Treepeople on KEXP Live Room, 8/12/23

I meant to post this awhile ago. Treepeople played 4 songs and did an interview on KEXP in Seattle during our last tour ever in August. Our show in Seattle that night was the best one on the tour, which made sense as Seattle was our 2nd hometown and all our old friends were there. We were determined to bring it.

The KEXP staff were so lovely to us, we thank you!

Treepeople on KEXP, 8/12/23

~WRF

The Final Treepeople Tour, August, 2023: A Retrospecive

 Journal entries (somewhat augmented):

Treepeople ‘Jaunt Tour.’ August 2023, final shows

8/1/23

The drive up the Columbia River Gorge [on the day before, Monday, 7/31/23] was beautiful, as it always is, traffic was light, it was a gorgeous day. [ok, so this is probably the least scenic stretch of the drive up the Gorge, but I was ya know, driving, and the scenic stretch is the part of the drive where you really have to focus. Even so, I probably shouldn't eh…take photos while driving, period. 'Nuf said.]

Part of getting ready for these shows has always been about listening to the songs of the set over and over again so that a groove is dug into my/our/brain/brains.This method works but it is a bit maddening and tends to make you sick of your own band! A joke between me and Scott (who also applies the groove digging method) is “I am SO sick of Treepeople!” 

So on the drive to Boise, I didn’t listen to any Treepeople. I had borrowed Dug Martsch’s van, it worked out well as he had lived in Portland for a short time and had left it there, so he needed it driven to Boise, and I needed to bring my drums (I HATE playing other people’s kits and am very attached to mine, a ‘66 Ludwig, made the same year I was, as I always say,  thus the 8 hour drive vs the one hour flight (it takes me the same amount of time to fly to Boise as it does to commute by bus to work in Portland!) so it was a win win. 

My babies, purchased in 1990 for $500, made the same year I was; 1966

His van had a CD player, so I listened to some comp CDs I made when I lived in Boston (2003 - 2008), it was a little snapshot of what I was listening to at that time: Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Satisfact, 7 Year Bitch, Flaming Lips, Cheap Trick (the debut lp, of course), Throwing Muses, A Tribe Called Quest, my ‘guilty pleasure’ at the time, Queens of the Stone Age and many other bands. The tunes propelled me through the Gorge and into the shrub desert that leads into Boise proper.

8/2/23

The day of the first rehearsal wasn’t until Wednesday, 8/2/23, so I had a decompression day on 8/1/23, which I needed, as I was coming off a very stressful week at work. I did some reading, took some old man naps, and watched some news. Then off for a nice salmon dinner at a bar near the hotel I often stay at, a new tradition now when I am in town, which also includes a shot of Makers, neat, a tumbler of ice with a few limes from which I mix a cocktail of whisky, some ice, melted ice water and squeezed limes. Though we are only ramping up for two shows in town before hitting the road, this is similar to how one kills time on tour, and interestingly, similar to how one does the same when you retire. On an interesting note, one night I randomly sat next to the driver for The Breeders, who had some amazing stories about her journey as one of the few women drivers in the biz, and the sexist bullshit she has had to endure.

I am about to release a solo EP, a first for me [I have released home recording demos over the years, but that's it]. I am both excited and nervous about it. I mention it, for beyond blatant just self-promotion (which I am allowed on my own fucking blog) as it is the next focus in my musical life. As my friend and producer (who produced this record) Steve Fisk said in relation to Treepeople members and solo music after Treepeople; "No one's heard from you yet."

I did have to chat a few times with the guy who is covering for me at my big, complicated, demanding job, but I have promised myself not to log into my email at all anymore this whole trip. I am grateful for my job, and I don't hate it, in fact I plan to retire in it. But ya gotta disconnect. Rock n roll ain't a bad way to do that.

We rehearsed at a place called The Warehouse in Garden City where a number of local bands rehearse, a nice room. It took us awhile to set up and get going as is often the way the first day; setting up is slow, you need to figure out the best arrangement of equipment for the best sound for the room…Dug had recently toured in Europe with his band Built to Spill, and had recently played some out of town solo shows, so he is a little behind on rehearsing Treepeople songs, he will catch up, he's a pro, and he already sounded pretty good. In fact, we sounded way better than I expected, considering we haven't played together in 4 years (since just before COVID in 2019, when we played at the VAC in Boise). These songs are challenging (especially on drums!) but we were determined. 

End of journal entries.

First day load in at The Warehouse

8/3/23?

Note that I don't have a journal entry for 8/3, but our friends Meredith Swassing, Daniel Yoshida and Kenneth Cole were there, and Kenneth & Meredith recorded some great videos of our rehearsal that day.

Treepeople rehearsing Fishbasket, 8/3/23, in Boise, Idaho ~ Filmed by Kenneth Cole

Snippet of Treepeople rehearsing the song Handcuffs, 8/3/23 ~ Filmed by Meredith Swassing

Boise, 8/9 & 8/10/23

We played 5 shows with only a week's worth of practice, 4 years since playing together last: Two shows in Boise to kick it all off at the fabulous new arcade Realms, the first show opened by State of Confusion, the hardcore Punk band 3 of us in Treepeople formed in the mid '80s (then the band morphed into Treepeople). Incidentally, SOC had the honor of playing the first ever show on that stage, at a party at the end of our week of reunion shows in April of 2023. Thank you, Meredith, for your persistence and insistence on that happening. It's a family biz, you see, opened by her son and ex husband.

One interesting thing that happened at this show was that the guy in Boise who makes and sells merch for both Treepeople and State of Confusion also road-manages the legendary LA Punk band FEAR and he asked if State of Confusion wanted to play a show with them the following week; “Um, yes, please.” (more on that later in a separate entry on the State of Confusion reunion shows).

All the shows were supported by the mighty Prism B*tch (who did their first ever tour with us back in 2018).

Photos of Prism B*tch and all other photos are by the author, unless otherwise noted

The second Boise night our direct support was our sister Boise band Dirt Fishermen, who we came up with in the early days in Boise and played many shows with. It was perfect that our last Boise show was with them. They ripped it up, as usual.

We got our sea legs with these shows, and people had a lot of fun, but also, as with all these last shows, it was bittersweet; Boise spawned us and has always been good to us and we thank you. 

