Stairway to power-pop heaven?
Mike Gent of the Figgs told a story to us recently about how his Gentlemen bandmate Ed Valauskas had met Rick Rubin and mentioned being in a band with “Mike Gent, you know, of the Figgs.” To my shock, Rubin’s response was not, “Who?” But “Oh yeah, the Figgs. They were a good band.” EdV: “Still are.”
For the uninitiated, Figgs are RIYL: The Kinks, The Replacements, Elvis Costello, The Plimsouls. Basically any sort of great power-pop. This one’s a throwback to 3/22/01 at San Fran’s Bottom of the Hill, circa the release of “Sucking in Stereo.” We have no recent shows of the Figgs, but to get a full sense of the songwriting lifespan on this upstate trio, go buy “Continue to Enjoy the Figgs,” a double disc set released in two parts by Gert Blandsten.
09 Waiting For the Sun to Rise
10 I Thought I Drank the Drink But the Drink Drank Me
Zipzipzip: Figgs 03.21.01
“Still are” — MySpace.
