Jan - The Early Year
(Me!)
Once upon a time, there was Alternative Rock. Once upon a time, there were
radio stations that played Alternative Rock. Once upon a time, there were a
slew of female-fronted pop-rock bands that flooded the Alternative Rock radio
airwaves. One such group was called Eve’s Plumb. They released two records,
and offered a few singles to prospective fans. One single ("I Want It All") was
an aggressive tune, in a chirpy fashion. The other single ("Cherry Alive") was
more suggestive and alluring, in a chirpy fashion. They were lost in the mix.
Their CDs, punctured, gouged, ashamed, fill discount bins from coast to coast.
Their lead singer, Colleen Fitzpatrick, is now better known as Vitamin C.
Another such group, that dog., didn’t receive as much attention as Eve's Plumb
(and there wasn't much attention given to Eve's Plumb, let me tell you). that
dog. (a rock group whose heavenly harmonies are much-missed in this writer's
life, a group whose name also contained a superfluous period) featured the
daughters of jazz musician Charlie Haden and record producer Lenny Waronker.
They released 3 albums, received some exposure from MTV’s 120 Minutes for "Hey,
Old Timer" (AKA the Beavis & Butthead corndog video). They broke up a couple of
years ago. If you saw the Josie & the Pussycats movie, then you heard some of
Anna Waronker's song writing.
It's just a coincidence that Jeaneen Gauthier's voice on the first track of this
disc reminded me of Eve's Plumb, whose name refers to the actress Eve Plumb,
best known for her role as Jan Brady on the Brady Bunch. It's just a
coincidence that dog. wrote a song on their last album (Retreat From the Sun)
named "Minneapolis." Jan. (period included in the name, at least on the cover)
are based in Minneapolis. At their most distorted (cf. "Scanner," "Dreamin'"),
Jan faintly recall the joyous sturm und drang of that dog. At their most somber
(cf. "Dumb Guy," "Unknown Country") or kitschy (cf. "Fred Rogers"), Jan recalls
that dog.'s less appealing traits—the pat rhymes, the disinterested vocals, the
plodding pace. It's just a coincidence that "Minneapolis" (a relatively somber
song about meeting a boy at a Low show) is my least favorite song from Retreat
From the Sun. A snappy beat and zippy melody can gloss over any number of
flaws, though.
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