Cipher - Body Chemistry, Harmonic 33, Cymatic Mambo // Modern Medicine, Brown (Right Brain Records) 1981. A band I was first introduced to on the Savoy Sound LP. At the time I assumed they were a local San Francisco act but it turns out that they were actually from Los Angeles and were contemporaries of bands like Wall of Voodoo, Savage Republic and The Fibonaccis. Apparently, the owner of The Savoy also owned Go! Records and he asked Cipher to play their closing weekend and be on the compilation. Quite a compliment really when you think about how many great local SF bands could have filled that slot. The track Cipher contributes to Savoy Sound is entitled Cymatic Mambo and it is one of the best on the LP, full of tribal tom-heavy beats and live guitar squeals and squalls. Knowing nothing about Cipher, I was intrigued enough to beg publicly (as I am known to do) for more information on this mysterious band. One of the comments on the post mentioned that there was an EP out there by Cipher and shortly thereafter, Marsha Mann, lead singer and producer of the band, sent me a copy.
The first thing that struck me about the EP upon listening to it was how unlike their contemporaries Cipher were. Then it hit me, none of their contemporaries sounded anything like each other. I spoke briefly with Marsha via email and then a bit by phone and she confirmed this. In her words, the LA scene that Cipher were a part of were, “a group of avant-garde musicians who were very aware of each other’s work, partied and played shows together, and spurred each other on to experiment and be unique…NOT to sound like anyone else, and certainly not like each other.”
I like the idea of artists approaching art for arts sake. Trends be damned. Coming from the midwest, where the idea of playing this kind of music draws a clear ideological line in the sand, I always viewed the pursuit of creativity over money as a noble pursuit. Not that I have ever had a problem with financial success, just a problem with the idea of financial success being the primary motivating factor for art. Marsha points out, “(Cipher) also lived in L.A. - the epicenter of the Music Business, so there was always talk of how to ‘break through’ without compromising or selling out. Unless you’re 17 or 18 years old and just thrashing around to have fun and express yourself, all serious bands have aspirations of ‘making it’…it’s the only way you can keep doing what you love for the long term.”
Cipher: Michael Carroll, Marsha Mann, Francis White, Jose Garcia
In our online discussion, Marsha mentioned that I occasionally espouse a “romantic notion of artistic purity” on Last Days and I think in her opinion, all bands pursue success. In this sense, a band like Savage Republic were pursuing commercial success and were simply idealistic enough to believe that this could be achieved on their terms. From my point of view, it seems insane to think Savage Republic were pursuing financial success, but maybe it did seem more possible in early 1980s Los Angeles to be challenging artistically and successful commercially. Maybe its generational, maybe its geographic, but I don’t think my view is merely a “romantic notion” and I would offer this blog as proof of that.
See, Last Days has survived for four years without ever making a cent. I have no staff, no advertising, no profit margins. I am a one man show. I get a lot of hits a month and sure, I would love to write about great music all the time and support myself. I can’t stand working all day on shit that offers no reward for me. However, in my opinion, the delusion that this could be possible is a romantic notion. The fact is, once you sign up with them, you become a tool for them. Just look around the blogosphere and you will see plenty blogs who are merely just tools for a music industry going through its death throes. I started doing this so that there could be something pure in my life that wasn’t motivated by making money and thus far, I have been very happy with the results. Would I sell all of you down the river for a wad of cash? Hell yes. But in the interest of my narrative, lets refrain from making me contradict myself.
Regardless, I found Marsha’s insights fascinating and I have been mulling them over for quite some time. We tried to continue our discussion on the phone but some phantom reverberation kept us from being able to after about ten minutes. Damn technology, you serve me so well sometimes and other times you betray me.
Anyhoo, I use Savage Republic as an example above instead of Cipher because of all the LA bands of that era, Cipher probably had the most commercial sound and potential. Side B of the EP sounds somewhat like Siouxsie and the Banshees. I don’t think this was intentional. Just two bands in very separate parts of the world hitting the same sounds at the same time. Side A has some resemblences to other bands, I can hear a bit of Suburban Lawns in Body Chemistry, some surf rock in the amazing Harmonic 33. Guitarist Jose Garcia, is an excellent guitar player and he experiments with a bunch of weird tunings that predate Sonic Youth by quite a few years. The rythm section of Francis White and Michael Carroll keep it tight and tribal. Lots of additional percussive elements are employed which point to bands like Savage Republic but also at times to some of the music on the East Coast at that time including The Feelies, Pylon and Polyrock. With that said, this is clearly a West Coast thing and I can even hear elements of the exotica of Martin Denny and Yma Sumac in the mix. Marsha has recently been in contact with Jose and they have some unreleased tracks that they may be releasing down the road. Until then, I’ve been given permission to share this EP.
Cipher came out of a theatrical background and from what I have been able to research, their live shows were super intense. They would put a lot of thought into how they presented themselves. One trick I read about in an old article from BAM magazine that Marsha sent me, mentions how she would sit on a stool, dressed in black with all of the lights dimmed except for a spotlight so that it seemed like her face was suspended in space. Her picture on the back of the LP is consistent with this. So intense. So uncompromising. I love it. In fact, records like this are the fuel for my romantic notions of artistic purity. You have to forgive my delusions, this kind of music made me the way I am.
From The Valley Within (Lost Records) 1983. Man seriously? Say it ain’t so, Joe. Two obscure 1980’s hardcore 7inches in a row? This one is from San Jose, California and is one of those comps that I searched for for years. Why? Cuz it has The Faction on it, that’s why. And what’s funny is now The Faction aren’t even one of my favorite bands. Times change and people change, as Pat Dubar once so eloquently put it. So what is the choice material on this comp? Ribzy, Ribzy, Ribzy. It’s just so fucking snide and rotten. Check out All Cut Up and tell me that guitar breakdown isn’t awesome. Some of you may remember me waxing all philosophical-like about Ribzy back in August of 2007. Fronted by twins and featuring two girls, Ribzy were something kinda unusual for the skatepunk scene. Maybe the unique demographic element of the band contributed to the unique aesthetic element of the band. What do I know? Another great band on this comp is Grim Reality who should not be confused with The Grim. Fronted by Jason Honea who went on to sing on my favorite Social Unrest album, Grim Reality is mid-tempo punk with a British vibe. Definitely not as groundbreaking as SU2000 (what is?), Grim Reality is still pretty kick-ass and worth a listen. All in all, this comp is a pretty cool document of a lesser-known scene. Kinda similar to Nardcore in a way but without the hesher allusions. 
