Rasputina preview

Rasputina, Jana Hunter
Abbey Pub, Chicago
Sunday, July 8th, 2007

Despite plenty of big-name fans and more than a few brushes with stardom, Melora Creager and her band, Rasputina, remain just under the radar, one of those bands said to have a “cult following.”

Creager was a member of Kurt Ralske’s Ultra Vivid Scene, she has opened for the Pixies and Throwing Muses, was a cellist on Nirvana’s final tour, recorded two LPs for Columbia, and had her music remixed by Marilyn Manson, who also happens to be a big fan.

Yet you’re likely not familiar with her or Rasputina. To be fair, though, Creager hasn’t exactly made the effort to be “accessible.” The group’s music, including that on their most recent, Oh Perilous World, is gothic, challenging chamber rock. Throughout Rasputina’s tenure, Creager has been the clear-cut creative force, writing and singing all the band’s material, generally with a lineup that includes a second (and sometimes third) cello chair and a drummer. Second chair Sarah Bowman and drummer Jonathon TeBeest join Creager on Perilous, an album the songwriter reportedly penned after two years of studying world news and current events.

The results are literal, and often graphic, accounts set to music. “In Old Yellowcake” conjures a war-torn Fallujah (“under the window/ covered by curtains/all lacy/and spattered with blood/we find crutches in the corner/and bullets on the shelf”), “Child Soldier” provides gruesome imagery of African child armies (“we were maimed, tortured, and kidnapped/they cut off ears, limbs, and lips”) over TeBeest’s marching snare beat, and “Choose Me For A Champion” is the translation of an Osama Bin-Laden speech complemented by distorted cellos.

Opener Jana Hunter also knows something about classical stringed instruments. The Texan (Arlington) grew up playing violin (began playing with orchestras at nine-years old) before she began joining rock groups at age 18. She puts the violin to use at times on There’s No Home (Gnomonsong), her second full-length; it’s mostly a collection of delicate folk guided by Hunter’s breathy voice, faint guitar, and the musical contributions of her friends and family, including her brother John Hunter of Inoculist and Dethro Skull.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here to download Rasputina’s “Cage In A Cave.”

Click here for streaming samples of Jana Hunter’s There’s No Home.

Click here for streaming samples of The Human Death Dance.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly