Rick and Rose talk Play or Pose
Ed. note from Doug Hoepker:
We're lucky to have a pair of musical elders like Rick Valentin and Rose Marshack in town, if for no other reason than they are a walking encyclopedia of local music memories. The fact that their seminal group The Poster Children are still at it after 20-plus years is a whole 'nother feat worthy of our thanks. This Sunday, May 24, The Poster Children headline a reunion show of considerable note, the Play or Pose concert at The Highdive. Playing with them will be long-defunct (and in some cases departed) local powerhouses The Outnumbered, Cowboy X, and Lonely Trailer. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and the $15 cover benefits the Josh Gottheil memorial fund. (For more on Josh and his impact on the local music scene, listen to the podcast.)
When folks gather to talk about the "good old days" in the C-U music scene, the conversation is often centered on the early-to-mid '90s, when bands like Hum, Titanic Love Affair, The Poster Children, The Didjits, Adam Schmitt, Steakdaddy Six, Moon Seven Times, and Mother helped put the local scene on the national map. But the truth is, C-U was already a known player in the late 1980s, thanks in part to the bands on this bill.
In the following podcast, Rick and Rose wade knee deep in the nostalgia of this great era of C-U rock. Everything starts with Lonely Trailer, a three-part harmonizing, harmonica-wielding band who were of particular inspiration to a young Rick: "When I saw them it was like, 'Here's a band that's playing music I love just as much as The Minutemen." A certain cassette compilation purchased at Record Service — Bomp! Records' Battle of the Garages, Vol. 2 — introduced Rick to The Outnumbered. Lo and behold, he learned from the liner notes that The Outnumbered were a Champaign band. (This must've been what life was like before the Internets.)
Rose recalls Bad Flannel — a relative supergroup (in hindsight, at least) featuring Bill Johnson on vocals and Jeff Dimpsey and Balthazar de Ley on guitars — and the song they wrote especially for a UI Mom's Weekend concert (plus something about lighting one's nipples on fire?). Bad Flannel isn't playing The Highdive concert but will be entertaining the crew at a post-show party.
So, local music fans — if your vocabulary doesn't stretch back farther than Braid, then you may want to stop the posing and head to The Highdive this Sunday. In the meantime, enjoy Rick and Rose's entertaining podcast.
5 comments
Rick & Rose gave voice a theme: Everyone LOVED Lonely Trailer and the Didjits. It didn’t matter to what genres a person generally confined itself*. Mods loved the Didjits, and Rockers loved the Trailer.
It’s because they were both amazingly good. Great live presence, and great hooky pop songs (dressed as glam metal on the one hand ... the other dressed as a half-handed scarecrow, fishing from an imaginary cigarette boat on an uncut lake of ice, with a good friend).
*This is my new neutered third person pronoun. I hope it sparks a meme.
C-U Guy
Rob, no plug and/or reunion for Little Engine? “I heard it all….Through the Wall” Oh well. Maybe someday….
Matthis
Mods love the didgits, rockers loved the trailer…? What was the apt, that would have been in the South East area of the gazette parking lot? someones place, (WARD?) anywho, when i was seeing the didgets there, I don’t recall shit for mods in CU. Maker up of things, love it. Mods…? and the Lonely Trailer was dope, but Rockers? Think cleaned up jam band shit. Crack smokin’ is alive and well in the 217,
Jim Kelly
FYI, debating Rob McColley about anything will get you:
(a) nowhere
(b) somewhere
(c) underwear
Rock City - yes, that was where Ward and Rick Sims lived. Above the florist, now parking lot.
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I was all set to pounce on this, but it’s the truth. There used to be bands in town I was afraid of, like I’d have a heart attack during their set. There are still some great bands, but they’re pretty and dainty and low in cholesterol. …
I will be at Danu this evening. And seeing as tomorrow - St. Pat’s - is my birthday, I will be celebrating with tons of green and fun!
Big Blue will actually be on 6-9, despite what is posted elsewhere. Then, hightail it over to Bentley’s!
Ahh - good point - I will plug them in the appropriate sections.
Yeeee! This sounds so fun! Any word on covers for any/all of these? Maybe SP could spring for punch cards and some discounts if we make it to all, eh?
...and given the lack of smiley emoticons i chose to employ, that reads far more sarcastically than i ever intended (my apologies). i actually find this to be a great article and an interesting discussion, seriously : )
Once it leaves the basement, it is then called what? hmmm…....could it be mainstream? accessible? appealing on a mass-level? POP??? Quickly it will become a fad, over-saturate the media, and piss people off. Then everyone can write articles based on how that shit sucks, too. chickens are…
In general, I think music is much more interesting now than in 1995. I definitely am very glad contemporary music has expanded beyond the four-piece rock lineup that dominated much of the 90’s. The point of the above isn’t so much about a sound or an instrument…
2010 is not 1995. I’m not sure why anyone would expect a music scene to remain stationary as the world of popular music moves around it. Also, today, making popular music with mainstream appeal and being innovative and cutting-edge are usually exact opposites.
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Set your own life easier take the business loans and all you want.
Awesome looking lineup… I’m excited. Another vote towards the Smoking Popes rocking out at the first Laughing Prairie Dog festival… it was a pretty good energy, and plenty of groups considering the cheap ticket. The rest all look pretty good for the ticket price as well. …
(Not to talk too much, but I would delight in being proven wrong. I hope that there are many vegan dishes, and next time I am there, I will ask the owner for dishes that are vegan that are offered and post them as a comment here,…
I understand the disclaimer, and I appreciate it, but given the title of the article, it would be nice to have more of a talk with the owner and less of a “to the best of my knowledge” thrown in the article as an aside, when vegan…
Nate, No offers to crash but I was wondering if you’d ever considered publishing the plans to your trailer. You might make a dollar or two especially after you go solar! Let me know if you do it. Sincerely, Don
Not sure if it’s been mentioned here, but they’ll also be playing the Old Rock House in St. Louis on May 22
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(happy face)
Wow, great article. I wish you the best in your endeavors and hope you have a nice trip.
Um. Yeah — check out that “General Disclaimer” at the bottom of the article, folks.
As an adoptee, I can empathize—although I’m not an international adoptee, and I apologize if I’m assuming too much on the nature of your adoption. You can feel what you feel, but don’t be too hard on yourself. When I started a search for my birth family,…
I highly doubt a single dish is vegan at Bombay. Most Indian dishes use Ghee(essentially clarrified butter) as the base fat. While I guess they could make some dishes with canola oil, I would for sure ask the exact ingredients before I consumed if you are following a vegan diet.
You’re right! Every runner, in my opinion, is a real runner.
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Sounds like it!
I heading out on my 9 miler before my 10 hour work day right now. Do I have what it takes?
Nice, killer work pretty man…the channeled, one sided collaborated rhyming poem. An oft forgot genre. The ruckus was felt even here in my living room, which is normally a safe haven from ruckus.
wait, I was commenting on the wrong thing - sorry - he’s actually a gigantic sellout but who really knows what all this is about.
If the democrats didn’t have Kucinich, and the republicans didn’t have Ron Paul, where would both these parties really stand? These men actually mean what they say.
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Awesome looking lineup… I’m excited. Another vote towards the Smoking Popes rocking out at the first Laughing Prairie Dog festival… it was a pretty good energy, and plenty of groups considering the cheap ticket. The rest all look pretty good for the ticket price as well. …