YFC - "RICOCHET' LINER NOTES

1.Leatherface

Gary Cope, Flying Nun 'accountant', had a pirate VHS of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a film banned in NZ at the time. It was a corrupted copy of a copy of a copy and viewing was definitely more aural than visual. Funny thing was when I finally got to see a legit version; the picture clarity made it less scary- would be horror filmmakers take note.
Leatherface is the chainsaw-wielding star of TTCM. We usually played this song last in our set because the drumming always threatened to kill Michael.

2.Pay The Piper

Roughly speaking, our set divided into either noise tracks or train tracks. This is a bit of both, train in the verses, noise in the chorus.

3.Lynch

This was recorded in Auckland at Progressive studios with Terry King and Doug Hood. There were no recording studios in Christchurch so we grabbed the opportunity to record while up there for a New Year's Eve 1984 show at the Windsor Pub, Parnell.

4.Son Of A Gun

Michael's drumming on this one always puts me in mind of Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll. Seeing The Glitter Band, minus Gary but with two drummers, at the Christchurch Town Hall had been a seminal moment for me as a thirteen-year old. Although written when Ronnie Reagan was President, with GW in the White House, Son Of A Gun still has a point.

5.Anthem

'Video games good training for future soldiers' - prophetic or what? Sure back then it was Space Invaders but I read somewhere recently that the consoles of new generation US army tanks are designed in conformance to Play Station hardware. On Anthem, Michael plays a milk can that was an integral part of his drum kit. We stole it from the Christchurch Hospital on a midnight commando raid that involved a mid-winter wade up the Avon River - an obvious strategy for keeping the bloodhounds off our trail.

6.Self Destruct

No idea what this one is about really. Sounds like a self-help guide. I like Grant's bass bit and that it's short, snappy and sans chorus.

7.Waltz

Grant came up with the idea for this one, a song in 3/4 time. Enjoyed playing it live, when I could remember my part. It was a nice counterpoint to our otherwise, four on the floor, songbook.

8.Hype

One of our noise songs. The start of it sounds like a tractor engine firing up.

9.Black Train

The ultimate destination for our train songs. It was really only ever a work in progress, but we enjoyed the groove so included it in our later sets.

10.AC/DC

Ascension Descension. Robin Neate used to do our live sound and suggested using the chanting of Gregorian Monks in a song. We recorded it by winding a record backwards on his turntable.

11.Paleface

The voice is from a TV documentary on Survivalists. At the time VHS machines were rare beasts but I managed to borrow a video copy from the Religious Studies department at Canterbury University. The minister who loaned it to me was broad minded enough to regard the crucifix/swastika I wore ironically as an earring as 'an interesting combination'.

12.Rolling Thunder

Our anti-war song, told from the POV of a redneck pilot. Operation Rolling Thunder was the code name for the US napalm campaign in Vietnam. The thunder in this song was provided by a spring reverb unit that I used to kick mercilessly across the stage. Disturbingly, if you substituted the lyric, 'good red' with 'good towelhead', the sentiments of this song would have more political currency than they ever did on the night.

13.Ricochet

Despite furnishing the title for this CD, I wouldn't describe this track as being emblematic. The reason we chose it as a title was that we liked the idea of these songs bouncing back after twenty-one years.
We used to open with Ricochet and it was always a freewheeling noise fest, including me hitting my bass with a drumstick. I always thought Grant's blues riff near the end was just a dead cool piss-take.

14.Emperor's New Clothes

This was recorded at Progressive Studios. Although it was listed on the Between Two Thieves EP, we decided to drop it off the vinyl because it slowed down too much.

15.Scarlip

Michael wrote the words for this one and Grant used to sing them. No idea what part I played, judging from the mix nothing. I have a sneaking suspicion that this song was my opportunity to get a beer from the bar.

16.Outlook

Grant recently told me that the only reason he sang this song was because I threw a tantrum complaining about having to do everything. I don't recall this exchange but patently I was wrong. My contribution to the overall sound of YFC was often minimal. I do, however, remember enjoying the stops and starts of Outlook and not having to sing.

Jonathan Ogilvie