Louder Than Dirt,Thicker Than Mud!

EVERYBODY'S NEWS (Cincinnati, OH)
Instrumental surf rock conoisseurs The Mulchmen are celebrating the release of their new full-length, Greetings From Planet Stupider, on Dayton-based Big Beef Records. The follow-up to last year's acclaimed CD "Louder Than Dirt, Thicker Than Mud!" and the more recent cassette-only release "Covered With Mulch", the new CD features 14 more solid, surf-inspired explorations courtesy of guitarist Nick Kizirnis, bassist Brian Hogarth and drummer Gregg Spence. Even people who don't think Dick Dale is God won't be able to keep from digging the sounds this trio creates.

COLLEGE RADIO MUSIC REVIEW
Killer surf music from an instrumental trio in Dayton, Ohio!! There's a rockabilly influence, too. As a gauge of respect from the surf community, The Mulchmen have appeared with Dick Dale, Man or Astroman?, The Exotics, and Frankie Camaro. The album starts out fast, slows toward the middle and speeds up again at the end. Favorite tracks include the opening "Mudslide" and the closing "Bridge of Death." The theremin on "Sci Fi Voodoo" and "Rumble 3000" is haunting. This CD demands many repeated listenings.

AUTOREVERSE
Cool surf guitar coming from a place about a thousand miles away from any beach, with songs appropriately titled "Mudslide" and "Bustin' Golfclubs" and (my favorite) "A Man With No Reverb Is No Man At All". Sounds like Dick Dale on slow dope, not the kind of surf music you twist and shout to, but the kind you sit around and snap your fingers and shake your head to.

SCRATCH MAGAZINE
Who says surf music all sounds alike? Well, most people, and more often than not they're right. But the latest releases by the Mulchmen and the El Caminos prove that the creature called surf can sound like anything from an opium den to an auto race.

The Mulchmen's "Louder Than Dirt . . ." is definitely the meatier of the two. These 14 tracks capture the very essence of quality surf rock. The sun, the sand, those are givens, but there's a darker side, too. Even the best wave can turn on you, and if it does, that brand new board might just leave splinters in your cranium. It's easy to say the songs on "Louder Than Dirt" run the surf gamut, but what's more remarkable is that the Mulchmen show there's a gamut to be run in the often-repetitive world of the surf guitar. Many of the best tracks, such as "Bridge of Death" and "Flippin' Out" head inland for a taste of that rockabilly feel. The best track, however, is "Mudslide" which leads off the album with an effortless mix of gleeful conquest and impending doom.

These songs flirt with the types of superlatives that rock critics hate to use, but the fact remains that the Mulchmen have created a richly textured album that vaults onto the short list of instrumental albums that remain listenable and distinct from beginning to end.

THE NEW GANDY DANCER (U.K)
Nice boys as opposed to Spice Girls who we've liked since their samplings on vinyl, and here is their eagerly awaited CD. It's no let down and the guitar instrumentals are splendid, being thicker juicy slices of medium pacers rather than speedy surf stuff which we have been accustomed to of late by so many others. The band provide some tasty originals, especially in "Bustin' Golfclubs" and "Bridge Of Death". Liked also their Wray appreciation with "Rumble 3000". The sound, as the title suggests, is thick, not weedy with plenty of dare we say spaghetti western feel to several. The Mulchmen also get a vote in out titles of the year show with "A Man With No Reverb Is No Man At All". Couldn't have put it better myself. Wondrous.

NOISES FROM THE GARAGE
This guitar-instro trio comes from Dayton, OH and while there's a tendency to dump all instrumental guitar bands into the dreaded "surf" category (not to mention it's no doubt impossible to hang ten on the Great Miami River), The Mulchmen's brand of twangy guitar music falls into a variety of moods, from the dark, low rumbles of "Mudslide" to the punchy clarity of the aptly titled "A Man With No Reverb is No Man At All". That, and guitar plunker Nick Kizirnis brings in a theremin and adds a litlle space-age touch to the mix in songs like "Sci Fi Voodoo" and a rewrite of Link Wray's "Ramble" called "Rumble 3000". Be prepared to be rocked. And be prepared to be taken a little farther than usual. These guys are good.

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE (Davis, CA)
What do Quentin Tarantino, Annette Funicello and The Mulchmen have in common? Aside from that last sentence, the answer is,of course, surf guitar. Granted, the all-instrumental music on this disc is a lot closer to Pulp Fiction than Beach Blanket Bingo, but that won't stop you from doing The Swim during your next pool party, even if some of you feel this music is better suited to your next murder-mystery weekend. The next time you're discussing surf-rock with the upper echelon of surf-society, remember, Slick, Thick and Quick, as in slick guitar melodies atop thick bass lines driven by quick, choppy rhythms. Toss these terms into the conversation - along with a few dudes and far-outs - and you're sittin' on top of the world. Louder... is a quality release in all of the above categories, even if the CD detours in the middle - well, more like a lane change - with Frank and Sci-Fi Voodoo. Overall, however, this disc epitomizes good surf-rock, despite the fact these guys are from...and I'm not joking...Dayton. That's Ohio, as in "You can't surf on Lake Erie"...dude. I don't get it either, but the next time you're looking for tunes while surfing the waves, the 'net or the streets of Dayton, hang 10 on this one.

