Friday, October 03, 2003

By Scott Mervis, Post-Gazette Weekend Editor

It was the definitive album by "the only band that mattered." "London Calling" came out in December of 1979 and set the music world on notice that punk rock didn't have to be three chords and a cloud of dust.

	CLASH TRIBUTE WHERE: Rex Theatre, South Side. WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday. ADMISSION: $7.99 (to match the original U.S. price of "London Calling"). Show is 21-and-over only. Call 412-381-6811. DETAILS: Proceeds benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Bethlehem Haven, a shelter for the homeless.

More than two decades later, The Clash's breathless, 19-song trek through punk, rockabilly, reggae, dub, ska, swing, you name it, is still the highwater mark of the genre, still loved by old fans, and somewhere today some kid who got into Good Charlotte is probably discovering it for the first time.

When frontman Joe Strummer died way too young last December, just before being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, any chance of a Clash reunion went with him. Instead, there were Clash tributes in cities around the world.

But maybe not like the one here. Members of the Pittsburgh music scene will gather Saturday at the Rex to do the improbable -- perform "London Calling" straight through, in its entirety.

"To our knowledge, no one has ever played 'London Calling' straight through, including The Clash," says organizer Rod Schwartz, bassist for '80s band 11th Hour. "We've been scouring every Web site. You can get set lists from any Clash show ever, and we know that they haven't done it. We've never found anything that indicated that anyone has ever tried doing it."

The show, which will include a second half with 20-some other Clash songs, will feature a core band with singers including members of A.T.S., The Spuds, The Breakup Society, Submachine, The Affordable Floors, The Cheats, The Pundits, The Fontaines and Thickhead Grin.

"Everyone is taking it very seriously," Schwartz says. "We took it a side at a time and were smart enough to start five months ago and not try to do it in two or three weeks. A lot of people think Clash, three-chord punk-rock songs. It couldn't be further from that. There's just layer after layer after layer on that record."

Although the ensemble, made up of players in their 30s and 40s, will look nothing like The Clash, they hope to sound like them, at least instrumentally.

"It's as faithful a rendition that you could possibly do live," Schwartz says. "Where there's horns, we have horns. Where there's piano, we have piano. Where there's percussion, we have percussion. Where there's a primal scream, there's a primal scream."

Obviously, one of the keys to pulling off the wild array of rhythms on "London Calling" is having a drummer who can do more than one trick. Schwartz thinks they have it in Kip Ruefle of A.T.S.

"We're fortunate, much like The Clash, to have an outstanding drummer, which is where it all starts. Without a drummer like that, it wouldn't be feasible. Topper [Headon] plays just about every style imaginable on that record. A lot of guys can play one or two of those styles, but very few people here could capture all of that, and Kip does it tremendously."

"London Calling" is one of those records in which people remember where they were and what they were doing when they first heard it. All these years later, Schwartz is still feeling its effect.

" 'London Calling' changed my life, without being overly dramatic," he says. "I went to college in 1980 thinking Rush was the greatest thing I ever heard. Most of my time playing bass was trying to learn every Geddy Lee bass line. When we went home for spring break, my roommate and I came back with what we thought was the best new album we'd ever heard. I had [Elvis Costello's] 'Armed Forces,' he had 'London Calling.' We made a wager as to who had the better one. We played 'Armed Forces' first and I was sure I had it. And he played 'London Calling' -- and I had to do his laundry for a week.

"From that point on," he adds, "I was just basically trying to get my hands on any music I could find like that. That led me to playing the type of music I did, which led me to the people who became my friends, which led me to the woman I married and on and on. Without 'London Calling,' I don't think my life would have turned out that way. It may sound overly dramatic, but I honestly don't think it is."

E-mail this story   Print this story