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Thursday, September 16,1993
The Battalion
Page 3
Texas’ growing crop of musicians
V; v
House of Usher
By Margaret Claughton
By*. The Battalion
"A slinky groove-oriented freak
fest of funk cheese."
That's how Britt Tucker, lead
singer of the Texas funk band
House of Usher, describes the
band's music.
Indeed House of Usher
does seem to have a cer
tain Funk appeal, at least
according to the average
800 people who invade
Charlie's Under the Wa-
tertower every weekend
to see them perform.
"We get a great re
sponse when they play,"
said Charlie Piper, owner
of Charlie's Under the
Watertower. "They have a great
sound and good style. They really
play the crowd well."
House of Usher impressed
Piper so much with their perfor
mance at a KANM benefit, that he
made them the house band for
Charlie's.
Kevin Bomar, owner and pro
ducer of Air Play recording studio
was equally impressed.
"I've heard it all, so it takes a lot
to impress me," Bomar said. "I
had a good feeling about House of
Usher from the beginning. They
have a cleaner sound than the Chili
Peppers but with the same funk
appeal."
Bomar recently made a deal
with House of Usher to record
Art work by
Angel Kan
their first CD.
With his help, the band is print
ing their songs through Texas Plat
inum Records.
Mick Southerland, the band's
bass player, said, "The album will
have all of our previously unre
leased material on it. It's second
generation funk with a message."
Many of the band's
songs make a point or
emphasize an issue the
members feel strongly
about.
"Some of our songs are
like public service an
nouncements," said Ty
Southerland, Mick's broth
er and guitar and vocals
for House of Usher.
The song "Think" ad
dresses the band's concern
for environmental matters, and the
lyrics of the song "Benediction"
speak of the immorality of televan
gelists.
In addition to recording a new
CD, Coors Light has agreed to do
extensive promotion for the band.
House of Usher, started by
Mick, officially came together in
May of 1992. Most of the members
knew each other prior to playing
together. Rich, Ben and Britt are
former Texas A&M students.
"I played with Rich Bade (key
boardist) in another band," Mick
said. "And I used to lift weights
with Britt."
"Mick called me at Sam Hous
ton and asked me to play with him
and Rich one weekend. It just
Kyle Bumett/THL Ba ttalion
House of Usher (Ty Southerland, left; Rich Bade, back; Britt Tucker, Ben Kent and Mick Southerland, right) perform at Charlie's Under The
Watertower every weekend. The band has recently begun recording a new CD and have agreed to be sponsored by Coors Light.
clicked. I couldn't believe how
good we sounded," Ty said.
Ben Kent, drummer, joined the
band in August of 1992 after the
original drummer, Scott, left.
House of Usher recorded their
first album, "Bovine Watering
Whole," in August of 1992 after be
ing together only a few months.
"We popped out a tape just af
ter everything came together," Ty
said
The songs on "Bovine Watering
Whole" are somewhat assorted.
"Some are political and some
are about sex," Tucker said. "A
few are deep, but most of them are
light-hearted."
"Their music has a fun genuine
sound," Bomar said. "I want to do
justice to their music to make it
competitive. I don't want the
recording to sound over-done."
As far as the recording goes, the
band doesn't seem to be too un
nerved.
"We're shy and we are taking it
slow," said Kent, "but it's not too
much of a big deal anymore."
"Listening to the finished prod
uct is exciting," Bade said. "I think
this is our best yet."
Doug Supernaw
Ian Moore
Supernaw
By Lesa Ann King
The Battalion
Many aspiring country
music songwriters and per
formers travel to Nashville,
Tenn., in hopes of landing
their first recording con
tract. But, rising coun
try music star and
Bryan native
Doug Supernaw
found another
way to make a
name for himself
in country music
- by traveling and
performing in his
home state of
Texas.
Supernaw's re
cent success with the num
ber one country hit,
"Reno," has helped him
keep the country
honky-tonks packed all
across the state.
Supernaw, like his mu
sic, is down to earth and
hard country to the core.
In 1987, he moved to
Nashville looking for his
singing break while he
worked aS a staff song
writer at a local publishing
company.
His passion, however,
was performing on stage;
and in Nashville, places to
play were hard to find.
"You can't set yourself
apart because
there's no place
to play in
Nashville," Su
pernaw said. "By
the time you get a
band together and
travel 40 miles out
of town to play,
you're losing mon
ey."
Frustrated with
Nashville, he came
back to Texas and put to
gether a band called Texas
Steel that quickly became
known as one of the hottest
country dance bands
around. Supernaw's knack
for high-voltage entertain
ment earned him an avid
following.
Supernaw said gaining
See Supernaw/ Page 5
By Joe Leih
The Battalion
Amazingly enough, Austin gui
tar slinger Ian Moore has no prob
lem ripping through solos,
belting out tunes or creat
ing a mix of ardent blues,
rock and soul. But alas,
he still falls far from per
fection.
