Girls Against Boys
Photo: Touch and Go Records

In the early '90s, Seattle indie label Sub Pop printed t-shirts with the logo "Corporate rock sucks." Yet over the next few years, the many alternative bands that became the subjects of bidding war feeding frenzies seemingly had no problems being part of a giant corporation, and for a while, lots of major-label music was daring, challenging and inspirational.

But after the defeat of the alternative revolution, such groups as Girls Against Boys began to discover the downside of corporate rock. The band's 1998 album, Freak*on*ica, was a throbbing electronic-flavored rockfest that was both heavy and commercial, but it suffered from excruciatingly bad timing.

"When Universal merged, Geffen was swallowed up and disappeared about four months before our record came out," vocalist and guitarist Scott McCloud explained. "We were temporarily homeless, then we were on Interscope briefly before they restarted Geffen with people we didn't know. So we were in a weird void for a while."

Nearly four years, to be more exact. GVSB recorded demos and repeatedly tried to talk to the label about their next record, but their calls were not returned and their demos landed on deaf ears.

"I don't know why they just didn't drop us," McCloud said. "It got to the point where things were not too friendly between us. Finally, we sent them a letter telling them they were in breach of contract because we had a [guarantee from the label] for three records. So they paid us to leave."

At press time, the band's former publicist hadn't returned calls for comment.

After finding themselves free agents, Girls Against Boys avoided major corporations and signed with independent emo-friendly label Jade Tree. The group's sixth LP, You Can't Fight What You Can't See, due May 14, exhibits the energy and aggression the bandmembers have been holding in for too long. Dark and moody, the record melds some of the hooky electronic textures from Freak*on*ica with the jagged rage of 1996's House of GVSB.

"We wanted to do a more stripped-down rock record this time," McCloud said. "We kind of wanted to pare things back down and kick something out that was more raw. We did this record in the winter in a new rehearsal space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and it was freezing in there," McCloud said. "We had to walk around with hats and jackets and we were in this big empty room, so it kind of felt like we were drug dealers sorting out some weird, shady-ass deal."

Throughout the record, McCloud spouts off about conservatism, conformity and commercialism, and more than a few of his rants seem colored by his experience as a Universal product. "Basstation" is a cry of defiance and independence, "300 Looks for the Summer" lambastes the plasticity of Hollywood and "All the Rage" addresses the notion of the flavor of the week.

"It's about a feeling of expectation you get from commercialization," he said. "And that expectation is never really satisfied because a lot of things aren't what they're made up to be."

The protracted label ordeals Girls Against Boys endured would have silenced many other bands, but McCloud and his bandmates survived by focusing on side projects during the downtime. The entire band wrote music for the film "System 7." McCloud worked with New Wet Kojak and most recently contributed vocals for an upcoming song with dance-pop artist BT. Bassist Johnny Temple ran his alternative book publishing company, Akashic. Keyboardist Eli Janney produced records for Seafood, Ruby and others. And drummer Alexis Fleisig played on the "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" soundtrack.

"I think that stuff really kept us going," McCloud said. "Honestly, we're probably not the exact same band we were seven years ago, and I think that's kind of healthy. We have been doing this for a while, and as you keep moving through life, you want to keep experiencing different things and take them seriously as well. I don't think it would be good for the four of us to be only playing together and living in a group house when we're 40."

• Girls Against Boys

Hanson
Photo: Island

Though the annual South by Southwest Music Conference is known as a place for up-and-coming bands to get noticed, there'll be several artists at next year's 16th annual festival who already have hits under their belts.

Hanson, who were discovered at 1994's SXSW and played at last year's fest as well, will return again to the music industry schmooze extravaganza in Austin, Texas. They'll join such other airwave veterans as Marcy Playground ("Sex and Candy"), Girls Against Boys ("Kill the Sexplayer") and Jesus Jones ("Right Here, Right Now").

Of course, the underground is still represented in full-force, as the lineup for the March 13 to 17 confab also includes experimental electronic trio Add N to (X), feminist synth-pop group Chicks on Speed, theatrical surf-rock outfit Man or Astro-Man?, San Francisco indie popsters Beulah, New York country rockers Clem Snide, Texas singer/songwriter Daniel Johnston and fire-breathing sleaze rockers Nashville Pussy.

