Jesus Lizard has fun and takes itself seriously

SCAN the credits on "Down," the latest album by the Jesus Lizard, and you get a pretty good idea of the Chicago band's serio-comic approach to its music:

"Duane Denison plays guitar pretty good."

"Mac McNeilly is a heck of a drummer."

"David Wm. Sims sure pounds a mean bass."

"David Yow is a unique vocalist."

Funny thing is, it's all true. That last part especially. And "unique vocalist" is a much more judicious choice of words than "lead singer," since what Yow does qualifies as "singing" in only the loosest sense of the word.

On the band's albums all four, plus a few EPs and a slew of singles, on the Chicago indie label Touch & Go Yow's demented voice is mixed so low that, through headphones, it sounds (appropriately) as though it's emanating from some evil little cranny in the back of your brain.

But in the live shows, like the one coming Saturday to the Rave, Yow is the Lizard King.

Repeatedly flinging himself into the mosh pit or hurling himself across the stage, the half-naked and frequently bloodied Yow looses an arsenal of screams, mumbles and guttural lunatic ravings. The overall effect suggests several things: a serious case

of the heebie-jeebies; the need for an exorcism; or, possibly, the Violent Femmes' Gordon Gano with food poisoning.

Occasionally, you can even make out a word or two.

"I'd say that, probably more than 80% of the time, I'm making a pretty good effort of doing the words the way they go," a cheerful Yow said in a phone interview from his Chicago flat. "But a lot of times, I forget the lines or whatever, and I just make noises that kind of mimic what I'm supposed to be doing."

OPTIONAL GRAFS REMOVED HERE

Producer Problems Recently, the band had a fallout with its longtime engineer/producer Steve Albini, whose high-profile projects include Nirvana's "In Utero" album.

Albini had recorded all of the band's releases, beginning in 1989 with the Lizard's debut EP, "Pure." But Albini is a vehement believer in the indie credo, and he severed all ties with the Lizard last year after the group temporarily jumped Touch & Go to release a live album, "Show," on a major-label subsidiary.

Bad feelings were simmering even before the showdown over "Show," recorded live in 1993 at New York's legendary CBGB music club, Yow said.

"While we were recording `Down,' we kind of told {Albini} to shut up and do his job because he's always claimed that he's an engineer and not a producer, but he's always acted like a producer on the records," Yow said. "So, finally, this time we just said, `Look, man, this is our record, so do what you're told.' And I think that really kind of put a hole in his ego."

Repulsed as he is by anything that smacks of mainstream acceptance, Albini probably picked a good time to leap off the Lizard bandwagon. While the band is in no danger of becoming the next Ace of Base, the members confess to some concerns about the future now that they're in their 30s. Add the financial pressures of trying to raise a family (McNeilly) or start one (Yow and wife Suzy), and "accessibility" doesn't seem like the dirty word it once was.

"I don't think there's really anything wrong with being more accessible as long as you're still proud of {your music}," said Yow, 34.

Mainstream Concerns

After an initial run, sales of "Down," the group's best-selling album, have peaked around 50,000. Yow would like to do better. The group contributed a song, "Panic in Cicero," to the "Clerks" soundtrack and recorded a Led Zeppelin tune with Helmet for a coming Zep tribute album on Atlantic Records. Leaving Touch & Go for a major label isn't an impossibility, Yow said. He's even considering a spot on Lollapalooza, the mainstream "alternative" tour that many consider the ultimate indie sell-out.

"I think Lollapalooza's kind of a gross little thing, just the whole marketing of it," Yow said. "But they want to give us a fair amount of money. And it seems that we may have reached as many people as we can without starting to play those kind of shows or doing a bigger tour."

Yow's biggest concern about taking his music to a wider audience is that people "get it."

"I've always thought that we were kind of funny," he said. "There's funny stuff in the lyrics, and I think we're funny to watch. But people usually talk about how we're threatening or scary or something. I consider it more of a one-ring circus."

True enough. And with Yow as the ringmaster, you don't even have to leave the big top to see the freak show.

NOTE -- Please place a at the end of the reverse text Show Time

Who: The Jesus Lizard with Brave Where: The Rave, 2401 W. Wisconsin Ave. When: 8 p.m. Saturday 2/18 How Much: $11

The Lizard thing: To hear a sample of music from "Down," call 223-2020, then enter TUNE (8863).

Copyright 1995
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.