Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about: There is a musical act that I saw at the Bumbershoot Festival last year in Seattle (who have subsequently moved to New York City, where they are currently performing) called the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. They are brilliant (in both the English and American usage of the word “brilliant”). They are nothing if not love itself. They are the embodiment of everything I just wrote about. They are a father and a mother in their thirties, and a daughter, about eight. They tour the country in their mini-van (which is hand-painted in many colors... why not?) They put on shows. They go to estate sales and buy the old slides of various strangers and then write songs using the slides, in random order, as a guide. One of their songs is called, “Mountain Trip to Japan, 1959,” and that’s exactly what the slides and lyrics represent. The father plays guitar or piano. The mom runs the slide projector. The daughter plays drums. Father and daughter sing the funny lyrics. And they kick ass. Jesus, the closest I ever got to something like that was when my sister and I turned off the lights, stuck flashlights under our chins, and read “The Tell-Tale Heart” to our humoring mom.

When I first saw them, I felt something that reminded me of the feeling you have when you’re, like, 11 or 12, and a not-unattractive girl tells another girl to tell you that she might think you’re cute. Blood rushes to your heart, and invisible ghosts keep turning your mouth up. And if an eight-year-old playing drums and chastising her Dad in front of an audience doesn’t make you smile, then something has gone terribly wrong in your life and you need to do one of those “Foxfire By Twilight” retreat-in-the-woods type things with a bunch of aging, leathery hippies to find out what went wrong and help you get back on track. - DAVID CROSS, VICELAND.COM

Trevor Exter was born in Ithaca, NY. He always played different things but kept coming back to the cello. He sits with the cello and sings, but he plays it weird – like a tiny bass or aquatic guitar. He also hits it sometimes. He’s been a sideman with many artists around NYC, and he almost won “NYC Soundtracks” in 2008, which is sort of like American Idol for buskers in the New York Subway (but cooler).


“Finger-picking and generally slapping around a beat-up cello, Trevor Exter makes music that is both seriously unusual and thoroughly, pleasingly accessible.”
Fingertips Music
“Singer and unconventional cellist Trevor Exter plucks and whacks at his big instrument and guides it through multiple climaxes.”
Time Out New York
“If you’re expecting a sedate orchestra recital, you’d better think again…. Exter’s crooning voice harkens back to an era of music where men weren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves.”
Chris Kocher, Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
“…makes you feel like you found something you didn’t even know you were missing… Trevor Exter nails it.”
Ethan Kanat, BreakThruRadio.com
“This album is an admirable testament to the purity of Exter’s distinct and exceptional vision.”
Urban Folk Magazine on the Water EP

Girl in a Coma is a rock band from San Antonio, Texas – land of puffy tacos, Lone Star Beer, and the place where Ozzy pissed on the Alamo.

High School best friends Jenn Alva and Phanie Diaz spent their Friday nights not at the football games, but in Phanie’s bedroom listening to albums and talking of the band they would someday form.

Meanwhile, perched quietly all along in the top bunk bed, Phanie’s little sister Nina, age 12. finally got the courage to ask the older girls to listen to a song she just wrote. She borrowed Phanie’s guitar (the girls had no idea Nina could even play), stood up straight, looked them in the eye, and promptly blew Jenn and Phanie away with what is recognized now as Nina’s powerful, expressive voice and amazing songwriting ability – mature beyond its years, unforgettable to anyone who hears her sing.

Girl in a Coma was formed that night, with Nina singing and playing guitar, Jenn on bass and Phanie on drums.

For the next five years the three girls practiced, wrote songs, and slowly built up a solid and loyal fan base though constant touring.

In 2006, Girl in a Coma caught the eye of two Los Angeles-based producers visiting San Antonio looking for talent for the pilot episode of a national documentary TV series on up and coming bands. They filmed the girls for three weeks, flew them to New York, and surprised the band with an introduction to one of the Girls’ idols, Joan Jett.

On camera, and much to the surprise of everyone involved, Joan and her long-time producing partner Kenny Laguna, were so impressed with the band that they asked the Girls to join Blackheart Records on the spot.

The Girls quickly set down the songs for their debut album, “Both Before I’m Gone” released May, 2007. Songwriter Nina says, “The title for the album comes from something James Dean once said, ‘Being an actor is hard. Being a man is even harder. I hope to be both before I’m done.’ I like to say, ‘Being a musician is hard. Being a human is even harder. I hope to be both before I’m gone.’”

