CHANCE REACTION (born Troy Palmer, briefly contracted Pox Incurable... better now by hand of Chance)
+ early Christus member; synth-tones, vocals, slide whistle (1988-1991)
+ ex-Christus guitarist/ backing vocals (1999-2001)
+founder White Light Revolver (1992-present)
+occasional Christus contributor (2002-?)

Top 5 Mentors of the Lunar Jigsaw Son
1. Syd Barrett- At peak strength in 1967, Syd's mirror-jeweled electric guitar traced everchanging vaportrails with silver serpentine intuition. His fragile voice scarcely contained a raging turbulence that persistently threatened to drag him under, which it eventually did. There's a tragic romance to his character, marked early on by an illogical heroism. Ultimately, however, the life of Pink Floyd's original leader soon became merely tragic. To try and imagine how this thief-of-fire has internally suffered the past thirty odd years for all-too-briefly testing the limits of his psyche is as heartbreaking as his work is inspiring.

2. Colin Newman- Mainly considered Wire's frantically poignant vocalist, Colin also possessed a colorfully terse staccato guitar edge that complimented Bruce Gilbert's increasingly impressionistic style perfectly. While sharing various roles in his parent band since 1977, Colin displayed his distinct strengths during band haitus on the starkly beautiful post-punk gem, A to Z (1980). The album also allowed music geeks (like me) the added fun of more precisely pinpointing/analyzing his contributions to Wire's overall aesthetic makeup. A birdlike Peter Pan of a man was he in those days.

3. Craig Scanlon - Scabby, scrappy, shambling, shimmering, but never shit. The Fall's secret instrumental weapon could choke the nosehairs offa rockabilly ruffian then glue 'em to the spot with a sharp cascade of circular speed-freaked snakecharmer smarm. Various classic moments on the Palace of Swords Reversed collection showcase Craig's ability to alternately harness twitching nervous tension and soar majestic arcs around Mark E. Smith's buckwild syllable highway.

4. Dik - Everything about The Virgin Prunes dripped personality. Dik (brother to U2's The Edge) may have been a technically limited guitarist, yet he more than made up for it in pure expressive instinct. Sliding from delightfully childlike melodies to hauntingly brittle melancholia to pure demonic malevolence, Dik took the punk aesthetic of "If there's a will..." all the way. He made it seem so easy that (for me) he was a natural inspiration to those of us who aren't Hendrix's or Satriani's but still have something to say through six strings.

5. Bryan Gregory - My last choice was either Bryan or The Birthday Party's Roland Howard. Both made disturbing use/abuse of blues-based notebending in a darker context, but Bryan (like Dik) made his skills seem attainable. The Cramps' early guitarist looked like a zombie and played like teenage werewolf! Born to wear sunglasses after dark, Bryan was one of precious few who really put the "psycho" in psychobilly. By the age of twelve, I knew I wanted to channel that kind of trash-cool energy!

TOP 10 ALBUMS (in alphabetical order)
1. DAVID BOWIE - 'Diamond Dogs' (1974): The influence of this post-apocalyptic epic can still be heard in such modern albums as Marilyn Manson's 'Mechanical Animals' (structurally and visually undeniable, Mr. M!). Similar in style yet conceptually bleaker than his recently shed Ziggy Stardust persona, the world of Halloween Jack seemed to welcome oblivion more than mourn it. Bowie's lyrical use of Burroughsian cut-up technique prefaced the all-out experimentation over his next five years' worth of work. A clear landmark for gothic generations past and present.

2. CABARET VOLTAIRE - 'Voice of America' (1980): The Cab's primitive electronics, tape loops and treated guitar minimalism perfectly conjured the cold, alien environment my sci-fi engulfed teenage mind so desperately craved. I don't know what else to say about these industrial multi-media pioneers, except they significantly warped my mental development and broadened my ideas of what music could be.

3. CHROME - 'Red Exposure' (1980): At thirteen, I had awhile to go before any experimentation with mind-expanding substances. Chrome let me know what to expect four years prior to collegiate delerium. Close my eyes and a pastiche of Blade Runner cityscapes, neon planets, sexy cyborgs and freaky aliens whizzed by. "New Age" was better than any movie I had yet to see, as sung by an excitable phosphurous insectoid. "No Humans Allowed", the title of a later Chrome release, is as fitting a description of their '79-'83 catalog as you can get!