The Webb Brothers, Bare Jr., Brian Jonestown Massacre, Clinic, the Glands, High on Fire and Bullfrog featuring Kid Koala have also been tapped to play. More than 50 acts have been announced, but 90 percent of the complete lineup is still to come, according to organizers.

Robbie Robertson, former guitarist in The Band, has been named the keynote speaker for next year's SXSW. Currently a film composer and creative advisor for DreamWorks Records, Robertson will speak March 14 at the Austin Convention Center.

Director Martin Scorsese's 25-year-old "The Last Waltz," a documentary of The Band's farewell performance, will be screened at SXSW in its newly restored version, which features 5.1 surround sound.

Some of the panels planned include Attracting Media Attention, Indie Label Opportunities, How Much Does Music Matter?, Artists vs. Technology, The Road to Airplay and Studio Tips.

Last year's SXSW featured rappers Jurassic 5, Tha Liks and Black Eyed Peas; Austin rockers Fastball; experimental turntablist DJ Spooky; a rare show by the Ike Turner Revue; a reunion of Robyn Hitchcock's the Soft Boys; and a reunion of Juliana Hatfield's Blake Babies (see "SXSW: Decks, Drums, Rock And Roll").

• Hanson
• Chicks on Speed
• Beulah
• Clinic
• Marcy Playground

Clinic
Photo: Domino

NEW YORK — The CMJ Music Marathon crept quietly into town last week, drawing a substantially lower-than-usual turnout at its panel discussions, lectures, workshops and musical showcases.

Many of the four-day conference's concerts had to be canceled after the gathering was postponed in the wake of September's terrorist attacks. The event that for years has been one of the most anticipated events in the college-radio community received considerably less fanfare this time around.

Rescheduled for October 10-13, this year's Marathon was a virtual shadow of what was originally planned, but ask CMJ founder and CEO Robert Haber and he'll tell you it may have been the brightest showing in the event's 21-year history.

"Initially [after September 11], the last thing anybody could have dreamt about was throwing a party," Haber said. "As we realized that there was no way of putting an event on even if we wanted to — and obviously we did not — we had to set our sights to completely redoing the event. It really became a mission here, to put on the very best event we could ... for reasons of New York, for reasons of our industry."

In 1978, Haber founded the College Music Journal, a college-radio trade magazine featuring articles and record reviews as well as charts and station playlists. Three years later, CMJ hosted its first Music Marathon, which was attended by 100 people and featured no showcases. Eventually, the CMJ Network staged Marathon showcases for such then-unknown artists as R.E.M., Nine Inch Nails, Green Day, Marilyn Manson and Jane's Addiction, and in 1993 it spawned the consumer magazine New Music Monthly.

The decision to postpone this year's Marathon a month from its original dates of September 13-16, rather than wait longer or call it off completely, was supported by Haber's staff nearly 10 to 1, he said. Employees weren't the only ones who wanted to see the event to fruition. The venues, especially those located downtown, were anxious for the influx of music fans, having been sparsely attended, or in some cases forced to remain closed, immediately following the tragedy.

But the Marathon that was promised in September simply couldn't be duplicated a month later. The roster of performers once highlighted by Coldplay, Kelis, the Strokes, Ben Folds and Oysterhead dwindled to something that packed a considerably softer punch. Haber said that almost the entire lineup had to be revamped with last-minute substitutions, since many artists that had scheduled their CMJ shows as part of a tour couldn't break prior commitments to return to New York a month later. And some just didn't want to.

So the pieced-together lineup, which still boasted more than 700 bands, was bolstered by Manhattan mainstays like DJ Spooky, Girls Against Boys and Firewater, who signed on wanting to give something back to an event from which they once benefited. Some artists, like the X-Ecutioners and Laptop, returned for the Marathon's take-two, while others replaced those who didn't.

"The music was a little more localized, but it was a strong event even if we didn't have to reschedule," Haber said. "It really stood on its own. The depth of the talent was amazing. It blew me away that we could put together an event in two and a half weeks that just about stood up to an event that took six months to put on."

Indeed, a Marathon lineup featuring Richie Hawtin, Detroit Grand Pubas, Jonathan Richman, Cannibal Ox, Mooney Suzuki, Q-Burns Abstract Message, Murder City Devils and Orbital, among others, doesn't seem so out of the ordinary when not compared with what was originally scheduled.

