the Libertines US

With 'freshness' as its only rule, Cincinnati's Libertines US return after 13 years

Interview By Brian Baker

"Jimmy (Davidson) calls me the Rock & Roll cicada," says The Libertines US frontman Walt Hodge with a laugh on the deck of his Sycamore Township home.

It's an apt description. Since guitarist/ vocalist/lyricist Hodge walked away from The Libertines (and music itself) in the early '90s, he's gotten a full-time day job, raised a family and kept a relative arm's distance from anything that might entice him to want to revisit The Libertines' Rock dreams from two decades ago. Davidson remained active in the local scene as a guitarist, music-store owner and ubiquitous sound tech and bassist Randy Cheek found a measure of success with The Ass Ponys, but Hodge was happy to be on a more stable track at home.

Davidson's persistence in needling Hodge about getting back together to do something finally spurred the guitarist to action when the pair played at last year's local Katrina benefit, performing a couple of Willie Nelson songs as Los Amigos del Jimmy D.

"It was a Farm Aid-related thing," says Hodge of the Nelson-based charity gig. "I didn't know any Willie Nelson stuff, but I love that song 'Seven Spanish Angels,' which isn't a Willie Nelson song but he did that duet with Ray Charles that's so beautiful. Jimmy pitched it on the phone: 'We ought to do this, learn a couple of Willie Nelson songs and get out and play. We haven't played in forever.'

"I said, 'OK, if nobody's doing "Seven Spanish Angels," I'll do it,' thinking that somebody's already nabbed that one. Lo and behold, nobody had claimed it, so I was stuck. It was a lot of fun. I was relieved I could still sing."

At this point in our narrative, the age-and/or-geographically challenged might be wondering how Pete Doherty's drugs-and-debauched-Rock circus could possibly have been transplanted from Cincinnati to London. The answer, of course, is it wasn't -- our Libertines came long before theirs. And while the UK version has since dissolved in a haze of crack, acrimony and unfulfilled potential, Hodge still felt obligated to append the band's name with "US" for their evolving reunion.

"There was the British band that had some success using the same name, but I wasn't overly concerned about that," Hodge says. "Just add 'US' to the end and move on. No big deal."

The name has caused a certain amount of confusion as browsers searching the web for information of Doherty's late, lamented Libertines invariably wind up at the Cincinnati band's Web site (www.thelibertines.us) or at their MySpace page (myspace.com/thelibertinesus). Hodge is heartened by the fact that, while some visitors disconnect after discovering they aren't the resurrected UK iteration, more often than not they remain and check out the posted MP3s.

"There's like 90 million pages out there, and it's so cool that people will stop by and check us out," he says. "We're pretty careful to make clear who we are, because we've had a couple folks who've gotten on and said, 'You're not the other guys.' But I think our viability is better now than it was 20 years ago because of the avenues that are out there. We know we've got folks in our age group that liked us, but what's really cool is when we get MySpace adds from 16-, 18-, 20-year-olds. That's awesome."

For the uninitiated, Cincinnati's Libertines began in 1983 as a three-piece (Hodge, Cheek and drummer Joe Hamm) and almost immediately made an impact on the local scene, amassing a small following that enjoyed the band's frequent shows on the Short Vine strip, around the UC area and across the river at Newport's blossoming/festering Jockey Club. The band eventually included Hodge's high school buddy Davidson as a second guitarist, and drummer Greg Blanton replaced Hamm, and throughout the band's club activities in the '80s they recorded a pair of singles (including their local quasi-hit "Everybody Wants to Be My Sister"), the Ohio cassette and their 1988 full length, Tilt-A-Whirl.

Not long after Tilt-A-Whirl, Davidson's schedule dwindled due to his expanding duties as a tour manager for hire, making his presence in the band difficult to rely upon, often forcing The Libertines to revert to three-piece status. Cheek departed for the Ass Ponys in 1989 and was replaced by Ted Nagel. By the early '90s, Hodge's daughter was a toddler and he began to think seriously about a more structured future; his son's birth a couple of years later cemented his position. The Libertines officially shut down in 1993.

Although there were long periods when Hodge had almost no contact with his music, often going months without playing his guitar, the idea remained in the back of his mind. Davidson's repeated suggestions of some kind of informal activity coupled with the growth of Hodge's children (now 16 and 10) convinced him that now might be the time to resuscitate The Libertines.

