by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Many bands promise high-energy rock 'n' roll, but more often than not they just bump up the tempo and sleepwalk through clichés. But Green Bay, Wisconsin's Mystery Girls deliver the goods on every turn of their new record Something in the Water, showing a knowledge of rock 'n' roll history that goes back far further than their average age of 23. The Mirror spoke to guitarist Jordan Davis.

Mirror: I heard that your drummer quit the band on the first day of your current tour.

Jordan Davis: Yeah, that pretty much sucked. He got a job cleaning carpets and decided he'd rather do that than play in a band. But our bass player took over drum duties and it ended up sounding really good.

M: You've mentioned that Mystery Girls is a product of hometown boredom.

JD: Pretty much. We started the band in high school because there was really nothing else to do. There was a great all-ages place in Green Bay and we were lucky enough to see countless kick-ass bands that really inspired us, like the Lazy Cowgirls and the Neckbones. That club is closed now and most Green Bay bands have moved to Milwaukee, which is about two hours south, because there's just a better scene there. There was a ton of great bands that started in Green Bay but we're the only band that stayed.

M: You guys seem to be really well versed in blues, early rock 'n' roll, garage, psych, etc.

JD: Well, Green Bay is not a hip city, has never been a hip city and never will be a hip city, so we're just not familiar with a lot of the new sounds. [As kids], we just did our homework and collected records. The Ramones led to Stooges to MC5 to the Velvet Underground, John Lee Hooker and Sun Ra. The first time I heard John Lee Hooker, it just blew my mind and kind of set the pace for the rest of my life. I wouldn't say we're big acid heads but we're really into LSD-influenced music like Blue Cheer and 13th Floor Elevators, and when you get into psychedelic music, you start getting into a lot of jazz like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, which is also an influence.

M: I also heard that Kim Fowley (weirdo producer who formed the Runaways and made a lot of bad punk exploitation records in the '70s) recently tried to get hold of you.

JD: Somebody gave him our first record and he sent me an e-mail saying that it was "messy and semi-magical." He told us we should sound more like Black Sabbath and AC/DC. I love AC/DC, but I've seen so many bands try to sound like them and they just suck. I wrote back because he kind of pissed me off and told him I would rather sound like John Coltrane's Ascension than AC/DC. He wrote back saying he was a Navy Seal and he could break my neck in so many different ways and when he saw me he was going to kill me. He's such a prick. I admit I respect his body of work but every now and then I'll send him an e-mail just to wind him up.

With the Sunday Sinners, Jimmy Hunt at le Divan Orange tonight, Thursday, Aug. 18, 9:30 p.m., $0–$5

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