Demo Joe #2: Cringe vs. Kramer

Today, Demo Joe turns his attention to John Salvo and his band of noise-mongers Cringe. For those unfamiliar with the name John Salvo, he was the owner-operator of Jello Tree Studios in Spokane in the 1990s, where he recorded many dozens of great local bands, from Cause and Clabberhag to Motherload and the Makers. He also led the volatile and punishing noise trio Cringe (think ’80s Butthole Surfers meets ’90s Amphetamine Reptile). Sometime in 1995, Cringe hit the road for a U.S. tour, culminating in a recording session with Mark Kramer at Noise New Jersey. Kramer was the impresario behind the great indie label Shimmy Disc, which released albums by Ween, Daniel Johnston, Damon and Naomi, Gwar, King Missile, and many others (including my favorites Dogbowl and Uncle Wiggly). He was also a founder of Bongwater with Ann Magnuson and a prolific solo artist and producer (he produced all of Galaxie 500’s albums). So it was kind of a big deal for Cringe to work with Kramer. Only, based on what I recall of John’s recounting of his experience, Salvo was disappointed with both the experience and the results. Kramer was largely absent during the session, and the recordings he “produced” were cacophonous but flat, lacking that sinewy punch that Salvo had so well captured on his own recordings of his band. Nevertheless, the three songs on this tape – “Nerve Test,” “Rock Star Bathtub Suicide,” and “Witches Brew” – are an interesting document of a good band that never got its due.