January 1988
KGNU
Boulder, CO
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 1988
El Conquistador
El Paso, TX
Alarming Trends
Alarming Trends is one of the better 'college bands.' Wait a minute - who is Alarming Trends? It's a group from Colorado, three guys and a girl, who have a way with a song. Their new record You Make Me Live in a Trailer from Scorched Earth Records is like R.E.M. with a female singer (Rebecca Watson) but you can actually understand the lyrics. Or maybe a darker version of the B-52s. The truth is that Alarming Trends is dissimilar to any other band around, which is a welcome relief to those weary of hearing the same old thing. Produced by guitarist Ronnie Cramer, this record is a cut above the average.
None of these songs will set your dancing feet on fire, but they will excite your mind. The first track 'What Does Your Heart Say' is something that has to be listened to. It is one of the best songs on an album that hasn't a bad cut on it. Also, look for 'Echoes in the Dark,' 'Fabrications,' 'I Wonder Why' and 'Fever Dreams.' But listen to the whole record because it's worth it. - Davi Piper
January 4, 1988
KAOS
Olympia, WA
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 6, 1988
WMSE
Milwaukee, WI
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 11, 1988
KSCR
Los Angeles, CA
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 12, 1988
WTPS-FM
Milwaukee, WI
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 13, 1988
WLRA
Romeoville, IL
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 14, 1988
KGNU
Boulder, CO
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
'You all just keep getting better. Keep up the good work,' - Paul Metters
January 15, 1988
WBAU
(Now PAWS Web Radio)
Garden City, NY
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 16, 1988
Billboard
New Companies
Scorched Earth Records, formed by Ronnie Cramer to serve as the audio division of Scorched Earth Productions. The company's first release is 'You Make Me Live in a Trailer' by Alarming Trends.
January 16, 1988
WRMC 91.7 FM
White River Junction, VT
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 17, 1988
WCAL
Grand Rapids, MI
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
'This will be heavily promoted!' - Jodi van Ferden
January 19, 1988
WCVF-FM
Fredonia, NY
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
'Nice record. Medium to heavy rotation.' - Bec Carpenter
January 20, 1988
WPNR
Utica, NY
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 22, 1988
WBTY
Boston, MA
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
'Great sound. Ms. Watson has a fantastic voice. Look for our support in CMJ and Rockpool.' - Kevin McDonald
January 23, 1988
WRFN
Cincinnati, OH
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 27, 1988
The Torch
St. John's University, Jamaica, NY
Alarming Trends You Make Me Live in a Trailer
An innovative newcomer to the music scene is the Denver based Alarming Trends. The grouping of hip manager/songwriter Ronnie Cramer, sultry singer Rebecca Watson, throbbing bass player Michael Benson and relentless drummer Lonnie Ray give this group a style of its own. Cramer formed Alarming Trends during his college days and they've been playing together ever since. Already a rave in Denver, they are out to recruit new listeners.
You Make Me Live in a Trailer, their new offering, is a diverse batch of twelve songs. It includes cuts familiar to the fans of the groups' live performances, as well as some new material. Driving force behind this album is Cramer, who wrote almost all of the songs except for 'Echoes in the dark' which he co-wrote with Pete Staff. The songs deal mainly with relationships and are oddly written from a woman's point of view.
In 'Out at Night,' one can feel the anger of a wife fed up with her husband for ignoring her. 'Without You Fine' can easily be called the sequel as she dumps her husband for causing her misery. 'Fabrications,' a song that echoes with Watson's vocals that range from better to best, deals with lies. It shows a girl who has had it with her boyfriend's lying. 'I don't know where you come up with all these things you always tell me / You must think I'll swallow every word and sentence every time.'
The sound is pure. It startles the listener with its' diversity from past familiar sounds. Learning to appreciate the offbeat lyrics and feverish beat gives this album its melodramatic richness.
At its threatening best is a tie between two cuts: 'Mangled Nerve Center' and 'Fever Dreams.' The only way to describe this 'terrifying' sound would be similar to experiencing that most enjoyable moment when your fingernails run across the blackboard. 'White Cross,' an amphetamine anthem, also has the visual effect of a user and their bad habit. 'Tell me I see / Women in Keds on their hands and knees / Doing White Cross / Big deal / Let me up.'
You Make Me Live in a Trailer shows a band determined to prove that music doesn't have to be 'easy to dance to and have a good beat' to be appreciated. Trends' new release contains the basic elements of a creative and ingenious band. They have their own sense of style that doesn't conform with the top forty scene. Trends are the 'rebels with a cause.' - Bianca Capi
January 29, 1988
WSKB
Springfield, MA
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
January 29, 1988
Advocate
Kansas City, Kansas
Alarming is the word for this consistently good LP
With a quick glance at the cover of You Make Me Live in a Trailer, a new LP from Denver-based Alarming Trends, I mistaken assumed that this was going to be one of those bands (you know; the kind that spews lyrics like 'I hate you/I hate you/Can't find my gun!' over a musical backdrop approximating the sound of an amplified, high-speed dental instrument).
I was pleasantly shocked when I heard the album's opener, 'What Does Your Heart Say.' This song, with its (gulp!) pseudo folk-tinged basic arrangement, is the first in what I consider the Trends' 'Bitter Love Saga Trilogy.'
Vocalist Rebecca Watson sings sweetly (with a decidedly tough edge) about her bleak romance. 'Out at Night' is about a woman who is never taken out at night and so ends alone at home.
'Without You Fine' closes the trilogy with Ronnie Cramer's dark, eerie guitar sound that characterizes much of the Trends' music.
It should be pointed out that Cramer is not only the guitarist, but also the band's producer, lyricist, video director, and founder of Scorched Earth Production Company, whose goal it is to 'create, distribute and promote musical and other material.'
'Mangled Nerve Center' is a breakneck punk declaration, beginning with a chilling scream and ending with an 'Iron man'-period Black Sabbath/heavy sludge chord arrangement.
The band is tight with 'X-15,' an instrumental. When the rends get rich and famous, this song will serve as the accompaniment for the special effects portion of their concerts, while the prehistoric reptilian creature destroys the sleeping village onstage.
Side two (which consists of the music hat made up the bands' cassette-only debut EP) begins with 'White Cross.' The video clip for this song reveals their peculiar habit of tossing fish at one another. Hmm...interesting. Rebecca sounds particularly bored and aloof, yet appealing. For goodness sakes, let her up!
Punk snobbishness meets psychoanalytic confusion with 'I Wonder Why.' My favorite line: 'You know, when I first met you I thought you were really cool/But all you're into now is your VCR and your dog.'
The introduction to 'Fever Dreams' reminds me of Prince before the heavily flanged guitar floats away through a lavender and pink dream tunnel, weaving around Rebecca's voice. (Keep in mind, these impressions are solely the reviewer's and in no way reflect those of the normal listening audience.)
'Fabrications' closes the album on a rather soot-streaked European note, sounding musically like the Pistols. With an 'Adios...dear,' Rebecca lets her lying boyfriend know exactly how she feels. She further explains: 'Someday/Maybe/Someday, maybe I'll be leaving/'Till that day I want no more of you!'
Alarming Trends is a band quite worth the trouble of looking in to. After hearing the LP, I look forward to catching their live show somewhere, sometime. - Greg Nicklin
February 1988
Factsheet 5
Alarming Trends You Make Me Live in a Trailer
We gave these guys a cautiously good review way back in FF20, and that cassette makes up side two of this release. The first side fits in real well, and confirms my opinion that this is a band to watch; Rebecca Watson's vocals, ranging from talky to screamy, hold the whole thing together, along with Ronnie Cramer's high-power guitar. The best new song here is Mangled Nerve Center, which scrambles along twitching and pounding. Innovative rock that dares to explore. - Mike Gunderloy
February 4, 1988
Vista
University of San Diego
Denver Wins with Alarming Trends
Alarming Trends has just released a new album called You Make Me Live in a Trailer! You are probably saying to yourself, 'So what! Who are they?' Alarming Trends is a band from Denver, Colorado who made their debut in 1984. The band has an interesting, experimental sound which incorporates raw, punk energy, psychedelic images, acoustic rock and moody instrumentals.
It all started with a young filmmaker at Denver University by the name of Ronnie Cramer. He was making films and needed music for them. He started recruiting musicians and Alarming Trends was born. He plays guitar, produces their albums, films their videos, writes their songs, and even formed Scorched Earth Records, the band's record label.
Because of Ronnie's experience with filmmaking, the band got publicity for their videos, not to mention their live performances and last years' six song cassette EP. One of the band's current projects is a new thirty minute promotional video, soon to be released.
