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A review of "Pop The Lock" from a blog from
Spain. I was unable to get the google English translation link to work. Click here.
Feature story on the Magnolias and the new album "Pop The Lock"
in Minneapolis' daily newspaper, Star Tribune:
Blurt Magazine review of "Pop The Lock".
The All Music Guide (The Big Take Over)
review
Better Late Than Never (SMA 2008)
Other reunions receive
more ink, but the irregular-but-constant existence of this historic Minneapolis Buzzcocks/Undertones-loving, Real Kids/Replacements-sounding,
punky garage-rock act was equally welcome. This prime vehicle for underrated, resurgent singer/songwriter John Freeman even
hit South by Southwest in 2006, and they must have been thrilled to be alighting for Europe for the first time in 2008, 23
years after their first concert. And while old fans awaited threatened new material 12 years after the fifth LP Street Date
Tuesday, SMA reissued and revamped this 1990-1997 overview/rarities collection originally on Satellite Six in 2005. Better
Late Than Never has all the spirit and garage chops of their trio of older, ‘80s Twin/Tone records (their debut was
produced by Hüsker Dü's Grant Hart, after all), with two cuts of especially valuable live work, which is where they've always
triumphed most. Newcomers could start here, or anywhere, as this is a premier, honest to goodness, thick-guitar and big drums,
melodic, and exciting club-rockin' band. ~
Jack Rabid, The
Big Takeover, All Music Guide
Here are a few links and reviews. More to come.
THE MAGNOLIAS MYSPACE WEBSITE
translated here in English (kinda)
tremendous. The Magnolias dispatched with conciertazo
in the 15 anniversary of nonTomorrow Record, last night in the Room Four Seasons de Castellón, and Javi, the
Rubber, Tommy and Paco Rock songs put
the rest remembering of which they make make kneel touching imaginary guitars to us.
The
truth is that it did not seem Thursday. Still I am recovering. It deserved it to the reason: fifteen years of life of an independent
seal, small but soldier, necessary. After the hugs of courtesy to the perpetrador of everything, Javi Ordo'6nez, raised to
that small genie punk who is John Freeman to the scene of the Four Seasons
and the joke finished.
The
concert of The Magnolias came to him like a glove to which it has been the trajectory of the record seal of Castellon de la
Plana, touching almost all the woods that have always characterized to him: punk, to power MGP and surf. Energetic in spite
of the speedometers and, unlike the last disc - recopilatorio `Better barks than never'- with a sound quite loose fruit of
up to five different recordings, the band of Minneapolis sounded powerful, with a tension that does not have the album.
They
reviewed the best songs of `Better barks they than never', as the surfera “Duel” (secondly video of above), but
also reviewed classic of `For rent', `Off the hook' or `Concrete Pillbox', finally to dismiss the concert by all the stop
with temazo, “Hello or goodbye” (first video of above). It goes, that almost 25 years removing discs and kicking
scenes give for much.
By
the way, The Magnolias tonight acts in Grotto 77 of Madrid (20.00) - whose Web
contains an interesting interview with the group and tomorrow Saturday Rows in It from Granada to the same hour.
Here's a link to The Magnolias European Tour Rehearsals.
Minneapolis Star & Tribune did a front page cover story on Minneapolis bands touring
Europe this summer. The Magnolias are included in the story and John Freeman interviewed amongst others. The actual
paper had a large photo of the Magnolias European Tour Poster included in the story but not on the website version.
Here's the link, the story is 3 pages long.
Here's an article and interview by Diego R. J. with John freeman
for the June 20th show in Madrid Spain at the Gruta 77 Club. Part of the upcoming June European tour.
THE MAGNOLIAS – G77 ARTICLE AND INTERVIEW
The Magnolias
Power Pop Is Rock'n'Roll
They
say that the time puts the record straight. If true, The Magnolias should savor today the recognition that was
denied them in due course. Any lover of power pop outline a smile when he recalls a disc as "Off the hook".
In 1992, and after eight years of experience, the band from Minnesota reached its summit with a personal
album enviable. But honeys of success are only for a few and they do not iban a flavor. They said goodbye in 1997. Still, the battle is not over. John Freeman has brought together his old band
and plans its first assault on Europe. Perhaps some classics in the shadows begin to see the light.
