Conflict of interest alert indeed! today we celebrate the reissue of glo-worm’s 1995 singles collection glimmer, featuring the d.c. trio of (chickfactor co-founder) Pam Berry, Terry Banks and Dan Searing. Interview by Gail
“How many times have we folk of a certain age played a record from 30 years ago and found ourselves transported to our youthful days, brimming with daredevil promises and reckless projections? Me, I’m guessing it feels like what my drug-loving friends often describe. Trouble is, the music inevitably stops or the drugs wear off, and we’re flung back into our current bodies in the world as it exists now. This saddening scenario leaves me immeasurably grateful for Glo-Worm and that, even if you shamefully haven’t put on Glimmer in a while, its series of buoyant and winsome two-minute wisdoms have somehow kept pace alongside you this whole time. Somehow, and either by design or providence — doesn’t matter, really — these finely polished bijoux miraculously define and comfort who you are now as much as who you were then. And, irrespective of what your ID says in the birth-date field, or if you found this essential collection in its original 1995 form, its new 2025 incarnation, or however we’ll receive our music in 2055, don’t we all desire that our most beloved ones grow old with us?” —Gaylord Fields
“Black Tambourine had a song on the What Kind of Heaven Do You want? (Slumberland) 7″ 45rpm EP, “Pam’s Tan.” Though Pam Berry’s vocals are not featured prominently (or at all?), I was intrigued. Around this time Pam and I met in the DC area, possibly at a holiday party (see attached photog). I invited Black Tambourine to record a volume in the International Pop Underground series of 7″ releases on K. Pam’s response was “OK but first why don’t you release a rec by my OTHER band, Glo-Worm.” Huh. This Glo-Worm combo features stripped down instrumentation allowing more prominent positioning of the Pam Berry vocalisations. Yes, this could work. ‘Pam Berry vocalisations’ are quite unique, pleasing. If the original question is “What kind of heaven do you want?” the obvious answer is “One where the angels can sing like Pam Berry.” they’re still working on it. Meanwhile, we have an entire album of Pam Berry skillfully accompanied by Terry Banks (guitar) and Dan Searing (percussion), Glimmer [KLP054, which includes the songs on Glo-Worm‘s volume in the International Pop Underground series, Travelogue [IPU063], as well as all the other 7″ releases from Glo-Worm‘s brief time on the planet. Glimmer has steered us towards the ideal world, heaven on earth, of which we all aspire.” —Calvin Johnson, K Records
US folks: Order the glo-worm album here
UK/Scotland folks: Order the glo-worm album here
chickfactor: Tell us the band origin story.
Terry Banks: We formed sometime in 1993, but it also could’ve been in ’92. I think I asked Pam if she wanted to write some songs/start a band and we soon drafted in Dan.
Dan Searing: I was really happy to be asked to join Pam and Terry in glo-worm. After my first band, Whorl broke up, I realized how much playing music with other people had become an important part of my life and how much I missed it. Playing in glo-worm led to playing in The Seashell Sea, The Castaway Stones, and The Saturday People for which I am so grateful – all the songs and memories.
How long was glo-worm active?
Terry: We went from ‘92/’93-ish up until around the Fall of ’95 — about two and a half years, or maybe a little more than that. During that time, we had three 7” EPs, released by the Somersault, Slumberland and K labels, plus songs on a couple of compilations. Those recordings led up to the Glimmer record, which collected all that stuff.
Dan: Our last show was a 2002 reunion at the “new” 9:30 Club (we played the old one too, opening for Pizzicato Five) as part of Chickfactor’s tenth anniversary celebration on a bill with Future Bible Heroes, The Would-Be-Goods, and Pipas. If you had told me in 1989 that I would one day share a bill with a group was on el records I would have told you to fuck off.
Please name all other bands you have been in.
It’s pretty labyrinth. In recent years, Pam has sung with Withered Hand and Pete Astor and before glo-worm she was in Black Tambourine. Following glo-worm she had a thing called The Shapiros (and also Belmondo, Bright Colored Lights, Seashell Sea, Castaway Stones, the Pines, and more – Ed.). Then Pam and Dan played together in the Castaway Stones, later followed by Terry and Dan playing together in The Saturday People and Dan in LU. Still later, Terry was in Julie Ocean and is currently in Dot Dash. Earlier, there was also Tree Fort Angst and St. Christopher for Terry and Whorl for Dan.
