to my left. Then I could see Abe seating himself at his pale blue drum kit. Lightning flashes from cameras everywhere, Chi's mile-long dreads, a huge flash of sound and light. Then suddenly, the once lifeless microphone was swept up into the clutching fist of Chino Moreno, who was immediately moving all over every inch of the stage as the band propelled themselves into the explosive opener, "Be Quiet and Drive".
It was all I could do to not pass out from the adrenaline (pun intended). My hands wouldn't stop shaking, and Chino never stopped moving. Midway into the second song, unable to deal with the separation, he decided he wanted to become one with his audience, and looking down, said quickly, "Help me out, girl". I extended a trembling hand to help him down off the stage, then he got a boost from a crew member who held him up so that Chino was hovering over the frenetic crowd, singing with them and making contact, while the security staff were doing double-time, assuring that no overzealous fans were able to jump the barriers.
After that, and throughout the show, Chino was in what seemed like constant contact with the fans, as he has always done. The energy was overwhelming. I was mesmerized, but somehow retained enough composure to continue taking pictures.
Even with their massive and growing fan base, this is a band known for the absence of rock star attitude, and an overdone stage set wouldn't suit them. The set up was subtle, with a beautiful job done on lighting. A pinhole backdrop with bright, white light filtering through it created a blanket of stars on black velvet; an atmosphere as if the band were playing on the Moon, and the rest of the Universe was behind them. Luminous, deep violet light would wash over the whole audience, then fade into a chilling cobalt blue upon reaching the stage. Occasionally, a twinkling white pony or the Deftones marquee would appear on the backdrop, which reminded me of a giant Lite Brite board.
Deftones have also become known for the ability to make other bands' songs their own, and performed my favorite Deftones/Depeche Mode cover of the eerie "To Have And To Hold" much to my delight. Chino managed to tease us all with a few lines from Weezer's "In The Garage" and even a verse or two from "Ask Me" by the Smiths -at least until Stef messed up on his part, and Chino scolded him. "Hey! Don't play the song if you don't know it! I may not know all the words, but at least I know the song!"
The show was filled with memorable moment after moment. Not only did the band play all the songs from Around the Fur and Adrenaline that I had so longed to hear, including "Head Up", "Mascara", "Lifter"; they also cranked out several of the gorgeous new tracks from White Pony like "Korea", "Digital Bath" (which gave me chills) and "Change (In the House of Flies)". Los Angeles was treated to an in-person visit from the beautiful Rodleen, who screamed, shrieked, and soared with him during the powerful and disturbing "Knife Prty". The audience was a relentless, massive tornado that would gain momentum right along with each explosive song in the set.
The Deftones gave the audience a riveting, emotional performance; the effects of which lasted long after the band left the stage. The sold-out crowd slowly dispersed - sweaty, exhausted, and stunned. This is one band not to be missed. If you see no other shows this year, do yourself the honors and get yourself to a Deftones show.
Extra special thanks to Heidi at Maverick for my killer Deftones experience, and to Maria at Roadrunner and to Daryl of GlassJaw for the interview and for the time in the air-conditioned RV.
Lesa Pence
- lesa@unearthed.com
Detones fans rock! Thank you, goodnight!