The album ranges from faster tracks like Say to Road to Home, a hauntingly beautiful ballad that pays tribute to those many years of gigging on the road. Clumsy Sky, their first single from the album, won a 2007 Independent Music Award in the Song-Punk category, chosen by a panel of celebrity and industry judges including Snoop Dogg, Susan Tedeschi, Ray Davies, Suzanne Vega, and others. Additionally, the video for the song “Road to Home” made Logo TV's prestigious Click List.

Legendary producer Kenny Laguna supervised the final mix in New York. The album debuted on the Billboard Heatseekers chart at 23, debuted on iTunes at 21, and landed at 6 on the iTunes rock chart.

In addition to playing hundreds of their own headlining shows, Girl in a Coma has recently opened on a national tour with Tegan and Sara, dates on the True Colors Tour with Cyndi Lauper and the B-52s, an in-store appearance at Amoeba Records in Hollywood, the Vans Warped Tour and has opened for The Pogues, Social Distortion, the Toadies, Frank Black and the Catholics, Boz Boorer and The Bozmen, The Groovie Ghoulies, The Cruxshadows, and The Smoking Popes. The band achieved a lifelong dream when Morrissey picked the Girls to open for him in his tour of the East Coast. The following year in 2008, Morrissey invited them back to open for him on his tour of the UK and France.

The band has recently been back in the studio recording their second album for Blackheart Records, due out in mid 2009.

Performing a dark, lean blend of blues and country sounds fortified with a punk attitude, Miss Derringer is an L.A.-based rock band let by a pair of musicians-turned-artists, Liz McGrath (a painter and sculptor who previously sang with the band Tongue and edited the 'zine Censor This) and Morgan Slade (a photographer who plays guitar and writes much of the group's material). Rounding out the group are guitarist Mark Miller (formerly of Los Cincos), bassist Sylvain de Muizon, Julio Bell (ex-Bobsled and Bulimia Banquet) on autoharp, and drummer Mark Miller (from Skeetertruck). The group released their first album, King James, Crown Royal and a Colt 45, in February 2004; appropriately, the record-release party was held at the Copro Nason Gallery in Culver City, CA, in conjunction with a show of McGrath's artwork. The band underwent some lineup changes for 2006's Lullabies, which featured the core duo of McGrath and Slade and bassist Sylvain de Muizon, as well as Blondie drummer Clem Burke and Charley Horse member/Acetate Records owner Rick Ballard on guitar. - ALLMUSIC.COM

Your player must not be working... stadium rock for the mental institution? Formed in the spring of 2004, the band features torchbearers of the Richmond Math rock ashtray, accessories to criminal forrests of cult propaganda such as the Human Thurma, Plainfield, Land of thin Dimes, Hortus, and drummer extraordinaire of Burnt by the Sun, Discordance Axis, Melt-Banana, and Municipal Waste fame. Laying down a science from the dusty handbooks of the heavy maple, the maps of noise from ye olde Hex Machine are covered in a fresh oil that does not wear well to veil the not so veiled riffs of these black forests.

Brandon Summers was disenchanted at a time when he thought he’d be anything but. Following two epic, self-produced albums on Portland’s Cavity Search, The Helio Sequence had just released Love and Distance, the duo’s shimmering 2004 debut on Sub Pop. Brandon and best friend Benjamin Weikel were traversing the country with their impressive collection of synthesizers, pedals, guitars and massive amps all jam-packed into a brand new tour van (a two-seater obtained during Benjamin’s stint as the drummer for Modest Mouse). And heck, the pair had even left their day jobs at their hometown music shop in Beaverton, OR. After eight years of playing together (they met when Brandon was in middle school), The Helio Sequence had finally arrived. But after six months of tours in the U.S. and Europe with Blonde Redhead, Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon, and Secret Machines, Brandon’s vocal chords were severely shredded. When he lost his voice in the midst of the first batch of these dates, he was bummed but made the best of it [enter the whiskey]. Halfway through, though, he could hardly speak—let alone sing—and literally had to stop talking during daylight hours. To kill the boredom of forced silence during the day and the frustration of dissatisfying performances at night, he polished off 60 books in about as many days, beginning with Bob Dylan’s Chronicles. Upon returning to Portland, Brandon’s doctor forbade him from singing for almost two months. “I really hit the wall,” he recalls, “Going into 2005 I actually had to think, ‘If I lose my voice, what will I do?’”

