interview :
savage republic
reunion
interview :
savage republic
reunion
[ed. note]- ... this is an interview conducted via email with ethan port which came as a result of the ongoing promotion for the reissues of the savage republic catalog and the week of reunion performances scheduled for november 2oo2... their first performances as savage republic since 1989... we wish to thank ethan port, bruce licher & the other members of savage republic for doing this...
w> who was involved in the production of the sr reissue set, in terms of making decisions about how the work was repackaged? what was bruce licher's involvement?
sr> Ethan Port of Mobilization Recordings approached Bruce Licher and the band about re-issuing the back catalog in 2000. The events of Sept 11, 2001 delayed the actual release date until Jan 2002.
Bruce Licher was hired by Mobilization to design and print the CD covers, and the CD graphics. Bruce Licher made most of the design choices, but did accept some minor feedback from both Mobilization and the other band members. As far as the music, Mobilization licensed the recordings from Independent Project.
w> what differences are there in the reissue set from the original releases? are there any extra tracks, revised mixes, etc?
sr> The CD reissues are basically the same as the last CDs put out by Fundamental Records in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Tragic Figures is the same as the Fundamental release, with some minor digital remastering. The Trudge/Ceremonial CD is similar to the Fundamental release in that it is the instrumental version of Ceremonial. The order of the Trudge EP was reversed from the Fundamental release, so that the CD starts off with Trudge. One bonus track "Valetta" was added, which appeared on a compilation in the late 1980s. This song was originally recorded when Savage Republic remixed some of the Ceremonial material.
Ceremonial went through several revisions after its initial release on Suite Beat records. So there are actually three different versions of that record: The original vocal version LP, the remixed vocal version that came out on Fundamental Records as an LP, and the all instrumental CD that came out on Fundamental combined with the Trudge EP.
w> will the reissues will have the "independent project" antique letterpress look? can you talk about how the design is approached, and what the desired effect is?
sr> Yes, the graphics for the reissues were all designed and hand letterpressed by Bruce Licher in the same style as all the previous Savage Republic releases. However, the design is updated a bit. Bruce did an incredible job on this!
There is a common logo and "Savage Republic" title on all the CDs which visually binds them together as a series, since we knew we'd be selling them also as one "boxed set".
Another new design element was the inclusion of the "http://mobilization.com" URL on each of the CDs.
Each of the CDs uses elements from the original releases, but they are presented in an updated way. The special wrap-around disc-folio format Bruce Licher created lends itself to a new layout and design.
It was important to me to allow each CD to stand on its own, but also to tie them into the entire collection, since the 4 CDs document the complete released studio recordings by the band.
w> how are plans for the reunion concerts coming along? who will be playing in those shows? will any of the sr members other bands be playing as well?
sr>This last week we just finalized the reunion schedule. It will take place for one week in mid November.
The schedule is:
Wed Nov 13, Los Angeles, the Knitting Factory. With Mike Watt and the Secondmen, The Urinals/100 Flowers, and the Human Hands. All of these bands had members who played with Savage Republic in the early and mi1980s. In particular Mike Watt played many shows with Savage Republic as the Minutemen.
Thur Nov 14, Portland OR, Satyricon. Opening bands TBD. We're hoping to get Tch'Kung from Seattle.
Fru Nov 15, San Francisco, DNA Club "Beyond the Pale" Festival. With Neurosis, Phantom Limbs, Pleasure Forever.
Sat Nov 16, NYC, South Paw (in Park Slope, Brooklyn). Opening acts TBD.
Sun Nov 17, Chicago, Double Door. Opening acts TBD.
The line up for the band is:
(and dates each member was in Savage Republic):
Joel Connell (new drummer, played with Man is the Bastard, Bastard Noise),
Thom Fuhrmann ('83-'89), Greg Grunke ('83-'89), Bruce Licher('81-'89),
Robert Loveless ('82-'83 and '86), Ethan Port ('83-'89)
Some members have been talking to Jeff Long ('81-'83) and he may come to the Chicago show and sing some of the incredible songs he wrote (Mobilization, Procession, Machinery, Real Men). But nothing has been set up at this time.
No other Savage Republic projects are currently scheduled to perform on the reunion. Possible projects are:
Scenic, Autumnfair, F-Space, Wonder. There are no plans currently for any of these other projects to perform. Scenic is releasing a new CD before the reunion, so there may be future Scenic shows. F-Space plans to tour in the US, Europe, and Japan in 2003.
Mobilization does plan to release a CD from a digital multi-track recording made from the bands final performance in 1989.
w> what do you think that savage republic achieved during it's existence? has there been a furthering of those goals/desires/hopes since 1988? how will the reissue set & reunion concerts contribute to this?
sr>This is just Ethan's 2 cents:
Savage Republic originally existed to create music that could not be heard elsewhere. Another goal was to make music that was "timeless", that could not be nailed down to a specific location in time or space. That is why the band would weave in middle eastern and other melodies and rhythms that to an American ear are often labeled as "ethnic". On the other hand, the idea was to use these elements to build a focused and high energy punk rock approach. In many ways this breaks rules both in the main stream rock paradigm and in the "world music" paradigm, so that the band really doesn't fit into any particular genre. The closest match would be "college radio". I think many of us were more concerned with the content and the end result of the music rather than being true to any particular form. That's why each of the albums have pretty different sounds. The first 3 albums Tragic Figures, Ceremonial, and Jamahiriya are really different from one another. By the end of the bands life in 1988 the core band really started to find its voice. In the current reunion its really interesting to see how all three of these very different albums can be presented with a very focused and consistent voice. The music sounds surprisingly "current" as well.
I think the reason Savage Republic is relevant today is that today main stream music is concerned mostly with form: It has to be able to fit into 30 second sound bites on MTV or on Pontiac commercials. The closest Savage Republic ever came to this was when the song "Real Men" was used as background music in the Silence of the Lambs film, when the killer was staring at himself in the mirror with his victim screaming in the pit. Eventually listeners experience fatigue and want something with a real impact. When media focuses only on form, content can be ignored and there is less need to critique music based on its actual content.
On the other hand, I've always found Savage Republic's music to be very visual and there actually is a definite and unique approach we used to compose songs. When we compose new songs I always felt that there was some common vision that we built as a group. Although Savage Republic was a very experimental project, at the same time grounded in melody, including catchy pop melodies, psychedelic and punk rock, and related "independent" music. There is also a haunting, creepy voice underneath the rock side of the music. Part of this is that I think we were unashamed of our influences such as Joy Division, Throbbing Gristle, Glenn Branca, early Wire, Pink Floyd and Can. There is a "post-punk" world view that everyone shared in the band, which developed by our participation in the very intense Los Angeles punk and post-punk/art-punk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. I've recently begun documenting this scene in a project called "Nerds in the Pit" that is available for free download from http://Mobilization.com
b . w i l d e r e d
...information, updates and corrections to this article can be sent to...
email: b.wildered@white-rose.net
d e s i d e r a t a number twelve
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