Things I Think About When I Think About Mission of Burma

Feels Like The First Time>
Except it’s not. When we first started the band that would ultimately become Halogen, my high school/college/slightly post-college band, I was playing the drums. We did two Burma songs where I Don Henley-ed, or better yet, Phil Collins-ed it: singing and drumming on “Academy Fight Song” and “That’s When I Reached For My Revolver.” Once we added Kurt, AKA a really good drummer, I could move to guitar/vox, where all narcissistic jag-offs who play music ultimately end up. We learned three other Burma classics: “Fame and Fortune”, “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate” (covered above), and “Forget.” I remember the first time we did “Forget” in the basement of my parents’ house, my vocals on the song were somewhat… unrefined. Ben, the tactless bass player who will be mentioned further here, looked at me and asked if it was always going to sound that bad. I, of course, got pissed and channeled every angry cell of being into the vocal melody of that song. It sounded (and felt) really good. As if anyone needed more life lessons about focusing anger through constructive outlets. You could just listen to The Clash. Or, of course, Mission of Burma.

The Horrible Truth About Alex Minoff>
Alex Minoff was a year older than us and had unparalleled taste in music, especially for south central PA. He worked at the only good record store in Harrisburg, It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, even though it never seemed like a place that did enough business to sustain operations, let alone hire help. Very nice guy for an upperclassman, so he tolerated bass player Ben and myself. He was also a really good guitar player, so naturally the three of us started a band. I think the band lasted about 4 practices. He started another band with even upper-upperclassman, a trade any of us would have made. But in that time, he passed on some names that stuck with us. Probably the most obscure, and therefore most intriguing, was Mission of Burma. How could something sound this good, and we just find out about it? At that point, most of Burma’s stuff was out of print, except for the ironically now out-of-print Rykodisc collection simply called Mission of Burma, which compiled the Signals, Calls and Marches EP and the Vs. LP, which is considered their album of note. Ben took to Burma like a fish to water. I was more reticent, but equally enamored. Ben was always the experimental-leaning-to-pop guy, and I was the pop-leaning-towards-experimental counterweight. (Perhaps not unlike Roger Miller and Clint Conley themselves. At least that's probably what we liked to think.) It's the first two songs that grabbed me, and probably many others, and the two that we immediately covered: "Academy Fight Song" and "That's When I Reached For My Revolver." But that's what gets you in the door. Then, as I listened to that CD more and more, my ears changed. And to me, that’s what you look for in bands: a sound so astounding and provoking that your ears adjust. They're seduced by the noise. This is really a whole other discussion, my theory on changing ears, but I can tell you those moments in my life where I can pinpoint how and when and why my ears changed, those are precious moments to me. Mission of Burma was one of those moments. And I would thank Alex Minoff for that.

Follow the Leader>
I bought one. I played this cover song on one. The Fender Lead II. It’s probably best known as an Eric Clapton guitar, but “Slow Hand” plays so many friggin’ guitars, he seems almost indiscriminate. I like to think of the Lead II as Burma axeman Roger Miller’s guitar of choice. Bass player Ben bought one a long time ago when our band was still going. I feel about guitars much like I do cars: I hate buying them, but love using them. (Although living in LA has murdered my love of driving.) First one I bought was a sunburst Fender Strat, a pretty generic choice, but Bob Mould played one, so I thought "Why not?" It was a good guitar for years, and it was my only guitar for years. Then last August, I was making OK money and I decided to splurge on a guitar. I immediately thought of the Fender Lead. It has such a versatile sound, and it's so heavy. Like it's made of rock. It just feels like a guitar. And I think if a burglar broke into my house, I could use it to separate his head from his neck. Either physically or sonically.

Need Guitar Lessons?>
Speaking of Roger Miller, he lived in Amherst, MA post-Burma, which is where bass player Ben went to school. Walking the streets of Northampton/Amherst, Ben came upon an ad for guitar lessons from Roger Miller himself. Naturally, he signed up. I’m not sure exactly what he picked up, but I’m sure for Ben that was barely the point. Wouldn’t you pay $20 a week to hang out with your punk rock idol? Especially if he was a nice guy who taught you stuff on the guitar? I went up to visit Ben and we actually saw Miller play a solo show at a festival. Just him, a guitar, a loop pedal, and an amazing version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire.”

Geezer Punk>
And they can still play. When Burma reunited in 2002, I almost flew to Boston to see them, figuring there was a good chance it was a one and done thing. Then they played a few more shows. Then they recorded a new record. Then they went on national tours and on and on. Then I finally got to see them last September. They performed Vs. in its entirety. And they were amazing. They’re probably all around 50 years old, and they still just kill it. The sound at that show was almost as if it was pulled right off the record. I couldn’t have been happier.

Click the pic Up and to the Right for some Burma hits.