Band: Nomeansno

[Andrew L.]

More Kerr-era awesomeness.

[m.koren]

More Kerr-era awesomeness.

Thanks for that Andrew. I missed them last night in Vancouver, so this fills the gap nicely.

[Andrew L.]

Fun to see John's kit center-stage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0ZXR9F8A6Q

[m.koren]

I just realized that Andy would have made a great regular in David Lynch films. Poor John , having to play a Pearl Export rental kit. Awesome stuff though.

[shagboy]

i was under-rested when i saw nomeansno on wednesday night... and i couldn't get into the stuff from the new album. didn't stay for the encore. they're really tight... but a lot of the songs are kind of boring

[m.koren]

i was under-rested when i saw nomeansno on wednesday night... and i couldn't get into the stuff from the new album. didn't stay for the encore. they're really tight... but a lot of the songs are kind of boring

I've seen them many times and yeah, if you don't know the songs inside out, it wouldn't be difficult to miss the subtleties (at that kind of volume ). My friend (who had never seen them and has only heard 'Mr. Happy') saw the same show and said much the same things you did. I'm with you on that new album...Horrifying !

[mackro]

What do you guys not like about the new album, just out of curiosity?

(And please don't say "it's horrible" again)

[m.koren]

What do you guys not like about the new album, just out of curiosity?

(And please don't say "it's horrible" again)

Lyrics , no vibe or atmosphere (think 'Mama'), riffs aren't memorable,rehash factor (these guys still put on a great show, but they haven't evolved since Mr.Happy), Andy's not playing on it , excessive slapstick factor etc..Don't get me wrong , I love what these guys have done overall, but the bar is set pretty high as is and they had 5 years to make the damn thing ! Hope that clears things up Mackro.

[mackro]

Well, it didn't take them five years to make the album. They only started fleshing out the songs in late '05... the entire album went from concept to ship in less than a year. They had taken a studio break for 4 of those years, Hanson Brothers aside.

Mama vibe? Not sure what you mean, as there's lots of guitar on this one and it's very lush, whereas Mama has no guitar at all and sounds really sparse.

And the "no Andy" thing isn't really fair since it's been 15 years since he was last in the band. If this was the first or second Andy-less album, then sure..

I know I'm sounding impetuous, so I apologize... I'm happy to agree to disagree, trust me. And I pretty much love all the records, however Ausfahrt is a Top 3 album for me alongside Wrong and Worldhood, so I'm just trying to figure out why I'm relatively alone here...

[Pure L]

........I'm just trying to figure out why I'm relatively alone here...

You're not. I really like this album.

I should mention that I don't dislike anything they've ever done so there's that......

Rob Wright is 50-something years old though. And he still has it. Not too many at that age can do that. Definitely possible. Just rare, I suppose.

I think disliking NoMeansNo is one of very few deal-breakers for me. I still don't see how one could.

EDIT: Oh yeah....the wife saw them for her very first show ever back in, like, 1990 or something. Someone punched John in the nose. She said blood was everywhere. I wanna say this was in Milwaukee or something. Does this ring a bell for anyone?

EDIT: Green Bay, maybe?

[garble]

I love Rob's voice, the bass playing is usually great, a handful of the songs really knock me out. But for me, there are entire albums which are almost unlistenable because of all the long, repetitively boring, stupidly worded songs.

Obviously the repetition really makes the great songs, but there are so many that are really typical notes played slowly over and over and over.

So, NC, but HIGH waffles. As in, I would never buy any of their stuff, or recommend it.

[m.koren]

Well, it didn't take them five years to make the album. They only started fleshing out the songs in late '05... the entire album went from concept to ship in less than a year. They had taken a studio break for 4 of those years, Hanson Brothers aside.

Mama vibe? Not sure what you mean, as there's lots of guitar on this one and it's very lush, whereas Mama has no guitar at all and sounds really sparse.

And the "no Andy" thing isn't really fair since it's been 15 years since he was last in the band. If this was the first or second Andy-less album, then sure..

