10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 22, 1996 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - the verve pipe * vilains photograph, cup of tea {'" . These Cows just want to have some fun. Band is too weird to be a cash cow Unique group not ready to ride in the the verve pipe villa ins available at Schoolkids' for only By Ted Watts Daily Fine Arts Editor It's been about a year, but the Cows are coming back to the area. The band's been around for about nine years and are about to release their eighth album, "Whorm." In that time, the band has had their ups and downs, but has always stumbled through them THE COWS WITH MOUNT SHASTA AND THE PLUMBOBS Where: Majestic Theater When: Saturday, March 23, 1996 Doors open at 9 p.m. Call 313-833-9700 for ticket information to create some of the most entertain- ing modern music around, based on distorted guitar, bass, drums and vo- cals. Bassist Kevin Rutmanis spoke of various tribulations, from broken re- lationships because of touring, to a dog's attempt to have sex with him during this interview. The dog seemed to bother him the most. But he still enjoys his work. The same cannot be said of former drummer Norm Rogers: "I think he just got sick of the traveling and was burnt out. He just said to us after our last batch of touring last spring, 'Guys, I've had enough.' And we were 'Well, is there anything we can do to make you want to stay?' 'Naw, I'm just really sick ofall the traveling and shit.' So I think the playing just wasn't really any fun for him any more, and when that happens, the touring really sucks. So we hada few months off, regrouped, decided we wanted to keep going, so we found a new guy, who we just really love a lot. He's great. "His name is Fred Votel. Actually, we've known him since we started be- cause he was in anotherbandaroundhere, called TVVC, that started around the same time we did. He was a youngster, about 20. Thor kind of kept in touch with him over the years. I didn't see him that much. And then those guys weren't doing anything anymore, so Freddy came and played with us a few times and it was obvious right away that he's much better than pretty much any drummer you'd care to name. So we recorded an album with him, did a couple short tours and we just got back from six weeks in Europe and he was fabulous every night. " The lineup isn't the only change for the band. The sound on "Whom" is a significant progression for the group. Some songs on it are extremely re- moved from what people have come to expect from the band. "The Warden" moves fairly slowly and evilly, entrancing the listener with the smoothness of the music and the crackly vocals. The wild vigor that the band has become known for is less prevalent, and the more subtle sound the band hinted at on their last album is becoming more pronounced. "It was the first time we were able to record an album totally live, vocal tracks included. There's almost no overdubs on this album. 'Whom' is by far the livest album we've ever done, which I think helps the performance," Rutmanis explained. Oddly enough, the album still sounds a bit more produced than previous al- mainstream rodeg bums. "That is weird, because it took two weeks to record that album. But it's still just 16 track, nothing fancy." Soon you'll have a chance to compare some of the band's earlier work with the new album, as a compilation of material by the band is soon to be released. "AmRep has a relationship with Atlantic, and I think they didn't want to keep our whole back catalog in print, so they put as much of our first three records (on AmRep) one CD as they could fit and put it out' together." There won't be anytracks from the band's actual first album, which is controlled by an extremely small label that doesn't really seem to want to let people hearthe album, asitremains largely unknown. But the .Cows shouldn't remain largely unknown. Soon after theirgig in Detroit this weekend they'll be touring with Primus, even returning to the a in two weeks. And while the bandf preciates the exposure the tour affords them, they make a third to a fourth of the money they would at their own shows, which is as good an argument as any to buy their merchandise at the shows: When you subsidize bands you like, you might very well conitinueto get albums from them. The Cows remain fairly unmarket- able because of their fairly intense con- tent, however. There is little risk*w encountering them on MTV in the fore- seeable future. "A lot of labels look at us and scratch their heads because they really like us but can't figure outhow to make any money off of us." It is there- fore up to the fans to support them. So just go and do it, or maybe the dog Rutmanis encountered during the inter- view might come after you. Meet the Verve Pipe at U U Give us a piece o your m J A summer is a terrible thing to waste. Particularly when Grand Valley State University makes it so convenient to catch up or pull ahead while you're home on break. GVSU is offering an expanded course selection this summer at our campuses in Allendale and Grand Rapids, and Centers in Holland and Muskegon. It's a perfect time to pick up that class you missed because of scheduling conflicts or to choose an elective not offered by your college or university. Registering as a guest student is as easy as making a phone call. Tuition is affordable and classes are taught by faculty, DlLfY /dr 4 I