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by Tom Aloisi
Chin Ho!I first heard Chin Ho! in 1991 when I helped to organize an outdoor street concert in Burlington. I remember their happy dance music, the incense they passed through the crowd, and their gender-bending tutus. I even had one of their nifty "Chin HO! sucks" pins for a while.
Andrew Smith (vocals) and David Morency (guitar) founded Chin Ho almost 10 years ago. Throughout the '90s they have had several bassists and drummers -- too many to count. The current incarnation features Chris Parizo on bass and Gary Williams (of Five Seconds Expired fame) on drums.
I hadn't heard much from Chin Ho! in the past several years; they've been getting more publicity from Smith's fights with Burlington radio station WBTZ (the Buzz) than from their music. I've heard that the radio station will never play a Chin Ho! song again, EVER! Sounds like censure to me. Did Smith have sex with a radio station intern?
Chin Ho! seemed to be going through a hardcore phase in recent years. Based on this, I was sure I would not like the new Chin Ho! CD, titled "everything you know is wrong." I was wrong. The funk is back!
In the groovy first single "(I wish I was a) girl" Smith wonders if a man would like him if they were both women, rather than men. Is this a lesbian fantasy? He sings "I wish I was a girl because girls are smarter than boys." This is sure to win him some female fans! This song could definitely use another verse or two, but it is one of the best on the disc, at least musically. The grammarian in me feels the need to point out that it should be "I wish I were a girl", but I will grant him poetic license on this one. Feel free to put a "I wish I was a girl" bumper sticker on your car -- I've seen them available for free around Burlington. Or better yet, call your favorite radio station and request it! I know I'll be calling The Buzz as soon as possible.
The lyrics on this disc, mostly by Smith, are from his soul -- not that he has a lot to say on most songs. For the most part, the lyrics are similar to an episode of Seinfeld -- entertaining, with a message about modern day life, but nothing too heavy. There are a couple of notable exceptions.
One is "Closet Case," in which Smith sings about waiting for someone to come out until he realizes that if he waits, he will wait forever. Morency's music and the tone of Smith's voice makes me think that Smith is singing from frustration mixed with lust for his favorite closet case. I hope Smith gets his wish -- how many of us can say that we wrote a song for our favorite closet case?
In "Song for a Dead Friend," Smith sings gently of a lost friend, hoping he or she is in a "place that is cool." Leave it to rock musicians to keep it simple.
I am also hooked on "The Dorothy Parker Song" -- the lyrics are simple, but the music is more mature than most of the alternative rock drivel today. And on "New Haven," the CD's final listed track, we are able to enjoy Smith's deep, lustrous bass. If I didn't know better I'd swear someone had switched Smith with the lead singer of the "Crash Test Dummies."
The production and recording quality of this CD are excellent. I expect to hear good production and mixing on CDs by major label artists, but the work on "everything you know is wrong" is as good as it gets.
Check out Chin Ho! live at Club Toast in Burlington on December 30th and at Emerald City in Montpelier on January 2nd. And be sure to pick up this entertaining CD -- you know you'd be wrong not to.