The impossible task of
ducking the population's
preconceived ideas just
isn't in Moore's mastery.
"I'm not saying I'm
the most 'out there' cat in
the world," Moore said. "It's just
hard for people to classify things
as new and unusual."
For example, Moore refutes the
notion that he's a traditional blues
player.
"I can't make a claim to be a
delta blues man," Moore said. "I
am a human being. I have my
own blues. . . and talk about what
I know and who I am."
Nonetheless, many people
claim that they do in fact already
know who Moore is - the next Ste
vie Ray Vaughan, the late, great
Austin blues master.
"(The comparison) is kind of a
mixed blessing," Moore said. "It's
a positive thing when people say
that. I loved Stevie,. . . but I am a
lot different musically."
In fact, Moore be-
lieves he is much more
than a six-string devo
tee.
"My guitar playing. . .
that tends to be a domi
nant factor," Moore said,
"but I am a singer/song
writer as well. I try to bal
ance all three of them."
And Moore does bal
ance all three talents, but
help from bandmates
Michael Villegas (drums), Chris
White (bass) and Bukka Allen
(keyboard).
All four came together in
Austin after Moore returned
from playing with Los Angeles
pop star Tim Carr in 1989.
"It was not music," Moore said.
"It was all about image and pos
turing. I decided that I was never
going to be that kind of artist."
So, Moore gathered the band
together and eventually recorded
the album, "Ian Moore," that was
with
Moore
released this July.
Matt Howard, publicity assis
tant of Capricorn records said the
new release has done remarkably
well.
"The album is ready to pop na
tionally," Howard said. "His cur
rent single 'How Does It Feel' is
See Moore/ Page 5
: ' • L- — “
Music Reviews
Mellencamp mellows out...
Human Wheels’ reveals soft side to the small town man
Sweet nostalgia. Tailor’s (tasks revived
By Jacqueline Ayotte
The Battalion
"Human Wheels"
John Mellencamp
Rock
Mercury Records
Album courtesy of CD Warehouse
Remember the days when John Mel
lencamp was John Cougar Mellen
camp? He could yell out words like
"car," "truck," or "jack and Diane" and
make a song out of them.
You guessed he was incredibly
hoarse from all that yelling, but his mu
sic still had a cool beat to it that was
distinctively all his own?
Well, Mellencamp's new album "Hu
man Wheels" has a much softer touch, a
clearer voice arid a refreshingly new style.
The title song "Human Wheels" is
the most impressive song on the album.
It begins with the slow glide of an elec
tric guitar and a synthesized voice that
has a classic electricity to it. Mellen-
camp's voice sings softly afterwards,
adding depth to this lightly textured
mix of old and new sounds.
"When Jesus Left Birmingham" is a
very simple song lyric-wise. Yet, the
words flow along perfectly with Mel-
lencamp's gentle sing-talk, a sharp beat
of the drums and the beautifully pow
erful voice of background singer Lisa
Germane.
"Sweet Evening Breeze" and "To
The River" are two songs both light on
the guitar and smooth on his voice.
They definitely add to Mellencamp's
fresh new style.
The only problem with the new style
in "Human Wheels" is that practically
every song has the same pattern. Near
ly every song starts out slow, with
hardly any instruments other than the
slight touch of a guitar or a few beats of
a drum. It then begins to grow into a
louder, faster song, followed by Mellen
camp's voice getting stronger the faster
the beat becomes.
This pattern does drag on, but at
least it's a slight change from the sound
Mellencamp used to be famous for. It's
nice to see how a talented musician's
transformation in music style can keep
that fire burning.
By Jacqueline Ayotte
The Battalion
"Selections From James Taylor -
Live"
James Taylor
Classic Rock
Columbia Records
That delicate sound of sweet
nostalgia. . . oh yes, James Taylor
is back.
"Selections From James Tay
lor - Live" is like a visit from a
long lost soul mate. Only this
time, Taylor's not just reliving
past memories. He's adding on
a whole new dimension to fif-
f Sv
1
teen of his timeless classics by
recording them live.
The deep meaning within Tay
lor's lyrics have always unlocked
bittersweet tears, grins and fears
you never knew existed.
But hearing them on his new
live album triples this tantalizing
effect.
"Fire and Rain" still makes
you cry, "Mexico" still makes
you want to party and "You've
Got a Friend" still inspires; but
now they all sound crisper,
clearer and truer than ever.
Each song feels good, with
Taylor's soft, familiar voice
sending messages of pure emo
tion to your heart.
If you've always loved Tay
lor's music, adding "Selections
From James Taylor - Live" to
your collection is a definite must.
And for those of you who
aren't familiar with him, listen
ing to this album is an experi
ence you'll never forget.
James Taylor is the king of
soft classic rock/and unless
you're heartless, this album will
affect you forever.
V
/
z/Mi
III
111
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