Machine age

Hate Machine take it out on you

by Joe Longone

It's hard to deny the latest generation's attempt to control the American underground. Thousands of hardcore/metal/hip-hop/funk noisy outfits are blanketing the nation's clubs. Although they are alienating just about everyone older than 30, these bands are rewriting rock's rules for a new age tainted by cynicism and a feeling of diminishing individual control. One of the loudest and most defined voices of this latest wave of angry young musicians is Hate Machine.

The Rochester, New York quintet are a close-knit group who have been around for less than two years. Singer Jed Seaver, drummer Pete Giverc, bassist Jim Draudt, and guitarists Scott Maynard and Al Dettori are cut from the same cloth. They were fledgling musicians in lesser-known outfits before forming Hate Machine, now considered one of the more popular groups currently calling Upstate New York home. They are the first metalish band in 20 years to win the "Made in Rochester" competition.

"It's sort of strange to see us as our city's most popular band," muses Seaver. "There have been a few bands that have broken up and a few just left town. At an average all-ages show we'll get around three to four hundred to come out for us. If we have a 17+ show, we get around eight hundred to show up."

Seaver is surprised when I say I am amazed at his band's draw. "When you live in the same place your whole life you get to know everyone in town. We also have a pretty large mailing list."

Worcester might seem like a long way from Rochester, but for Hate Machine it's no problem. "Next to our own hometown, Worcester is our favorite place to play." High praise from a band who frequently play places like New York City and Philadelphia. Our second-best ranking may be in trouble after the band travel to New Orleans next month.

Beside a dynamic live show, Hate Machine have gained new fans and wider exposure with the release of their debut CD, It's All Good (Freak), one of the better examples of the metal/funk genre to date. The 10-song collection is a continuation of the world-gone-to-hell theme. Unlike similarly styled albums, It's All Good begins to point the finger at the real problems that cause pain. What is impressive is its broad vocal range and expressive musical arrangements. Seaver, who wrote the material with Maynard, has a chance to breathe as well as scream. And talented guitarist Dettori takes the band's pulsating rhythmic mixes and expands them into colorful sound bouquets.

Still, it's a little difficult to understand the album's title when the first song ("Linear") starts, "I hate everything." The lyrics to all their songs reek of cynicism about a world spinning out of control. In "I," Seaver sings of society's downfall: "Me, myself, and I/I'm sick of the lies/And all your fucking corruption." In "Civil," they try to grab the bull by the horns with "Is this what you call society, cuz I call it shit/A million dying, it never quits/Greedy pigs roll in the money . . . controlling our lives."

The use of the word "you" can mean anything from a girlfriend to another musician to the establishment, but in all cases "you" is vilified. With "You fuckers can't relate" (in "Linear") and "We're not the same, unlike you" (in "Civil"), I wanted to know whom Seaver was singing about.

"It's too personal to give the name of the person I'm talking about. Sometimes it's a friend, sometimes it's another musician, sometimes it's not a person. Every day I have to walk through a bad section of town to get to work. I see things on an average day that would get anyone angry."

The so-called noise bands of the '90s are so concentrated in just about every major city that it seems impossible that they wouldn't influence mainstream music. Whenever this massive chunk of metal and funk breaks into the big time, expect Hate Machine to be there at the forefront.

Hate Machine will be in town next Friday, August 15, appearing with N.E. Hostility, Shadows Fall, and Commonwealth at the Espresso Bar.

Ronnie's back

One of the very best shows I've ever seen in a Worcester nightclub happened last year when Ronnie Dawson performed at the Plantation Club. This rockabilly legend performed with a passion and energy that shamed most 20-year-olds. His command of American roots music (Tex-Mex, Country, Cajun, Blues, etc.) is mesmerizing. Don't miss his next show at the Plantation on Thursday, August 14.