Last Days of pleasure
Nines' happy, three-minute ditties
by Chris Kanaracus
The short take on the Boston-based garage rock trio the
Nines is that they're a bit of an anachronism.
After all, happy, three-minute-or-less ditties like "I Can't Stop Thinking
about You" and "Can't You See that She's Mine" from the Nines' latest disc,
The Last Days of AM Radio (Clamarama), just don't have a home in
today's decidedly pissed-off rock landscape.
Evan Shore, the group's guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter, says it
doesn't really bother him. "When you look at [it] that way, I'd like to think
what we're doing is unique. . . . We're about good-feeling,
song-based music. In a lot of the music out there today, the songs have taken a
backseat to energy and anger."
Sometimes, according to Shore, the anger has been directed straight at the
Nines. "People [critics] have written terrible, terrible things about us. It's
okay, though, because the majority of people that have seen us play have loved
what we do."
Unfortunately for Shore, drummer Linda Koury, and for bassist Bob Skaltsis, the
majority, at least by the numbers, has been more of a minority. "We've
definitely had trouble getting booked into clubs. And I have to say, five years
ago, when we were first starting out, we got off to a bad start.
. . . We didn't draw well."
But, Shore says, the gigs are getting more frequent, thanks to the friendships
the group have developed with more-established Boston-area acts. "We've opened
for all the biggest Boston bands," says Shore.
This backdoor route to bookings, he says, wasn't as necessary in the '80s, when
he did time in seminal Boston garage bands like the Queers and the Voodoo
Dolls. "Back then, clubs would work harder to build a band. Instead of refusing
to book a good band when they didn't draw, they'd try to build up the buzz for
next time."
And these days it's commonplace for major touring acts to bring along a support
group, eliminating the need for local talent to fill out the bill.
Regardless of those woes, the Nines, who appear this Saturday at Dinny's, have
soldiered on since 1994, when they released "Crawl in a Hole"(Stanton Park
Records) as their first single. Another seven-inch, "My Soul for
You"(Clamarama), showed up in 1995 and was followed by 1996's full-length Hi
Fi Lo Mein(Clamarama). The Last Days of AM Radio doesn't break from
the Rickenbacker-heavy, strictly 4/4 sound of their previous releases, one
rooted firmly in the early work of the Beatles and the '70s pop-punk of the
Ramones.
Those divergent influences extend, in a sense, to the production of the album
itself. The Archies/Mersey Beat-ish leadoff track, "Hang On," sounds crisp and
punchy. But the Byrds-y "I've Got a Right To Cry Tonight" seems awfully flat.
As it turns out, there's a good reason for that. Half of the new album's songs
were recorded in Shore's home, and not directly into the four-track. "It was a
cheap way to get it done. We're very thankful that we have such forgiving
neighbors," Shore says with a laugh.
Technical difficulties like those, though, do little to detract from the
pleasures to be found on Last Days. Some may gag on the more
sugar-coated material, for nearly every song's lyrics concern the "girl next
door" or "my broken heart." Facing facts, the album is one big nostalgia trip.
The shoo-be-doo-wop harmonies don't help any, either. But you'd be pressed to
dismiss the enthusiasm, accomplished performances, and general good vibe
present here.
Shore and his bandmates are hoping their next album, which they'll begin work
on soon (in studio, this time), will send the Nines to the next level. "Music
is very cyclical. We're waiting for the time that the sort of stuff we do comes
around again."
If not, he says, the Nines won't quit. "We've certainly thought about it. One
show comes to mind, where we drove for five hours to find an empty club, no
money, and our stuff got stolen from the van. But all it takes is one person at
the next show saying, `You guys are great!' and you forget all about the bad
experiences. We love this stuff."
The Nines perform on February 25 at Dinny's. Call 752-9667.