TABLE

THIS IS ALL I KNOW ABOUT TABLE : //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// Thanks to THOUSANDS OF RECORDS for this biography ( http://thousandsofrecords.blogspot.com/ )* :"Looking for information via Google for a band with a name like "Table" is tough (unless you're into looking for furniture or saws). Plugging in some additional descriptive words in your search like "band", "noise" or "CD" only brings up a Wikipedia entry for "Math Rock" that references Table as one of the key midwestern math rock bands of the 90's alongside their peers Bastro, Cheer-Accident, Shellac, and Breadwinner. Practically no other information about Table can be found anywhere on the web.As alluded to above, Table were an early 90's noise rock band from Chicago, IL. Personally, I don't think of Table as much of a "math rock" band in the same way that I think of bands like Breadwinner, Don Caballero and others as "mathy"... I always thought Table was a band that might fit well on a noise rock label like Amphetemine Reptile (if they were only a little noisier) or maybe even Touch & Go. But, alas... They only ever released 2 7"s before they disbanded, and none for anyone like one of the heavy-hitting labels above. They're most definitely a band that broke up too soon, as i'm sure they would have gone on to be quite popular if they hadn't have disbaned so quickly. When I heard the first Shellac single immediately upon it's release in late '93, I couldn't help but compare it to Table, which might not be such a coincidence as the earliest recorded Table songs were recorded by Steve Albini in the Albini basement studio in '92.The stongest of Table songs might be their 2nd 7", "Spindrift" b/w "Vacuum", which was released on Homestead Records in mid 1993.A CD posthumous compilation of all of the recorded Table material (8 songs) was released back in 1995 on Humble Records, a California label run by the guys that did "Bobby Is Fred" fanzine. When the CD came out, I was already trading zines/records with Bobby, so I had him send me one right away after anticipating it's release for months previous. Good luck finding the CD or the original 7" singles... check the used bin at your local record shop, I suppose!Web presence for a band that only released a couple 7" singles nearly 15 years ago seems unnecessary, which explains why I couldn't dig up much information about them. I did find that the bass player Warren Fischer moved to NYC and is having some mainstream success in the electronic pop-band Fischerspooner, while the drummer is in a Chicago-based band called Ancient Greeks. There are Myspace listings for plenty of bands calling themselves "Table", but rest assured that none of them are going to be as good as this one." //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// Thanks to Chris "BadComrade" Hall ( http://caseyspooner.proboards34.com/ )* : "I know way too much about the band table. I'm bored, so here it goes:Vito Greco, the singer / guitarist, is currently not in a band. At least none I've heard about. He's got grey hair and a real job now... probably no time for music.Tim Stevens, drummer / lyric writer for table, is now the drummer for Ancient Greeks. This Heat was always a big influence on him, so I imagine Ancient Greeks kinda switch it up like table used to, even though I'm told sonically, they sound nothing alike.Warren Fischer, the bass player / sometimes singer... He's 1/2 of the world famous "electro" group Fischerspooner. He makes all of their music on his computer, and he plays it on a CD player at their live shows. He could very well be a millionaire at this point. He's the reason why table broke up. Warren had a little heroin problem, so eventually table found themselves without a bass player. They looked for a new one, but Warren (and his assortment of pedals) was pretty unique, so no one really worked out. They eventually found another bass player who was alright, so they re-named themselves "Virginia", and started sounding like a watered-down version of table with Eddie Vedder on vocals (yet, it was still Vito singing). I saw them live once, and I think it may have been their only show ever. No recordings exist (other than a 4 track demo, which no one is allowed to hear).Table put out 2 7"s. The first one was the Gag Box / Unwind single, recorded by Steve Albini, and released on the band's own label, Spangled. The second was the Spindrift / Vacuum single, recorded by Brad Wood, and released on Homestead Records. All 4 songs from those 2 singles are available on an LP / CD (along with 4 other songs) which as you guessed, is out of print. It was released on a label called Humble. Lucky for you, there's one on eBay right now for 8¢ Click