Contrary to what I said on Vh1’s Behind the Music, Tim from Hovercraft is one of my favourite human beings. I suppose in some ways that’s not saying much but Tim plays in one of my favourite bands, I’m a fan of his art and on top of those two things and running a label, his day job is saving people’s lives as an ER doctor! Hovercraft has been putting out records since the early oughts. I was first introduced to Tim by our mutual friend Justin Maurer, for whom Hovercraft has released records by many of Justin’s great bands- Clorox Girls, LA Drugs and Maniac to name a few. Full disclosure Tim also released a split seven inch for two of our bands so yes I’m biased but probably not surprising as fans of each other's bands, we also have similar taste in music. All of that is just to serve as an introduction to his latest release- a reissue of the 1993 album Absinthe by Delaware Ohio’s Ugly Stick.
I definitely hear some Replacements, Gun Club and Violent Femmes when I listen to this, which are certainly not bad reference points, at least the more obvious ones. The production sounds more 90’s though for whatever that’s worth, albeit more Meat Puppets than Uncle Tupelo. What strikes me more is the variance in songs- from cowpunk to scuzzy grunge to acoustic alt country to Midwest college rock- and that’s just on the first side of a double LP! There is something for everyone (assuming everyone likes guitar rock). The press release refers to the Columbus Sound but can’t say I’m familiar with this sub-genre? That’s what google’s for tho and according to the Columbus music zine Cringe it’s the lo-fi garage and punk answer to grunge. There’s definitely a bit of country mixed in here too but either way, works for me.
In a post on Hovercraft’s social media, Tim wrote that having grown up in Marion OH he traveled to Delaware, the closest college town, to see Ugly Stick at least a couple dozen times. Absinthe was Ugly Stick’s 3rd release. Hovercraft already reissued their first 2 releases together on a CD comp back in 2011. The remastered and expanded reissue of Absinthe is a double LP which includes 6 bonus tracks- b-sides including a cover that to my untrained ear sounds like a tip of the hat to The Cramps. Tim went on about what discovering Ugly Stick in his formative years meant to him- “I realized that there was little separation between the band and audience, that there was little differentiation between artist, creator, and consumer. That creating music, zines, art was something anyone could do, even in a small backwater town.” Makes me think about the other hundreds of college towns I’ve never heard of and wonder if each of them had a band like Ugly Stick.
Less than 24 hours after I wrote that last sentence my old buddy Citrus told me he’d recently acquired a vinyl reissue of Ice Station by the Calgary band Wagbeard. Citrus is an avid music fan who’s commitment to not only collecting records but also going to see live music always impresses me. I don’t personally consider Wagbeard seminal or influential but they were a very popular local band when Citrus and I both lived in Calgary in the mid to late 90s. Many releases were originally only available on CD or cassette, the go-to formats at the time. It’s pretty awesome that people like my friend Tim are releasing these reissues for people like my friend Citrus. Note to universe someone please release the 1992 Rusty Nails demo tape on vinyl!
