Summary:
Don Fleming began his saga in
Washington's Velvet Monkeys, who recorded
an album of pop-rockabilly-surf-psychedelic Sixties revival,
Future (1983). After moving to New York, and meeting Mark Kramer,
he formed B.A.L.L. and proceeded to mock
acid-rock on Period (1987), a work highlighted by nonsensical jams.
The power-trio unleashed hard-rock vehemence
amid the usual dose of sound effects and skewed melodies on
Hardball (1990), particularly in their self-glorifying instrumental jams.
When he created Gumball,
Fleming simply updated B.A.L.L.'s sound to grunge and noise-rock
(and abandoned the clownish tones). Despite the elaborate arrangements,
it sounded like a cross between the Who and Big Star,
his most blatant stab at commercial success. Fleming reined in
Super Tasty (1993),
but began to lose control over his own grandeur on the monstrous
Revolution On Ice (1994).
Full bio.
(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)
The saga of Don Fleming was as fundamental as emblematic of the intellectual rock that emerged after the New Wave.
The Velvet Monkeys had been one of the most original groups of Washington’s first wave. Formed at the beginning of the decade (backed by a self-produced cassette, Everything Is Right, 1981), they debuted on vinyl in 1983 with the album Future (Fountain Of Youth). Their sound was a pop warped by harmonic anomalies, yet often seemed to mimic the surf bands of twenty years earlier. Sometimes (as in What Can I Do) one instrument (the guitar) seems to play a theme that another (the vocals) continues differently; but it matters little, since the development eventually shatters both, and from the harmonic collapse emerges the chorus, in perfect garage-rock style. It is a technique, albeit fuzzy, that can coagulate into a precise rockabilly like Velvet Monkeys. The organ dominates the driving Everything Is Right, but its style is neither the feverish intensity of Suicide nor the “acid” sound of the ’60s — rather, a dark rumble in the background. Among those attempting to reclaim psychedelic sounds, the Velvet Monkeys were among the least clichéd.
Between 1985 and 1987, the Velvet Monkeys recorded a final album, left unreleased, which would later be published as Houseparty (God Bless, 1998).
The Velvet Monkeys’ leader, Don Fleming (vocals and guitar), who had been the leader of one of Georgia’s pioneering punk groups (the Citizen 23), soon established an alliance with Jad Fair of the Half Japanese (culminating in the joint work Big Big Sun, self-released only on cassette in 1986), but for many years nothing was heard from the group.
Fleming reemerged in New York under Kramer’s wing. It was there, in the mid-1980s, that B.A.L.L. was formed, with Kramer on bass and organ and two drummers: Jay Spiegel (also from the Velvet Monkeys) and David Licht (Kramer’s former bandmate in Shockabilly).
The group positioned itself as a radical extension of the acid-rock of twenty years earlier. The first album, Period (Shimmy Disc, 1987), consists of around twenty short tracks, alternating country ballads performed (or devastated) in the Grateful Dead’s “lysergic” style (Bastard Baby Boy, Favorite Day), all accompanied by appropriate “jamming,” and instrumentals without beginning or end (the “Hendrixian” Theme B.A.L.L., the tribal Caveman, The French à la Mayo Thompson). The driving psychobilly of Always, the Velvet Underground imitation of In The Woods, and the hypnotic, cacophonous blues of I Can Never Say perhaps best summarize the psychedelic song form Fleming has in mind.
Bird (Shimmy-Disc, 1988) emphasizes the eccentricity of the psychedelic effects and experimentation with form. The result is a strange hybrid of the Stooges and Residents, as in the title track. Once again the songs are very short, yet again the most radical harmonies (Another Straight Line) and the more showy ballads (like the mantra of Love Was The End or the country of Drink It On) feel forced and artificial. Almost all the tracks give the impression of being mere pretexts to pile up some distortion and glue together a few sound effects. (Some tracks are disguised covers.)
Trouble Doll (1989), half live, improves the situation but does not solve the underlying problems. The melody of Never Meant To Say, the barbaric attitude of Trashman, the triptych of Trouble World (echoing the anthems of the Stooges), Trouble Doll, and Trouble Momma are good ideas, but still too little. The lineup (reduced to a trio after Licht’s departure) is as ambitious as it is disappointing.
A further and decisive improvement occurred in 1990 with Four or Hardball. The trio had truly become a power trio, and the song lengths were sufficiently extended to allow development. The arrangement of the title track draws on the usual psychedelic eccentricities, but this time the Gregorian buzz, electronic whirlpools, and wailing guitar have their effect. Ballads are revitalized by rock vigor and a drum beat pounding like a frenetic tam-tam, capable of reaching the paroxysm of psychobilly, as in She's Always Driving. Their trajectory suddenly resembles that of Sonic Youth: starting from a programmatic and revolutionary style, B.A.L.L. managed to integrate it into the traditional rock song form. Timmy The Toad Man and Mary Jane thus become dizzying and driving Sabbath-like pure rock and roll, albeit distorted by the usual dose of fuzz. Fleming’s instrumental style, merging Page with Hendrix, demonstrates his undeniable (and vitriolic) potential, enviable even to Helios Creed.
