Whimsical Punksters The Stoics Have Fun Setting Stage For Makers

They may sound like a group of carefree young lads when they hit the stage, but no one can say The Stoics don’t suffer for their art.

Take, for instance, the day these four teens spent filming a music video for a Seattle public access television show.

In standard Stoics form, singer Ned Fadeley took a flying leap off a mini-trampoline - only this time he landed atop his microphone stand.

“It went bam and hit me right in the tooth. One tooth got broken off at the gum line, this one got broken in half and this one got broken off right here,” he says, giving a tour of his newly-capped incisors.

“I was feeling around with my tongue and there were all these chips in my mouth,” Fadeley says while - of all things - laughing.

Leave it to an 18-year-old guy to laugh at the loss of three teeth.

And leave it to The Stoics to incorporate a mini-trampoline into a garage-punk act.

Did I mention that during their performances they all wear matching Pee Wee Herman suits complete with red bow ties?

The Stoics are a fine group of teen musicians from Spokane who, along with Fadeley, are made up of Ben Clark on guitar, Jason Yen on bass and Jason Farley on drums.

The group got its start in 1996 when Clark and Fadeley decided to run for student body president and vice president, respectively, at Ferris High School.

Clark had a total of three days experience on the guitar before a talent show in which he and Fadeley gave a campaign pitch set to basic power chord progressions.

“Ben and Ned, Ben and Ned, Ben and Ned. Gonna vote, yeaaaah. Gonna vote, yeaaaah.”

Whether it was their catchy campaign song, their superior musicianship or the more than $100 in candy they gave away that did the trick, we may never know. But the student body at Ferris voted the duo into office and launched The Stoics into the music world.

Wisened by the year, they have made decided improvements from their “Ben and Ned Song” days.

These days you’ll hear catchy tunes about bad haircuts, a high school cheerleader, school dances and the foibles of old age - all packed with the zest of youth.

“We just want to have fun,” Clark says. And, “we hope maybe someday we’re big enough to date the Spice Girls.”

“My goal is to have an affair with Baby Spice,” Fadeley adds.

Yes, that’s sarcasm. I hope.

But here is where they get serious.

“We’re very big fans of The Makers,” Clark says, with due reverence for the Spokane garage-punk masters who first inspired him.

“We love those boys,” Fadeley adds.

The Stoics take slices of The Makers garage-punk and blend it with a healthy dose of pop from the likes of Weezer. It’s a fun concoction and one they’re getting steadily better at serving up.

“We’re kind of Makers Lite,” Ben says. “We’re a little bit more cute,” Ned adds.

A little bit?

Obviously The Stoics haven’t learned their lesson, because you’ll still find these boys bouncing off a trampoline, tossing about guitars, horns, turntables and kitchen utensils at their shows.

It may be silly, but The Stoics know how to have fun on stage - which makes them a whole lotta fun to watch from the audience.

Tonight, The Stoics bounce onto the stage before the big guns blast Ichabod’s North. The one and only Makers headline the show with The Pills playing the middle slot.

The Makers have been getting some well-deserved attention from the national media of late.

The August issue of Alternative Press called their “Hunger” album “essential” while giving it a five finger review - the highest rating possible. A larger article is expected in the October issue of the magazine.

In other Makers news, the band is working on new songs for an album they hope to have out early next year. They plan to head out on a West Coast tour in September and will be headlining the Halloween night show for Garageshock, a Bellingham garage rock festival that draws bands from around the world.

Tonight’s show starts at 9:30 p.m. Cover is $4.

More youngsters and some cool old folks

As if you weren’t feeling old enough already, another group of teens roll out the pop rock in the Lilac City tonight.

Can anyone say Mmmmmbop? Can anyone tell me how many m’s are in that word?

Thankfully, Kara’s Flowers, a quartet of teens from Southern California, aren’t quite so shiny-happy, nor as young as their Hanson brethren. Although, these recent high school grads aren’t too terribly far off.

For instance, the top of their press release reads: “Doom is Dead.” It goes on to say, “Welcome to the New Era of Eyes-Open and Smile-Wide.”

Apparently teen angst is passe. Of course, these guys are from upscale Brentwood. What’s not to be cheery about?

Whatever their state of bliss, these boys do whip out hook-laden ‘70s- and ‘80s-era pop complete with fuzzy guitars and overtones of Weezer and The Beatles.

Kara’s Flowers open at Outback Jack’s tonight followed by Kim Virant, Goody Blick and Goodness.

Virant, known for her versatile vocal chords, is the former songstress for Seattle’s Lazy Susan.

Seattle’s Goodness, has spent much of this year in the studio with producer John Goodmanson recording an EP for release this October. They also have a full-length album expected out in January 1998.

The show starts at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 in advance, $7 at the door.

Ska time

Undercover S.K.A. brings their Jamaican-inspired beat all the way from San Francisco to Spokane Monday night.

This seven-piece, horn-kicked band doles out jumping beats along the third-wave ska line of Sublime and No Doubt.

The Undercover guys have been together for 15 years, although they spent the first two years as a Grateful Dead cover band before finding the two-tone light.

Upstart swing/ska label, Slimstyle Records, released Undercover S.K.A.’s third album, “The Things Men Do,” in July.

The CD finds songs like “Conspiracy” checking in at rabid thump while tunes like “Hurt Me” cruise at a catchy lope.

Either way, here’s your chance to skank with one of San Francisco’s favorite club bands.

Undercover S.K.A. headline Outback Jack’s Monday with Dave’s Big Deluxe from Arizona opening the show at 9 p.m. Cover is $3.

Another note

Catch Spokane eight-piece Mumbo Jumbo at the Bayou tonight and Saturday. This will be their first public performance with new lead singer Chip Busch.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo