Issue 17--March '99
NEWS
Shows--
* March 20th at The Glass House in
Pomona
* March 27th at Que Serra
---more information
at a later date
*Order the Lassie Foundation's full
length album "Pacifico" by mail--
Send $13 cash or money orders (made
out to Eric Campuzano) only, to 235 Doverfield,
Placentia, CA 92870, USA
($15 for those ordering outside of
the USA)
*Join the list serve that was recently
started for the Lassie Foundation by Matt Brown. Go to:
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/lassiefoundation
The Lassie Foundation Live Review
Nashville, Tennessee proudly proclaims its nickname "Music City USA." That name is most appropriate during the annual Extravaganza. The Extravaganza, or "X99" as it was known this year, is an event organized and hosted by the Nashville Entertainment Association. The event was originally held during one night and was designed to showcase local talent to the music industry.
This year, X99 spanned three nights, from February 11 - 13. Over 300 bands performed at numerous clubs throughout the city. Every genre of music could be heard from Bluegrass to Jazz to Rock to Pop and all variations in-between. Artists signed as a result of their performances at previous Extravaganzas have included Gillian Welch, Matthew Ryan, The Verve Pipe, Cowboy Mouth, Jack Ingram and others.
It was on the opening night of X99 that The Lassie Foundation made a rare excursion outside the confines of Southern California to take the stage at Nashville's legendary rock club The Exit/In. Located mere blocks from the campus of Vanderbilt University in an area that used to be known as "The Rock Block," the club has seen its share of up and coming bands over the years that have gone on to some measure of stardom and/or critical acclaim. The club recently changed ownership and has undergone some much needed remodeling, including the addition of a new sound system.
Promptly at 8:15, The Lassie Foundation
took the stage. Jeff Schroeder and Eric Campuzano took places on
opposite sides of the stage. Jason-71 strapped on his bass.
Frank Lenz took his place behind the drums, and Wayne Everett walked up
to the microphone with tambourine in
hand to announce, "We're The Lassie
Foundation. We're from California. This is 'Crown of the Sea.'
And just like that, The Lassie Foundation launched into a six-song set
of their masterful, distorted pop.
The all-too-short set was made up of
a mix of songs both familiar and new. Those who have heard the legendary
"Pacifico" album knew "Crown of the Sea". That song was followed
by the new, uniquely titled "You Can Shoot Me Down, But You Will Always
Believe." Another new song introduced by Everett as "the inappropriately
titled 'Shogun'" sounds like it is destined to be
another pop masterpiece from the band.
"Shogun" was followed by the familiar "I Can Be Her Man" in a harder rocking
version that sounded more like the live version from the "Dive Bomber"
EP than the original cut on "California." "She's the Coming Sun-She's
Long Gone," another cut from "Pacifico" was next. Suddenly, Everett
announced the last song for the evening, another new song called "Conquer
Me" that was quite possibly the best song of the short set with its infectious
pop hooks.
The X99 schedule left no room for encores
or any sort of banter between songs. For the most part, the performance
by the band was straightforward and no-nonsense. The band members
appeared to be a little tentative, which is understandable given the situation,
the tight time schedule and the strange surroundings. The band sounded
quite good, although I thought the
sound was strangely subdued for The
Exit/In. Past shows I have attended there have been almost painfully
loud. The mix seemed just right. Schroeder's slashing guitar
leads, Campuzano's rhythm strums, Jason-71's bass and Lenz's drums all
were discernable without overwhelming one another. Everett's falsetto-style
vocals have never sounded better, and Lenz provided excellent backing vocals
on most of the songs.
The crowd wasn't huge, but it wasn't
sparse either; especially considering that several other more highly publicized
shows were taking place at the same time at other venues in Nashville.
It was obvious that a number of those in attendance at The Exit/In were
there specifically to see their
beloved Lassie Foundation perform.
With any luck, this won't be the last time we get to see the band perform outside Southern California. We just have to be patient while we wait for the rest of the world to catch on to the wonder of The Lassie Foundation.
-David Reynolds
Links
Havalina Rail Co. Website- http://www.havalina.home.ml.org
Nzine- http://come.to/nzine
Official Lassie Foundation Website- http://www.rollanet.org/~johnston
Sukafoi- http://come.to/latemag
The Redcrown Republic http://327.com/redcrown
Three Twenty-Seven
http://www.327.com/
Send any comments to: johnston@rollanet.org
Contact the band at theLassief@aol.com
Send any links with a site explanation
w/ a subject of "LINKS" to johnston@rollanet.org
Please e-mail address changes or to
unsubscribe to johnston@rollanet.org
Thanks to-- David Reynolds and the Lassie Foundation
-alyssa johnston