Red scare

Junior Communist Club and One Way Records

Cellars by Starlight by Brett Milano

You can't ask for a better hook than the one that comprises Junior Communist Club: respected indie-rocker meets TV commercial-soundtrack honcho in a rock 'n' sample project. "I know, it sounds like we started with a press kit and then put the band together," notes Pete DuCharme, the soundtrack honcho. "Plus we've got the post-major-label thing, and people always want to hear about that," adds John Dragonetti, the indie-rocker.

In fact, Dragonetti and DuCharme have more in common than not: they're both examples of what Robert Fripp used to call a "small, mobile intelligent unit." Both come from the same background, having attended Berklee, played in songwriting-based bands, and become enamored of electronics. It happens that over the past year DuCharme had a major success (with a Volkswagen TV ad) while Dragonetti's band Jack Drag were getting dumped by a label, but both are well aware that's the luck of the draw. And since both have been friends for a good decade, the real surprise is that they've never recorded together before now.

"That's because we enjoyed bitching about our own bands so much," DuCharme explains during a breakfast at Carberry's in Davis Square. "Besides, bands can destroy friendships," adds Dragonetti. "That's why we started out just working together on tape." Their collaborative set, Junior Communist Club's Freedom of Speed (on Scientific), is an idea-filled EP that would have made an even better album. The four songs that officially make up the EP all land at different points along the rock/electronica axis, hitting both extremes: "Untrabollywood" builds seven minutes of sonic intrigue out of an ornamented drum pattern, and "Tidal Wave" is electronic Zeppelin with a hook. The two "bonus" tracks were the first things the duo recorded together, and they're more up the Jack Drag pop-collage alley -- though "I've Been Shot" is a bit more disturbing. The music is strong enough that you'd like to hear them go farther -- maybe trying their hand at an Orb-like extended epic, or pushing the Zeppelin sound to its arena-rock conclusion.

"I can see us getting more songlike with it," says DuCharme. "I sincerely think we're both novices with the electronic thing -- there are probably high-school students out there that know everything about trance/ambient. Not to push the point, but we're older. I'm into [Pink Floyd founder] Syd Barrett, and I think we're both into different things than `Hey, let's get a sequencer.' "

Anyone who heard Jack Drag's Dopebox album knows how Dragonetti uses his sonic knack to enhance a well-written pop song -- but as often happens, not enough people heard it. After getting the classic Boston reception (great reviews, low sales), they saw the bubble burst when their label, A&M, was absorbed by the Universal conglomerate. They got bought out of their contract, and apparently they didn't do badly: drummer Joe Klompus is now taking his first European vacation. Yet Jack Drag may be on their way out, at least in the current trio form. Bassist Jason Sutter is now packing off to Los Angeles to do session work; Dragonetti has already recorded another Jack Drag album by his lonesome. But he's about to begin a collaboration with mixmaster the Automator, and he's considering holding back the Jack Drag album to use as source material for that project. He pauses when asked whether the band still exists. "It's kind of vague at the moment. We're exploring different things, and we're all enjoying our post-Universal set-up."

Dragonetti inadvertently helped DuCharme on his big career breakthrough. The latter was doing a remix of Jack Drag's single "Seems So Tired," and he wound up sending it to the Arnold Communications firm as an audio résumé. "I knew I had friends who had pull there, but I didn't realize they had quite so much pull," DuCharme now says. A piece of snappy keyboard music he'd written made its way to a Volkswagen Jetta commercial, and DuCharme's career went through the roof. The original commercial is now up for an Emmy, and new offers are coming in all the time -- among his high-profile clients are Kodak, Tropicana, and Chrysler. It was refreshing enough to see an ad that used original music instead of recycling a '60s hit, but the propulsive nature of DuCharme's score -- the drum pattern in the ad is essentially the hook -- likely struck a chord with the advertising world. "If they want perfect electronica, they can probably get that from a guy in New York with some MIDI samples," says DuCharme. "The last two ads I did both had kids dancing in a club. They were both shot in Toronto, and it's probably the same kids." At the moment, a company he can't name is weighing two contenders for its next project: DuCharme and Norman (Fatboy Slim) Cook. "I'm flattered enough that they're trying to choose between him and me. I'm just hoping that he asks for too much money."

