They are inimitable. They are perplexing. They are the Thinking Fellers Union Local 282. TFUL282, which features Mark Davies on guitar and banjo, Ann Eikelberg on bass, Brian Hageman on mandolin and guitar, Jay Paget on drums, and Hugh Swarts on guitar and everyone sharing the vocals, have been called everything from psychedelic to blues, but their sound has never been accurately portrayed. Oberlin students will have the opportunity to witness the mind-bending splendor that is TFUL282 when they perform at the 'Sco this Friday.
Originally hailing from Iowa and now living in San Francisco, the five members of TFUL282 are a truly egalitarian band. On stage, they display controlled chaos, but no one person has control. This makes for a inspiring, communal music, that is filled with cohesive noise that signals one of two things to the audience: one, this is obnoxious, and two, this is sonic heaven.
Think Captain Beefheart, Pink Floyd, and Sonic Youth all performing at once, and you'll get some sense of what TFUL282 sounds like live. Legend has it that there are two types of TFUL282 shows. One is a rather staid poppy set that shows the ability the group has to play beautiful and consistent music with little effort. The other type of show is said to resemble the apocalypse. Fans have been verbally assaulted, band members have taken sick, and the sound coming out of the amplifiers resembles nothing more than a "delirious musical junk sculpture," as one critic has said. Either way, it is said, nobody forgets a TFUL282 show. Not ever.
TFUL282's records, though they are not as overwhelming as their live shows, also have many wonderful qualities. They are noisy affairs, filled with vocal free associations, alternate guitar tunings, and booming drums. Their newest album, I Hope It Lands, has been widely praised, and their 1995 EP Admonishing the Bishops is considered an underground classic.
It has long been a hobby of rock fans to speak about which bands albums will still be played in twenty years. In such conversations TFUL282 consistently are mentioned. This is because they fit the description of "cult band" so well. In addition to their obscurity, they have a sound that stands up to repeated spins. It is all too possible to hear a TFUL282 record without listening. So in twenty years, when your hipster kid is blasting the Admonishing the Bishops record on high, you can nod knowingly and say to them, "Oh, the thinking fellers. I remember when I saw them in college."
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 is performing Friday the 13th at the 'Sco. XX is opening. Tickets are $4 OCID, $7 without.
Copyright © 1998, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 18, March 13, 1998
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