Issue 4 Contents

 

D Generation at Club Babyhead, July 30, 1996

D Generation's club date in Providence wasn't really a house packer, but what do you expect when Kiss is playing the Fleet Center? Although D Generation is opening for Kiss for most of the tour, there are shows booked in smaller clubs along the way to keep the band in touch with its fan base.

Guitar player Danny Sage told me, "Some of our best shows have been in front of 30 people. I'd rather play to 50 or 100 people who love us, that 25,000 who couldn't care less."

Danny and I shared a drink behind Club Babyhead between bands. He drank from a half full bottle of Bushmills, and I had a beer. I was supposed to officially interview the band after the show, but Danny and I decided that maybe having a casual conversation would be better.

According to Danny, "I'm getting to the point where I know what question the reporter is gonna ask next. Like Jessie and I were doing an interview the other day and the reporter goes `How was it..' and I yell out `Working with Rick Ocasek?' You get to the point where you know what there gonna ask."

Since he brought up standard interview questions, I tried to sneak in a "What bands are you liking now?" question. Danny wouldn't give me a straight answer claiming, "Every time I say I give a shit about a band they end up doing lousy."

However Danny did admit that he does love The Muffs. "Ya know Jessie and I even got to sing backup on their cover of "The Kids in America" that they did for the "Clueless" movie. We were out drinking one night and the Muffs were drinking too, and everybody kept drinking and drinking until the Muffs got up and were like `We can't drink anymore, we gotta go to the studio.

And since the studio was Electric Lady Studios where we've recorded our stuff, they were like `come on along.' So Jessie and I ended up doing the whoa-oh's for their version of `the Kids in America."

I asked if anybody else was high on his list of performers and he told me, "Well Jessie and I drove up to Providence to see the Paul Westerberg/ Patti Rothberg show last week. I'd never seen Patti Rothberg, but she was really good. She came up to us after the show and told us she likes our music too, so it was kind of a cool thing."

D Generation just finished filming the video for "She Stands There", and they're psyched about the project because they had more control over what the look and style of the video. "Our first video was more somebody else's idea about what D Generation is. It's probably better that you haven't seen it," Danny explained.

D Generations' set included every song off their new "No Lunch" CD EXCEPT for "Waiting for the Next Big Parade" and "Not Dreaming." They really played the shit out of every song, and even though there were only about 50 people there D Generation went at it full bore.

Singer Jessie Malin's stage presence is undeniable. He jumps, screams, stalks around, and generally takes up much more space that he should be allowed. Most of the rest of the band was forced to move to the wings to allow Jessie the necessary space to express himself.

This was my first D Generation show and I certainly wasn't disappointed. These guys have played together forever, so their timing is great, and they can jam without worrying if the drummer or bass will fuck it all up. Danny and other guitar player Richard Bacchus, sing back-up to fill out the band's sound, while Danny's brother Michael Wildwood beats the crap out of his drum kit trying to keep up.

D Generation music has been called everything from "Sounding like the Stooges and the Ramones" to "Sounds like an early Guns & Roses." Well I didn't see no Axl, but I sure could see some Joey Ramone in Jessie and the boys. They might not be speed punk or Ramones clones, but D Generation is still a damn fine punk band.

Also on the bill was Ashley VonHurter and the Haters who started their set of loud and fast punk the same way they ended it- screaming all the way. Ashley has a decent voice, some pretty good songs, and a local following that loves and supports her. She may be the new kid on the block but she's rising quick. Maximum Rock & Roll gave her and the Haters a good plug - she's got talent and her songs are allright, she just needs to pay some more dues and she could become the rock godess she evidently aspires to be.

Anyway, Ashley belted out a quick set of tunes in her usual frenzied manner. For a tall chick she sure does get around that stage pretty quick. The rest of her band stays put so they don't get flattened by her.

Before Ashley and the Haters, Fur played. Fur is a cool 3piece band with two women up front and a guy drummer. The lead singer/ guitar player rocked and rolled for about twelve people. They had driven up from NYC in a big old El Dorado to hang with their chums D Generation, and nobody shows up for the show. What's a band to do?? How about talking to each person in the bar between songs. The bass player apparently had a few friends in attendance and she talked to them while the rest of the band figured out what to play.

Although Babyhead never really got the huge turnout that D Generation deserves, there were still enough folks there to make it worthwhile. I tried to skeeze a pass for their show with Kiss the next night but nothing doing. I didn't really care though. Going to see Kiss isn't all that high on my reunion tour wish list.