Then Treepeople hit the road. Our old friend and Merch Guy Supreme, Dave Wall, ate ice cream with a Buck knife. I was impressed enough to take a photo:

Portland, 8/11/23

Portland was up next at the beautiful old theater The Aladdin, where we played to a nearly full house of warm and friendly Portland fans with Seattle's Patrons of Husbandry, featuring one of our favorite Seattle songwriters, Rusty Willoughby. They played a beautiful, flawless set, Portland loved it and so did we. 

Prism B*tch was up next, and they were made to play on a stage like that and killed it that night.

Prism B*tch in action, click for video ~ Filmed by the author

The Aladdin begins to fill up. A wonderful show, thank you Portland!

Fan filmed 'medley' of Treepeople set at the Aladdin, Portland, OR, 8/11/23 

~ Filmed by Rezellen

Seattle, 8/12/23

We were asked by the Seattle radio station KEXP to play on their live room show, so we left Portland about 7 am to make load in. As often happens after playing a show, I took forever to unwind and be able to sleep, and thus I got a whopping 2.5 hours of sleep before we hit the road. 

When we rolled up in Seattle at KEXP, and began to unload, Scott realized he left his guitar in Portland! Oh shit! Luckily Doug had a spare guitar, Scott played his familiar red Stratocaster. The staff at KEXP were lovely to us and it was super fun! Thank you KEXP! (Note: As of this writing this has not been released, but will be soon, and I will of course post it here).

A note about KEXP: When out of towners bought the beloved college radio station KCMU years ago, we in the Seattle scene were bummed and assumed they would ruin it, but they sure proved us wrong!

Dug showing Lilah Rose of Prism B*tch how to play the Treepeople song Funnelhead @ KEXP 

 

Click here to see Treepeople on KEXP, 8/12/23

The Seattle show on 8/12/23 is being described by many folks (old friends from our Seattle years who we trust and who don't blow smoke up people's asses) as 'epic.' As I have written on social media, I agree (and as you may know about me, I also don't blow smoke up my own…nevermind). 

It felt great playing in our second home town to so many dear old friends, including people to whom we owe a great debt, like Steve Fisk, John Goodmanson and Stuart Hallerman. 

And later, Scott and I discussed how we both felt our departed member and Scott's brother Pat in the room that night. 

Pat 'Brown' Schmaljohn, ripping it up at the very beginning of the band at rehearsal in 1988, playing my gone but not forgotten State of Confusion bass

On a negative note, we had already scheduled an early show, starting at 7 pm, but The Crocodile informed us last minute that there was a 'dance party' scheduled after our show and we had to start at 6 pm! While we love the Crocodile staff, always, and the new room, while austere, sounds killer, this was bullshit and our aforementioned old friends were kicked out! Boo Crocodile! (though in full disclosure, many of our  Seattle fans are older, like us, and some were happy about an even earlier show!)

Seattle friends from way back at the Crocodile show (Left to right behind me, in the center): Film score composer/drummer Steve Cavit, Cedric Ross (AKA Fred Roth) of the bands Imij, TAP and The Fred Roth Review), Stuart Hallerman, owner Avast Studio. Note that, nope, I was not high, quit that stuff years ago, but I do have neural issues on my left side and thus my left eye is droopy! ~ Yours, Self Conscious Wayne).

Seattle friends from way back at the Crocodile show: (Left to right behind me, in the center): 

Cedric Ross (AKA Fred Roth) of the bands Imij, TAP and The Fred Roth Review, John Goodmanson, producer/musician, Steve Fisk, producer/musician

This show was opened by our favorite Seattle band, whose studio Electric Eel we rehearsed beneath in the '90s, The Purdins. They tore it up with their introspective, sad but humorous pop Punk.

Prism B*tch brought it again, as they do every night, and as I have mentioned, they won many new fans that night. 

Sadly, I have no live Prism B*tch photos from this show as during their set I was taking a nap upstairs in their hotel room, which they graciously offered me, as I only had 2.5 hours of sleep the night before, so I will just use this awesome photo from their Instagram:

Treepeople, playing the tune Handcuffs, Seattle, 8/12/23 - Scotty was on fire that night! Seattle was our best performance for sure. 

~ Screenshot by author from Janet Crisp's video, see actual video here 

Bellingham, 8/13/23 - Last Treepeople show ever…😕

Bellingham was fun, a smaller show like the ones we came up playing. We were conscious of the fact that it was our last show ever, but it was a chill night, and a relaxed, looser set. The crowd had a great time and so did we.

[in the first post of this entry somehow this next section on the openers got cropped, apologies to the bands!]

Opening was the mighty band from Spokane, Washington who we played with at Treefort once, Itchy Kitty. They were incredible and topped it off with a killer, intense version of Talking Heads' Psycho Killer.

Prism B*tch were relaxed and in the zone and had people dancing. A great show all around!

The always killer Itchy Kitty, who murdered it that night

The ever awesome Prism B*tch

After the show we drank and laughed and partied like we were young again, complete with wacky antics and a trading of stomach punches and face slaps between Dug and Teresa, some ritual, and then the throwing and catching of peanuts in the mouth, while the slow realization that this was it settled in; the long journey, that started with the forming of a hardcore punk band called Dissident Militia in Boise, Idaho in 1983, had ended. Then, sipping whisky in the hotel and telling tales and finally, sleep.

Wayne and Teresa, drummer friends for life!

Group shot of the whole 2023 'jaunt' tour crew. Photo by Lauren Poole

The next morning we had a nice breakfast with our road crew and Pr*sm Bitch and then we all went our separate ways....✋

The last breakfast with the whole crew. ~ Photo taken by our wonderful waitress (on a personal note, it blows me away how much I look like my dad as I get older. RIP)

What a ride. What an honor. Thank you friends and fans for all of your support over the decades!

❤️ Treepeople

PS - Why the last shows? I have a disability, a numb left leg and partially numb left arm and hand, and it is getting harder and harder for me to play punk drums. I want to go out while I still sound good! This doesn't mean I am done drumming or playing music! I just can't play fast drums or bass anymore (and that is also partly why the State of Confusion shows were also the last). ~ Wayne

Ticket link for Seattle Treepeople show in August at the Crocodile

Hello all,

I promise, I am working on a draft of the next chronological entry, and I know this has become more of a bulletin board of late, but my job is nuts and between the SOC reunion and the Treepeople stuff, life has been a little nutty as well!

