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MOINMOIN 01 (2004) |
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Upon initial listen, No Channels most immediately distinguished themselves with their amateurism. Neither Van De Loo nor female vocalist Chekhov had any background as vocalists or musicians to speak of, alternating turns behind the microphone only when the other had grabbed the bass guitar (typically the band’s sole melodic instrument on these recordings) first. Drummer Noel Zevon (who chimes in occasionally on backing vocals) brought prior experience from the hardcore outfit Born and Razed, yet he too displayed a peculiar erraticism—as if brain seizures prevented him from hitting the occasional second or third beat. This performative spontaneity shaped the compositional process and career evolution of No Channels. Most tracks on Rehearsal Recordings (25.08.00 - 19.3.01) were laid to tape only after one or two run-throughs, except for the several ‘jams’ that are recorded at their moment of creation. Indeed, much of No Channels’ appeal lies in the accidental quality of their playing, which for some listeners diminished as the members inevitably became more proficient on their instruments. Perhaps for this reason Rehearsal Recordings does not include recordings from the band’s last year of existence. Musical inexperience notwithstanding, No Channels developed a distinctive style that reflected their experiences as two German nationals and a Los Angeles transplant brought together in the world city of NYC. The band recorded in the basement of the Museo Del Barrio, on 5th Avenue and 104th Street in East Harlem, where the stacks of music stands and folding chairs still vibrate with the legacy of a thousand salsa band rehearsals. Ironically, the trio seemed chronically unable to master these Latin rhythms, as evidenced by their failed stab at Mexican conjunto (“Amor Bonito”) and their car-wreck mambo (the showtune “Brazil”). Otherwise they displayed a remarkable linguistic and musical polyglotism, singing in at least four known languages and one unidentified, scat-like idiom (“Electro Headcoats Jam”). They played a melodically dirgy variant of postpunk rock that managed to occasionally explore other genres: blues (“Summertime,” “Half A Dozen Chickens”), ragtime (“Barrelhouse Piano in Berlin”), reggae (“Reggae Jam”), and most notoriously polka (“Polka Jam 1,” “Polka Jam 2”). The élan and fluency with which they approached this last style provoked isolated incidents of violence among audience members in their sole public performance and, just as unfortunately, led a few critics to pigeonhole No Channels as “The Fall play polka.” Lyrically as well, No Channels exemplified the integration and juxtapositions of disparate cultures. Van De Loo tended to offer an outsider’s view of America: its white-collar anomie (“Commuter Train”), the velvet rope of NYC’s nightclubs (“Show Me Your ID”), and a Deep South travelogue (“Waters Of The Mississippi”). By contrast, Chekhov commented on the state of political affairs in Europe, such as the bureaucratic welfare state (“Gray Room”) and the dangers posed by the extreme right (“Idiota Fascistas”). Ironically, on the rare occasion when they sang of first-hand perspectives in their native German (“Viehllicht,” “Eisen Bär”), No Channels unfailingly struck the listener with an emotional bolt of recognition. As is clear on the 2-CD set, their musical and lyrical approach imbued No Channels with a vast artistic potential, not all of which is captured on Rehearsal Recordings (25.08.00 - 19.3.01). Of special interest to the elusive No Channels fan are the lost recordings of the “Transport Vs. No Channels” sessions, a particularly exciting and fruitful collaboration with NYC noisemakers Transport. It is mysterious, then, why No Channels exhausted itself creatively at least a few months before Van De Loo’s return to Germany. Some still ask ‘How could No Channels end?’, but perhaps the more important question is ‘When will another band like No Channels appear?’ While this particular ‘Deutsche Amerikanische Freundschaft’ may have come and gone, the union of musical fearlessness and cultural syncretism that No Channels epitomized can only resurface eventually in New York and other world cities. |
Here's a concert we played at Pit's house at the peak of our powers... |