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Sound Effects
by G. Maiello

Bob Mould at Irving Plaza on April 28

Few musicians mix melody and raw power like Bob Mould.

As the voice of seminal punk godfathers Husker Du, the definitive power trio from Minneapolis, Mould’s full-throated howl rose above the post-punk din of the mid-Eighties.

Since then, he has headed up another band, endured a turbulent period following his coming-out in 1994, took a brief fling at choreographing professional wrestling (!), and continued to cultivate a cult following that hangs on his every howl.

Through it all, the 39-year-old guru of anguished souls hasn’t lost the ability to, as he himself puts it, “define the undefinable, pin down the elusive emotions, and convey the essence in three minutes.”

At Irving Plaza last year, Mould performed with a full band for what he said was the final time, supporting “The Last Dog and Pony Show.” Since then, he’s gone back to solo shows, scheduled whenever the mood strikes him.

Although the volume may be a shade lower when he’s by himself, Mould’s feverish strumming on his 12-string guitar is so rhythmic, and his heart-scraping singing so intense, that the difference in manpower makes little difference.

Performing solo “is a lot of work, trying to fill up all the spaces and the melodies I hear in my head,” Mould said during an interview a few years back. “But it’s a real relaxing fit for me. It takes a lot of the pressure off of being a caretaker. I can get in a car and be by myself. [Onstage] I can be a lot freer. I can go off in any direction I want. I can access a larger variety of material.”

Mould’s songs draw from musical styles honed over a lifetime: blistering melodies, sing-song refrains, and receding passages that suddenly explode into primal-scream climaxes.

Intensely private, his lyrics spew from a gutful of anger and disillusionment, sparing none of his tormentors, be they personal demons or former lovers. Mould’s encores usually feature the song “Thumbtack,” for instance, in which the speaker traces a lover’s infidelity on a map that frays, tatters, and eventually falls to the floor from all the pin-pushing.

During recent gigs, the majority of Mould’s selections have come from his masterful solo “Workbook” album, including “Wishing Well,” “Lonely Afternoon,” and “Brasilia Crossed With Trenton.”

For a couple of newer tunes, Mould is again toting a beatbox that he premiered during last year’s rock-and-roll tour - providing a bathroom break for a host of long-time fans who would rather not show disrespect.

Mould spent most of his formative years in Malone, an upstate New York town, as part of what he called a “typical” dysfunctional family. As a boy, he hid in his room and listened to pop singles. He’d tuck a transistor radio under his pillow at night, the sounds of the Sixties fading in and out.

At age 9, he began writing music. “It became my voice, my way of speaking,” he said.

Mould later co-founded Husker Du, one of the most influential American bands of the ’80s. Along with The Replacements, among others, “the Huskers” helped shape the sound and stance of alternative rock.

After Husker Du disbanded, Mould launched a solo career in 1988 and the following year released the introspective “Workbook,” which featured keyboards, acoustic guitars, and strings. The album spawned a Top Ten alternative-rock hit, “See a Little Light.”

For whatever reason, Mould never hit the big time. In fact, after revealing in 1994 that he is gay, he curbed his performances and ducked the music media.

What bugged him, Mould later said, was how his homosexuality became the selling point of the magazine article in which he came out.

“I talked to the writer about a lot of things -- about childhood, about family, about the politics of being gay,” he said, during an interview in 1996. “But none of it made it.

“People look at these articles and say, ‘Ah, now I see it.’ They re-contextualize 17 years of work. I like to think my themes are fairly universal. [Being gay] is not an issue. You should just take it for the way it hits you. Emotions are a lot more important than adjectives.”

Mould has never measured success in record or ticket sales, anyway. It was the tempting lure of the big time -- and the requisite grueling tours, gantlet of interviews, and kissing up to radio stations - that ultimately doomed his other band, the power trio Sugar, he said.

Mould got back into performing in the spring of 1996, after boyhood idol Pete Townshend asked him to open some shows -- his first supporting role since Husker Du warmed up for R.E.M. in 1983.

Since going solo full-time, Mould has tried to do seven or eight show in a 10- or 11-day span before returning to his apartment in New York.

“If you stay out there a long time, the world starts to get a little surreal,” he said.

Mould still mimics his childhood, creating music for himself first. If other people get it, that’s cool.

“I see bands that have had some great moments who haven’t made the transition,” he said. “Then there are people like Townshend, Neil Young. They’ve made lifelong careers by sticking to their guns.

“I’m fortunate to have a supportive core audience. I’m not trying to convert anyone. If you don’t find me, that’s fine. I’m not selling it anymore.”

3/30/00

Irving Plaza is on Irving Place at 15th Street in Manhattan. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $16.50 in advance, $18 the day of the show. If you buy the tickets at the Irving Plaza box office (open M-F noon-6:30 p.m. and Sat. 1-4 p.m.), there is no service charge. Tickets also available through Ticketmaster. For info, call: (212) 777-6800. Also: www.irvingplaza.com

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