Its three Spanish dates include Castellon pass through the June 19,
Madrid (Gruta'77) on 20 and Granada on 21. (By Diego RJ)
The
Magnolias were formed in late 1984, in Minneapolis, a city that already had big names in the rock'n'roll such as, the Replacements and
Hüsker Dü. One year after their first gig, the group
rose in the ranks of local twin towns and with a recognized seal next to the groups cited above. Singer, guitarist
and composer John Freeman was the main engine of the group and today is the only original member remaining in the band. From the outset they demonstrated their devotion and influence by groups
like the Undertones, Buzzcocks, Kinks and the Real Kids, influences to which was adding a personal nature that would define
the group. But what might be was not. The history of the band is marked since its inception until the last bolus
offered in 1997 by a series of obstacles and glimpses of bad fortune that, despite the perseverance of Freeman, inevitably
end up drowning. Changes continuous training, incompetent
recordings, unexpected bankruptcies ... even when the fate seemed to smile and called them to act before 1,200
people at the famous South by Southwest festival in Austin, meeting point for major labels in the country, they stopped their
van pulled amid a storm six hours in the city . There came to the event and added another anecdote to the list.
After their separation and since 1999 the group has acted sporadically. But recently, and after another unsuccessful
projects, Freeman wanted to pick up the reins and edited "Better Late Than Never", a collection of unreleased songs
drawn from demos and discards study. The first rung of a new staircase, which continues with the first European
tour in the history of the group.
If I am not wrong this next tour is the first time The Magnolias
visit Spain. How do you front these shows?
Yeah, Our first ever tour of Europe. Though a mutual friend,
the Magnolias hooked up with Kill City Booking in Lille France. Our agent there is Francois Boit. Juancho Lopez contacted
me when he got word of our upcoming tour. He wanted to get us into Spain. So he, along with Francois got the ball rolling
in Spain.
You have a new album (first in more than 10 years) that includes
13 unreleased demos and outtakes from the past. Which guidelines have you follow for doing it?
Well, putting together a compilation of tracks that were recorded
over various years, members, studios and producers was a difficult task. We narrowed it down to the years from 1990 to 1996.
We have recorded material that goes back as far as 1985, some of the earlier demos, quality and sonically just didn't hold
up as well as the later recordings. We wanted the strongest recordings and songs. I quess to put it simply, we wanted to include
as many unreleased songs that was strong from first song though to the last. The two live songs, the rocker "Torture Yours"
and slower, moodier "Where Do You Go?" were written shortly before the group originally broke up in 1997. We never had a chance
to record them in the studio. I wanted them on because I think they are great songs.
Are you thinking about recording new songs for a next project?
Have you got material enough in your inkpot?
I have enough songs to choose from that we could record a triple
album. We would need financial backing to go into the studio. Money is a problem right now. Right right now we are doing all
this for fun, and funny thing is that's the reason we all got into music for in the first place, to have fun.
I have seen the European tour line up includes
your old partner Tom Cook (Magnolias’ drummer from 1988 to 1993). Have you been in contact all this time? Would
you say this is the best Magnolias line up for you?
These guys are truly my friends. Tom Cook is the igniter, a
real go getter, and drums like a clock. Johnny O'Halloran has been the longest tenured player in the Magnolias, been with
me since I uprooted him from Boston in 1992. He truly is the essence of rock'n'roll. A James Dean type of character. He also
happens to be one of the best bass players on the planet. Eric Kassel, came into the band in 1995, at that time the band was
on the verge of collapse. I'm pretty sure, that without him having joined the band, we wouldn't even be talking about a tour
at all. I'd say Eric is the smart one in the band. He takes care of all our graphics and has designed pretty much everything
that has the Magnolias name on it. A real quick, ripping lead guitar player too. So yeah, a well rounded line up and great
friends.
I suppose that all the changes the band has had all over the
years must have been a big obstacle for your perfect continuity. Why do you think that you have forced so many times to change
your partners?
Because I'm an asshole. No really, there were issues with drugs,
commitment, you name it. I only ask that the others carry their share of the load. I'm not going to babysit anybody.
The band disbanded in 1997 but since 2000 you have been playing
sporadically. Why do you think this is happening? What would you say that keeps the band’s spirit alive?
Well we don't hate each other. We always feel that when we play
that we could wipe any band off the stage. Nobody in this band wants to go out and flop on stage. I think it's instilled in
us all to be the best every night. As far as the spirit, we would not do it if nobody cared about us.
In these last years you have been working with other solo projects:
The Pushbacks and Action Alert. What can you tell us about these bands? Any future plans for them? Are you working in any
other musical projects besides Magnolias?