here to see the auction.They had some other songs that were not included on the CD (which was released after they broke up), because they were kind of quality control freaks, and were always second-guessing their songs. One of these songs, M.E.G.O. was performed during a live in-studio performance on WNUR, on Saturday, May 23rd, 1992. I have a copy of the performance, which I will upload to the shared gmail account some of us on the board use, right after I'm done typing all this shit out. The username for the email account is EAforums, and the password is notcrap. The show was recorded off of the radio, and has lots of radio noise, but it's totally listenable. There was another fantastic instrumental called Blindside, which I have a demo of, and which was also performed live at my friend's birthday (which I also have a recording of...), which again, I'm not really supposed to let anyone hear. Again with the quality control freak aspect. Also, they at one point had a 4th member of the band who was their singer. I never saw the guy, but he had to dress like Peter Murphy, based on the way he sang. table recorded a handfull of songs with him, 2 of which were never re-recorded after they became a 3 piece. They were called Mrs. Oleary, and Sisyphus. You don't wanna hear them anyway, so don't feel bad about the fact that I'm "not allowed" to let you.Good luck on the ebay auction. Look for the table show in the gmail account within an hour or so of this post..."********** " After Warren left, they continued on as a band called Virginia. I saw them play once. As -much- as I like table, I couldn't help but want to leave the room when I saw Virginia. Vito was singing... sorta like Eddie Vedder / Peter Gabriel if I recall. The new bass player wasn't nearly as dynamic as Warren, but I bet he didn't do heroin all the time either so that was probably a plus. I believe at that point, Warren was working for nickelodeon in New York and not playing with anyone. We all know what "group" he's in now...After Virginia, I know the drummer (Tim) went on to be in a "Sea & Cake-like band" (from what I was told, never heard them) called Ancient Greeks. I don't think they're still together, but what do I know.I last saw Vito and Tim outside of Metro after a Gang of Four show. My friend who knows them spoke to them, but I didn't... so I don't know what they're up to these days.Table had a couple of great songs that weren't released on that posthumous CD / LP that are still some of my favorite songs ever." ________ Chris Hall, badcomrade at gmail dot com, "making girls cry since 1974" //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// Thanks to BUILT ON A WEAK SPOT, Jonathan Harnish & a guy called Billie ( http://www.builtonaweakspot.com/2007/03/table.html )* : "Thanks in part to some of the comments in my Fiddlehead post from last week; I figured I’d throw up some material by the band Table. This very short lived trio only recorded a couple of 7 inches with Brad Wood and Steve Albini between 1992 and the end of 1993. They then posthumously released a self-titled CD on Humble Records that collected those two 7 inches along with some other recordings, which apparently is about everything they ever did.Despite the bands limited output and their extremely short existence, they are one of my favorite math related bands. Their style and sound is still one of the most unique that I’ve ever heard. A lot of this is due in part to Warren Fischer (Fischerspooner) for being one hell of a bassist and using quite a few different pedals all of which helped define Table’s sound. So much that when he left the band it pretty much signaled the end for them. I’ve honestly never heard anything that even sounds remotely close to Table, the songs “Gag Box” and “Spindrift” still send my mind into an absolute frenzy when I hear them. The level at which the band performed each and every one of their songs is practically untouchable.I am sad to say that now days all of Table’s material is extremely hard to find. Sometimes, however not often, a copy of the collection CD released on Humble pops up on eBay. If it does, fucking pounce on it."_Jonathan.********** "It's weird because back in the day (in Chicago) you could find that record EVERYWHERE- and even in the cheap bin sometimes. I feel like the record stores in Chicago got flooded with those singles and the album. Nowadays, when people find these Table records, they hold on to them for dear life. The limited edition handmade 7"s are even harder to find. Like all great bands, it's always 10 years later that they become appreciated (and harder to find!)"_Billie. