OFF: Monster Magnet

[Doug Pearson]

On Fri, 12 Feb 1999 12:51:32 -0500, Stephen Swann <swann at PLUTONIA.COM> wrote:

>The story I heard was that the "other" MM guitarist (the one who left,
>and is now hanging out with Josh Homme doing Desert Sessions stuff)

That would be John McBain, who already released an excellent album and a
few singles under the name 'Wellwater Conspiracy' (great name!).  Which, by
the way, sounds NOTHING like Monster Magnet - more like Syd Barrett-era
Pink Floyd or similar anglo-psychedelia (Tomorrow, Kaleidoscope, even a bit
of the Kinks circa 'Something Else'/'Village Green Preservation Society')
... sort of along the lines of the Watch Children, the band that drummer
Jon Kleiman (sp?) was in before Monster Magnet.

>was the guy who was responsible for the "Monster Magnet sound" on
>Spine of God and Superjudge (although he may already have been gone
>when they cut that album, his influence was there), and that Dave
>Wyndorff just wanted to be a big rock star.  I have no way of knowing
>how true this might be, and I sort of scoffed at it at the time, but
>events seem to have borne out the theory.

Not sure if I've given this history lesson to the list yet, but ... Monster
Magnet came to be when Dave met up with McBain (guitar) and Tim Cronin
(drums, vocals), who had been operating under the name 'Dog of Mystery'
(amongst others, like 'Airport 75').  That lineup recorded their "Lizard
Johnny" debut 7" (which I bought based on the description in the Ajax
record catalog - something like "Stooges-like over-the-top fuzz-wah
action") and the 'Fuck Life, I'm High On Drugs' demo tape (I wrote to the
band - Tim, actually - after reading a review of this tape that stated it
had a cover of "Brainstorm" on it; Tim said they loved Hawkwind, but
Skullflower were a bigger influence ... there's something that's definitely
changed!).

I'm not exactly certain where the infamous "Jane's Addiction" (saw THAT
band opening for Iggy Pop right after their major label debut came out;
thought they sucked - an art-school project by someone without enough taste
in music to know anything more obscure than Led Zeppelin and Guns'n'Roses)
opening spot that put them on the map fell, but along the way they added a
bassist (Joe Calenda [sp?!?], an ex-housemate of my friend John Allen of
New World of Sound records, who's had quite a bit of involvement with my
musical "career" [yeah, right] ... sorry for this digression and those that
follow) and later, when Tim was hospitalized for Hepatitis(?) a new
drummer, Jon Kleiman (ex-Watch Children).  Around that time, they put out
the second single, "Murder"/"Tractor" on Primo Scree/Caroline, and possibly
the eponymous Glitterhouse EP, too.  I was briefly in the New York area
when Monster Magnet were booked to play Maxwell's (summer of 91, I think)
... I bought a tape recorder to try to interview them for the fanzine I was
writing for at the time (I wound up interviewing Dave for KFJC in the Bay
Area a few years later), but the show had been cancelled due to Tim's
illness.  I was very bummed.

I think that McBain was still in the band when I first saw them, opening
for Soundgarden (they had just signed with A&M, but hadn't yet recorded
'Superjudge'), but he was gone the second time they came out to the West
Coast (Liquorball, who are acquaintences of mine, opened for them at one of
these shows).  It definitely didn't seem the same without him.  As
long-time (original?) Monster Magnet fan (and 'Ugly American' zine editor)
Greg Chapman said, "Monster Magnet without McBain is like Satan without his
pitchfork."  And I'll admit that I haven't really followed their successive
successes except from afar.  Although the other day, at Primordial
Undermind rehearsal, Steve (rhythm guitar, who drove Dave to the interview
I did with him all those years ago, and back to the venue afterwards) says
to me, "I was channel-flipping the other night and came across MTV, where
they were showing a Monster Magnet video with all these luscious supermodel
babes all over Dave Wyndorf, and I was thinking, 'shit - a few years ago,
he was sitting in my car, puffin' away with me!'".

        -Doug
         ceres at sirius.com