GoGoGo Airheart have always seemed a bit of a contextual anomaly to their west coast noise-punk cohorts, opting often, but not always, for a more melodic disposition. The group resembles Tortoise in its ability to channel different genres without becoming subject to them: their music is always exactly what it attains to be, and as such is whole, rather than a loose pastiche of disparate styles. On previous efforts, the aggression of British punk and Daydream Nation atmospherics have framed explorations of dub-reggae, live breakbeat and bedroom electronics. Michael Vermillion’s hushed, stream of consciousness lyrics are too ephemeral to be overtly political, and too suggestive to lose themselves in abstraction. Real Live Kill… is considerably less evasive, but no less challenging, than its predecessors; elements, both poetic and rhythmic, forge internal contrast

By formalist logic, an image obtains a moss of association that makes it virtually unrecognizable through habitual, mechanical recognition; only when placed in a new context, surrounded by new linguistic, aural, and visual components does it become real again and retain its visceral veneer. A classically benign riff evocative of Gang of Four opens Real Live Kill… and remains present across both sides. After a few bars, Ben White moves in with a more foreboding chord on lead guitar, and Vermillion plumbs his typically hysterical depths of esoterica, although the track’s dubbed-out bass work remains emotionally ambivalent. Juxtaposing internal components, the mood of instrumentation shifts frequently throughout the track, propelled by the two-drummer rhythm section that sees Andy Robillard back in the fold. The lyrical theme has a similar affect, asserting “love is forever and love is whenever / you want / to take control,” latent romanticism replaced by notions of sexual and social oppression. But this is still rock, albeit self-consciously so; the GoGoGo Airheart dynamic remains, above all, an axiom of sheer intensity.

taken from Dusted Magazine

GOGOGO Airheart - Real Live Kill…/Ripe From The Vine 7" Recorded at Singing Serpent, San Diego, CA with Rafter and staff, Fall 2001 Released on Gold Standard Laboratories

Reviewer -Chad Radford

To dismiss GOGOGO Airheart as the sum of their influences doesn't do them nearly the justice they deserve. Sure, comparisons to Public Image Limited, or in extreme cases, the Legendary Pink Dots -- not so much on this single -- are apparent, but the group always brings their own flare into the mix. The throbbing bass and warbly, high-end vocals certainly conjure up images of Jah Wobble and Johnny Lydon trudging their way through early PiL numbers like "The Chant," "Public Image," and so on. But these San Diegoans spend less time spiking up their hair than they do mashing it down for the bed-head look. Even so, GGGA's music has a little too much spring in its step to bare sole allegiance to the above mentioned acts. On this peach-colored single, the songs don't quite sink into the same deep cuts they've churned out in the past, but they do offer an unobstructed look at their take on seminal pop/dub songs. "Ripe From the Vine" kicks things off with a sped-up dub jangle in the guitar. The vocals float in and around the music, and of course the bass is all consuming. On the flipside, as the chant of the chorus in "Real Live Kill" swells up over crashing drums, it sounds as though GGGA have been taking notes from fellow GSL label mates!!!; which may be due to the second drummer they've added to the line-up. Falling in the wake of their recently re-issued debut, and at the feet of their upcoming release, Exitheuxa, these songs follow one of their most head-strong releases with two of their most danceable tracks, and quite possibly offer a glance at their future. This single may not be the most striking of GOGOGO Airheart's releases; but it is an airy and unpretentious plate that lands them on the funky side. A side for which they seem to be well suited.

taken from www.performermag.com


Gogogo Airheart 02.18.02 Real Live Kill... Ripe from the Vine 7" Gold Standard Laboratories

Gogogo Airheart have gotten a lot neater and less spastic since their full length cd on GSL. This 7" is super dancy and reminds me a lot of The Rapture crossed with !!!. The bass absolutely rules the school here and the vocals are mostly nonsensical "get up and dance" type call-outs. I mostly prefer the band's previous approach of spontaneity, but this release is excellent as well. The 7" cover is so blindingly orange that you'll flip!
taken from www.sincerebrutality.com