Here is the ticket link for the Seattle show at the Crocodile

August 2023 Treepeople Reunion Shows

Hello Treepeople people!

At long last I have confirmed dates, venues and bands, but the only venue that is now selling tickets is The Alladdin in Portland, OR. I am posting now anyway as I know people want to plan travel, and also you can check the venue ticket sites to see when they post, I will also post them when I see them. ~ WF

8/9 in Boise, ID, with Prism Bitch and State Of Confusion ~ @ Realms

8/10 in Boise, ID, with Prism Bitch and Dirt Fishermen ~ @ Realms

8/11 in Portland, OR, with Prism Bitch and Patrons of Husbandry (featuring Rusty Willoughby from Pure Joy and Flop) ~ @ The Aladdin - Tickets here

8/12 in Seattle, WA, with Prism Bitch and The Purdins ~ @ The Crocodile

8/13 (previously incorrectly listed as 8/14) in Bellingham, WA, with Prism Bitch and Itchy Kitty ~ @ Wild Buffalo

State of Confusion Reunion Shows, Boise, ID, April 21st & 22nd, 2023

State of Confusion (SOC) is playing 2 reunion shows in Boise, Idaho on April 21st. & 22nd, 2023. The last reunion was in 2011, and this may be the last (we're gettin' old!) Watch this space for ticket info end of February. 

Hope to see you there!

Poster design & layout, Scott Schmaljohn, artwork Cliff Green and Pat Schmaljohn, repspectively.

Shows played in loving memory of Pat 'Brown' Schmaljohn

Treepeople Releases Deluxe gatefold edition of Guilt, Regret, Embarrassment with Bonus Disc and Graphics

Hello all! I will stop apologizing for long absences as it is what it is; I have an insane job and have been busy with band and solo stuff, so at least half the busy-ness is well worth it!

Treepeople has rereleased the 1991 lp Guilt, Regret, Embarrassment (GRE/ 'gree' ) on K Records as a deluxe gatefold with a bonus disc containing songs first released as singles on 7 inch records (and the hard to find original release of GRE on Toxic Shock Records)! Watch for full release online in all the usual spots (Youtube, iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, etc.) on May 5th, 2023.

Here is the first single, the cover of David Bowie's song Andy Warhol, with a little slideshow I put together:

Treepeople - Andy Warhol

Here is a preview of the gatefold. (inside, Layout & design, Scott Schmaljohn, Concept & art direction, Wayne R. Flower, Cover art, Mike Scheer - Mike Scheer Facebook )

Buy a copy of the vynil here!

Treepeople Guilt, Regret, Embarrassment deluxe esition on on K Records

Watch for next post on a State of Confusion reunion in Boise, April 21st ans 22nd!

Be well, be swell, and give 'em hell,

~❤️ Wayne 🦏🌼

I'm still alive! Good things coming soon in the realm of this blog and of punk history: A State of Confusion reunion at Treefort, this March!

Happy New Year! I hope you are all as well as can be after all that we have all been through in the last couple of trying years (really, five, if you count the Trumpocalypse - and I do - that just keeps going and going like an authoritarian Energizer Bunny, or maybe a cockroach is a better metaphor, except, that would be a major insult to cockroaches, who are actually crucial to the environmental health of our planet). I am hanging in there after some trials in addition to what we have all have experienced, more on that in the next entry; speaking of which, I am working on that now (entries going forward will take me longer because, as I have mentioned, I am writing of the mid '90s, when my music career was very busy, as were my jobs that actually paid the bills, and then, you know, there were also self-created personal trials - it's all part of the music, ya know!).

Enough of that. Here is some good news; State of Confusion will be reuniting at the next Treefort Music Festival this coming March (exact dates/times TBA, watch this space and social media, but the fest is March 23rd - March 27th). 34 years since State of Confusion disbanded & reformed as Treepeople, 11 years since SOC last reunited in Boise, 23 years since Pat Schmaljohn left Earth. We honor him by reforming at Treefort, 2022. What the world needs now is super fast, skull ripping punk with something to say.

This go ‘round, we are excited to add Troy Wright to the ranks, who played drums for SOC a short time & came back to play bass on Treepeople reunion tours (2018-2019). Troy follows Pat’s roles in both bands; now singing in SOC & playing bass in Treepeople. Pat would approve. See you there!

In other news, from here on, we are putting the 'SOC' in social media! Spread the word!

SOC on Twitter 

SOC on Facebook

(Instagram coming soon!)

State of Confusion LP  'A' Street

We hope you had a great New Years and that you are ready to do some (respectful, nonviolent and observant of social distancing) thrashing!

"Tammy's clappin', where's all your taste, in your ASS?...God, we'll send 'em home with Tammy, an' all their equipment too...Yeah, their goin' home with you tonight, and play for you all night long..."  ~ Martha, co-owner of The Crazy Horse Salooon (where SOC cut our teeth) to her cocktail waitress Tammy as we were about to play a song, covertly recorded and lovingly used as the intro to the SOC song, 'Creeps' 

"...I have tried to understand the nature of your war/But it gets darker and darker, as I see more and more..." ~ Pat Schmaljohn, from his lyrics to the State of Confusion song, 'Decency.'

 

          

Pat 'Brown' Schmaljohn doing his thang in SOC, Boise, Idaho, 1985 ~ Photo by Brian Bothwell

Your blog author as young man (and a whole other being, really), when he played bass in State of Confusion and lived on Schmidt beer and ramen, too poor to afford a shirt, apparently ~Photo by Brian Bothwell

The State of Confusion is a pro-vaccination band. Get vaccinated! For yourself, your family, your community, and so we can END THIS FUCKING THING ALREADY!

Yours, with Love, Wayne Ray 'Rhino' Flower II

A Music History Part 42: Scott Schmaljohn finds his own groove, Wayne's 'dance card' as musician fills up, and Kurt says 'Fuck it.'

