Hair Shirt engineers a musical life

Tuesday, May 7, 1996

UCLA-based band will perform at local venue this Saturday
night

By Vanessa VanderZanden

Daily Bruin Contributor

As graduate students at UCLA, Brian Korgel, Ivan Stanish and
Steve Weissman are ready to begin thinking about their futures.
They’ve used their higher education to do something truly
applicable to real life. They’ve formed a band called Hair
Shirt.

"Hair Shirt is what the monks used to wear in the Middle Ages
for self-penitence for sinners," says lead singer and bassist,
Korgel. "A hair shirt is a shirt made out of really coarse hair.
So, if they wanted to get off on pain, they’d put on a hair
shirt."

Understanding the joy of pain, the threesome take pleasure in
performing their angst-ridden music at local venues. For instance,
this Saturday night they grace the stage of Al’s Bar, and on May 29
they play in a student talent showcase at Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
Though the group has played together for three and a half years in
bands of various names, Hair Shirt itself has existed for only a
year.

And, without chemical engineering, it’s doubtful whether Hair
Shirt would exist at all. For example, Korgel met guitarist Ivan
Stanish while acting as one of his chemical engineering TAs. Later,
the two found themselves working together for the same professor.
Steve Weissman began drumming for the team through a chemical
engineering roommate who played bass but later quit. In fact, he
was just one of a series of bassists whose departures forced Korgel
to take up the instrument himself. Now, that skill helps the trio
to create new music.

"Ivan or I will have an idea on the guitar and then we’ll just
get together for practice and start playing," says Korgel.

Then, "I’ll drop a stick on the drum and they’ll get an idea
what the rhythm is," Weissman says.

Once the group falls into what seems to be a suitable melody,
they’ll go with it, returning to it at the end of practice. Later,
Korgel will either incorporate words spontaneously uttered during
the session into lyrics or use poetry he wrote earlier for song
material. Sometimes, even UCLA contributes to the creative
process.

"In the lab, (Ivan and I) have acoustic guitars," says Korgel.
"So, we’ll play in between experiments. When we get sick of working
on our stuff, we’ll go in the back room with the guitar and I’ll
write words."

Though, whatever the method, Stanish says, "I don’t think any of
us know the names of the songs."

Despite this one small set back, Hair Shirt has managed to play
their works well, developing a unique sound in the process. Drawing
on influences from Nirvana to Joy Division, the group combines
heavy metal riffs with African-style drumbeats. However, what
really separates them stylistically from other bands is their
willingness to produce unsettling speed changes.

"Usually the way a band changes speeds, it’ll go double time. We
go like one and a half time in some songs," says Weissman.

Adding to that uneasiness is Stanish, who says "I like to get as
abstract as I can with the guitar so it’s almost like you don’t
really know what to expect for the next note."

So far, audiences have been responding well to such a musical
atmosphere, even though Hair Shirt’s first performance earlier in
November didn’t draw much of a turn-out.

"We got a whopping seven people to show. That was more than
expected," says Weissman.

However, the trio has had experience with difficult stage
circumstances while performing in previous bands. By now they’re
old hats at the game of working for free and scrounging for beers.
Yet once in a while, the gigs will pay off.

"At Alligator Lounge they usually don’t give us any drinks, it’s
like half price. And now after we played, the bartender gave me a
free drink," says Korgel. "It was a highlight."

Other live activities make the shows worthwhile as well. Though
Korgel is no stranger to disrupting equipment when getting lost in
his music, the events at their last performance caught him off
guard. For the first time, two fans stage dove into the
audience.

"I was thrashing around on the bass and I looked up because I
was supposed to start singing again and there are these two people
on stage and I was like, ‘Aah, cool!’"

Yet, as motivational as such experiences can be, Hair Shirt has
no plans for large scale success. Unable to afford the luxury of a
CD, the band is working on making a demo-tape. And, as touring
usually costs more money than it’s worth, the only areas outside of
L.A. the band would consider playing are San Francisco, San Diego,
and Las Vegas. For right now, the group’s focus is to obtain jobs
in the fields of study they’ve mastered at UCLA.

"They would have to pay us a lot, I think, for us to pursue
other things," says Korgel. "But, for me, I just want people to
hear our music because I think we’re doing some really neat
things."

Yet, even though the trio considers their band nothing more than
a pastime, they wouldn’t mind making it big. In fact, they’d even
go so far as to entreat the patronage of their childhood enemies if
they thought it would help.

"I’d say ‘Come see our show and promote us! We need your
money!’" says Stanish.

"Come be my friend now. We’re coming through your town, come
watch us.’ That’s what we’d say. ‘I always really liked you, I
didn’t mean to call you a jerk!’" says Korgel.

But, even if they lose their dignity and still don’t make the
big time, at least they have the support of their families.
Practicing at Stanish’s parents’ home, Hair Shirt makes good use of
the garage. Being near a freeway on-ramp, drivers often give them a
thumbs up or an appreciative honk. Still, despite these signs of
encouragement, Stanish’s folks didn’t warm up to the idea of a band
right at first.

"They didn’t like it ’cause it’s loud, obnoxious. It’s not what
they want me to do," says Stanish. "They want me to be more serious
with engineering. But I think they’re used to it and now they’re
like ‘Oh, great, so now he knows how to play guitar and that’ll
probably help him out later.’"

Likewise, Korgel has met resistance at home. His wife thinks
"he’s just being a kid" and objects to his stage antics. Also, the
late week night shows cut into their time together.

"And then my lyrics are usually dark and just putting down
relationships, and I don’t think she likes that. But I mean, she
lets me play for the most part, so I guess that’s good," says
Korgel. Still, "She makes me store my bass amp at Steve’s storage
place. I can play acoustic really nice and pretty at home."

Yet, for all the negative words and musical restrictions, Korgel
has won the praise of two special fans. His sons, ages 2 years and
3 months and 11 months, adore his music. And in their joy, even
Korgel’s wife is happy.

"They love playing the guitar. They’ll stick the guitar there
and they’ll strum it ‘ka-ring, ka-ring, ka-ring’ and Hunter, the
oldest, goes ‘Like Daddy! Like Daddy!’ and then he strums it,
singing at the top of his voice, ‘Like Daddy! Like Daddy!’ So,
that’s cool."

CONCERT: Hair Shirt plays this Saturday, May 11 at Al’s Bar.
TIX: $5. Also on May 29 in Ackerman Grand Ballroom. For more info,
contact [email protected].

STEVEN KIM/Daily Bruin

Hair Shirt is: (clockwise from left) Steve Weissman (drums),
Ivan Stanish (guitar) and Brian Korgel (lead vocals/bass).