Burning Down the House

The Spo-its Live In Savannah, Georgia

Halloween 1995, Savannah, Georgia

"There are SPO-IT'S in the house," advised the tall lead singer of And Sometimes Why. "I smell smoke."

It was Halloween and the SPO-IT'S were arriving in droves, handing out free fireworks to the eager crowd. Well over a hundred and fifty people had turned out for a rare Savannah show at the Bay Street Bar, many of them dressed to the hilt in a combination of spooky, weird, and scary. Everyone was ready for the SPO-IT'S hardcore industrial/noise circus sideshow, an innovative deconstruction of music and current pop culture. The bandmembers came in from the surrounding area: Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, for the most part. It was never certain how many might show up; the number varied -- sometimes up to twelve, this time there were seven.

The SPO-IT'S burst into their first song, "Free Sex", which pulled the crowd to its feet, many standing on the Bay Street's coffee tables, couches, and bar to get a better view. Twisted videos sparked off two overhead monitors like an on-screen enema.

The powerful, spontaneous noise merged into theatrics, with the unveiling of the "table"--an old rusted barrel -- and the onslaught of grinders. Sparks scattered through the air, bouncing off the ceiling, careening randomly into the crowd. Some people backed away, most of the rest just surged closer.

To add to the pyrotechnics, fireworks were lit and tossed, doing short spinning whizzes through the air before becoming lost in the onslaught.

A victim was culled from the leering masses, his back stripped bare, ordered to stand with his hands on the table. The SPO-IT'S ripped into "Hamburger" as the lost soul was beaten by the band's dominitrix.

The night continued in a fury of noise, Scott Corkern, the lead singer and grinder-tar maestro, flashing sparks from a bedspring against the wall and anything else he could get his hands on. The first TV was thrown, bouncing off the barrel to crash to the floor. Then a coffee table was overturned and tossed into the fray. The edges of the crowd went wild, and the owner of the Bay Street looked on mouth agape, wondering, "What have I done?"

The mayhem rose to a crescendo as the broken TV was set atop the barrel. Scott brought forth a cube of rockets, lit them, and tossed them inside the shattered tube. The SPO-IT'S launched into a frenzy of guitar, drums, violin, sax . . . the music desperately trying to keep up with the fire rockets bursting from the TV, zooming throughout the room, exploding above and within the crowd, a massive whiz-bang cracking of flame and projectile.

The SPO-IT'S played one more song, cooling down, and at the end a circuit blew and everything in the club went dark. I made my way through the smoke-filled haze, seeking the door. The last thing I heard was the warbling of an accordion and Scott's unamplified voice asking, "Anyone for a polka?"

-- Jody Schiesser

"The Smashing of Pictures"

Brian Hartzog
Hartzog Sound - PO BOX 563035 Charlotte, NC 28256

Throw in a mix of the prevalent sounds of Jimi Hendrix and the artist formerly known as Prince, and you have an impression of the sounds of Brian Hartzog's new CD, The Smashing of Pictures. It was under the inspiration of such soul-inspiring artists that the 26-year old native of Kinston, NC, compounded lyrics of poetry and sentiment, fired them up with his own original music, to produce a first-ever release.

"I've been writing songs since before high school," says the ambitious Hartzog. Ambition is an understatement when it comes to his music. Hartzog not only wrote and sang all the songs on his new CD, he also played all the instruments, and produced the cuts himself. How is this possible?

According to Hartzog, "It's a sign of the times..." Hartzog says his project was feasible because he compromised on finance, but not on quality. His compact digital audio release was recorded not in a million dollar recording studio, but in a home studio down in the Carolinas, with all the sounds and trimmings good music demands.

Brian Hartzog's mix of funk and rock has a certain quality to it that is distinctly independent from the sounds of his inspirationalists. "Prince was a major influence on me," Hartzog says. "The way he could just play one lick and you never heard it again...how each song was different and unique. As a songwriter, that's important." Although Hartzog admits that's where many of his ideas come from, he confirms that his music has a diversity of its own. He says in the future, he'll be adding a twist of jazz to an already extraordinary sound that sometimes includes even a little bit of rap. Such influences will be contributed by newcomers who will join Hartzog in creating a new band to be named at a later date. Among those in line, include guitarist, Jermaine Rand, from Raleigh, N.C.; and bassist Rob McWilliams, a native of Florida.

"It's a really interesting mix," Hartzog says. "Jermaine and I, for example have a lot of the same influences, Prince being number one, and Hendrix. We play very differently, but I think we can trade off and improvise a lot from that. That's what we're really looking to do."

Hartzog says art is about expressing emotion. "Each song on the record displays a certain feeling.... that's why I wanted the first words on the record to be 'love me' (from the song "Modest Appeal") and the last words to be 'I love you' (from the song "Been My Baby"). Sentiments develop as a result of a situation. People are involved in situations that create emotion and an artist's job is to express that emotion. If I can make someone feel something that I've felt, then I've done my job."

-- Youree Oh

Circuit Traces wants to know what you think. Please send your comments to the editor .