saccharine
trust article
by falling james
l.a. weekly (1997)
When the South Bay jazz-punk group
Saccharine Trust broke up in 1987, poet/lead singer Jack Brewer said, "If
you want to be appreciated for playing music that's ahead of it's time, you
have to play in the future." Now the past has leapfrogged the future as
founding members Brewer and avant-bizarre guitarist Joe Baiza have reformed
the Trust with bassist Chris Stein (Citizen Down) and drummer Brian
Christopherson (Brother Weasel). Ahead of it's time in the 80's, Saccharine
Trust did not exactly go unnoticed. Sonic Youth used to cover the Sac
classic "I Am Right," and Kurt Cobain named the band as an influence. In
addition to the new "Water On The Dancefloor," the Saccharines are also
reinventing their past hits, which range from the early, scabrous punk of
"Disillusioned Fool" to Baiza's improvised, jazzy explorations on later CDs
like We Became Snakes. The showman/shaman in Brewer has
always been fascinated by reptilian transformation, the shedding of skin and
the mutation of language- who needs Val Kilmer when the real Jim Morrison-
incarnate walks among us? Before embarking on a Pacific Northwest tour,
Saccharine Trust hits Silverlake, along with the Sort Of Quartet's
desert-fried twisted salsa and Dave Travis' psychedelically bloody Carnage
Asada.
