Well-Rounded Radio Episode 024 : March 2006

Episode 024 : March 2006

Hilken Mancini: The Well-Rounded Radio Interview

This month, an interview with Hilken Mancini (of the bands Fuzzy and The Count Me Outs) who recently released a new CD in conjunction with Chris Colbourn (of Buffalo Tom) called, simply, Hilken Mancini and Chris Colbourn.

I first became a fan of Buffalo Tom back in 1988 or '89 when my friend and Falling Stairs band mate, John McGrath, picked up their first album during those days when we squandered all our money on vinyl on St. Mark's Place in New York City and we were willing try just about anything...and certainly anything from Boston produced by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.

John made me a tape and I played it to death.

"Birdbrain" followed soon afterward in 1990 and became a staple in our touring van and at many a party...the opening riff (which rivals that of Smells Like Teen Spirit, if you ask me) was regularly blasted for anyone who would listen.

I went on to follow Buffalo Tom as a fan through all their albums on Beggars Banquet Records (1992's "Let Me Come Over," 1993's "Big Red Letter Day," 1995's "Sleepy Eyed" and 1998's "Smitten." The band also released two compilation CDs, including "A Sides" in 2000 and "Besides: A Collection of B-Sides and Rarities" in 2002) and I had a chance to interview singer/guitarist Bill Janovitz for an earlier episode of Well-Rounded Radio. Buffalo Tom also featured bassist/singer Chris Colbourn and drummer Tom Maginnis.

To this day, I still rate "Let Me Come Over" as an all-time favorite album; it's a brilliant work, with each song building upon the last until the record reaches the powerful, final songs.

I was happy, then, to hear that Janovitz's band mate, Chris Colbourn, had paired up with Hilken Mancini of Fuzzy, another favorite Boston band from the 1990s, for a new CD on Kimchee Records called, simply, "Hilken Mancini and Chris Colbourn."

Mancini's band, Fuzzy, released three discs, including "Fuzzy" (1994, Seed Records), "Electric Juices" (1996, Atlantic Records), and "Hurray for Everything," (1998, Catapult Records). They always reminded me of a mix of The Buzzcocks, Lush, and Veruca Salt (whose Stacey Jones played drums on "Electric Juices" and went on to front American Hi-Fi).

Fuzzy consisted of Mancini, Chris Toppin on guitar and vocals, and Winston Braman on bass; Braman played in Come prior to Fuzzy and has played with Clint Conley in consonant since. Fuzzy had two drummers over the years, including David Ryan on the first two releases and Nate Darden on their third. Mancini also fronts the band The Count Me Outs, which Braman also performs in, and they have released one CD of a more raw, garage-centric, rock and roll to date.

Mancini is also well-known as the co-creator (with Maura Jasper) of Punk Rock Aerobics, a regular event in Boston, New York, London, and various touring cities in 2001 thru 2003 for music fans who want to exercise to something with a little more musical edge than your local neighborhood health club. She's also the co-author of a book on Punk Rock Aerobics released by Da Capo Press that can get you started in your corner of the universe if you need to motivate yourself off the couch.

Mancini and Colbourn were both singers in their respective bands (and, ironically, both Buffalo Tom's Janovitz and Fuzzy's Toppin worked together on Janovitz' solo CDs), so this new outing is interesting in that they have both stepped up to the plate as the primary songwriters and singers--and the result is outstanding. The album also includes a guest appearance by guitarist J. Mascis.

Writing songs about relationships and taking stock of one's life at any point along the curve, these are songs and lyrics that feel that both songwriters dug deep into themselves before putting words to paper. They are truthful, revealing lyrics handled in a way that gives you the feeling of peeking inside their mind's thoughts for a moment in a most genuine way. Emotional, yes, but not sappy in the least.

Mancini and Colbourn are on tour with Juliana Hatfield in Europe in early March 2006 and performing in Boston in mid-March in case you can catch them.

I recently met with Mancini in my current hometown of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts to discuss:

* how they first met and when they decided to start collaborating
* what her years in the rock and roll business and touring the world have taught her
* how the Punk Rock Aerobics sensation got started and what surprised her about the whole thing over the last few years.

Music featured in the interview from "Hilken Mancini and Chris Colbourn" includes:
1) Couple of Weeks (in preview)
2) Wedding Cake
3) I Will Die
4) In My Arms
5) Hannah
6) Life is A Trick
7) Saint Agnes Eve
8) Moonbeams
9) Situations Count!
10) Party Town
11) Clockwise (from The Count Me Outs)
12) Bad, Bad Little Bird

If you like this interview, give a listen to the Well-Rounded Radio Interviews with Bill Janovitz (of Buffalo Tom + Crown Victoria) and Blake Hazard.

Pay a visit to Links for more information about Hilken Mancini and Chris Colbourn.

Drop on in to Listen to hear the show.

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