Those XCleavers Reunite
by David Luhrssen
Shepherd-Express, Milwaukee
August 09, 2007
"We never really broke up. We just got busy with other things and stopped playing together," says
Tom Lesions, bassist of Those XCleavers.
The popular Milwaukee band from the 1980's is finding time away from other projects to play its first gig in five years, 7:30 p.m., August 11, at the International Stage of the Wisconsin State Fair. Those XCleavers have also assembled a retrospective DVD, Video Archive 1980-1990, on sale at Atomic Records.
Despite the faded color of the old footage, the videos are a vibrant ticket to another time. Just the fact that the Cleavers made so many videos in the early '80's is a reminder of how in the moment they were with their Roland synthesizer and checkerboard get-ups. But unlike many international acts from the era that emphasized the last two letters of MTV, the XCleavers were an excellent band with great music. Most of their songs have held up well, sleekly assembled from the echoes of 1960's rock and pop without sounding like a '60's retro act, melding reggae, dub and even a hint of Krautrock into a crisp New Wave sound. Their lyrics fit the moody music, with images of desire, yearning and disappointment, along with spoofs of fashionistas ("What's in Style?") and Milwaukee's daily newspaper ("Silence the Critics").
Production values for many of the videos seem amusingly crude, but the simple naivete harkens back to a time that appears - at least in hindsight - less programmed and bean-counter calculated than our own.
Off camera, the XCleavers were a breakout band in many ways. They were often the first New Wave act to play Milwaukee's dull-as-dirt '80's rock clubs, and managed to crack the rotation of a local commercial radio station with an irresistible single, "Skip a Beat." The Cleavers released a trio of albums. Everyone expected them to be signed by a major label back in the day when major labels were still the ultimate goal for any band. It never happened.
Since then, band members have kept busy with other projects. Lesions is currently working with a pair of punk bands, FSFI and Mr. Wrong, while Terry Tanger stands at the helm of one of Wisconsin's most popular reggae bands, King Solomon.
"We don't even think about getting back together - our fans are still driving it," Tanger says of the XCleavers. "Every time we've played in the last few years, it's because somebody said, 'Hey, why don't you get together and do a gig?" As we get together to practice the old songs, it dawns on me: "Wow! These are really cool songs!' When we wrote the stuff we were just kids, but we were very dedicated to writing the best songs possible."
Gaining Status
by Laura Veras Marran
WAM, November 1987
The band devoted over a year to the project, which evolved during that time from a six-song EP to a full-fledged LP at Permanent’s request. "Anything good takes time, energy and pain," said guitarist/vocalist Terry Tanger. "This certainly did."
Tanger said one thing the group had to do in order to make the album was back down from performing for awhile. That caused a few problems. "The bad thing about that is that people forget you," said Tom Lesions, bassist/vocalist. "The normal human mind has an attention span of about two seconds, then the rumors start. A lot of people asked if we were breaking up," Lesions said. From the Cleavers point of view, that’s a silly question. This Milwaukee band has exhibited unusual staying power through six-plus years of struggling to make themselves well known, first locally, then nationally. "I think you call it paying your dues," Lesions said.
Those XCleavers roots reach back to late 1979 when Tanger and percussionist/vocalist John Gaskell lived across an alley from each other and "got together just to jam." Within a half hour, they had written their first song. Lesions then became the third member, and keyboardist Ernie Alvarez completed the quartet. Alvarez is kind of the group’s prodigal son. In 1982 he joined the US Army for a four-year stint. When he returned, he dropped in on Those XCleavers at a New Year’s Eve gig and was given a warm welcome back to the fold. Alvarez said his four-year absence gives him a more objective view of how the band has evolved. "At first, we had a definite ‘garage band’ or pop sound. When I came back, I could see that the music had more meat to it," Alvarez said.
The Cleavers style took on a new dimension about a year and a half ago when the band traveled to Jamaica and explored the reggae sound. Not only did they learn more about the music, but they taught the Jamaicans a few things, too. "They couldn’t believe how fast we played. They coined the term ‘Millywaukee’ to describe how we were playing," members said. As a result, Those XCleavers style has developed into something that defies pigeon-holing and is perhaps best described as eclectic. "Our music is hard to define," Alvarez said. "There is an element of ska and an element of reggae, and we always try to stay within the category of dance music."
On "Cult Statis" listeners are treated to a range of styles. That seems to fit perfectly into Permanent Records’ framework, because the label does not want to confine itself to one specific style, Reamer said. "The album will set a great precedent for Permanent Records," Reamer said. "We went looking for the best band we could find, and this is it." Tanger said the album has songs from every aspect of the band’s six-year history. "There are songs that are very much like we were at the beginning, songs from the reggae phase, and new stuff," Tanger said. "Scary stuff," added Lesions. Cult Statis will be available at local record outlets like Mainstream and Radio Doctors, according to Reamer.
The band had built a large high school and college following throughout the area, and although they experience an audience turnover every so often, many loyal fans have been with the Cleavers since the beginning. "When people follow us to Iowa or plan their vacations around our performances, we know we have good fans," Lesions said. But while they’ve kept that tried and true following together, members said their popularity has weathered some ups and downs.
So, with a new album on the way and demand for their act higher than ever, things are ideal for Those XCleavers. Well almost ideal. The guys still maintain ‘regular’ jobs, meaning they put in a full day’s work before they can even start thinking about their music. "Its tough working an eight or nine-hour day, then going to the studio and trying to sing your most heartfelt lyrics when what you really need is sleep," Tanger said.
