moving forward, staying in place: part 1
i tried to look ahead, but the story was already over.
this morning started with a scream. or rather, Anastasia Screamed. i took a break from the monotony of my CD collection to listen to the radio as i was getting dressed. WZBC came through in fits and spurts of static, so i tuned in WMBR, my radio 'alma mater.' the song was actually rather generic sounding, straightahead post-punk, guy vocals, it could have been anyone. i didn't think it was anyone i knew. and yet i enjoyed how it somehow reminded me of a band i hadn't listened to in almost 10 years. Scarce were the great hope of Providence indie rock from 1993-1996. could this be their successor?
i hopefully called the DJ, curious about how this song had drawn me in, only to get rudely thrust almost 15 years into the past. the band, Anastasia Screamed, was a precursor to Scarce. the album came out around 1991. so, where was the future? what was Chick doing now? darling_effect and i have tossed the question around before, and dammit i wanted an answer.
Anastasia Screamed were a promising indie rock band, but got dropped from their label after just one album. Chick formed Scarce a few years later, just when his Star seemed to be on the rise. he was engaged to a successful pop artist, he'd formed a tight-knit trio with a rawking rhythm section, and Scarce were -the- live band to see among Providence's rock cognoscenti. they put on amazing live shows. i had never seen such energy on a stage before or since. Chick would jump around the stage in his silver, spangly suit, colliding into bassist Joyce with ebullient energy as she whaled on her bass, and drummer Jud was practically Animal behind the drums. soon, word got out beyond the ocean state and they were regularly playing in Boston, then New York, as the stakes escalated in a major label bidding war. and then, according to music industry cliche, on the eve of their major label debut, tragedy struck. (insert VH1 drum roll here)
Chick suffered an aneurysm, was rushed to the hospital, and barely survived. he spent a few months recovering, and got back on the road again, but by then, whatever chemistry held the band together had fallen apart. the album was released, but to little fanfare. a low-budget video aired in the dead last spot on MTV's 120 minutes, and then it was gone. Chick had missed his big chance yet again.
so, this is all to say that when i heard that song on the radio this morning, i was hopeful. i wanted to hear that Chick was making music again. even if it was no longer Next Big Thing status, it would be cool to hear he was doing something that made him happy. so, i logged onto Google, and searched hopefully for a new project. i clicked through pages and pages of Scarce reviews and reminiscences, Anastasia Screamed entries, and came across a few curious sites:
it saddens me to realize that when i first met Chick in 1993, he was only 27 - a lot younger than i am now. but even then, he was a hard 27 - scarred (literally) and so much older, and sadder, and wiser than i was at his age.
i poked around the web a bit more, and tried to find his solo album, but MT (as it is ironically titled) is not to be found. i bought a copy of Deadsexy off ebay for 75 cents instead. perhaps tomorrow morning's listening will be a 1994 Scarce show taped off WMBR.
you can't go back again, but i suppose i can still visit once in a while.
this morning started with a scream. or rather, Anastasia Screamed. i took a break from the monotony of my CD collection to listen to the radio as i was getting dressed. WZBC came through in fits and spurts of static, so i tuned in WMBR, my radio 'alma mater.' the song was actually rather generic sounding, straightahead post-punk, guy vocals, it could have been anyone. i didn't think it was anyone i knew. and yet i enjoyed how it somehow reminded me of a band i hadn't listened to in almost 10 years. Scarce were the great hope of Providence indie rock from 1993-1996. could this be their successor?
i hopefully called the DJ, curious about how this song had drawn me in, only to get rudely thrust almost 15 years into the past. the band, Anastasia Screamed, was a precursor to Scarce. the album came out around 1991. so, where was the future? what was Chick doing now? darling_effect and i have tossed the question around before, and dammit i wanted an answer.
Anastasia Screamed were a promising indie rock band, but got dropped from their label after just one album. Chick formed Scarce a few years later, just when his Star seemed to be on the rise. he was engaged to a successful pop artist, he'd formed a tight-knit trio with a rawking rhythm section, and Scarce were -the- live band to see among Providence's rock cognoscenti. they put on amazing live shows. i had never seen such energy on a stage before or since. Chick would jump around the stage in his silver, spangly suit, colliding into bassist Joyce with ebullient energy as she whaled on her bass, and drummer Jud was practically Animal behind the drums. soon, word got out beyond the ocean state and they were regularly playing in Boston, then New York, as the stakes escalated in a major label bidding war. and then, according to music industry cliche, on the eve of their major label debut, tragedy struck. (insert VH1 drum roll here)
Chick suffered an aneurysm, was rushed to the hospital, and barely survived. he spent a few months recovering, and got back on the road again, but by then, whatever chemistry held the band together had fallen apart. the album was released, but to little fanfare. a low-budget video aired in the dead last spot on MTV's 120 minutes, and then it was gone. Chick had missed his big chance yet again.
so, this is all to say that when i heard that song on the radio this morning, i was hopeful. i wanted to hear that Chick was making music again. even if it was no longer Next Big Thing status, it would be cool to hear he was doing something that made him happy. so, i logged onto Google, and searched hopefully for a new project. i clicked through pages and pages of Scarce reviews and reminiscences, Anastasia Screamed entries, and came across a few curious sites:
- an article from a Tennessee newspaper, interviewing Chick's family shortly after 9/11. (he was working on a construction site in Manhattan that day)
- a fan site in memory of Scarce, with a dead link to chickgraning.com
- a label website entirely in German of a label that put out Chick's solo album in 2001.
it saddens me to realize that when i first met Chick in 1993, he was only 27 - a lot younger than i am now. but even then, he was a hard 27 - scarred (literally) and so much older, and sadder, and wiser than i was at his age.
i poked around the web a bit more, and tried to find his solo album, but MT (as it is ironically titled) is not to be found. i bought a copy of Deadsexy off ebay for 75 cents instead. perhaps tomorrow morning's listening will be a 1994 Scarce show taped off WMBR.
you can't go back again, but i suppose i can still visit once in a while.