June 23, 1994

Golden Mus-tard Ugly Mus-tard combines industrial rock with a performance flavor By J. Tave They named their band after a bug splat. You know, that nauseating bile yellow when the bug's guts impact with the windshield at about 70 miles per hour. And while the band is not necessarily about bug-guts, it is about impact. The first thing that caught my eye during their second gig at Trees recently was not the band, but a writhing mass of grayish vacuum tubes dangling in the air above the stage. I didn't know whether to expect a band or performance art. Would it, perhaps, involve gymnastics? But the truth is, this bands' live show is just high quality, loud, angry noise. Ugly Mus-tard is the new project of E. Trent and Deep Ellum institution bassist, M. Daane. The band features Daane on bass, Trent on guitar and keyboards, F. Rush on percussion and K. Barker on lead vocals. UM began as a collaboration between Daane and Trent. The musicians met two years ago at a Deep Ellum club where Daane was running sound. The two traded talents, Daane with his studio technique and Trent offering his expertise at keyboards and guitar. "From this point on," Trent says,"evolved a full-fledged band." The addition of Rush and Barker - Trent and Barker have been friends since childhood - turned the twosome into a quartet. "I've been friends with Mr. Barker ever since I hit him on the head on the way home from school 14 years ago," Trent says. Getting hit in the head is an appropriate metaphor for the music of Ugly Mus-tard. It's hard, it's loud, it's in your face. Band members describe their sound as "powerful," "angry" and "industrial rock," showing influences from acts such as Skinny Puppy and Nine Inch Nails. The band's sound, however, is distinctly their own - and people have noticed. They've already hit the airwaves on KNON, Z-Rock and The Eagle with a four song cassette. (A full length CD is expected out in the fall of '94 and is slated to include both live and studio material.) As always , Daane is working on several other musical ventures, but this isn't just a studio project. Ugly Mus-tard's live show is a thoroughly developed concept, from the dramatic visuals, which include the aforementioned tubular structures (which are used for vocal effects), a slide production, the aggressively frantic energy of the entire band and the powerful vocals of Barker. Besides the forthcoming CD, Ugly Mus-tard's future plans are for a slow steady ascension en route to long-term success. "We never wanted to rush the band's progress, we just want to get it as close to perfect as we can," Trent says. "We're in this for the long haul."