Thursday, January 20, 2022

Gnarly Guitarists: MX-80's Bruce Anderson (RIP)

Several great singers and players have left us recently. One loss that saddened me was the death of Bruce Anderson from MX-80 Sound. I never met Bruce or saw him perform, but I was a fan ever since I sent a buck to Ralph Records in 1980 for their first Buy Or Die EP, which opened with Bruce's astonishing guitar work on "Don't Blame It On Me" (aka "It's Not My Fault").

I sent a letter to the band, offering to start a fan club. MX-80 frontman Rich Stim politely discouraged the idea, but he sent me a copy of the Big Hits EP.

Trouser Press described Bruce Anderson's style by asking readers to "imagine a cross between Sonny Sharrock and a bad-mood Robert Fripp." Glenn O'Brien quipped that MX-80 was “either the most Heavy Metal Art Band or the most Arty Heavy Metal Band”. Anderson himself credited John McLaughlin, Terje Rydpal, Wilko Johnson, Clarence White and James "Blood" Ulmer as influences.

After two albums for Ralph, MX-80 went quiet while Rich attended law school.  Bruce played in Henry Kaiser's band (with John and Hilary Hanes from Chrome and Pearl Harbour & The Explosions). Bruce also played with Malcolm Mooney's Tenth Planet and PlutoHe contributed to several records by Angel Corpus Christi (with Andrea Ross and Rich Stim), and to the Residents' 1989 album The King & Eye 

The unbroken bond between Dale (left) and Bruce (right)
The MX-80 mothership had multiple satellitesO-Type was essentially MX-80 without Rich; Bar Stool Walker was Bruce and Rich; lazyboy was Bruce and bassist Dale Sophiea; Grale was Bruce and Dale with Gregory Hagan and Dale's son Nicolas Sophiea; French Radio was Bruce, A.C. Way, and Jim Kaiser. Can't forget The Gizzards and Half-Life (both now on Bandcamp!)

In 2021, MX-80 Sound released Hougher House, a spoken word tale with musical backing about a dysfunctional and avaricious family. The band began recording a new album to be titled Better Than Life. Bruce died on January 11, 2022 -- ending almost five decades of MX-80 Sound. I bet the man played guitar every single day for 50 years.

The first MX-80 LP (Hard Attack) was reissued by Superior Viaduct, and the Ralph albums were recently reissued on vinyl by Ship To Shore Media. Other MX-80 and O-Type releases are available from the Family Vineyard label.  Feeding Tube Records released the 2016 LP So FunnyHougher House was released on CD by Psychofon.

Here are two extensive articles about MX-80's history, written by Steve Albini and Peter Conheim of Negativland. Bandcamp links: MX-80 SoundBar Stool WalkerQuadruped MediaPetit Mal MusicAngel Corpus ChristiRest in sound, Bruce.

13 comments:

  1. The Best of Bruce Anderson:

    https://tinyurl.com/ms9u34tr

    23 tracks from 1975-2020. Enjoy the music, and leave a comment!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. MX-80's "Someday You'll Be King" performed by Trumans Water:

      https://trumanswater.bandcamp.com/track/someday-youll-be-king-mx-80-sound

      and by J.Robbins:

      https://jrobbins.bandcamp.com/track/someday-youll-be-king

      MX-80's "Promise Of Love" performed by Codeine:

      https://youtu.be/sPzaUDSt5NY

      Delete
  2. Excellent, thanks Jonder. Yeah, Meatloaf died today--probably from the CCP virus. Keep on keepin' on

    ReplyDelete
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    1. As a vegetarian, I was never a fan of Meatloaf. Just kidding. Rose tint his world and keep him safe from his trouble & pain.

      It was sad to lose Ronnie Spector, and Rachel Nagy's death (Detroit Cobras) was a shock. Two great voices silenced.

      Bruce Anderson's death was not COVID related, according to Angel Corpus Christi's Instagram. She has been posting some wonderul photos and memories of "Bruizer" (as he was apparently known to his friends and fellow musicians).

      CCP virus? Cui bono?

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    2. PS - speaking of Ronnie Spector, Nathan Nothin' shared a tribute:

      https://nathannothinsez.blogspot.com/2022/01/she-was-darling.html

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  3. Not overly familiar with Bruce Anderson's work but I'm sure this comp will soon put that right. Cheers Jonder!

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    1. I hope that you will like it, Zipper! Thanks for your comment.

      Rich Stim wrote something to the effect of, "If tone were money, Bruce would never have to hold a day job." He had tone, style and chops, and he clearly wasn't seeking fame. He played for the love of music.

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  4. I had never heard of Bruce Anderson before you shared that he died. Now all I need is a long drive to check this out PROPERLY!

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    1. I chose songs mainly based on Bruce's playing, but I think you would enjoy the humor in Rich's lyrics, especially the stuff on their first album Hard Attack.

      https://mx-80sound.bandcamp.com/album/hard-attack

      Personally, I think a lot of their best songs are on the second album, where you can really hear the Wilko influence in Bruce's playing. "Follow That Car" would be a good candidate for your "Car Trouble" series.

      https://mx-80sound.bandcamp.com/album/out-of-the-tunnel

      And "Hougher House" would be a great story/song for a long drive:

      https://mx-80sound.bandcamp.com/album/hougher-house

      As I was listening to other Bruce recordings while assembling this comp, I fell in love with this O-Type album. Even my 20 year old likes it!

      https://quadrupedmedia.bandcamp.com/album/western-classics

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  5. many years ago i found Out of the Tunnel at a used record store. i've always held on to it for those moments when some 'different' sounds were needed. RIP Bruce.

    Elwood

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    1. That album in particular means a lot to me. I enjoy the first LP (Hard Attack) and the third (Crowd Control), but Out Of The Tunnel is tops.

      Thanks for your comment! Hope you found some different sounds here today.

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  6. Big fan here! The MX-80 song "O-Type" was a MrDave Fave™ in the early 80s and I've been a fan ever since. Had "Out of the Tunnel" on vinyl and foolishly traded it to one of my College DJ friends for "Trout Mask Replica" which I only had on cassette at the time. Was a lot harder to replace "Out of the Tunnel" than it would have been to buy TMR! I'm not as familiar with the other projects Bruce was a part of here so I'm very much looking forward to this one. "A cross between Sonny Sharrock and a bad-mood Robert Fripp" is a pretty good description of his playing! Defonitely one of the all time great guiterrorists!

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    1. I'm so glad to know that you're a fan! I've still got my MX-80 vinyl, but I'm tempted to buy them again. The blue vinyl Out Of The Tunnel and the red vinyl Crowd Control look so lovely and fetching:

      https://mx-80sound.bandcamp.com/merch

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