GoGoGo Airheart - Real live Kill... Ripe from the Vine 7" [gold standard laboratories]
review by Barbara H

GoGoGo Airheart come from the West Coast of the USA, they've been around for about 4-5 years. They play a groovy music, reminiscent of The Clash, NYC's Radio 4 and Make Up (especially the singer's voice). Clean guitar sound and a huge rhythmic section (dubbed bass and two drummers) on this 7". The two sides of this 7" are two parts of one great song "Real live Kill... Ripe from the Vine" that keeps on evolving, second by second. Their fourth LP will be released in May on San Diego label Gold Standard Laboratories.

taken from only angels have wings

Melvins with Go Go Go Airheart
By Patrick Johnson

By the time I got to the Casbah it was around 9:30 p.m. and the first band, GoGoGo Airheart, hadn't started yet so I had time for a couple drinks before hand. The Casbah bartenders are very friendly and cool. Don't forget to tip them, they work hard!
Anyway, around 10:00 p.m. GoGoGo went on and a crowd started to form near the front. This was the first time I had seen GoGoGo, but have seen their name around. They were very cool. The bass player was playing on the floor because there were two drummers. One with a full kit and one with a snare and bass drum, sometimes even bustin' out a trumpet. The keyboard player was rockin'. The guitar player/singer was all over the place. By the end of the set he was playing on the floor, too. Kind of funky at times because of the killer bass lines. They totally kept my attention. The crowd loved it. Next time I see that these boys are playing I will definitely check them out, and I recommend you do the same.
Next up, the Melvins. What can I say, they rule. I've seen them probably, at least ten times, and this was one of the best. The crowd was pumped for their return to San Diego. The band dressed in purple dresses with pink hearts all over and a big white "X" on the front took the stage. Except the drummer, Dale, in his usual speedo and gardening gloves. Right from the start was pure energy. Blasting through mostly newer stuff from their latest three album release on Ipecac Records, the Bootlicker, the Maggot, and the Crybaby. Throwing in a couple older songs from Stonerwitch mostly and it was an awesome set. Dale is one of the best drummers around, hands down. When he and the bass player, Kevin (Cows fame) get going, the rhythm pumps. The new guitar player, Dave, just adds to the already full sound and makes it complete.
When it was over, I had my dose of the Melvins for this round and can't wait 'till next time.

taken from www.modernfix.com

Gogogoairheart - s/t (Gold Standard Laboratories)

Much of Gogogoairheart's second self-titled album was written and recorded in their basement. Like most misfits banished to the basement (e.g., the stereotypical evil twin), Gogogoairheart have adapted to the subterranean by becoming slurred, distorted, and not quite right. While they have grown accustomed to their dank environs, they still haven't lost their spite for those above them in the surface world, their heavy bass rocking the terrain and shrieking guitar noise piercing through. Gogogoairheart's style is like that of 70s/80s post punk bands like The Fall filtered through late 90s style stutter/noise punk as led by U.S. Maple. At the heart of almost every song on their second self-titled album is a fluid bass line. The bass line keeps the song going, persistent and driving, while the keyboards, guitars, drums, and singer Mike Vermillion slur and squeal.
When the band decides to up the rock quotient, they even end up sounding like Sebadoh's more rock Bubble & Scrape-era moments. That's right, we're not talking "Soul and Fire" here; we're talking Eric Gaffney and "Elixir is Zog." Gogo's "Glad to See You" rambles and rumbles with similar mentally distorted straightforwardness.
Vermillion's soulful vocals are a strong point to the music despite their similarity to Ian Svenious of the Make Up and the bands' similarly bare bones lineup. But while the Make Up lives inside the joke to the point where, when they're being serious, it's hard to tell the difference, Gogogoairheart wasn't able to tell it was a joke in the first place. That's actually a good thing, though, because, in other words, they approach music as music instead of fashion.
The strong bass playing of A. Vyas and Vermillion's singing are enough to carry this album, and J. Hough's drumming is solid though acting mainly in a supporting role. Gogogoairheart far surpasses fake soul bands like the Make Up, though, with Ben White's keyboards, guitars, and random noise. White's guitar playing screams out in Tourette-ian spurts, like in "20 Darts," forcing out a manic phrase during the song's intro and repeating it intermittently throughout the song. His keyboards are used usually to either add random bursts of texture, as in the whirling noises of "In Case of Evidence," or to support and round out the bass parts, as in "For Your Will."
What do you have in your basement? Old furniture? Boxes full of nothing? Dust? Well, Gogogoairheart have made a home down there. That environment and recording style adds much to the band's sound, making it more raw, dirty, and forceful. If this record were done in a studio and ended up any at all slick, the songs wouldn't sound nearly as good.
Addendum (2000 oct 2): According to Ben White, none of this album was recorded in or near a basement. Sorry for the misinformation. Part was recorded in a garage, part at the Che Cafe.