Rebecca Watson is the band's lead singer. She is a talented singer whose vocals range from quiet sultriness to near-hysterical energy. The images her vocals conjure up are vivid, images of drug induced nightmares and love turned sour.
Michael Benson on bass and Lonnie Ray on drums make up the rhythm section of the band. They provide the band with its musical foundation. Their hard hitting rhythm added to Watson's twisted and haunting vocals produces the bizarre images that this band and its songs conjure up.
'What Does Your Heart Say' is an acoustic song with a goof melody with great vocals by Watson. 'Mangled Nerve Center' is a song about a drug induced nightmare. It is an incredible song just filled with raw, screaming, passionate energy. 'X-15' is a good moody instrumental cut. Most bands don't take chances on instrumentals.
Overall the band is imaginative, creative and daring. Especially with Ronnie Cramer's management skills, this band could make it. Start a trend and give Alarming Trends a listen. - Karley Ballie
February 5, 1988
Copacetic
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Alarming Trends You Make Me Live in a Trailer
This has to be the best album title of the decade. The playing on the album is tight and,
at times, very hot. Mangled Nerve Center and the instrumental X-15 are the
high points of the record, with the scary Fever Dreams close behind. In all, if you're
the type that enjoys hanging out at Paris on the Platte or Rock Island while in Denver,
it might be worth your while to try finding You Make Me Live in a Trailer.
It isn't pleasant, but neither is life sometimes. - Scott Miller
February 7, 1988
Strange Loop
Dan Kenney, Ronnie Cramer, Robert Sawyer
Anymore
Vampires
Companion
Dreams
Lights Turn Blue
Slave to Passion
I See the End
Written by Dan Kenney. Produced by Ronnie Cramer.
February 8, 1988
KHIB
Durant, OK
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
'Michael, nice job on 'X-15'! You guys and gal play some great tunes. We will add you!' - Mark Webb
February 9, 1988
WUEV
Evansville, IN
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
February 10, 1988
WBCR
Madison, WI
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
February 11, 1988
KTUH
Honolulu, HI
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
'Great!' - Franchon Like
February 11, 1988
Caellian
Douglass College - Rutgers University - New Brunswick, NJ
Trends being set at an Alarming rate
Quoted as being 'Denver's most prolific and creative band' by Colorado's Westword magazine, Alarming Trends is just that, and more
Songwriter, guitarist, video director and manager of the group, Ronnie Cramer adds an imaginative touch to the band's overall image. In his videos alone he strives to be different. 'It seems like ninety percent of videos are acting out the words to the songs, which to me seems kind of corny and annoying. It just does not interest me to sing a lyric and show it, it's redundant.' Cramer would rather make a diverse video to hold up the visual end.
To date, Alarming Trends has released a six song cassette, 'Extended Play,' a twelve song album, 'You Make Me Live in a Trailer,' and various video releases. In addition, a half-hour promotional film is in the works, featuring material from the album.
An influential new album, 'Trailer' is on the Scorched Earth label, a division of the Scorched Earth Production Company, formed by Ronnie Cramer in 1986 to create, distribute and promote musical and other material.
The company is also responsible for a weekly television program seen in Denver and along the Colorado front range, Final Mix, an anthology of film clips, music videos, art and pop culture. An upcoming Final Mix program will feature the half hour Alarming Trends film. Directed Cramer, the film will also be incorporated into his new performance art piece, planned for this winter.
Making their debut in August of 1984 at Boulder's Blue Note concert hall, Alarming Trends have been playing steadily ever since, in Colorado as well as other states. The band got started 'like a rock video in reverse.' Cramer was making film while at the University of Denver and needed background music for a few of the productions. He began to recruit musicians with whom he could record soundtracks, and Alarming Trends was on its way.
The band consists of Rebecca Watson on vocals, Ronnie Cramer on guitar (and the backbone of the entire operation), Michael Benson on bass and Lonnie Ray on drums.
Rebecca is a classically trained pianist, and spent many of her school years accompanying choirs and stage productions before turning to singing. When she did, she captured the lead in several musicals.
Rebecca's work with Alarming Trends is her first real recording experience, and she met Ronnie through an images class in college. Cramer was looking for a new vocalist, Watson auditioned, and has been with the group ever since.
Cramer started the band a year before Watson entered the picture. His background in in the fine arts (he does all the bands' graphics) and had many one-man shows of his watercolors and other artwork before taking up music (guitar, bass, keyboards) in the late seventies. After high school, Ronnie went on the road with various carnivals for two years 'doing and seeing more weird things than I had thought possible,' before entering college as a Mass Communications major.
