Archives:
Triple Fast Action – “Mooner”
Triple Fast Action formed in 1993 and disbanded a mere five years later. In that brief period of time, they established a reputation for their engaging live performances and dynamic musicianship. They would eventually sign with Capitol Records, joining other prominent Chicago-area acts who also partnered with major labels around the same time, (Smashing Pumpkins, Smoking Popes, Veruca Salt, Hum, Urge Overkill and others).
On April 21st, they’ll release a self-titled collection of 37 rare and unreleased songs. It will be available from Forge Again Records as a triple LP, double CD and digitally. Twenty of these tracks were recorded by the band in their practice space in 1994 and have now been remixed by John Agnello, (Dinosaur Jr., Redd Kross, Sonic Youth). The remaining songs are from various studio sessions or radio appearances, and the entire album was mastered by Carl Saff.
When asked about the origins of this project, drummer Brian St. Clair said “It was something that came up after Justin from Forge Again Records released the reissue of our album Cattlemen Don’t. We had all these songs sitting around that had never seen the light of day and we all thought, ‘Why not share them as long as there was favorable interest in the band after all these years?’ It honestly surprised us as a band.”
One of the record’s most notable tracks is “Mooner,” which the band recorded themselves back in ’94. When recalling the recording process for this song, bassist Kevin Tihista said “It was one of those songs that I knew was something special from the audience response when we’d play it. I can’t say I remember recording this particular song at the practice space, but as far as recording all of these songs, my memory is that we didn’t sleep for maybe 36 hours because we recorded them all in like a day, and then another half day mixing them. We did it all ourselves and we didn’t really know what we were doing, except for Ronnie, (guitarist Ronnie Schneider) who owned the 16-track reel to reel we used.”
Check out the video for “Mooner” below and don’t forget to pre-order the album here.
Mike Lust – “Danceteria”
This Friday, Mike Lust will release his debut solo album, Demented Wings. Lust is both the frontman for Tight Phantomz and an accomplished producer, having produced or engineered albums by Urge Overkill, William Elliott Whitmore, Joan of Arc, Russian Circles and others. While Lust had been contemplating the idea of making a solo record for years, it wasn’t until the onset of the pandemic last spring that he discovered a newfound motivation. He explained, “I started what became the songs on this record maybe four years ago. I was making some good strides with them until my brother passed away. That just kind of took the wind out of my sails for a little while, as it would with anyone who loses someone close to them. When the pandemic hit last March, I thought it was as good a time as any to pick it back up. I started to quarantine at my studio, basically going up there all day, every day, and going home only to sleep. Before long, I could start to see what the arc of the record was going to be and just took it from there.”
The resulting full-length features a total of ten songs, which include an array of eclectic influences that ultimately come together to form a singular vision. Such characteristics are plainly evident in the album’s first single, “Danceteria.” When asked about the accompanying video for this song and where its concept came from, Lust said “The idea for the video came little by little until it was finally shot. I was watching a lot of Twilight Zone. It actually started with the idea of what happens in the dark when no one’s watching. In the small hours. Do the mannequins come to life? Do the animals take over the museum? That sort of thing. The idea evolved into what we finally have when we decided to shoot it at the Empty Bottle, which was the idea of the video’s director, Brendan Leonard. That feeling of the world being in suspended animation. All it took was a song to bring it back. That sounds kinda corny, so it needed to have a little eeriness to it. Some sadness. I’m actually quite proud of it, even if I don’t actually know what it’s supposed to mean.”
In regards to what he has planned to support Demented Wings, Lust detailed several of his goals. He said, “I do know that I want this record to reach as many people as it can. I guess putting together a band to perform this music is the first step. Playing live. I definitely enjoy the process of making videos and I do believe they are effective in getting the music across with some imagery, so more of that. I really just hope that this record affords me the chance to keep making music and that there’s an audience and an outlet for what I do. To help me build the momentum to keep doing this with some frequency, because there are so many more songs in the can.” Check out the video for “Danceteria” below and pre-order the album via Forge Again Records here.
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