A rockin' '90s reunion

Pavement is often referred to as the best American band of the '90s, at least for the lo-fi crowd and fans of the underground guitar rock-pop sound. That may be an exaggeration, but, in the early to mid-'90s, Pavement was as good as it gets in American indie rock. And their fans insist it has never gotten better.

Pavement's blend of punk, melodic pop, sing-along (or more accurately, talk-along) songs and an occasional raw, noisy distortion was truly like no one else's. When the band broke up at the end of the '90s, it also marked the end of an era for a distinctive indie-rock sound.

The group was formed in 1989 in Stockton, California, by Stephen Malkmus (vocalist and guitarist) and Scott Kannberg (guitarist), aka Spiral Stairs. Stockton is a backwater town with delta swamplands in the state's agricultural Central Valley, more related culturally to the American Midwest than to San Francisco or Los Angeles. It's like Nebraska with attitude, which brought a special outsiders' charm and wit to the group.

Their debut album, Slanted and Enchanted, released on Matador Records in 1992, was soon the soundtrack for the times, with heavy college radio station play of anthems like "Summer Babe (Winter Version)," and rough, practically spoken-word poems like "Zurich is Stained."

Sonic Youth asked them to join a tour of Europe, and so Pavement (with Mark Ibold on bass, and Gary Young and Bob Nastanovich on drums) had their debut in Prague in 1992 in a now-legendary show at Lucerna's Velký sál.

Speaking to The Prague Post from a bed and breakfast in Dublin on the eve of the band's 2010 Reunion Tour of Europe, Scott Kannberg recalls that show: "Prague at that time was super-cheap; it still felt like you were in Eastern Europe, even though the Wall had been down for a while. We opened for Sonic Youth at that great ballroom - a crazy place, a really beautiful room. We found some cool bars in Prague, too. The Americans had not completely overrun the place yet."

Pavement's second CD, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994, Matador), was also well- received. When they toured the United Kingdom and Europe to promote it in '94, they played in Prague again, this time with Steve West on drums (replacing Young) at the Belmondo Club with Stereolab.

Pavement's last show was in London in 1999, after which Kannberg and Malkmus went on to do solo projects. Kannberg continued to record and tour as the Preston School of Industry. He also started his own label, Amazing Grease Records, based in San Francisco, releasing 15 records by Bay Area bands. "That was fun, and I just released another solo project, Spiral Stairs, which I'm proud of," he says. Malkmus, meanwhile, has had recent success with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.

Kannberg and Malkmus decided to reunite as Pavement this year to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the group, an occasion also marked by the Domino Records release of Quarantine the Past (2010), a compilation of their selected recordings from Matador and Drag City Records.

"We thought it would be fun," says Kannberg. "We didn't think it would be so big, though. We didn't think the response would be so crazy."

Still, they've got a big set ready. "We're playing 30 songs, about two hours," Kannberg says. "Should be good."

This will likely be the last chance ever to see Pavement. "I met a nice girl from Australia that I just married, and we're relocating to Melbourne to live," Kannberg says. "I just sold my house. After the Pavement tour ends, I'm moving to Oz."

Tony Ozuna can be reached at
features@praguepost.com