Quicksand with Charlie Outface on 2nd guitar, City Gardens, Trenton NJ, Photo: Ken Salerno
I was planning on doing another Feedback Friday entry, unsure exactly of which photo I was going to choose and then I find these Quicksand photos sitting in my inbox this afternoon. Of course photographer extraordinaire, Ken Salerno does it again.
From the first time I heard that third generation cassette copy of the Moondog practice studio material, I was hooked. It was obviously something musically much different than I was used to hearing coming from these guys, but still hardcore and still great. Then when Moondog turned into Quicksand and that first 7" was released on Revelation, I realized the change from Moondog to Quicksand wasn't just in the name, but the music as well. For the most part, gone was that hardcore sound and what I was now hearing was a grooved out, rocked out almost Jane's Addiction style band. Quite honestly, at the time I wasn't so sure that I was buying it. Being such a hardcore purist and basically worshiping bands like Youth Of Today and Chain Of Strength, to hear something that had swayed so far away from that traditional sound almost didn't sit well with me. With that being said, it probably took me three days and I ended up buying it hook, line and sinker. In the end I just couldn't deny it. Whether it was a Gorilla Biscuits song, a Youth Of Today song or a Quicksand song, Walter Schreifels just knows how to write good music. Walter has continued to prove that into the 2000s as well with bands like World's Fastest Car and Rival Schools.
With these particular two Quicksand photos, I thought it was interesting to see a few things. One, seeing Charlie Outface on second guitar, two, seeing Walter without a guitar and three, seeing Sergio with what appears to be a jump off the City Gardens drum riser. Most definitely three things I saw very little of, if at all, seeing Quicksand time and time again.
So there you have it, you know the drill. It's Feedback Friday, so now it's your turn to comment away. -Tim DCXX
Quicksand at City Gardens, Charlie rocks the sleeveless Slayer tour shirt, Photo: Ken Salerno
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Feedback Friday: Quicksand
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14 comments:
Definitely seen 'em with Charlie on guitar and Walter doing the vox only thing. But man, Sergio is going for it in that first pic. He was always pretty chill. Cool to see.
I once saw Quicksand when i was living in Italy, in a rock-disco in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in a mountainside region not too far from Florence - forget the name of the place, it was in 1993 and i went there only once.
Anyway, the setting : a real disco, about 30 HC-kids, about 150 regulars who were definitely NOT interested but paid to get in anyway.
From the first Quicksand song on,
the HC kids there (who never saw Biscuits, Beyond or YOT for that matter) started requesting Beyond
and GB's songs, it was awkward.
The band didn't know how to react,
the kids didn't know how to react to the Quicksand songs.
Some kids were selling bootleg Beyond shirts, (after all, this is Italy) and they gave one to Tom.
After the last contractual Quicksand note, there was ONE second of silence and the local DJ played some early metallica material, genre 'seek & destroy', it must have been a local ritual cuz all of a sudden all the locals who'd stood back during all of the
Quicksand show came up front, formed this HUGE circle and started headbanging and playing air-guitar.
Weird experience from start to finish right there.
Saw them at the Pipeline in Newark, '91. Told Walter about car theft rate at the time and he mentioned it between songs. "Hello Pipeline…so if you wanna get your car stolen or killed…stick around" (something like that) Have it on tape somewhere.
Great post, thanks for writing it.
I'm actually in a Quicksand "cover" band, called HOPE FOR THE GOOD. We just played our first show in NYC 2 weeks ago, and are playing again at Crash Mansion on the Bowery in NYC on Nov 15th. We have about 13 songs from both Quicksand full length albums, and we are planning on adding a couple of demo and 7" songs soon as well.
http://www.myspace.com/hopeforthegood
those pics are from the shelter/inside out/quicksand show at shitty gardens i believe..
jon field used to have a video of that show (as many others do also)
I remember Kent McClard describing Quicksand in an issue of No Answers fanzine as "Janes Addiction meets Inside Out". i always thought that was a pretty accurate description, at least for that first 7".
I liked Quicksand musically when I first heard the 7 inch in 90 or 91, but I took my while to really appreciate the lyrics. I saw them at least a few times, and they seem to have been viewed as a hardcore band with a new sound, however, when I saw them at their video shoot at the Wetlands in NYC I realized a new path was being paved. Surprisingly I didn't hear much criticism of them in spite of the overhead camera filming 'moshing' for the MTV crowd. Perhaps we were all ready for some progress by that point
At one of their earlier shows in Washington DC a drunken guy in the crowd kept yelling over and over,"Play the Cats And Dogs!". And yes, it was THE Cats and Dogs.
Over the years that phrase has come to represent any one that would yell out songs from past bands. At every Fugazi show one stupid guy in the back would scream 'Seeing RED!". My friends would look at each other and say..."the cats and dogs...".
Loved Quicksand. STILL love Quicksand. I was ready for a change and their timing was PERFECT.
I wonder what their influences were. You bring up Janes, but I always thought Soundgarden or other Seattle bands that were starting to gain popularity on the East Coast.
"coded messages in slowed down songs", anyone ?
I was at this show, and they blew me away that night. And as good as Quicksand was, Inside Out was even better.
Adam, as far as I know Jeff still has the video. My copy was lost to the black hole that was Susan Wills.
FACT: The world needs a quicksand cover band like I need a sharp dick in the eye.
"coded messages in slowed down songs", anyone ?
Right - I always wondered what these guys thought about that line a couple years later.
Quicksand was an American post-hardcore band from New York City , I really like this kind of music, I love this band, I have two albums of them "Manic Compression " and Slip!! excellent information!!22dd
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