jim steed 2000 aug 4

taken from www.fakejazz.com

Art rock for the new revolution.
by jamessqueaky | Dec 15 '00
Pros: very cool
Cons: none
Recommended: Yes

There is something very subtle and genius about Gogogo Airheart, which I haven’t been able to figure out if “gogogo” is supposed to be one word or not-I think so. Post Hardcore with a strange pop feel, as the press sheet says “with a contemporary interpretations of 60’s soul and funk (hence the insistent Make-Up comparisons). Not to mention the fact that the singer does sound a bit like a more laid back Ian Svenonious (without the screaming), or sort of like the singer of The Blood Brothers/ The Vogue. The music is all over the place, and meticulously artfully crafted without sounding tedious. The spontaneous nature of many of the songs sorta lend themselves to the idea that they were written and recorded all in the same evening-not to say that they are sloppy. Track 2 is a cover of a band that I haven’t heard of, but am now really curious about, The Pop Group. A song called “Trap” that reminds me of an intentionally torn-apart Gang of Four song. The entire album is very sharp and hits up and down like a very tense caffeine rush. Hyper without being loud and hardcore. Pop without personal sentiment. Cool effects. One of the better albums I’ve heard lately, for sure! (This is the Gogogo Airheart self-titled album that is on Gold Standard Labratories (GSL), which may or may not match with what epinions has put it under. It came out last year.)

taken from www.misterridiculous.com

Yankee Cardiac Pulsations
Voilà which should make accelerate the cardiac pulsations of some among you. And perhaps your palpitating will also pack it with the sound of the rock'n'roll nervous and stylé of the yankees of Gogogo Airheart , who seem also influenced by the white soul/r' B only by the rock'n'roll garage or psyché 60' S. Bien passeist all that you will say to me... and yet not! Not question of exhumation but rather to live its trip à.fond through a very live collection of maxis to the sound ( Gogogo Airheart standard "s/t"/Gold Laboratories-Ideal Weight).

taken from translation ???

GOGOGO AIRHEART s/t (Gold Standard Laboratories)
San Diego's Gogogo Airheart play their own version of late '70s style arty post-punk. From dabbling in dub realms to punching out frenetic, spasmatic, pop dislocation, Gogogo Airheart doesn't hide their affinity with The Pop Group, whose song "Trap" they in fact cover. There are also ample references to Wire's "Pink Flag" and even neo-Krautrock by way of The Fall, making for an excellent follow-up to GGGAH's great "Love My Life Hate My Friends" album. See them live. Buy their records. Gogogo Airheart kick ass. Say Jim & Cup.

Bushes Assholes Dickheads Woo 1999 Notes from the GoGoGoAirheart West Coast Tour
by Chris Woo [Excerpted. Buy your own copy for the rest of the story.]

