Many Beat Generation writers bristled at the term "beatnik." The mass media -- in particular San Francisco newspaperman Herb Caen, who coined the term -- used it to describe a subculture of goateed, turtleneck-wearing youngsters with poetic ambitions who hung out in coffee houses and jazz clubs, flaunting their unconventional ways. While this stereotype was built upon a few facts, it overlooked a major component of what made many beats tick: an interest in Eastern spirituality.
The Madison-based four-piece Venice Gas House Trolley fuses the style of beat poets and early-'60s jazz clubs with notes on the physical and spiritual landscape of Sumatra, which band frontman Adam Gregory Pergament explored during a backpacking trip several years ago, in the song "Bus Ride Kutacane To Brastagi."
While this title doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, Pergament's spoken word, layered atop a free jazz composition for drums, guitar and more, gets listeners freestyling along -- or at least bopping their heads -- at live shows, including the performance of : "Mad Toast Live" at which the song was recorded in May.
The Tuesday-night variety show at the Brink Lounge, hosted by local musicians Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines and recorded for For this track, the groove transformed into a sonic impression of Pergament's bus trip across the Indonesian island, with rhythms that are bumpy at one moment and smooth the next. "It feels to me like the band is on the bus careening through the hills and valleys of Indonesia," says Pergament. "The bass line was written by Tim, and the way he and Kevin float and twist around each other musically really makes this one happen for me." An MP3 of "Bus Ride Kutacane To Brastagi" is available in the related downloads section at right. More music by Venice Gas House Trolley can be found on its MySpace page, and its six-song "Mad Toast Live" set is send a message.