I put the Pushbacks together within weeks of the Magnolias breaking
up in April of 1997. At that time, I really was worn down from anything and everything to do with the Magnolias, my spirit
really smashed. I was drinking way too much too. The Pushbacks breathed some new life and energy into me. I started writing
more and more. We released one CD in 1999 called "No Strings Attached". The Pushbacks gigged around the upper midwest of America
mostly, played a couple of SXSW's festivals in Austin Texas. The band broke up in 2000 because I wanted to tour more than
the rest. They had other things going on in their lives that made them unable to commit to the band. the Action Alert, Hmmm,
started out in late 2000, all guys I knew, tight rocking band, it just never got it's footing. Had drummer problems and we
kinda faded out. Never really broke up, just faded away around 2003. No other projects right now, The Magnolias are my baby.
Your first Magnolias’ show was 23 years ago. What do you
see when you look to those years with the eyes of today? How was Minneapolis in 1985 for a kids in love with power pop?
I was 21 then. I'm 44 now. Minneapolis in 1985 was really great.
There were less places to play than there is now, but there were so many great bands around, alot of garage rock, alot that
you probably never heard of. We signed with Twin Tone Records in early 1986. To be able to get signed by them, with the amount
of great bands that were around was a blessing. It enabled us to be a real band, record, tour, and for me to get better as
a songwriter. The crowds in Minneapolis has always loved us. We have a very loyal following even today. We are playing a show
in Minneapolis a few days before we depart for the European tour.
Before forming the band, what records and artists were you listening
and what shows did you see that marked the way you were going to choose?
Oh, even though I was only about 14, in 1977 and 1978 I would
go to most every concert I could. I'd spend my paper route money every weekend down at the local record store, Oarfolkjokepus.
The Jam, Clash, Sex Pistols, Generation X, Buzzcocks, Undertones, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers I just loved and still
can't get enough of. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers first two albums are fantastic. Cheap Trick. I'd buy all the records
and hunt for the newest singles. Two of the best shows I ever saw were in the summer of 1978, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
and another show that summer, Cheap Trick on the Heaven Tonight tour, simply blew me away.
Everywhere about The Magnolias someone said you were replacement,
Huskewr Du and Soul Asylum little brothers. Weren’t or aren’t you tired of this?
I saw in the local newspaper paper about a month ago that had
a birthday list, It said Dave Pirner, Soul Asylum 44. I had already turned 44 in February, so he's actually my little brother.
We all came from the same scene, at the same time. I played in a band called the Outpatience in 1981-1983. We used to open
for the Replacements alot. I think the fact that we never hit the big time like those bands is the reason we are sometimes
called "little brothers" although we are very close in age. It doesn't really bother me.
Talking about those Minneapolis bands: I think your sound was
not so near to their. Your guitars were sharper and your melodies were stronger. In those new wave sounds I think you were
more near to melodic punk rock than the others. What do you think?
I wasn't a fan of Husker Du, so they were not an influence at
all. I was on the Replacements side of the fence. Soul Asylum I loved live, but I didn't listen to there records much. I was
a big fan of the Buzzcocks and I think alot of people can pick up on that. But I also loved what Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers
did. Kinda of a 70's version of Chuck Berry. Great,great songs, but mostly rhythm and blues based. That's what I was mostly
trying to do when we first started out, mixing those two together. Though the years I developed my own style of writing, and
when you here a Mags song, I think you'll know it's us.
I think that your first years (the mid and late eighties) were
not a good time for power pop bands. The biggest names have had their time between 5 and 10 years ago but I suppose that after
that radios and press, as always happens, lost interest in these sounds. Did you ever feel you were living five years behind
of your time?
No, I never really considered us anything but a Rock'n'Roll
band. It's the media that puts on the tags. I felt perfectly at ease with what we were doing then just as I do now. I try
to stay away from trends. If you can do that, your music becomes timeless. But I do love Power Pop, and if someone calls us
that, I'm ok with it.
You toured all the USA. Which were the best moments in those
years? Which bands you liked did you meet in your tours? How were your first visits to the East Coast?
