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by Dean Capone
Originally published May 1985
A Number of New Musically & Spiritually Aware Artists Are Coming from California's Capitol
"We do the music we like," says co-founder and bassist Jan Eric Volz. "Over the years, we've welded elements of everyone from Elvis to the Smiths. We stick to our guns about playing only basic rock 'n' roll-American music."
Their stripped-down approach is anchored by Roe's pyrotechnic wailings, both vocal and guitar, and Aaron Smith's slash-and-bash percussion. Smith, the newest member of the band, arrived after spending time with Romeo Void, The Temptations, and-guess who-The Charlie Peacock Group. "We like technology," Smith says, "but we try to stay away from overdoing it."Ironically, the first single from All Fall Down was "Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba," easily the most synth-weighted piece the band has ever done. The video clip for the cut climbed to a respectable position on MusicBox, the European cousin of MTV. They followed up the single with a short, summertime tour of the Continent, a tour which included an appearance at Pandora's Box Music Festival in Holland alongside such new music notables as Echo and the Bunnymen and Green on Red.
"We thoroughly expected to be the odd men out," Roe remembers. "There were only two or three bands from the States there in the first place, and we all thought we'd be passed on. "But, much to their surprise, they were greeted with an enthusiastic response. "They stuck around and watched our show," Smith says. "And they seemed to like it. It was a lot of fun."
Sure, there are music scenes all over the country, even in such seemingly unlikely places as Austin, Texas and Athens, Georgia. But the thing that sets Sacramento apart from the others is the fact that the clubs here aren't really the primary site for what's jumping in town musicwise.
Although bigger clubs like Harry's Bar, The Watchtower, and The Club Can't Tell (downtown's venerable old jazz refuge) host many of the bands from time to time, several of the better-known Sacramento groups see the need to expand beyond the city's bounds.
"There are some good clubs in Sacramento," explains Jim Abegg, Vector's lead guitarist, "but there really isn't a big enough population base here to make a decent and consistent living. Anybody can go out and play to two or three hundred people every weekend, but it doesn't get you anywhere. There are a lot more opportunities in looking to hit the national circuit." And the 77s' Jan Volz echoes that call, saying, "It's so much easier for bands here to hit the San Francisco and San Jose outlets than to stay here and try to hammer it out."So, except for Peacock who relied on the club circuit to build up a following, the bands claim that Sacramento's clubs aren't really the nucleus of the city's artists. So, you may ask, where do they come from?
It may sound suspicious, but it's a warehouse-size building in a tucked away little industrial park on the far west side of town. Nestled safely between Interstate 50 and Bradshaw Avenue and in the ominous shadow of Mather Field Air Force Base is the nondescript home of Exit Records.
Exit-with its motto "There is a way out"- is an independent label founded in
1982 by Mary Neely. A veteran of the music business and a long-time hostess of several
nationally-syndicated rock radio shows, Neely is given credit for building virtually from
scratch much of the organized new music culture in Sacramento.
Based on her experience in the business, Neely decided it was time for her to start a label geared toward art rather than commercial success. "Too many record companies try to pump hits out of their artists" she laments. "Ours can write credible material on their own. It comes naturally with no pressure from me.
"Of course, not all of the bands around here are on Exit. Bourgeois Tagg [being] the main exception," she says, "but we still provide a gathering place for the musicians. On any given day, you can see anybody who's anybody in town pass through our doors. We try to see ourselves as an art-minded indie, a family of artists, sort of like I.R.S. or Slash. We have a common vision, both artistically and spiritually. And that's to take the gospel to every nook and cranny we can."
And it's working...
