Logs In The Mainstream

Logs in the Mainstream Bring Whacky Back

Logs in the Mainstream is the only band I've heard in the last ten
years that has made me genuinely nostalgic for my youth. The eclectic
mix of jazz, smart rock, weird noises, and bizarre sense of humor is
what I always thought rock should be like. Frank Zappa and the
Mothers of Invention were an early childhood influence. The Rutles,
too, since when I was a kid I thought the Beatles were "white boys
music" and enjoyed them being made fun of. Yes, I know that Zappa is
the quintessential white boy's music. What can I say? I'm riddled
with contradictions. I have had a closet love of Burt Bacharach from
the time I was eleven thanks to the movie Casino Royale. Years later,
FM stoner radio exposed me to Firesign Theater and The Fugs, two
purveyors of twisted rock and political humor. Thanks to my dad I got
the jazz bug.

Further down the road, as an erstwhile adult (yeah, right), I was
pulled out of a depression by the Beastie Boys' "Cookie Puss" 12-inch
which had punk and smart ass reggae. The Minute Men inspired me to
believe in rock when I thought it was dead and to form a band. They
played punk rock that was clearly informed by other types of music,
including jazz and country. Alice Donut and They Might Be Giants are
mentioned as two groups that inspired Logs in the Mainstream's
founder, singer and guitarist Mole to take their music to the next
level - audiences! And Alice Donut? I was in a band in the late '80's
through the mid-nineties called Spongehead. We opened for them once.
We opened for They Might Be Giants at the legendary New Jersey club,
Maxwell's. Maxwell's!

This nostalgia is also for a time when rock weirdness wasn't so rare.
Logs in the Mainstream are one of the few bands that have the skills
and daring to smash record label marketing department barriers, which
they ably do on the new CD, their fourth, The Ridiculous and the
Sublime. Clearly, since they originally formed in 1990, and have been
playing in Jersey bars for quite some time, they know how to draw an
audience in. The opening song is a cover of the Harry Nilsson song
"Gotta Get Up." This tune, though more raw than Harry's version and
with added elements like an air raid siren from a theremin played by
Frank, the band's wild card, is a dutiful rendition. At the end of
the song, however, there is a blast of twisted noise. "Grateful"
starts normally enough with a classic, old school rock and roll back
beat that makes you wanna claps your hands and say yeah. The guitar
is right out of rock school. The song's lyrics are both humorous and
critical of posers, machismo and phoniness.

From there the songs on the album rock harder and get weirder.
"Smallest of Places" is normal-esque bar rock but the words show Mole
has an off-kilter mind and world view: "Hey I am small but then I am
still part of the one that encircles us all / I can feel my feet on
the floor but I know that the ground goes on beyond the door / I
still belong no matter where my space is / So let's go live it large
in the smallest of places / I may not know the names of God but I
know where what's his face lives / So let's go live it large in the
smallest of places." The words are sung with hard-spitting power over
hard rock guitar bar chords and the band's bull riding rhythm section.

One wonders if they play "Don't Come To Maryland" live. I'd like to
see the WTF faces of the frat boys, party girls and sports blockheads
when Bob Down, who plays bass, starts in with his bagpipe intro to
the song. The drums come in with a marching band pattern and Mole
sings about how people in Maryland don't want chicken eaters in
state: "So take you greasy fast food and go back to Brooklyn." What?

"If Hitler Had Sideburns" is the epitome of Logs in the Mainstream's
blend of the absurd with social commentary and genre-smearing music.
The song is put on another level immediately by a jazzy drum
introduction, followed by a rock band's version of a walking bass
line jazz groove, over which Mole asks musical questions like "If
Hitler had sideburns / would Elvis have been a Nazi? / Would the
Third Reich have been composed with the cast of 90210 . . . / If
chunky was sexy / Would Kate Moss be thrown in prison?" This tight
number, barely more than two minutes long, reminds me those Minute
Men songs that crammed several styles of music in a minute.

What separates good and great rock from the tepid and turgid is
attention to musical detail in both the writing and playing of a
song. It's also in the creation of a sound. The Logs' sound can be
best appreciated on the CD's lone instrumental cut, "Cliff Diving."
This song features a great example of classic rock drumming from the
old school by Eric Amadeo. Throughout the CD he plays drums the right
way - going with the song, pushing the choruses, pulling back on the
verse, playing loud and soft, crashing cymbals on the climaxes, just
like Keith Moon, Dave Grohl, and the other greats. Minus the
attention-grabbing singing and lyrics, the listener can hear that he
is the engine driving the Logs' magic bus.