"We weren't interested in getti - Brian Baker - CityBeat

The Libertines (US)
Greatest Hits

By Jillian Abbene

(SugarBuzz Wash DC/Richmond)
SugarBuzz Magazine

Dug in the same groove with bands like Radio Birdman, Agent Orange and even The Replacements, The Libertines US have been around for some time. [Note: not to be confused with the younger indie bloods of The Libertines from the UK.] Although they may not have received the recognition they deserved in the past, this CD entitled with the obvious, “Greatest Hits,” could very well be the comeback ticket for these old-schoolers. Melodic punk with post-punk slants in reverb garage-guitar echoes always takes me back down to the road of nostalgia. Appealing airlifting and driving rhythms intricates layering guitar riffs that are thwarted into a great melancholic reverence.

For openers, ‘Bad Memories Burn,’ starts off with 21 spanning years of The Libertines crammed into 21 tracks. In steady cadence, there is a condensed palette of expedience in guitar rhythm and stringing melody that has even the drums pounding out mounds of energy. Guitar jangles in wild-west style lingers a post-punk jam that carouses then stands still as if frozen in time.

Jumping into, ‘Frosted Glass,’ swaddled melody sequences with quad-drumbeat turnovers, making this a really great song. Although there is less melodic crooning, I am strictly sold on the equal measures of Walt’s vocals and Jimmy’s twiddling guitar banter. Streaming into focus, ‘Fire Truck,’ is a catchy forefront song. Lined with guitar-picking refinery, allows the plot to just open wide enough for Randy’s bass to break through. Cleverly written in melancholic longing, the song is then released from bondage with one lonely guitar strum in the end….nice.

Changing notations on the next song, ‘Something In The Water,’ offers a resurrected heavy, with hyped up rippled beats from Greg as Walt continues to persevere on passioned crooning abilities. The M8 blows in and kicks up a cloud of melody while Walt pulls out all the vocal stops which leave me impressed by the unpredictability of the song. Steadily plowing deeper into the CD, ‘Black Garage Door,’ is salvaged from all things 60’s with a pop-punk motif. From the echo-guitar-fuzz built in to the elemental meanderings of the post-punk haze, tribal drums join in the well-placed groan-growls ending the roll-out with rattling distant echo guitar screeches. Exuding such shine, The Libertines US show off this song best.

Honorable mention goes to, ‘Her,’ although is a cautionary riffs, has harder vocals, and ‘Mile High Marker,’ plugs in two M8’s successioning one, rolling right into the other, closing in with a nearly never-ending. ‘Gears,’ with a steady drum roll and a 2/4 stitched time, switches in gears on itself, including vocal belt-outs as the guitar faintly screams into the background.

Everything that is consistent shows up in, ‘Wild Ride,’ that has the streaming rhythm, pasted vocals on guitar sloping, and a one-note reverb fade-out concluding that this song ends the CD beautifully.

It is obvious that much thought and heart went into these songs to produce such a solid and consistent 21 tracker. ‘Greatest Hits,’ one by one, elements with equal contributions that had been remained undated in the punk repertoire in the early years, still holds true now.

www.myspace.com/thelibertinesus

http://www.thelibertines.us/

SugarBuzz Magazine
- Jillian Abbene - SugarBuzz Magazine

Libertines free to regroup

13 years after breakup, Cincinnati band serious about comeback

GIL KAUFMAN | ENQUIRER CONTRIBUTOR

The memory remains vivid 20 years on: sitting in my room with a clock radio tuned to Oxford's 97X, boombox shoved to the speaker and finger poised over the pause button, waiting for the Libertines' "Everybody Wants to Be My Sister" to blast out.

The R.E.M.-like jangly guitars, the echoey vocals, the galloping drums and off-kilter lyrics were the sonic signature of the Cincinnati band that faded into obscurity 13 years ago. The Libertines had a decade-long run, during which they opened for the Replacements and Violent Femmes.

If that doesn't ring a bell, it might be because the Libertines never released a full-length album in the United States, and the name is now more commonly associated with the short-lived British band of the same name.

But tonight at Northside Tavern, three original members of the Libertines (now known as Libertines US) saddle up for a reunion gig that promises to kick off a full-fledged comeback.

Guitarist/singer Walter Hodge, bassist Randy Cheek (Ass Ponys), guitarist Jimmy D and recently recruited drummer Todd Witt will revisit classics such as "Sister" and "Voices From the Past." They're doing this not as a nostalgia trip, but as a means to relaunch a more mature version of the cult act.

"It's not getting together the old guys for a week for one gig and we're done," says Hodge.