A couple days before San Diego's GoGoGoAirheart were to embark on their third tour up the West Coast, I ran into them at a local music show at the Backdoor (generously put on by KCR, SDSU's college radio station free of charge). They needed a photographer to "document" it all and asked me if I'd like to come along. Since my part-time joby job hadn't been scheduling me that much, I almost immediately accepted the offer. Basically, if they had the film, I had the time. Right from the start, there were stories formulating between all three camps— GoGoGoAirheart, Syncopation (formerly Los Cincos) and Kammo (with members of Heat and the VSS). Going into it, I wasn't expecting to write a daily diary and become a bona fide tour historian—it just happened. I know that this is a tad long, but I did leave out some things. For instance, when we went swimming in an Olympia lake and found out later that it was polluted. Or the numerous times we listened to Moonshake in the car, confirming my speculative comparisons to GoGoGo. Then ther were all the different variations on the band’s name listed on fliers and publications: GoGoGo; Go Go Go Airheart, Go Go Go, Air Heart (as if two bands); Airheart. Anyhow, hope this gives you a taste of the dirt under my fingernails during the memorable two-week tour.
-Chris Woo

Tuesday, September 7,1999
In order to get our engines revved for the long and tiresome drive up to San Francisco, a few of us watched the hardcore rap parody Fear of a Black Hat on video over at Mike and Hash's place. The viewing provided us with lots of great laughs to kill time with, quoting passages like, 'It's our civic duty to bang the booty’ (well, I guess half the joke is in the delivery). Although it was slightly out side of rock's jurisdiction, the movie reminded us of Spinal Tap in more ways than one. After waiting all day for last-minute preparation, we drove all night and stayed with a friend of Hash's in Berkeley who is somehow related to former MTV V.J. Martha Quinn. It wasn't until we got there that I realized that I had no beddings. Who needs a bed when you've got floor space? I slept like a log anyway

Wednesday, September 8,1999
A warm and inviting welcome by the closing food court janitors for the first gig at San Francisco State University. The long, winding halls to the stage remindbd Hash of a similar scene in Spinal Tap and, strangely enough, people kept on referring to GGG's second album as the 'Black Album’ instead of its proper name. Mike Vermillion had been feeling nauseous since the drive, and his condition had worsened considerably enough to forgo performing. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened (I recall one San Diego show where Mike was absent due to a conflicting work schedule). But although most bands would be lost without their lead singer, GoGoGo still played. In lieu of Mike, Darren Boling, who came along to do a short set of his solo songs (conveniently backed by Hash and Jay), was involuntarily nominated to sit in on some GGGAH jams that were automatically administrated by the band. Darren had no idea what to sing but rocked the mike steady for a short while. Still, it wasn't all that bad for a guy who is the self-nominated Paul Weller of San Diego.

Thursday, September 9, 1999
Ashland, Oregon, was a sterile Renaissance town filled with thespians. I heard that one of the guys from Neurosis lives here, which makes perfect sense. Daddy-O's was the venue and hard as hell to find since its only entrance was through a secluded back alley Everyone we asked seemed to know where it was but never seemed to have been there (at a stop light, we asked a couple clean-cut boys for directions and they replied, "Down two blocks on the left side and ... dude! Green light! Green light!"). Sure enough, there were less than a handful of people there (not counting the life-size cardboard Elvis cut-out and eloquently framed portraits of Dirty Harry, Bruce Lee, and some guy that looked like Beck) and they were sitting in a booth at the back bar—the furthest point away from the stage. They acted as though the live music was a jukebox in which they had to throw their voices over in conversation. Healthy enough now to perform, Mike began berating them in song, but the attempt was feeble for such oblivous drones. Later he mentioned that some of his best shows are when the band makes mistakes and is able to recouperate nearly undetected. This was one of them if you counted the undetected part.
By getting acquainted the night previous with the Syncopation guys on their favorite Captain Beefheart albums (not to mention the new box set; and, of course, the comparative and contrastive slant of a more-rock than-blues Led Zeppelin versus a more-blues-than-rock Beefheart that I stole from a Greil Marcus essay), I could see much more clearly where they were coming from musically. In an attempt to try out some new material their drummer Jeremy Szuder fumbled his beats midway through the song and with a shrewd burst of anger vocalist Bobby Adams ran around the stage and yelled, "I can't believe you fucking forgot the song!" and just as fast was counting them off again with boiled blood. The whole sequence was so quick that it almost seemed like part of the performance, which inadvertently it was.

