LIGHTNING BOLT

'Lightning Bolt' is a noise rock duo from Providence, Rhode Island, presently composed of Brian Chippendale and Brian Gibson. They are one of the most well known of the bands connected to Providence's Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) music scene.

Contents

History

Recordings

Musical and lyrical style

Live performances

Discography

Albums

Video

References

Further reading

External links

History

The band formed while Chippendale and Gibson attended RISD, when Chippendale heard about "a new kid" who was a whiz on the bass guitar. At the same time, Chippendale was preparing to set up Fort Thunder , a disused warehouse space in the Olneyville district of Providence that came to house a number of different avant-garde artists and musicians, including Brian Ralph.
Formed in 1994, Lightning Bolt's initial line-up featured Brian Chippendale on drums, Brian Gibson on bass guitar, with Hisham Bharoocha on guitar and vocals joining the group after their first show. Chippendale took over vocal duties when Bharoocha left in 1996. The only officially released music with Bharoocha was a track on the ''Repopulation Program'' compilation.^[1] Bharoocha later joined Black Dice as drummer.
On June 5, 2006, it was reported on the band's webpage that Lightning Bolt had been deported from Japan days after they arrived to continue their tour from the U.K. Band members were detained on arrival on the grounds that they did not have work permits. Their official appeal was rejected after 48 hours, and they were deported back to the U.S. A report on the incident can be found here.

Recordings

Lightning Bolt have released 4 full-length albums: their self-titled debut (1999) often refferred to as "They Yellow Album" for its yellow cover, ''Ride the Skies'' (2001), ''Wonderful Rainbow'' (2003), and ''Hypermagic Mountain'' (2005). All of the albums have been released by Load Records.

Musical and lyrical style

The band's music takes cues from Japanese noise rock bands such as Boredoms and Ruins, although jazz composer Sun Ra is an acknowledged influence. The band's sound consists of Brian Chippendale's frenetic drumming, his usually incomprehensible vocals, and Brian Gibson's bass guitar playing.
Chippendale eschews the usual microphone stand and conventional microphone, instead using the type of microphone built into a household telephone receiver, held in his mouth or attached to a hood. This microphone is then run through an effects processor to further alter the sound. Chippendale has also used a KMD 8021 Drum Exciter, a simple drum-synth module, triggered by the bass drum.
Brian Gibson plays his bass guitar tuned to cello standard tuning, in intervals of fifths (C G D A), using a banjo string for the high A. He used this four-string setup for several years, but has recently been seen using a five-string setup, tuned to C G D A E, with banjo strings for the A and E. Gibson also uses several effects pedals, including overdrive pedals, an octaver, a delay pedal, and a whammy pedal (pitch shifter).
Like other noise rock bands, Lightning Bolt mostly plays extremely loud, aggressive music. In the film ''The Power of Salad'', Gibson attributes much of their success to volume:
Perhaps for this reason, the band has reportedly never been a fan of the studio recording process. When they recorded five tracks for their eponymous debut album released in 1999, they discarded four of them and replaced them with lo-fi tracks recorded at various live shows from '97 and '98. They went on to release traditionally-recorded studio LPs ''Ride the Skies'' and ''Wonderful Rainbow''. For ''Hypermagic Mountain'', about half the tracks were recorded in a house, direct to a 2-track DAT master tape, where the audio engineer was unable to tell exactly how the final result would sound.
Since the band is only comprised of two members and two instruments, their sound has a somewhat limited range, though this is often noted as a positive thing. In a recent interview, Gibson states that his experiences in Lightning Bolt "has showed me the power of an extremely limited palette."^[2]
Lightning Bolt's lyrics are generally silly and tongue-in-cheek, covering such topics as fairy tales, heavy metal clichés, terrorism, anarchy, and superheroes. They delve occasionally into more political subjects (e.g. "Dead Cowboy"), albeit in a humorous tone. The band's album art/ song titles/ album titles are all generally done in a childlike, irreverent manner.

Live performances

Lightning Bolt are renowned for preferring to put on so-called "guerrilla gigs" in venues not usually played at by "established" bands. They prefer to play on the floor of the venue rather than the stage, creating a tight circle of spectators around the band.^[3] They have been known to start playing only a few seconds after the previous band finishes, often taking the audience by surprise.^[4] As their live setup has become larger and more elaborate, they have taken to setting up their equipment beforehand. Lightning Bolt's on-stage persona, like its lyrical content, is similarly tongue-in-cheek. Also, Chippendale often wears an odd, brightly-colored mask over his face, usually pieced together from various pieces of cloth and faux feathers.
Lightning Bolt played at noon at the door of radio DJ John Peel's chalet during the All Tomorrow's Parties festival 2004, about which neighbor Steve Albini of Shellac commented: "Best alarm clock I've ever had."^[5] They have also played on moving tractor trailers , in kitchens, on sidewalks,^[6] and in parking lots.^[7]

Discography

Main articles: Lightning Bolt discography

Albums

★ ''Lightning Bolt'' (Load) (1999)

★ ''Zone'' 50-minute companion cassette (Load) (1999)

★ ''Ride the Skies'' (Load) (2001)

★ ''Wonderful Rainbow'' (Load) (2003)

★ ''Hypermagic Mountain'' (Load) (2005)

Video

★ ''The Power of Salad'' DVD (2003)

★ ''Pick a Winner'' (2004)

References

1. http://www.goldstarpr.com/artist.php?artistID=75
2. Lightning Bolt: Interview by Ryan
3. Photos: Lightning Bolt (Austin, TX; 04/18/07)
4. The Art of Noise
5. All Tomorrow's Parties, Camber Sands, East Sussex Kevin Harley
6. Live Wire
7. A bolt of guerilla noise

Further reading

★ Interview with drummer Brian Chippendale

★ SF weekly article

★ Bio

★ Peel sessions interview

★ Shred Planet article

★ Brass Lands article

★ Village Voice article

★ Spin article

★ Boston.com article

★ LA Weekly
Reviews:
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]

External links

★ Official Website

★ Load Records

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