It's funny how some people never escape the specter of their first band. Even if they've gone on to greater success, if their first band was even remotely popular, they're forever stigmatized. Now, some people manage to shake the "guy from" curse-- for instance, Elliott Smith isn't just "the guy from Heatmiser" anymore-- but most are not so fortunate. Frank Black will always be "Black Francis from the Pixies." Dean Wareham is still "the guy from Galaxie 500." And Firewater frontman Tod Ashley is usually introduced as "the guy from Cop Shoot Cop," even though not too many people even remember Cop Shoot Cop.

The "guy from Cop Shoot Cop" suffix on Ashley's title was probably more appropriate for Firewater's first album Get Off The Cross, We Need The Wood For The Fire when Firewater was more of an indie- rock supergroup: Ashley, Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison, Soul Coughing drummer Yuval Gabay, and a bevy of lesser- knowns from bands such as Laughing Hyenas, Congo Norvell, the Elysian Fields, Motherhead Bug, and Foetus. Get Off The Cross was a surprising success; its blend of aggressive rock and ethnic folk conjured up images of groups of drunken Eastern European immigrants wilding through a dirty New York tenement. On The Ponzi Scheme, however, Ashley is the only "big" name left in the band, backing himself up with able but less distinctive musicians. The result is a more guitar- rock- oriented album, still dripping with sneer and sweat, but missing a few of the Gypsy/ klezmer-ish elements that made Get Off The Cross so edgy.

At first glance, The Ponzi Scheme seems like a genuine crossover attempt: "Green Light" and "Dropping Like Flies" threaten to be hit singles with their bombastic guitar hooks. And the impassioned tenderness in "Isle of Dogs" and "I Still Love You Judas" are a pleasant surprise coming from a band so misanthropic. Heck, "So Long, Superman" even nips the keyboard line of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" for a spin around the local swing club's dance floor. But I dare not accuse Firewater of going soft; they still play nightly in the Cabaret of the Damned, incorporating spy- movie themes (the "Peter Gunn" rip-off "Ponzi's Theme," featuring saxes so sleazy you'll want to towel off afterwards), cool finger- snappin' jazz ("Whistling In The Dark"), tango ("Another Perfect Catastrophe") and even gospel (the shitkickin' "Knock 'Em Down") into their oeuvre. If Firewater keeps on making albums The Ponzi Scheme, Tod Ashley will stop being just "the guy from Cop Shoot Cop" and start being "the guy from Firewater". That's something anyone could be proud of.

-Nick Mirov