Friday, September 10, 1999
We all woke up camping next to a lake somewhere in Oregon since we had no one to stay with and certainly couldn't afford a hotel room on the $4 that each band made at Daddy-O's. We didn't even make it to Portland before our first breakdown. A shot water pump set us back a couple of hours. I went to get a snack at a convenience store across the street from Latino's Car Repair and found a nice Cup o' Noodles to fill the void in my stomach. I asked the clerk if he had any hot water he replied that he didn't know how to make hot water I found some tap water, but after telling Hash of the experience he wise cracked, "That's okay, once I forgot how to make powdered water." According to him, most people didn't even know which direction Seattle was, so the ignorance wasn't anything new.
By this time we had discovered a great malt liquor called Steel Reserve (a 24 oz. can for a buck!) on hand at almost any liquor store. I've once heard malt liquor described as "liquid crack" by authorities (on NPR) on the subject, but I don't smoke crack so l wouldn't know and ... anyhow. It's brewed in Portland so I suppose that is all most people who live in the Northwest forest have to do. Hell, look at us. One of the first things we wanted to do when we got to Olympia was visit the Olympia brewery. Sadly, we found out later that the plant had been bought out by a large conglomerate and closed to the public. We would have to be consumed by barley and hops another day.
We arrived at Olympia, Washington's Arrow Space (which resides above a great record store called Phantom City Records) at 11pm., just as the Los Cincopation guys were finishing their set. Perfect timing. Attendance was slim and none again, but the few who were there (i.e., Justin from Unwound, Dale from the Melvins) were held in high esteem by those who cared to notice. Some guy (sorry, it wasn’t signed) even gave the GoGoGoAirs a 120 page screenplay that he wanted them to do music for. It was called Misanthropolis. Nice. Later on we all crashed a gothic themed birthday party (so this was where all the people were!). It was too drab for me, with the exception of when someone changed the regular ingestion of Bauhaus (not that I don’t like Bauhaus, it’s just that Bela Lugosi is dead and all…) with Judas Priest’s "Breakin’ the Law."

Saturday, September 11, 1999
The first of two Seattle shows was canceled, so the bands decided to hang out in Olympia and play again at the same venue. Since there was little or no promotion for the show, the bands thought it would be a good idea to print up some flyers at a copy shop and pass them out at the Need show (the previous night) a few blocks away and also places like the Capitol Theatre, where Vertigo was showing. This cool weekend afternoon afternoon was the first chance3 we all had to take a breath, relax and walk around town. The farmer’s market was a popular place on this beautiful, sunny day. A lot of us enjoyed a tasty plate of potato and pea curry with rice—the first decent meal in days. Later we walked over to the capitol building, and I took a posed picture of Hash, Darren and Julian Dickerson (Synco’s saxophonist) saluting in the style of the Nation of Ulysses’ 13-Point Program to Destroy America art. Parliament Funkadelic was in town, and more than a few of us had expressed an interest in going to check it out even though we didn't have any money. By happenstance, I had discovered in an earlier conversation with Julian that his father was B.B. Dickerson of the funky Latin jazz band WAR. Julian had mentioned that his pops had been buddies with George Clinton since way back when, and once Hash found out, he put two and two together. After that, Hash and Julian were on a mission to smell Clinton's finger ... or at least reach out and touch the tour manager, tickle the old flame memory, and …[sheepishly]…"Would you mind putting 15 starving musicians on the guest list?" Unfortunately, Clinton wasn't on this tour. So instead of competing with the lesbionic forces of rock (as with the Need on the previous night), we were to be pummeled by the kings of psychedelic funk. Raw deal? Maybe not. The bands settled for getting their minds blown on their own music. And as a con olation prize, during the GoGoGoAirheart set Ben and Andy from Kammo came wobbling out of the back room wearing these huge blue alien headmasks. They gave each other a head butt and every one else a good chuckle.