Disclaimer: Memory is a funny thing, and an elusive one. Meaning; I might have some of this wrong, as 1. My memory is not always accurate, like anyone and 2. It is from my perspective only. Any friends  who were there, feel free to correct me or add things I have missed. It helps! Also, no gossip on anyone here, it ain't about that. Personal details are on a surface level, and friends, girlfriends and others are re-named to respect their privacy. People in bands generally put their names out there on albums and in interviews anyway, and are not in the habit of staying anonymous, and therefore are named here. That said, anyone who is in the blog that wishes me not to use their name has only to ask. Seattle Years Disclaimer: As I enter the Seattle years in this music blog, the above disclaimer goes double, because so much happened and there are so many details to cover in this 14 year period; so many shows, so many bands, so many friends and so much change in my life. As a result of this and the fact that the four of us who formed Treepeople found ourselves in the midst of a scene which blew up around us and attracted the eyes of the world just 2 years after our arrival, not to mention the 12 years I played music following that, I am bound to, hell, I will forget something.

This means two things: I will be coming back to entries and adding things to them over the months following publication, and, that the part of the above disclaimer where I ask for help from people in keeping me honest and in remembering things is crucial to them. I thank anyone ahead of time who was there, and, those who weren't there who have access to valid info, for helping me to correct errors in dates or chronology. Yes, I have the Internet, but many bands, scenes and things I will cover did not receive the attention I feel that they deserved and thus I will recall them mostly from memory, or rather, memories; mine and those of friends. Also, friends who were in bands which I do not happen to mention, please don't take it personally, just remind me. I have created a monster in undertaking this blog, one which I am determined to ride until the end!

Lastly, as mentioned, this scene gained national attention, and thus, needless to say and as we all know, many bands/people became famous, became rock stars, were/are admired by millions, etc and etc...This makes another part of my original disclaimer even more important. This memoir is intended to tell my story, from my perspective. I have no intention of creating a place where people can seek gossip about famous people, nor is it about 'name-dropping'. I write of my impressions of people, bands, and the Seattle scene from the '90s into the early 2000s. I protect those who are my friends fiercely because a symptom of being known is frequent intrusion into their lives beyond a level that I feel is acceptable. Thank you for indulging me this disclaimer.

A kind of disclaimer on Violent Green entries...In writing about the band Violent Green, at this time I am not in contact with Jenny O'lay, so I am not directly getting input from her, and, one member is no longer alive. In the case of the former, out of respect to O'lay, I am compelled to keep personal details at a high level, and in terms of Drew Quinlan (RIP, Brother), I am not in touch with any of his family to get approval of what I write about concerning him, as I did with my previously passed bandmate, Pat Schmaljohn (and thus felt better in writing about Pat) but I do not have the same access to family in Drew's case, so for that reason, out of respect for Drew and his family, I will also keep details at a high level. I won't make it cold and unpersonal, don't misunderstand me. Our dynamic as people was a huge part of the band. I guess what I am getting at is there are details that will remain private, to meet with high standards I strive to meet on this blog, even more so in light of this lack of input from the former bandmates of which I write. I hope I have achieved these standards. This  also brings up the point I always make, but it is important to reiterate; this is all from my perspective only, and of anyone whom I get input from.

Our odd relationships and their tensions were one with the music, and I think, actually I know, that was a good thing, a necessary ingredient of this band, a band that forever reshaped how I thought about music, both listening to it and making it. I owe that to Drew and Jenny's brilliance and imperfectness, which made me feel okay about my own imperfections, (only to a degree, as my inner, self-critical voice was still in full effect) and it helped me realize that even I held brilliance, in my own way, when I played with them, warts and all. One thing I can confidently say is; we gave a fuck about the music. And that was because this was a highly musical band (most of the people who got what we were doing were musicians themselves) and thus I will focus much of my energy in terms of the VG entries talking about that; the music, it's influences and forms, and how the three of us and what we brought to the band from previous projects and the music we each loved, created, eventually, a rich tapestry. It is worth digging into this world O'lay spun with this bizarre, dark, poppy, goth, folksy punk music from Mars ~ * 

I have realized that this period of my life was so busy and so many things weave together with each other, I need to do longer entries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My other blogs: Short Story Long - (Top of mind, conversational, formal essays, photo essays, etc.) Artwork, Poetry
 
 
"I hear Trees falling"...and see new shoots of life

The last time I saw Treepeople was in '93 or so (early '93, as Pat and Doug were still in the band, late '92?), Steve Fisk and I went to see them at the OK Hotel in Seattle. It was the first time I felt comfortable doing so. They were great, and at this point they had stage hands doing guitar switches on stage, and had somehow gotten a sponsorship from Gibson guitars (their SG model was and still is Scott's favorite axe). I was pretty amazed by all this.

Scott Schmaljohn finally called it quits with carrying on the Treepeople name in 1994, after many lineup changes (in which the person who replaced me on drums, Tony Dallas Reed, played drums, guitar and bass over time in different lineups). Also playing in the later lineups was bass player Eric Carnell, a Seattle musician and friend of Treepeople. The final line up was Carnell on bass, Eric Akre on drums, John Polle on guitar and some songwriting, and of course Scott Schmaljohn as main songwriter and guitarist.

Artwork by Mike Scheer, photograph by Jhoanna Calma

Treepoeple's final LP was Actual Re-enactment, which received mixed reviews, in part because of things I have discussed in previous entries about how Scott continuing Treepeople without Doug Martsch didn't sit well with some fans, but I have also seen some glowing reviews of it. By this point, I wasn't tracking Treepeople as closely as right after I quit. I heard some tracks here and there and liked many of them a lot, but I felt they were no longer Treepeople songs as I knew Treepeople. That is of course my personal bias. There are many fans who were introduced to Treepeople with this record and love it, as did many long term fans. And there are songs like Low and Will We Ever that are really good, but they felt like Scott Schmaljohn songs to me. Weird to say because he was half the songwriting in Treepeople, I struggle to make it understood that these songs are different! Kind of like how Doug's Built to Spill tunes were different than his Treepeople tunes (though in Scott's case less so, thus the 'Kind of like...'). Dig?