Although a full time job does put time and travel constraints on the band, it does not hinder their ability to do what they do best. "We didn’t have any creativity problems this time. We really worked at making the album and it evolved, like art. The bottom line is always the music," said Tanger.
XCleavers Cut New Disc
by Nick Pipitone
UWM Post, A&E, September 30, 1986
(This review was meant to be of an EP, but all the songs would instead be held and added to the third LP Cult Statis)
If there is one band in the Milwaukee music scene that has an incredible knack for originality, it has got to be Those XCleavers. Using a unique blend of reggae, and ska as a definitive musical direction, these guys stand in a class by themselves. And now, after churning out two albums and three singles they have decided to record once again. This time a six-song EP at Breezeway Studios in Waukesha.
When I found out about the EP, I conferred with the band's manager, Paul Setzer. He immediately asked me to come out to the studio to cop a quick listen to the songs that would be on the record.The tunes are hot to say the least. The rock-reggae-ska mix is definitely there, and in full form.
The first song I heard was "100 Years of Art," a tune written by the Cleaver's bassist, Tom Lesions. This song starts out with a slow melodic feel, then kicks in with a straight-forward rock beat in the vein of another Cleavers tune, "Smooth, Wild & Dirty. This song could put anybody out on the dance floor.
I believe Those XCleavers are at their best when thy play reggae. Tanger's choppy chord arrangements, covered by Lesion's slow bass vocals,and drummer John Gaskell's erratic, but right-in-sync drum beat makes "You Try Too Hard" one of the best songs the Cleavers have done. They do the same with the fifth tune "Play no Games."
But as impressed as I was with the first five songs, the sixth really blew me away. A song called "Always Up to You," written by Tanger, is a definite candidate for airplay by WMSE or QFM. What really makes the tune special is the vocals. Tanger's rhythm and blues influenced vocals make this song sound like it's coming straight from the gut. And it is.
This EP displays a musical prowess in terms of diversity and originality unsurpassed by any band in Milwaukee. Those XCleavers may have reached a creative highpoint with this record, and the only direction they are headed is up.
Those XCleavers can be seen performing their new and old material at Cafe Voltaire, Oct. 11. The record won't be out til' around the first of the year, but I'll guarantee you that it will be worth the wait.
XCLEAVERS MAKE THEIR OWN BREAKS
Mike Gasper
WAM, May 1986
Ever ready and ever lucky. Those XCleavers stumbled onto a UW-Milwaukee stage with just six hours notice to open for 17-year-old heart throb and guitar prodigy Charlie Sexton. The trio calmly fielded questions minutes before show time as their stage hands scrambled around the dressing room in preparation.
Charting the recent events that transpired since the release of their second album (and the release of their former keyboardist, Carter Hunnicutt), the five-year-old ska/new wave unit seems fully recovered from last year's stagnation.
Those XCleavers put the kibosh on plans to record a third album or EP in Jamaica on their eight-day March excursion. As singer/songwriter/guitarist Terry Tanger explains, "We ran into a lot of things. For one, we couldn't even get instruments into the country. It has something to do with the music being so political right now." Tanger added, "You go down there and there's one guitar for every six musicians. it's pretty sad. We send down guitar strings all the time."
While the Cleavers were in Jamaica with about a dozen friends they stayed in Montego Bay, avoiding their usual hangouts like strife-torn Kingston and Bob Marley's Tuff Gong studios. The highlight of the Cleaver's latest trip was jammin' in a local pub with Secret Weapon, a relatively non-political new reggae band.
"They like us as long as we kept our reggae slow," Tanger said. "But as soon as we did our ska they (dancers) were out there (Tanger imitates a mellow rasta straining to reach and an XCleaver shuffle) saying. "Shee-it, Slow Down!" Singer/songwriter/bassist Tom Lesions said, "They'd say, 'What is that? Millie-walk-ee style?"
A 12" reggae single is a possibility in the near future, Tang said. Tanger's "U Try 2 Hard" (which sounds like the reggae classic, "Johnny Too Bad") and a Lesions song (possibly Save It), or a dub version of "Quicksand' are the front runners. The band said their trips to Jamaica just might become annual.
Those XCleavers were originally booked to open for Sexton, but were bumped off the ticket for Boys With Toys, a band who has opened for the Cleavers themselves, said Jan Gaskell, wife of drummer John Gaskell. As fortune would have it, Sexton caught the Cleavers live at Century Hall the night before his show.
"We did a whole set of reggae and he really got into it," said Tanger. As fortune would continue to have it, Boys with Toys van died on the road and the resillient Milwaukee triumvirate had themselves another major show.
CAMPUS VOICE
The National College Magazine
Feb/Mar 1986
BEST OF THE NEW MUSIC
Unsigned, unheralded, here are five of the great young bands in America.
THOSE XCLEAVERS - Wisconsin -
In case you're wondering, bass player Tom Lesions says the name of X over the band name is a "subliminal sex thing" - so subliminal we don't get it. "Somehow we got into the meat-cleaver mode," he says, "and eventually we added 'those' to get everybody really confused." Good job.
Five years ago, Lesions teamed with guitarist Terry Tanger, and within "the first 20 minutes we'd written a song." After adding drummer John Gaskell, Lesions says, they began "cleaver-izing" other people's material. "A precise definition of cleaver-izing is pretty difficult to give," insists Lesions. "The music is kind of between ska rock and dance."
The band has opened for the Police and U2 and has released two records on small, independent labels. But the members still feel isolated from the mainstream. "It gets lonely up here in Milwaukee," says Lesions. "Whenever we go to pick up the mail, there isn't any."