Inch Will Be Lighting Up The Night With Explosive Show At Outback’s

It isn’t even close to the Fourth of July and already we’re being offered up a dose of fireworks.

San Diego band Inch brings its firecracker sound to Spokane tonight, following up the release of its newest album, “DOT Class ‘C’.”

DOT is named after the government rating put on holiday explosives. Class C stands for “consumer grade fireworks,” the kind kids buy at the stands, bassist Kristian Dunn said during a tour pitstop “somewhere in Nebraska.”

The title seems appropriate for Inch’s status. The group is explosive - not big-time explosive, but indie explosive.

And like the album’s namesake, Inch’s music is both beautiful and jarring to behold as it ranges from seductive, haunting melodies to discordant, pummeling guitar digs. Read Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Husker Du.

“We’ve got stuff that’s fast and kind of loud … and then we go to stuff that is quiet and atmospheric,” Dunn said. “Diversity is one of our stronger points - or at least I hope it is.”

But new isn’t exactly the right word for the music on the “new album,” which was actually completed in 1995 under major label Atlantic.

“We were two or three weeks away from our album being released and nothing was happening,” Dunn said, explaining that Atlantic said it would put the album out but wouldn’t promote it. “It would be sitting in stores with basically nobody knowing about it. We decided to take our business elsewhere.”

Enter indie Cargo Music, which released DOT just this year.

Fortunately, the music didn’t grow stale and “in the meantime, we’ve written an entire new album’s worth of material,” Dunn said.

For a dose of both “DOT Class ‘C”’ and the new stuff, catch Inch tonight when it plays the middle slot at Outback Jack’s. Plug Ugly opens, Floater headlines. Tickets are $5 ($6 at the door). Show starts at 9:30.

‘80s flashback

Remember when being a rocker meant sporting ratted out hair, heavy lipstick and eyeshadow? I’m talking about the men here. I believe the word I’m looking for is “glam.”

For those who miss those days of synth-inflected guitar pop-rock, Outback Jack’s has a show for you Sunday.

Gene Loves Jezebel, a group fronted by British twins Michael and J. Aston, will take you on a trip back to the ‘80s, as they join the ranks of other glam and pop-metal artists trying to rekindle interest in themselves.

Purveyors of radio hits such as “Desire” and “Jealous,” the brothers - together again after a seven-year hiatus - are touring to promote a “best of” album.

Yes, this is danceable stuff, if you want to dance like you did in high school (for those of us who went to high school in the ‘80s.)

Ladder and Blood Blue open. Tickets are $8, $10 at the door. The tunes start at 9:30 p.m.

Snaut again

Is it possible Spokane’s premier raunch-rock band is growing up?

Snaut front-man Brad Rudkin thinks so.

This metal band, known for its smutty lyrics and freakish stage performances, will bust out its first show in nine months tonight at The Northern Corner. And Rudkin says it represents a new era for the band.

“For the last five years we haven’t been so serious,” he admits. “Our lyrics were sexually explicit silliness that you couldn’t sell to anybody but a high school kid who wanted to take it to a beer party. It was just a joke back then.”

Four months of hard-core practicing and a new lineup (again) have changed that, he says.

The result: They’ve moved away from women bashing, added more hooks and made their lyrics a bit more listenable, Rudkin says.

Don’t get them wrong; Snaut musicians - more tongue-in-cheek than anything else - are not taking themselves too seriously. They’re just taking their music more seriously.

Die-hard fans need not fear this band has gone soft.

Rudkin insists tonight’s show will be “the most elaborate stage presentation that has ever been seen in a club in this local market.”

Exactly how do you make a stage show more elaborate when you’re already known for having a dancing dwarf on stage and hurling chicken feet and dog food at your fans?

The Snaut formula goes something like this: Start with a “massive fog system” and unveil “The Meat Grinder.”

I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but let’s just say this latest attention-grabber involves a metal brake pad, a four-inch disk grinder and a pair of heavy duty latex pants.

“It shoots sparks everywhere,” Rudkins adds mischievously.

Show starts at 9:30. Those who attend will get a free two-song CD of Snaut’s revamped sound mailed to them. Cotton Mouth opens. Bring $5 and leave your sense of propriety at home.

Bites o’ music

Shoveljerk fans, please ignore the mailer that says our former hometown boys are playing at The Northern Corner. They’re not. They will, however, appear tonight at the Gonzaga University COG in a benefit for efforts against censorship. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5.

Need your punk fix? Check out Portland’s Spider Babies and The Silver Kings at Ichabod’s North tonight. Cover is $4 and the show starts at 9:30.

Introductions

Well, here it is, my first Nightwatch column. For those who haven’t heard, I’m the new rock music/ nightclub/entertainment-slave reporter at The Spokesman-Review. (A prize to the person who can say my name three times fast.)

For readers of this column, I hope to serve up a tasty bite of the Inland Northwest’s best entertainment goodies. I’ll focus mainly on original bands in the rock/punk/blues genres, along with anything else that catches my fancy (or that The Bosses say I have to write about).

Joe Ehrbar, the former columnist whose enormous sneakers I have to fill, has tried to make this transition as smooth as possible for me. But frankly, I need some help. If you’re a club owner, music promoter, band manager or musician, please SEND ME YOUR STUFF.

No promises on what I’ll cover. But hey, I can’t even begin to decide unless I know what’s out there. Right?

Here are some tips:

Get your information to me early - Monday morning for Friday publication is your last chance. Earlier than that would be greatly appreciated.

Send as much background info as you can.

Feel free to give me a call at (509) 459-5089, fax me info at (509) 459-5098, send it flat mail to Winda Benedetti, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside, Spokane, 99201, or e-mail me at windab@spokesman.com.

Drop by The Spokesman-Review office in downtown Spokane and meet me in person. But please, no short jokes. I’ve already heard them all.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo