Thursday, February 12, 1998
‘God Lives Underwater’ not all washed up
MUSIC: With latest album, band hopes to find new success on the
West Coast
By Michelle Zubiate
Daily Bruin Contributor
Descending from the vibrant beams of light and echoing notes of
rock bliss, a spider makes a bid for fame. He lowers himself from
the ceiling on a fragile string and faces the roaring crowd before
him. In what may be the final seconds of his life, he surprisingly
finds a kindred spirit.
Suddenly noticing his fellow performer, God Lives Underwater
lead singer David Reilly stops the music to address a dilemma.
"I told the audience about the spider hanging on the web in
front of me," Reilly says. "I didn’t want to put it on the stage
because it was probably going to be killed by myself or one of the
band members. So I said to the crowd that I was going to put him
right here next to me. I said to the spider, ‘Good luck!’ and hoped
for the best."
This scene marked one of the most vivid experiences Reilly
encountered in his performances as frontman and co-founder of the
alternative-industrial rock band God Lives Underwater.
He and his partner, Jeff Turzo, have just completed their new
album, "Life In The So-Called Space Age," scheduled for release in
March (by 1500/A&M Records). With it, Reilly hopes to gain the
same success on the West Coast as they have found in the East,
where they regularly sell out shows.
Reilly and Turzo met under unusual circumstances one night in
small-town Philadelphia where they both grew up.
"Me and Jeff were the only two kids that weren’t fighting at a
big ruckus," Reilly says. "There were about 30 or 40 ‘hesher’
metalhead-looking kids beating up 30 or 40 punk rockers. It had
started because one of the guys from the metalhead crew had a
girlfriend who cheated with one of the punk rockers so they wanted
to beat up all the punk rockers. Me and Jeff were the only two guys
not fighting because we don’t like to fight."
After messing around together with computer and keyboard sounds,
they decided to form a band in 1993. Each had explored music
throughout their lives.
"I was in bands from the time I was eight years old," Reilly
says. "I played with all the neighborhood kids. Then I played with
their older brothers, since I was a better musician than the young
kids. It was then I got into my first original band who made its
own songs. I was about 10 or 11 and I started writing songs. I was
in techno bands, hard rock bands, everything. I played drums,
guitar, bass, keyboards, and I was the lead singer. It was all
different."
They sent out their tape to several record companies and caught
the interest of producer Rick Rubin of American Records. Seeing
that people had an interest in the band, it was time for the two to
think of a name. Turzo came up with the name "Glue" from which
Reilly took the first three letters and formed "God Lives
Underwater." Since then the name has (excuse the pun) stuck.
"There were a lot of trial and tribulations leading up to that
point, and my whole life I wanted to be signed," Reilly admits.
"Sometimes people never get signed. You just have to keep trying
different things until you do. I was never trying to get signed by
altering my music … but it just happened to be."
Since then Turzo and Reilly have moved from Philadelphia to Los
Angeles and recorded three albums, their upcoming release under the
new 1500 Records label.
Their unconventional spirit is not only reflected in their music
but in the way they prefer to record at home rather than in a
studio. Each have a studio at their own homes where they can record
and work at either place, or by themselves. Everything created on
the album is the product of either Reilly or Turzo, although they
added guitarist Andrew McGee and drummer Adam Kary for live shows.
Reilly finds the hardest part of recording in the anticipation of
the final product.
"I just like it to be done soon because I write so much that I
want to hear what it sounds like when it is finished," Reilly says.
"I can usually hear it that way in my head before it’s done so I’m
like waiting, waiting, and waiting for things like saving something
to the disk drive or changing guitar strings … I hate when things
get in the way like that."
Their music contains a take-notice blend of eccentricity that
likens to those bands that GLU finds inspirational, such as Depeche
Mode, David Bowie and the Doors. The often indescribable attitude
and mood behind both the sounds and the lyrics reflect that
flexibility of emotion GLU tries to emulate in every song.
Reilly points out that he often does not like to put adjectives
to his sound because it lessens its purpose, which is to mean
something different to different people. A blend of both upbeat
rhythms and soothing melodies, its direction mirrors the portrait
Reilly offers about the band Depeche Mode.
"They write quality music but present it in an unusual manner,"
Reilly says. "It doesn’t sound like everything else. It sounds
completely different, to me. I think that our music is similar to
theirs, but ours is its own thing too."
GLU’s immediate future holds a tour where they plan to come home
to Los Angeles for three weeks and then go back out on the road
with a band. (Reilly hopes one day they can tour with Depeche
Mode.) In the past they have toured with a number of bands
including Spacehog, Filter and Korn. They have also been headlining
themselves and met packed houses full of already loyal fans. But to
them it doesn’t matter who they work with as long as they like
them.
"I don’t really care if it’s a money issue or a popularity
thing," Reilly says. "It’s just a creativity thing for me."
The band members do not see themselves as a product "of" the
times but as one "with" the times. As they have matured with
experience (since they first started in 1993), they have seen
progress in both their songwriting and style. But as Reilly puts
it, "It’s still the same ingredients."
Predictions for the future? "I am always changing with (the
times)," Reilly proclaims. "Maybe not always with my music but I
can always understand what people are listening to. I don’t think I
will never get old and think that the kids are listening to
noise."
Reilly reassures his future audiences and fans that he’s always
aware of what’s going on in music, but that some things will remain
the same.
"Everyone says that eventually there is not going to be anymore
live music, no more guitars, it’s going to be all computer sounds,"
Reilly adds. "There’s already been computer-sounding music now for
20 years. It’s evolving all the time. (But) there’s still always
going to be symphonies and orchestras. There’s still always going
to be rock bands. I don’t know what we’re going to like but
everything is going to still be here."
1500 Records
Jeff Turzo (left) and David Reilly form the core of God Lives
Underwater.