Backburner/Jazz Monster 7" Single




Released: January, 1993

Trixie Records
PO Box 379373
Chicago, IL 60615


Barrett Heaton - Guitar
Lavon Washington - Drums and Percussion
Stelios Valavanis - Bass and Guitar
Sluggo - Guitar, Bass, and Vocals
Ted E. Gray - SoundMaster
a.p. harris - saxophone



DragKing's first single. Recorded in the fall of '92 at Mama Stel's studio. The A-Side Backburner, was a haunting "pop" song written by Sluggo. The B-Side was a fierce explosion of freak out punk jazz written by Stelios.


"back burner burst into flames
dry ground gone too long without rain. we've been getting by with what we've got, undernourished knowledge we've been taught, one perspective in isolation, the perfect tool for subjugation.
mud, sand, piss and stars
wash over and polish our scars.
shine 'em up like a chain of pearls, witness to time done in this world."


Reviews

The first review of our single came from the TrueArt multimedia catalog

Debut single by Trixie Records recording artists. Sweet and noxious (like sweet and sour, but different) extended cuts. Meticulous, strange production. Many-instrument arrangements, including manipulated tape and samples, played real time. Jazz drums sound as though they are being dreamt, not actually heard. Dense-pack chord structures and layer upon layer of, for want of a better description, "sound". DragKing clearly knows what they are doing, and after you hear this single, you won't, but you'll listen to it several times (which is more than can be said for so many of today's top radio hits).

Jonathon Joe
TRUEART Fall '92 Catalog


OK... sure they're just trying to sell records but here's the Ajax Records catalog description.
Lo-fi sax-abetted Chicago band performing extended tunes that evoke visions of a Dead C/Slint hybrid on the A side and a post-Borbetomagus unit on the flip, but more disjointed than either might suggest.

Tim Adams
Ajax Records Catalog
May 1993


Here's a review from the most cool fanzine SuperDope.
A product of crisp refined intelligence higher than mine -- full vore psychotic freedom on the perhaps-a-little-too-easily-titled "Jazz Monster" that grinds in some slanted guitar terror w/ semi-wandering semi-late Sac. Trust "jazz" & more identifiable bleak groove-riding rock muck on "Back Burner". Lose some cards for ham-handed junior high politics on the insert, win 'em back & then some for making a fine burrowing heavy-eyelid kinda record and DragKing's right up to 21. Your deal.

Jay Hinman
SuperDope Issue #6


DragKing confused the folks at Flipside so much that they got our name wrong!
DRAGCITY
I know there is a Chi-town label called Drag City -- they released early Pavement stuff -- but even though this band is also out of Chicago there appears to be no connection. On the jazz entitled song they do indeed play a warped form of jazz. Color them extremely post punk and post modern as they prove that there are always new fresh approaches to intense tuneage. -- Great cover worthy of a Sympathy single.

Shane Williams
Flipside
6/93


The folks at Lumpen Times wrote this nice review.
Finally, much closer to home is a Wicker and Hyde Park based band, DragKing. Their first release, "Jazz Monster" b/w "Back Burner", on Trixie Records, demonstrates considerable musical promise. Despite the sometimes imperfect recording quality, this band shines through, reminding me alternately of King Crimson, Chrome, & the Brotzmanns. Complete with tape loops, startling time signature and dynamic changes, & an able sax player, this record shows off the talents of one of Chicago's most interesting & talented, yet little known bands. (I should add here that they play sporadically at Czar Bar & their shows MUST be seen.)

Anne Stevens
The Lumpen Times
June, 1993


Here's a mixed review from Nipple Hardness Factor
Some quality noise from Chicago. While the B-side "Back Burner" is a more generic noise composition (if that's not an oxymoron), the A-side, "Jazz Monster" is the shit. "Back Burner" is a noisy and dissonant, but long and repetitive, which can be either dull or mind numbing depending on the mood you're in. "Jazz Monster" on the other hand, is tremendous. It starts off with the whole band and the saxophone player trading off; the band bangs on a dissonant chord followed by the unaccompanied saxophone playing a traditional jazz lick. From there on there are many riff, tempo and volume changes, making for a wonderful noisy ride.

Tim Reilly
Nipple Hardness Factor #2


Then came this review from the fine fanzine Sweet Portable You.
A full package. Chicago six-person(?) collabrative that pours the full-on puss on deep sound manipulation on the first tune and might even be some kind of weird, groove-less-intentioned kin to Crungehouse. The flip finds em tweeking a nudge of skronky fake jazz time signature, and while you wait for 'em to blast you with the rake-scrape, they just sorta grin and end up at the deserted intersection at 3 a.m. watching the traffic lights change. Top off the dense brew with some liner notes/lyrical intent that might pass for harDCore-p-force. Involved action, and indie guitar splut it ain't. A nice, unsettling effort.

Patrick Foster
Sweet Portable You #68
May 3, 1993

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