Sunday, September 12, 1999
On route to Seattle we listened to a kickass tape of Jimi Hendrix playing live at Winterland in San Francisco back in '68. This reminded me of the new Hendrix museum in Seattle called "The Experience." I had no idea where it was so, since we wanted to go to the Space Needle to fulfill some tourist desires, we headed for the visibly tall landmark. Coincidentally, the two were right next to one another To our dismay, the "Experience" would have to wait until the millennium, when the museum finishes construction and opens its doors to the public.
We arrived at the bachelor pad of Frank and A.J., where we enjoyed the social niceties of a grand rock and jazz record collection. Strangely, the guys in Kammo insisted on playing A Nod is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horseby Faces (this happened more than once), which made a lot of sense while reflecting upon their music. We also watched music videos (i.e., the original ham himself—Brian Ferry—in a Roxy Music collection) and were bombarded with print media (in one heavily handled coffee table Playboy, Bobby revealed that he shared the exact same July 31, 1975, birthdate as October playmate of the month Jodi Ann Paterson). After spending some quality think time on the upstairs throne I came down to an empty house. I had been abandoned. I wasn't worried, though, since I remembered the name of the club, which was— get this—the Rendezvous. Some time later, a couple newfound friends gave me a ride to the club, which was divided into three rooms: one with a bar, one with a stage, and a dining hall connecting the two. A thick crowd began to accumulate as Seattle based band Stagger Lee ripped out some Stones-like jams. I think they even covered Let's Spend the Night Together," but I couldn't hear that well through all the people blocking the door. GGGAH began playing when I was waiting in line to get a drink at the bar. I finally got my drink and headed over to the performance room. To my surprise, Mike had met me halfway. He was in the opposite end of the adjoining dining hall singing bastardized lyrics to people squatting in a conversational void. Since he was berating the crowd in his own muffled performance vernacular, someone instinctively flipped the bird as if he had cut them off making a wrong turn. The feeling was mutual for Mike, who returned the favor with his own fervent finger stab towards the skies. The band was obviously upset about the lackluster demeanor of about half the club, which made it a pretty great show from the stage.
Former GGGvs.AH violinist Teri Hoefer, who dropped out after moving to Seatte in late '98, offered to put up a few members of the band. We drove over to her new place and whattayaknow! ... her apartment complex was the same one used for the filming of Cameron Crowe's Singles. She lives in the unit that Bridget Fonda used to occupy. Of course I was disappointed to hear that the famous elevator "sneeze" scene took place some where else (Hollywood?) because in fact there is no elevator in the building. I'll tell ya, any more warped realities will just be way too devastating to handle right now. I guess we got our Seattle "experience" after all.

Monday, September 13, 1999
While taking a break from driving at a Taco Ben [sic] today Darren said that he heard some woman fart while he was placing his order. Apparently she tried to play it of afterwards, which may have been twice as bad. The incident brought to mind a number of peculiar questions. For instance, when did farts start being funny? Is it funnier when the person who dealt it tries to play it off? Are farts ever taken seriously? Food for thought.
Portland was almost completely fly by night. The place was called 17 Nautical Miles, but the owner refused to give me an explanation on why it was called that since he proclaimed it to be boring and meaningless (and here I was thinking it had something to do with Moby Dick or some other seafaring tale). The opening local band, Silentist, had some really great Static-esque atonality. And how thoughtful for someone to throw My Relationship" on the PA to cool us down after their suit-and-tie performance. With the G x 3's, I've noticed a trend of shameless self-promotion incorporated into their nightly set. Money is low as ever, and few shows seem to have been properly promoted. The difference here is that all they have for sale are records. It reminds me of the beginning of the tour when I asked Hash if there were any band T-shirts for sale. He replied, "No, just music." There were also some small campaign-style buttons left over from the previous tour that were mostly given away for free. There were four in this button series, one with the face of each band member Xeroxed on laminated colored paper. None of the depictions actually looked like the person. Ben looked like a Marilyn Monroe transvestite (think of a pink Warhol-like design). Hash looked like a pre-plastic surgery Michael Jackson (Thriller-era). Jay looked like Von Lmo's fatter older alien brother (dramatically contrasted like on the cover of Cosmic Interception). And Mike looked like etiquette-wise freak John Merrick (a.k.a. the Elephant Man). I don't know if you could really call these positive promotional items.

