Two faces of local pop

New noise from the Gravel Pit and Buttercup

Cellars by Starlight by Brett Milano

The Gravel Pit and Buttercup are two of the more volatile bands on the local circuit. Sure, they're both pop groups, or at least groups that emphasize tunes. But they're as inclined to play it skewed as straight-ahead, to follow a tangent as to rock out. So it is that their new releases find them at opposite extremes. The new Gravel Pit EP (on Q Division, a teaser for the forthcoming album Silver Gorilla) leads off with "Favorite," one of the most unmitigated, feel-good pop numbers the GP have come up with. Meanwhile Buttercup, that band's third album (on Spirit of Orr), is a somber, stripped-down set that dispenses with pop niceties altogether.

If you knew him only through the new album, you might suppose that Buttercup leader Jim Buni was one miserable sort. The disc packs a good deal of heartbreak into its 27 minutes -- the lyrics outline fragments of encounters between estranged parties. The most uplifting song ("Take Me to Heaven") could be about romantic escape, death, or both. Even the packaging is self-effacing, with no text other than the credits and titles in small type. So far each of the band's three albums has taken a different tack: the first was pure pop, the second was heavily countrified, and this one's closer to the chamber-folk sound of Mark Eitzel. It's strictly a singer's album, with the rest of the band providing restrained support. And Buni's voice has taken on some of that Gram Parsons high-lonesome quality, even as Buttercup's live sound has been getting more electric and more upbeat -- last time I saw the band, they uncorked a convincing, thoroughly faithful version of the Cars' "Let's Go" for an encore. Their shows these days are about cutting loose, but the album's equally good for late-night commiseration.

There's an easy explanation for the contrast: the disc was recorded a full year ago. And sure enough, Buni was going through a break-up at the time. "I did get out of a long-term relationship, during and after that album. So the feeling is definitely, `I'm okay with this, but it's a bummer, too.' We tried to push it as far as we could go in that soft, melancholy direction. I guess I was trying to get out of the middle of the road. Our last album [Love] was more . . . not mediocre, but middling in every way -- mid tempo, middling volume, middling intensity. We weren't ready to rock out just yet, so we pushed it the other way instead."

The more recent about-face was prompted partly by internal changes -- (steel player Tim Obetz has left, taking the country influence with him) and partly by Buni's changing instincts -- "I figure you can only mellow out for so long." The irony is that the new disc seems poised to catch on a bit -- the great UK music magazine Mojo has already slated it to be January's "Americana CD of the Month." Which means that anyone coming to Buttercup shows expecting a little depression (or No Depression) will instead get a band rocking hard and doing Cars covers. They've got a set's worth of louder material slated for the next disc, and they're pondering a full album of covers after that -- which would include Buni's current favorite song, the Left Banke's "She May Call You Up Tonight."

And if the changing styles keep the band from getting big, Buni has no regrets. "I don't think there's much danger of us really catching on. As the years go by, I think less and less about becoming a `success.' Being successful would create challenges -- we don't do the band for that reason. We do it because it's a fun social experience."

Fun is also the operative word on the Gravel Pit's new EP -- and on the subject of the Cars, the lead-off track, "Favorite," could almost be a long-lost Cars single, with its sing-along chorus, handclaps, new-wave organ, and one of those chugga-chugga guitar intros that used to be Elliot Easton's specialty. It's one of the first happy love songs in the Gravel Pit repertoire. The lyrics on the last official album, Manifesto, were almost universally nasty, though the tunes were appealing enough that you almost wouldn't notice.

"When I listen back to that album and read some of the interviews I did at the time, I realize I should have been locked in a cage for a couple of years," singer/organist Jed Parish notes. "And I don't think I've changed at all, but maybe the words have. With us it's always the luck of the draw as to what makes the album. I always bring in some fun songs and some ridiculously dirty songs. Maybe the new stuff has more emotional range, because I'm less interested in telling people how fucked-up they are -- at least not in a song."

The Pit's Silver Gorilla should be out in February on Q Division, exactly a year after originally planned (the B-sides CD No One Here Gets In for Free was issued as a stopgap). "It's becoming like Aja by Steely Dan -- we had to bring in Steve Gadd to play drums, then one of the guys in Toto died of a coke overdose, so we had to get somebody else," jokes Parish in accounting for the delay. "If you look at the actual hours we've spent on the record, it probably adds up to three weeks -- but we spread it out over a three-year period. It does drive us crazy, because I think we could make a really good album every year. But the studio [Q Division] isn't a charity, and we don't have that luxury."

