The 'Alternating Currents' Legacy Interview: Figures On A Beach
Mystified? Get serious with Boston's sonic adventurers, circa 1991.
Prologue
Making of a myth, part one: Figures On A Beach are a high-tech, hypno-groove, faceless, rhythmic dance machine. Making of a myth, part two: Figures On A Beach don’t play real instruments. Making of a myth, part three: Figures On A Beach don’t really exist.
Figures On A Beach guitarist Rick Rolski on myths: “If we were British, we'd probably be on our reunion tour right now.”
Figures On A Beach are alive and well and playing music in Boston. More to the point, they are actual people that actually play real music and if you had any doubts as to the who or whereabouts of FOAB, then soldier on dear reader. You'll be surprised.
I must admit I was skeptical when I first got wind of the now legendary FOAB Boston debut: late summer 1985, DJ Paul Vitagliano was spinning the band's indie “Breathless” on the dance floor of Man Ray. Knock, knock on the booth door and hello to FOAB in the flesh.
“This is true,” said vocalist Anthony Kaczynski. He, Rolski and I are huddled together at a table in the Kenmore Square Au Bon Pain on a breezy summer night, chatting away before the two head out for rehearsal in the Fenway area. Kaczynski continued, “That was the first time we went out, en masse as a group socially, after we moved here. Maybe ten people in the world had this record and we thought all of them were from Detroit. So, we were quite blown out that he was playing it.”
The next logical step, if you’re wondering, is to recall the birth of FOAB and the band’s formative years in the Motor City.
Kaczynski: “Actually, he [Rick) and I were present for said birth. We are the — “
Rolski: “Midwives!”
Kaczynski: “Architects!”
Rolski: ”If you want to blame anybody, you can blame us.”
Rolski had wanted out of his first band before Kaczynski auditioned and the two hit it off. With shared musical interests such as Magazine, Joy Division and Wire, it wasn’t long before they both decided to kick out the jams in 1979 and form their own band, Razor 1922 with a sound that was in Kaczynski’s words “aggressively experimental.”
“It was kind of like industrial chamber music,” Rolski explained, “With more of a melodic configuration in some of the parts. Definitely a lot of Philip Glass and Throbbing Gristle-type things.”
“We all had a healthy respect for John Cage,” Kaczynski added.
But almost immediately after these events transpired, they decided to regroup, start over, dump all the old material and call themselves Figures On A Beach. Drummer Mike Smith, who had been a part-timer, was now their man as well as keyboardist Chris Ewen. From 1981 to 1983 they were a whirling dervish of activity and very hot in and out of Michigan, opening for ABC, Ultravox (“who de-tuned all our guitars and unplugged Michael's electronic drums,” Kaczynski recalled with amusement), Echo and the Bunnymen and X.
Figures On A Beach – Breathless/℗©1984 Metro-America Records/YouTube
After the addition of Perry Tell in 1984, though, the group was strung out, emotionally and physically. “In 1985, a lot of difficult personal stuff was happening with us,” Kaczynski said. “We were getting a Iittle tiresome about staying in one place too long. The edge was coming off the band.”
Choosing Boston over Los Angeles and New York City (“There was no incentive except to get the hell out of Detroit,” Kaczynski emphasized), the band just scraped by during 1985 and the first half of 1986. “We got a couple of gigs, but it was no great shakes,” said Kaczynski, although Rolski was quick to point out that Boston “is a far more user-friendly area than Detroit.”
After demoing several songs and handing the tape over to DJ friend and Sire Records liaison Ivan Ivan, FOAB could not foresee the next myth breaker in their ongoing musical saga. Kaczynski recalled the chain of events.
“One of the songs was “No Stars” and believe me, things were not going great. We were definitely eating major shit here – third on the bill at the Channel on a Tuesday. Three days later, we’re headlining the Rat – three days, mind you – and we get a phone call during sound check. It’s [Sire Records president] Seymour Stein and he literally does say, “Welcome to Sire Records.” “Wow!” says we. “Come down to New York right away!” – like this big Svengali – and basically we’re pissing our pants. So we did! We all called in sick to work, got a van, went into some studio in New York, cut some basic tracks – we don't have a contract or anything – for “No Stars.” It was a really strange, distorted 72 hours.”
Figures On A Beach – No Stars/℗©Sire Records/YouTube
“It was completely a fantasy world,” Rolski admitted. “It was nuts. You worked seven years for this and all of a sudden it falls in your lap: ‘You guys are signed!’”
The resulting effort was their 1987 release Standing On Ceremony. “No Stars” was a modest alternative hit, but after the exhilarating high, there was the foreshadow of problems ahead. 1989’s self-titled album did contain the sprawling upbeat “Accidentally 4th Street (Gloria),” but that was damage control. The first single, a remake of Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “You Ain't Seen Nothin’ Yet, " was their ‘joke’ song. Nobody got it (though it was a Top Ten dance hit) and the band’s credibility went down the dumper.
“If Jesus Jones did a remake of “Billy Don't Be a Hero,” Kaczynski now says, “people would get the joke.” Problems with their managers and Sire led to a mutual parting, and these days FOAB are looking past the enticement of the big-time again. Their recently released demo tape got some good airplay on WFNX. “Evil” and the Nine Inch Nails-ish “Back To the World” were standouts, and Rolski is philosophical about their disappointments.
“You realize once you’ve been in and out of a label, if music means anything to you at all, that the label isn’t why you're doing music. You're doing music ‘cause you want to do music. You can’t think about trends or other people’s opinions, especially in the industry. What you should be doing is what you think you should be doing.”
As for their future plans, Kaczynski rested his chin on his hand and drew in a deep breath. “A concept album based on the life of the Dalai Lama.” He then broke out in peals of laughter.
“We want to influence future generations,” Rolski said. That generated an almost embarrassed chuckle. “That's going to come back and haunt me somewhere. Don't put that in!”
Epilogue
Michelle Kaczynski is my ex-wife of twenty-three years, my friend of over forty years, and was my business partner in Kaczynski Reporting, a court reporting agency that we had operated together since 1993. In 2018, Michelle received a diagnosis of early onset dementia/Alzheimer's disease, and after a valiant struggle to remain living independently, she entered assisted living in November of 2019. The facility she is at, Rogerson House in Jamaica Plain, has provided first-rate around-the-clock care, but the sad reality is that we are running out of money to keep her there. We sold her condominium, and she is down to very little in the way of assets. I am her healthcare proxy and have been handling her affairs for her, and I have applied for MassHealth/Medicaid on her behalf as well as visiting and applying at long-term care facilities that will accept Medicaid. We are still waiting on approval from Medicaid, and there is a waiting list at every single facility I have looked into, and while that could change in a heartbeat, we need funds to bridge the gap. Michelle receives disability income, but the total cost of her care per month is north of $10,000.
I am asking for your generosity to keep Michelle safe and in good hands until we can get her placed in a new facility. For those of you who have already donated, I offer my profoundest thanks and hopes that you will share this GoFundMe widely amongst your friends and colleagues.
Thank you for your consideration and your assistance.
