Nothing beats the sound of buzzing guitar feedback and pounding drums, pulsating bass and reverberating electric violin. Enter Noise Clinic, a band whose members have deep roots in Santa Cruz’s punk rock past. Vocalist/guitarist Tait Reed led Junk Sick Dawn in the ’90s. Bassist Joe Gabent was with Exploding Crustaceans and is now with SA90. Drummer Trevor McClain plays with local metal bands Grievance and Fiends at Feast. And Sayaka Yabuki adds electric violin, vocals and synths to the mix.
Together, their high-energy songs recall old-school Southern California band X and the early Los Angeles punk scene. Noise Clinic originally formed in 1996 as a side project for Reed. The band saw several lineup changes and a hiatus before being revived in Tokyo in 2006. In Japan, Noise Clinic was made complete by guitarist Tabata Mitsuru and drummer Ayato Kawakita. After many shows in Tokyo, Reed returned to Santa Cruz in 2009 and met Yabuki, a fellow noise-electronica musician, while performing at Rick Walker’s International Looping Festival. In addition to their work with Noise Clinic, Reed and Yabuki perform with Santa Cruz’s avant-garde/experimental New Music Works. Beginning with a show on Friday at The Crepe Place, Noise Clinic will perform at three local venues in just over a week. “It’s our whiplash tour,” laughs Reed, who adds that the band will soon release a new EP. “It was recorded at Compound Recordings by Joe Clements. He knew how to push the gear and push us,” he says. “In the end, we’re a loud punk band. Like a bunch of pirates. We’re just doing it our way. ‘Cause it’s the only way we know how to do it.”
INFO: Noise clinic plays at 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $8; 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at The Rio, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $17/adv, $20/door; and 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at The Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz.
