Pavement (band)

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Pavement

Country Stockton, California, USA
Years active 1989 – 1999
Genres Indie Rock
Alternative Rock
Lo-fi
Labels Drag City
Matador Records
Big Cat Records
Pony Canyon Records
Domino Records
Members (left to right)
Scott Kannberg aka Spiral Stairs
Bob Nastanovich
Stephen Malkmus aka S.M.
Steve West
Mark Ibold
Past members Gary Young

Pavement was an American indie rock band in the 1990s. Although they experienced only moderate commercial success, they achieved a significant cult following, and their music has been a major influence on many bands of the late 1990s and beyond. They are largely considered as one of the first rock bands of the current age to gain a moderately wide degree of success without the support of a major label. In effect, the band gave rise to a deluge of indie rock bands who have succeeded on that same premise.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings and Slanted and Enchanted

Pavement formed in Stockton, California, in 1989 as a studio project of guitarists and vocalists Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg, known originally only as "S.M." and "Spiral Stairs," respectively. Their debut EPs were extremely lo-fi releases titled Slay Tracks (1933-1969), Demolition Plot J-7, and Perfect Sound Forever. They were recorded at Louder Than You Think, the home studio of infamous Stockton local and former hippie Gary Young. The eccentric and aging hipster also provided drums. Upon first hearing the duo's songs, Young was quoted as saying, "this Malkmus idiot is a complete songwriting genius." [1]

Pavement's most obvious influence during this time was English rock band The Fall, although Kannberg stated in a 1992 interview that he preferred The Replacements to The Fall. [2] The Fall's primary member, Mark E. Smith, would often angrily claim through the years that Pavement was a "rip-off" of his band [3] and that they didn't "have an original idea in their heads." [4] However, some of the other members of The Fall actually enjoyed Pavement. [5]

Around 1992 Pavement became a full-time band, with the addition of bassist Mark Ibold - who had been one of the band's first fans - and extra percussionist Bob Nastanovich (a fellow museum security guard along with Malkmus and David Berman) to help Young keep time. Most of their songs from this point onward were written by Malkmus, with Kannberg granted only one or two per album. Their debut album, Slanted and Enchanted, was released commercially in 1992 after being circulated among critics and tastemakers for nearly a year, and became an instant indie classic. Though the percussive influence of The Fall was still pervasive (as was that of English post punks the Swell Maps), many of the songs also exhibited a strong sense of melody. The following year, the band released the EP Watery, Domestic, which represented a balance between their earlier and later styles.

[edit] Gary Young's dismissal and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Music sample:

The tour for Slanted & Enchanted gave Gary Young a chance to showcase his bizarre live behavior. He would act out by giving away cabbage and mashed potatoes to fans at the door of the venue, doing handstands, running around the venue and stage while the rest of the band was playing and drunkenly falling off his drum stool. [6] His bizarre drug- and alcohol-fueled personality had grated on the rest of the band through several years of touring and recording and they could no longer take it. At the end of the tour, Gary Young left Pavement. The final straw came when Young allegedly pulled a gun on Malkmus. [7] [8] The group soon after had a meeting in a hotel room in Europe during which Malkmus, Kannberg and Ibold remained silent while Bob Nastanovich (Gary Young's best friend at the time) argued with the drummer and informed him that his antics were unnecessary.

With an improved recording quality and more original songwriting, they released Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain in 1994. This record is far more indebted to the classic rock tradition than their more obscure debut. The single "Cut Your Hair" was the band's closest brush with the mainstream, and briefly enjoyed airplay on alternative rock radio and MTV.

Another single, "Range Life," was infamous chiefly for lyrics that seemed to criticize alt-rock superstars The Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots. Malkmus has insisted over the years that the line is meant to be light-hearted and timely, sung from the point of view of the aging hippie character in the song - later live versions of the track had the singer substituting "Stone Temple Pilots" for "The Spice Girls," "The Counting Crows," or countless others. Billy Corgan, leader of The Smashing Pumpkins, threatened to drop The Smashing Pumpkins from the 1994 Lollapalooza Festival if Pavement was allowed to play. The Smashing Pumpkins were headlining Lollapalooza that year. [9] Corgan and Malkmus would trade barbs through the press for several years after.

[edit] Wowee Zowee and Brighten the Corners

Pavement's next album was the eclectic, inscrutable Wowee Zowee (1995). In eighteen tracks, the band covered a wide range of styles including punk, country and balladry, and largely dispensed with conventional song structures. The album was not widely admired at the time of release but is now generally embraced by fans. On the Slow Century DVD, Malkmus attributed his odd choice of singles to his pot smoking, stating that "I was smoking a lot of grass back then but to me they sounded like hits." Although Malkmus has said in recent interviews that the album is the last "classic Pavement record," Kannberg has voiced regrets about Wowee Zowee. "We made some mistakes on that record... we were kind of pressured into putting out a record a little faster than we were ready to. I mean, I'm totally into the record. It's just if we had another six months to think about it, it would've been much different." [10] During the tour for the album, Nastonovich stated on the Slow Century DVD, the band would often not work out a setlist before shows, opting for drug and alcohol fueled jams over hit singles.

