Before YouTube, before Twitch streams and Facebook live, bands would take their shows to the visual airwaves on public access television. These late-night, left-of-the-dial programs were locally focused and low budget, but democratized access to tv broadcasts in the era before the 24-hour news cycle consumed every moment of airtime. Public access was a safe space where even the most esoteric of creators could express their art, flinging their entire being into the void in the hopes that someone, anyone might be peering through the static on the other end.
In the absence of the ability to safely perform before a live audience, artists big and small have taken to the internet in streaming performances that tap into the wild and wonderful spirit of public access shows. There’s something surreal about seeing arena-sized acts distilled down to their most elemental, performing against a wrinkled sheet backdrop under the glow of a hundred twinkle lights instead of a sea of a hundred-thousand lifted lighters. The effect can be somewhat jarring, like finding out the Wizard is just a man behind the curtain, but some artists revel in the freedom of truly performing on their own terms. The bands that have built careers around authenticity and DIY spirit have found a way to thrive under quarantine restrictions to deliver inspiring moments of live performance, broadcast around the globe in ways that their public access forebearers could have only dreamed, making the big time on the small screen.
Stephanie Luke (The Coathangers) and Dan Dixon (Dropsonic, PLS PLS) are no strangers to making something big with extraordinarily little. These two champions of independent music combine their considerable forces as a new alternative supergroup, NRCSSST, unleashing a rambunctious debut LP that just begs to be blasted out of amplifiers in sweaty, beer-soaked clubs. Reality, however, is currently preventing the kind of shows this album deserves from happening, so NRCSSST tap into the DIY ethos and the spirit of public access television to deliver an inspired video featuring a packed roster of their fellow Atlanta-area luminaries.
“Don’t Know Me” is a muscular rocker full of snarling guitar and pounding drums that tugs against its leash like a junk yard dog on the verge of madness. There’s touches of Shirley Manson and Garbage at their most feral with the kind of glossy, unhinged attitude that dominated the stages of Lollapalooza in the late 1990s. But don’t call it a throwback, “Don’t Know Me” stands on the shoulders of 30 years of music history while screaming into the future a declaration of intent loud enough to shake the very pillars of rock’s pantheon. It’s raw, it’s fresh, it’s a track that charts a new path by pushing out from the farthest fringes of well-charted sonic territories, flying in the face of arbitrary assumptions of what a modern rock band should be.
Video Rahim brings “Don’t Know Me” to life in a cheeky homage to legendary NYC public access show and veritable goldmine of found footage, Stairway To Stardom, complete with a Leisure Suit Larry host and cheesy theme song that sets the stage for NRCSSST’s raging fireball of a performance booked amidst a packed lineup of hula-hoopers, karate kids, and conjurers of cheap tricks. The result is the kind of controlled chaos and anything goes mayhem that defined public access juxtaposed against NRCSSST’s too-big-for-TV stage presence, a DIY matchup that could only happen on the egalitarian fairway to fametown. Whether playing public access, downtown’s coolest rock club, or expansive festival stages, NRCSSST has got that special magic that makes an impact no matter the venue; a refusal to accept limitations and an authentic connection to the true independent spirit of rock n roll.
NRCSSST’s self-titled debut album is out now, available on vinyl and digital at Bandcamp and streaming on Spotify. Follow NRCSSST on Instagram.
