Austinist Show Preview: Spectrum @ The Mohawk

Sonic Boom (a.k.a. Peter Kember) makes his 2nd appearance in Austin within the last six months at The Mohawk on Saturday. Since our city regularly hosts acts numerous times in a year, this might not seem too extraordinary. But this is no ordinary act -- Sonic Boom was once part of the legendary British outfit Spacemen 3 whose psychedelic innovations influenced many of the bands you might listen to today.

Sonic Boom founded Spectrum (along with the Experimental Audio Research project) in the early 90’s after the demise of Spacemen 3. Spectrum provided Sonic an avenue to pursue his distinct musical experimentation while also staying somewhat within the confines of generic pop standards. Spectrum’s discography includes (but is definitely not restricted to) 1992’s Soul Kiss (Glide Divine), 1994’s Highs, Lows and Heavenly Blows, and most recently, 1997’s Forever Alien. Sonic is working on new material currently and this tour will feature previews from two Spectrum releases (one EP, one full-length) presently in the works. Once earmarked by his infamous, minimalist “Three chords good, Two chords better, One chord best” quote, Sonic recently added, “The new songs are going down really well and integrate pretty seamlessly with the Spacemen 3 and Spectrum classics. After Spectrum’s six year hiatus it’s been great to play these songs again.” We caught Spectrum at the 2007 Wall Of Sound Festival and based on that amazing set, Saturday’s gig at The Mohawk should be another memorable performance.

As a bonus, we might be hearing material from Sonic’s collaboration with Jim Dickinson, Jimmy Crosthwaite, and official Spectrum member Randall Nieman; the outfit has recently completed work on an album titled Indian Giver under the Spectrum Meets Captain Memphis moniker. The Viet Minh, featuring members of The Black Angels, and All In The Golden Afternoon open.

[Spectrum MySpace]
[The Viet Minh MySpace]
[All In The Golden Afternoon MySpace]