Neil Young was a big influence on Cramer when he was first learning guitar. Today, he likes a lot of material, especially 'those obscure compilation cassettes where you can check out the new artists. There's a lot of great underground material out there.'
Despite all the time required by Alarming Trends, Cramer is still very active in filmmaking, producing and directing videos for the Trends and other artists, and making commercials and industrial films. He is also an instructor at the Colorado Institute of Art, teaching classes in audio engineering and video and film production.
Bringing their clear, crisp musical talent to the band is bassist Michael Benson and drummer Lonnie Ray, both who made up the rhythm section of Boulder band Aluminum Beach.
Lonnie Ray stated, 'As Aluminum Beach.' we had released a single and were talking about huge stage shows, light shows and all kinds of costumes...but all we did was practice. That's when I met and joined up with Ronnie Cramer and (old Trends vocalist) Tammy Lucero. They were doing everything I wanted to do, recording, playing live gigs, traveling, making videos, it was great.'
Both longtime musicians, Ray and Benson had been playing together ever since a 1983 frat party at the University of Colorado (where Michael graduated from). They started jamming with each other that night and haven't stopped yet, still providing Alarming Trends with its' musical foundation.
Material on their album ranges from the acoustic-tinged 'What Does Your Heart Say' to the near-chainsaw 'Mangled Nerve Center.' Other tracks include 'Fever Dreams,' a moody ballad that showcases Rebecca's lovely voice. 'X-15,' an instrumental piece showing the sometimes progressive nature of the bands' music. 'I Wonder Why,' featuring Cramer's ferocious guitar treatment, and concert favorites 'Some People,' 'Rude Seduction' (the latter highlighting Lonnie's thick drum sound and Benson's throbbing bassline), and the group's amphetamine anthem, 'White Cross.'
Cramer considers his music as 'little movies without pictures.' Many of the songs are stories about relationships between people. 'Out at Night' is about a woman snapping at her husband for neglecting her, 'Without You Fine' is like the sequel - she ditches him, and 'Fabrications' is about a girl who's fed up with her boyfriend lying to her. Cramer writes from the woman's point of view most of the time because he's 'usually on their side in these confrontations.'
Alarming Trends is THE new band to watch on the national music scene. Watson's voice on most of the songs is incredible. All of the material exhibits intense artistic talent on behalf of Cramer, my favorite of which is the video of 'White Cross,' depicting an 'attack of the flying fish' where one member of the band decapitates another by throwing a fish. - Darlene Rice
February 19, 1988
Herman's Hideaway
1578 S. Broadway, Denver, CO
Musical performance by The Things You Say (members of Alarming Trends and The Aviators)
Also on the bill: Bop Street
February 22, 1988
The News
West Los Angeles College
Alarming Trends
You Make Me Live in a Trailer
This group deserves points for catchy guitar riffs, a sweet-voiced singer and slick graphics. This standard rock combo, with Rebecca Watson on vocals, Ronnie Cramer on guitar, Michael Benson on bass and Lonnie Ray on drums, lays down some catchy melodies. The album starts out strong with the tuneful 'What Does Your Heart Say,' a partly acoustic ballad that displays Watson's handsome singing voice. 'Mangled Nerve Center' picks up the pace. It features some chunky guitar sound and vocals similar to those of Siouxsie and the Banshees.
The first side ends with a surf-tone instrumental called 'X-15.' With its catchy guitar licks it would be a great dance tune, if only it were a little faster. Watson sounds best when she drops the vocal posturing...she makes 'Some People' the highlight of the album's second side. Her naturally lovely voice blends with atmospheric guitar playing to create a dreamy, contemplative sound. - Lisa Priester
February 22, 1988
WHPK
Chicago, IL
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
March 1988
Alarming Trends
Thirty-minute promotional film produced and directed by Ronnie Cramer.
Starring Rebecca Watson - with Shepherd Stevenson, Dan Kenney, Doug Shelburne, Pete Nalty, Becky Van Lewen, Lane Kharmon and Bethany Shafer.
