ap (alternative press mag.) march '99

I AM SPOONBENDER ANOTHER GREEN WORLD

i am spoonbender founder dustin donaldson has played with art-metal bands (thought industry), rock legends (link wray), pop-punkers( pansy division) and krautrock deities (playing some west coast dates with CAN members damo suzuki and michael karoli). so don't even try to tell him how you think his music should sound. "i'm very proud of the things i've done in the past," he says. "but working in a specific style of music doesn't mean you are owned by that music. it's great to move on and reinvent yourself. what we've done in the past is irrelevant to what we're doing now."

donaldson had been pondering the direction of spoonbender with longtime friend brian jackson for several years. while on tour with pansy division and cub, the drummer shared mutual interests with former cub guitarist cup (robynn iwata). fueled by ideas and funded by student loans, the trio built a studio and began following their muse. on their debut album, sender/receiver, spoonbender rock with more changes than a las vegas floorshow starlet. there's musique concrete, techno-pop, percussive urgency and the sound of video games copulating ("mr knife, miss fork").

"it's a great creative environment," enthuses cup. "there's complete freedom to bring in any kind of ideas. when i moved to san francisco, i left my guitar in vancouver. i thought, 'okay, new town, new instrument!'" the trio recently added marc kate on synthesizer and turntables for live gigs, and they're currently working on a film and two new records, including a cover versions album that homage to such disparate artists as sparks, fred frith's massacre and van halen. "sound doesn't contain images," says donaldson." it doesn't contain clothes or ideology, and it should be taken as such. if people listen to us with expectations, they'll be disappointed. to me, beauty happens when things hit you by surprise."

- jason pettigrew