Six-fingered aliens beam into town

When you think of Rhode Island you probably think of ... well, you might not think of anything. But you should think of Six Finger Satellite, a Providence group of musicians who have put out four full-length albums of fuzzy rock on Sub Pop to date.

While known for their Moog-centric output, their new album, "Law of Ruins," is a bit more instrumentally mainstream.

"This record we made a conscious effort to try to write guitar songs," explained singer and Mooger J Ryan. "Guitarist John MacLean was a little bummed out after (our last album) 'Paranormalized,' because there wasn't enough guitar stuff on it. But

Courtesy of Sub Pop Records These six-fingered musicians aren't really aliens. They're the ones responsible for the death of Inigo Montoya Sr.

we just couldn't write a good guitar song around that time. It was just easier to write synth stuff. So that's the way the record was. This time we made a conscious effort to not have any songs where he played synth as a lead instrument."

"Law of Ruins" feels more like a guitar album than the band's previous output, but that isn't to say it's a standard guitar album. While there's a bit more of a Hammerhead vibe to the album, Six Finger Satellite still sounds like space rock's bad-ass offspring. That analogy is strengthened on this outing, as vocals have been a bit subdued.

Ryan agreed: "There are a lot of instruments on it, or longer instrumental sections. I've always tried to insert vocals into spots. I've never thought of myself as a lead singer. It's more of just a human voice for people to maybe identify with. Ha ha ha! I think songs need vocals, I'm not really a fan of much instrumental music, which seems to be the fashion these days."

At the same time, there are several long voiceless interludes. "Those weren't written so much as improvised in the studio, and we liked them so much we included them in the record. Which I think is better because I think the record without them would be kind of boring.

"We spent a long time writing the songs, they didn't come that easy. Some did, but a lot of the parts we practiced a lot. Whereas the songs on "Paranormalized" were written pretty fast. That record was put together pretty quick just as an attempt to get back on the road. Our touring for "Severe Exposure" had been pretty spotty and not really that good.

"We just weren't going where we were supposed to go, we just weren't where we were supposed to be. We did a five-week tour through Canada with a bunch of Sub Pop bands, then we did a three-week tour with Mike Watt. (He laughs.)

"So after "Severe Exposure" we figured out about touring, then we went and made "Paranormalized" kinda quick so we could tour again, and we toured a lot with that record. And this record was a long time coming. We took some time off ... This record sounds different because one, we spent more time on the songs, two, there was more of a conscious effort to write a certain type of song and it's more of a hi-fi recording."

But in spite of writing better records, not everything has been 97 octane and Double Quarter Pounders for the band. "Sub Pop has undergone some downsizing, I guess, to use a nice word for firing people. I think they're doing what they need to do to stay in business. I don't think the record industry as a whole is selling lots of records.

"And it's getting harder to tour, especially for midsized bands like ourselves. We seem to be very popular with music critics and people who write on bands, and we seem to have a seemingly small contingent of diehard vocal fans, but we don't really sell that many records ... I don't think Sub Pop has ever really known what to do with us."

Well, the label has known at least to give Six Finger Satellite a contract for two more albums. Band members still need to hold day jobs though, in various retail jobs that allow them to go on tour when they need to.

"It's a sacrifice to do something you enjoy, it's all about making sacrifices," said Ryan. "That's something that we've grappled with in the past, some better than others."

Hey, they've sacrificed so you can go and see them. They may surprise you, and they should certainly entertain you.

Ryan's final suggestion for you? "Come down and soak it up."

White Stripes and a Stoveboat will open for Six Finger Satellite tonight at The Gold Dollar, 3129 Cass Ave. in Detroit. Call (313) 833-6873 for more information.

09-11-98