Top Ten Reasons To Go To Endfest

----------------------------------------------------------------- Festival preview

Endfest: Tracy Bonham, No Doubt, Everclear, the Prodigy, Beck, Filter, Ice-T, the Posies, Seven Mary Three, Super Deluxe, Dishwalla, Deftones, Goldfinger, the Verve Pipe, Gus, Primitive Radio Gods, MXPX and Three Fishes, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Kitsap County Fairgrounds, Bremerton; sold out. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Now that Lollapalooza has sold out to mainstream commercialism (and taken a dive in attendance as a result), Endfest has no competition when it comes to presenting new, cutting-edge bands. The annual summertime all-day blowout now stands alone as the premier showcase for new rock in the Northwest.

Radio station KNDD/The End (107.7 FM) has put together a stunningly up-to-the-minute lineup of hot new bands, many of them with singles currently percolating on modern rock radio playlists and on MTV.

It's a marathon day of music, from 12:30 p.m. to approximately 11 p.m., so pace yourself for the long haul and bring plenty of money for food and drink, along with a hat, sunscreen, a blanket to stretch out on, and a sweater or jacket for after dark.

Here are our choices for Top Ten Bands at Endfest '96:

1. Primitive Radio Gods. "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand" is the most exciting, compelling song now on the radio. Opening with a sample from B.B. King's "How Blue Can You

Get" ("I been downhearted baby ever since the day we met!"), it evolves into an evocative, atmospheric mystery, with chiming bells, jet-plane roars, tinkling piano and a wry, dreamy vocal. The compelling soundscape was created by Chris O'Connor, an LAX air traffic controller who formerly headed a bar band called the I-Rails. The song is from an album called "Rocket" which he made by himself on a borrowed 16-track tape deck for less than $1,000. Before sending the tape out to record companies, he attributed it to a band called Primitive Radio Gods because he thought major labels would respond better to a band rather than an individual. His tape actually got listened to (unsolicited tapes rarely get hearings) at Columbia Records, which was looking for a cutting-edge product for a new, London-based subsidiary label, Ergo. The single was first released in England, where it was a hit, and it now is climbing the charts here. O'Connor quit his job and recruited other musicians (including some of the I-Rails) to create a real Primitive Radio Gods. Endfest will be the sixth date of the band's debut tour.

2. Tracy Bonham. Perhaps no song has captured the tension of relationships between young adults and their parents as well as "Mother Mother," which has thrust Eugene, Ore., native Bonham into the spotlight as the newest female rock star. The song, from her debut "The Burdens of Being Upright" album, is in the form of a phone call home in which she tells her mother everything's fine, when it isn't. By the end of the song, she's screaming hysterically. The video - made up of one long shot of Bonham's real mother doing housework while Bonham and her band wail in the dining room - is even more darkly funny than the recording.

3. Dishwalla. The debut LP by this Santa Barbara-based band, "Pet Your Friends," is highlighted by "Counting Blue Cars," a dense, well crafted pop song with a fascinating lyric about a young man on a philosophic/religious quest. "Tell me all your thoughts on God," sings J.R. Richards, the band's singer-songwriter, " 'cause I really want to meet her."

4. Beck. The creator of the ultimate slacker anthem "Loser" ("I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me") has taken a different tack on his new "Odelay" album. Its centerpiece is "Where It's At," a white boy's absolutely guileless embrace of rap, hip hop and other black music. "Got two turntables and a microphone" he sings in a gravelly voice redolent with excitement and promise - a young man with a new toy. The song signals a new rapprochement between rap and modern rock.

5. Everclear. Like Beck, Everclear has been around awhile - long enough to stir some narrow-minded resentment in its home base of Portland, for the sin of becoming popular. Its "Sparkle and Fade" album blasted out last year with "Heroin Girl," an intensely powerful song which took some heat for its uncritical depiction of the drug (criticism blunted by the anti-drug crusading of lead singer Art Alexakis, a recovering addict). Two other outstanding cuts have emerged - the gleefully apocalyptic "Santa Monica" and the defiant saga of mixed-race romance, "Heartspeak Dollarsign."

6. Filter. Also not brand new - its "Short Bus" album was released last year - this Cleveland duo of Richard Patrick and Brian Liesegang created one of the most explosive, daring songs of the '90s with "Hey Man, Nice Shot" which is the best, and easily the scariest, song yet about (however much they might deny it) Kurt Cobain.

7. Gus. If you were lucky enough to catch Oasis at Mercer Arena in April, you may have seen the triumphant opening set by this young Seattle singer-songwriter, a recent California transplant. He and his hastily-assembled backup band completely won over the crowd - which was antsy for Oasis and had never heard of him - by dint of his songs and performing abilities. His debut album "Gus" fulfills that promise with well-crafted lyrics and imaginative arrangements.

8. No Doubt. Gwen Stefani has a fascinating, quavering voice that makes No Doubt's "Spiderwebs" and "Just a Girl" singles, both from the album "Tragic Kingdom," interesting, although somewhat generic.

9. Posies. Hey, they're our homeboys! Besides, they put on a great show full of energy, harmony and humor.

10. Ice-T. Although better as a rapper, Ice-T's rock is hard and bracing, with anger and intensity that cannot be denied.