What was the D.C. pop scene like at that time?
Terry: I remember it being pretty good. A lot of it was centered around Vinyl Ink, the record store on Bonifant Street in Silver Spring run by the amiable George Gelestino and which stocked lots of the 7”s, cassettes and zines that comprised the nascent indiepop thing that was happening.
Dan: it felt like kind of a high point for our community and ethos. The Lotsa Pop Losers two-day festival organized by the Simple Machines, Slumberland, and Teenbeat labels was in October of 1991. Mike and Slumberland moved to California in 1992. But we got to play with a bunch of exciting bands from all over and contribute to keeping that spirit alive for a few more years.
What was your songwriting process like then?
Terry: I wrote the music, Pam wrote the lyrics, and Dan did the percussion. I was way into Tracey Thorn’s guitar playing and the overall vibe from her Plain Sailing record, that rainy-day, melancholic, slightly jazzy thing she did.
Dan: This is not really relevant to the songwriting in glo-worm but I played a kick drum as a tom, a snare, and a cymbal in Whorl. I can’t remember whose idea it was for me to play only a snare with brushes in glo-worm. I’m sure I had heard that sound/style before I was struck by it on a Miles Davis record I checked out of the library while in high school, Workin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet, but that album sticks in my head. The first song, It Never Entered My Mind, is still one of my favorite recordings. I think Pam and Terry were a terrific songwriting duo. I don’t remember talking about it at the time with Terry but I was a big fan of that Tracey Thorn record, too.
What was it like being on K Records?
Terry: It was great. People get tattoos of the K shield logo, that’s got to mean something. Also, I saw Beat Happening at DC Space and they were excellent, Calvin was walking around and going right up to people and singing at them, like Mr. Al Vega from Suicide. I dug it. So, anyway, I knew K from that, before glo-worm happened.
Dan:I saw Beat Happening play twice in DC after Mike from Slumberland turned me on to their first two singles when we were DJs at WMUC at University of MD, College Park and they were really inspiring. To be in a band releasing a single in the International Pop Underground series alongside the likes of bands like Heavenly who were part of the British scene that was also so inspirational to me was a real thrill. Having our three singles compiled on a CD not long after was also really exciting, the first full-length release I had been a part of. I never interacted with Calvin at that time and he remained kind of mysterious to me so I got a kick out of speaking with him on the phone as part of organizing this reissue. I like imagining time is folding and it’s him on the other end of the line in the original glo-worm promo photo where I am holding the phone.
Did glo-worm tour?
Terry: Unfortunately, no. We played in New York a few times, and Baltimore; everything else was in D.C. All in all, I think we played about 15 or 16 gigs (i.e., a gig every few months), including ones with the Magnetic Fields, Small Factory, Heavenly, Honeybunch, Would-Be-Goods, Pizzicato Five, Tsunami, Boyracer, Air Miami, the Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, The Ropers, Romania, and Ivy. The closest we got to bigtime rock was opening for Radiohead at the now-razed Washington Convention Center.
Dan: I always envied my friends in bands who went on proper tours (even though I know it can be a slog) but we never got the chance. We played in DC, MD, VA and NY though, and shared the bill with some amazing bands we admired. And we did play in two shows on the Chickfactor tour in the summer of 1995. I have particularly fond memories of the gig in Baltimore at the 14K Cabaret with the Magnetic Fields and Nord Express. Another Chickfactor bill we were on was for the release of issue #6 in New York. Pam also played in Belmondo that night, Terry played a solo set, and it was Ivy’s first show.
What do you remember about recording the songs on Glimmer?
Terry: The first batch of songs, ‘Holiday,’ ‘Downtown,’ ‘Tilt-a-Whirl,’ ‘Stars Above’ and ‘Crazy Town’ were recorded by Charles Bennington and Geoff Turner at WGNS. ‘I Will Remember You’ comes from a four-track recording done in Pam’s group-house basement during the short-lived (pre-Dan) duo era.
The rest of the songs – ‘Travelogue’, ‘Useless’, ‘Change of Heart’, ‘One Million Rainy Days’, ‘Wishing Well’, ‘April Street’, ‘Beyond the Sea’ and ‘Friday I’m In Love’ — were recorded by Archie Moore in the basement of the group house where he lived. Near the end of the band’s run, we became a quartet with Tina Plottel on violin. You can hear her violin-ing on ‘Useless.’
