THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 25, 1994 TAG: 9408250061
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUE SMALLWOOD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
A FEW YEARS AGO, as grunge rock was gripping the airwaves with its heavy morosity, Material Issue launched a tuneful revolution with a clutch of catchy songs called ``International Pop Overthrow.'' The Chicago trio's 1990 debut sold 300,000 copies, and still sells about 800 copies a week.
Proof positive that the Great Pop Song will never die, affirms vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Jim Ellison.
``I just always thought the songs were really good, and I thought people would get off on that,'' he remembered of his band's humble beginnings, calling from a tour stop in Indianapolis. ``We had been having a lot of success in Chicago as a local band and, silly me, I thought it would sort of expand to a national level, and people would get to hear it. Luckily it did.''
Material Issue is currently blazing the concert trail - stopping at the Peppermint Beach Club in Virginia Beach Saturday night - in support of a pair of releases, ``Freak City Soundtrack,'' the threesome's third LP, and ``Goin' Through Your Purse,'' a live EP.
``Nobody ever puts out live records anymore,'' Ellison explained of ``Goin' Through Your Purse,'' which was recorded at Chicago's Cabaret Metro. ``It's like a bonus.''
And not many write songs like Material Issue anymore, those eminently hummable melodies with unshakeable hooks and lots of girl's names in the titles. But if the drum intro to the EP's title track sounds familiar - like the prelude to Sweet's ``Ballroom Blitz'' - you can be sure it was no accident.
The group made the album with Mike Chapman, who wrote the ``Ballroom Blitz'' beat while producing and penning Sweet's '70s glam-slam hit. ``It kind of evolved,'' Ellison said. ``Initially (``Goin' Through Your Purse'') was real countrified. The idea was to play with brushes and stuff, just a couple of drums. When we rehearsed we had the whole drum set, we played it that way and it just sounded great.''
Chapman, who also helmed such sheer pop brilliance as Blondie's ``Parallel Lines'' and the Knack's ``Get The Knack,'' was an inspired choice for producer.
``He's been a fan of ours for a while,'' Ellison said of the mutual admiration between producer and band. ``When we got signed, our A&R man said, `How'd you like to work with him?' We said, `Sure, that'd be great,' because we're big fans of a lot of the stuff he's done.''
Material Issue's stellar debut, however, turned out to be a simple compilation of early demos produced by Jeff Murphy of legendary power-popsters the Shoes. Not wishing to mess with a winning formula, the group stuck with Murphy for its second LP, 1992's less successful ``Destination Universe.''
``Finally, we were ready for a change and Mike called and said, `I'd really like to work on the (new) record,' '' Ellison remembered.
``We got together and we really had fun. He turned out to be a really nice guy, too.''
Other pals lent a hand in the recording of ``Freak City Soundtrack'' as well, including Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen, Guns N' Roses rhythm axe-man Gilbey Clarke, even Chip Z'Nuff of gloss metallers Enuff Z'Nuff.
``They're people we thought were different enough to add something to it,'' Ellison said. ``Gilbey played a little slide, Rick Nielsen's awesome, so he came down. Chip Z'Nuff's a friend from Chicago, and he kind of snuck his way in. He played 12-string bass, which not too many people have, so it's cool.''
Ellison's knack for clever popcraft comes naturally; his songs ``sing'' to him, he says.
``They just kind of come up,'' he mused. ``It's not something you try really, really hard to do. It's like singing - if you have to try too hard, you probably don't have a very good voice. I just sit around and play the guitar and the songs just come along.''
Surprisingly, the album's contagious lead single, ``Kim the Waitress,'' was not penned by the prolific Ellison.
``That was this weird little band from Spokane, Washington called the Green Pajamas,'' he said. ``Somebody gave it to me - people are always giving guys in band records and CDs and stuff - and I popped it in one day. It was really good so we just had to record it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MICHAEL LAVINE
Material Issue's 1990 debut album, ``International Pop Overthrow,''
still sells about 800 copies a week.
CONCERT FACTS
Who: Material Issue and Danielle Brisebois
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Where: Peppermint Beach Club, 15th Street and Atlantic Avenue,
Virginia Beach
How much: $3.96
Tell me more: 491-2582
by CNB