| Semi-Gloss
After a year of strumming his guitar and staring into space on the Left Coast, Jordan Mokriski was ready to bail. "Every other person in L.A. seemed to have a band. I had written four songs, but the singer I wanted to work with was back in New York." That was Verena Wisendanger. Only one problem: Mokriski had never actually heard his former Vassar classmate sing. I just had known her for years," he says, "and she just seemed right. I was like, 'Oh, I'm sure she can sing well enough.' It turned out that she was the perfect singer for the kind of songs I was writing." With bassist Gary Graf and drummer Jason Harmon, Jordan and Verena founded Semi-Gloss. On Teenie, a recent EP, and their album debut, due out on Dirt in May, they offer an intimate sound, with crystalline Telecaster lines and understated Farfisa organ pads. Even their most aggressive tracks, like "Wild For You" and "Eight Million Strong," go down smooth and easy. "This one singer who opened for us said we sound like the Velvet Undergound on Ecstasy instead of heroin," Mokriski laughs. "But I think we're tied to bands like the Ramones too. A lot of our riffs are punk but played at clean settings with brushes instead of sticks." Delivered, of course, by a singer in elegant formal attire. "Well, I'm French," Verena explains. "And it helps me if everybody rushes toward me before the show and says, 'You look fabulous!' If I know that people at least think I look good, I can sing with confidence. - Robert L. Doerschuk |