In reality, the first side of Hardball is a sort of standalone EP. The second side is a monumental suite composed of five instrumental jams. Fleming and Kramer thus have the chance to unleash their grunge (and post-psychedelic/post-hardrock) desires. This ’90s In A Gadda Da Vida is one of the most grandiose and self-glorifying instrumental pieces in rock history, but the guitarist truly shines in all his glory: the hypnotic riff of the prelude, the demonic crescendo of the first movement, the driving and sharp Sonic Youth-like chimes of the second, the cyclone of dissonances of the third, plus an incalculable number of glissandi, fades, fiery distortions, pneumatic hammer minimalisms, daring tunings, all always at Spiegel’s prodigious rhythm.
Just when the group had found its right balance, the disputes between Fleming and Kramer led it to its demise (at the end of 1989, before the last album was released).
Fleming then reformed the Velvet Monkeys, with a lineup that included, besides the faithful Spiegel, Mascis from Dinosaur Jr, Moore from Sonic Youth, and Cafritz from Pussy Galore. Rake (Rough Trade, 1990) is a (false) soundtrack that disappoints the expectations raised by Hardball, but delivers some of the eccentric humor this crew is capable of (nine minutes for the truly minimalistic Velvet Monkeys Theme Song and nine minutes for the completely opposite Rock Party).
Fleming, also embarking on a promising career as a producer, did not get discouraged and formed Gumball, with Spiegel still on drums and Eric Vermillion on bass. Unlike the works of B.A.L.L., all ruthlessly panned, Gumball’s first album, Special Kiss (Primo Scree, 1991), was received by critics with a sort of general ovation. With a sound similar to Hardball but revised and updated through the lens of Sonic Youth and grunge, Fleming found the right dimension. If the more “acid” trip is Gettysburg, followed by "You Know" and Window Pain, at the other end of the spectrum are Gone Too Far, Wake Up, and especially This Town and Summer Days, the two hits, belonging instead to a lighter, more pop (or even surf) vein.
In the same year, Light Shines Through (Paperhouse) was also released, a sort of supplement to the previous album, with the title track and other psychedelic delights.
Since Gumball’s sound is more accessible than that of B.A.L.L., it was worth capitalizing on it; and Super Tasty (Sony, 1993) succeeds in this intent: the sound is reduced to guitar-driven pop (Accelerator, the new hit, or Real Gone Deal) slightly twisted by a playful attitude; overall, a return to the Velvet Monkeys with greater conviction. The garage-instrumental fuses of the power trio, prepared by the wild “rave-ups” of Tumbling and Black Payback, make scorching ballads like Hell Of A Message shine. Above all, a whistlable folk-rock with sentimental and epic accents triumphs, as in Here It Comes Again. Fleming’s melodicism is at its peak.
Continuing to mature album by album, Fleming reaches the grandiose sound of Revolution On Ice (Columbia, 1994): if the opening Revolution On The Rocks is too programmatic and fails to repeat Accelerator, Nights On Fire is the epitome of his ability to construct songs both driving and profound, charging them with the prophetic force of a Pete Townshend. Fleming is as masterful as Alex Chilton in building pop harmonies on Free Grazin', and the trio barrels ahead in the jam of Watcha Gonna Do. Combining these talents, nothing is beyond their reach, from the rough melodies of Sonic Youth (Trudge) to the dark ballads of the Cure (Breath Away).
Fleming, who had rationed his music for half a decade, suddenly became one of the most prolific artists of the New York underground. But, after Gumball dissolved, he returned to the sidelines.
Fleming is a figure as ambitious as he is unresolved: his albums do not fully express his talent.
The EP Because Tomorrow Comes (Instant Mayhem, 1996) is his first solo record: in addition to the eponymous song, it contains two instrumental suites for theremin, mellotron, tapes, organ, guitar, and bass.
Fleming also formed Foot (God Bless, 1998) with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Jim Dunbar. The album contains three lengthy tracks of free-form electronic jamming.
Fleming’s revival is impressive. The single Hear the Air (V2, 2000) even climbed the UK charts.
(Original English text by Piero Scaruffi)
Don Fleming's all-instrumental Jojo Ass RUNne (God Bless, 1998) is a wild experiment in guitar-rock that borrows from Glenn Branca's symphonies, Roger Miller's uber-guitar pieces, and particularly from Todd Rundgren (homaged in the 16-minute Todd Ass RUNdgren), but mostly reinvents the whole idea of rock music.
Don Fleming 4 (Thick Syrup, 2011) is a four-song EP.
Malcolm Riviera died in 2023.
