Thursday, 5/8/97 Lutefisk adds an extra ‘fisk’ for their fans in
live shows Interview with lead guitarist Frosting reveals a
‘sweeter’ man
By Vanessa VanderZanden Daily Bruin Contributor They named their
band after a Norwegian fish dish which stinks up a house for 30
days. If this seems strange, meet Lutefisk’s lead guitarist. He
calls himself "Frosting." "I didn’t want to be a lead guitar
player," Frosting relates. "I was always intrigued by the idea of
being the guy who was there to decorate the cake, window dress the
band, so to speak." The result, apparent on their second full
length album, "Burn in Hell Fuckers," reflects the pleasure these
instruments can produce through such pain. Currently on tour with
the Breeders, Lutefisk will show Los Angeles their odd fusion of
noise and music on Friday at the El Rey Theater. Meanwhile, keep in
mind that peculiar sounds call for peculiar creative measures. "Mr.
Dallas Dawn, our singer and strums and mean guitar, is a rather
prolific writer," Frosting says. "He’ll bring in some songs and
we’ll add the ‘fisk’ to them. That means taking a song and giving
it a third dimension, so that on the fifth time you listen to it,
you’re still discovering stuff." Finding a common theme to either
of Lutefisk’s albums proves a mighty task. Songs range from sad
folk/country spin-offs to "Rebel Girl," a swirling punk tune with a
catchy chorus. Either Lutefisk rules supreme as the master of a
modern musical movement, or they just don’t know what they’re
doing. "There was a kind of turning point for this band," Frosting
recalls. "There was a New Year’s Eve show three years ago for the
Cacophony society who put on really ridiculous events. Shortly
after it began, the place erupted into mayhem. I think we were
caught off guard by it." Huge, rain-soaked couch bolster pillows
began flying through the air. Though the audience instigated the
projectile action, Lutefisk continued the chaos. Each bolster
knocked over about four fans. It was a "sign of affection."
Lutefisk adores their fans. "We once had a record release party
where we released records," Frosting says. "In the sense that they
weren’t our records. We just had a lot of those little 45s that
were thrown into the audience. After they left, shards of vinyl
were strewn on the floor." An obvious candidate for the once
anti-corporate Lollapalooza festival, Lutefisk toured on the show’s
third and most independent stage last summer. The band "Girls
Against Boys" challenged them along with the other small bands to a
soccer match and the challengers proceeded to kick everyone’s
butts. Frosting is no stranger to such physical embarrassment.
"There’s a lot of skate-boarding and a lot of semi-trucks on the
video we just shot," Frosting says. "I don’t fancy myself a skater
by any means. There’s a shot or two of me actually lying on the
ground after falling. I once had a 5-year-old girl tell me ‘You
can’t skate!’ It was excellent. I picked up my skateboard and
walked the rest of the way." Fortunately for Frosting, his own kids
give him more respect. Avalon, 4, and Liam, 1, even call him
"Daddy." That could be an even cooler name than Frosting, even
combating the drummer’s name for slickness points. "I can’t give
any explanations for (drummer) Quasar," Frosting goofily admits.
"That name has to do with something weird with the TV." Frosting
may not be able to skate or expound on name origins, but he and his
band can sure jam, especially on stage. "We jam all the time in
live shows," Frosting says. Someone will start something between
songs, and someone else’ll think that’s interesting. We start going
along and pretty shortly we have a new song. We’ve written great
songs that are vapor. They were played once and that’s it." In
their private home studio, other songs have wreaked havoc with
their recording devices. Wearing out an entire four track in
producing "Burn in Hell Fuckers," Lutefisk looks forward to more
advanced equipment with their new A&M record deal. "We just
filmed a video for ‘Tin Man’s Cue’ at a hockey rink in Quebec,"
Frosting says. "It’s exactly like – oh God, what’s that Motley Crue
song? The live one," he tips his chair back to ask the other band
members screwing around in the Bong Load Records office. "’Home
Sweet Home.’ We’ve recreated the ‘Home Sweet Home’ video shot by
shot," he jokes. "I think Dawn might be in a dress in one of the
shots." When this tour ends, Mr. "Family Man" Frosting will
probably go home, play with his kids and record a new album. "It’s
like living three separate little lives," Frosting says. But how
could the self-proclaimed short attention-spanned musician exist
any other way? Lutefisk plays with the Breeders on Friday at the El
Rey Theater. For tickets and info, call Ticketmaster at (213)
480-3232. Bong Load Records Lutefisk will bring its odd fusion of
noise and music to Los Angeles when it plays with the Breeders this
Friday at the El Rey Theater. Related Links: Lutefisk site