review by Will K. Shilling
 

The defining scarlet mane on fire, bare hips thrusting a bullet belt that barely covers wandering tattoos, Terry Laird is completely in character. Texas Terri & the Stiff Ones, three motley Hollywierdos and their head "cavewoman," are making their Hermosa Beach debut tonight; and not everyone is impressed - including the lead singer.

     "I don't wanna be in this situation... don't wanna be in this situation," she chants, then screams, the refrain taking on different meanings as she offers the mic to people in the audience. As the headliners bash out slam-glam-thank-ya-man attitude, it's obvious that the sound mix is off. Unless, of course, you prefer listening to a band play underwater.

     The "No Cover!" Hermosa Saloon, you see, is also equipped with No P.A., the lack of which renders tonight's highly anticipated show, ahem, a wash out.

     Too bad. The three-act bill attracted a slew of South Bay music scenesters, presumably following the buzz coming from the tres-hip underground scene centered on L.A.'s Sliverlake district. In attendance: members of Prop 13; Jim Mellon and his Quartet's drummer, Rico; Big Lucy's Suzanne Longo and Renee Kayon. With a bill that also includes local grinders Ill Will (Alcholhollica prog-metal) and neighborhood noise-niks KLANG (exactly), tonight's sub-par sound offers, at least, something other than one more Saturday night of "Proud Mary" encores.

     Not that tonight's headliners won't cull from rock's past. Far from being innovative or "original" songwriters, the bulk of Terri & her Stiffies' tunes could easily include an "Outside of Society!" chorus, a la Patti Smith's "Rock 'n' Roll Nigger", while Ms. Terri herself has been known to get naked more often than Jim Morrison fell off the stage.

     And yet, somehow, they elude the rock critic's favorite dis, "retro." By injecting an honest mix of punk anger and perverted joy into a blue-collar work ethic, they've gained both indie street cred and critical attention (L.A. Weekly, L.A. New Times).

     Despite the acoustically-challenged venue -- which, in all fairness, should get props for booking harder-edged local bands -- the Stiff Ones pull off a surpassingly adept set from their 5-song demo EP.

     Vocals effectively neutralized, rave-ups like "The King And I" and "Dicks" can only hint at full-throttle Stiffs, so Laird turns on the agit-prop, pushing up on both band and audience members, forcing herself on the deserving victims with riot-grrl glee and wanton smuttiness. Most of the crowd looked confused ... or intrigued ... bewildered, perhaps, by this trailer-trash-cum-glam-rock-queen and her band. In the end, they decide to stick it out.

     "I don't wanna be in this situation!"

     Maybe the audience understands the vocals after all.
 

====================================================
(originally published December 5, 1998 in ShadowLand magazine)

© Will K. Shilling, 1998.