You've got to commend DuCharme for his lack of attitude, especially since he still works just as hard with his old indie-pop cronies. Right now he's co-producing tracks for his old band Star Ghost Dog. "As far as the ad goes, I feel like I'm ["Louie Louie" composer] Richard Berry -- I had my one hit, and this might be the high point of my career. Sure I'm appreciative, it's extremely cool. I'm just hoping that in the next five years I can get another ad with that much impact." But one of his favorite things about the VW ad is one that most people won't catch. "There are backwards guitars in it -- they're buried far back in the mix, but they're there. I say that as a point of pride, that we're still using all the things that Syd Barrett taught us."

ONE WAY RECORDS

Local producer and attorney Brooks Whelan has a bunch of historic tapes on his shelf, and he's just formed a label to put them all out. And so far the One Way label looks like a treasure trove for lovers of old-school Boston (or technically middle-school, since the recordings all date from 1985-'95). Released this week, the first batch includes EPs by the Devotions and Shake the Faith, full-length discs by Last Stand, the Outlets, and Left Nut, and a compilation, Boston Retroactive.

Complaints first: the packaging is lousy -- the discs come with no booklets, minimal photos, and no substantial liner notes. There's also little recording info -- a major omission when you're dealing with a band like the Outlets, who've been around on-off for two decades. The version of "Knock Me Down" (incorrectly titled "Knocks Me Down") on the Outlets CD is not the original 1980 single, but there's no hint as to when this version was made (I'd guess 1985, during the sessions for their Whole New World album, some of which is repeated here). Likewise, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones tracks on the Boston Retroactive comp are billed as their first recordings (in which case their name would still have been just the Bosstones), but no dates or details are given. In any case, their three tracks (including the first of umpteen versions of "Drunks & Children") are a surprise: done before the horn section arrived and the mania took over, they may be the slowest and most careful recordings the band ever did.

Fortunately, more apparent care went into the mastering -- everything sounds great, and most of the music holds up. Whenever it comes from, the Outlets' 18-song I Remember makes a good primer on this tireless punk-pop band fronted by hookmeister Dave Barton and featuring his brother Rick, now of the Dropkick Murphys, on guitar. Left Nut's Bad Attitude No Apologies represents the last gasp of the Rat's heyday. They sound tamer on disc than I remember them -- and their best song, "You Got Everything It Takes To Be an Asshole" ain't here -- but a lot of their drunk and dirty fun comes through. (And who'd have thought that one of these guys, namely bassist Mikey Welsh, would wind up in Weezer?) Even Shake the Faith, a band I didn't care much for at the time, do a polished power-pop thing that hasn't aged badly.

Best of the lot, the Devotions' EP Make It Go Away marks the overdue studio return of Real Kids leader John Felice. When these tracks were cut (probably circa '95), he had one of his best latter-day bands and his writing was back to full strength. The five tracks include one sad love song (sung with the Darlings' Kelly Knapp), three pissed-off ones, and one happy one; and this last is the pick hit. With its killer hook and horny/pleading vocal, "Something Bad" (as in, "I need you something bad") makes a worthy "All Kindsa Girls" follow-up.

The label is throwing a release party this Saturday (August 28) at the Linwood Grille, with reunion sets by Shake the Faith and the Sextons (including two writers of note, the Herald's Robin Vaughan and our own Matt Ashare). Coheadlining will be a band billed as John Felice & Friends, which the grapevine says will really be a rare appearance by the original Real Kids.

COMING UP

In what may be the most bizarre show of the year, the reunited Quarrymen -- at least the ones who didn't become Beatles -- hit Johnny D's tonight (Thursday). Mephiskapheles hit the Middle East, the Ducky Boys and Pug Uglies are at Bill's Bar, and Chandler Travis is at the Lizard Lounge . . . Big fun with the Muffs and Prissteens at the Middle East tomorrow (Friday). Betwixt are at the Lizard, Caged Heat and Heidi are at the Linwood, the Sheila Divine begin a two-night CD-release bash at T.T. the Bear's Place, and the Inflatable Men are at the Milky Way . . . English oddball/legend Kevin Coyne is at the Middle East with Chick Graning on Saturday; Babaloo are at Johnny D's. And popster Ad Frank plugs a forthcoming solo CD with Helicopter Helicopter at Sky Bar . . . Un Cuerpo Exquisito are at the Milky Way Sunday; Mr. Airplane Man are at T.T.'s . . . Merrie Amsterburg is at the Milky Way Monday . . . Reggae legend Bunny Wailer is at the Roxy Tuesday; wild Animal Eric Burdon hits the House of Blues and Barrence Whitfield & the Savages continue their residence at Toad . . . Patty Giurleo plays the Lizard on Wednesday.