Wowee Zowee was followed up by the EP Pacific Trim. Pacific Trim was recorded with only Malkmus and drummers Nastanovich and Steve West. Their studio time was originally reserved for a Silver Jews recording, but frontman David Berman walked out in frustration and the trio decided not to waste prepaid recording time.

1997's Brighten the Corners was a shorter, mellower and more focused record than the previous album. In style it resembled Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and contained two of the band's best known singles in "Stereo" and "Shady Lane". The album sold better than its predecessors, but Pavement remained a cult band. It was at about this time that the band started to fragment, with its members focusing more on other musical projects or on raising families.

[edit] Terror Twilight and breakup

In 1999, the band released its final album, Terror Twilight. Bob Nastanovich came up with the title, and has revealed the meaning of it in several interviews: "Twilight Terror is the short span between sunset and dusk; this is considered the most dangerous time in traffic, because half of the people switch on the headlights, and the other half doesn't. It's when most accidents happen." During an interview on the Slow Century documentary DVD, he said that the band was having trouble coming up with names for the record until he put forth Terror Twilight. One of the final contenders was Farewell Horizontal (also the name of a 1989 science fiction novel by K.W. Jeter), and Nastanovich said, "There was no way I was going to be on the Farewell Horizontal tour for the next year."

Malkmus wrote the entirety of the record, and the recording of the music only featured minor contributions from the rest of the band. The music on the record is by far the gentlest and most emotionally direct in the band's discography, though the oddball Captain Beefheart homage "Platform Blues" is a nod to their more obscure roots. Its comparatively pristine production was helmed by Nigel Godrich, best known for his work with Radiohead and Beck.

The group released one last EP, titled Major Leagues. It features three Malkmus songs, two original Spiral Stairs songs and two covers: "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen and "The Classical" by The Fall. Stephen Malkmus sings on both of the cover songs.

After completing a world tour in London in 1999, the band announced that they were going on hiatus, which eventually revealed itself as an unofficial break-up. Nastanovich later said that it was a somewhat civil dissolution. "There was too much exhaustion for heavy emotion."[11]

[edit] Slow Century and Perfect Sound Forever

In 2002, Slow Century, a documentary by Lance Bangs coupled with all of the band's music videos, was released as a 2 DVD set. Included was extensive footage, both professionally shot and taped by fans on camcorders, from the band's earliest shows in 1989 forward. The three final songs from the band's last show ever ("Stop Breathin'", "Conduit For Sale" and "Here") are presented at the end of the documentary. Also on the DVD is a hidden easter egg clip from the same show, wherein Malkmus apparently jokingly talks about how the handcuffs attached to his microphone stand "represent what it's like being in a band all these years." A bonus disc with a complete concert in Seattle, Washington, from the early part of the Terror Twilight tour was included on the second disc, as well as several songs from their second to last show.

2004 saw the publication of Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement, a biography on the band written by Rob Jovanovic. Most reviews of the book rated it poorly, saying that it contained much of the same information as the Slow Century DVD and expanded very little on it.

[edit] Post-Pavement projects

Stephen Malkmus has gone on to enjoy success as a solo artist combining his intricate guitar playing with a progressive rock influence. He has released three albums, Stephen Malkmus (2001), Pig Lib (2003), and Face the Truth (2005), each garnering mainly warm reviews from critics and fans alike. Malkmus' new group has been known to treat audiences to Pavement songs every once in a while (one crowd even received an entire set of Pavement tracks). He also continued to contribute to several Silver Jews albums.

Scott Kannberg went on to form a musical group named Preston School of Industry, not to be confused with the Ione, California reform school nor the Pavement tune of the same name. They have released two albums with Matador Records, All this Sounds Gas (2001), and Monsoon (2004). The latter album boasts studio contributions from members of The Minus 5 and Wilco. Preston School of Industry has remained apparently inactive since the end of their September 2004 Australian tour.

Mark Ibold has been reported to be working behind the bar at a resturaunt called Great Jones Cafe in New York, New York. In early 2005, rumors began to spread on the internet that he had a new group called Cam'Ron's Foreskin. In the summer of 2006, Mark Ibold joined fellow indie rockers Sonic Youth as their touring bass player for their Rather Ripped tour.

Steve West lives in Lexington, Virginia. He has two children and works as a stonemason. He has released 3 albums as Marble Valley.

Bob Nastanovich has a home in Louisville, Kentucky and a website dealing combining his passions for horse racing and writing, called Lonely on the Rail. He tour managed for The Jicks during their first tour. Since then, Nastanovich has been a jockey agent for Greta Kuntzweiler. When asked if he was in contact with his former band members, he said, "West - yes, Malkmus - yes, Ibold - rarely, Kannberg - never."[12]

Gary Young has continued recording bands at his Stockton studio. He also has a new group, Gary Young's Hospital, with which he records and plays concerts. Young also invented the Universal Microphone Shock Mount, "an innovative approach to keeping your microphones isolated from stand vibrations."