Opening night hosted a hip-hop showcase that covered all bases of the genre, featuring old-schoolers the Rock Steady Crew, beat-box maestro Rahzel of the Roots, turntablists the X-Ecutioners, and underground Latinos the Beatnuts. Liverpool, England's Clinic, decked out in their trademark surgical scrubs for their Marathon debut, delighted a packed Bowery Ballroom with lo-fi garage rock. Fischerspooner's electro-pop cabaret mesmerized a hip crowd punctuated by local celebrities David Byrne, Chloë Sevigny and designers Anna Sui and Patricia Field, many of whom were still reeling from potty-mouthed Peaches' lewd rhymes over beat-driven rhythms. And Interpol's dark atmospheres followed the Walkmen's retrofitted indie-rock at Brownies, a club known for hosting its share of must-see CMJ showcases.

Still, the Marathon had its pratfalls. A few panelists dropped out, including guest speaker Dave Navarro, who hit the road with Jane's Addiction on October 2. Fifty percent of the 8,000 pre-registered patrons never showed up after shelling out $350-$445 ($200 less for students) for an admission badge. The walk-up registration, which carries an even higher price tag, was even worse. Haber guessed that shortcoming to be around 80 percent. Although the actual figures on how much money was lost weren't available at press time, the low turnout was obvious; conference traffic in the hotel was as sparse as Haber had seen in 15 years.

Though no-shows won't get their money back, CMJ has offered them a credit for future events or any of the company's other services and products.

"There's no doubt we suffered economic damage due to the attack," Haber admitted. "I don't know the exact number yet, but it was certainly significant. I don't think there's anybody who has events in New York that could have possibly gotten through this period without having suffered."

Haber hopes to offset any financial loss with help from governmental relief organizations like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small Business Administration and the Economic Development Commission. But if CMJ's applications aren't approved, the losses could take a toll throughout the company, which recently avoided extinction by buying itself out of an unsuccessful deal with Rare Medium Group Inc. in late April.

"If there's no [governmental] relief, there will be appropriate belt-tightening measures," Haber said, referring to employee layoffs and cutbacks. "None of the products [New Music Monthly and New Music Report] are in danger. As much as we were expecting the event to be a big revenue producer, it was not as if we put all our eggs in one basket."

• DJ Spooky
• Girls Against Boys
• Clinic
• Interpol

Girls Against Boys say the marketing plan behind its latest album on DGC hinged on the second single.

Too bad you never heard it.

Sources at Mercury Records concede that the Cardigans' recent follow-up to its auspicious debut fell victim to label neglect. The reason for these disappointments? It might have been the preoccupied employees and executives at both labels -- each part of the biggest corporate shakeup in music business history.

Six major-label conglomerates shrink to five this month, as Seagram's merges their newly purchased Polygram Music Group with its own Universal Music Group. Geffen Records, A&M, Interscope, MCA, Island, Mercury, Universal, Motown and Def Jam will form one single empire (restructured and divided into four major label groups, two on each coast) which will control an estimated 25 percent of the world's music market.

"The idea is that they will join the labels together, trim the roster, trim the staff, take the best of everything to hopefully have the biggest and best record label in the world," observed Julie Gordon, whose Velvet Rope website gives music industry insiders a place to chat, share, and dish.

The first of those moves happened on Thursday, dubbed "D-Day" in the industry, as hundreds of label employees received their pink slips. The publicity department at A&M Records has already been largely vaporized, and A&M artists Sheryl Crow and Chris Cornell were even in the label's Los Angeles offices on Thursday to say farewell to departing staffers. The moves have been coming for some time, making for an atmosphere that is hardly conducive to productivity.

"Many employees are about to get fired," Girls Against Boys bassist Johnny Temple said, "so it's hard to do a good job working on a band's career when you don't know where you stand with your boss." [28.8 RealVideo]

"If they're gonna have a whole set of new relationships and the people that originally had the passion and belief in the artist are no longer there, will they have the follow-through?" TVT Records head Steve Gottlieb asked rhetorically. "A lot of the cuts may be mutual."

Amid the tumult, some A-list artists are making their own moves. With Island Records under new management, U2 will leave its career-long label and head for Interscope, where they'll be overseen by producer-turned-executive Jimmy Iovine. Meanwhile, Sting is set to leave A&M for Mercury Records.

"This is gonna be an organization, Unigram, that's gonna have a hard time functioning as a seamless entity for many months if not a couple years,"[28.8 RealVideo] Gottlieb said.