I know I'm sounding impetuous, so I apologize... I'm happy to agree to disagree, trust me. And I pretty much love all the records, however Ausfahrt is a Top 3 album for me alongside Wrong and Worldhood, so I'm just trying to figure out why I'm relatively alone here...

-They had 5 years to come up with those songs

-By 'vibe' I mean ; a mysterious , spooky voodoo quality, emotional content , and conviction that their early home recordings, 'Mama', and all their Kerr era albums possesed (except Wrong, even Rob said he doesn't like it !).

- If Andy's not on guitar , they could have at least made the effort to find a replacement that pulls his/her weight both creatively and energetically . Tom is great in the Showbiz Giants but that is a VERY different beast.I feel that the brothers need someone who challenges them, rather than a guy who just keeps his mouth shut to earn a paycheck. In fact , I remember reading an interview with Rob where he said something like "Anyone can play the guitar parts , we just need a guy who we can get along with on the road". Smells like complacency. I don't know about you Mackro , but I think the music deserves something better than that ?

[Adam CR]

The new record is plain boring (for me). Some of the lyrics left me cringing, and the 'Oi!/ramalama' style that has always been present on the NMN fringes seems to have finally made a successful play for centre-stage.

If the record was by a new band, we wouldn't be talking/writing about it.

[mackro]

OK, now it's debate time! *rubs hands*

-They had 5 years to come up with those songs

Did you ever think that, possibly, musicians will take breaks from writing music for long periods of time, and that, just maybe, it's OK if they do that?

Can't wait for your "You had SEVEN YEARS to write Excellent Italian Greyhound" review of the new Shellac.

--By 'vibe' I mean ; a mysterious , spooky voodoo quality, emotional content , and conviction that their early home recordings, 'Mama', and all their Kerr era albums possesed (except Wrong, even Rob said he doesn't like it !).

OK, you like the "spooky" albums or else you don't care. That's your taste/opinion/etc. Although, just out of coincidence, you're the first person I'm ever seen dismiss Wrong for not having conviction.

-- If Andy's not on guitar , they could have at least made the effort to find a replacement that pulls his/her weight both creatively and energetically . Tom is great in the Showbiz Giants but that is a VERY different beast.I feel that the brothers need someone who challenges them, rather than a guy who just keeps his mouth shut to earn a paycheck.

"Tom keeping his mouth shut just to get a paycheck." Wow. I mean, I don't know where to begin. Aside from maybe Tom's first tour with the band, which would be normal for anyone new joining a band to not act like Ronny James Dio, how did you deduce that Tom keeps his mouth shut for the Wrights just to get paid?

-- In fact , I remember reading an interview with Rob where he said something like "Anyone can play the guitar parts , we just need a guy who we can get along with on the road". Smells like complacency. I don't know about you Mackro , but I think the music deserves something better than that ?

Quote? Time period? Inducing complacency from a band member based on a quote you recall in a "something like [quote] was said" is pretty fuzzy.

[m.koren]

OK, now it's debate time! *rubs hands*

-They had 5 years to come up with those songs

Did you ever think that, possibly, musicians will take breaks from writing music for long periods of time, and that, just maybe, it's OK if they do that?

Can't wait for your "You had SEVEN YEARS to write Excellent Italian Greyhound" review of the new Shellac.

--By 'vibe' I mean ; a mysterious , spooky voodoo quality, emotional content , and conviction that their early home recordings, 'Mama', and all their Kerr era albums possesed (except Wrong, even Rob said he doesn't like it !).

OK, you like the "spooky" albums or else you don't care. That's your taste/opinion/etc. Although, just out of coincidence, you're the first person I'm ever seen dismiss Wrong for not having conviction.

-- If Andy's not on guitar , they could have at least made the effort to find a replacement that pulls his/her weight both creatively and energetically . Tom is great in the Showbiz Giants but that is a VERY different beast.I feel that the brothers need someone who challenges them, rather than a guy who just keeps his mouth shut to earn a paycheck.

"Tom keeping his mouth shut just to get a paycheck." Wow. I mean, I don't know where to begin. Aside from maybe Tom's first tour with the band, which would be normal for anyone new joining a band to not act like Ronny James Dio, how did you deduce that Tom keeps his mouth shut for the Wrights just to get paid?