"Once we got together, it really was like riding a bike, and we're all pretty picky, so there's no way we would get back together and slog through some pat-each-other-on-back. If it wasn't good, we weren't going to do it."

Hodge - who broke up the band in the early '90s after its momentum had stalled and he decided to focus on his family - says Jimmy D had pestered him for years to give it another shot. Finally, Hodge relented and the pair got together for a benefit concert at Southgate House last Thanksgiving.

"It got the juices flowing, and I thought to call Randy since the Ass Ponys are on hiatus," Hodge says.

In addition to another upcoming gig Aug. 25 at Stanley's in Columbia Tusculum and a slot at September's MidPoint Music Festival (www.mpmf.com), the band is preparing to record a sequel to their 1988 full-length debut, "Tilt-a-Whirl," which was released only in Europe.

Fans who attend the Northside show will get a limited edition EP featuring songs such as "Fire Truck," "Frosted Glass," "Bad Memories Burn" and, appropriately, an old high school reunion anxiety lament, "Reunion."

E-mail gilkco@aol.com
Copyright 2006, Enquirer.com - Gil Kaufman - Cincinnati Enquirer

...Walt is one of the most accomplished singer/songwriter/lyricists in America this side of The Last's Joe Nolte, he can really cut to the heart of those uncomfortable inside feelings of ours, like too many platonic girlfriends ('Everybody Wants to be my Sister'), unfinished business forever haunting you ('Voices From the Past'), and more. - Jack Rabid - The Big Takeover

SUPERSIZE PICK
The Libertines US.
Singer/songwriter Walt Hodge came out of hiding last year and reconvened The Libertines more than a decade after their dissolution. The jangly “College Rock” band found success in the ’80s with their local hit, “Everybody Wants to Be My Sister,” and their return (in fine form, no less) has proven to be a welcome surprise. The band — which has made much of its past music available on download sites — did have to make one concession on the comeback road. The “US” was added to avoid confusion with the British band of the same name, even though that band imploded a few years ago due to drugs (it was the band Kate Moss’ boyfriend Pete Doherty played in).
(www.theLibertines.us)
- CityBeat

The Libertines US - Greatest Hits Vol. 1
Saturday, November 10th, 2007

Fans of early R.E.M., the Replacements, and Echo & the Bunnymen should rejoice.

Before the Libertines, there were the Libertines (http://www.thelibertines.us). A decade prior to the short-lived English punk revivalists, an American group held the name. Sadly, this was one of those cases wherein a talented band was shuffled to the back corner in the passage of time. As much post-punk and New Wave as I absorbed during the '80s — you can hear my alternative past reflected on my radio station WXB 102 (http://www.live365.com/stations/xb_102) — the Libertines even escaped my watchful eyes. In fact, it wasn't until recently, reading about them in The Big Takeover, that I discovered they even existed. Better late than never as the cliche goes, and the tongue-in-cheekily titled Greatest Hits Vol. 1 functions both as an impressive retrospective of a group you've probably never heard of and as a time machine to college radio's quirky roots.

It'll probably make them feel old, but Greatest Hits Vol. 1 unintentionally summarizes nearly every indie style championed by campus stations during the Rock of the '80s era. You have the murky R.E.M. jangle of "Everybody Wants to Be My Sister" and "Swayback" (the latter also recalling the Smiths); the Echo & Bunnymen psychedelia of "Firetruck"; the Husker Du sonic boom of "300 Moons"; the swaggering garage rock of the Replacements on "Mile Markers"; and even the creepshow beats of the Cramps on "Black Garage Door". It's deliciously melodic nostalgia that, well, also rocks harder and with more sharply pointed hooks than today's modern-rock losers can produce.

The key track here is "Everybody Wants to Be My Sister", which should've been huge on alternative radio (outside of the band's regional WOXY) during the '80s. Anybody whose fallen for a girl, only to be given the dreaded "I only like you as a brother speech", will be able to relate.

Official Website: http://www.thelibertines.us

Categories: 80s, Mike Sutton, The Kiosk (Pop/General Music), Music - Michael Sutton - shotgunreviews

Cincinnat's answer to Echo & the Bunnymen... Everything works here; material, arrangements, musicianship, production, even the sequencing. First impression leads me to draw a comparison to Crocodiles-period Echo with their jangly yet jagged guitars, propulsive beat, and dark, melodic post-Doors vocals. Dig a little deeper and you'll find an immensely talented American band influenced as strongly by the blues (they cover Leadbelly's "In the Pines") and folk (the traditional "Two Dollar Bill"). - Option Magazine

The Libertines US - Greatest Hits Vol. 1
Saturday, November 10th, 2007

Fans of early R.E.M., the Replacements, and Echo & the Bunnymen should rejoice.

Before the Libertines, there were the Libertines (http://www.thelibertines.us). A decade prior to the short-lived English punk revivalists, an American group held the name. Sadly, this was one of those cases wherein a talented band was shuffled to the back corner in the passage of time. As much post-punk and New Wave as I absorbed during the '80s — you can hear my alternative past reflected on my radio station WXB 102 (http://www.live365.com/stations/xb_102) — the Libertines even escaped my watchful eyes. In fact, it wasn't until recently, reading about them in The Big Takeover, that I discovered they even existed. Better late than never as the cliche goes, and the tongue-in-cheekily titled Greatest Hits Vol. 1 functions both as an impressive retrospective of a group you've probably never heard of and as a time machine to college radio's quirky roots.

It'll probably make them feel old, but Greatest Hits Vol. 1 unintentionally summarizes nearly every indie style championed by campus stations during the Rock of the '80s era. You have the murky R.E.M. jangle of "Everybody Wants to Be My Sister" and "Swayback" (the latter also recalling the Smiths); the Echo & Bunnymen psychedelia of "Firetruck"; the Husker Du sonic boom of "300 Moons"; the swaggering garage rock of the Replacements on "Mile Markers"; and even the creepshow beats of the Cramps on "Black Garage Door". It's deliciously melodic nostalgia that, well, also rocks harder and with more sharply pointed hooks than today's modern-rock losers can produce.

The key track here is "Everybody Wants to Be My Sister", which should've been huge on alternative radio (outside of the band's regional WOXY) during the '80s. Anybody whose fallen for a girl, only to be given the dreaded "I only like you as a brother speech", will be able to relate.

Official Website: http://www.thelibertines.us

Categories: 80s, Mike Sutton, The Kiosk (Pop/General Music), Music - Michael Sutton - shotgunreviews

The Libertines U.S. – live at Southgate House, Newport, KY, January 13

I’ve waited 20 years to see Cincinnati’s Libertines (i.e., the original Libertines from Ohio, not the more recent, now defunct punky British bunch), so it was a long-held dream come true to get to see them now that they’ve shockingly reunited. It was definitely worth a trip to the Queen City for that! And given an upgrade in drummer since their demise in the late ‘80s, with the crisp Todd Witt now manning the stool, they’ve come back even stronger. WALTER HODGE’s songs have lost nothing since the Reagan era (shudder to think of it that way!) and Jimmy Davidson’s leads matched his old mate’s hard jingle jangle for taste and shading. I’ve already said this before in the new issue, but if you haven’t heard “Bad Memories Burn” from their 1988 second album Tilt a Whirl yet in your life, you absolutely must, and to get the full effect, listen very closely to the words—for it is really Hodge’s forte to make one shudder in recognition of events in your own life. It can be heard, along with a two also worthy old songs, at myspace.com/thelibertinesus and you need to go there right now, to understand the next sentence: I will never forget how hard my heart was pumping when they ended an already great show—as good as any I had hoped as I boarded my plane the day before—with “Bad Memories Burn” right into another song from Tilt a Whirl found on the myspace page, “Black Garage Door.” Wow!!!! Hodge was working his whammy bar like a sick maniac on the latter as Davidson and bassist Randy Cheek manhandled their instruments like the 25-year touring vets they are, while Hodge howled over the mayhem. Just out of sight! (By the way, the band has sold out of the pressing of the “Reunion” EP of their old songs they were selling that was reviewed in the new issue, but the tracks are now available, at least, via FreshTracksMusic.com)

