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<title>Melody Maker Nov. 7, 1981</title>
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  <p>Melody Maker, November 7, 1981<br>
    p.12<br>
    <br>
  </p>
  <font size="7">Not The Royal Wedding</font> 
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      <td width="130" valign="top">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<font size="6">W</font>hat, 
        another synthesizer group? Yes, afraid so. There's a significant difference 
        this time, though. Our Daughter's Wedding, despite their enthusiasm for 
        English groups who've befriended the microchip en route to the modern 
        dance, are from New York.<br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meet the boys. There's Layne Rico, a baby-faced Clark 
        Kent figure topped by an eccentric wedge of curls. There's Keith Silva, 
        who talks with wired enthusiasm and looks like a member of the Method 
        Actors. And finally there's Scott Simon, whose fair hair and boyish features 
        combine to produce something approaching a classic pop star look. <br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All of them play synths, but Keith handles vocals while 
        Scott sometimes abandones his keyboards in favor of a saxophone. The sax 
        makes a welcome variation on the all-electronic sound favored by Our Daughter's, 
        though the group's whole approach is fresher and more vivid than the static 
        presentation of, say, Depeche Mode.<br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Isn't there a danger that you'll become obsessed by 
        technology for its own sake? I enquire. No, says Keith, pointing out that 
        Daughter's don't use pre-set automatic riffs when they play. In other 
        words, they play their synths rather than letting them play themselves.<br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"It's basically an attack system," he explains. "You 
        attack your synthesizer. I click on the rhythm machine and hey, let's 
        go, we're off." <br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To prove the point, the group added the note "no sequencers 
        used" on the sleeve of their latest release, the 12 in "Digital Cowboy 
        Record". It's a mocking reference to Queen, who put "no synthesizers used" 
        on the back of one of their albums. <br>
        &nbsp;<br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;<font size="6">O</font>NSTAGE, you can feel the difference. 
        Daughter's form a three-pronged front line, hammering away at their instruments 
        with a ferocity the instruments don't always enjoy.<br>
        <br>
        <br>
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              <td width="50%" valign="top">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"We do have more 
                equipment," says Layne, referring to the sparse stage set-up on 
                view the other night at The Venue, "but some of the synthesizers 
                I was using are broken, and... Keith has a Prophet 5 that we purchased, 
                but we haven't got it into the band because it's so variable - 
                very tempermental." <br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wedding are keen to emphasize that their whole 
                approach is more aggressive than Soft Cell or Depeche or Human 
                League. Layne: "I think those bands put out fabulous records but 
                they're the stalest thing to watch onstage." <br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's probably because all the three Daughter's 
                did their time playing "normal" instruments in "conventional" 
                groups before they formed the current outfit. "Layne actually 
                plays drums and I actually play guitar and Scott was playing keyboards," 
                explains Keith, delving into my Golden Virginia with the fierce 
                attention of a man who needs a fix.<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We were playing in conventional bands together 
                around '78 and stuff. We've got like rock in us, you know, from 
                a while back, and I think it comes out."<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scott adds: "We hit bad notes occasionally, 
                but that's all part of playing live. Last night one of my synths 
                went down in the second song. I had to rearrange parts - a certain 
                group of notes weren't working. I had to change a few things to 
                make it work."<br>
                &nbsp;<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;<font size="6">O</font>UR Daughter's music first came 
                to UK ears with last year's "Lawnchairs 12 incher. It's a likeable 
                tune, but it's not as good as any of the fours songs on the new 
                "Digital Cowboy Record" though the group's live version of it 
                is fiercer and more exhilarating than the recording. <br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Back in the States, "Lawnchairs" is proving 
                something of an albotross. It gets played a lot, but it's become 
                the group's trademark to such an extent that some people think 
                the song is called "Our Daughter's Wedding" by a group called 
                Lawnchairs.<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"We were watching a TV show," explains Layne 
                drolly, "and it showed this cassette thing you can get now on 
                your tombstone, so before you die you can record something -- 
                'Hi! I'm glad you dropped by'," "'It's cold down here'," adds 
                Keith with impeccable bad taste.<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Layne continues: "So if people come along and 
                think 'well let's hear what Layne had to say', you can pop in 
                the cassette and it just has 'Lawnchairs' on it."<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yeah," Keith adds. "We were thinking that 
                one our tombstones we'd just put 'Lawnchairs'."<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is a shame, because the "Digital Cowboy" 
                songs - expecially "Target For Life" and "Hotel Room" - suggest 
                that Our Daughter's have far more range and imagination than "Lawnchairs" 
                itself contained. The distinction is probably missed in the States 
                because "Lawnchairs" was never released individually. Instead, 
                it's available with the "Digital Cowboy" material (except "Hotel 
                Room") on a five-track 12 incher. The fifth track is "Red Alert", 
                previously released in the UK on a flexi-disc. <br>
              </td>
              <td width="50%" valign="top">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"They call it a mini-LP," 
                explains Keith.<br>
                <br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<font size="6">T</font>HE "Cowboy" songs were 
                recorded around the time of the Royal Wedding at Chipping Norton 
                studios, a coincidence which got "Lawnchairs" some airplay on 
                the strength of the group's name. On balance, they think it was 
                probably a good thing, despite the fact that they were regarded 
                as a nuptial gimmick in some quarters. <br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wedding's determination to avoid the limitations 
                which an all-synth sound can bring manifested itself in the use 
                of "real" drummer Simon Phillips for the "Cowboy" tracks. They're 
                full of awe for Phillips' apparently miraculous time-keeping abilities, 
                wich enabled him to absorb the basic rhythm patterns of the songs 
                and then slip in any number of subtle variations around the beats. 
