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Saturday, Oct 11, 2008
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Good taste is timeless * |
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| Good taste is timeless * | ||
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by Maggie Bloodstone -
SGN A&E Writer THE HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS: BOUND TO LOSE NORTHWEST FILM FORUM NOVEMBER 16 - 21 This is what I mean by synchronicity: The day before I went to the press screening of Sam Wainwright Douglas & Paul Lovelace's documentary on the folk-rock duo The Holy Modal Rounders, I was oddly compelled to peruse the used record bins of the Capitol Hill Value Village. There, mixed in with Sergio Mendez and many well-played Streisand LP's, were near-mint copies of 'The Holy Modal Rounders' and 'The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders.' The likelihood of coming by these items anywhere outside of speciality record shops is considerable, equal to the discovery of my first Ramones album in a Kent, WA junk shop for 50 cents in 1978. But to come by them just prior to seeing the first, and long overdue, filmic history of two of American music's most unique players, is like, cosmic, bro. Likewise, cosmic synchronicity certainly must have come into play when Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber were introduced by a mutual friend in 1963. From the start, blues guitarist Weber and Bluegrass fiddler Stampfel were joined at the hip, musically, spiritually, and intellectually, evident as they sing, squabble, and reminisce their manic way through Bound To Lose. An act like the Rounders could only have been born and bred in the '60's, when the spectrum of popular music stretched to include everything from the campily sentimental (Tiny Tim), to the insanely sublime (Frank Zappa) and beyond&'beyond' being The Fugs, easily the most joyously pornographic band that ever jacked a Strat (and whose iconoclastic attitude proved highly compatible with the Rounders, who played on the Fugs' early albums). Weber & Stampfel's sound richly deserves the (ridiculously) overused appellation 'On Acid:' Blues and Bluegrass-based rhythms mixed with impossibly catchy melodies and gloriously warped lyrics clearly inspired by Sandoz' most popular export. Besides a permanent place in the hearts of Dr. Demento fans, courtesy of their homage to mammary glands, 'Boobs a Lot,' the Rounders were best known for a track on the flawlessly assembled soundtrack of Easy Rider, 'If You Want To Be A Bird,' which gave them more exposure than most pre-MTV bands got in a lifetime. Bound To Lose showcases Weber & Stampfel's musical expertise and singular style with vintage and recent concert footage, interspersed with interviews with contemporaries such as Dave Van Ronk, Monkee/folkie Peter Tork, Dennis Hopper, and actor/playwright/former Patti Smith bed warmer Sam Shepard (who drummed for the Rounders for a spell). These scenes orbit around revealing examples of Weber and Stampfel's relationship, which at times suggests an old married couple much too used to each other's company, but inextricably linked through music and a distinct lust for life (in Weber's case, often to excess, though he comes off as refreshingly unapologetic, effusive, and downright charming-a hippie even Eric Cartman could love). One scene in particular sums up their relationship perfectly: During a recent show, the pair are engaged in a half-serious argument that looks as if it might last all night; but instead, just as the tiff peaks, they seem to simultaneously click and segue seamlessly into Johnny Cash's 'Going To Memphis.' Cosmic, dude. Near the end of the film, as if some celestial hand intervened to give the story an unexpected twist, as Stampfel and bandmates prepare for a show in Portland (one of several reunions), Weber suddenly and mysteriously disappears. A concerned but professional Stampfel goes on anyway, giving a terrific show nonetheless, and while Weber appears to be alive and well somewhere on the planet, the reason for his exodus remains an enigma. This is an excellent, heartfelt chronicle of a piece of slightly obscure musical history, a prescient profile of two authentic originals- to quote Dave Van Ronk, "I Don't think what they do can be taught." Or imitated, co-opted, or ignored. While it would be unbearably trite to call Weber & Stampfel '60's survivors,' it's the plain truth, and their unvarnished tale offers any music lover far more satisfaction than any ten Hollywood biopics of any ten dead rock stars. Bound To Lose plays at The Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Nov. 16 through 21, 7 & 9:15 P.M. Sam Douglas Wainwright will be present for the Friday and Saturday show (so maybe you can ask him personally what exactly happened to Steve Weber). * For you non-music geeks, that's the title of the 1970 Rounders' album that featured the immortal 'Boobs A Lot'. |
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| Film Festival Pictures | |
| Halloween on Capitol Hill
Slide Show photos by Joey - SGN photographer |
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