More about Duos
I have a terrible urge to point it out when a "new" idea was originated years ago. F'rinstance, decades before South Park, there was a book called Liverpool Jarge in which the titular character was killed in each chapter, only to return to life (without explanation) in the next. The White Stripes got a lot of attention for being a guitar/drums duo, from music fans who may not remember that there were a lot of guitar/drum duos in the 1980's, including the Chickasaw Mudd Puppies and the Flat Duo Jets (who reportedly inspired Jack White), the Furors from Connecticut (who have been performing for almost three decades), and one of the original bands on the Athens scene, the Method Actors.Vic Varney (vocals, guitar, bass) and David Gamble (drums) released their first single (“The Method”/”Can’t Act”/”Bleeding”) in 1980. They followed it with a 10" EP entitled Rhythms of You, and the album Little Figures (which was available in single and double LP versions). All of these were released on the defunct Armageddon label, and none of them have been compiled on CD, which is a shame. Little Figures got great reviews in the British music press.
Vic Varney also brought the sax and drums duo Blurt to the attention of Armageddon Records. I wish I still had my copy of Blurt in Berlin, but I gave it to Jon Ludwig a long time ago, because I wanted him to hear “Puppeteers of the World Unite”.
Vic Varney still makes music, and teaches at UGA. Dunno what happened to David Gamble. You can visit Vic online, as well as the Method Actors’ Myspace page.
“Halloween” is another song that I have loved for over 20 years, and a favorite of Mrs. Manyjars. It’s not specifically about Halloween, more about the changing of the seasons and how (especially here in Georgia) you can get outside a little more when autumn arrives. “Summer’s over/Here comes the weather.” “Halloween” makes beautiful use of steel drums (as does another Method Actors’ classic, “Rang a Tang”). I can’t think of many other rock songs that use steel drums, except for the Super Furry Animals’ “Northern Lites”.
Bret posted the Method Actors' Luxury EP a couple months ago at Post-Punk Junk. Bret's blog gave me the kick in the pants to start my own, because I was afraid he'd post all the good stuff I wanted to write about!
Method Actors: Halloween
2 Comments:
could you repost this song?
Thanks
Consider it done, sir or madam. Look for it in 10/2007.
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