Flagpole Magazine

June 27, 2001 Vol.15 No.26

Athens, GA.

The Swimming Pool Q’s Surface Again

by Ballard Lesemann

Atlanta band the Swimming Pool Q’s was busy cranking out its own brand of post-punk collegiate jangle-pop way before R.E.M. ever played a keg party in downtown Athens. Guitarist-vocalist-songwriter Jeff Calder formed the band in 1978 and, alongside vocalist (and Athens resident) Anne Richmond Boston and guitarist Bob Elsey, let the Q’s through a successful 11-year run which included several major turns and the release of four full-length albums.

After the 1981 release of the band’s debut, The Deep End, the Q’s inked a deal with A&M. The resulting albums, 1984’s self-titled effort and 1986’s Blue Tomorrow, were less quirky, nicely arranged, and more sophisticated pop albums. After Boston exited the band, the Q’s released the LP, World War Two Point Five, in 1989 on Capitol Records.

After the band unofficially disbanded (Calder says it never really “broke up”) in 1990, Calder concentrated on writing and recording music and writing journalistic pieces. Over the last seven years, he put serious time into tracking tunes for a forthcoming album titled The Royal Academy of Reality. Two years ago, he re-assembled the classic Q’s lineup with late-era drummer Billy Burton and new bassist Tim DeLaney (of The Sightseers.) The new Q’s compiled 12 vintage tracks recorded between ’78 and ’82 and added them to a re-released version of The Deep End. The album hit stores early this month accompanied with an extensive essay/booklet detailing the “new wave” scene in Atlanta and Athens at that time. Frontman Jeff Calder took time from his busy schedule in Atlanta to talk about the old days, the new days, and The Deep End:

Flagpole: In a nutshell, what was the vibe in the Atlanta underground scene back in ’78-79, and when you fist began? How different is that from today?

Jeff Calder: This is a gross simplification, but, as I see it, there were two strong factions in the Atlanta underground rock scene in ’78-’79, and both were, generally speaking, mutually supportive. The Brookhaven/Buckhead faction had as its motive force the avant-garde rock group Hampton Grease Band in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. After its demise around 1973, a number of combos sprung up that had similar satirical intentions coupled with a degree of technical ability. Then, across town, in the Little Five Points area, there were The Fans, who represented a more overtly intellectual, British electronic cast-“studied,” if you’ll forgive me. The Brains were derived from this stream. Originally, Danny Beard of Wax N Facts Records and later DB Recs, was more closely tied to this end of the Atlanta music scene. It was a complex network of musicians, to say the least. Ultimately, The Swimming Pool Q’s passed between these worlds, and in the course of events, became associated with Danny Beard who released The Deep End, which was, along with Pylon’s Gyrate, one of the first DB Recs albums. By the end of the decade, with the advent of a whole new generation of New Wave and Punk bands, these neighborhood divisions dematerialized and their historical significance became obscured.

FP: What are some of the biggest differences between that scene and the scene of today?

JC: One of the most important differences between that era and today is that the groups then had more of an opportunity for support national touring acts passing through the city. The core audience for Atlanta’s underground music scene was probably never more than 200 people, but most of the bands found themselves in from of much larger audiences, opening Captain Beefheart, Devo, The Police, Talking Heads, etc. in medium-sized rooms like The Agora and The Capri, which is now The Roxy. The area promoters know the local groups and included them on the bills. Combined with the general excitement associated with any “movement”situation-and New Wave and Punk most assuredly fell into that category--the overall mood was more one of elation when compared to what I’ve witnessed in Atlanta over the last 10 years.

FP: Initially, what were your goals for the reissue of The Deep End?

JC: I felt that it was the right time to begin a historical evaluation of The Swimming Pool Q’s, and what better place to begin than the beginning. From the outset, I think we’ve been a “misunderstood” band. The intention of the bonus tracks and the CD booklet was to clarify the origins of the group and assist in making the 11 original songs a little more comprehensible. Of course, there’s always the possibility we succeeded in confusing matters even more! Another important goal was to help make more sense of The Q’s transition to our middle-‘80s A&M albums, which were more melodic and emotional. Some of the bonus tracks like “Working In the Nut Plant” feature the rhythm section of Bill Burton on drums and J.E. Garnett on bass, who were the rhythm section on those later discs, and a very grounded one at that. So, as you can see, this is merely the first installment of a story we hope to continue when the rest of our catalog becomes available.

FP: Will your essay in the CD booklet ever find its way into a full book or publication?

JC: Perhaps when the cycle of our releases is complete. Then maybe I can persuade Anne Richmond Boston to execute one of her terrific book covers, like the ones that she designs over at Hill Street Press in Athens. These can be viewed over the Swimming Pool Q’s web site, by the way. Am I wrong, or is Anne Boston still one of the most beautiful four-eyed women in the world? There, I’ve said it! Why hold back?

FP: Tell us more about the current lineup.

JC: I read quite often-when there’s anything to read-that our lineup has changed a lot over the years. But, the fact is, The Swimming Pool Q’s have been a remarkably stable group, given certain financial considerations. Yes, it’s true that Anne left the band for a number of years, but with the exception of Tim DeLaney, who is the brilliant bassist for The Sightseers and who also plays the instrument with us, The Q’s are the same group we’ve been since 1982.

FP: What are the current plans for the Royal Academy of Reality album?

JC: I hope The Deep End helps pave the way for the new album, which, with any luck, will be released sometime within the next year. We began the record in December 1992, and the songs since have been completed for a couple of years. It’s quite a large work-possibly even baroque-so we’re going to spend some time this summer shaping it up. The whole project is typically overelaborate in the traditional Q’s way and will probably ignite like the Hindenburg at any moment. It features a bunch of weird instruments and about 30 additional musicians including Moe Tucker of The Velvet Underground, Tom Gray of The Brains, Brendan O’Brien, who helped pay for some of the recording, and the late Samarai Celestial, who played drums for the late Sun Ra. Pete Jarkunas, the Q’s bassist on The Deep End, flew in and banged a lot of percussion. At our recent concert at the Echo Lounge in East Atlanta, we were joined by our first rhythm section, Robert Schmid [also of Reversing Hour] on drums and Billy Jones, now of Sarasota, on bass. In many respects, The Swimming Pool Q’s are quite an extended family. Mad as March Hares, really.

FP: What are the reactions to The Deep End re-release?

JC: A number of writers have commented recently on how “fresh” The Deep End sounds after all these years. If this is so, I would like to add that it is due in no small measure to the lead guitar playing of Bob Elsey, who was hardly more than 20 years old when we tracked the album. His guitar solos have always displayed and extraordinary range, but, as far as I’m concerned, if we had never cut another record after The Deep End, his performances here rank among the greatest and most unique ever to come out of this region.

FP: What should fans expect at the Athens gig?

JC: We’ll be performing songs from every period of our career, from The Deep End to unreleased cuts from our forthcoming disc, and everything in-between. Bob Elsey’s guitar is sounding particularly good at the moment.