Trading whiskey for Throat Coat®, Brandon taught himself vocal exercises and mic technique. He took up jogging and vowed not to be another lazy musician; from that point on, recording and practice sessions were to begin at 9am sharp. In light of such devotion, it’s not surprising The Helio Sequence regrouped and went on to record their most dynamic, extraordinary work to date. Keep Your Eyes Ahead marries the duo’s signature layered keyboards and impossibly big guitars with crisp songwriting and a newfound appreciation for minimalism. The finger picking on “Shed Your Love” is backed by exquisite strings and ambient noise, but Brandon’s serene, self-assured delivery remains front and center. While songs from the band’s early releases spanned up to 7 minutes, even the longest, lushest, catchiest track on Keep Your Eyes Ahead (fiery anthem “Hallelujah”) clocks in at 4 and a half minutes, evidence of just how refined their craft has become. Beyond the health regimen, Brandon’s brush with silence helped him deconstruct and refocus his approach to expression. Lyrics increasingly became stream of consciousness. Vocals were recorded spontaneously in bedroom closets and living rooms, which may explain the haunting urgency you hear in Brandon’s voice, especially on driving tracks like “Keep Your Eyes Ahead.” The band also took its time on the album. After the bulk of official recording was completed, a listen through all the demos and snippets on Brandon’s hard drive convinced Benjamin there were more gems in the rough (which is how both “Hallelujah” and “Keep Your Eyes Ahead,” as well as the mid-tempo “Back to This” were rediscovered and retooled).

The collective wisdom of Wikipedia currently describes The Helio Sequence as “indie electronica” (bonus points to whoever fixes that one). One listen to Keep Your Eyes Ahead, which was self-produced by the duo and then mastered by Greg Calbi (Iron and Wine, Interpol, and Paul Simon’s Graceland), confirms The Helio Sequence teem with an energy and a range that continues to defy such narrow categorization. Unapologetic pop and folk meld seamlessly to create songs that are bigger, more epic and polished than anything they’ve ever done. Keep Your Eyes Ahead is the sound of a band and a decade-old partnership that’s been invigorated. And that’s exactly how the songs will make you feel: invigorated.

"The Lights, Fluorescent are an Indie Rock band based out of Charlotte NC. Featuring ex-members of Instrumental powerhouse VIA, Fort Mill pop punkers Frontpage and the amazing Erika Blatnik. Weaving guitars, driving bass lines and powerful drumming supply the perfect back drop for Erika's unique and amazing vocal abilities. The Lights, Fluorescent are proving to be one of Charlotte's best. With the beginnings of a loyal following and momentum building around the upcoming release of their debut CD "Neoteny" The Lights are an act you do not want to miss."

We love music and study it everyday of our lives without knowing it. It is a part of our lives and an envoluntary function. Our music is honest and full of inspiration, we cannot fake the song's that we play. Lamb Handler are a Rock and Roll band just as jerry lee or ccr and we need this more than you know.

Having their foot firmly planted in the ass of the North Carolina music scene - while giving the finger to the world - Babyshaker slams glammed-up punk into loud, dirty rock that you can make love to. This veteran live act has toured with Jucifer, as well as shows with Iggy Pop, Kiss, The Toilet Boys, Blonde Redhead, Poison, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Make Up, Glass Candy, Fetchin Bones, Fu Manchu, and Antiseen to name a few. They have released one full - length, "The Best Of", and have been featured on several comps, including "Hard Candy And Sweet Brown Liquor" in the U.K., "Jesus Christ Surferstar" in Italy, and "Bomb threat" in the U.S. Recently the members of Babyshaker made an appearance in the film "Great World Of Sound" and contributed a song to the soundtrack of the underground horror film "Come Get Some". Up next is the soon-to-be-released, Don Dixon - produced second full-length that captures the spirit of their bombastic live shows. Get ready!

Number 8 of FLAGPOLE'S top 10 local album releases of '08
Pride Parade

Descendants

No violin/cello players, no synthesizers, no remixes, no drone sections, no autotone. Pride Parade is an anomaly in 2008, and for that I thank them. This album straight-up rips.

Jeff Tobias

Joe fuckin Preston!!!! Need we say more??! The man has the burliest resume in the history of heavy:

•EARTH,

•Melvins 1991-1992 Played bass on: Lysol , Nightgoat 7". Not to mention a solo Ep that was released along with Buzzo and Dale's. Also featured on the DVD “Salad Of A Thousand Delights.”

•The Whip 2001-2002 Played guitar in this band with former members of Karp.

•Thrones 1996-Present Thrones is the "solo project" of Joe Preston. Thrones features all instruments. Including bass, drums, vocals and synth performed by Joe Preston.

•SunnO))) 2002-2004 played on on both SunnO))) albums “White 1” and “White 2 . Played a multitude of instruments on these albums including bass, vocals and drum machine programming.

