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Where oh where did "The Men" go?

Il Moro di Venezia | Seattle, WA | 03/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a fun band these guys were. They were a little like Dada, the Southern Cali rock trio best known for "Dizz Knee Land". I had what was probably a pretty unique experience of seeing The Men perform back in 1992 at Bumbershoot, Seattle's end-of-summer outdoor festival. They put on a show full of great charisma - everyone there was on their feet and having a teerrific time. Jef Scott's songs could swing from edgy rock (their signature "Church of Logic, Sin and Love") to funky grooves ("King of Central Park") to well-crafted pop ("Goodnight Sally" and "Where You Found Me"). The pop songs seem to indicate a Steely Dan influence, particularly the mid-life anthem "I Built My House This Way". As a band they had a double-shot of guitar talent with Scott and Lore Wilhelm (actually, half of The Men were women: guitarist Wilhelm and bassist Nancy Hathorn were balanced with Scott and drummer David Botkin). Wilhelm had a wild, rough sound while Scott had a tighter, slicker (but no less muscular) style that was found in the highly compressed guitar sound common during that time in early 1990s rock. Hathorn and Botkin held the rhythm section as an understated but pulsing duet that owed a great deal to what they didn't play as much to what they did play. It's a shame there was no follow up album to this one. They were definitely on to something good."