The guitar starts out with a lick, then the band comes in. Amadeo
plays a jungle drum beat on the tom toms. Bob drones on a didgeridoo
as the song comes down in volume and density, while the guitar strums
some light chords into silence. The song starts again with the
opening power groove, then takes a left turn into a spacey
psychedelic section. The drums play a beat heavy on cymbals, building
in volume as the didgeridoo comes in adding more sound. And tension.
Then another version of the opening groove comes in leading into the
hard driving rock that started the song, bringing the whole thing
full circle. Now this is what we call writing in an eccentric and
eclectic style of rock.

Logs in the Mainstream are following the current trend in rock music
today of mining styles from the past. In this case, though, they are
taking forms seldom touched on and recombining them to create
something new, or at the very least, something of their own. Pick up
on this CD and impress your friends. Don't download it, though. You
might miss some of the sonic detail because MP3s are, well, MP3s.
- musicdish.com

Eclectic post rock from the North Brunswick explosive combination of the Beatles and Ben Folds Five.

LITM seem to have released something here that is both brand spanking new and harking back to a time when music was innocent and music listeners just wanted to shake their asses and listen to the new 45’s that were released that week.

Coming across like the band who Ben Fold stole all his ideas from, never sounding like they stole all his ideas, it’s a unique and clever little sound they have craved here for themselves.

If you like your music quirky, fast paced and gigantic aneurysm inspiring smile worthy, then this is the band for you.

Plus… you’ve got to love those bagpipes. - www.subba-cultcha.com/

Logs In The Mainstream – The Ridiculous & The Sublime / 2008 LogsMOLE / 12 Tracks / www.logsinthemainstream. com /

Logs In The Mainstream start out their “The Ridiculous & The Sublime” with “Gotta Get Up”, a track that vacillates between sounding as if it came out in the sixties or the nineties. The amount of influences that come forth during the 12 tracks on “The Ridiculous” are legion; hints of The Beatles (which the cover of this album parodies), Beastie Boys, Anthrax, Jane’s Addiction and countless others can all be heard.

Logs In The Mainstream have been around for nearly twenty years (they started in 1990), and show their maturity as an act through the number of styles broached during “The Ridiculous & The Sublime”. This means that “Grateful” is a track that calls forth the Ramones, while “Smallest of Places” links together They Might Be Giants with Jane’s Addiction. At some point, each of the tracks on this album could be heard on rotation on a major radio station – there is that much charisma present during the songs on this album. The bagpipes take a focal place during “Don’t Come To Maryland”, which is perhaps the best track on the disc. The martial sound given the track by the bagpipes and drums provide yet another sound and style to associated with Logs In The Mainstream. The subject material presented during this track may be off the wall, but listeners will sing along with it just as if it was a serious song. The band takes a ska-punk style to heart during “If Hitler Had Sideburns”, and it is during this track that the production of the album really is shown to be miles beyond what many punk acts are capable of bringing to the table.

Where the humor present on “The Ridiculous & The Sublime” is typically oriented towards adults, Logs In The Mainstream create a track or two for the kids. For example, “The Circus” is one of those tracks that uses a wide array of different sounds and elicits thoughts that will keep kids interested in the album, at least until “Tequila & Power Tools” scares them all away. Regardless, each of the tracks is good enough to be a single, and this album will stay strong no matter how many times one listens to it. I was not familiar with Logs In The Mainstream before picking up “The Ridiculous & The Sublime”, but I know that I will be paying attention to them in the months and years to come. Give the disc a go.

Top Tracks: Don’t Come To Maryland, Grateful

Rating: 7.9/10

- NeuFutur Magazine

Logs in the Mainstream, The Ridiculous and the Sublime
July 8, 2008
Before even getting the chance to stick The Ridiculous and the Sublime in a CD player, it is evident that this offering from Logs in the Mainstream reeks of awesome. The cover design is an obvious parody of Meet the Beatles. The CD itself is designed to resemble a record. Oh, and then there are the song titles, including “Don’t Come to Maryland,” “If Hitler Had Sideburns,” “Tequila & Power Tools” (which happen to be a few of my favorite things!), and “Another Logs in the Mainstream Song.” And you can’t forget the bagpipes. One of the band members is credited as playing the bagpipes.

Automatically, any prospective listener can assume that the album will be nothing shy of entertaining. In this aspect, Logs in the Mainstream does not disappoint. In their song “Grateful,” which thanks the singer’s mother, the band rhymes “sucky,” which isn’t exactly a poetic term. Nor is “thinking with your jeans.”

