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Paul K, Weathermen adopt sunnier outlook
Paul K and the Weathermen, Gladys and Bird Dog 9 tonight at House of Heresy. $4
What’s this? Paul K (Kopasz), Lexington’s longtime doom-and-gloom specialist, actually sounding almost cheery on his newest album?      Well, believe it. And what's even more intriguing is that the mood swing was actually one of the primary goals behind the record he has just released with his longtime cohorts The Weathermen.
Even the title sounds almost perky: Love is a Gas.      "I just wanted to make a little bit more of a happier record," Kopasz said. "I wanted to write something that sounded warm. Maybe even include some love songs."      Local fans who have followed Kopasz’s work – a stark, downcast reflection of life that has often been compared to Nick Cave and Townes Van Zandt – might find this sudden blast of sunshine a little tough to swallow.      But Love is a Gas is hardly a sugary pop outing. The albums more accessible tracks, "David Ruffin’s Tears" and "Slow It Down," still have turbulent undercurrents. And then there are the spookier tunes ("Jesus Children of America," "To See You If You Fall") that share more in common with Kopasz’s past work (particularly the sublime non-Weathermen release The Big Nowhere).	The sense of bleakness, though, is nowhere near as relentless as it has been. Kopasz attributes not only to his new songs, but also to the manner in which Love is a Gas was made. Producing the album was Maureen Tucker, drummer for the fabled Velvet Underground. The Velvets served as a key influence to artists in the last 30 years, including Kopasz.     "I told her flat-out, before we even started, that I was nervous as hell because she was one of my heroes. Then we went into the studio and she's got her kids there hanging out with us. She was the most normal person in the world.      "Maureen had a lot of good Beatlish.types of ideas. She had ideas for backwards piano parts and percussion suggestions that I would have never thought of."      The most obvious of Tucker's are evident on the album's Eastern sounding title tune. She also played drums on the big beat-ish "Manna." Elsewhere the Velvet touch emerges on	"Slow It Down," an information overload saga that blends the band's expansive sound with a solid, T. Rex-style pop groove.      With Love is a Gas now out, the matter of touring emerges. Anytime an artist records an album, the label, in this case the California-based Alias Records, expects a pretty significant allotment of roadwork to help spur sales.      Kopasz is no stranger to that. He has already toured Europe six times (a seventh visit is scheduled for April) and frequently performs throughout the country. Locally, he and the Weathermen – bassist and former Lexingtonian Steve Poulton, Chicago area drummer Glenn Kotche and (for tonight's show) Chicago keyboardist Matt Reed - celebrate the album’s release with a performance at House of Heresy.      "Alias wants to buy us a van," Kopasz said wearily. "So I'm running out of excuses not to tour." article by Walter Tunis Lexington Herald-Leader Friday, January 24, 1997

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