John Polle has always been a favorite musician/songwriter of mine (and a great guy!) and I like everything he has been part of, and I do feel he was a good fit for Treepeople, especially in his honoring of the traditional TP guitar play. But I feel his songwriting wasn't always a fit with Treepeople, despite the songs being of high quality. He would shine in the next band to form out of the breakup of Treepeople, Stuntman, whom I discuss below.
 
For me, as I have mentioned, Actual Re-enactment highlights Scott's songwriting evolution and strengths, and hinted at what was to come once he was liberated from the daunting Treepeople name, which by 1994 had a solid reputation attached to it. The songs are well-crafted, the playing very tight (especially Akre's drumming), the production excellent. I wasn't the best judge, then or now, not just because I was an ex member of the band, but because I hadn't listened to it much. To be honest I feel a bit embarrassed by that fact, but by this point, as you can tell if you have been following these recent entries, I was a little busy!

It was definitely time for Scott to move on, and I feel now and felt then, as I have mentioned, that his own voice as a songwriter deserved to be heard, deserved to be free. Scott will tell you, and has told me in an interview, that his songwriting is what it is no matter what band he is in. This is of course spot on (Scott on? ; ) generally, but I think that since Treepeople started as a two songwriter band, there were certain constrictions as a result, as, possibly, in his mind, even subconsciously, he may have been in part shaping songs to be songs for that name. Obviously, this is my opinion.




Photo of Stuntman's debut LP from Gravy Lane Records bandcamp page for a recent vinyl re-release: https://stuntman1.bandcamp.com/album/stuntman

Stuntman

"...John Polle one time asked the bartender at a show in Eugene if he could have a pint glass of scotch. The bartender laughed and said "Um, I don't think so." I think you get the picture…” ~ Scott Schmaljohn  

I wrote a bio for the re-release of Stuntman's excellent self-titled, debut lp recently (https://stuntman1.bandcamp.com/album/stuntman), re-released by Gravy Lane records on vinyl. I will quote from it here and there, and I have included it in its entirety at the end of this entry. Regarding the name choice for the band, Scott described it this way in my interview with him for the bio:

“...We struggled with a name and our first working title was "Dry Socket". I had gotten wisdom teeth pulled and I thought it was kinda cool. Glad we changed it [the band played a few shows under this name, as well as the name ‘Blanket Party’]. I always liked the name Stuntman because of the ‘70s reference (I always wanted to be a stuntman growing up). I also thought the Stuntman title was appropriate since you have to get up on stage and throw yourself into the music. You beat yourself up on tour and keep going every night…” 

The members of Stuntman were: co-guitarist/songwriter John Polle (who was also in the last lineup of Treepeople on guitar and songwriting, of course), drummer Mike Rundle, an active musician from the Boise music scene and Sean Lennon (no, not that Sean Lennon!) on bass, from Pullman, Washington, as was Polle, and both were longtime friends/fans of Treepeople.

Lennon and Polle were in a couple bands in their Pullman days, one of which was a cool band called Thin Section. In an email exchange where I reached out to Sean Lennon to help me with corrections in the bio (thank you for the many corrections, Lennie!), he talks of the genesis of Stuntman, "...Our earliest set list was comprised of Treepeople songs left over from the last album Actual Reenactment that JP played on.  Those songs were Heinz Von Forrester, Bag Of Wood, and Bootstraps.  The other half was comprised of re-worked Thin Section songs; The Right Channel, Car Crash, and the The Devil. There were a couple new tunes as well; Chickens Don't Have Fingers which Scott & I wrote together, and Watch which was a Scott tune. The Right Channel ended up coming out on our first 7" along with Watch. This single was put out by Twitcher Records out of NYC. Car Crash came out on our second 7" along with a JP written tune called Robert Marshall Long on Sonic Bubblegum out of Boston. The Devil is the only Thin Section song that came out on the first album and coincidentally is the first song JP and I ever wrote together..."

What can I say about Stuntman? Oh, I know...KILLER band. Of course I am biased as fuck. But they really did rip shit up. Their debut LP simply shreds. (See link to Bandcamp page above). Scott's songwriting freed from the trees...(sorry, couldn't resist). Obviously he and Polle were already locked from playing together in Treepeople, and speaking of Polle, as I teased earlier, Stuntman also freed him from the Treepeople 'brand', if you will, and his songwriting is at home with the liberated songwriting of Scott's, though as mentioned by Lennie, many of the tunes were Thin Section songs, written prior to the formation of Stuntman. It was a great marriage. And to hold it down, Mike Rundle and Sean Lennon were perfect, and had a natural groove to both songwriters' styles (Lennie is a beast on bass and Rundle a natural drummer). It rocks, and is also meticulously crafted, intricate, and the guitar work is stellar. A shout out for the production as well. Listen for yourself. 

I was excited for Scott, I remember. Shit came together and it worked. Except, per Scott, they were kind of fuckups, too. They slept in and missed a crucial meeting with Mercury Records that their manager had set up. They fucked up enough to have said manager quit. But Scott also became a husband and father at this time, and decided to hang up music and focus on that new life;
"...We did some tours, but I was so burnt out and had my first child Alex. Touring so hard with Treepeople made me burnt on the whole music thing. I wanted to be with Alex and settle down, focus on my career, and be more domestic ...I kinda let the guys down, but I needed a break. I think we did some great music, and I loved playing with all of those guys….Stuntman was a great band with great musicians..." ~ Scott Schmaljohn

Thus, the band was short-lived, 3 years. Every time I listen to the recordings, I think, man, this shit should have lit!

 Photograph by Wayne R. Flower (shitty scan of photo also by Wayne R. Flower)

House of Wong and Faintly Macabre 

There was a house in the Wallingford Neighborhood in Seattle that had been home to many in the music scene, this house was known as the House of Wong, for the spray-painted stencil of that very title on one of the faces of the cement steps up to the front porch and front door. Most likely the stencil was put there by early musician tenants, a group that became an original and heavy voice in the scene, the big and brooding Earth, considered one of the main pioneers of 'drone metal.' Look 'em up! Get on it. I ain't doin' all yer leg work, get goin'! One time an ex of mine and I randomly ate dinner with Dylan from Earth and another gentleman whose name I can't remember at House of Wong, the first time I had been in the house. It was a really mellow, nice evening, I must say.

Ahem. Where were we? Ah, so anyhoo, House of Wong was home and host to many a band, occasionally there were shows in the basement, where the bands rehearsed. It was a grand, big old house, up on a man made hill (most houses of a certain era were raised up in this way in the Wallingford neighborhood), two stories, 4 bedrooms, big basement, a driveway up to the door of the basement, perfect for loading equipment in and out. There were many awesome and wild parties there in the early to mid '90s. 

I knew a few friends who, at different times each lived in the room upstairs in the front of the house where someone had tried to shoot themselves, and there was still a shotgun hole in the ceiling [Per Adam, bass player in FM and House of Wong resident, it was a 9mm pistol that made the hole, put there by an ex of his - Adam also told me of other bands that rehearsed at the house over time: Steel Wool, Dobermans, Night Kings, Zip Gun, Unsane - and he also told me that Courtney Love auditioned Patty Schemel the drummer for Hole, in the rehearsal room]. A house with stories, to be sure, some of them mine. Some fantastic times were had in that old house, and some phenomenal rehearsals. 

I knew the songwriter of Faintly Macabre, Kellie Payne, from a cool band she had been in called Bell Jar, and she was good friends with many of my good friends in the punk scene like Paula Sen and Doug Pack and Drew from Violent Green (and from Whipped with the aforementioned Paula and Doug) and those whole crusty punk and nerd punk crews. Kellie was/is small, blonde, no bullshit with a razor sharp wit, beautiful and smart as hell, and one of those musicians who can play any instrument she lays her hands on deftly. A natural musician. At the time I met her, she was primarily playing guitar, songwriting and singing her songs in the bands she was in. Her boyfriend was a guy named Holden who did insane black and white (later color) drawings (which would be in many gig posters and record covers from this whole odd, cool scene), a person whose orbit I would be in later, and who would be my boss too for a time. We also tried to do a band that was just drums and vocals, me on drums, Holden on vocals. I wish I had even a boombox recording of the band, which we called Wayne Payne (Holden's last name was Payne). It never went anywhere but some of it sounded cool. He would form other bands with Kellie later as well. They ended up being married for a number of years. 

I don't recall exactly how the band came to be, I hung out in circles Kellie was in a lot, so it was most likely at a party or something that Kellie asked me if I wanted to play drums. The bass player would be the super talented Adam Grendon, who also played in the wonderful Seattle/Bellingham band The Kent 3 (and was a resident of House of Wong), a band who grew to be important in my life (as did a few Bellingham folks/bands), I even sang my favorite song of theirs onstage with them at a show, fun as hell. Anyhow, he, myself and Kellie as a band sounded and felt right to me. I had always liked Kellie and loved her songwriting or anything she played in (after a time she was always in at least 3 bands, which was coming for me, as well).

Faintly Macabre's music is not easy at all to explain. That's a tall order, I tell ya. It leans New Wave and Goth circa the earliest days of that era, the Manchester stuff. The band title comes from a children's book, a great one, called The Phantom Tollbooth (there was band in the late '80s named after the book that State of Confusion played with once, good band), Faintly Macabre is a 'which', as a play on 'witch' - the whole book has this kind of wordplay in clever set ups within the narrative. Faintly Macabre is in jail, as I remember it.

 

          The 'which' Faintly Macabre', from the book The Phantom Tollbooth. Illustration by Jules Feiffer

Another word that I have seemed to use when describing Faintly Macabre over the years has been 'angular.' There are sharp edges to it, bassy as it is overall. Kellie's guitar playing has that quality of tension and release, coming directly from British New Wave and punk stuff like Gang of Four and Killing Joke, and this was the first thing that bonded us musically, our love, all three band members, of the Manchester '80s stuff. But there was also a dose of Black Sabbath mixed in (especially the last ep we did, House of Wong) which was perfect, as I was listening to a lot of Black Sabbath at this point, that and Slint and Unwound, three bands whose drummer's styles began to show up in my drumming style (of course, the Bill Ward influence was already there in the Treepeople stuff I played on, especially the later stuff like Guilt, Regret, Embarrassment).

I dove into drums again with gusto, and a strong work ethic. I felt the rhythm of Kellie's songwriting, either when swaying or methodically going up or down angular steps until a release of firey, pulsing rock, deserved drumming that represented it well. 

A drummer has the scary power to ruin what a songwriter is doing. It pays to be mindful of this, young drummers. For example, I feel like Jeff Buckley's album Grace illustrates this. Once I heard his earlier solo performance at  Cafe Sine' in NYC, heard those same songs from Grace done solo, and after I read about how the band for the tour (and thus the record prior) was assembled last minute by the label so they could immediately tour, I realized the rhythm section had a sort of rushed machismo that took away from the songwriting, and diminished the androgyny of Jeff's true sound, especially in the drumming. To be fair, I don't blame the bass player or drummer, who are fine musicians in their own right, this was forced due to the situation, and the label's approach, I am sure they all did their best within limited time. I state it here as it is a stark example of how inappropriate drumming for a distinctive songwriting style can crush its voice. I digress with the best! However, there is a through line with me being introduced to the Buckleys through Chris Takino and Jenny O'lay, starting with listening to Jeff's father, the famous folk, jazz, experimental song spinner and son of a long line of Irish troubadours, Tim Buckley. And oddly, Violent Green would be on tour and playing Memphis in 1997, when Jeff Buckley, who had been living and working on a new record there, drowned in the Mississippi River, right before we arrived. I hadn't yet been convinced about him and his music at that point (though I came to be a fan), but I remember when I heard the news, it rattled me a little, and it was such surreal synchronicity, as we drove around, seeing the river...For later in the tale, to be sure. I recommend a decent dual biography of the father and son singer songwriters called Dream Brothers.    

Faintly Macabre clicked, like a finely tuned bicycle. We had instant chemistry, as I remember it. Maybe Kellie and Adam have other takes on it. But we got to work right away and practiced our asses off in that dark House of Wong basement. The band played when we could, Adam was busy a lot with The Kent 3, and I was getting more and more busy with Violent Green, and another band would come into my life in a year, the Halo Benders. 

