(From Leo Weekly)

Furlong takes the lead Louisville’s anti-punk punk rock scene

The gentlemen behind Gubbey Records are something of a maniacal lot, that rare breed between ultra-creative geniuses and musical miscreants dead set on destroying that which surrounds them with weird, altruistic noise-pop. The guys who started a label to kickstart their own self-recorded musical projects offer Furlong: an excellent band, their band, a strange and new band that will destroy Louisville in the best way, by exploding onto the scene in a raging fireball of anti-punk punk rock and changing people’s perspectives on distorted guitars and the general lewdness of loudness. Seem like a fair amount of contradictions? These guys make your head spin like that.

The Gubbey men have arranged an eclectic, enticing four-act showcase at The Rudyard Kipling for this Saturday. The Audrey Ryan Band, a sort of alt-jazz-folk-rock group on tour from Cambridge, Mass., will open the festivities. Local beatnik refugee Ron Whitehead and his highly-talented wife, Sarah Elizabeth, will perform spoken word poetry and acoustic guitar tunes. The pair have dedicated the set to Whitehead’s old stomping pal, the great Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, who put a bullet through his brain last Sunday (see more on HST on page 14). Local bluegrassers Troublesome Creek follow.

Then comes Furlong, Louisville’s punk rock answer to Captain Beefheart, a loud and beautiful mess of experimental sound garbed in the same pop sensibilities that made grunge so user-friendly. The band has recently upgraded to version 2.0, bringing along bassist Chris Hoerter. There’s a new EP in the works, Pony Up, a continuation of that which began on last year’s magnificent sampler, The Indestructible Gubbey Records Sampler CD Vol. II. Furlong’s “Ride My Train of Un-Agape Love” stole that show, even from its alter-ego Funkus, whose “Sexual Investigators” was a train wreck of Bootsy Collins-esque pure funk from the ’70s that’s as hysterically funny as it is funkaliciously adept.

Take from the new EP Truck Stop Whore, a bright and melodic Velvet Underground-style dirge of pretty chords underneath a story about a truck driver who “can’t wait to fuck my truck stop whore.” The complementery high-pitched “oohs” and “ahhs” reminiscent of early R&B perfect the tune’s mindbending contradiction in terms. The lyrics are clever and pertinent, despite the comical vulgarity.

“Blood Red Panties” is considerably heavier, opening with an ominous bass line that explodes into a full band (piano included) headbobbing jump. The opening line sets the tone: “blood panties on the bedroom floor/don’t you know you should lock the door/outside I wait all day for you.” After a pair of verse-chorus-verse runs through, the song evolves on a piano riff into a speedy psychotica of sound, then quickly fades to silence.

Much like their equine-influenced name, Furlong’s music takes the thoroughbred approach, spending most of the time in rigorous and fruitful training, preparing for the fleeting bursts of hysterical speed and power that only make sense on this band’s record, in that kind of deep, pure context. Using that ambience as an indicator, it’s hard to imagine this show as anything less than a carnival, or at the very least, a horse race.

BY STEPHEN GEORGE
sgeorge@leoweekly.com

Furlong
Saturday, Feb. 26
Rudyard Kipling
422 W. Oak St.
636-1311
$5; 10 p.m.

(From Louisville Music News)

Making it Matter

The Indestructible Gubbey Records Sampler CD Vol. II (Gubbey Records)
Various Artists


By Kory Wilcoxson

Gubbey Records is determined to make Louisville music matter again. Founded in 1993 by Dave Rucinski, the label has witnessed the local music scene's wax and wane over the past decade. With this second sampler, Rucinski is doing his part to showcase the diversity of local offerings.


The sampler is noteworthy for the range of styles represented. Listeners are treated to everything from the "locomotive sex rock" of Furlong (the website's description is better than anything I could come up with) to the P-funk vibe of Funkus' "Sexual Investigators" to The Chocobots' "Days Like This," which calls to mind early Elvis Costello.


Another standout on the disc include the almost indescribable "I'm Gonna Grout Your Bifka," a collection of obscure and witty TV samples played out over what sounds like a perverted version of Disneyworld's "Electric Light Parade" theme. The song is credited to Mr. Samples, who is actually label founder Rucinski.


The sampler is worth picking up at a local store to hear proof of a pulse in the local music scene. For more information, visit the label's website at