Lenny and Dave: perpetrators of punk,
play “hard core’’ Fridays on KLCC
It s Friday night ana tne
airwaves of Eugene are
suddenly torched white hot by
the fire of new wave and "punk"
rock
This is not the "usual” FM
radio rock music Eugene is ac
customed to This is KLCC's
Modern Mono with Lenny D'
Mocher — known on the air as
Lenny Tone — and Dave Scholz
And they are just barely main
taining order between the an
archy of the studio and the driv
ing rhythm of the music.
"New Wave sucks," D'
Mocher shouts, in response to
the obligatory question: What is
new wave? Others in the studio
laugh
He cues a 45 on the turntable
while Scholz reads a public ser
vice announcement for Maude
Kearns Art Gallery "Maude
Kearns" — the name sounds
strangely incongruous pitted
against the "punk" tone of
Modern Mono
The bass line of Missing
Persons' "Mental Hopscotch"
fills the studio
D' Mocher is short, thin and
angular He moves about the
cramped studio with spider-like
precision His attention is scat
tered among cueing records,
writing in the log, setting up the
PSAs and doing the "outtros "
"Live mike,” O' Mocher says
He breaks into the middle of a
...
song taping is niiii
leeeeegallll,” he says
D' Mocher is originally from
New York He is part-owner and
chief buyer for Diana's, a new
wave record and fashion shop
on the mall D’ Mocher is a mu
sician and has achieved some
notoriety as a member of the
"Whitetones", an acappella
singing group patterned after
groups of the 1950s
Scholz sits before the
console, monitoring the levels
He is large, with blond hair cut
short in a ragged style He wears
tortoise shell glasses with
lenses of livid green Scholzs
smile is laconic and constant
He moves about the studio with
lethargic confidence
Also from the East, Scholz
now lives near Florence He is a
veteran of many bands His la
test band — "Soft Monkeys" —
is now getting together and
making tapes.
Modern Mono first took to the
airwaves in January of last year.
In the beginning they were only
on the air once a month. Feb
ruary of this year they went to a
weekly format, fitting into the
11:30 p m to 2:30 a m niche
they now occupy
They say the music they play
is hardcore punk They argue
the distinction between "new
wave” and "punk”
"New wave is kinda like what
jocks ana preps nsien ro, u
Mocher says
The request line lights up,
interrupting the discussion
Hilary wants to dedicate Josie
Cotton's “Johnny Are You
Queer” to Brian But on the air
Scholz gets it turned around,
dedicating the song from Brian
to Hilary
Modern Mono exists in part as
a response to Eugene’s album
oriented-rock station KZEL,
with which Scholz says they
have a friendly rivalry. But there
is some rancor to the pair's on
the-air comments about KZEL.
|U| odern Mono plays the mu
sic their rival won't play,
D’Mocher says However, he
understands KZEL is “doing
what they have to do to get rat
ings.”
"Oregon is behind the times,”
he adds. "KZEL is on top of
what’s happening in Oregon "
KLCC, 89 7, is Lane Com
munity College’s FM radio sta
tion The station is non-profit,
receiving supporting funds from
the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting and local busin
esses Modern Mono is sup
ported in part by B J. Kelly's,
and the Bijou and Cinema 7
theaters.
Among the record piles there
seems a preponderance of un
known labels On®, The Anemic
Boyfriends' "Fake ID” is on Red
"For enough money," Dave Scholz says, "we'll play almost anything."
We have fast service on
cleaning and alterations
We also do sleeping bags
O N CAMPUS
821 East 13th Avenue
Eugene, Oegon 97401
Tel (503) 345-6321
Lenny D'Mocher cues records with spider-like precision.
Sweater Records The group
itself is from Anchorage Alaska
Red Sweater Records is like a
hundred other small labels that
are on the upsurge in this
country
By choice, D’ Mocher pro
grams more American new
wave and punk recordings than
British
“The American stuff is hot
test, especially out here,"
Scholz says.
Black Flag's "TV Party” plays
in the background as D' Mocher
says "most people don't get to
hear anything good "
here's so much good
* music now As much as I
like fifties and sixties stuff, this is
better," he says Being the
buyer for Diana's has kept him
up on the new wave and punk
scene since the start
They don't play everything
new though "I refused to play
the Feederz album Jesus En
tering From the Rear’ D'
Mocher says
"For enough money,” Scholz
jokes, "we ll play almost anyth
ing "
This week Modern Mono has
a top 10 of their most requested
songs They put on number one,
Mag and the Suspects'
"Erection '
Good rock music has an edge
to it, a ragged edge This music
has more jagged edges than a
shattered mirror Mag and the
Suspects' song, like those by
Anti-Nowhere League and
nearly all the bands D' Mocher
and Scholz play, have a power
that is simple and direct.
D'Mocher says with candor
that he’s not a true punk "I'm a
balding middle-aged poseur ”
However, D' Mocher is probably
more in tune with what's hap
pening in rock music than all his
peers in the Eugene area "I've
been a punk all my life "
In the cramped studio, lights
blink and the needles nod into
the red zone as D' Mocher
works with precision that comes
only from knowledge.
The request line heats up.
Someone wants to hear Wait
resses' "I know what Boys
Like " Another call comes in for
anything by the Ramones. Yet
another caller asks for "I Drink
Milk" by Teen Idols
D’ Mocher writes down each
request, murmuring "I gotta
have some coffee ”
Story by Cort Fernald
Photos by
Erich Boekelheide
/?•
College graduates
and college
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* grec* «o* o* We