Those Xcleavers
Retrospective
The raw energy of Punk, combined with Pop sensibilities and infused with the early rhythms of Ska.
The XCleavers were in the forefront of an early wave of alternative music that came after the British Invasion. They took in many genres & sub-genres, and when \'covering\' material, believed there were no rules to bastardization. With a variety of fans that referred to their music as Punk, New Wave, Alternative Dance, Pop-Punk, Ska, or Ska-Punk, the XCleavers only had one rule in songwriting: you had to be able to dance to it, and challenged audiences accordingly. They have never lost the belief that in order for it to be rock and roll, it has to be body music first. They understood well what Keith Richards meant when he said rock and roll is music for the neck downwards.
Terry Tanger, John Gaskell, Tom Lesions and Ernie Alvarez found their audience by understanding people don\'t buy plastic or material. They buy emotions. New addition, drummer Mark Pierret, and his firm and passionate drums, have added to the band\'s excitement on stage and in the studio. Some musicians and groups with more traditional concepts, and their own perceived musical virtuosity, looked on with suspicion at the Punk and New Wave scenes of the 70\'s and 80\'s. They weren\'t used to the simplicity or harshness of the 4/4 time, or a traditional verse-chorus form where solos were considered self-indulgent. They found the production techniques too minimalistic, and the new punks & wavers too confrontational, reminding us lyrically, and aurally, of a darker side of life, history, and culture.
Midwest Punks and New Wavers got their guts (in every sense) from 1960\'s garage bands like the Kingsmen, the Kinks, the Who, Standells, Seeds, Sonics, and ? and the Mysterians. Their lyrics grew from traditional themes of girls, friends, and relationships, but blended with a frustration and rebelliousness of another generation.
They believed in the Punk mantra of: here\'s the first chord, here\'s the next. Here\'s the third chord . . . now go and form a band.
Reggae: Ska