Dan: I was pretty new to the band when we recorded the first single and I was nervous in the studio. Playing a snare drum with brushes was a new style for me and I looked up to Geoff Turner and Charles Bennington, whose WGNS studio we recorded in, as established musicians in the DC scene. Not that they were intimidating in any way, just the opposite, and I had recorded with Wharton Tiers and Barrett Jones with Whorl, but recording is always intense. When we recorded the second two singles I was more comfortable playing in the group and Archie and I had been close friends for some time so it was easier to enjoy it. I don’t want to sound corny but I liked what Terry and Pam were doing a lot and I was eager to make the right contribution.
How did this reissue come about?
Terry: Calvin was up for reissuing the record. (Thank you, Calvin!) Kristin did an entirely new sleeve, which completely makes the record, I love it. (Thank you, Kristin!)
Dan: As someone who has loved listening to, collecting, and making records for so many years, it’s still a thrill to be a part of a new one and it sounds great.
Where do you live now?
Pam has lived in London since 1998. Dan and Terry are still in DC. Everybody has kids. Cats and dogs are also in the mix.
Can you cook? What’s your specialty? What’s in the fridge?
Terry: I sometimes cook but I think a lot of people would find my approach to food preparation eccentric. I don’t see why you can’t mix everything together. I’ve been putting avocado on a lot of stuff, so those are in the fridge otherwise they ripen too quickly.
Dan: When I joined glo-worm my kitchen skills were rudimentary at best. I’m happy to say I can now hold my own in the kitchen though I struggle to make everything ready at the same time (I save my timing for the drums). I had just figured out how to make BBQ on my Weber Kettle when my wife and daughter became pescetarian but I managed to make all of us dinner tonight on the grill. Like Terry, I’m having an avocado moment but I like to leave them on the counter (in a lovely bowl that Pam gave me many years ago – is that weird to mention?). My fave late night snack right now is avocado gently smushed on Wasa Multigrain Crispbread, sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning, and drizzled with Graza Spanish Olive Oil.
What are you watching, reading, listening to?
Terry: Watching: Rockford Files reruns.
Reading:
The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans in the Spanish Civil War by Peter Carroll
Down at Max’s by Peter Crowley
Listening:
Lou Reed, Why Don’t You Smile Now? Lou Reed at Pickwick
Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited
Trash Can Sinatras, advance of possible future record
The Limps, Is it Possible?
Bad Moves, all three albums
Dan:
Watching: I didn’t see it until 2024 (it came out in 2023) but I tell anyone who will listen to watch We Were Famous, You Don’t Remember: The Embarrassment. If you like indie/DIY music I guarantee you will be inspired.
Anything with Jon Bernthal (such as We Run This City, the Bear, or The Accountant 2) or Jeffrey Wright (most recently The Agency) – both DC natives!
Reading: Recently finished: Never Understood: The Jesus and Mary Chain by Jim and William Reid. It tells the story of the band through interwoven interviews with the brothers that are funny, frustrating, and touching.
About to start Laidlaw by William McIlvanney – I’m late to ‘the father of Tartan Noir.”
Listening:
Lightheaded – Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!
The Cords – Fabulist
Soul Clap, Byron the Aquarius – Tachyon Funk
Nick Drake – The Making of Five Leaves Left
Jake Xerxes Fussell – When I’m Called
Sharp Pins – Radio DDR (looking forward to going with Terry to see them play at Comet Ping Pong in DC in September)
Big Flame – Peel Sessions 84- 86
Pigeon Pit – Crazy Arms
Records Terry cannot live without
The Undertones, Positive Touch
The Velvet Underground, Live at Max’s Kansas City
The Byrds, Mr. Tambourine Man
The Clash, London Calling
Orange Juice, You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever
R.E.M., Reckoning
The Go-Betweens, Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
The 13th Floor Elevators, s/t
Aztec Camera, High Land, Hard Rain
The Bongos, Drums Along the Hudson
Records Dan cannot live without
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers
Pretenders – Pretenders
Echo & The Bunnymen – one of the first four, please don’t make me choose
Rainy Day – Rainy Day
C86
Felt – Poem of the River
Stereolab – Switched On
Chet Baker – Sings and Plays With Bud Shank, Russ Freeman and Strings
Reinbert de Leeuw – Satie: Gnossiennes; Gymnopedies; Ogives; etc.