- Jack Rabid - The Big Takeover

That Cincinnati's Libertines, led by the incomparable Walter Hodge, were among the greatest rockin' indie bands of the 1980s, is a secret sadly known only by their home city and longtime Big Takeover readers. Their hideous obscurity was sealed when their two awesome albums proved near impossible to find. Like their 1984 and 1986 singles, 1987's Ohio was only self-released-on cassette! And 1988 follow-up Tilt a Whirl only secured release in Holland! The emergence of a good, popular, punky London band with the same name 15 years later hasn't helped since. (Thus the "U.S.")
Amazingly, London's later Libertines are gone, having burned themselves out on the heroin 'n' crack 'n' Kate Moss gossip pages, while, miraculously, the first Libertines are suddenly back, playing Ohio after 13 years!!! Clearly, I need a plane ticket. A reunion of Hodge and fellow guitarist Jimmy Davidson for a Katrina benefit did the trick. And bassist Randy Cheek's diminished Assponys schedule proved serendipitous. Playing old haunts has also meant this major puzzle piece: With their music long out of print, the group cobbled this seven-song, 26-minute sampler (one song unreleased) to sell at merch tables. And though it's cruelly brief, it beats nada. (For more on the reformation, see Cincinnati Citybeat: citybeat.com/2006-07-12/music.shtml)
Now all have a chance to hear the band at last! Three of these seven songs (plus one more) are available on their new MySpace page. So if you don't head there to hear "Bad Memories Burn," I'll eat this page. Once you hear those, you'll have to have this EP for its other four tracks, and will be scouring the internet and/or begging older Ohio-ites for the rest. It's a thicket of jangle guitars, often with punk's primal drive, the best of the sort I've heard. Think of The Embarrassment, Feelies, Wild Carnation, R.E.M.'s "Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)", Wedding Present, and L.A's Warfrat Tales garage of Leaving Trains, 100 Flowers, Last, Question, and Wednesday Week. There's also a country twang twinge (they used to cover George Jones) like Creedence Clearwater Revival. Next, think of melodies like daggers, with lyrics that twist them once they plunge beneath your chest. Hodge's words are like movie glances that speak 100 times more than dialogue. He's at his best on "Reunion" and "Bad Memories Burn," lamenting lost romances like battery acid rotting out his insides. (There's tragicomedy in the former, and there's more in his catalog like this, like Tilt's stunning, also sardonic "Her.")
OK, enough reading. Get thee to the MySpace page. And then buy this, via: (thelibertines.us)
- Jack Rabid - The Big Takeover

Reviewed by Kit Burns

The Libertines US/Greatest Hits

The Libertines US originate from a more innocent time, alternative rock’s salad days of D.I.Y. vinyl, fanzines, and college-radio stations. As you can probably tell from the ‘US’ in the group’s name, there are no English punks in this band with rehab problems. Nope, these are the original Libertines, hailing from Ohio and peers of indie icons like the Replacements, Husker Du, and R.E.M., all of whom can be heard in this collection of long-lost oldies and newer tracks.

The title is meant to be ironic as nothing on this CD was ever a hit, with the possible exception of the geek anthem, “Everybody Wants to Be My Sister,” which was a favorite on the legendary WOXY in the ’80s. “Everybody Wants to Be My Sister” is the most immediate track on here, generating chuckles with its tale of a lonely lad whose destiny in love seems to be nothing more than a girl’s best friend. That seems to be the story of any indie-rock kid’s life, and it’s no wonder the tune clicked. Given a major-label push, it probably would’ve become an ’80s weekend radio staple alongside the Violent Femmes and the Smiths. Guitars jangle beautifully, especially on “Frosted Glass” and “Swayback.” However, the group knows how to energize the mosh pit as well, turning up the knobs with authority on “Mile Markers” and “300 Moons.”

http://www.thelibertines.us - Overground Underground

Reviewed by Kit Burns

The Libertines US/Greatest Hits

The Libertines US originate from a more innocent time, alternative rock’s salad days of D.I.Y. vinyl, fanzines, and college-radio stations. As you can probably tell from the ‘US’ in the group’s name, there are no English punks in this band with rehab problems. Nope, these are the original Libertines, hailing from Ohio and peers of indie icons like the Replacements, Husker Du, and R.E.M., all of whom can be heard in this collection of long-lost oldies and newer tracks.

The title is meant to be ironic as nothing on this CD was ever a hit, with the possible exception of the geek anthem, “Everybody Wants to Be My Sister,” which was a favorite on the legendary WOXY in the ’80s. “Everybody Wants to Be My Sister” is the most immediate track on here, generating chuckles with its tale of a lonely lad whose destiny in love seems to be nothing more than a girl’s best friend. That seems to be the story of any indie-rock kid’s life, and it’s no wonder the tune clicked. Given a major-label push, it probably would’ve become an ’80s weekend radio staple alongside the Violent Femmes and the Smiths. Guitars jangle beautifully, especially on “Frosted Glass” and “Swayback.” However, the group knows how to energize the mosh pit as well, turning up the knobs with authority on “Mile Markers” and “300 Moons.”

http://www.thelibertines.us - Overground Underground