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RE: (TV) OT: MISSION OF BURMA reunion shows (fwd)
Just out of curiousity, what's the deal with these guys' breakup? Is there
a story, some juicy animosity gossip, or did they just quit.
MikeF
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Karl W. Reinsch [mailto:karl@rockin-r.net]
> Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2001 1:14 PM
> To: tv@obbard.com
> Subject: (TV) OT: MISSION OF BURMA reunion shows (fwd)
>
>
> Here's the dirt, in a long "official" form.
>
> Looks like Martin will not be involved.
>
> -karl.
> karl@rockin-r.net
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > Dear Boston Mission of Burma fan,
> >
> > It's been almost 19 years since you last saw Mission of
> Burma, and you've
> > patiently awaited news about their forthcoming live shows,
> checking in at
> > www.missionofburma.com for updates and information. To
> reward you for your
> > steadfastness, we'd like to give you the opportunity to
> purchase tickets to
> > their Boston appearance at Avalon on January 18th in
> advance of the general
> > on-sale, which will take place on Saturday, November 3rd at
> 10 a.m. This
> > special pre-sale will begin tomorrow, October 31st, at 10 a.m.
> >
> > To take advantage of this unique pre-sale opportunity
> please visit either of
> > the urls below after 10 a.m. tomorrow. Burma is Back!
> >
> > for the Boston Show:
> > http://www.nextticketing.com/avalon.html
> >
> > NYC show on sale now at:
> >
> https://ticketing.ticketmaster.com/cgi/purchasePage.asp?event_
> id=3358ACC38F5
> >
> 4&event_code=EIV0112&actname=MISSION_OF_BURMA&majorcatid=10001
> &minorcatid=52
> >
> >
> > MISSION OF BURMA TO PLAY BOSTON AND NYC SHOWS IN JANUARY, 2002
> >
> > Seminal Boston band Mission of Burma has inexplicably
> decided to reform for
> > performances in Boston and New York City in January of
> 2002. They will play
> > on Saturday, January 12 at Irving Plaza in New York City
> and Friday, January
> > 18 at the Avalon Ballroom in Boston. The original band,
> Roger Miller
> > (guitar, vocals), Clint Conley (bass, vocals), Peter
> Prescott (drums,
> > vocals) and Martin Swope (live sound, tape manipulations)
> will appear intact
> > with the exception of Swope.
> >
> > Both Irving Plaza and Avalon have figured prominently in
> the band's career.
> > In 1980, they played two legendary gigs with Gang Of Four -
> one of several
> > gigs at Irving Plaza - and have played Avalon (known as
> Metro at the time)
> > with the Psychedelic Furs, Jim Carroll, and many others.
> Mission of Burma
> > played their first gig on April 1, 1979 at the Modern
> Theater in Boston and
> > played their last, following their farewell tour at the
> Paramount Theater on
> > Staten Island, opening for Public Image Ltd., on March 26,
> 1983. Their last
> > Boston shows were on March 12, 1983 at the Bradford Hotel
> Ballroom. These
> > will be their first performances in almost 19 years.
> Opening acts and DJs
> > will be announced at a later date. Tickets for Irving
> Plaza are on sale now
> > through Ticketmaster (212.307.7071, 617.931.2000,
> www.ticketmaster.com
> > <http://www.ticketmaster.com>). Tickets for Avalon will go on sale
> > Saturday, November 3 at 10:00 am through NEXT Ticketing
> (617.423.NEXT,
> > www.nextticketing.com <http://www.nextticketing.com>).
> Both shows are
> > presented by Clear Channel Entertainment.
> >
> > Below is a statement from the band explaining why they
> decided to play
> > again:
> >
> > Mission of Burma has decided to do two performances in
> January - one in NYC,
> > one in Boston. Over the years we have been asked many
> times to play, and
> > have always turned down the offer. Why have we decided to
> do it now? We
> > aren't certain, really. However, all of the following may
> or may not have
> > contributed to our decision:
> >
> > 1. Punk passed the 25-year mark this year (enough time has
> past to feel OK
> > about playing).
> > 2. Joey Ramone died in 2001. (he went down rocking - maybe
> we should too).
> > 3. Our Band Could Be Your Life, the book by Michael
> Azerrad. (Made us
> > nostalgic for sleeping in fumy vans and pressing
> unsuspecting listeners
> > against the back wall).
> > 4. Peter's band, the Peer Group, opened for Wire (one of
> Burma's idols) in
> > Boston (at the Roxy, which was the Bradford where Burma
> played our final
> > show). Clint played bass for Peer Group at that time, and
> Roger joined on
> > Cornet and Organ for that show. And . . . it was fun.
> > 5. Clint has started writing music again.
> > 6. Peter and Roger continue being involved with the music scene.
> > 7. Mark Kates checked in with us this summer - he helped
> organize Burma's
> > last stand at The Bradford in 1983. Who could be more
> fitting to keep us
> > from backing out of doing the shows?
