Dave Chamberlain

Local Renaissance man Joe Meno has a great sense of timing, even if he doesn't realize it.

As one-third of the guitar-sax-drum trio Phantom Three, Meno will celebrate the release of the band's second full-length to date, "Fuckin'-A That's A-Rockin"; as published author, Meno just sent the finished copy of his third novel to his agent, the follow-up to 2001's "How the Hula Girl Sings." Though Meno is able to split his time between music and writing (he also dabbles in playwriting), for the first time he's mixed the two on the page. "The new novel is all about the year 1991," he says. "Or basically me in 1991, going from this burnout sort or stoner dude to a punk, from Guns 'N Roses to the Misfits. Going to basement shows when someone's parents were out of town. What a weird fuckin' year it was. My parents were splitting up, I wasn't getting laid, and the only thing that made sense was the music and the records."

Even though Meno's next novel is directly about music and its influence, "How the Hula Girl Sings" rings with musical overtures. "Everything I write," he explains, "comes from songs. 'How the Hula Girl Sings' basically came about from my love affair with Johnny Cash. It's not about that, and you can understand it even if you don't know that, but it's there."

In terms of Phantom Three's latest, the band went into Volume Studio in Wicker Park with the intention of making every song sound different. "Live, when you see a band play, after three songs it's pretty easy to stop paying attention if everything sounds the same. We wanted the record to sound almost like a mixtape." It's an idea that sends Meno right back to 1991 and the new novel, the idea of mixtapes as a communication device. "In high school, mixtapes were so important--it's like medieval times and you were writing a letter."

Although as a guitar player in Phantom Three, Meno might have the occasion to present himself as an author, he's less likely to do the reverse. "It's easier," he explains, "to come from a band and say 'here's this book I wrote.' But to do it the other way around, it just rings of Eddie Murphy and Don Johnson in the eighties, when they made records."

The Phantom Three celebrate the release of "Fuckin'-A That's A-Rockin'," April 25 at the Fireside Bowl, with openers Dr. Killbot and Vacation Bible School.

Old School Tip of the Week:

British punk rock diehards the Subhumans UK make a stop in Chicago, April 26 at the Metro, on their 2003 reunion tour. Word has it that various dates from the tour will make up the fifth installment of Fat Wreck Chords "Live in a Dive" series, following up the likes of Strung Out and Sick of It All.

For those unaware, the Subhumans arose during the third wave of punk rock (or, within context, the second wave of British punk rock), alongside the likes of Exploited and GBH. Though unlike the aforementioned and similar to the Dead Kennedys in America, the Subhumans' slant was more brazenly political and sarcastic. The band's "The Day the Country Died" ranks as one of the great hardcore-punk efforts, a predecessor to any buzzsaw-guitar/anarchist band you can name. Lead singer Dick Lukas flaunts the classic Brit-punk voice--slightly smarmy, very angry--something that hasn't depreciated, as best evidenced by his vocal work in Citizen Fish. Though some of these punk reunion tours have turned out to be pathetic affairs (please Buzzcocks, stop), the smart money says the Subhumans haven't lost their edge amongst the loose skin.

McRock review:

The trio that makes up McLusky put their collective pedal to the metal last Tuesday, April 15, at Schubas, as the band kicked off a short American tour before jetting back to the UK. The band had been in town recording its third, as-yet-untitled record (with Steve Albini), and the sneak-preview tracks are what make live music worth seeing: unheard music played with nervous energy to a first-time audience. When that record comes out (slated for the fall), it will mark a drastic transition in music. As opposed to the songs from "McLusky Do Dallas," new material is much shorter, more jagged, direct, and, at the same time, more groove oriented. In fact, in a direct taste test, the band's older songs already sounded tired. Kicking off the night the same way it kicks off its last record ("Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues"), McLusky covered all the critical material, but it all paled compared to the jacked-up new songs. When the band left the stage, feedback remained for a solid five minutes as fans waited for more. With no encore, that's exactly what everyone left wanting.

(2003-04-22)

Also by Dave Chamberlain

Raw Material
How will Clear Channel's plan to dump indie promoters affect Chicago titan Jeff McClusky and Associates?
(2003-04-15)

American idols
Actors, dancers, extravagant lights, choreography, costumes and neo-electro music--it's the international pop sensation/traveling performance circus that is Fischerspooner.
(2003-04-15)

Spin control
If music transcends language, then Makoto ranks among the most accomplished polyglots. By infusing his brand of drum'n' bass with the aesthetics of his background (in soul-jazz, rare groove and even acid jazz), his "Human Elements," on LTJ Bukem's Good Looking Records, radiates with a genuine warmth that often escapes the breakbeat genre.
(2003-04-15)

Tip of the Week
McLusky, a crew of three over-the-top Welshmen, made a jarringly good, disjointed rock record last year, "McLusky Do Dallas" (Too Pure), which somehow integrated the calculated script of indie rock and punk rock's bottle-to-the-mouth exuberance.
(2003-04-09)

Raw Material
(2003-04-09)

Passion sport
(2003-04-09)

Russian revolutionary
(2003-04-02)

Raw Material
(2003-04-02)

Tip of the Week
(2003-03-26)

Raw Material
(2003-03-26)

Better than fiction
(2003-03-26)

Music Tip of the Week
(2003-03-19)

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