4. FAUST - 'The Faust Tapes' (1973): Clown princes of a loose movement of German psyche/prog artists that included Can, Amon Duul II, and Brainticket. Faust's third album strung together numerous jams and experiments into one long track that just happened to work as a cohesive suite. Their chaotically playful use of early synth technology made for an asylum full o' fun!

5. 14 ICED BEARS - 'Let The Breeze Open Our Hearts' (1989): It wasn't easy choosing a representative of the original shoegaze/dreampop explosion, but this collection of their debut album, two EP's and unreleased material sums up everything that I found so captivating about the scene. Effects-laden guitar textures fortified delicate melodies and sweeping overtures, effortlessly bridging the original British psychedelic movement with its late-80's/early-90's reinvention. Loud, pretty, lonely and at times deceptively vicious ("Cut" remains a quintessential anti-lovesong), 14 Iced Bears were a crucial melding of early Floyd, The Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine.

6. KILLING JOKE - 'What's This For?' (1981): A pummeling tribal onslaught fronted by madman Jaz Coleman, whose all-consuming occult theories and explosive personality were the stuff of enigmatic legend. He beat up journalists and fled to the apparent safety of Iceland after predicting the end of The World in 1982, only to be ejected a year later for "questionable religious practices". Whether that last bit is really true or merely a classic underground rumor, Coleman's intensity provided a strong focal point for an already ferocious unit propelled by guitarist Geordie Walker's distinct post-punk pyrotechnics. The band's thunderous trainwreck momentum and unifying philosophical outlook forged an unforgettable body of work, whose first phase is best encapsulated by their second full-length. I would not be making music if it weren't for a brief conversation I had with Jaz in 1994.

7. SECTION 25 - 'Key of Dreams' (1982): Section 25 were unfairly written off as Joy Division wannabe's because they were friends and shared a record label (Factory). In truth, they were far more spaced out and psychedelicized than their compatriots, lyrically dwelling on the cosmic as opposed to Ian Curtis' deeply personal chronicles of soul ache. 'Key of Dreams' spun loose improvosational atmospherics with a third eye on the vast vacuum of the outer limits. Vocalist/bassist Larry Cassidy sounded vaguely reminiscent of Throbbing Gristle/ Psychic TV's Genesis P. Orridge. An unsung space rock classic.

8. THE SOFT BOYS - 'Underwater Moonlight' (1980): The swansong from Robyn Hitcock's first serious band is regarded by many critics and collectors as one of the most underrated albums of the era. Too melodic and complex for most punks, too wierd for rockers or radio, this hi-octane successor to Syd Barrett and The Velvet Underground was a touchstone for L.A.'s relatively more successful  paisley underground of psychedelic revisionists in the early 80's (ie. The Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, The Three O'Clock, etc.). Lyrically sharp, surreal and insightful with more hooks than a mad fisherman, 'Underwater Moonlight' would have been huge if it came out about a decade later. "Insanely Jealous" remains one of the most neurotically romantic lovesongs ever!

9. SONIC YOUTH -"Halloween" EP (1984): My entire demeanor changes everytime I hear this. Forebodingly exotic, ritually mantric strumming from some faraway mountainside forest riding a midnight bloodtide of tantric energy... Kim Gordon's intonations are as alluringly sensual as a female mantis about to eat your head during climax. "Flower" on the flipside finds this mysterious sex goddess turning malignant in righteous fury. Truly pagan at heart.

10. VIRGIN PRUNES - 'A New Form of Beauty' (1981): Collecting the first three segments of a five-part project, this disc displays the group's every sonic and spiritual strength. The power of the Prunes lies fundamentally in their complete fearlessness to lay bare unpopular ideas, personal insecurities, existential confusion, and the wrath born of an unrepentant misfit. The seesawing porcelain doll ballet of "Sandpaper Lullaby" opens the show with a clear message that the next hour will bring not so much a cycle of songs as a unique, dreamlike experience. Joy, sadness, despair, anger and dread each play their part in this nine-act psychodrama. Fiercely individual and intuitively occult.

Chance can be reached at djchance@aol.com   Drop a line sometime...