And so consumers may need to be patient, as a number of artists will likely follow the lead of Insane Clown Posse, who will delay turning over nearly-completed new material until the merger-dust has settled. Despite these short-term ramifications, however, downsizing may have its advantages.

"It can be good for the industry in the sense that are too many bands getting signed every year," Gordon said. "If you think about how many albums come out every year versus how many are successful, probably now labels will have to sign fewer acts and that will be better for the industry."

Or will it? What about the quality of future signings? Some fear that enhanced corporate pressure to turn a quick buck will only increase the number of here-today/gone-tomorrow artists that have become a staple of the 90s.

"The day of having a band like the Ramones that stays on a major label for 22 years and has a strong base seems over," Geffen artist Rob Zombie told MTV News.

"You have a company that has a bottom line that has to be met and anxious shareholders that want to see a profit and want to see a profit fast," Gordon said. "Artist development takes time. It usually doesn't happen in one record or one tour or one single."

For an example, look no further than the Wallflowers. After a disappointing debut, Virgin Records didn't have the patience to stick around for album number two and dropped the band. Four years later, Interscope took a chance. Both label and band won big as the band's second effort sold more than four million copies. Will such major-label second-chances be fewer and farther between in the future?

Acts on the corporate precipice hold out hope that dropped bands and laid-off execs will come together in a blaze of music biz entrepreneurship, and set off an indie-label explosion.

"I think there's going to be a lot of new labels started up by former executives and former employees," GVSB drummer Alexis Fleisig theorized. "They're just going to start their own companies, and they have realistic expectations. I mean, a major company has such a large overhead that they have to have a band that sells millions and millions of records to keep them afloat, whereas an independent label can sell thousands of records and do very well."

Will the Universal/Polygram merger bring about a new era of glory for indie labels? Will the new multi-armed beast known as Unigram find a balance between commercial success and artistic credibility with artists like DMX, Marilyn Manson, Jay-Z, Nine Inch Nails, Foxy Brown, No Doubt, Method Man, Garbage and others in its stable? The answers to these questions, and many more, may not be visible until long after the D-Day dust has settled.

• Famous Monsters
• Girls Against Boys
• White Zombie
• Rob Zombie

Girls Against Boys spent most of 1998 on the road drumming up support for last year's critically-acclaimed effort, "Freak*On*Ica," but did take a few days out to film a cameo appearance in the upcoming film, "200 Cigarettes."

• Girls Against Boys

Garbage, which is nominated for eight MTV Video Music Awards this year, has finally firmed up a start date for its fall U.S. tour.

• 9/17 - Denver CO @ Mammoth Events Center
• 9/18 - Salt Lake City UT @ Wasatch Event Center
• 9/20 - Salem OR @ Salem Armory
• 9/22 - Seattle WA @ Paramount Theatre
• 9/24 - Davis CA @ Freeborn Hall
• 9/25 - San Jose CA @ Event Center Arena
• 9/26 - West Hollywood CA @ Hollywood Palladium
• 9/30 - Bakersfield CA @ Great Kern County Fair
• 10/1 - La Jolla CA @ RIMAC Arena - UCSD
• 10/2 - Riverside CA @ Student Recreation Center - UC Riverside
• 10/3 - Santa Barbara CA @ County Bowl

• Garbage
• Girls Against Boys

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

• Garbage
• Girls Against Boys

Low-end groove rockers Girls Against Boys return to record stores this week with the aptly-titled "Freak*On*Ica," a dance-rock cocktail that is already drawing rave reviews from critics and peers alike.

In fact, when MTV News sat down with Garbage recently, just as Butch Vig was lamenting that "There's not a lot of great guitar bands around right now," [300k QuickTime] his bandmate Shirley Manson jumped in, noting, "There's Girls Against Boys. They made a great... I mean, the guitars sound incredible on that record. And seeing them live, when you watch the audience watching them live the way they're all lit up, you know, they're just totally into it" [1MB QuickTime].

While GVSB has been fusing the worlds of rock and techno for years, the band turned the electronic factor up a few notches on its major label debut, largely with the help of Killing Joke and Public Image Limited producer Nick Launay.

"We talked to him a lot about integrating a lot of the sounds from techno or breakbeat or whatever you want to call it, bringing those sounds into what we do," Girls Against Boys keyboardist/bassist Eli Janney told MTV News of teaming with Launay. "We sent him all of our records, and he listened to them all, and he thought it was a cool idea to bring all of these elements in [1MB QuickTime], all these sounds, and mix them together. He was excited about it. He was one of the few producers that we met with, I think, that understood what we were trying to do."