Behind the off-the-wall song titles, this band has something to say. They don’t have to write and market 12 love songs. For instance, even “If Hitler Had Sideburns” questions more serious aspects of life, some of the what-ifs of modern society: “If Hitler had sideburns, would Elvis have been a Nazi?” or “If chunky meant sexy, would Kate Moss be throw in prison?…Would dance clubs look more like kitchens?”

Logs in the Mainstream don’t take themselves seriously, but at the same time their songs aren’t afraid to get serious. It’s indie rock, so it’s free to break the rules, which is one reason to hope that this band always maintains its indie roots. It’s a good listen if your knowledge of music isn’t limited to top 40. It’s even better if you can appreciate a band that offers a closing track (“Another Logs in the Mainstream Song”) as an in-joke for the listeners, which is three minutes of self-deprecating humor about the band’s songwriting quirks and lack of musical conventions. It’s refreshing, entertaining, and solid. And if you don’t like it? The band answers that in the last second of the last song. “Whatever.”

Review By: Valerie Williams

Rating: ★★★½☆
- Scope Magazine

New CD is not just another bump on a Log
North Brunswick band Logs in theMainstream releases fourth album
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

JENNIFER AMATO Logs in the Mainstream band members Bob Nesbitt, Eric Amadeo, Mole and Frank Certo, l. to r., practice in their North Brunswick studio.
NORTH BRUNSWICK- The sound is described as "eccentric rock," "offbeat" and "a little esoteric."

The songs have titles such as "Don't Come to Maryland," "If Hitler Had Sideburns" and "Tequila & Power Tools."

The only reasonable explanation could be the new Logs in the Mainstream CD, "The Ridiculous and the Sublime."

"I can't say we appeal to everybody, but we don't appeal to one age group either," said lead vocalist and guitarist Mole. "I like to believe it's the music lovers, the people who enjoy listening to music."

The North Brunswick-based band began working on the project in 2004 and recently released their fourth CD. AlthoughMole, 38, "never thought we would really go beyond a basement" when he and the original guitarist started the band in 1991, he said the group now prides themselves on leaving the audience "surprised and confused" and enjoys entertaining listeners while providing something original.

"We never want to be afraid of tackling any part of music, and the guys in the band are multitalented. Even if someone doesn't know how to play a riff or a rhythm, they take a chance and they learn how to play," the former North Brunswick resident said.

The group does so by incorporating various less-popular instruments into their music. Bob Dorn, of North Carolina, played bass and bagpipes, Eric Amadeo, 33, was on drums and percussion, and Frank Certo, 40, was responsible for the percussion, didgeridoo, Theremin, backing vocals, production and elements.

"If it makes noise and in some way we can play it, we'll try to play it," Certo said.

The instruments are spread throughout the 12-track CD. "Cliff Diving" is a strictly instrumental piece all four members worked together on.

"Tequila & Power Tools" was written after a bet betweenMole and his wife, who came upstairs with a margarita as Mole was using a power drill to redesign a room in their house. Since he works at a video teleconferencing company and she is handier, he told her if she used the drill, he'd write a song about it.

During recording, Mole and Amadeo wanted to embellish the song since it was done in one take, so although no food or drinks are allowed in the rehearsal space, they brought a bag of electric tools to cut up pizza boxes in order to get a more realistic sound.

"Don't Come to Maryland" was inspired by Dorn warming up on the bagpipes with the Scottish national anthem, and the guys, not recognizing it as such, saying, "Dude, good song!"AlthoughMole, who wrote about 85 percent of the lyrics on the album, said the lyrics don't match the music; he said the random words about fishing and greasy chicken just popped into his head, randomly.

"You Gotta Be Kidding Me" is a more political track, using heavy rock to express more blues-like emotions, according to Mole. It describes how limited paychecks and the Social Security system are affecting citizens.

"If you're an individual person, it's definitely harder to try and make ends meet than when you're in a position of power. A lot easier. But that's the way life is," Mole said. "It's humorously stated but it's pointed."

The last song on the CD, "Another Logs in the Mainstream Song," uses five genres of music in 20 measures.Mole, who lives in Philadelphia now, said he wanted to make the song "simple" and take two chords and go through as many different styles in 30 seconds as they could. Certo nicknamed this the "egg drop soup" beat.

"We just try an idea and see if it works, or we don't grow," Mole said.

The band has also grown in a different way: with a handful of band members coming and going, the newest Logs have only been together for a short while. Bob Nesbitt, 51, of North Brunswick, came on as drummer after the CD was completed, bringing his 30 years of experience to the next album.

"We have all seen a lot of bands come and go over the years. We had some success but we have also seen some struggles where we'd ask ourselves why we're still doing it. But if it's still fun, and if you leave the rehearsal room or the studio or the stage with the feeling like you've done something that defined your life, you've made it worthwhile, and it's worth it. It's always worth it," Mole said.

