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January 11 - 18, 2001

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Straight outta Framingham

Controlled Aggression takes control

by Brian Goslow

Some may call me crazy, but ever since Pearl Jam broke through with "Jeremy," I've always felt that, given the same opportunities, a number of local acts could have delivered the same results. There are plenty of area musicians, working tirelessly at their craft, notebooks filled with their inner guts, who deserve success. When I make the claim, I'm thinking of bands like Officer Down, Dr.

Bewkenheimer, the departed Flat Stanley, Chillum, Puddle, and more recently, Controlled Aggression, whose core musicians have spent most of the past decade looking for the right combination of players, coupled with the right break, so that they could bring their music to a bigger audience. Now, with bands like Godsmack, Staind, and MetroWest neighbors Gangsta Bitch Barbie (who've renamed themselves Nullset prior to the release of their debut recording on the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal label) making noise on a national front, charter members Brendan Cheever (bass and vocals) and Bob Bruni (guitar) may finally have the lineup the Framingham metal outfit needs to give it a shot at the big time. The duo were recently joined by ex-Godsmack drummer Joe D'Arco and former Big Catholic Guilt bassist Dan Bongiorni.

"Since Joe joined us, things have been on the up and up," says Cheever. "We recorded immediately [after he joined] since we hadn't had any newer material out to the public in a while."

Those recordings are included on After the Fall , which also features selections from earlier Controlled Aggression releases. "We had five new songs which Joe learned in just a few short weeks," Cheever says. "We figured we would put all the money into a newer recording then to put it towards pressing the previous disc. People were still asking for the Steep CD, so we threw some songs from that on there as well. We chose songs that were still current in our set list. `Lowa Case G' from White Trash Wins Lottery was chosen partly because of the mix and partly so people could listen to Ken Smith from Nullset when he was on the drums with us." [Indeed, Smith hadn't intended to join Nullset/GBB when he sang with them at the group's shared practice area; things just clicked, and the rest, hopefully, will become history.]

When Cheever sings, he makes you think of Chris Cornell and Soundgarden, whose grunge counterparts definitely inspired at least a portion of the Controlled Aggression sound. "My original influences were bands like that and `round that time era," Cheever says. "Anything that was powerful, heavy, and full of energy, I loved." I ask him if the sing-rap-sing format most of the group's songs follow was the result of suggestions from music industry types trying to guide them towards a more marketable sound. "I don't feel that we have to be true to anyone's inspirations. You should play what you enjoy playing, and maybe you'll influence someone else to do the same.

"I don't think [the sing-rap-sing format] is anything new at all in our songs. Maybe the delivery, but that's about it. I think if you listen to earlier recordings of CA, you'll hear styles of rap in a hardcore, heavier voice. You'll hear it on White Trash Wins Lottery and definitely on Steep. But I grew up listening to bands like Run-DMC when I was a kid. I still love it today. Then as I got older, friends introduced me to albums like Master of Puppets [by Metallica] and I fell in love with that style of music as well. What can I say? I love it all."

Controlled Aggression's lyrics, as their name suggests, are the group's way of spilling their soul. They don't write a lot of "my gal did me wrong" material; instead, they explore the broken promises of family values and people they once trusted and idolized.

The lyrics of "Hypocrite" -- "I don't care what you say I don't care who you play...but you're walking around like you own the town...You ain't better than me, You're just a flea, and it's people like you who create people like me" -- suggest some big name DJ did Controlled Aggression wrong at some point of their career. If this is the case, Cheever's not talking.

"Hmmmm. I'll leave that one alone. I believe, in rock, it's better to leave the imagination to the listener. To let it be their song and their hypocrite. If we were a country band, I'd tell you exactly who they were, where they lived, why they piss me off so much, and how to kill them."

Other tracks on the disc seem aimed at specific people and events in the group members' lives. When I ask Cheever about the background of "So Low," which is obviously about a father that wasn't around much, he asks whether readers really care about such things. I recall an instance back in the mid-1990s when I was compiling a year-end piece looking at the local music scene, and three successive phone calls to the supposed homes of band members were met on the other end by fathers telling me never to call again, and to never remind them that they had a son. Unfortunately, there's no denying the subject is an all too common one for area rockers.

"It is the story of a young boy who never met his father, but was told over and over again, that he was coming to town and he would get to meet him," Cheever says. "Anxiously awaiting, but every time let down a week or so before. It went on for years and when I finally did meet him, I was about 15 and it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be, by that time. My mother had recently passed away when we were writing this song and I was just reflecting on life at the time."

A couple times a month, Framingham concert dates will turn up for Controlled Aggression, Nullset, or Ohm in the most unlikely of places. "There is no real scene club scene in the MetroWest area," Cheever says. "No real clubs, really, just pubs. The places are small -- so small the fire department came in one night and shut us down before we even got to play -- but close by for the area fans. But they are great shows. I have had bands from both Boston and Worcester that have played with us at these places -- the crowds are great and the fans love it -- that continuously ask to do the same venues again."

The true test for any metallic-edged act is performing in front of an uninitiated audience. "Playing at the Hampton Beach Club Casino a couple times was fun," Cheever says. "We were thrown on before some nationals and got a great crowd response from people who had never seen us before. But even playing smaller clubs, where the crowd goes nuts is a great time. I love seeing faces I've never seen before singing along with the songs. It's times like that, that make shows great."

Controlled Aggression has taken advantage of the Internet to build their support base. "The response has been great with the newer tunes," Cheever says. "We just went #1 on MP3.com in the grind-core metal section. That to me is a true test, because you are getting people from all over the world to listen in, and pass the word on to friends. So far we've been getting great reviews. I'm really looking forward to this year to see where this takes us.

"I love what is going on with us at this present time and playing the style of music we are playing and will continue to do. My optimisism is due to the fan reaction as well as local bands who have done well in this area. PM5K [Powerman 5000], Godsmack, Staind, Reveille, Tree, and now our close friends Nullset."

This Friday, Controlled Aggression and Nullset are joined by Dr. Bewkenheimer and Tester at the Lucky Dog Music Hall.

Doomed Palladium?

Regional music fans took quite the hit last week with word that the owners of the Palladium have asked for a permit to demolish the historic venue, originally constructed in 1927 as the E.M. Loew's Plymouth Theatre; the destruction probably won't take place unless the go-ahead is given to building the proposed courthouse on the site currently housing Sh-Booms. You might want to take a page out of the book of the Bijou Cinema's supporters, who flooded the License Commission's recent meeting, and show up at City Hall on January 18 at 4 p.m. At that time, the demolition request will be discussed at a meeting of the Worcester Historical Commission.

Brian Goslow can be reached at bgoslow[a]phx.com.

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