F/i

In the late '70's in ol' Milwaukee town, self-confessed sci-fi nerd, krautrock enthusiast and all-round nice guy, Richard Franecki, formed The Drag with a friend, Greg Kurczewski. Described as "a Stooges/MC5-type band," The Drag did the rounds like so many others, before Richard split the group and formed The Shemps with Jan Schober, this time veering into a more hardcore direction. Around 1982, as The Shemps dissolved, Rick started hanging out and jamming with another local, Brian Wensing, who was intrigued by Franecki's experimental guitar stylings, which he was temporarily putting to use in "a strange surf group," The Surfin' Fuhrers. Sensing a meeting of the minds, both being heavily into the "industrial" scene of the time (Throbbing Gristle, SPK, Nurse With Wound, Whitehouse, etc.), they roped in Greg Kurczewski to help form the tape/recording project cryptically known as F/i. 

 

Before long shortwave radio buff Steve Zimmerman was involved and they were recording on a regular, nay, weekly basis. F/i's tape output was prolific, to say the least. Franecki has noted in interviews that at the height of the "tape culture" craze of the mid-'80s, the band had roughly 15 of their own cassettes out, as well as contributions to literally dozens of compilations. From '82 to '85 their sound mainly concentrated on experimental electronics -from harsh white noise to Mort Subotnik-style keyboard blips to Stockhausen-influenced musique concrete pieces. A lot of the good stuff from this period is documented on the hideously rare 3-LP box set from 1989, 'Past Darkly/Future Brightly', but more on that later. 

 

By 1985, things had changed. Reaching for a new direction, the band decided to incorporate elements of rock into their music and professed a new aim in their sound: "Hawkwind + Blue Cheer + harsh electronics." F/i the rock band was born. Gaining a rep in the underground tape scene, Ron Lessard of the infamous Massachussetts label, RRR, a longtime fan of the group, asked them to do a split LP with similar Milwaukee noiseniks, Boy Dirt Car. The band said yes and the fantastic and imaginatively titled 'Boy Dirt Car/F/i Split LP' was unleashed. F/i's side was a godsend: throbbing waves of power electronics and stunning, lunk-headed, fuzzed-out power chords played over a bass-y, low-end rumbling rock beat. They did indeed meet their goal: the ultimate combination of Hawkwind, Blue Cheer and harsh electronics. '87's 'Why Not Now?... Alan!' LP, also on RRR, is another goodie. Though the sound's a bit thin (a remastered version with heavier bass antics would hit the spot just nice), it also contains some of their best songs, such as the closing "An Observation: The Eye at the Top of the Pyramid," a lumbering rock drone that hitches the ride like the best of Hawkwind ca. 'Doremi Fasol Latido', and "Electric Waltz" a galloping two-step number layered with sheets of fuzzed-out string action. 

 

F/i were on a roll now, and released their best yet with '88's spectacular 'Space Mantra' LP. Again on RRR, it boasted their most ambitious music yet, with the usual mix of Hawkwind/Kraut-inspired rock moves, as well as pulsing electronic pieces (and no mere noodling; we're talking real songs here) and more ethereal numbers, acoustic guitars and the whole shebang. Working like a musical suite -even with the obligatory "reprise" tracks- 'Space Mantra' was hailed at the time by the usual well-meaning folk as a breakthrough work and one of the best truly "psychedelic" albums of its time, and all dozen or so people reading stood up and took notice. 1989's 'Paradise Out Here' LP was released on the Human Wrechords label, and its elusiveness, small pressing, poor distribution -whatever- has made it pretty much impossible for one to get one's mits on, so instead let's discuss their 'Past Darkly/Future Lightly' triple-LP box from '89 on RRR. It's a killer. Six sides charting the band's evolution from '83 to '89, and featuring all unreleased and rare material, the gamut of sounds here goes the full three-ring circus from white noise, blips and whoops and primitive Chrome-ish rock workouts to the blistering psych-rock that had by then become their trademark sound. Working a roughly 50/50 split between the experimental and rock sides of the group, it's a mighty nice item to look at, observe, sit on the shelf as a trophy, or even to listen to. Limited to a ridiculous 300 copies on its one-off release, it's also a pretty much extinct item at this point in time. 

 

Following 1990's 'Blue Star' LP on RRR, a part live/part studio gem that basically continued on the well-worn/well-loved vein of  'Space Mantra', things got a bit sticky in the F/i camp. Richard Franecki quit the band after not wishing to tour and sensing that the group was losing its original experimental focus and simply becoming "another rock band," and so the band forged on without him. F/i also was experiencing problems with their new drummer wanting to become a rock star, and in '92 there was even a "scab" version of F/i that toured the States, which consisted of the rhythm section of the group and two pick ups. All Spinal Tap anecdotes aside, there's some good recorded material from the period, namely the 'Out of Space and Out of Time' CD on RRR, a best-of of sorts from their '80's period and a live CD called 'Earthpipe', recorded (mostly) in Germany and released on the RecRec label outta Switzerland in '92. Best of all is the split LP with Richard Franecki's new (at the time) project, Vocokesh, on RRR, a fetching clear-vinyl/clear-plastic-cover item where both bands excel. F/i's side (now sans the drummer that was making their life a misery) is a super blend of outer-space spaghetti western riffs ("Theme for an Industrial Western"), pulsating guitar grooves ("Zombies in the Slave Trade") and the stunning "Pleasure Centre/The Beach," which moves like a mixture of early Chrome and early 'Neubauten in a mid-western bar. Tasty. 

 

Moving it along, there's also their "To Poppy With Love" 7" on SSS from '95, an excellent two-track selection of heavy rifferama, and the unfortunately so-so 'Helioscopium' CD from '98 on the Ceres label, which, despite boasting some top material, also contains its share of duds and has way too much keyboard noodling to hold one's interest throughout. F/i are still around and still recording and playing. A cult band in the true sense of the word, their name means nothing to most, and a lot to some. Their recorded legacy speaks for itself, and given their (currently fashionable) musical mentors (as said, Blue Cheer, Hawkwind, Can, Popol Vuh, Stockhausen, etc.), the best of their '80's/'90's material sounds frighteningly ahead of its time, even if they were working in a rather retro-styled basis in the given period (that is, copping moves from old '70's "head" discs). F/i stalwarts Grant Richter and Brian Wensing are like the living embodiment of the American garage rock mythos: part-time rock'n'rollers with their own band, play the odd gig every year, release the odd album for the faithful that give a shit. [SOURCE: PERFECT SOUND FOREVER]