Some of the "worth it" experiences have been playing at CBGB in New York, the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, Maxwell's in Hoboken, the Brighton Bar in Long Branch, Harvest Moon in New Brunswick and the Sidewalk Café in New York. They have also had their share of house parties, shows, firehouse events, local bars and dives.

Another moment of success, as defined by Amadeo, of Greenwich Township, was having a weekend power session, going through the entire album, and then going back and re-recording.

Frank Certo has a more behind the-scenes story to his involvement with the Logs: Certo owns both FrankenSound Studios and FrankenSound Rehearsal, both located in North Brunswick, where the CD was recorded.

Certo, who grew up in North Brunswick, majored in history and philosophy in college. He then decided to attend an audio engineering school in New York, although he never played an instrument growing up. He started his own studio in 1993 in his apartment, and then came to Adams Lane in 1994.

In the past 14 years, he has had Liberty DeVitto, Bernard Purdie, Senses Fail and North Brunswick's own Glen Burtnik come in and record, and has seen everything from jazz, rock and gospel choirs to radio commercials and voiceovers.

This is the first time the Monroe resident has ever joined a band, and he is eagerly awaiting the fifth CD, which the Logs have already started working on.

In the meantime, the band has been appearing on satellite radio stations and online magazines. They also plan on playing some dates over the summer and colleges in the fall.

For more information about the CD or event dates, visit www.LogsInTheMainstream.com. - Sentinal

Logs In The Mainstream -
The Ridiculous And The Sublime (Logsinthemainstream.com)

I remember reviewing Logs In The Mainstream’s first release "I Know I Am, But What Are You," back in '96. I also spoke to Mole (the main Log) on the phone around the same time. I remember thinking to myself, "Huh, this is definitely one of those band's that has to know what the rules are before you can break them.” In the world of "alternative" rock, where bands with big dreams must be colorful and offbeat, but not too weird for radio, Logs in the Mainstream are a record company’s worst nightmare. Although loveable, and catchy as all heck, Logs are like a mongrel breed of electric folk rock mixed with richly diverse influences, and enough built-in mystique and credibility to last a career. "Don't Come To Maryland," “Tequila & Power Tools," & "If Hitler Had Sideburns" are, well... offbeat to say the least! Despite the potential for instrumental calamity, Logs manage to keep their sound on the edge, just this side of primal garage rock, leaving plenty of room in the varied arrangements. If Logs In The Main Stream were a restaurant, it would be an urban tiki bar with a kooky international menu, efficiently run by the children of hippies, serving fans of Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention. But, I'll let Lazlo from Blowup Radio (Blowupradio.com), have the last word: "A Logs shows always starts with confusion and laughter but then everyone always seems to dig it. After a few minutes, they get it... and are enthralled." - Phil Rainone - Jersey Beat

LOGS IN THE MAINSTREAM
The Ridiculous and the Sublime
Corporate Greed Music 2007
www.logsinthemainstream.com
Genre
Alternative / indie / rock

The Good
Frontman Mole thanks his mother and others on the funny yet catchy song "Grateful." Think bass lines and hypnotic drum beats set the pace for "Smallest of Places." If you ever thought to yourself, gee I wonder what it would be like in Maryland; then Logs in the Mainstream has the answer for you. "Don't Come to Maryland" is a Scottish-flavored ditty about life in that great state, and if you don't like what you hear, you better stay clear. Retro guitar licks dominate "The Circus." The track recalls a Butthole Surfers' influence. I don't think you needed to be advised of it, but "Tequila & Power Tools" don't mix. The track itself if pure nonsense, but that's what makes it great. "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" hits home today more than ever as the lyrics delve into the absurdness of the workplace.

The Bad
Bold move starting with a Harry Nilsson cover song ("Gotta Get Up"). Why wouldn't you want to showcase your music first?

The Verdict
The Ridiculous and the Sublime couldn't be a more perfect title for the latest album by Logs in the Mainstream. The music is clever, tongue-in-cheek, and ever so addictive. You have to love the whole retro album packaging as well.

Did You Know?
Around 2001 Mole acquired what is now known as the "Original Burger King Head". Bought at a yard sale, the Burger King Head was adopted as the band’s drummer and soccer ball for the audience during some special shows. This was before the Burger King began showing up in other people’s beds offering a burger on a silver platter.

Rating: out of 5



--George Dionne - Rock Is Life

Logs In The Mainstream - "the ridiculous and the sublime"

Logs In The Mainstream return with a new line-up, and a new expansion of their previous sound with permanent drummer added in to a mix which already includes guitar, bass, percussion and other elements.

