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At some point during my sophomore year in college (1990), my friend Jay sent me a mix tape (one of many, many tapes full of awesomeness I’d get from him over the years) that was filled with great pop-punk stuff that was brand-new to me at the time – Green Day, Snuff, Jawbreaker, Cringer, and many others. One band that stuck out in particular, though, was Nuisance. They had a rough-around-the-edges sound, with songs that had a million parts, but a very sort of approachable feel. More ambitious in their construction than most other pop-punk stuff, these songs appealed to the part of me that likes Rush as well as the part of me that likes the Buzzcocks.
Down the road there were full-length albums and a few more singles, but this was the first record I ever heard by Nuisance, and it’s still my favorite.
We open with “Terminal Fuckup”, which starts with a half-time three-chord riff, the guitar strumming lightly enough to let the individual notes come through. After a few repetitions of this, it really kicks in, and the rhythm section (Kyle Henner and Jesse Wickman) really starts to shine, with Jesse’s drumming propelling Kyle’s melodic bass line. Andy Asp’s buzzsaw guitar rides on top of it in a blur of distortion, which his voice soon matches. His voice always seemed to me to fit the music so perfectly – ragged and worn, melodic and laid-back. The song goes through several parts, making it sort of prog-rock-ish,before bringing the opening riff back in and finishing out the song.
Side one doesn’t let up at all, continuing immediately with the hardcore-speed “King Rat”.
Even this doesn’t remain pitworthy throughout, though. There’s a detour in the middle for
another Northern California mellow riff, then the verse comes back in. After that, though,
we get another little proggy riff followed by the ending part, which tightens things up with
a metal sort of chugging and some ominous vocals to go with it before the fadeout.
One of my friends loves songs with a million parts, believing that music should “go somewhere”.
I think he’d like side two of this record, which is devoted to the 6 ½ minute opus (an eternity
in punk time) “Sungod”. The song opens with another slow strummy riff which has a little
melodic plucking in it, like we’re sitting around a campfire. It gives way to the main riff, which
is anchored by another wonderful melodic bass line and some busy drumming. After a few times
through the verses, the first of several new riffs comes in, the guitar and bass blending on a new
melody before the guitar begins a weird muted arpeggio riff. After that, we get a loud 6/8 riff
that’s only played twice, followed by a Meat Puppets-esque country punk kind of part that segues
perfectly back into the opening riff and the body of the song again. After a few times through this
main part, a new proggy arpeggio riff introduces the epic ending section, with Andy singing his
heart out and the rest of us bobbing our heads along (yes, yes, yes – this rocks!). This was the
song that really made Nuisance stand out to me as their own kind of band, not interested in
simply rehashing old ways of writing songs. Sure, some of the odd little one-off parts might
seem a little goofy in hindsight, but they were going for it, and I was with them, 100%.
I think he’d like side two of this record, which is devoted to the 6 ½ minute opus (an eternity
in punk time) “Sungod”. The song opens with another slow strummy riff which has a little
melodic plucking in it, like we’re sitting around a campfire. It gives way to the main riff, which
is anchored by another wonderful melodic bass line and some busy drumming. After a few times
through the verses, the first of several new riffs comes in, the guitar and bass blending on a new
melody before the guitar begins a weird muted arpeggio riff. After that, we get a loud 6/8 riff
that’s only played twice, followed by a Meat Puppets-esque country punk kind of part that segues
perfectly back into the opening riff and the body of the song again. After a few times through this
main part, a new proggy arpeggio riff introduces the epic ending section, with Andy singing his
heart out and the rest of us bobbing our heads along (yes, yes, yes – this rocks!). This was the
song that really made Nuisance stand out to me as their own kind of band, not interested in
simply rehashing old ways of writing songs. Sure, some of the odd little one-off parts might
seem a little goofy in hindsight, but they were going for it, and I was with them, 100%.
The next summer, Jay set up a show in Indiana with our band (Lynyrd’s Innards) opening up for
Nuisance. This was such an amazing thing to me at the time, and it really highlighted one of my
favorite things about the punk/DIY world – that you could be a tiny band in a tiny town and get
to share a stage with one of your favorite bands in the world (though technically there was no
stage at the South Haven Community Center, just the bare floor).
Nuisance. This was such an amazing thing to me at the time, and it really highlighted one of my
favorite things about the punk/DIY world – that you could be a tiny band in a tiny town and get
to share a stage with one of your favorite bands in the world (though technically there was no
stage at the South Haven Community Center, just the bare floor).
The back cover art for their first full-length, “Confusion Hill”, included a stylized question mark
which I have tattooed on my shoulder, partly to remind me to never think I’m certain of anything,
and partly in homage to what Nuisance meant to me at that time in my life. Years later, I saw
Andy playing in Chicago with the band he was in at the time (The Pattern), and was happy to find
that he remembered me and the fun we had playing shows with them (we played with them again
the summer after the SHCC show). I showed him my tattoo, and he rolled up his sleeve to show
me that he had the same one in the same place. It was a beautiful connection across the years and
confirmed for me the spirit of DIY that has been so important to me for so much of my life.
which I have tattooed on my shoulder, partly to remind me to never think I’m certain of anything,
and partly in homage to what Nuisance meant to me at that time in my life. Years later, I saw
Andy playing in Chicago with the band he was in at the time (The Pattern), and was happy to find
that he remembered me and the fun we had playing shows with them (we played with them again
the summer after the SHCC show). I showed him my tattoo, and he rolled up his sleeve to show
me that he had the same one in the same place. It was a beautiful connection across the years and
confirmed for me the spirit of DIY that has been so important to me for so much of my life.
I love how perfect the production is on this. Perfect in the sense that it is exactly what it needs to be for these particular songs. All the instruments really stand out in their own way and have their own space. And the snare drum just sounds kickass.
ReplyDeleteI love what a great counterpoint the second side is to the first side. Sungod still gives me goosebumps when I hear it. That song was really important to me. This record is definitely also one of my all time faves.
Thanks, I have been looking for this for a VERY long time, since having it on 7" years ago.
ReplyDeleteDo you have the non-album version of "Harvest Time?" I like that recording better than the Confusion Hill recording.
I had this 7" when I was a kid, been looking for it for so long. Do you have any other old Northern California/East Bay 7's from back then?
ReplyDeleteHey there, I played bass in Nuisance. Definitely have fond memories of playing and hanging out with Lynyrds Innards! I have one of your 7 inches!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I stumbled across this blog today. Not sure if anyone still looks at it, but glad to hear our music managed to touch a few people so long ago. Look me up on facebook if you ever want to chat about those times!
Cheers.
Kiley Henner