Honeyburn - "Sister"
(spinART Records, 1995)
Taking the burn theme to its logical end, here's a band about which I know very little. Their name must be a pun on "honey bun." I know of only four total songs they released: this one (on an otherwise unremarkable spinART indie pop compilation called LemonLime Volume 1), a split 7" with some band called Cigarland in 1995 (Honeyburn's song is called "Mag"), and a two-song 7" in 1996 ("5th Of July" b/w "A Little Less"). They apparently also released a demo EP or album. If anyone can lay bare anything further about the group that is not posted here, the podium is yours, because I always love finding out about those elusive creatures called American shoegaze bands. Singer Erin Durbin has a voice as silky as the band's namesake ingredient, and she can hold notes for a really long time, though what she is singing is not always clear. Drummer Matt Schulz later went on to the post-Brainiac band Enon, and is now in Holy Fuck. I don't even remember where I got this mp3, which is weird because I got it only a few months ago, and I usually can remember every detail about when I got something, such as that I bought Public Enemy's Nation Of Millions on cassette in mid-February of '91, and my dad showed me how to dub one cassette onto a blank one that same day, using that P.E. cassette. (I had already figured out how to record songs from the radio a few years earlier.) And now here I am, essentially dubbing music onto this blog so it can be shared over the nets, so thanks for getting me started on all that, dad. And thanks for buying Cocteau Twins' Heaven Or Las Vegas on a whim when it came out; stumbling onto it 6 years later changed my life in a way.
Honey is one of nature's best antibacterial agents, since it contains hydrogen peroxide, which of course is used as a wound disinfectant. In other words, you can use it like you would use Neosporin on a cut, and unlike Neosporin, honey has no expiration date. In fact, it's the only food on earth that never spoils, and I read one time that thousands-of-years-old honey found in a pharaoh's tomb in Egypt was still perfectly edible. The reason it never goes bad is the hydrogen peroxide, of course, which allows no fungi or bacteria to grow in it. The amount of H2O2 is dependent on what kind of flowers were used by the bees; the kind with the highest H2O2 content in the world is said to be Manuka honey, made only in New Zealand from flowers of the New Zealand Tea Tree, Leptospermum scoparium. I actually used this type of honey to cure an ulcer 5 years ago; it costs about $30 for a jar. There is literally no other treatment for ulcers, since taking antacids actually raises the pH of the stomach and allows the bacterium that causes them (Heliobacter pylori) to flourish. In fact, I believe the reason I got mine was due to taking a calcium/magnesium supplement, which of course raised the stomach pH. Last year I planted one of these trees in my yard. They're quite hard to find, and I have only found them at two plant nurseries in the NOLA area, but they're super-great, and are hardy to below freezing. They have tiny, spiky leaves and a gnarled trunk, giving them the look of a natural bonsai, kind of like a cross between a juniper and a rosemary or Yaupon holly, with peeling bark. Jealous much? Speaking of U.S. shoegaze bands, last night I saw a pretty impressive one from my childhood home of San Francisco called Tamaryn, opening for the Raveonettes, so try to catch them on this tour or on a future headlining one.
Honey is one of nature's best antibacterial agents, since it contains hydrogen peroxide, which of course is used as a wound disinfectant. In other words, you can use it like you would use Neosporin on a cut, and unlike Neosporin, honey has no expiration date. In fact, it's the only food on earth that never spoils, and I read one time that thousands-of-years-old honey found in a pharaoh's tomb in Egypt was still perfectly edible. The reason it never goes bad is the hydrogen peroxide, of course, which allows no fungi or bacteria to grow in it. The amount of H2O2 is dependent on what kind of flowers were used by the bees; the kind with the highest H2O2 content in the world is said to be Manuka honey, made only in New Zealand from flowers of the New Zealand Tea Tree, Leptospermum scoparium. I actually used this type of honey to cure an ulcer 5 years ago; it costs about $30 for a jar. There is literally no other treatment for ulcers, since taking antacids actually raises the pH of the stomach and allows the bacterium that causes them (Heliobacter pylori) to flourish. In fact, I believe the reason I got mine was due to taking a calcium/magnesium supplement, which of course raised the stomach pH. Last year I planted one of these trees in my yard. They're quite hard to find, and I have only found them at two plant nurseries in the NOLA area, but they're super-great, and are hardy to below freezing. They have tiny, spiky leaves and a gnarled trunk, giving them the look of a natural bonsai, kind of like a cross between a juniper and a rosemary or Yaupon holly, with peeling bark. Jealous much? Speaking of U.S. shoegaze bands, last night I saw a pretty impressive one from my childhood home of San Francisco called Tamaryn, opening for the Raveonettes, so try to catch them on this tour or on a future headlining one.
Planets with similar climates: Pale Saints - "Featherframe" (1992), Poem Rocket - "Contrail de l'avion" (1994), Catherine Wheel - "Indigo Is Blue" (1992), Film School - "Florida" (2007).
Update, May 2011: I found out the band's name is a method used by cowardly hunters to attract bears in order to kill them.
Update, May 2011: I found out the band's name is a method used by cowardly hunters to attract bears in order to kill them.
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