Fever Dreams (instrumental version)
Mangled Nerve Center
I Wonder Why
Out at Night
What Does Your Heart Say
White Cross
SEP V87406
March 1988
Magazine
Alarming Trends
What kind of music would you expect a city like Denver to produce? Certainly not the Super Bowl Shuffle '88, but probably good ol' American rock such as Styx and R.E.O. Speedwagon and Saga (Ouch! I bit my tongue after placing it too far in my cheek.) One would not expect to find a band such as Alarming Trends.
Alarming Trends don't play what is typically classified as 'American rock'; they don't belong to either the overblown and predictable old wave of American rock groups mentioned above or the new wave of American rock groups who feature jingly guitars and bright harmonies. Instead, on their debut album You Make Me Live in a Trailer, Alarming Trends play their own brand of dark, moody rock with a determined vision, mixing punk aesthetics with a slice of modern British Gothic a la Siouxsie and the Banshees.
The band's driving force is guitarist/songwriter/producer Ronnie Cramer. Although his production is thin in places, due more to equipment than technique, he makes up for it with clever songs and thoughtful, bassy and atmospheric guitar lines. Vocalist Rebecca Watson, who at times ventures a bit too far into the Pat Benatar/arena rock technique, compliments Cramer's guitar with her moody, sassy vocals. The band is rounded out by the competent rhythm section of Michael Benson on bass and Lonnie Ray (sounds like a baseball name to me) on drums.
While most of the album's twelve songs are at least interesting to listen to, four songs stick their heads above the pack. 'White Cross' is a nagging head-game with a slashing sinister guitar, although the vocal layering can get a bit too much to handle. 'Mangled nerve Center,' a fast, throbbingly repetitive race to the finish in the style of the Newd Prunes' 'Rat Poison,' is as hard hitting as most American pop you'll find these days. The instrumental 'X-15; is funkishly convincing while 'Some People' (not the Belouis Some song, thankyou) features a playful and musically rewarding interplay between the drums and guitar. The likeable quality that these songs share is a direction, a goal, something which lesser songs such as 'Without You Fine' and 'I Wonder Why' just don't seem to have.
Regardless of what category they fit into or what city they come from, Alarming Trends are a band to keep an eye on. You Make Me Live in a Trailer does have its faults, but it has its high points and the potential is there. Will they someday become the next alarming trend? - Arthur Lizie
March 2, 1988
Time Capsule Studios
Lakewood, CO
Eight-track recording session
Ronnie Cramer, Lonnie Ray
March 2, 1988
Medium
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Alarming Trends
You Make Me Live in a Trailer
Rebecca Watson's voice reminds me somewhat of Pat Benatar. Now before you stop reading, I used to really like Pat Benetar. I mean, I have all of her first five albums, up to the point where she really started to suck and maybe I changed a bit too. But she's kind of a somewhat less lethal Chrissie Hynde (before she started to suck). And I used to like the Pretenders a lot too.
Ronnie Cramer (guitarist and songwriter for the band, as well as filmmaker, graphic arts teacher, and producer/host of a Denver music video show) describes the band as 'kind of like Romeo Void - female vocals and all.' Fair enough, I suppose, not being too familiar with RV myself. The sound is certainly like something from that era, kind of pop-punk (buzzing guitar playing simple riffs, with disaffected, bored-like vocals), and a definite self-produced feel.
Side two of the album was previously released as a cassette EP, garnering praise as 'Denver's most creative group.' I can't make any judgments here, either (I've never been to Denver), but Cramer, at least, seems to be one of the most creative people I've ever come in contact with. - Adrienne Lowry
March 3, 1988
Clarion
University of Denver
Alarming Trends traced to Denver
The Who, REM, US and The Jacksons: what do they all have in common? Simple, they all started
as local acts. While Denver by no means has a thriving music scene, it does have its' share
of talent. One of these local bands is Alarming Trends, who has just released a new
album, You Make Me Live in a Trailer.
Led by DU alums Ronnie Cramer (guitar) and Rebecca Watson (vocals), with
Michael Benson (bass) and Lonnie Ray on drums. Alarming Trends is a very good
band. Steeped in the New York thrash punk tradition, this band has guts. Their album is
better than most locally produced albums.