It wasn't planned, but the timing of this entry which happens to have FM in it is 20 years after we recorded an ep we never mixed due to the band breaking up when Kellie and Holden moved to Austin, Texas. Anyhow, we finally had it mixed by Steve Fisk this year. I aim to get it up on Bandcamp and other places soon. It sounds pretty good, I must say. More on Faintly Macabre to come.

[Currently a thing. Now Wayne: Click here for Faintly Macabré House of Wong EP (help us pay for it too!)

Trouble at home...

My relationship with my girlfriend was not doing well and about to take a major turn, due to my mental state, which was pretty riddled with anxiety and insecurities unresolved, and amplified by massive caffeine use at work and home, little sleep and an increasingly busy band schedule, and the fact that my relationship became a long distance one suddenly, as my girlfriend had decided to go to Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, about an hour and a half Northwest of Seattle, near the Canadian border. I had so much going on in Seattle that I couldn't commit to moving, a decision which of course majorly disappointed her, and the relationship was never to be the same again, its days numbered, as I wanted out but was too much of a coward to do it gracefully. Young Wayne. He had some issues. This is true. Oh the scoldings/warnings we would give our younger selves were we to discover time travel.
 
For the first time in a while, I had to get a roommate, my first was an old friend from the Pullman, Washington scene named Dan. He was bussing tables at the main jazz club in Seattle at the time, Jazz Alley. That was short-lived. At one point a mutual friend of mine and my girlfriend's who was another Seattle transplant from Boise lived with me. Then I lived with another Dan who worked at Sub Pop, a friend I met through Treepeople.

Kurt says fuck it

Volumes have been written about Kurt Cobain's death in 1994, from straight news reporting to conspiracy theories, as is always the way with celebrity deaths. I knew some of his close friends and in my opinion no one murdered Kurt. He had classic mental issues that led to depression, and it wasn't the first attempt. People fall so in love with artists that they refuse to accept reality when they die, especially if by their own hand, they know they would never leave them! People are entitled to their own fantasy versions of what happened to Mr. Cobain. As a result of so much being written of it, I won't take up too much space on it, but I will give my take on it, from where I was at the time in my life. I don't remember where I was when I heard, most likely at work, I am sure I heard it on the radio (remember young ones, no smartphones, and no internet then). He shot himself with a shotgun in his home. In a weird twist of 2 degrees of separation, the shotgun he used he got from Dylan of Earth, whom I had had that dinner with in the House of Wong, 2 years or so prior.
 
As mentioned above, my recent roommate Dan worked at Sub Pop. The day after Kurt died, he came home from work looking like a shell shocked victim of war. "The phone rang all day, and it was all these...vultures wanting to 'buy every Nirvana record we had.' It was awful." (paraphrasing here). I was not surprised to hear this, but also appalled at people. I had a vision of vultures picking Kurt's bones, shook it out of my head. 

Photo retrieved from the Vulture Conservation Foundation website (note it is acknowledged here to an animal that is a vital, misunderstood and unsung part of our ecosystem that recycles dead things that would otherwise spread disease, it is an insult to compare them to record collectors and distributors of low moral standing, who are far below them in terms of likeability)

Of course, as you can imagine, most everyone in the music scene was stunned, in shock. I have mentioned it before, but pretty much in every different type of music scene, whether people actually liked Kurt's music or not, the vast majority of people felt like Kurt was our 'favorite son' from the city, to use old school parlance, or like our brother (which is more how I saw him, a little brother, probably came from being friends with Tad, who was first to take Kurt under his wing and take Nirvana on their first European tour) the one who by example got people all over the planet to come over to his way of seeing music, and art and sexuality and you name it. He never set out to be some cultural icon but it inevitably happened, much to his chagrin. Fame never sat well with him.

He felt that the wrong kinds of people were really into his music while missing his heartfelt message, like the evil frat boys who would have beat him up in high school gang raping a woman while singing his song 'Polly.' I know from friends of his that these things crushed his soul, bit by bit.     

Smells Like Teen Spirit, a song that started out as a sort of joke and a nod to The Pixies, became the bane of Kurt's musical existence and destiny. And he saw people hunger for this one thing that became popular overnight, and it thrust him into the world of pop culture, and into a position that allowed him to see what he had previously seen and reacted against as an outsider; the addiction people have to what everyone else loves. It becomes a collective longing to belong.

In my opinion, Kurt's approach came originally from a genuine punk attitude, and of course he felt guilt about becoming part of the machine punk railed against, his rebel yell became commoditization, but part of that punk ethos said, 'all are welcome,' as long as you are cool. But at that level of fame, you no longer have control over who loves you, you are no longer artistic gatekeeper. And you start wishing you could not have many of the fans you end up with. The more people there are, the more chances of assholes, of awful people, loving it (and frankly, on a much smaller scale, a similar thing happens in punk scenes).

That all said, I am in no way glossing over his other issues that contributed to his death: mental illness, drug addiction, and proximity to a toxic mate. I say this, again, from a perspective of people who knew him, (I never knew Courtney and had only met Kurt at a show I played with Nirvana when I was in Treepeople, see part 34) they are stories from their perspectives, stories of how she manipulated him and used him and isolated him from all his close friends, who resented her for it. I am not in the camp who say she only became known for her music because of her relationship with Kurt. Obviously it didn't hurt, but I feel she has genuine musical talent. 

I just feel she has the same issues listed above, and I have seen this kind of relationship before, it becomes a dumpster fire eventually, because two people with all those heavy issues torch it all, inevitably, whether intentionally or subconsciously, and it is too easy to make her a villain, but she sure as hell didn't better him. They were a perfect hot mess storm, and Kurt was no innocent in all their shenanigans. In fact I don't feel Kurt was as overall innocent as he portrayed himself. Not to say he was some evil, violent or cruel person. But he was smart in a way that allowed him to fuck with people's heads, and his weapon against the ills of fame, I feel, was a sharp wit and and a gift for bullshitting and seeing how far he could go. 

