Thursday, February 4, 1999
Any other name not quite same for pop group Lucie Gamelon
MUSIC: Tefkin’s quartet offers refreshing talent under unique
band title
By Brent Hopkins
Daily Bruin Staff
What’s in a name anyway? When it comes to Los Angeles-based pop
quartet Lucie Gamelon, quite a bit. The foursome, appearing at the
Troubadour’s Poptopia ’99 festival tonight, borrows some of its
musical sensibilities from the roots of its unusual moniker.
Founded by singer-bassist Blair Tefkin in 1995, the name is taken
from a character in Jane Bowles’ novella "Two Serious Ladies." On
the surface, this seems fairly straightforward. The history of the
reference, however, is a complex one.
When Tefkin entered the music world as a solo open mic player,
she performed using only her own name. Eventually, she added more
supporting musicians until a trio formed. This present day line-up,
featuring Brian Sussman on drums, Susanna Mast on keyboards and
Bernard Yin on guitar, was ready to record an album in 1998 when
they faced a minor stumbling block – the group had no name to
record under. Tefkin originally decided to name them after her dog,
Anouk. This proved to be a problem, since the name was already in
use by a Dutch recording artist.
"We had to think of another name and we were just about to do
our CD. The artwork was being done so I really had to think of
something fast," Tefkin explains. "I went to my favorite book to
see if I could find something I liked."
"The first character’s name was Christina Goering," she says,
vocally expressing her displeasure. "That’s not going to be a band
name. The next name I came upon was Lucie Gamelon. It just struck
me as perfect."
The name was symbolic to Tefkin, not only because of its
literary connotations. "Lucie" also reminded her of the screwball
comedy "I Love Lucy" and "Gamelon" of the traditional gamelan music
of Indonesia. With this multi-cultural title, the band was ready to
tackle the music world. The album "Everything is Nice" was cut and
they took to the road to promote it.
This is a far cry from Tefkin’s coffeehouse days. Originally an
actress with no formal music training, she began without any
grandiose ambitions.
"I had no goals," she explains. "When I started playing music,
it was just completely, exclusively a hobby. I just wanted to learn
how to play the bass. It was just a secret closet fantasy, just to
be able to jam with a Bob Marley CD. That was really my immediate
and long-term goal."
She took lessons for a year, gradually gaining proficiency.
Eventually, her instructor suggested that she play with other
musicians as a source of development. After doing so and hearing
aspiring songwriters showcase their wares, Tefkin decided to try
her own hand at composition. While she had written fiction in the
past, music writing was a new frontier for her.
"I wrote a couple songs and went and played an open mic night.
The rest is rock ‘n’ roll history," she says with a laugh.
The reception to her self-accompanied set was far more positive
than she had imagined it would be. When a promoter asked her to
return in a few weeks to play her own show, she was taken aback. As
a novice musician, she had no idea where to begin in preparing to
perform on her own. Retreating again to the writers’ desk, she
penned several more songs in time for the show and never looked
back.
From the coffeehouse days to Lucie Gamelon, Tefkin has enjoyed
the life of a musician immensely. Initially, even the feeling of
lugging her bass and equipment around in a shopping cart was a
pleasure. Though this is far from the superstar life, she has no
complaints. "I highly recommend it. Tell all your friends," she
jokes.
This summer, Lucie Gamelon did climb another rung in the ladder
of fame with appearances at Lillith Fair. Performing alongside
notables such as Sarah MacLachlan and Liz Phair, the band was given
an opportunity to play for much larger audiences than ever before.
Though it lacked the reputation of more established acts, there was
no adverse reaction.
"We’re a pretty obscure band that nobody really knows about and
the crowds at Lillith Fair didn’t seem to care that they’d never
heard of us," Tefkin said.
In discussing the festival, Tefkin was overwhelmingly
supportive, praising it for both its enjoyable, laid-back
atmosphere and positive message to women. She acknowledges the
disparity between numbers of male and female musicians and is
grateful to tours such as Lillith Fair for its showcasing talented
bands such as hers.
Ultimately, Lucie Gamelon should not be looked at as a woman’s
band, but rather just a group trying to have a good time and write
good songs. So long as the melodies keep coming and fans still
enjoy them, the labels attached to the band are unimportant. In
fact, reviews frequently overlook the meaning of the band’s name
and assume that "Lucie Gamelon" is Tefkin herself. She remains
unperturbed, however.
"If you like the music, it doesn’t really matter," she said.
MUSIC: Lucie Gamelon appears tonight at 8:30 p.m. at the
Troubadour in Santa Monica. Call (213) 833-0744 for more
information.PolyGram Music Publishing
Los Angeles-based pop quartet Lucie Gamelon will be appearing
tonight at the Troubadour’s Poptopia ’99 Festival in Santa
Monica.
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