In the sea of empty promises that is show biz, it would be easy to sneer at any event that dares call itself the ”Marc Ruvolo Experience.”
Ruvolo welcomes the challenge.
Though not exactly a household word in his hometown, Ruvolo may be the hardest-working entertainer-anarchist in Chicago. He`s in three of Chicago`s more wildly intriguing bands-No Empathy, Chia Pet and Doubt-and has given spoken-word performances on bills with punk/avant-garde luminaries Henry Rollins and Lydia Lunch, among others.
While working toward a business degree at Columbia College, the 24-year-old Chicagoan helps David Best run the hip Roadkill Records label, and puts out a literate, on-the-edge newsletter, the Carnifex Network, that caters to
”free thinkers and sexual anarchists” everywhere.
Ruvolo and his alter ego, Mach Fly, along with his/their three bands, will provide a blend of punk, funk and theatrics on Sunday at Wrigley Side, 3527 N. Clark St.
Ruvolo moved to Chicago from the suburbs in 1983, and latched on to the hard-core music scene.
”I like all kinds of music, from Moussorgsky to the Swans,” he said.
”But what I liked about the punk scene was that anyone could join. There were no barriers, no incredible production budgets or restrictions on talent. It was all energy and feeling the moment.”
Ruvolo took that spontaneity to an extreme in the early days of No Empathy, circa 1983-84: ”We were a terrible, drunken band that had a few glorious moments of greatness. But mostly we played insane gigs at insane places for insane people.”
But eventually a vision began to emerge.
No Empathy`s ”Freedom of Flesh,” released last year on Roadkill Records, is a barreling mix of rock, metal, funk and even a touch of country that addresses Ruvolo`s matters of the heart.
”If there`s anything I`ve learned, it`s that there`s no one truth for anybody,” he said. ”Every person is different; even twins are different. So how can there be one truth for everyone, or even one group?”
Ruvolo`s earnest odes to individuality collide with his wicked sense of humor. ”Oi Across America” is a parody of skinhead stupidity, though some listeners don`t get the joke.
”Humor is my last-ditch defense against pretension, though I think a little bit of pretension is a great thing,” he said. ”Some of the most pretentious music is the best, because it takes such a big chance.
”When you go to a movie, you give up your grip on reality for a couple of hours so it can take you where it will. I think music should be more like that.”
In that spirit, Ruvolo has concocted the Mach Fly personality, who sings lead vocals with Chia Pet, a funk dance band that is the polar opposite of the dark-edged No Empathy.
”It`s like getting a lobotomy,” Ruvolo said. ”I go from singing
`Atrocity/ Run from me/This game means nothing to me` in No Empathy to
`Sha-la-la, sha-la-la, Bunny!` in Chia Pet.”
Ruvolo confines himself to playing rhythm guitar in Doubt. Once ”the world`s loudest band” in the days when it had two drummers, Doubt now incorporates cello into its more textured, vaguely psychedelic sound.
No Empathy and Chia Pet albums are set for release in the fall on Roadkill, and possibly a Doubt single. Ruvolo hopes to wrap up his degree at Columbia in January, then take the ”Marc Ruvolo Experience” on the road.
”Playing live, that`s the biggest high,” Ruvolo said. ”I live for that bond of minds between the band and the crowd.”
– The best of recent Chicago-based releases are Algebra Suicide`s ”Alpha Cue” (Body Records) and ”Industrial Chaos” (Nebula), a compilation of underground dance music.
Algebra Suicide`s Don Hedeker creates moody, corrosive backdrops for Lydia Tomkiw`s alternately dark and luminescent poetry. It sounds like Joy Division with a sense of humor. Too bad this talented Chicago duo had to go all the way to Belgium to get a record deal, but ”Alpha Cue” is available in hipper Chicago record stores. Otherwise, contact Body Records, Stationsstrat 116, 2750 Beveren, Belgium.
”Industrial Chaos” lives up to its title: an all-out sensory assault. Fourteen underground artists from Chicago, Detroit and other cities are represented.
Although most of the cuts, such as David Kane`s howling version of Led Zeppelin`s ”Immigrant Song,” work well on the dance floor, only a couple bear repeated listening in the living room. Although the industrial-beat community is loaded with inventive producers, it has few vocalists who can match the range and soulfulness of Chicago`s David Pistrui.
Pistrui is featured on two ”Chaos” cuts, Terminal White`s incandescent
”Bed” and Double D`s ”Would I.” The latter, a collaboration between Pistrui and Kane, will be the centerpiece of a coming Double D disc, which also will include Pistrui`s stunning version of the `70s soul classic ”Me and Mrs. Jones.”
Also notable among recent releases is Social Act`s ”Uber Der Berlin Wall” (Why Me?/Social Records), a crisply produced 17-track collection with a sound big enough to fill Yankee Stadium.
There`s an appealing grit of Ellis Clark`s vocals, and the lyrics-true to the band`s name-address concerns both topical and humorous. The gargantuan excess of cuts such as ”Over the Berlin Wall” is balanced by sturdy mood pieces such as ”Heaven Is Waiting,” which sounds like an unholy merger of the Doors and Shriekback.
Less ambitious but no less likable is 92 Degrees` ”Money Makes the World Go `Round” (Big Block).
This trio smiles its way through one jet-propelled tune after another about girls, money, girls, fame, and, of course, girls. A country and western tune, ”I Always Will,” provides a change of pace, and Steve Steffens layers his boyish vocals with a thin layer of T. Rex-style sleeze. A great beach tape.
Too much sugar in your diet? Try ”Ten Gospel Greats” (Angry Fish) by God`s Acre. A cross between the New York drone of Sonic Youth and the Seattle grunge of Mudhoney, God`s Acre`s influences are obvious, but the music is no less impressive because of it. The screamed vocals get annoying after a while (which is exactly the point, I suppose), but the trio`s enormously inventive and textured playing, especially on the extended ”Bummin` No. 2,” is a heady rush.
Two young bands creating a big local buzz are out with impressive debuts: Smashing Pumpkins` ”I Am One” (Limited Potential) is `90s psychedelia anchored by a Godzilla bass line. An album, ”Gish,” is in the works.
Sludgeworth`s self-titled EP (Roadkill) contains four tracks mixing anthemic hard-core in the Naked Raygun mold with Red Hot Chili Peppers-style punk funk.
– The second annual Rock for Rick benefit concert will be held Sunday at the Vic Theatre. Perfoming will be Scott Bennett and the Obvious, Material Issue and Spies Who Surf.
The Rick Canoff Foundation provides musical scholarships for the Chicago Academy for the Arts. Canoff, who died in 1988, devoted his life to nurturing Chicago music. Call 312-764-0636 for details.