The first track, What Does Your Heart Say, starts out as a moody, bassy experiment,
then kicks in with a Lone justice-like romp. Out at Night is a dark rocker with
texture that slowly envelopes one in urban chaos. The tempo and volume jump considerably
with Mangled Nerve Center, a combination of good hook, punk tempo and killer metal
riffs. This is the strongest song of the album. - Gary Giddens
March 3, 1988
KZUM
Lincoln, NE
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
March 4, 1988
The Turnverein
1570 Clarkson, Denver, CO
Record Release Party
Musical performance by Alarming Trends
Also on the bill: The Things You Say (members of the Aviators and Alarming Trends)
Exhibition of Ronnie Cramer's multi-media art installation
Screening of the thirty-minute Alarming Trends film
March 9, 1988
Starflight Sound Studio
1175 S. Lincoln, Denver, CO
Eight-track recording session for seven-song Strange Loop demo:
Crimes
Anymore
Companion
Vampire
Dreams
Lights Turn Blue
Fade to Blue
Dan Kenney: Guitar, Ronnie Cramer: Bass, Bob Sawyer: Drums
March 10, 1988
Starflight Sound Studio
1175 S. Lincoln, Denver, CO
Mixing session for Female Vocalist Compilation:
Free Love Society The Mirror
Perry Mason Loses Call Me at Home
Bitch Bitch Bitch (Hey You) Find Someone New
Alarming Trends Jailbait
Bandeliers Hungri
Bambara Mask These Happy Things
Machines in Motion 442
Tina Fulker Outdoor Girl
Murder By Television Pamela
Producer: Ronnie Cramer, Engineer: Mark Derryberry
March 16-22, 1988
Westword
The most impressive local video I've seen, by the way, is a just-released thirty-minute
compilation of Alarming Trends' videos from the past several years. The songs are
strung together with a sometimes bizarre, surrealist 'plot' that includes scenes of a woman
taking a bath in milk and pouring cereal over herself. Much of the music is old, but the
concepts have aged well (especially White Cross, a manic clip in which fish fly
through the Denver skies, and chop off band members' heads). The whole thing is innovative
and supremely entertaining. - Gil Asakawa
March 17, 1988
Vista
University of San Diego
Alarming Trends aren't false
Alarming Trends, a band reviewed last semester in the Vista has just released a thirty minute video tape of al their videos that are tied together loosely by a flimsy plot. Alarming Trends is led by Rebecca Watson on lead vocals, Lonnie Ray on drums, Michael Benson on bass, and group founder Ronnie Cramer on guitar. The cast includes Pete Nalty, Becky van Lewen, Shepherd Stevenson and Lane Kharmon.
The videos were shot in diverse locations such as San Francisco, Las Vegas, and your typical 70s suburban house. The entire movie was shot in black and white. The director Ronnie Cramer also used basic animation, or stop motion photography, and VHS combined with lengths of super 8. All of this added up to a poignant short film.
'The Thirty Minute Journey Into the World of Alarming Trends' has been billed as a place where 'seltzer and interdimensional travel begin each day,' or for you fishy types, '...where giant man-eating trout fill the sky wreaking havoc on those below.' Or for you spacey types, a land where 'aliens take the form of sandwiches and destroy unsuspecting young people.' The plot, if you can call it that, revolves around a housewife's life which runs through the videos in a twisted sort of way.
Alarming Trends is still a very underground band and will stay that way for a while, but soon enough they will gain the exposure they need to make it big. A lot of imagery used in the video was similar to Andy Warhol's idea of pop art. There were Coke machines appearing out of the ground and pieces of pizza floating across the city like a little rat. Alarming Trends appears on Scorched Earth Records and the video is in VHS stereo so pick it up or stay behind. - Peter Meyer
March 20, 1988
WSIA
Staten Island, NY
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
March/April 1988
Option
Alarming Trends
You Make Me Live in a Trailer LP
This quartet from Denver, by way of vocalist Rebecca Watson, wears its influences on
its sleeve; Patti Smith, Siouxsie, Pat Benetar, Rindy Ross (Quarterflash). Fortunately the
accent is heavier on the former than the latter. Watson has a fine voice (perhaps too fine;
it's admittedly trained for the musical stage) that, when blended 'just so' with guitarist
songwriter Ronnie Cramer's hard rock inclinations, can work quite well (White Cross).
also in this issue:
John Lurie (cover), Gun Club, Fairport Convention
April 1988
Creem
Alarming Trends
You Make Me Live in a Trailer
Their essay at cocktail-lounge-bohemian-passion-in-the-dark whozis comes out as rough and clunky as certain varieties of punk-plunk, and bears up to repeated listenings for just that reason. - Brad Bradberry
also in this issue:
U2 (cover), Depeche Mode, Screaming Blue Messiahs, Love & Rockets
April 1, 1988
The Lookout
Lansing, MI
Alarming Trends set an alarming trend
If all your rock and roll albums sound the same and you're looking for a new approach to rock music, then search no more. The young Denver based band Alarming Trends is just what you've been looking for.