So, going the absolute farthest he could go, Kurt said 'Fuck it,' and left the stage. Leaving all of us in the scene trying to understand it all, what it meant for our lives going forward. The event of his dramatic exit from Earth also caused some of us to worry about others we knew in the music scene whose doorsteps were darkened by the same demons who swarmed around Kurt and Courtney's doorstep. And then there were people who shrugged as they never really had him on their radar.

But many of us, we missed him instantly. We missed his snide rebukes, his refusal to play the game a certain way, his antics with reporters the likes of which hadn't been seen since Lou Reed and Bob Dylan, we missed that voice, so clear, but gravelly, passionate and forceful and vulnerable all at once. Missed how he could make a perfect pop hook sound punk; "...Beat me outta me..." Missed the naked poetry of his lyrics. He was truly something.

(Side note to people who post photos of the crime scene: Yeah, free speech, the photos are public, but fuck you. This is a terrible thing for those who survive his death to be subjected to. Just fuck you, ghouls).





Photo reteived from the Kurt Cobain Wikipedia page

Then came other deaths in the music scene, as I have hinted, and some deaths had happened before this time that I missed covering like that of Stefanie Sargent, guitarist from the phenomenal Seattle band 7 Year Bitch in 1992 (no disrespect in missing it, there is just so much info to remember and add, I inevitably miss so many things, I begin to write of the deaths and triggers uncover others), and she was friends of friends of mine from the crusty punk scene, so I ran into her here and there. My memory of her was that she was a great musician who really put a lot into performing and rocking out and she had the kind of smile that when you saw it, it brightened your mood instantly. 


Photo retrieved from Toopics on Instagram

Lastly: I am officially done trying to do clever lead-ins to next entries at the end of each one. I am rarely right on all of it, as I never have space once I get going. For instance, in the beginning of the section about Kobain's death, I say I won't go too into it, but then I do. I leave those contradictions in by design, as this is how conversation is, yeah? You start here...go there. That said, this entry is currently 3 times the length of the average post, so I tip my hat to you (even though I never wear hats that can be tipped) and thank you for sticking with the journey this far, and for reading this modest blog. I wish you a good rest of the evening and weekend.

Wayne Ray Flower II, 11/23/19


Stuntman Bio

When first I was asked to write a bio of Stuntman, I asked frontman Scott Schmaljohn if he took a different approach to songwriting for Stuntman as opposed to for his previous band, also my previous band, the band he and I, Pat ‘Brown’ Schmaljohn and Doug Martsch co-founded; Treepeople. As is fitting of Scott, he replied (via text) with a succinct, to-the-point reply that made me slap my forehead and say, “Of course,” realizing my foolish assumption; “I have always written songs the same way. There is no difference in the band.” In other words, a Scott Schmaljohn song is a Scott Schmaljohn song. Period.

Scott's songwriting is born from a steady heartbeat, whether it's a slow or more upbeat tune, and is much like his clear way of speaking; you don't have to guess where he is coming from. He is one of the most unique guitarists/songwriters around, and his style embodies the word 'electric’ in ‘electric guitar’; notes bend and stretch like live electric wires, throwing you, because the playing is so non-traditional and original, similar to (though sounding very different from) the way Greg Ginn of Black Flag plays (and since Black Flag were early heroes of ours, it makes sense).

Scott and I met Stuntman co-guitarist/songwriter John Polle when we were still in Treepeople together, in about ‘88, when Polle fronted the excellent Pullman, Washington band, Ignatius. Polle formed a band with Stuntman bassist Sean Lennon after Ignatius broke up called Thin Section and one of the Stuntman songs on this record was carried over (‘The Devil’). Thin Section gigged with Treepeople a lot and that is how Polle really got to know Scott, who eventually asked him to join Treepeople. The first Stuntman set was made up of half Treepeople songs from their final lp, ‘Actual Reenactment’ and half Thin Section songs.

Why ‘Stuntman’? The band name history is interesting. Per Scott, “...We struggled with a name and our first working title was "Dry Socket". I had gotten wisdom teeth pulled and I thought it was kinda cool. Glad we changed it [the band played a few shows under this name, as well as the name ‘Blanket Party’]. I always liked the name Stuntman because of the ‘70s reference (I always wanted to be a stuntman growing up). I also thought the Stuntman title was appropriate since you have to get up on stage and throw yourself into the music. You beat yourself up on tour and keep going every night…”

Polle’s songwriting is more poppy than Scott’s, but also darker in a playful way, like Pixies meets the Seattle band Pure Joy (pioneers of pop punk in Seattle, along with The Purdins). Some of the breakdowns in Scott’s songs come off with a Fugazi flavor and the contrast is great. Polle’s and Scott’s playing were locked from playing together in Treepeople, and thus a bit of that ‘jigsaw guitar puzzle’ approach comes through, though in Stuntman, the guitars are locked in a more  traditional, rock n roll way, and there is more room to experiment, which works well.

The band made a home base in Boise, picked up a solid local drummer there named Mike Rundle from a band called Dirt Boy, gigged there and did some touring. Lennon and Rundle were solid as bedrock in their support of the two songwriters, handling all that Polle and Schmaljohn throw at them deftly.

Scott was entering into new territory in his personal life when Stuntman formed; That of husband and father; “...We did some tours, but I was so burnt out and had my first child Alex. Touring so hard with Treepeople made me burnt on the whole music thing. I wanted to be with Alex and settle down, focus on my career, and be more domestic [while cranking out phenomenal songs like ‘Bleed’!]. I kinda let the guys down, but I needed a break. I think we did some great music, and I loved playing with all of those guys….Stuntman was a great band with great musicians. We were fuck ups and blew a lot of opportunities given to us. We had a morning meeting with Mercury records and we overslept missed the meeting, pissed off [Stuntman’s manager] and ruined a lucrative record contract...Wasn't meant to be I guess. We seemed to do this often, as our manager finally said "you guys are fucks!" and left us. John Polle one time asked the bartender at a show in Eugene if he could have a pint glass of scotch. The bartender laughed and said "Um, I don't think so." I think you get the picture…” A stuntman must be prepared for anything; whether he’s tearing it up on stage or changing diapers, he’s goin’ in.

Stuntman was a band from 1994 until 1997, releasing two full albums, three 7" records, and three split 7" records, as well as appearing on a few comp records.

Wayne R. Flower, 5/26/17