 Back
in 1995, when the Muffs' break-through disc Blonder and Blonder was released
(the one with the catchy single "Sad Tomorrow"), Muffs front woman Kim
Shattuck was competing with Courtney Love for space on the planet. Rumor
has it that the title Blonder and Blonder is a reference to a snarky exchange
about hair color between the two pre-Donnas prima donnas. They've since
made up, apparently, and Love even makes an appearance on the Muffs' latest
release, Hamburger, in the form of a rambling voice mail about a stolen
dress.
While Love has passed into the slick, inaccessible
world of super-stardom, Shattuck
remains the same as she ever was -- the screaming, slightly insane girl
next door. Which is not to say that either Shattuck or the Muffs have been
standing still. In fact, on the band's most recent studio disc, 1999's
Alert Today Alive Tomorrow, and on their current tour, the band sounds
better than ever. The song-writing, focused as always on break-ups and
blow-offs, is even more bristling and clever, and the tunes are increasingly
complex but still percolating with power pop glee. The over-all feel of
the band has grown from young punk cockiness to solid, self-assured, don't-back-down
attitude.
The Muffs have been around since 1991,
formed by Shattuck and Melanie Vamma after the demise of their earlier
band, Pandora. Ronnie Barnett and Criss Crass, on bass and drums respectively,
held down the beat. Vamma departed the band in 1995, and Roy McDonald (ex
of Redd Kross) replaced Crass on drums, and that line-up held stable for
the next several years. Despite personnel changes, the Muffs have managed
to maintain their  unique
dirty power pop style. The band dwells in a diverse neighborhood where
the Shangri-Las, the Divinyls, the Pixies and Sleater-Kinney all live happily
together on the same street. Shattuck's trademark screaming vocals share
equal time with the sweet harmonies of Brill Building girl groups, and
squalling waves of feedback routinely give way to a low-fi, surfy feel.
Most recently, the Muffs have been an entree
on the Warped Tour menu, and they are currently peregrinating across the
US and Europe in support of Hamburger, a 30-track collection of b-sides,
rarities, demos and what-have-you that is an excellent sampler for people
of impeccable taste who are not yet familiar with what the Muffs are about.
The current incarnation of the Muffs is a slightly modified version – for
the tour, McDonald has been replaced on drums by long time pal o' the band
Jim Laspesa. The band's web site indicates that McDonald's departure was
amicable and temporary.
Live, the band. is sometimes drenched in
drama, with personal feelings worn prominently on band members' sleeves.
At other times, the Muffs are simply a hard working band that puts on a
solid show, has a good time doing it, and wants you to have a good time,
too. A recent  show
in Boston fell into the latter category, but before a show several years
ago in the same venue, I witnessed living proof that songs like "[Hit You]
Right in the Eye" come from somewhere real and genuine. I watched Shattuck
smash a beer bottle against a tiled wall in the men's room during a screaming,
heated conversation with Barnett, with whom Shattuck once was involved.
Now ain't that what rock music's all about?
Want
More?
Check
out The Muffs Official site
The
Unofficial but band connected site
Photos and artwork taken
from the official site for The Muffs. |
