Members of the Who used to make a point of intentionally destroying their equipment onstage every night. But the members of Love and Rockets are finding new and creative ways to torch their musical instruments.
First, while the group was recording its new album, "Sweet F.A.," the house Love and Rockets was staying at in San Francisco burned down, destroying all their instruments. Then, as the band was on its way to Salt Lake City for a sold-out club date in April, their tour bus skidded on an icy pass between Colorado and Wyoming, sending the accompanying trailer hurtling down the highway and destroying several thousand dollars worth of instruments and equipment."It was a very fiery, spectacular thing. And what wasn't burned was strewn across a field," bass guitarist David Haskins said in a recent telephone interview.
Love and Rockets' second attempt to play in Salt Lake City in 1996 is scheduled for Sunday, June 23, at Club DV8, 115 S. West Temple.
The group took four years off, and either spent their time either in semiseclusion or recording as solo artists, after releasing their self-titled album in 1990. Though Love and Rockets actually regrouped in 1994 and released a new album, the enthusiasm for performing didn't actually return until all the problems happened. Consequently, the cover of "Sweet F.A." features a photo of Daniel Ash's crispy-fried guitar as a "totemic symbol," according to Haskins.
"(The burnt guitar photo) literally shows that we've reclaimed the fire inside. Our equipment has been destroyed, but we haven't been," he said. "It's been a very bonding experience, but like that Nietzsche quote, it's also made us very much stronger."
In fact, the whole thing has made the trio wonder why they got back together in the first place, Haskins said.
"What we've found, because the whole thing happened, is that we've never enjoyed playing together as much as we do right now. We're playing the best gigs of our whole career."
In addition, what excited Love and Rockets is being one of the featured acts on the "ENIT" tour, planned by Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell of Porno for Pyros.
"We met Perry through the tour we did together in 1990," Haskins said. "Five minutes after meeting him I knew he was going to be a big star."
Haskins said that ENIT is intended to be an alternative to Lollapalooza, which Farrell claims has lost its way.
"(Perry) feels like he has something to prove now, just like we felt that we had to prove ourselves again. We're really just kindred souls, which is what makes this so exciting," he said.
James Hall will open the show at 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the earlier concert will be honored, which means the show is sold out.