On their last album, "The Self, The Shelf, and The Store", I felt that while I loved the album, it was a weighty/heavy album both musically and lyrically. With "the ridiculous and the sublime" some of the lyrics are heavier than others, but the music feels for the most part to be more upbeat, and...I shudder to use this word lest it be taken out of context, but light in the sense of not being heavy (certainly note lite-fm type of lite).

Possibly the most notable song on this album is the album's closer, "another logs in the mainstream song", which has lyrics about how their songs aren't sing-alongable, but "the ridiculous and the sublime" does seem to be a sing-along pop album, while maintaining the oddness that Logs have always been.

The not so light moments lyrically on the album, which include "don't come to Maryland", and "tequilla & power tools", mixed with the more serious tunes, show the type of depth that have made Barenaked Ladies and They Might Be Giants popular for years. I can only hope that Logs In The Mainstream find that level of fandom with this album.

http://www.logsinthemainstream.com - blowupradio.com

The cover of THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME by Logs In The Mainstream is a shot across the bow, as it were, of EMI Records, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, etc. An obvious send-up of the MEET THE BEATLES cover, this was in best memory last attempted by The Residents on their infamous BEAT THE MEATLES album, resulting in a flurry of injunctions and lawsuits and some inadvertent collectors items. The cover captures the spirit of Logs In The Mainstream in general and THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME in general: playful, while seriously well done.

Logs In The Mainstream is the brainchild of the somewhat enigmatic Mole, a singer songwriter from the Monmouth, New Jersey area who formed Logs In The Mainstream in 1990 and who has been releasing cassettes and CDs of the band ever since. THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME is the fourth release on Mole’s Corporate Greed label, and, interestingly enough, the first release from the band since 2003. Obviously he’s not tossing this stuff off but somehow walks the fine line between playfulness and artistic care.

The important thing --- for me anyway --- is that while Logs In The Mainstream treads into the whimsy of They Might Be Giants (known around my house as “They Might Be F”.… never mind) Logs In The Mainstream avoids the irritating nasality that seems to infuse so much of TMBG’s music. It’s ballsy, too; not many bands would have the cheese to open with a cover of “Gotta Get Up” by Nilsson, but there it is on THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME. And let me tell you, a lot of the tracks on THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME really rock, like “Grateful,” with its retro guitar lines (and some hilarious lyrics) and the instrumental “Cliff Diving.” There are even bagpipes on “Don’t Come To Maryland,” with the lyrics “Don’t come to Maryland/if you don’t like fishin’/and if you don’t like fishin’/ then get off of my lawn,” and builds from there until it sounds something like an Irish drinking anthem. The titles pretty much tip you off: “Tequila & Power Tools” (about driving a nail into foot while drinking), “If Hitler Had Sideburns,” and “Another Logs In The Mainstream Song” say it all by themselves: Mole is not right. He and the rest of the boys are serious players, however. Bob, in particular, has his stuff together on bass. Behind the humor and the informality, however, these guys refuse to let the music get away from them.

There’s not a bad track on THE RIDICULOUS AND THE SUBLIME. You might need to venture into the central Jersey area to see Logs In The Mainstream perform but I would think the trip would be worth it. Hey don’t distort reality, but they do bend it a bit. - Music-Reviewer.com

CD review: Logs In The Mainstream, The Ridiculous and the Sublime (Corporate Greed Conglomerate Music Division)

Rating: 4 out of 5 geetars

Experimentation breeds some weird shit to be sure … just ask the men of Logs In The Mainstream. Witnessing New Jersey’s boring trend of cover and tribute bands, Logs jutted to the left and instead of spewing more mindless junk onto the Jersey bar scene it released a cascade of unexpected sounds, which they dubbed “eccentric rock.”

Logs isn’t the wierest weird band in the universe, but they are great at creating silly grooves and pairing them with unexpected lyrics. “Don’t Come to Maryland” is a great bag pipe-fronted punk Celtic rocker (done Flogging Molly style): “Don’t come to Maryland if you don’t like fishin’ / And if you don’t like fishin’ then get off of my lawn / Everybody knows down in Maryland we just don’t trust the chicken / So run off back to KFC and Jersey with your spawn.” They’ve also run with ska in “If Hitler Had Sideburns” and a bouncy pop in “Tequila and Power Tools.”

Violent Femmes, The Kinks, They Might Be Giants … and now Logs In The Mainstream. Goof rock is alive and well and it’s doing wonders to liven up North Brunswick’s night life.

- Pitch Perfect Reviews