On their latest release, 'You Make Me Live in a Trailer,' the music is definitely rock and roll, but it isn't played in the over-used glamour-rock format. Instead, they've got a jazzy style of hard rock which varies intensity with the changing moods of the songs.
Alarming Trends formed during the mid-80s in Denver in a way guitarist Ronnie Cramer describes as 'a rock video in reverse.'
When Cramer began making films for a college class, he needed music for the background, so he recruited some local musicians. They liked playing together and after recording some music on an old 4-track recorder in Cramer's apartment, they decided to form a band.
The line-up of the band remains the same as in the beginning, except for the vocalist. On guitar is founder and main creative force, Ronnie Cramer. On bass guitar is Michael Benson, and on drums is Lonnie Ray. Replacing former vocalist Tammy Lucero is Rebecca Watson.
Watson joined the band as a result of meeting Cramer in a graphics class in their senior year at Denver University. After Lucero left, Watson auditioned and has been with the band ever since.
Since Watson has been with Alarming Trends, the band's success has been great. Some of their achievements include a previous release of a six-song tape, which is on the second side of 'Trailer.'
They have also made several films and videos, many of which have appeared on Denver's local television. Their two latest videos of the songs 'White Cross' and 'Fabrications' have been on 'Teletunes' top ten video show and other programs across the country. Right now the band is finishing a half-hour promotional film also scheduled to be aired on television.
With all these artistic outputs, it's little wonder critics label Alarming Trends the most creative band in Denver. In addition to studio and video work, the band has been busy performing live as well. Alarming Trends has played numerous shows all around Colorado and in several other states.
Alarming Trends is bound to be a major musical element in the 90s. They have new style, sound and video looks, yet they're still rock and roll. So watch for the 'You Make Me Live in a Trailer' album in record stores as Alarming Trend's alarming trend continues to catch on. - Suzi Miller
April 8, 1988
The Emory Wheel
Atlanta, GA
Alarming Trends You Make Me Live in a Trailer
As far as most fans of alternative rock are concerned, Denver has yet to make its mark in the music world. While it takes more than one band to make a Mecca, Alarming Trends, acclaimed as Denver's most creative band, just might be at the front of a Denver breakthrough - should one occur.
Their first full-length LP, You Make Me Live in a Trailer, is a collection of tunes popular in their live shows, as well as some songs worked up just for the LP. Side two is actually the band's first EP re-released, while side one is later material.
The album has its share of winners. Guitarist, producer and songwriter Ronnie Cramer has a knack for turning out catchy pop tunes as well as some stinging punk numbers. 'What Does Your Heart Say,' the track that kicks off the album is a pleasant, acoustic tinged love song. Vocalist Rebecca Watson sounds like a third Indigo Girl, but Cramer's buzzing electric guitar lends a much rougher feel to the song overall.
On 'Echoes in the Dark' she reaches further, inspired by Cramer's very somber, punk yet bluesy guitar, and the net effect is haunting.
Watson slips into an almost passive narrative on 'Mangled Nerve Center,' which is instrumentally a dose of churning punk guitar. The instrumental 'X-15,' which has a catchy dark riff, is perhaps the finest song on the album.
Cramer has revealed that he can write and play some decent songs. Personally, I favor the rapid-fire punk tunes and the catchy pop melodies. But maybe the scathing blues guitar is too tempting. - Steve Saum
April 25, 1988
KRRC
Portland, OR
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
April/May 1988
B Side
Alarming Trends
You Make Me Live in a Trailer LP
Engaging new wave...has a charm to it...at times it reminds me of The Waitresses...unassuming, but not uninteresting...keep your eyes on them for future growth.
also in this issue:
Flesh for Lulu (cover), Sonic Youth, Legendary Pink Dots, Echo and the Bunnymen
May 1988
Starflight Sound Studio
1175 S. Lincoln, Denver, CO
Half-track mastering session for Female Vocalist Compilation
Producer: Ronnie Cramer
April 25, 1988
WRFG-FM
Atlanta, GA
Alarming Trends added to station playlist
May 17, 1988
KANM
Dallas, TX
Alarming Trends is added to the station playlist.