Others seem to understand too, as the band's album earned an "A" from "Entertainment Weekly," and the first single, "Park Avenue," is picking up steam on radio playlists. The group is putting the finishing touches on a video for the song with the help of director Nick Gordon, the man who helmed the time-scratching video for Roni Size's "Brown Paper Bag."

Girls Against Boys are currently supporting the release of "Freak*On*Ica" with a European tour, and plan to visit the U.S. this summer.

• Garbage
• Girls Against Boys

If you've heard "12 Bar Blues," the solo album from Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, you may have noticed a similarity between Weiland's track "Cool Kiss" and a 1996 song from Girls Against Boys called, "Click Click."

If you have, you're not the only one. The band has also noticed the similarity (which extends to the title of the Weiland track, a phrase found in the lyrics of "Click Click"), and was apparently unfazed enough to joke about it this week with MTV News.

"We have a deal with Scott, you know, we share a lot of musical ideas," GVSB keyboardist/bassist Eli Janney quipped.

"It's a 'trading scheme,'" bassist Johnny Temple added.

"Yeah, so one of our verses he can use and we get to use one of his choruses. So on our next album, you'll hear one of his choruses on our songs," [700k QuickTime] Janney said.

"We're going to be borrowing heavily," drummer Alexis Fleisig noted.

When asked if there were any particular Weiland nuggets the band had hoped to work over, Janney kept the joke running.

"We've been going over the Stone Temple Pilots catalog just to see which one, because pretty much we can choose any one we want, so we're just going through it. We haven't decided yet," he said.

"We don't exercise creative control on one another," Temple added. "It's completely creatively open what you can take from one another." [1MB QuickTime]

"We're very close," Janney concluded.

Girls Against Boys representatives say, in all seriousness, that they don't plan on pressing the matter any further as they are turning their attention to shooting a video for the band's upcoming single "Park Avenue" with Nick Gordon, the director behind Roni Size's time-slipping video "Brown Paper Bag." Girls Against Boys will then shoot scenes for the upcoming Courtney Love, Ben Affleck flick "200 Cigarettes."

Representatives for Weiland's record label, Atlantic Records, could not be reached for comment.

• Girls Against Boys
• Talk Show
• Scott Weiland
• Stone Temple Pilots

One of the more anticipated albums of 1998, the major label debut from Girls Against Boys, has been put to bed and the band is currently wrapping up loose ends before it is released in the States on June 2.

Before unleashing "FREAK*ON*ICA" on eager music-heads (like the folks at "Alternative Press" who tagged the album one of the 25 most anticipated releases of the year), the band is finalizing plans for a headlining tour and preparing to shoot the album's first video. A spokesperson for GVSB said that the band will shoot a clip for "Park Avenue," the first single from "FREAK*ON*ICA," on its home turf of New York City over the course of a few days in mid-April.

The band will then launch a headlining tour of the U.K. and Europe on May 27, eight days after the album has its international release (the same day, May 19, U.S. fans will find vinyl copies of "FREAK*ON*ICA" in stores).

The band's new material, produced by P.I.L. and Killing Joke producer Nick Launay (see "Girls Against Boys Prepare To Enter Studio"), has already been road-tested on three recent club dates in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington.

GVSB devotees who missed those shows, and who happen to be in Europe this summer, might want to check out the following shows:

• 5/24 - Brighton, UK @ Essential Music Festival
• 5/27 - Bristol, UK @ Fleece & Firkin
• 5/28 - Nottingham, UK @ Sam Fay's
• 5/29 - Sheffield, UK @ Boardwalk
• 5/30 - Newcastle, UK @ Riverside
• 5/31 - Glasgow, UK @ King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
• 6/2 - Dublin, IRE @ Mean Fiddler
• 6/4 - Manchester, UK @ Hop & Grape
• 6/5 - London, UK @ University Of London
• 6/7 - Paris, FRA @ La Boule Noire
• 6/9 - Cologne, GER @ Underground
• 6/10 - Amsterdam, NET @ Melkweg
• 6/11 - Hamburg, GER @ Logo
• 6/12 - Hultsfred, SWE @ Hultsfred Festival
• 6/13 - Copenhagen, DEN @ Loppen

• Girls Against Boys