When I wrote about The Cavedogs a few weeks ago, I talked great, unsung bands from years past, artists who never attained their just level of fortune and fame. Eleventh Dream Day is another in that line, maybe at the front of the line.
I first heard EDD on 97X some time during 1989. “Between Here and There” and “Testify” — from Beet, their major-label debut on Atlantic — were in regular rotation and I was immediately blown away by both songs. They didn’t sound like much else in alternative music at the time — no one else drew on Neil Young and Velvet Underground the way these folks did. Lead singer and guitarist Rick Rizzo had this almost deadpan vocal delivery, underscored by drummer/then-wife Janet Bean’s perfect harmonies, that would give way to complete apeshit guitar frenzy. At times, his solos sounded like he was strangling his guitar to death. Love at first listen.
Amy and I saw EDD around that time at Bogart’s in Cincinnati. It was one in a series of shows 97X promoted where they’d feature an up-and-coming band for $1.97. 11 people showed up…in a room that holds around 1,000. You’re in your early 20s and with your hot new wife at a show you’re dying to see and 11 people show up. But it didn’t matter to the band — they came out from the outset and played as if their lives depended on it. They were passionate, personable, and downright incredible. We were so enthralled that we waited around the back of the venue, where the bands unloaded their gear, to say hello. We talked for awhile to Rick, who couldn’t have been any nicer. He even asked about my band and said he’d be happy to listen to demos. Just a super-nice guy. (As my bands got more popular — though never close to the level of EDD — I never forgot how nice he was to us, and always tried to be willing to talk to strangers who came to our shows as much as I could.)
One funny bit from our conversation involved the second guitarist. I’d blathered on and on to Amy during the show — trying to impress her with my deep musician’s knowledge of the game, I’m sure — about what incredible interplay Rick and the second guitarist had. “Man, you can tell these guys have played together for years, they know exactly what the other will do, blah blah.” I mentioned that to Rick, whereupon we learned that former guitarist Baird Figi had quit the band just a couple nights earlier in the tour, and this was the first show they’d done with former roadie (and Louisville native) Wink O’Bannon. Yeah buddy, I know my rock and roll. (I was right about their chemistry, though — they were incredible.)
The rest of the story is sadly typical. Despite critical acclaim for all three Atlantic releases, they were dropped due to poor sales. EDD retreated back to indie-land where they continued to release records, but on a less frequent basis. Rick returned to school and is now a grade school teacher in Chicago. Janet formed Freakwater, who were somewhat popular during the mid-90s No Depression revival. EDD still play on a sporadic basis — usually no more than once a year. We saw them in Chicago at a Lounge Ax benefit with Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan on second guitar. Holy cow, it was beautiful. Righteous, beautiful, passionate guitar noise over perfectly-written songs.
Can you tell I love this band? They were pure bliss — loud, buzzy, cathartic rock and roll. (Bonus fun fact for the UK fans who read RFN: Rizzo and Bean met and started playing together at the University of Kentucky.)
Check out their catalog if you get a chance. Beet and Lived To Tell (the latter was recorded in a tobacco barn in Kentucky) are my favorites, the highlights of their more frenzied period. El Moodio, their last for Atlantic, is close behind, and hints at the mellower, more atmospheric territory they would enter on subsequent releases. Thrill Jockey recently reissued Prairie School Freakout, their 1988 debut, which is a blast as well.
Song o’ the week: Eleventh Dream Day – “Testify” (from Beet, 1989).
Bonus! “Makin’ Like A Rug” (from El Moodio, 1993)
Their page at Thrill Jockey, their current label. Good bio here.
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(Mildly) technical question for you: How do you link to songs like that? I’d like to do something similar on my blog, but I can’t seem to puzzle it out.
I use WordPress, but host the blog on my server space, so I can upload anything I need to there. There must be a free site somewhere that will allow you to host big files (a la Flickr with photos)?
For a long time I used to confuse Eleventh Dream Day, who I also remember from 97X, and Yo La Tengo. Reading this is making me kick myself for passing up that used copy of Beet I found a month or so at Shake-It.