'This is great!' - Tim Davis
Summer 1988
Flip Side
Alarming Trends
2 song video outta nowhere (actually Colorado, but wot's the diff?).
I get this package with an elpee + 2-song video from a band called Alarming Trends. The rec's not bad; is called You Make Me Live in a Trailer, is filled with loads of punky, atmospheric R&R, and had one of the best odes-to-methamphetamine ever, 'White Cross.' The video's wot I really dug, tho! Two songs, 'White Cross' plus 'Fabrications,' illustrated with loads of Monty Pythonesque animation and plenty of close-ups for Alarming Trends' Penelope Houston-ish chanteuser, Rebecca Watson, all in stark, glorious, biger'n life black and white. I esp. got off to the deadly flying fish in 'White Cross.' Dunno if this vid's available to the general public, but try writin' Scorched Earth Records. - Tim Stegall
June 29-July 5, 1988
Westword
The Best of Denver 1988
Best Band Packaging
The band, led by singer/songwriter/guitarist/graphic artist/video director Ronnie Cramer puts out the slickest posters, videos and recorded materials in town.
July 20-26, 1988
Westword
Trend-setters: Ronnie Cramer, the creative mastermind behind the long-lasting Denver group, Alarming Trends, is almost busier than it's possible to be. This week, the band's in New York, making the grueling rounds of the showcase clubs - July 23 at the Bitter End in the Village; the next night at the legendary hellhole (especially in mid-summer) CBGB - hoping to catch the attention of the labels. But Cramer's also compiled his favorite songs by female singers, including bands from Colorado (Bitch, Bitch, Bitch, Murder by Television), Connecticut (Free Love Society), California (Bandeliers, Bambara Mask) and others, for release on his label. And if that's not enough, Cramer's been tapped to direct a crime-drama feature film produced in Denver by Christine Purse. - Gil Asakawa
1988
Factsheet 5
Alarming Trends
This is a really fine five-song video album from the band Alarming Trends. Featuring Ronnie Cramer's songwriting and guitar work and Rebecca Watson's expressive singing, they blast out a solid rock line that's warped enough by strange lyrics to be great. The video work is excellent, making perfect use of black and white and cutting back and forth from reality to fantasy via televisions that interact with the people on the screen, stop action animation and more. Best bets here are the paranoid strung out 'Mangled Nerve Center' and closing 'White Cross,' with its motif of gargantuan mackerel flying around the landscape. - Mike Gunderloy
July 22, 1988
Lismar Lounge
41 First Ave.
New York, NY
Musical performance by Alarming Trends
July 23, 1988
The Bitter End
147 Bleeker
New York, NY
Musical performance by Alarming Trends
July 24, 1988
CBGB
315 Bowery
New York, NY
Musical performance by Alarming Trends
July/August 1988
Option
Alarming Trends
This film, directed by Alarming Trends guitarist Ronnie Cramer, is an original and inventive format for a band to use in presenting their videos and music. The videos are couched in a short, half-hour, black and white film. There is no narrative, but rather several vignettes involving two roommates, interdimensional travel, and the relationship between people and their television sets. The music ranges from new wavy rock 'n' roll to some nice acoustic pieces. Vocalist Rebecca Watson has a nice film presence and comes across as a young combination of Debbie Harry and Tanya Tucker. There are some bits of the film that are amusingly surrealistic, such as fish flying through the air, a young man melting into a drainage ditch, and a girl who bathes in milk while eating breakfast cereal from the tub (shades of Ken Russell perhaps). The film makes a good setting for the music of Alarming Trends and stands up to repeated viewing.
September 7-13, 1988
Westword
KUBD-Channel 59 is where you'll find Denver's newest music video program, 'The Music Link,' with host Mike Drumm playing first-rate videos in all styles. This Sunday, September 11, he's airing Alarming Trends' recently released half-hour video, which strings together all the band's songs into one extremely well-done, surrealistic narrative.
September 11, 1988
Music Link
The 30-minute Alarming Trends film is aired along with an interview of Ronnie Cramer conducted by host Mike Drumm.
November 1988
Gargoyle #35
The 'Outdoor Girl' cut from Tender Hooks has been included on an anthology of women's music pressed by Ronnie Cramer's Denver-based Scorched Earth Records.
Other groups on the LP include Free Love Society, Perry Mason Loses, Bitch Bitch Bitch, Murder by Television and Alarming Trends.
