I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: LES CLAYPOOL AND THE HOLY MACKEREL presents High Ball with the Devil (1996).

After making Tales from the Punch Bowl, Primus took a brief hiatus (again).  And in that time, Les made a solo album.  And it is a full solo album.  Les plays all of the instruments on the album.  There are some guests, especially on “Holy Mackerel” (the song that feels the most like a full song.  Mirv from Limbomaniacs plays on a few songs and Jay Lane plays drums on a few songs.  Joe Gore plays guitar on 2 songs and Charlie Hunter plays guitar on “Me and Chuck.”  Les is a decent player on the various instruments although the songs with the guests are more robust.

Les said he had a bunch of songs that he felt weren’t quite right for Primus.  And I can see what he means.  Because, while the voice and bass is unmistakably Primus the album doesn’t sound like Primus.

Having said that, “Running the Gauntlet” does sound like a ditty (1:36) that Primus might play between longer songs.  “Holy Mackerel” feels like it could be a Primus song, but not exactly–there’s something slightly different about it.

But really once you get to “Highball with the Devil” the disc takes on more of a solo feel with Les playing in different but established styles–things that just wouldn’t really work within Primus.  “Highball with the Devil” has a fun bass riff and simple guitars.  I really like it and you can see why he didn’t give it to Primus.  “Hendershot” is a kind of surf rock song (Mirv on guitar).  It’s really fun  “Calling Kyle” has some good music to it, but I don’t really like the vocal delivery.

“Rancor” is a faster song (only 1:22) with Les’ crazy vocals.  “Cohibas Esplenditos” features the electric bowed backsaw (from Mirv) and a cool guitar and bass riff.  “Delicate Tendrils” has a very heavy guitar sound and a simple bass riff.  It is the backing sound for a Henry Rollins story.  Rollins is recorded low in the mix, which makes his story sound more like mumbling and is therefore less effective.  The fact that it is the dark and violent Rollins, not the funny Rollins makes it seem too dark for Les, even if the music works for it.

“The Wakening” features Jay Lane on drums and is a simple slap bass funk song.  “Precipitation” and “George E. Porge” are both solid songs.  “El Sobrante Fortnight” is a fun story song with a good funk bass and Mirv’s cool guitars.  The disc ends with “Carolina Rig” which features Les playing one of his interesting riffs over a sample from a fishing show.

Despite the fact that the album cover makes it look like an entirely homemade (and done cheaply) affair, the quality of the recording and of the songs is quite high.  It’s a good way to see what else Les can do.

[READ: January 12, 2015] “Rosendale”

I had read a few things from La Farge before.  And in looking at my post about “Another Life” from 2012 I see that April P (the main character in this story) was a bartender in the previous story.

April P returns in this story as the main character–a girl who had worked as a bartender but has moved to Rosendale to get away from the busy life of Boston and to settle in as April P, writer. She is living with a woman named Dara.  Dara is a potter and, unhappily for April P, she is a very handsy (April P. is convinced that Dara wants her).

April has been writing a novel called The Bar Girl, but since she has moved to Rosendale, she can’t seem to focus on it.  Dara had invited her to work at the ceramics store, but she said no way.  Rather, she began working at a strip joint (her only friend, Jenny, works there and said it was easy money–and it is–it’s like moving around with no clothes on).  Dara greatly disapproves of course.

I loved the way the story was constructed.  After the first section (in which we learned all of the above) the next section begins: “But this is all background information.  The actual story of Rosendale begins on a rainy Monday evening in March.”

Dara came home and found April P reading Dara’s copy of Frankenstein.  Dara talked bout the origin of the book (and the contest between writers) and April P says they should both try to write a horror story.  April P realizes soon that it’s a dumb idea as she has never written a horror story before.  Soon after Dara concedes as well.  So April P assumes it is forgotten.  Until a few weeks later when Dara brings April P to the ceramics story to show her the gigantic woman that she has created out of pottery–it is ugly and somewhat faceless and April P doesn’t know what to think, but she is creeped out by it.

And that’s when Dara starts talking about the golem story and how she wishes she could make this creature become a golem to protect women from sexual assault or to intervene in domestic violence-type situations.  April P nods and tries to leave is quickly as possible.  She is freaked out by this and it impacts her life on stage where she is suddenly more self-conscious.

And then one night, the golem walks into the club.  But no one else seems to notice.  In fact it begins coming two times a month (and it never tips).  But April is so freaked out that she asks Jenny where she can get some drugs.  So she goes off and buy some crack [I didn’t care for that aspect of the story, honestly]..

Later that Spring, Jenny invites April P to a party at a rich publisher’s house.  April P is fascinated to be around all of these rich people.  She is quite enjoying herself, until she finds out that she and Jenny are supposed to work there, as strippers.  April P is mad about the whole thing (although she is happy to have received the envelope of cash the next day).  And she decides to focus on her writing rather than hanging around with Jenny and her friends. So she begins writing her memoir.

At this pint the story interjects: “Notice that we haven’t mentioned the golem for a while.”  And that’s true, it hasn’t.  But the golem hasn’t gone.  And indeed, one night April P sees that it is staring at her from outside on the hill.

As the story rumbles to a close, Dara tries to get closer to April, but April accuses her of making the golem, which she is convinced was created to spy on her.

But before the story fully ends, “there’s one more incident we should relate.”  And it’s that April P starts writing about being in love with a  girl named April P, perhaps from the point of view of the golem?  The story seems to return full circle as certain information comes round again in an interesting way.

I really like the way that La Farge plays with storytelling conventions (in these two stories I’ve read) and I’m curious to see if there’s more to come about April P.