Thursday, August 12, 2010

Maynards
"Suckerfish" 

Maynards
The Sound of No Hands Clapping
b-side of a mix tape
(not really released, 1988? '89?)

I've known Maynard for close to thirty years; he does not play on this song. His name, however, was the source of the band's.

See, Maynard played drums in the band, but James was the primary songwriter; Eric played the bass. This ferocious little ditty, however, James recorded all by his lonesome, at home with his ferocious little four track. Not long after, he left our ferocious little town and joined the ferocious little band Christmas. Together, they recorded the ferocious little album Vortex, which wasn't released until after they'd split up, if my ferocious little memory serves me correctly.

After that, he ended up joining Yo La Tengo on bass for a European tour or something. That was nearly twenty years ago, and he's still with them. That is one long tour, huh?

He gave me a tape of a live set by the Maynards and a few home recordings long ago; I've always especially loved Suckerfish. So, I asked his permission to post it, and he said it would be OK. Enjoy!

In addition to playing with Yo La Tengo, he has a solo project called Dump. He's done scads of singles, EPs, full-length releases, splits with other artists, and compilation tracks. It's all good. I'm not just saying that because he's my friend; I'm saying that because he could probably snap me in two, like a twig.

8 biased opinions:

Biki Honko said...

ive listened to this several times, and cant decide if i like it or not. And i think thats a good thing!

Brushback said...

This is definitely rockin'.

ariella said...

is there any way to hear the whole tape? i want more!

Lightning Baltimore said...

That's up to James! You can try contacting him via his MySpace account.

ariella said...

do you have it all digitized, or just this one track?

Lightning Baltimore said...

Just the one track. Sorry!

Eric said...

Eric, here. This was more like 1988 or 1989. James played all the parts on this recording.

Lightning Baltimore said...

I did say he recorded it at home, Eric, but I see how I wasn't explicit that he played everything himself. I've just updated that, plus the date. :)