LESSER KOODOO / MOBY DICK

DOLPHIN ROOM / MALCONTENT

Cliff Livingston and Kara Thrasher were New Brunswick's own Thurston and Kim, a couple devoted to (obsessed with?) their music, taking on so many guises that it feels pointless to attempt summarization in such a small space. I'll try anyway. Through the mid-to-late 1980s they seemed to be everywhere, with ever-shifting lineups and band names. Early on was Dolphin Room, an exercise in punk experimentalism that baffled/mesmerized the youngsters frequenting various on-campus benefits. There was Kara's Malcontent, a not-exactly-competent but rather endearing quartet of women making like the Raincoats minus violin and accents. And 1987's faster and punkier Moby Dick was followed by (or, I don't know, coincided with) the freakout that was Lesser Koodoo, with lengthy excursions into rhythmic noise and Banshee-esque caterwauling. Amidst all this, Kara found time to drum for the first False Virgins lineup. And that's just what I know; I'm sure there's plenty more to the story (for example, Cliff and Kara's must-see Court Tavern wedding).

While this site's primary focus is on the printed piece, it would be nuts to leave out Kara's archive of 1980s-era New Brunswick videos. Her Ivy Silence site is loaded with decent-for-the-time footage of the Court Tavern and various Kara/Cliff outfits (as well as footage from Pleased Youth). You won't find any of this on Paul Devlin's Rockin' Brunswick, that's for sure.

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR VIDEOS]