Fibbers Upstages Royal Trux

By LORRAINE ALI
Los Angeles Times
Monday January 31, 1994
Home Edition
Calendar, Page 3

There was no roar of balls rolling down the old lanes at Mr. T's
Bowl, the Highland Park alley-turned-bar that was the home Saturday night
of the roaming club Fuzzyland. Instead, Royal Trux ground out feedback on
a stage erected above the defunct lanes. Great setting. Not such a great
band.

   A group spawned out of New York's experimental noise scene and now
based in Chicago, Royal Trux plays warped, Stones-style classic rock
while donning '70s, white-trash fashion. This makes the group a kitschy
and extra-cool novelty in the indie rock world.

   Clad in skin-tight, tattered bell bottoms and her hair combed over her
face, lead singer Jennifer Herrema belted out unintelligible lyrics in a
Louie Armstrong-affected rumble as the band played noisy mutations of
classic rock.

   As the songs seemed to slow and speed up like a faulty turntable, the
inside joke was entertaining--but wore thin.

   The musicians who were rolling strikes at Mr. T's made up the group
Geraldine Fibbers, a new L.A. country band featuring Ethyl Meatplow lead
singer Carla Bozulich. Although Fibbers played only familiar country
tunes, the band made the songs its own by serving them up with thick and
gritty, double-guitar sound backed by an aggressive violin.

   The Fibbers, also consisting of a stand-up bass and drums, played an
especially soulful version of "He Stopped Loving Her Today," one of
George Jones' signature hits, but the highlight was the urgent rendition
of Dolly Parton's old "Jolene."

   Bozulich's deep and throaty vocals, which usually growl over Ethyl
Meatplow's industrial dance music, seemed in their element crooning the
moody tunes. In the maze of new groups with experimental ideas, this one
stands out.

Copyright, The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times, 1994.