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// WIKIPEDIA ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Math_rock )* "Midwestern groups : During the 1990s, the greatest concentration of math rock bands was in the urban centers of the U.S.'s Midwestern "Rust Belt," ranging from Minneapolis to Buffalo, with Chicago being a central hub. The Chicago-based engineer Steve Albini is a key figure in the scene, and many math rock bands from around the country have enlisted him to record their albums, giving the genre's recorded catalog a certain uniformity of sound, and lumping his bands past and present — Shellac, Rapeman, and Big Black — into the pigeonhole as well. Also, many math rock records were released by Chicago-based Touch and Go Records, as well as its sister labels, Quarterstick Records and Skin Graft Records.Some key bands of this period include Bastro, Table, Cheer-Accident, Shellac, and Breadwinner. Also from the Chicago area, from nearby DeKalb, Illinois, is U.S. Maple, which formed out of the ashes of the Jesus Lizard-esque Shorty. U.S. Maple took a more deconstructive approach to their brand of rock music, similar to that of Captain Beefheart. Their music has a free-form approach to rhythm, with songs only occasionally coalescing into conventional rock beats. Thus, aesthetically, the group is not as "mathy" as other bands in the genre, but the same thought process of dismantling rock music still applies.Several other math rock groups of the 1990s, all characterized by extreme rhythmic complexity and sonic brutality, were based in Midwestern cities: Cleveland's Craw and Keelhaul, St. Louis's Dazzling Killmen, and Minneapolis' Colossamite." //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /////////////////////////////////////////////Thanks to PERTE ET FRACAS ( http://www.perteetfracas.org/zine/oldies/table.htm )* : "Table a tout du groupe mythique, dans toute sa splendeur, voir une occasion inespérée de frimer en société et faire son élitiste de salon! Ce trio de Chicago a seulement sorti de son vivant deux 45 tours mais pour ceux et celles qui ont eu la chance de les écouter, la trace reste indélébile. On est à l'apogée du noise-rock, de toute cette école de Chicago avec l'axe Jesus Lizard/Big Black/Rapeman qui marquera plus d'un groupe et si Table n'avait pas eu l'idée de faire une carrière aussi courte, il est fort à parier qu'ils seraient devenus un des fleurons de cette scène. Ces 2 singles sont enregistrés par Steve Albini, une rengaine de l'époque qui ne fait que commencer. Le 1er est sorti en 92 sur Spangled records (leur propre structure sans doute) et le second sur Homestead en 93. 4 titres en tout et pour tout. Des morceaux rythmiquement chirurgicaux avec un maniaque de la caisse claire, rappelant fortement le jeu de John Stanier, batteur de Helmet. Une basse de dingue, un souffle noise, des vocaux qui déchirent. Le 2ème 45 est à ce titre affolant. Tout, de la production à l'exécution, vous assoit son homme. Trois ans plus tard, en 1995, Humble records a la bonne idée de ressortir ces morceaux sur un album, agrémenté de 4 inédits resplendissant. Histoire d'enfoncer le clou de notre certitude en se disant qu'on tenait là un groupe phénoménal trop tôt disparu. C'est pas juste, c'est toujours les meilleurs qui disparaissent en premier. Pendant ce temps là, on est obligé de se retaper la reformation d'Helmet et le nouvel album puissamment mauvais et inutile du Père Hamilton!Si jamais quelqu'un a des nouvelles des types qui ont formé ce groupe de génie (Timothy P. Stevens, Warren Fischer et Vito Greco), faites moi signe et j'irai allumer un cierge en short! SKX (09/11/2004)*****Mise à jour 08/12/2006*****Comme j'ai du temps à tuer, je me suis lancé dans une recherche pointue d'infos sur ce que bordel a bien pu devenir ces putains de membres de Table !!!! Commençons d'abord par la WNUR session. Du nom d'une station de radio à Chicago qui enregistre une pelleté de groupes en condition live dans son studio (les Peel sessions du coin quoi !). Six titres enregistrés le samedi 23 mai 1992 avant que le trio ne se rende au Lounge Ax faire un concert avec Holy Rollers (Dischord) et… Dazzling Killmen !! L'affiche à tuer !! Le son n'a rien d'extraordinaire mais c'est largement écoutable et vaut surtout le détour pour son unique inédit. MEGO, soit 6 minutes de grand Table alternant entre montée post-Slint épique et maestria rythmique noise rudement charpenté. Ne cherchez pas ce disque. Il n'existe pas. Version mp3 uniquement. Un autre inédit, Blindside, instrumental de très grande qualité aux dires des quelques chanceux qui ont pu entendre la démo circuler à une époque. Tout ça est jalousement gardé au fond d'un tiroir, Table ayant la réputation d'être complètement obsédés par la qualité de leurs compos et ne les faisait