-- In fact , I remember reading an interview with Rob where he said something like "Anyone can play the guitar parts , we just need a guy who we can get along with on the road". Smells like complacency. I don't know about you Mackro , but I think the music deserves something better than that ?

Quote? Time period? Inducing complacency from a band member based on a quote you recall in a "something like

was said" is pretty fuzzy.

- By mentioning the 5 years they had, I was implying that they (like any other group) could filter out any inferior material , and would very likely have had a surplus of songs to begin with (they all write music yes ?). Apparently, the end results don't spell this out . Needless to say, a Shellac review (from many of us here) will be forthcoming ( may challenge for the largest thread EVER on EA ). I am optimistic they will not disappoint.

- My bad on the Wrong implication. Conviction aplenty. But , it's mostly a fast punk album that doesn't go too deep and sounds live off the floor with few overdubs. Nothing wrong with that , but these guys have a hell of a lot more to offer wouldn't you agree ? And Rob did put the album down publicly ( UBC 's 'Discorder' interview circa 1994). Do you really think I made that up?Hell no Mackro.

- You misquoted me about Tom, but let's just say I've had the opportunity to observe the group's inner workings up close, and I won't retract what I said. I won't elaborate any more than that either, so you have every right to take my statement badly . I'm okay with that. Funny you should mention Dio. He has been the regular butt of Tom's onstage jokes for years.

- Remembering that quote from Rob about finding a guitarist was easy actually.Why? Because it floored me when I read it ('Terminal City' interview at the time of 'Dance of the Headless Bourgeousie' ).

- (Shades of Matthew here...) This will be my last post on Nomeansno for a very , very , very long time. Thanks for reading.

[mackro]

I'll just add that quotes aren't engravings. I mean, we're talking about some of the most cryptic people around when it comes to public persona. They're not RESIDENTS cryptic, but sarcasm sans snark makes up a large percentage of quotes from any current or past member of Nomeansno. If Rob said "we just need *a* guitarist" in one interview at one time, I wouldn't take that too seriously. Had he kept saying this, then I could understand. That's just one of a gazillion examples with this band. But anyway...

[chet]

If Rob said "we just need *a* guitarist" in one interview at one time, I wouldn't take that too seriously. Had he kept saying this, then I could understand. That's just one of a gazillion examples with this band. But anyway...

Hah, I wouldnt trust anything they say in a formal interview setting or press release or whatever- they're almost always messing with you. Have you seen their website? Is even one post on there serious?

But this is what Rob said to Mark Prindle about Tom -

Yes, he had a huge amount of trouble [learning the old songs]. When Tom joined us, he was just a charmer; he wasn't much of a guitar player. I tortured him for about eight weeks before we went on his first tour with us, and it was like pulling teeth. It was terrible. But over the years, of course, he's become very adept as a guitar player. With us, it was more his personality and ability to perform, his sensibility. Those were more important. Anyone can learn how to play an instrument.

Maybe not a joke then...

[InToronto]

Nomeansno are in no way crap. I've seen them a bunch of times, including twice on their last swing through Ontario. The local show was epic and ferocious, and the two guys I brought to see them for the first time looooved them.

Tom Holliston's role in the band has grown steadily, so I hope no one's taking statements and recollections that are years old and hanging them on him today. He's writing, he's singing a decent portion of the lead vocals, and he does a lot the talking. I loved Andy's contribution to the band, but there's no real logic to comparing it to what Tom does because they're very different guitarists / performers / people. Saying that Tom doesn't play the old songs as well is like saying Andy doesn't play the newer songs as well. Get me? The band has continued to evolve, and it's had nothing to do with Andy Kerr for a long time.

I like 75-85% of the new album, so that's still a win in my book.

PS: I don't have a book.

[enframed]

i haven't been a real fan since 0+2=1 but i love their older stuff. saw them in isla vista (uc santa barbara) back in 92 or something. they were amazing live, one of the best live shows i've seen.

[Andrew L.]

more vintage junk