March 2000 Parasol Newsletter

Issue #29

SPOTLIGHT

National Skyline-National Skyline CD
(AHA-CD-015) $9.50
Originally formed during the autumn of 1996, National Skyline is the brainchild of Jeff Dimpsey. To fill the down time while touring the US in support of Hum's successful major label debut, You'd Prefer An Astronaut, Dimpsey set about writing a 40-plus minute song. At home (Champaign, IL) during a tour break he assembled a live band that included Nick Macri (C-Clamp, Euphone), Derek Niedringhaus (Castor, Sarge), and Dimpsey's eventual full partner in National Skyline, Castor's Jeff Garber. With brilliant chemistry born of friendship and shared influences, the group rehearsed a number of times and successfully completed writing the 45 minute song. National Skyline performed their epic in Champaign and Chicago's premier music venues, and in the spring of 1997 hired Poster Kid/Salaryman Rick Valentin to commit said epic to tape. Though the master tapes still exist, the tracks were not mixed and this incarnation of National Skyline never performed again. After an aborted line-up in which American Football's Steve Lamos replaced Macri, Dimpsey and Garber retreated to Dimpsey's newly purchased 24-track home studio to proceed as a duo. Employing drum machines, keyboards, and samplers, the duo wrote a collection of songs, seven of which appear on National Skyline's debut mini-album. Fusing Antarctica's '80s revivalist retro-goth-pop genius with Radiohead and the streamlined gospel-empathy of U2's The Unforgettable Fire, National Skyline offers seven tracks full of painstakingly programmed electro-nuance and guitar-dreamscaping. To further complicate National Skyline's family-tree, Garber and former Milk Magazine Co-Publisher/Compound Red member, Jim Minor, will tour the US during the summer 2000, sans Dimpsey. 2 guitars, one DAT machine, a massive light show, and beautiful male vocals, coming soon to a venue near you. (Shipping the second week of March)

Sarge-Distant CD
(Mud-CD-043) $10.00
So bittersweet in parting, a collection of new/unreleased/rare Sarge tunes, nearly everything they recorded that hasn't been released, plus vinyl gems and assorted whatnot. Distant leads off with three new, unreleased songs recorded by Sarge's final line-up, Elizabeth calls them 'demos', we call them smashing and beautiful. Crackling with energy the album then lifts off with six dangerously electrified live tracks, blistering versions of "Stall," "Fast Girls," "Half As Far," "Dear Josie, Love Robyn," "Homewrecker," and "The First Morning." This batch was recorded at Chicago's Metro and notorious Champaign-Urbana rock club Mabel's in 1999, during fellow local scene heroes Braid's series of farewell shows. The teenage kicks and twenty-something lusts that made Sarge such a powerful spectacle on stage are documented herein. Distant also includes their cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" from the "Stall" 7-inch single, available for the first time on CD, plus Sarge's wholly unreleased version of Nancy Sinatra's You-Go-Girl classic "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", and the cover of Wham's seasonal smash "Last Christmas" from their 1998 My Pal God Holiday Compilation appearance. The album closes with two new, unreleased acoustic numbers, Elizabeth and her guitar, pure pathos. "Distant", the title track; and the closer, the carefully worded, somewhat wounded "All My Plans Have Changed." Sarge has disbanded, though singer/guitarist Elizabeth Elmore will surely continue marching on. (Shipping the first week of March)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

…there was a recent discussion on the Todd Rundgren based "Wizard" internet mailing list regarding June & the Exit Wounds' a little more Haven Hamilton, please and that album's supposed debt to early Todd Rundgren material. You can catch up with some of the action here. Thanks to all Wizard list members that took the back-and-forth as inspiration to purchase Haven Hamilton. More June & the Exit Wounds news…the March issue of Great Britain's UNCUT magazine will feature a Haven Hamilton track on the magazine's free sampler CD. UNCUT will follow in April with a full album review and an interview with band leader Todd Fletcher. Other reviews will be appearing soon in Select, Melody Maker, and Time Out London. And you folks with access to German Rolling Stone check out the June & the Exit Wounds song on a recent "New Voices" sampler. Finally, any Parasol customers flying to or from Japan on Japan Airlines? In February there was a song featured on the in-flight programming schedule out-bound from Japan and in March there will be one featured in-bound. Almost makes me wanna buy a round-trip ticket to Tokyo…

COMING SOON

• Matt Bruno-Punch and Beauty CD due in April
• White Town-Peek & Poke CD due in April
• National Skyline-National Sklyline CD due in April
• George Usher-Days of Plenty CD due in April
• Elk City-Status CD due in April
• St. Christopher-Golden Blue CD due in May
• Vitesse-Chelsea 27099 CD due in May

SOME PARASOL RELATED ARTIST ANSWERS SOME QUESTIONS

Starlet's Henrik Mårtensson

1. Mixing session you wish you could have attended-
Henrik: "I would love to have watched and listened when Kraftwerk mixed Trance Europe Express back in 1977."

2. Songs you think you probably shouldn't like but just can't help yourself-
"I usually do not think in those terms. I am not ashamed of my taste."

3. Favorite record that you can't find on CD-
"Right now I really miss London Weekend by Another Sunny Day."

4. First Concert-
"I saw Björn Skifs when I was really, really small. My parents have told me that I found it very hard to believe it was actually him. I kept asking, during the show, if it really was Björn Skifs in front of me."

5. Favorite Bass Player-
"Kim Deal of the Pixies."

Henrik Mårtensson plays bass for Starlet, and in addition to being a University student, is a photographer. I've seen his work on an Acid House Kings album, and he recently traveled to the south of Sweden for a Leslies photo session. Starlet's second CD, Stay On My Side, was just released and is scheduled for attention in SPIN, CMJ New Music Monthly, and others. Thanks to all Parasol Mail Order customers who have already purchased this album. You must be telling friends because it is PMO's fastest selling Parasol new release in years.

The Archive February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 September 1999
August 1999 July 1999