The album also changed a bit during gestation: last year the band suggested that the new disc would spotlight their more left-field side, but the EP says otherwise -- one standout, "Rusty Purple Pin," is a gung-ho variation on a Bo Diddley boogie lick. "By now we couldn't not sound like a band if we tried," Parish explains. "We've actually done songs for the album where nobody played together at the same time, but it's still the most band-sounding thing in the world. The group live is pretty much the same guitar and organ sound on every song, so this is produced enough to be like the White Album -- just a lot of weird sounds. We got experimental enough to put an Al Green feel into one of the songs. On the other hand, the first song on the album is the most Lyres-sounding thing we've ever done. I think we've exposed the range of what we can do, so it will probably confuse the daylights out of people." Get a sneak preview when the Gravel Pit play the Lizard Lounge next Friday, the 18th.

MIDDLE EAST REOPENS

There aren't a lot of circumstances under which one would feel grateful to be watching the Fun Lovin' Criminals -- unless they were the first band to play the Middle East after a 10-day closing. The club was shut down on the Sunday morning before Thanksgiving when a fire at next-door restaurant Pho République caused extensive smoke damage. The dark, tarp-covered front room of the Middle East was a depressing site over the holiday week. But last Tuesday found Middle East regulars back at their barstools, co-owner Joseph Sater running around tending to details, and the Criminals pumping out "Scooby Snacks" downstairs. There were a few cosmetic changes: the drop ceiling is gone from the upstairs room, and the downstairs floorboards are newly scrubbed and shiny.

Club patrons may not realize how close both the Middle East and neighboring T.T. the Bear's Place came to being vaporized altogether. Sater notes that his brother and business partner Nabil just happened to be in the club when the fire went up at seven in the morning: "He was prepping for brunch when he smelled the smoke. He called the fire department and it only took them five minutes. Just as they got here, the whole damn place exploded. If not for the quick reaction, the whole block would have gone up."

Nobody was hurt in the fire, but the Middle East did suffer one of the ultimate nightclub tragedies: it had to throw out some 950 bottles of alcohol. Add in the cost of refurbishing and the cancellation of a week of scheduled shows (including the Butchies and Satan's Pilgrims) and you're talking about a substantial cash loss. Asked whether his insurance would cover it, Sater said, "I hope so." But even though the clean-up lasted right until the start of Tuesday night's show, he was unruffled: "Everything's fine -- I worked all day, went home, and took a shower. Now it's party time."

Although the damage was less extensive at T.T.'s, the club didn't get off unscathed: it had to shut down for two nights (the Monday poetry slam was moved to the Phoenix Landing), repair some smoke damage, and toss out some of the liquor supply. "Even losing one night is a hard thing in this business," T.T.'s booker, Randi Millman, pointed out last week. "If we'd had to close for a week, it would have killed us. We were extremely lucky, but it makes you realize how close we came to losing the whole block. I feel bad enough about the Pho République, because I loved that place. Makes you realize you can go home one night with a building standing, come back the next day and it's a shell."

COMING UP

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones continue to rule the Middle East, tonight (Thursday) through Sunday. Duck upstairs tonight to see Bonnie "Princ" Billy, the latest incarnation of Palace Brother Will Oldham. Meanwhile Bosley is at the Linwood, guitar heroine Leni Stern is at Johnny D's, and Star Ghost Dog and Señor Happy are at the Lizard Lounge . . . Big fun at T.T. the Bear's Place tomorrow (Friday), as New Orleans rowdies Dash Rip Rock headline with Slide, Buddhist Priest (ex-Dogmatics), and Dave Herlihy's Toyboat. Also tomorrow, Ramona Silver is at Bill's Bar, Michelle Willson belts it out at Johnny D's, the Raging teens have a CD-release at the Linwood, guitar wiz Derek Trucks is at the House of Blues, and Helium play the Paradise . . . The Gigolo Aunts and the Pills are at T.T.'s Saturday, James Montgomery is at Harpers Ferry, and Lars Vegas is at Johnny D's . . . Supporting a terrific album, Saint Etienne hit the Paradise Sunday . . . Mr. Airplane Man continue a Toad residency on Monday, Oranj Symphonette are at the House of Blues, and the ultra-sensitive Rufus Wainwright is at Johnny D's . . . And there's ska midweek with Skavoovie & the Epitones at the Middle East on Wednesday.