entendre que quand ils étaient totalement satisfait du résultat final.Maintenant, il est temps de se mettre à table. Feu les membres, que sont-ils devenus. Hé bien, il aurait mieux valu ne rien savoir. Table a mal tourné. Commençons par le pire. Warren Fisher. S'il faut trouver un responsable du split de Table, c'est lui. Un gros problème avec l'héroïne a contraint ses deux acolytes à le virer. Il a refait surface dans le duo Fischerspooner. Oui, c'est le même Fischer. Hélas. Ce groupe a connu apparemment son heure de gloire. Il m'est totalement inconnu. Faut dire que j'écoute que très rarement de l'electroclash de variété. Nul doute que ce projet lui a rapporté un peu plus de liquidité que Table. Cliquez sur le lien. Pleurez par vous-même. Ou riez jaune. Auparavant, il avait eu le temps de participer à l'album 'Disengage' de Jim O'Rourke.A son départ, les deux autres ont cherché à le remplacer mais l'héroïnomane avait un jeu de basse et une tonne de pédales uniques. Ils n'ont jamais réussi à le remplacer. Ils ont tout de même fini par en dégoter un mais ont rebaptisé le groupe Virginia. Leurs concerts se comptent sur les doigts d'une seule main amputée de trois doigts. Une démo quatre titres a été enregistrée. Pour la postérité. Ils ont tenté également de monter un autre groupe sous le nom de Drool avec Mike Meadows (Shiny Beast, Bull) mais jamais rien de concret n'est ressorti.Pour la petite histoire, Table a commencé à quatre avec un chanteur à plein temps. Le groupe a enregistré deux morceaux (Mrs. Oleary et Sisyphus) avant de continuer en trio.Le batteur Tim P. Stevens a joué à partir de 1998 avec Ancient Greeks, groupe qui a sorti un seul album (The song is you) sur Flame Shovel en 2003. Le groupe se qualifie de math-pop. L'album a été enregistré par un mec de Joan of Arc. Heureusement, ils ont eu la bonne idée de splitter.Quand au guitariste-chanteur Vito Greco, il s'est retiré des bagnoles. La dernière fois qu'on l'a vu, c'était au festival des 25 ans de Touch and Go. Les cheveux gris et affalé à bouffer des ignobles hot-dogs.Ca m'apprendra à être curieux. Table, rencontre heureuse pour groupe définitivement mythique. (Merci à BadComrade pour ces infos et les photos)." //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// Thanks to A REPORT TO THE NEXT CLUES ( www.nextclues.com )* : "TABLE- S/T [LP]- SPRANGLED- 1995- Le disque parfait d’un groupe culte par excellence. Table n’a eu le temps d’exister que pour deux singles magiques en 92 et 93. Peu de temps après est sorti ce lp posthume, qui reprend les quatre titres des singles avec quatre morceaux inédits. Le tout provient de trois sessions d’enregistrement différentes dont une avec Albini et une autre avec Brad Wood. Les rares élus qui ont eu la chance d’entendre ce disque autoproduit le savent: une seule écoute et c’est l’addiction définitive. Table est le crack de la noise Chicago sound du début des 90’s. Tous les titres sont jouissifs, navigants entre Shellac, Tar et Jesus Lizard, avec une caisse claire qui claque, une basse reconnaissable entre mille, des attaques de guitares cinglantes et une voix détachée, à moitié pissed-off, à moitié cynique. Ce que sont devenus ces trois types après ce coup de génie? Impossible de savoir...(10/10){Bilou}" //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// Thanks to SONICPORN ( http://sonicporn.info )* / "Les groupes du Midwest :Durant les années 1990, la plupart des groupes de Math Rock se trouvaient dans les grandes villes du Midwest ("Rust Belt"), partant de Minneapolis à Buffalo, avec Chicago au centre de cette bulle. L'ingénieur du son Steve Albini est une figure clé de cette scène, et beaucoup de groupes l'ont engagés pour enregistrer leurs albums, donnant au genre un son reconnaissable, et par la même occasion donner une estime à ses groupes perso, Shellac, Rapeman, et Big Black. De plus, beaucoup de groupes ont sorti leurs enregistrement sous les labels de Chicago "Touch and Go Records", "Quarterstick", "Skin Graft" etc.Certaines des figures de proue de cette période sont Bastro, Lynx, Table, Polvo, Cheer-Accident, Shellac et Breadwinner. Ainsi que U.S. Maple qui rennait des cendres de Jesus Lizard. U.S. Maple va loin dans la déconstruction de leurs chansons, à la manière de Captain Beefheart.D'autres groupes de 90, sont fervent d'une rythmique extrèmement complexe et brutale, tel que Craw et Keelhaul de Cleveland, les Killmen de St. Louis et Colossamite de Minneapolis.Pittsburgh est le foyer de l'analogon du Math Rock : le quatuor Don Caballero qui aura existé entre 1991 et 2001. "Don Cab" incorpore des sonds noise et heavy avec des influences de jazz d'avant-garde et la puissance du jeu de batterie de Damon Che." //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// Warren Fischer is an artist and musician. He graduated from James Madison Memorial High School in Madison, Wisconsin in 1986. In the mid-1980s, he played in a band named Freak Mountain with friends Dan Fliegel and Mark Shahidi. He has stated that he hated the 1980s. He then moved to Chicago with a band "Table", recording with Steve Albini and Brad Wood. The band broke up while he was attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he met Casey Spooner. The two went on to cofound Fischerspooner in New York in 1998. He now resides in New York City. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// "Table,this is an odd coincidence, but I found myself on YouTube searching for any live Table videos (nothing), and I came upon this page in a Google search. Tim Stevens was a classmate of mine at Harold Washington College (Psychology 101 I think)way back in the 90s when Table was active. I'm a drummer as well (MegaSuperUltra-check out our page if inclined), and would periodically tap out beats on my desk in class. Tim picked up my slightly autistic habit, and we got to talking about music one day after class. He lent me a copy of the Humble CD and I went home to check it out straight away. I thought he was a great drummer, and I really liked the band's sound. Tim turned out to be a very cool person as well. We were friendly throughout the remainder of that class, and I don't remember if I returned the CD to him or not (I'll have to dig around for it). I think he might have just given me a free copy, or maybe I threw him a few bucks for it...Too long ago. Is he still with Ancient Greeks? I went to their page as well (very Tortoise/Sea & Cake). I'll have to go to a show and see if I can jog his memory. Thanks for putting up this page, and I apologize for all of the parenthetical asides (in this message)....Cheers / JH Isaacs" //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// "One of these songs, M.E.G.O. was performed during a live in-studio performance on WNUR, on Saturday, May 23rd, 1992. I have a copy of the performance, which I will upload to of the shared gmail account some of us on the board use, right after I'm done typing all this shit out. The username for the email account is EAforums, and the password is notcrap. This is a line from the second part of your lyrics. does it still exist or is it dead, thanx greetings" / PUNTZY EST CARINA //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// "This band has been harder to find than the holy grail... so thanks for posting it, so that I can savor other morsels I did not have. Though I still have my 7" floating around... Unwind is still a favorite.Here is an interesting tidbit, there once was a cd compilation put out in '93 called: 'Buy this used CD', a dutch east indie sampler. Table had the track 'Spindrift' on it. Which I also still have, and is a bit funny, as they released the disc with the idea to sort of compete with the possible rise of the used cd bin sales. So they offered the disc cheaper than other new releases. Fortunately, I found mine even less than that, at a USED cd place... for like a $1. Go figure.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ on a personal note...Vito, I hope you are well & happy & still being creative in some avenue. Hopefully one day you will read this & discover my sound & drop a line. Still have my guitar & the 12 string case you gave me to protect it. Missed you all these years. x ~phyll~DARK MUSE //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// "Yeah!!! My my... about a life time ago, I dunno 11 or 12 years or so I was shown a glimpse of TABLE the album and immediately fell in love, so did all those around me. The problem was we only had 1 TABLE CD between us here in Australia, no one could find another one, we didn't want to just rape it, we wanted our own biatch.... each and every one of us. To this day, we are all TABLE less. All of us. Each and every one. Nothing but memories and a sad page to remind us. Oh well... better than nothing." Richard. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// "Thanks for this "unofficial page". It was a pity to find nothing on this fantastic rock band. Now we can promote the compositors of the best ever noise rock hit "Spindrift". French fans must have a look to : http://www.perteetfracas.org/zine/oldies/table.htm http://www.nextclues.com/records_selected.php?idrecords=500 ***Philippe" //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////////////////// Special thanks to Philippe ( from CHOO CHOO SHOE SHOOT ! http://www.myspace.com/choochooshoeshoot ) for the precious french links, and to Ryan Alberts for sending me the WNUR Sessions !