Tuesday, September 14, 1999
After a 1 0-hour drive to Chico, California from Portland, there wasn't much time to spare before the show. No tourist traps, no window shopping, and barely enough time to get a beer at the larger and better publicized university pub venue a block away from the Blue Room venue/loft. It was $1 pint night and Darren was sent to get a second round of drinks for the table and came back with a Pabst Blue Ribbon for Hash, which didn't really fit his dark beer tastes. Kammo's performance was one of their most compelling yet, with a shirtless Michael Zimmerman showing off his military ID tags. The ensemble was complete with droopy aviator shades, making him the spitting image of Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now GGGAH set up and began playing in typical aggressive mode, much like they had a couple nights previous to a packed house in Seattle. This time, however, there were only a few girls who wandered in off the street out of mere curiosity. One of them was named Crystal. Or at least that's what people were calling her since she seemed so high on ... life. Hash and Mike were working the floor, deliberately playing in front of the stage in the vacant space and invading the aura of a few lucky individuals. Three or four songs into their set they began playing ‘Golden Sundays,' tapping into some of that nihilistic showmanship that made them such an exciting and unpredictable band to watch. GoGoGo i,s a punk band. They may not look it, but they don't need to be cause they show it. In the heat of the moment, Hash forcefully kicked over a lone microphone stand sitting on the stage, knocking over Jay's ride cymbal. The music doesn't stop. "That's coming out of your paycheck," snarled Mike, blending the improvised response into the melody. Hash antagonistically bumps into him but keeps playing. Next, Mike unplugs the bass pedal connection and throws it at Hash, who retaliates by hoisting his bass upon the indignant singer Fists are thrown. Although it takes a few moments to realize that they're actually hurting each other, Darren runs out of the darkness in a desperate attempt to break it up but gets stuck in the strength of the muscle. The remaining band members slow their instruments to an awkward silence as more bodies begin to dogpile. I take a few pictures and jump in the mountain of bodies, managing to grab Mike out and get in between the two opponents. Hash grabs his bass and is still into finishing the set, but the rest are completely beat and unwilling. Jeremy from Syncopation was apologetic to the few who were there, announcing, "It seems the stress of touring has taken its toll." In spite of his words, the two college girls were outta there (who could blame them?). In spite of it all, Syncopation still played. Their set gradually mutated into an all-out cathartic free-for-all jam that seemed to never reach an end. Mike felt like his nose was broken and the Syncopation guys were bummed and wanted to go home, but Hash insisted that we stay on course making the brawl look like a minor technicality—which, since nobody went to the hospital, I guess it was. Love my life, hate my friends ... indeed.