HANG TEN (U.K.)
The Mulchmen hail from Dayton Ohio and their press release namechecks Link Wray, Dick Dale, Duane Eddy and Man or Astroman? as influences (I would add The Pixies - check out "Frank"). Well the influences are there alright, but The Mulchmen have come up with a highly original sound all of their own. Nick Kizirnis' guitar playing nods towards surf at times, but is generally a little more out of kilter, although the spirit is certainly there, particularly on a tracks such as "Flippin' Out" and "Chiwahwah". "Bonfire Serenade" is a beautiful Nouveau-Western thing, while "A Man With No Reverb Is No Man At All" wins my nomination for the greatest title of the year.

There is also an unusual take on Link Wray's "Rumble" - "Rumble 3000", with the lead taken by a theremin. I'm not aware of a UK release for this album, so contact Big Beef Records if you want to know more.

SURF MUSIC U.S.A.
"Louder Than Dirt Thicker Than Mud!" is The Mulchmen's first full-length CD. After a single release and appearances on compilation CDs the boys from Dayton, Ohio get to strut their stuff big time. This three piece outfit has a full, raw garage sound to them. The tunes are uniquely original. They have some punk overtones in their beat and should impress many who will listen to their music. They have been playing a lot around their hometown of Dayton and get fave reviews when ever and where ever they play. After hearing the CD you will have to decide which is thicker, your coffee or this CD!

EVERYBODY'S NEWS (Cincinnati, Ohio)
By Bill Furbee
The Mulchmen. Maybe you've heard their 7" record, their brand-spankin' new CD or one of their songs on a compilation disc. Or maybe you've seen them perform with Dick Dale, Man...or Astroman?, Los Straitjackets, Ronnie Dawson or The Breeders. Whatever the case may be, this Dayton, OH-based surf trio has been making a lot of waves, creating a word-of-mouth buzz that has pushed beyond Dayton and Cincinnati. And, most important, they're having a lot of fun. Nick Kizirnis, guitarist and occassional thereminist, writes most of the material and is joined by Gregg Spence on drums and Brian Hogarth on bass.

"I've always been a guitar player, but this was a challenge," Kizirnis says, "because the guitar has to carry the songs. In past bands, my biggest problem was writing words. When I started writing instrumentals for The Mulchmen, songwriting flowed a lot faster."

Kizirnis' previous band was the popular Dayton group Cage, of which Spence was also a member.

"We weren't artistically satisfied," Spence recalls, "and we weren't making any money."

With that in mind, it took little more than the two's plan to cover some Link Wray songs for the band to be conceived.

"But what will we call it?" Kizirnis asked, to which Spence immediately replied,

"The Mulchmen" for as he explains, "What else are you going to surf in Ohio?"

Brian Bagdonas was the original bass player for the group. As Kizirnis recalls, "We always knew it was a part-time thing and he eventually moved away. After he left, we played as a two-piece for awhile, which was a lot of fun." Eventually, Hogarth, who had previously made music with Spence in the Dayton band Sourbelly, settled into the lineup. "Brian's first time onstage with us was opening up for Dick Dale at a sold-out Gilly's," adds Kizirnis.

The band members say their past experiences with other bands have helped them to keep the right perspective with The Mulchmen.

"Things started happening at the right time," Kizirnis says, and we just went with it. The phones would start ringing with show offers, they say, and so they decided to enjoy the ride.

"We did so much 'show seeking' in the old band," says Spence, "that (this time) we didn't want to push it. Our only criteria for this band is that we have fun." But did they have to convert heavy guitar riffs and the "rock" context to reverb-soaked guitar dances to have fun? Spence offers the following view:"If a band's goal is to succeed and 'make it' and get signed, and you don't, then at some point you should stop, or least shift your priorities. That was actually the best thing we could do for ourselves."

The trio's major accomplishment is the creation of instrumental rock'n'roll that refuses to be just background music. Slower numbers pull on emotional chords, while more up-tempo compositions refuse too sit still. And if you listen hard enough, a strange whistle, produced by Kizirnis' theremin, can be heard on some songs.

"The theremin has the shock/novelty value, which isn't lost on us," Kizirnis admits, laughing," It's a really fun, challenging instrument, and we've even seen people playing 'air theremin' while we perform."