OM'S MAKE UP
by Ann Utherwhiner
Primped, pumped and plowed was one way to
describe the members of Mom's Make-Up backstage
minutes before the opening show of their U.S. tour.
Sound check had been three hours and six bottles
earlier, and it was clear that remembering simple lyrics
and chords would be top priority-after looking good.
By some force of luck, this band has plunged face-first
into the compost heap of the music industry and come
out looking like a plate of fruit: juicy and over-ripe.
With Polson, Jetboy, the still-
surviving KISS, and Guns and Roses,
Mom's Make-Up are in the forefront of
L.A. glam. Jumping on the bandwagon
and taking cues from hard-rocksters
such as Aerosmith and high-powered
melodic "punk" outfits such as Missing
Persons and the Vapors, these blush
brushers are making an outrageous
name for themselves as they graduate
from club gigs to arena shows, warm-
ing up for none other than the masters
of outrage, My Body's Captain.
"We're touring to get attention for our
new Ep, 'Free Love Glove," says drum-
mer Mr. Bater. "The flipside is a disco
version that we can't play live."
When Bater and vocalist Tu Laime
joined together in late '85, fellow hair
teasers were a tad hard to find. Guitarist
Phil McCrevis, who played punk rock
with a band called Belch, moved from
Riverside to L.A. looking for something
more attractive than thrash and burn.
Guitarist Ginger Bier, a former member
of the Berkeley espresso bar crowd,
found refuge in a swank Santa Monica
Boulevard S&M paraphernalia shop
where Laime was working.
"A lot of people will say that we're
playing something that's been done
before," muses Bater, "and they're
right. But so is everyone else. Nothing's
completely original anymore, especially
in our scene. We're doing what we want
to do, sell out big time. And that's the
way it's got to be or none of us will be
able to continue playing. We want to do
something good for the world. It's awful
to think about how sad the world is to-
day, so I try not to. Sometimes, though,
you can't help it, which is why I'd like
to think our music makes a difference."
Punk is a common root for most of the
shag heads. Bater put in time with a Las
Vegas outfit by the name of Crib of Con-
fusion, while Tu Laime fronted the little
known Dad's Leather Belt in L.A. Both
musicians grew dissatisfied with the
punk approach, though, and began
growing out their hair in an attempt to
find true musical roots. McCrevis quit
Belch when he heard that glam was the
next big hot thing.
"We're coming from the not-too-great
school of musicianship," says Bater
"We play and we get it done. We don't
claim to be superior musicians. In fact,
we wouldn't even call ourselves musi-
cians at all. We're out to try and impress
kids, make bucks and, hopefully, get
laid. That's about it."
Within a year of their formation
Eyeline Records signed Mom's Make-Up
on the basis of an outstanding live
reputation and their need to promote a
band that leeched heavily on the re-
cycled 70's sound. With producer Mony
Hungre, who worked with Boric Acid on
their "Look What Spilled on the Cat"
Lp, Mom's Make-Up recorded an Lp,
"Ralphing Pets," that captures their
hard rock sound and at the same time
sounds amazingly slick. Though they
finished the album in three hours, the
band was pleased with its overall
sound. One high point during recording
was when Rikki Suxx of Muddy Spew
loaned his mirrored bass to bassist
Justin Puberty. "I can check myself out
while I run the chords, and that's okay,"
says Justin with a smile.
When asked why they put so much
time and energy into their appearances,
Tu Laime said, "Well, it's sort of our way
of rebelling against the authorities, who
never let us get dressed up when we
were kids unless it was Halloween."
"Or how your sister used to get mad
when she caught you playing with her
stuff," says McCrevis.
"It's the whole androgeny deal," says
Ginger. "It's our artistic way of saying
that sex roles are just society's way of
suppressing us. And the chicks dig us
because of it."
"Besides," adds Mr. Bater, "it gives
us woodles when we look in the mirror."
When in L.A. the Mom's are most
likely to be found at the Flesh Academy,
an L.A. glam haven. "It's a club where
people go to pick up chicks and drink,"
says Mr. Bater. "A lot of big people go
there. Bands like us don't usually play
there since it's cooler to get drunk. We
save our energy for the under age, who
don't have important drinking to do."
"It's a rock 'n' roll dance club with
gorgeous boys and girls," interjects Tu
Laime. "It's real Charlie."
When asked about the band's new
video, a live version of "Hunk of Meat,"
Mr. Bater had this to say: "We made it
because we had to. It was part of our
contract with the record company. We
got to meet tons of older chicks with
great big tatters, though. It was rad. But,
besides that, we got to add a new
dimension to our music. We got to say
things in a visual way, which is impor-
tant musically. Tu Laime came up with
the idea of the chick in the torn lingerie
spanking the whole band with the
canoe oar. It turned out great. Some of
the cleavage shots are incredible."
"I just love spankings," says Tu
Laime. "What can I say? They're my life,
my ideal. I really liked the way mom
used to do it. I dig the way she looked
in the early sixties when she was baking
her ples with her hair the way it was and
her make-up the way it was...God."
The band had this to say about the My
Body's Captain tour: "We're playing to
a whole lot of people who wouldn't
listen to us under normal circum-
stances. Sometimes we get a good
response but mostly..." muses Tu
Laime. "Often times, people have never
heard of us, or since most of their fans
are easily fifteen years older than ours,
they can't identify with who we are. To
us, it's a rip-off. We feel cheated.
"We've gotten in a few tiffs. This one
guy hit Ginger in the face with a tomato
and smeared his mascara, so Ginger
jumped off the stage and got pounded.
People have to be more open-minded.
If they don't like us they should just sit
in their seats and shut the hell up
because if they're hassling us, they're
going to make us look stupid, and we
can't stand that. We just wave at people
like that and try to make them look
stupid. That really puts them in their
place. We used to have tempers flying.
When we were on the road with T&A I
threw my big shiny shoe at this one guy
and broke his nose. But I eventually
realized that I shouldn't do that. Right
now we're in litigation and our lawyer
says it doesn't look so good. I hope it
won't come between us as band
members. I don't know what I'd do if it
wasn't for this band."
Well, dudes, the world needs plenty
of garbage men. Give it up.
Discography
Who's That Smell Demo
Hunk of Meat Demo
Stroke the Lizard Demo
My God Has Horns Demo
Let Me Touch Your Dial Single
Dog Lickin' Weenie Demo
Back in My Platforms Again Ep
Puffery and Rinse Single
Kissy-Kissy-Face Demo
Ralphing Pets Lp
Free Love Glove Ep
97