------------ Killing Time ------------ by Thomas Crone The Riverfront Times, August 2-8, 1995, pp. 50-51 It'd be easy to completely dismiss Gravity Kills. And people have definitely tried. Kurt Kerns, the band's bassist/drummer, says that while buying concert tickets in a local record shop, a clerk thoughtfully informed him that the band pulled all their samples directly from Nine Inch Nails' /Pretty Hate Machine/. Welcome to the public forum, Kurt. "Even though I was very upset, I calmly told him that I wrote that music," Kern says. "I'm kinda proud to be doing this, that people liked the song. But I made the assumption that everybody liked it, which isn't the case." Adds the band's programmer, Doug Firley, "You think of all the work and passion that went into this, and then someone completely misinterpreted it." The kicker? "It's as if he reached inside Kurt's chest and pulled his heart out." Of course, the band - which is rounded out by guitarist Matt Dudenhoeffer and vocalist Jeff Scheel - unwittingly gave the local scene round after round of ammo when their slice of aggro-funk, "Guilty," broke big-time on KPNT (105.7 FM), the result of landing on last winter's /Pointessential I/. Played in heavy rotation for what seemed like months, the tune was an immediate, absolute love-or-hate object. What's odd is that the stealth band flew under local radar until appearing on the Point's /Local Show/ last week. No press. No photos - which they still decline to take, on the advice of their record company. And no live shows, which are now slated for the end of October. "Every article you read on how to get a deal says to get a set of music together, then start playing live," says Kerns. "We committed the perfect crime. We got a record contract without ever getting a photo. Playing out's very important to us, but we spend 200 hours on every song. We're constantly working. Seven days a week. Sometimes literally 24 hours a day." On Sunday, the band sat down for its debut interview, first at Arcelia's, then at the group's South Side studio, which also serves as Firley's apartment. Most talkative were Kerns and Firley, though Scheel once ran upstairs, found a camera and took a snapshot of the scene, saying, "This could all end next week. I want something to show my grandkids." They should have something more significant to talk about soon, though the group (specifically sound constructor/mad computer genius Firley) is still frantically trying to finish up that project. It's none other than their debut record, which will be released (optimistically) on Halloween or (realistically) in the post-Xmas rush of January. The band is currently recording and shaping (even writing some of) the record, with mixdown by noted producer John Fryar slated in a couple of weeks. At least in the optimistic schedule. The release will be offered up by TVT Records, known primarily for its long- running battle with Trent Reznor and its spectacular early run of flameouts (Seven Simons, Rise Robots Rise, the Saints, Modern English, et. al.). Area fans will certainly recall Three Merry Widows' ill-fated run with the New York-based TVT, an item not lost on Kerns. "I talked to Sean Garcia for maybe two hours," Kerns says. "They practically begged us not to sign with the label. A lot of people talked about what happened with Nine Inch Nails. The first thing we blatantly asked (TVT president) Steve Gottlieb was what happened with a certain industrial artist not-to-be-named. He told us that it was a young label and that they'd made mistakes. He was honest about that. "There's a new administration, a clean slate there now, and he doesn't micromanage the company these days. Our A&R guy, Tom Sarig, is allowed to go out and sign the bands he wants and set the budgets. All that said, it took us six months to sign. We got the contract offer in February, and it just was signed last week." A snail's pace for the group. After all, "Guilty" wasn't even finished until the actual due date, and Scheel wasn't on board until two nights prior. But once the song broke and was reported to trade zines, the inquiries flew in, and the first label to fly to St. Louis, TVT, offered a contract the next week. That move set about a mini-bidding war, with the band scrambling to find lawyers, management and, for that matter, some songs. Armed with a contract offer, Scheel decided to join permamently, commuting from Dallas to record vocals but skipping the lengthy Macintosh cut-and-paste process of songwriting, which, in fairness, also includes doses of "real" guitar, bass and drums. What's unreal is the strange way that the band coalesced - all but Scheel (Kerns' cousin) have been playing in bands around the Midwest since junior high, only to see lightning strike with one song a decade after they first started playing together. That one song, "Guilty," will be remixed and packaged as the first single from the 12-track album. (Get ready Point listeners!) Another track - the demo version of "Goodbye" - will appear on the forthcoming /Mortal Kombat/ soundtrack. Heady stuff for a band that didn't really exist a year ago and will take a month to craft their heavily digitized sound into a cohesive, live show. "I can't wait to play out," says Kerns. "Recording's taken a toll on us. Playing live is so much more fun." "I'll be single when the single's released, and married with the release of the album," adds Scheel, who'll be married by their live debut. "Before I knew I'd get signed to a record label, I asked a girl to marry me." It'll be fascinating to see what emerges in that live show, which'll feature Kerns on bass and drums, Scheel on a bit of guitar and Firley basically pushing some buttons. And that's not a dismissal. They're fiercely proud of their technology and can discuss the theory of electronic music for hours, a story that may be picked up at a later time. For now, let's leave you with these nuggets. The new songs do have some diversity (especially the guitar-drenched "Down"). The boys are committed to the long-range touring, interviewing and general whoring of the project, despite the fact that they now drive nice cars (with phones) and hold down good day jobs in fields like jingle-writing and architecture. And no, they don't look anything like Trent Reznor. More like four guys at a Samples show. Wait until October. You'll see. [All copyrights are property of the owner. This article is reposted on this site because the original owner does not have it on the web. All typos are original to the version posted (i.e. not caused by me). This copy is stored at "Perverted" - Gravity Kills fan site http://grantb.net/perverted/index.html -> "Articles" ]