Jamming on stage and in the studio with influential musicians such as
Neil Campbell, Andrew Wilkes Krier, and
Sonic Youth,
Universal Indians
belong to a musical coterie dedicated to exploring the subliminal
frontier of modern aesthetic experimentation. Originating in 1993 from
the Lansing, MI, basement psych/noise scene,
Universal Indians
at first merged simple songs with strong improvisational roots. Live
performances staged in co-op houses and college basements highlighted by
feedback drone jams were meshed with tight arrangements eschewing
Southern rock instrumentation for sonic excursions inspired by
the Velvet Underground,
the Fall, and
John Coltrane. Original Members of
Universal Indians included guitarist and vocalist
Gretchen Gonzales,
John Olson on drums and saxophone, and Bryan Ramirez also on guitar and
vocals. According to the band, Bryan Ramirez was kicked out of the band
in 1997 for lack of enthusiasm. Various weird-style musicians were
later employed for studio and stage work as
Universal Indians
and John Olson's independent record label American Tapes evolved into a
fecund mid-Michigan creative institution reminiscent of
Andy Warhol's Factory.
The mid-'90s saw the band's improvisational instinct devouring traditional rehearsed songcraft and
Universal Indians became more closely linked to the electronic aggression of
Throbbing Gristle and
the Dead C. The creative impulse of core members John Olson and
Gretchen Gonzales extended beyond
Universal Indians
at this time, and Dr. Gretchen Musical Weightlifting Program and G.I.
& the Spykes emerged to channel differing approaches toward a
meltdown of previously conceived musical architecture. Homemade horns
and electronic instruments eventually accompanied and sometimes
overshadowed standard guitars and drums, adding to the already unique
signature of their experimental approach.
After
Gretchen Gonzales
and John Olson became wife and husband in 1998, they made a move to the
musically fertile and diverse landscape of Detroit, a city famous for
producing similarly groundbreaking underground acts such as
the Stooges and
Nicodemus. As
Universal Indians grew within the Detroit scene, they shared the weird-core stage with local acts such as
Fuxa,
Warren Defever, Mini Systems, and
Wolf Eyes.
Aaron Dilloway, guitarist from
Wolf Eyes and founder of the Hanson label, joined
Universal Indians as a full-time member playing heavy freakout guitar and on headphone/reel-to-reel vocal menace, to quote John Olson.
Gretchen Gonzales conjoined with three other Detroit rock divas in 1999 to form
Slumber Party, a band more reminiscent of
the Velvet Underground than New Zealand noise, but neither
Gonzales nor
Olson ever strayed from
Universal Indians as ground zero for concept development.
Since their 1993 foundation, many national tours and
internationally acclaimed recordings have followed. Standout LPs such
as Thrist of the Worm and Sloth Nest accompany split recordings with
Gravitar and
Total as among the choicest of the many
Universal Indians releases found on the American Tapes label. Throughout the band's many lineup transformations and conceptual evolutions,
Universal Indians
provide consistent and uncompromised hard demon attack for an
ever-increasing following of basement-dwelling weirdos and algorhythmic
geniuses.
