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Mark Spencer
Of Pinhead and Laura Cantrell's Band

Brattleboro, Vt,  June 17, 2005  -  When Laura Cantrell's tour reaches South Burlington's Higher Ground on Thursday, June 23, in support of her sparkling new Matador Records album Humming by the Flowered Vine, her band will be made up of ex-Burlingtonians Mark Spencer and Jimmy Ryan as well as bassist Jeremy Chatzky.

Spencer is much admired for his work in the 1990s alternative country band, Blood Oranges, but also for his earlier Burlington post-punk outfit, Pinhead.

Speaking of the "magical" years, he said by recent e-mail, "I think that time [from 1978 to 1983] was really important and fun for a lot of people, and they remember it fondly.  There was a lot of energy, and we were the local harbingers of a pretty big change in the world(s) of music.  Even though there's a danger in it, being the most popular band in Burlington can be pretty thrilling while it's happening.  Pinhead occurred during a great time in the Burlington/Vermont music scene.  For one thing, the drinking age was 18, not 21 . . . and though I'm not advocating changing it back, it sure did make the live music scene way more lively and populated."

While other Vermont bands of that era  -  even including some of the best  -  had a tough time making the leap up to the next career level, Pinhead was playing New York clubs and getting some plum concert gigs as a supporting-act.  One such engagement involved opening for The Clash during the "Combat Rock" tour.

"I was unused to lights fading to 'black' between songs," reminisced Spencer, "and that was screwing up my Farfisa/Casio rewiring ability.  So, in frustration, I shook up a can of ginger ale, opened it, and launched it into the audience.  Later, at a gig in Middlebury, a beefy dude approached me somewhat menacingly . . . asking if I remembered that can of soda I threw at the crowd at the Clash concert.   I replied yes, expecting the worst, and suddenly he broke into a giant smile and revealed he caught it, and had it in a place of honor in his dorm room."

The Boston Phoenix praised Pinhead's "deadpan gags and beauteous stupidity," and Joshua Mamis dispatched an article to the old Vermont Vanguard Press about a late-1983 Pinhead appearance at the legendary CGBG in Manhattan, amid talk of the band returning for the club's 10th anniversary show.  It was a heady time.

The Brattleboro-based website, the New England Music Scrapbook, gets occasional reader questions about the possibility of a Pinhead reunion or a CD reissue.  Spencer doesn't see much chance of a reunion.  But he said, "I know . . . where all the masters of our two released records and the final, unreleased record (Forbidden Love) are."  He went on, saying, "It would probably be nice to have a 'Pinhead Box' that included You Don't Like Me, Do Ya, Where Are You, the unreleased third record, and some various live stuff, along with a booklet, pictures, observations, etc.   I kinda doubt that'll ever happen, but you never know.  It'd be a good time capsule of an era."

Spencer mentioned parenthetically that, floating around somewhere "there's even a multi-camera shoot of three nights at Hunt's."

Asked if these days his Vermont appearances are frequent, Spencer  -  who calls himself "someone who thought Church St. was cooler as a street"  -  said, "I played piano in Vermont last week at Radio Bean with Neil Cleary and Creston Lea.   I'm in Vermont all the time and have been a charter or auxilliary member of a number of bands from there:  The Chrome Cowboys, The Whateverly Brothers, Barbacoa (NYC version with Pinhead drummer Ron Ward).   I also engineered/recorded/played on albums for Vermont artists Neil Cleary, Viperhouse, and The Cuts.  I've jammed with Trey [Anastasio] and Jon Fishman [both members of Phish] on different occasions.   I even played on a Jon Cassell record!!   I love Vermont, my family and some of my best friends are there, and I always look forward to hanging out and playing some music."

And what would a trip home be without eating?   "The food has gotten way better there as well, though I'm glad Nectar's still has the hot-turkey-fries going.  That place has meant a lot to me over the years. . . . "

"Burlington is still a great place to make and hear music," said Spencer.  "It's still a breeding ground for and attracts a lot of creative people and is an important stop for most levels of touring acts."  Touring acts like Laura Cantrell and her gifted band of Vermonters.

[I filed this Mark Spencer article with the Vermont Guardian as a companion piece, Part 2, or sidebar to a June 17, 2005, Laura Cantrell feature article. For whatever reason, the Guardian did not publish the Mark Spencer notice.]

• Who:   Laura Cantrell
• What:   Concert (seated show)
• Where:   Higher Ground, South Burlington
• When:   Thursday, June 23