                Certainly his presence gives the songs extra depth and wallop, 
                dimensions removed from the pretty but limpid sounds created by 
                some of their contemporaries.<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Might the notion of a real drummer be transferred 
                to the group's live appearances? Well, they've been thinking about 
                it ...<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"We'd want somebody who could do various jobs 
                besides playing a kit, you know," Keith says. "More of a technician-type 
                guy. But bringing another musician into the band is a big thing 
                because we've been three people ever since we started.<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Actually we had a girl in the band for a few 
                months before Scott came in. But we've always stuck with three 
                people because that was the idea we wanted got get across - 'hey, 
                we want three people and we want it to be compact.' <br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"We did a tour with Orchestral Manoeuvres in 
                the States and they've got their big trucks and everything, and 
                we pulled up in a Buick Le Sabre and took the synthesizers out, 
                and the band's in the front. <br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Manoeuvres just laughed so hard, they couldn't 
                believe it. They were going 'okay, that's it, I'm joining your 
                band'."<br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<font size="6">A</font>ND of course this mobility 
                means it's relatively cheap for Wedding to tour. After England, 
                they hopped over to Holland for a couple of dates Then it's on 
                to Germany to open for Duran Duran, then they do their own shows 
                in both Vienna and Germany, then back to Brussels for a TV appearance. 
                <br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But doesn't the small amount of equipment (however 
                high-tech) restrict you to an electro-rut? Surely you don't want 
                the sort of limitation which the likes of OMITD seem quite content 
                with? <br>
                &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keith replies: "They limit themselves, I would 
                say, more than it's limited, because we're all capable of playing 
                different instruments. I read music and I used to play trumpet 
                at school. I've been in small woodwind ensembles, things like 
                that, and I've also played lots of jazz. All the time anyways 
                I've always played guitar on the side. </td>
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      <td width="130" valign="top"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "And when we go into the 
        studio with the album coming up, we have ideas for other instruments to 
        use. Cos basically ... those groups limit themselves. Like they do that 
        thing on the BBC where people call up to identify the B-side of a record. 
        Maybe you hear a B-side of a recod by Depeche Mode, and people were saying 
        'it's Orchestral Manoeuvres'. No, you're wrong!<br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"That's like the irony of it to me. We do use synths 
        onstage, I grant you, but our basic background comes from songwriting, 
        just a real strong song and a strong presentation onstage. That's what 
        we really focus on." <br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I TELL them I'm impressed by "Hotel Room". They are 
        too, but... "Are you ready for this?" splutters Layne. "America wouldn't 
        release it because they said there's <i>too much drumming on it</i>. And 
        why not America? There's so many goddamn hotels. The kids really like 
        it when we play it." <br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They're signed to EMI America in the States while Capitol 
        deal with them over here. "The thing is," Scott explains, "we have to 
        deal with the type of mentality that's dealing with Kenny Rogers and Kim 
        Carnes and that stuff, which is fine and dandy because they have to make 
        a living themselves, but they're still finding their way with us. Because 
        I think we're the only band of our type they've got..."<br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Still, sitting in The Venue and watching Wedding punch 
        out terse, aggressive versions of "No One's Watching", "Under Suffocation" 
        and "Hotel Room", I couldn't see that they had much to worry about. Even 
        if they do use dry ice.<br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp; "When we're at Kraftwerk's stage, then I'll think that the 
        technology has got too big," reflects Layne. "But right now we're just 
        three people with three front synthesizers.<br>
        &nbsp;&nbsp; "We're just playing, and that's it."</td>
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