Bring On Be/Non
The Be/Non! the Be/Non!!!
World, be kind to the Be/Non. Be/Non, be kind to yourselves.
What am I talking about? Well, Be/Non. Brodie Rush's band -- that scrawny funny hipster weirdo who hosts karaoke at the Brick on Mondays. He's had the band, in some form or other, since 1995. But with an album that's rumored to be outstanding sitting on the shelf, waiting for release, and an amazing lineup that includes, in addition to Mr. Rush,
guitar: Adam Stotts (Overstep, The Lucky Graves)
bass: Ben Ruth (Overstep, The Lucky Graves, The Grand Marquis)
drums: Matt Cochran (Pornodroid*)
keys: John Huff (The Lichen*, Thomas and the Triscuit Wolf*)
[*denotes made-up band name due to editorial ignorance]
this could, this should, be the year of Be/Non.
I hadn't realized this until I saw the band play late last Saturday at Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club. In short, this band plays magnificently together, and its songs and arrangements are lush, rocking, psychedelic fun. It's sounds like prog rock of the '70s crossed with children's TV show music of the same era, as if a Julliard-trained composer who made a living writing for Sesame Street sat down at the piano, lit up a Pall Mall, took a hit of acid, and started hallucinating electric guitars and big-titted spacemonkeys. Though there's not much visual evidence beyond Rush's flamboyant outfits and drug-wizard stage presence, there's an element of camp in the songs -- make that space camp (no, not Space Camp -- you wish) -- which, combined with rocket guitar attacks, psychedelic keyboards, falsetto vocal harmonies and the like, draws a line to, where else? The Flash Gordon Soundtrack by Queen. So think of that as you approach Be/Non, but expect also hints of Zappa and the Mothers, elements of Krautrock, Flaming Lips jubilance and Thin Lizzy heaviness.
At the Davey's show, all members of the band seemed pretty trashed, but they still nailed the changes and harmonies (both vocal and guitaral) and lapsed into extended jams without wanking all over the place like the overtalented drunks you'd expect them to be. There was a good crowd (also pretty trashed) for that late on a weekend with other, bigger shows, and I sense that Be/Non's cachet is on the rise. At the same time, I worry that the current members' other band committments, plus the exhaustion that comes from laboring in obscurity, could discourage this group of salty veterans. I guess that's the case with many a band, and they all find ways of going on. But Be/Non has a record with fuckin' "Freedom Palace" on it, man! For that reason alone, the album needs to see light of record store.
All together now: I'm looking for...something more!
(From what I've heard, the album was supposed to be released by Anodyne, but it was delayed for reasons involving lawyers, in particular, the one hired to represent the label. I don't know the details, but hell if I could just get my hands on a copy, I'd feel a little better.)
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