August 8, 1996

Lizard's rare bird

DAVID YOW KNOWS BOTH SIDES OF MUSIC BUSINESS

By KIERAN GRANT Toronto Sun

Jesus Lizard frontman David Yow is a rare bird: A bleary-eyed fire hazard onstage, and a mild-mannered, business-savvy, soon-to-be-father off. Oddly, it's the fire-hazard part that makes Yow rare. There just aren't enough singers freaking out, ploughing into the audience and, sometimes, getting naked during performances these days. So don't expect Yow to check his bizarre behavior at the stage door just because underground mainstays The Jesus Lizard recently did the unthinkable and signed a deal with Capitol Records.

Yow is still a confrontational, charismatic leader. "The court jester," laughs Yow, whose band opens for Rage Against The Machine tomorrow at Varsity Arena. "I don't think of it as confrontational," he says. "It's just friendly aggression. I don't hate anybody in the audience and I'm not trying to hurt anybody. It's the punk rock stuff that I was weaned on in Austin in the early '80s: It's powerful, energetic music, and you should act accordingly."

Over eight years, six albums and two EPs, The Jesus Lizard have embodied what is all too often missing from rock music: Immediacy, tension, even an element of danger. Though the Chicago-based Texans have never been too commercially viable, their credibility and reputation with underground rock fans were a hot property to the majors. After two years of haggling, they finally made the jump from beloved indie label Touch & Go to Capitol, where they just released their newest long player, Shot.

"One of the biggest reasons that we chose Captiol was that they seemed to have a really good understanding of what we were all about," says Yow. "They don't expect us to write pop songs, and neither of us expect a gold record with this. We just got a much better recording than with previous records." There are other reasons, too. "I'm married and I want a family," Yow adds. "I want financial security. I still think Touch & Go is the best label in the world. No label will treat a band as fairly as Touch & Go does. But there are some things they can't do that a major can, in the way of distribution and getting records to places they've never been before."

Chances are The Jesus Lizard's reputation has already reached those places. The band can be credited with inventing a sound that combines punk rock and jazz. One underground rock proverb has it that every scene has at least one Jesus Lizard clone.

"I've heard that more than I've read it, probably because I listen more than I read," jokes Yow. He adds that as unruly as his performances can be, it's the decidedly un-punk skill level of guitarist Duane Denison, drummer Mac McNeilly and bassist David Wm. Sims that keeps the Lizard slithering. "I think that makes it a lot easier and more of a pleasure," he says. "There's sort of a dichotomy between them and me. They know exactly what they're doing and I haven't got a clue. "I'm really glad they're as good as they are."

REV 3 Gig: Jesus Lizard, Buckley Tivoli, North Wales. For whatever reason, lack of promotion or whatever, there can't have been much more than 50 people in attendance, and while lesser bands may have been disheartened and given a perfunctory show at best, the Jesus Lizard could have been playing for a stadium for all the energy they still put into the performance, though with a unique kind of intimacy. It was a real fusion of performer and audience... Yow often using the mostly empty venue as an extension of his stage, at other times there were more of the audience on the stage than off it. David Yow may be known for his stage diving, but to see him do it when there's only about 20 people to catch him is even more amazing. If anyone ever meets the band, ask them about this night... I know they'll remember it too!