> >
> > We have no other plans than these two shows, as the
> ear/tinnitus problems
> > remain. We will play some hits, some obscurities, probably some new
> > material. Martin Swope, tape manipulatist, has declined
> involvement (he has
> > not been involved with music for years). The band feels
> they can soldier on
> > as a trio and disport themselves in a non-embarrassing fashion
> > none-the-less. WARNING: we will probably be as sloppy and
> uneven this
> > century as we were the last.
> >
> > Mission of Burma
> >
> > Mission of Burma's influence has, seemingly, only grown since their
> > premature demise in 1983. In their time. they were an
> influential and
> > somewhat popular underground band, a cornerstone in a
> American independent
> > scene that threatened for years to reach the mainstream,
> doing so eventually
> > with the success of bands like R.E.M (who have covered
> "Academy Fight Song"
> > and Nirvana. Moby's 1997 cover of "That's When I Reach
> for My Revolver"
> > while predating his current success, is perhaps the most
> well recognized
> > example of their influence, but they abound, from Blur
> guitarist Graham
> > Coxon's last solo album which featured TWO Burma covers, to
> the recent
> > success of At The Drive-In.
> >
> > Formed as a trio, guitarist/vocalist Roger Miller and
> bassist/vocalist Clint
> > Conley, (both fresh from the break-up of Moving Parts), joined with
> > drummer/vocalist Peter Prescott (formerly with The Molls)
> in February 1979.
> > The three played together until the summer of 1979, when
> Martin Swope joined
> > to provide what was commonly seen as an "x-factor" in the
> band's sound -
> > tape loops and sonic manipulations that were done from a visually
> > unobtrusive position behind the soundboard. (Swope's
> contribution often
> > left audiences wondering how the three musicians on stage
> were creating the
> > sounds that they were hearing.)
> >
> > Burma released their debut, the seminal "Academy Fight
> Song" 7", in June
> > 1980 on Boston producer Rick Harte's Ace Of Hearts label.
> The single, still
> > regarded as a high watermark of Boston music, quickly sold
> out of its
> > initial pressing - an unprecedented feat for an independent
> band and label
> > at that time. With a growing number of live dates and positive media
> > attention for the single under their belts, the band
> returned to the studio
> > to record signals, calls, and marches, which Ace Of Hearts
> released in July
> > 1981. The EP's six songs showed a marked growth from the
> tightly-wound,
> > blistering attack of "Academy...," with the Conley-penned
> opener "That's
> > When I Reach For My Revolver," quickly becoming the band's
> calling card.
> > Concise in presentation yet broad in scope, the EP ranges from the
> > two-minute bullet of "This Is Not A Photograph" to the
> sonically majestic
> > "All World Cowboy Romance."
> >
> > The band's second single, "Trem Two" b/w "OK/No Way,"
> showed up in April
> > 1982, with their full-length debut, VS., following in
> October of that year.
> > A dozen
> > furious tracks, the album met with press raves both at home
> and abroad. The
> > New York Times called it "a raw-power dissertation" and "a
> solid, compelling
> > piece of work," while the UK weekly, Sounds dubbed it "a
> fascinating,
> > turbulent, and worthy debut full of slanted timing,
> trimmings, and a teasing
> > strength and coarseness."
> >
> > As Burma's profile continued to develop in the wake of
> VS.'s release, so did
> > Miller's tinnitus. The quartet's extreme stage volume so
> exacerbated the
> > guitarist's condition that he was forced to pursue less
> deafening musical
> > endeavors. The decision was made to embark on a farewell
> tour in March 1983
> > and subsequently disband. Their final shows were recorded,
> and in 1985 Ace
> > Of Hearts compiled and released THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT
> BURMA, a document
> > of otherwise unreleased songs that fully captures the
> glorious roar and
> > bewildering dynamics that characterized the Burma live
> experience (as it was
> > then).
> >
> > Since its demise, the band's recorded legacy has been well
> represented:
> > Rykodisc released a (now-deleted) 80 minute compilation CD
> in 1988, and then
> > reissued impeccably re-mastered and expanded versions of
> the band's entire
> > Ace of Hearts Records' catalog in 1997, adding singles,
> compilation tracks,
> > and previously unreleased recordings to signals,..., VS.,
> and THE HORRIBLE
> > TRUTH. (In addition, the Taang! label released two
> posthumous collections
> > in 1987 - a self-titled ten-song assemblage of '79 - '82
> vintage studio
> > tracks, and a trove of previously unreleased material
> entitled, Forget.)
> >
> > Upon Burma's demise, Miller embarked on a solo career (he
> has also recorded
> > in various combos under the monikers Maximum Electric
> Piano, No Man/No Man's
> > Band, and most recently The Binary System and Alloy
> Orchestra), as well as
> > with Swope in Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic. Prescott has led
> Volcano Suns,
> > Kustomized, and Peer Group. Conley has kept a low musical
> profile, but that
> > is about to change. He is entering the studio in November
> with a new band
> > that includes Chris Brokaw of Come and Matt Kadane of The
> New Year, and
> > before that, Bedhead. Since Burma, he produced and played
> on Yo La Tengo's
> > 1986 debut album, Ride The Tiger, and reunited with Miller
> in 1996 for a
> > one-off single as Wrong Pipe.
> >
> > For Further Information Please Contact:
> >
> > melissafarrington@clearchannel.com
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