[edit] Possible reunion

In December 2004, Steve West was questioned about a Pavement reunion by a fan. West said that it was in the hands of Malkmus, and that the lead singer and Scott Kannberg have "a weird relationship" which has proved to be an issue. According to the fan, the drummer said that Kannberg was absent on many Pavement studio recordings with Malkmus playing his parts. Malkmus apparently resented the common belief that the group was based on the core partnership between himself and Kannberg, feeling that the guitarist received undeserved credit.[13]

When asked if there was a possibility of a Pavement reunion during a 2005 interview, Malkmus stated, "...maybe in five years. It's still a ways off...there's still hope." [14]

At the Bonnaroo Music Festival in the summer of 2006, Stephen Malkmus joined Sonic Youth on stage to perform "Expressway To Yr Skull". As Ibold was playing with Sonic Youth throughout this tour (see above), this meant that Ibold and Malkmus were reunited on stage for the first time since 1999. This once again reignited rumors of a reunion.

During a 2006 interview with Pitchfork media, Spiral Stairs mentioned he was going to Malkmus's wedding. During the same interview he also mentioned that Pavement might reunite for their 20th anniversary (2009) [15].

[edit] Trivia

  • The picture of the rooster found in the cover of Watery, Domestic is actually taken from the cover of a record by an obscure band called Ambergris. The graphic is also reprinted in the liner notes of Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe. [16]
  • On the TV show Friends, a riff based on "Rattled by the Rush" from Wowee Zowee was frequently used as cutscene music.
  • Mark Ibold had several cameo performances on the Comedy Central series, Strangers With Candy. Mark's role was as a bandmember playing "Carry On Wayward Son" during the closing credits dance sequence of episode 2-01 "Yes You Can't"; and as Mark, Derrick's fired bandmember in episode 2-03 "The Virgin Jerri". Ibold likely appeared on Strangers With Candy because he was dating the show's costume designer Victoria Farrell at the time. [17]
  • Fans of the ESPN sports commentary show Pardon the Interruption have suggested that the theme song and commercial outro music thematically reference the song "Cut Your Hair," but actual samples from the song are not used; this is probably intended as a joke as both Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, the show's hosts, are bald.
  • In early 1999 Stephen Malkmus participated in a Sonic Youth side project that included bassist/vocalist Kim Gordon, guitarist/vocalist Thurston Moore, Chicago avant-garde veteran Jim O'Rourke, and renowned Japanese drummer Ikue Mori. The project was named Kim's Bedroom. They never released an album, but did play a few live shows.
  • Pavement appeared on an episode of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast entitled, appropriately, "Pavement". The band played two songs for Space Ghost - "Space Ghost Living the High Life" (which they played loudly over Goldie Hawn's interview) and "Space Ghost End Jam" (which played over the closing credits). Each time they were introduced as "The Beatles". In 2005, the "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast Volume Three: This Is 1997" DVD had its menu screens set entirely to outtakes of the audio sessions for the show.
  • On May 24, 2003, while touring in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his new band The Jicks, Stephen Malkmus opened the Milwaukee show by saying, "This is off our first record." The band then proceeded to play an evening's worth of Pavement songs. This show has been dubbed by fans as The Milwaukee Show.
  • Blur's "Song 2" is said to be a tribute to the role of Bob Nastanovich in Pavement. [19]
  • In High Fidelity Rob has a Pavement poster on the wall of his apartment right next to the front door.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Slanted and Enchanted
1992
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
1994
Wowee Zowee
1995
Brighten the Corners
1997
Terror Twilight
1999

[edit] Compilations and reissues

Westing (By Musket & Sextant)
1993
Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe
2002
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins
2004
Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition
2006

[edit] EPs

[edit] CD singles

[edit] Vinyl singles

[edit] DVDs

[edit] Soundtracks and compilations

  • CMJ sampler cassette - "Debris Slide" (1991)
  • Chemical Imbalance #6 compilation 7" - "My Radio" (1992)
  • Volume 4 compilation - "Greenlander" (1992)
  • Born to Choose compilation - "Greenlander" (1993)
  • No Alternative compilation - "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence" (1993)
  • Rage In a Blanket compilation - "Jayed Coins" (1994)
  • Amateur soundtrack - "Here" (1994)
  • Hey Drag City compilation - "Nail Clinic" (1994)
  • Homeage compilation - "It's a Hectic World" (1995)
  • Factory July-Sept 1995 compilation - "No Life Singed Her" & "Fillmore Jive"(1995)
  • Schoolhouse Rock Rocks compilation - "No More Kings" (1996)
  • Brain Candy soundtrack - "Painted Soldiers" (1996)
  • I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack - "Sensitive Euro Man" (1996)
  • Blender Vol. 1-4 CD-ROM - Interview (1995)
  • What's Up Matador compilation - "Texas Never Whispers" & "Killing Moon" (1997)
  • Tibetan Freedom Concert compilation - "Type Slowly" (1997)
  • Everything is Nice: The Matador Records Tenth Anniversary compilation - "Stereo" & "Grounded" (1999)
  • At Home with the Groovebox compilation - "Robyn Turns 26" (2000)
  • Jackass 2 OST - "Cut Your Hair" (2006)

[edit] External links

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