Rolling Stone
May 1998
I stumbled into a smokey club back in 1989, looking for something to drink, some music to enjoy, and some equally inebriated people to enjoy it with. What I found were the Natural Wonders. They had an innocence which excited me. Amber Lane, at first glance the stereotypical female vocalist, was filled which such youthful energy--she couldn't have been more than 15 years old. Behind her was a stoic Nick Adams, decked out in black from his Sex Pistols T-shirt to his combat boots. To say that he was expressionless would be misleading. Without the slightest bit of emotion in his face, he radiated laid-backness. If the stage erupted in a fantastic pyrotechnic display and the entire building collapsed, Nick would still be playing his guitar. On the opposite side of the stage stood the equally enigmatic Luke Heinz. He wore the angst-ridden expression I expected from Nick's clothing. Instead, he looked like the Fonz, in blue jeans, white T-shirt, and a leather jacket. Luke danced around the stage with the same passion that Nick stood still. He was trying so hard to look the cool rock star that it was hard not to like him. In the very back, the drummer and the bass player watched the antics, smiling and bobbing their heads. The audience was doing the same. Everyone was having fun. That's how I remember the Natural Wonders.
By 1995, the line up had changed and the innocence had faded, but the band was still hot. I expected to be reviewing their shows well into the new millenium. Then a bar fight took the life of Nick Adams and it looked like the fun had ended. But here I am, three years later, writing a review of the new Natural Wonders album. Will Wonders ever cease?
I met up with my old friends at a show in NYC and they had a lot to say about the new album.
| RS: | So what's with this reunion? |
| Amber: | You said once that we'd never last ten years. We had to prove you wrong. |
| RS: | You've still got a year to go. |
| A: | We'll dedicate our next CD to you, okay? |
| RS: | How are you managing without Nick? I always thought he was the brains behind the band. |
| A: | Hey, don't write us off so fast now! Kevin and I haven't done so bad on our own. Hell, you gave my first solo disc four stars! And Marcus, god, he's so sweet. I think he's found something he really enjoys. That's why I'm so sure we'll be around for another album. |
| RS: | And Luke Heinz? |
| A: | He can go on hating the world! It's like, if he can't be cool, he's gonna take it out on the rest of us. Well, as long as he's all bark and no bite, I don't care. |
| RS: | So tell me how this reunion thing happened. |
| A: | Boy, you're still the same old poser, aren't you? Like we didn't just talk about this twenty minutes ago. You should have been taping then. Oh, hey, you're not gonna print this are you? |
| RS: | No. |
| A: | Cool. So, like, what was the question? Oh, right, the reunion thingy. So, you know, we were all doin' our own stuff, well, Kevin and me, and I just wasn't enjoying the solo thing. It was great for a while to get away from everyone else and find out who I was--who I am, but I couldn't keep it up--I didn't want to. I started thinking about Nick and something my mom told me once, and I got all nostalgic. It made me decide to come out of hiding, so I went to find Kevin, 'cause I needed someone to talk to. And, like, that's when we got the idea. |
| RS: | Did you think you'd come out of it with, god, a seventh hit album? |
| A: | No, we weren't even thinking about the album at first. I mean, it was really just about getting back together and having fun. I thought maybe if we were still any good we'd tour around and see the fans again, but, no, I didn't expect an album. But, like, we really got into the music and it was fun again. I guess it was all, you know, cathartic, so we had this emotion there and we just put it into a record. We didn't want it to go to waste. |
| RS: | Wow. Well, it didn't. It's an incredible album. |
| A: | Oh? Our best album yet? |
| RS: | Very funny. So how did you find Marcus? |
| A: | Well, I knew he played with the Stomach Contents. Luke was so in your face that I couldn't not notice. But then he showed up at Nick's funeral, and I didn't know what to think. I just ignored him, 'cause I figured he might be trying to cause trouble. He didn't. And then when he left Luke's band and went solo, I got all curious. His album was incredible. And then I read your interview with him, and I couldn't believe he'd played with the 'Contents. I just wanted to give him a hug. I guess I'm not as quick at figuring people out as Nick was. When Kevin and I realized we needed another person, you know, for the band, I called him up. |
| Kevin: | Hey, Am, we gotta get ready. Dave, see ya after the show, okay? |
| RS: | I wouldn't miss it. |
I didn't. We went out for pizza and bowling. The Natural Wonders were the same fun-loving kids I knew nine years ago. I've got my fingers crossed for ten.