Wednesday, September 15, 1999
I always pictured Santa Cruz as a shitty beach town with nothing to do but walk the boardwalk, surf and get consumed by the beachfront carnival. Boy, was I wrong. The first thing we saw as we pulled into town was a huge fountain of water spewing onto a main road next to the university. Someone had driven their car over a fire hydrant and a team of dispatched firemen were waiting patiently to disengage the vehicle. Jay proceeded to act like the photojournalist his mom is (true story) and take a series of successive shots of the 80-foot water main descending. A bunch of people ran up to the car after the water ceased supposedly to see if the person was still in the car, but I think that he or she had escaped earlier.
The bands were scheduled to perform at the Rio, which was actually a movie theatre where Runaway Bride was showing four times daily. Since the last show ended in the eleventh hour of the evening, the music wasn't actually able to commence until midnight. Kammo was nowhere to be seen (pun intended) so the GoHearts set up on the narrow stage. The cool thing about the Rio (or should I say grandthing ...) was that the organizers would project the movie on the screen behind the band as they played. For kicks they'd do it backwards, out of focus, and with the sound strip exposed. I mentioned to Jeremy that it reminded me of the Velvet Underground (playing in Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable). Sure enough as fast as Jay could break out the Moe Tucker mallets (which he used most nights for their now notorious original "Golden Sundays") and Mike could sing "suckin' on the ding-dong," the AirHearts (inevitably) had lift off on a short cover of "Sister Ray." A number of inebriated youngsters jumped up on their seats and began dancing like there was no tomorrow. Others bled into the aisles for more room, not stopping until the music commanded them to. From dancers to musicians to screen, the panorama was certainly something to marvel at.

Thursday, September 16, 1999
Oakland's Stork Club (a bona fide country bar) was a surreal delight. The stage decor was a hybrid of holiday madness that included Christmas, Halloween and the Fourth of July Moreover, the bar had a collection of Barbie dolls and Disney taxidermy The people who ran the club were old curmudgeonish prudes, like grandparents who were rationing out hospitality as if it was going to teach us a lesson about the real world. Funny because around this time the hypothetical was posed that this tour should have been videotaped for MTV’s Real World program, only it would be the first Band Real World. It's got all the elements .. comedy, drama, travel, fights, love triangles (okay, maybe not that last one, but there are three bands with lots of passion). Just remember that you read it here first.

taken from www.supersphere.com

GOGOGO AIRHEART: The Things We Need (EP)

GoGoGoAirheart creates brash, violently diverse, lo-fi rock that defies categorization, even by the San Diego quartet's preferred indie aesthetics. The band's latest EP on the small Chicago imprint Overcoat (run by Thrill Jockey publicist Howard Greynolds), however, is perhaps the group's most eccentric release to date. These seven songs move beyond the ad-libbed whirlwinds of GoGo's previous albums to mix diverse arrangements, instrumentation and structure into an already brash stew of dirty/clean guitar assaults and Sebadoh-ian blasts of melody. "Survival" is a Minutemen-style jazz-punk shuffle that features the background blare of a cracked trumpet, while the closing "A New House" lumbers along with a menacing, Sabbath-esque stomp augmented by sax and violins. Basement-born recordings are rarely this brave or ambitious.

- Ron Hart: CMJ New Music Report Issue: 622 - Jun 14, 1999

taken from www.cmj.com

GOGOGO AIRHEART Love My Life Hate My Friends (Vinyl Communications)
This album fades in as though we've just encountered the GoGoGo boys well into one of their lengthy improvisational sessions. Constantly changing in instrumentation, sometimes there's two drummers, sometimes a cellist, and sometimes who knows? But it's always anchored by some truly awesome bass playing. Live, they can be a tightly wound, convulsive unit channeling the ghosts of The Pop Group and The Fall, or a quietly meditative dubby discovery of notes and rhythms. Includes a reworking of A Certain Ratio's "Do The Du".

taken from www.aquariusrecords.org

GOGOGO AIRHEART
Titre : Presure Single Is Inside
Label : 7" 2t. Flapping Jet Records

Prenez les morceaux les plus calmes des Make Up. Passez les à la radio. Rajoutez des fréquences venues d'un autre monde. Laisser traîner des larsens qui sonnent comme de la musique indienne et vous aurez une petite idée à quoi ressemble Gogogoairheart sur ces deux morceaux pas si étranges que ça. C'est très écoutable et assez ambiant. Ambiant dans le sens où l'atmosphère est plus importante que la mélodie. A suivre....On peut remplacer le disque des Make Up par des bons vieux Rolling Stone de chez papa, tournant en 45 tours, passé en 33 tours, ça marche aussi!
greg (24/02/02)

taken from STNT : Chroniques Disques