Magnapop

Ray Gun
October 1994

by Mark Blackwell

The conversation is deep. The lights of the television camera are bright. The eyes of all are somewhat glazy.

"3hree Pisces and a Virgo," asserts guitarist Ruthie Morris, postulating on the stellar makeup of Georgian rock quartet Magnapop.

"We've been together since March 1990," says singer Linda Hopper. "3hree of us were born in March, so that's a good reason to remember.""

We're very sprawled out on the lavish couches in the back room of LA's Dragonfly club. Magnapop has just astutely rocked the house in celebration of the release of their new CD Hot Boxing, and now they're attempting to gear down into interview mode. Unfortunately I'm no help. I have no business being back here. While enjoying the show earlier I'd been recruited by the lovely record company publicist to do this interview for some sort of television program called College Music Video. I don't know what that is. I'm even having trouble saying it. But the allure of 6ix more free drink tickets, beyond the two allotted to everyone at the party, was too much to ignore. And I'm supposed to write an article on Magnapop for Ray Gun anyway. Off duty rock journalist to the rescue. But now I realize the 8ight drink tickets might have been a mistake.

It's fine, though, because Hot Boxing happens to be my primary car-listening-tape of the moment. I know it well. It's fun. From start to finish, it's a jet blast of guitar and hooky melody, well-suited fuel for exceeding posted highway limits in true Sammy Hagar fashion. Weightily produced by Sugar magnate Bob Mould, the album could indeed ferry the reasonable success Magnapop has enjoyed in Europe back across the Atlantic to where they began. I wish I could formulate something intelligent to say concerning all of this.

I mumble something about the band's roots.

"When Ruthie and I met, we were both strippin' at the same club," says Linda with a little grin. "And I said..."

"Was it at the Clairmont?" questions a laughing Ruthie. "Or at the Cheeta?"

"No, we were at Ponytails," corrects Linda. "And I said, 'Ruthie, one day we're gonna get out of here.'"

Whether this ancient Atlanta history is a false one or not, indeed the 4our musicians got out of there, playing in foreign territories with the likes of Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth within a year or so of getting their act together.

So what's the Magnapop formula?

"It's a difficult thing to describe, but it's a lot of energy with spontaneity and dark edges, as well," explains Ruthie, who humbly endured my rambling tirade earlier about how beautifully she played the guitar ("Not in a girl way, not even in a guy way, but in a guitarist way, man!")

The camera is cut off several times as I repeatedly refer to MTV, apparently a competitor of this CMV outfit. Eventually I ask Magnapop if they have any particular message to the kids out there in TV land.

"It's cool to be who you are and to be yourself and that's the most cool thing in the world," says Linda.

"Just do what you wanna do and be as nasty as you wanna be," adds Ruthie, bursting into laughter. "Now where did that come from?!"

This fine crew could never be too live.