Top five: Aaron Blanchard of Prize Country
Portland's post-hardcore purist lists the best of the '90s.
Some bands try to downplay their influences—and then there’s Portland’s Prize Country, a blitzkrieg-like group that openly harnesses the knottiness and punch of ’90s post-hardcore. With the outfit currently touring behind recent split releases with Salt Lake City’s Loom and San Diego’s Sirhan Sirhan—both of which build on Prize Country’s stunning 2007 full-length, Lottery Of Recognition—singer-guitarist Aaron Blanchard spoke with Decider about his top five albums of the ’90s.
Engine Kid, Bear Catching Fish (1993)
Aaron Blanchard: That album was a whole new thing to me. I’d never heard anything like Engine Kid before, this moody, on-off, crazy sort of music. The volume involved was just massive, even though the production wasn’t that good. Bands were recording full albums in, like, three days back then, no hanging out for a month in the studio. I was profoundly affected by that. It was where music really started mattering for me.
D: The album has a cover of John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High,” right?
AB: Yeah. The album was really heavy and dark, and it was neat to have it broken up like that. The whole thing is really unsettling. It’s kind of nauseating in a way.
Aaron Blanchard: That album was a whole new thing to me. I’d never heard anything like Engine Kid before, this moody, on-off, crazy sort of music. The volume involved was just massive, even though the production wasn’t that good. Bands were recording full albums in, like, three days back then, no hanging out for a month in the studio. I was profoundly affected by that. It was where music really started mattering for me.
D: The album has a cover of John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High,” right?
AB: Yeah. The album was really heavy and dark, and it was neat to have it broken up like that. The whole thing is really unsettling. It’s kind of nauseating in a way.
Quicksand, Slip (1993)
AB: That was actually a Beavis And Butt-Head find. [Laughs.] I’m embarrassed to say that, but at the same time, how the fuck else was I going to be exposed to Quicksand? I lived in the valley below Tahoe with a bunch of shit-kickers and rednecks. I didn’t have an older brother into punk rock or anything like that. I remember one of my friends, kind of this football guy, listened to Slip and said, “Who’s this Tool wannabe band?” [Laughs.]
D: Why do you think Quicksand never made it huge?
AB: Unfortunately, that wasn’t at all what I wanted to happen. I was really a music snob. I was a kid; I thought I knew everything. People would ask me, “What’s that band you’re listening to?” and I’d say, “Uh, you wouldn’t like them.” I didn’t want to share my music. [Laughs.] But honestly, I think they were just ahead of their time. If someone could have looked into the future and seen what a pioneering band Quicksand would become, they’d probably still be around.
AB: That was actually a Beavis And Butt-Head find. [Laughs.] I’m embarrassed to say that, but at the same time, how the fuck else was I going to be exposed to Quicksand? I lived in the valley below Tahoe with a bunch of shit-kickers and rednecks. I didn’t have an older brother into punk rock or anything like that. I remember one of my friends, kind of this football guy, listened to Slip and said, “Who’s this Tool wannabe band?” [Laughs.]
D: Why do you think Quicksand never made it huge?
AB: Unfortunately, that wasn’t at all what I wanted to happen. I was really a music snob. I was a kid; I thought I knew everything. People would ask me, “What’s that band you’re listening to?” and I’d say, “Uh, you wouldn’t like them.” I didn’t want to share my music. [Laughs.] But honestly, I think they were just ahead of their time. If someone could have looked into the future and seen what a pioneering band Quicksand would become, they’d probably still be around.
The Jesus Lizard, Liar (1992)
AB: When I was in high school, we were able to pick up this college radio station from Reno, about 40 miles away. They had a program called The Bottom 40, which ran from midnight to three in the morning. I heard a Jesus Lizard song on there, and I was like, “I gotta know about this band.” I remember listening to David Yow’s voice and thinking, “Is he a fucking burn victim or something?”
D: Did you ever get to see David Yow’s cock?
AB: No, I never got to see The Jesus Lizard live, unfortunately. But Prize Country got to play with Yow’s new band, Qui, a few times. We hung out and shot the shit and got drunk together. I didn’t want to be a fanboy, but I still had to tell him, “Your shit moved me. You’re a fucking badass.” From what I understand, he’s a little less crazy onstage than he was in The Jesus Lizard. But he’s still fucking crazy.
AB: When I was in high school, we were able to pick up this college radio station from Reno, about 40 miles away. They had a program called The Bottom 40, which ran from midnight to three in the morning. I heard a Jesus Lizard song on there, and I was like, “I gotta know about this band.” I remember listening to David Yow’s voice and thinking, “Is he a fucking burn victim or something?”
D: Did you ever get to see David Yow’s cock?
AB: No, I never got to see The Jesus Lizard live, unfortunately. But Prize Country got to play with Yow’s new band, Qui, a few times. We hung out and shot the shit and got drunk together. I didn’t want to be a fanboy, but I still had to tell him, “Your shit moved me. You’re a fucking badass.” From what I understand, he’s a little less crazy onstage than he was in The Jesus Lizard. But he’s still fucking crazy.
Sunny Day Real Estate, Diary (1994)
AB: The first time I heard Diary I was totally confused. I could not find a solid emotion to really attach to it. I was like, “Is this guy’s voice good? I don’t get it.” Then something just clicked, and I realized it might be the greatest fucking record I’d ever heard. I still kind of feel that way. It sounds a little dated now, unfortunately, especially after listening to all the bands that wanted to be Sunny Day right after Dairy came out. After you hear so many bad copies, it starts to affect the original. I have such a fondness and such great memories attached to that album, which is kind of weird, since it’s not a very happy album. [Laughs.]
D: You managed to talk about Sunny Day Real Estate without saying the word emo.
AB: Fuck no. I don’t ever say emo. That word is dead to me. [Laughs.]
AB: The first time I heard Diary I was totally confused. I could not find a solid emotion to really attach to it. I was like, “Is this guy’s voice good? I don’t get it.” Then something just clicked, and I realized it might be the greatest fucking record I’d ever heard. I still kind of feel that way. It sounds a little dated now, unfortunately, especially after listening to all the bands that wanted to be Sunny Day right after Dairy came out. After you hear so many bad copies, it starts to affect the original. I have such a fondness and such great memories attached to that album, which is kind of weird, since it’s not a very happy album. [Laughs.]
D: You managed to talk about Sunny Day Real Estate without saying the word emo.
AB: Fuck no. I don’t ever say emo. That word is dead to me. [Laughs.]
Drive Like Jehu, Yank Crime (1994)
AB: Yank Crime sounds like nothing that came before it. I’ve listened to this album stoned as shit, on acid, everything. Every time, it just continues to get better.
D: Drive Like Jehu is the band Prize Country probably gets compared to most.
AB: That’s great, but I think the feel of Drive Like Jehu’s music is where people make that connection. I don’t think we sound anything like them, but maybe there’s a similar intensity or urgency. Everyone has to compare something to something else. If we get compared to Drive Like Jehu, Quicksand, The Jesus Lizard, that’s cool by me. That’s a band I’d want to go see.
AB: Yank Crime sounds like nothing that came before it. I’ve listened to this album stoned as shit, on acid, everything. Every time, it just continues to get better.
D: Drive Like Jehu is the band Prize Country probably gets compared to most.
AB: That’s great, but I think the feel of Drive Like Jehu’s music is where people make that connection. I don’t think we sound anything like them, but maybe there’s a similar intensity or urgency. Everyone has to compare something to something else. If we get compared to Drive Like Jehu, Quicksand, The Jesus Lizard, that’s cool by me. That’s a band I’d want to go see.