Oh man, any day on the road was a good day for me, I absolutely
lived for the road. We did better on the East Coast because it was closer and easier for us to tour. Alot of cities in a small
area. Three bands that really stick out to me that I saw and met on the road were, The Voodoo Dolls from Boston, Titanic Love
Affair from Champagne Illinois and the Wannabes from Austin Texas. The first time we played New York, we were so paranoid
that our van was gonna get stolen, that every time we parked it on the street, we pulled out the coil wire from the engine,
so it wouldn't start if someone tried to steal it. We were wide eyed midwest kids who had never been to the big bad cities
of the East Coast. But after awhile, we figured it all out. Still the coil wire idea, in hind site, was pretty smart.
After two good records as "Concrete pillbox" and, specially,
"For rent", in 1989 you left Twin Tone label after recording "Dime store dream", an album that in your own words was not recorded
in the best conditions. It seems your label didn’t want to bet for The Magnolias, did it?
No actually, they pretty much begged us to stay on. I think
that they liked what they heard on the demos that we had recently recorded and were impressed with the songs that would be
on the next album. The main American distributor, Rough Trade, had filed bankruptcy, and we felt it was time to move on because
of that.
But after this record, the incident that impeded you playing
Austin SXSW and Kyle Killorin and your old friend Tom Lischmann leaving the band, The Magnolias recorded the best album in
its trajectory, the amazing "Off the hook". How could you get it???
Going into the studio to record it, we knew that this was gonna
our best yet. It was a great bunch of well developed songs. And we had worked them to the bone before going in. We just needed
a good producer who cared. We went with Tom Herbers, a guy who co-produced "For Rent"and he also had worked on many demos
that we had done over the years. He knew us and our sound very well. We took our time on it. We were all very pleased with
the results, we felt we had made the perfect album.
How did things change after this record?
We embarked on some really lengthy tours, covering all of America.
The first 6 weeks of the tour, we only had Sundays off. We toured everywhere we could, playing every city and college town
you can name. We had a new Manager, a new Booking Agent, a new label in Alias Records. We thought this was gong to be the
one that got us over the edge so to speak. But our bass player, Caleb Palmiter, left after the first half of the tour and
we replaced our guitar player, Kent Militzer as well, bringing Tom Lischmann back. I drove out to Boston and recruited Johnny
O'Halloran to play bass. After all the touring was over, we set about making a demo of our new songs. I'm guessing Alias must
not have liked the songs, but they never told us why they dropped us.We promoted the album by touring ten times that of any
other band on their roster. They told me they were not picking up the option on the contract by phone on Christmas eve 1992.
Same year, 1992, you recorded the "Hung up on" EP. Why did you
stop recording till 1996?
No record label interest, nobody would touch us. EMI called
once, when I called back I left a message, then I never heard from them again. Funny. We were like the plague or something.
"Street date Tuesday" (1996) was another fantastic record. Next
year The Magnolias disbanded. It seems your trajectory was marked by a dark rock’n’roll curse.
Actually, It's lucky the album ever got made at all. I was ready
to hang it up, but my band talked me into giving it one more go. I said I would, but if the tour to support it did not go
well, then I was going to leave. We never did do a proper tour for that album. We played our last show then in April of 1997,
which marked our 12 anniversary of our first ever show. We had a good run, not everybody can be famous.
Thanks for your time John. I’m really waiting to see your
band at Gruta’77, Madrid.
THANK YOU !!! SEE YOU SOON !!!
Diego R.J.
G’77 Magazine
Rhapsody.com
The Punk purists of the late 1980s might have shunned the Magnolias,
but from today's perspective, their feisty, bright, gritty guitars and gravelly vocals sound way more vicious than much of
what's being passed off as Punk these days. In the shadow of Twin/Tone labelmates the Replacements, the Magnolias were (and
still are) unfortunately overlooked all too often. Strong melodies work through their songs like steel, and although their
songs fall on the poppier side of things, these guys show right off the bat that they mean business. Each song is a left hook,
but just when you get used to the left hook, they surprise you with a catchy right. Minneapolis has bred some of the best
bands ever -- the Magnolias included.
Mark Murrmann 2007
SXSW 06 review by
British writer Patrick Wilkins, who writes for Britians AmericanaUK. It's his SXSW wrap of all the shows he saw. It's
chronological and we are last band reviewed. Click on link http://tinyurl.com/r48zb
A nice review from the opening night of
the Concrete Pillbox Tour (Jan 23, 1987) from the Iowa State Daily in Ames. Thanks to Dave Wilson
for sending this one in.
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| (Part One) Aimes IA Gig at Maintenance Shop 1/23/87 |
| (Part 2 of review) |
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| Aimes IA Gig at Maintenance Shop 1/23/87 |
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