Utter Trash--Speaker/Cranker

Crank it Up

An interview with James Donadio of Speaker/Cranker

By Bob Ignizio

Speaker Cranker l to r: Dave Swanson, Jim Jones, Scott Pickering, James Donadio, Dave Cintron, and Keith Pickering

“We get all the old people. No hot chicks come out to see us. There’s no one in the band that’s good looking, and there’s no lyrics to sing along to,” says Speaker/Cranker bass player James Donadio. While youth may be king as far as the mainstream media is concerned, those mature music fans with a taste for the adventurous will find much to savor in the sounds of Cleveland’s Speaker/Cranker. Speaker/Cranker have been entertaining discerning music fans with their brand of improvisational experimental rock since 1997, exploring new musical territory and carving out their own niche in the area music scene. “What we do comes mostly from bands like Can, Amon Duul, and Neu,” says James. “Neu’s a big influence. When Jim (Jones, the band’s keyboard player) first heard us he thought we sounded like Neu and that’s why he wanted to join. We’re all huge record collectors, so there are tons of influences from everywhere.”

Speaker/Cranker started out as The Getdown Airwaves, back-up band for Cleveland legend/eccentric “Supie T”. The line-up was Donadio, Scott Pickering (drums), Keith Pickering (guitar) and Dave Swanson (guitar). James says, “It basically consisted of Supie doing whatever he did and us playing. One day he didn’t show up, so we decided we should just play on our own. So we did a show in Kent in late ’97, just the four of us.” Shortly thereafter Dave Cintron (tapes and synth) and Jim Jones (keyboards) joined, and the resulting conglomeration could almost qualify as a Cleveland supergroup. Jones is in Pere Ubu, Cintron was in The Downside Special and Dimbulb and currently has a band called The Terminal Lovers, and Swanson can list both Cobra Verde and Guided by Voices on his resume. In the case of Scott Pickering, James says, “He’s been in just about every band in town. My Dad is Dead, Prison Shake, Spike in Vein, Rainy Day Saints.”

What separates Speaker/Cranker from all the other bands its members have been involved with past and present is the freedom the group provides. “None of it is worked out ever,” explains James. “We don’t practice ever. We get together just to play, but nothing ever comes out of it but playing for fun. We really don’t see each other as a group until we show up for a gig. There’s usually themes that come and go because they help us bring things together. There are little things we do that send a signal to everybody else like, “ok, here’s where we’re going”. But every show is different.” What could be a recipe for chaos results in compelling, highly listenable hypnotic rock in the hands of these experienced musicians. And they do it all while managing to avoid the pitfalls of self indulgence and showboat playing. “We just show up and everybody has an input, it’s all equal,” says James.

In addition to more traditional rock club performances, Speaker/Cranker also occasionally provide live scores for silent movies. “A friend of ours, Tim Ronson, runs a film society in Columbus and he does something called The Avant Garage Film Festival. We’ve done a few of those. 2 in Cleveland and 1 in Columbus,” James says. “We’re given a tape of the movie in advance but we usually play it and make jokes the whole time and then show up and play whatever we want. The last time it was completely different from our usual shows, though. There were no drums, just drum machines. It was not very rock oriented at all.”

Considering the members’ punk roots, it’s hardly surprising that Speaker/Cranker takes a DIY approach to recording and releasing material. “We completely do it for enjoyment. All the money goes straight to a bank account and it pays for our CDs and whatever we do, so there are absolutely no expectations for this band. I think that’s why we’ve been around for five years and had a good time at it,” says James. So far the band has released one CD, and has a second called ‘Plugs Into the Amps’ on the way soon. “We have a label called Holophon. That’s what we put the first one out on and this next one will come out on it too,” says James. “We may put more of our side projects out, too. It’s a total cottage industry, we do everything ourselves. We just put it out because we want it out.” Be warned, though. In keeping with the group’s improvisational nature, James says, “The albums don’t actually sound like us live at all.”

Even for those already acquainted with the band’s previous release and live performances, James says their new CD will show yet another side of the band. “We played live in the studio, but we decided to do a lot of overdubs. The first record was done completely live. We recorded at 609 studios with Don Depew this time and we had 24 tracks so we could fade things in, take things out. It’s a lot different than the first record. It’s a lot less rock oriented. It’s more groove oriented. A lot of samples, stuff like that,” he explains.

With so many bands these days seemingly more concerned with marketing than music, it’s refreshing to find a band that’s all about the joy of playing. Speaker/Cranker play out fairly often, and if you’re already a fan of avant garde, experimental, or progressive rock you’ve probably seen them sharing a bill with some of your favorite bands. “We opened for Bardo Pond, Bevis Frond, Kinski, The Royal Trux, Acid Mother’s Temple. If the band’s a little wacky they call us,” says James. If you like challenging, original rock and haven’t seen these guys live, do yourself a favor and show up next time they play. Especially if you’re a hot chick that digs Neu and Amon Duul.