•High On Fire 2004-Present Joined High On Fire for their Summer 2004 tour. Also played bass on the latest recording Blessed Black Wings. Now a permanent member

Many of the tracks from "A Day Late, A Dollar Short" are taken from hard to find (ie. 7"s, cassettes, compilations, and collaborations with other bands) previous Thrones releases. The album also features some very rare and previously unreleased tracks. Beautiful packaging designed by Stephen O' Malley, with humorous anecdotes/liner notes by the man himself. This is the first official Thrones release in five years.

**Experimental 16mm movie mind bender, must experience this show!**

Formed in 1999, Projexorcism started life with the acquisition of two Bell & Howell 2592 auto-shred projectors and 200 educational films. Originally much time was spent making splice reels to accompany various musical projects. Lens manipulation & shuttling film back & forth through the projection gate were the hallmarks of the early days.

Early in 2003 Projexorcism made great advances in their unique flavor of experimental hyperactive expanded cinema & has since been pushing the boundaries of weirdness. Projexorcism began using a quad 16mm projector array suspended from a lighting pole - the projectors synchronized with a 4-channel sound-actuated variable speed lighting controller. The projected images are split, inverted and bent using silver reflective CD-R's and plastic fresnel lenses. The optical audio is replayed directly from the internal projector speakers, though on occasion the audio is routed through effects & samplers.

In May 2005 The Catawba Council for the Arts awarded Projexorcism an Innovative Project Grant to add a Film-to-Video Regurgitation Array to their quad 16mm setup. Unbound from the linearity of film, the 16mm setup is now augmented with real-time video capture, manipulation & projection devices.

The film is "PJ'd" using various techniques to create new contradictory action sequences and soundtracks in real time in the found sound / plunderphonic tradition - without splicing. Films are chosen to reflect relevant and at times irreverent themes. Some of our recent themes include presidential politics, African-American history, math, water, chemicals, Middle-Eastern war, spiders, gila monsters, voting, and "Do androids dream of electric sheep at xmas?", a mixture of pro & anti-consumer film & Charles Dickens' "Christmas Carol".

You never know what to expect at a Projexorcism show. Film often breaks or passes through the projection gate in a manner inconsistent with film preservation, much to the dismay of Jedi film preservationists. The kinetic swinging and shaking of the projecto-tree will warp reels and pool hundreds of feet of film all over the floor - CDs & lenses fall to the ground - the shriek of optical sound feedback as dust clogs the sound bulb - the randomly choreographed accidents of brilliance & stupidity - the audience turned projection screen - the audience on the projection screen.

Projexorcism is often joined by a rotating cast of musicians and frequently collaborates with other artists (see the live show archive). 2005 has Projexorcism touring with a melange of experimental noise musicians and collaborations with the likes of Michael Thomas Jackson, Jabberwocky, Former Yugoslavia, Khate, Feralcatscan, Hellblinki & more.

Clang Quartet is the musical project of Scotty Irving (drummer for Geezer Lake, Eugene Chadbourne, Benjomatic, and others). Live, Clang Quartet is predominantly an improvisational percussion/performance-art show, based metaphorically on his life as a follower of Jesus Christ. The recorded output features standard instruments like guitars, keyboards, and drums as well as Irving's own electrified crutch mixed with sound collages of family tape recordings from his childhood and field recordings. Truly experimental music in the spirit of Swans, Whitehouse, Merzbow, and AC/DC.

Here is the story.....ANTiSEEN started in 1983 with founding members Jeff Clayton and Joe Young. Named as a mis-spelling of the term anti - scene, meaning, against any scene that has it's own rules, code of conduct, fashion and chain of command by hip scenesters. It's only ROCK 'N" ROLL and we LOVE it!!!
By 1993 the group toured with what is now known as the "classic" line up of Clayton, Young, Tom OKeefe and Greg Clayton. A few personal changes later and we are with the current line up of Clayton, Young, Jon Bowman and Phil Keller.
The band has done five full European tours and played all over the USA .With well over 50 releases world wide (many already into numerous repressings) they started the "southern punk" image that many latch onto today. The band backed up now legendary scum lord GG ALLIN on his first post - prison release "MURDER JUNKIES" and also recorded with guitarist / song writer for the original ALICE COOPER group, Michael Bruce. Live shows consist of violent bursts of musical blitzkriegs,and an unhealthy dose of Pro Wrestling influence that features barbed wire wrapped baseball bats or crowns of barbwire that cause REAL bloodshed (another thing many have latched onto) and the occasional auto self destruct finale that got them labeled "Destructo Rock" early in the group's history.
Twenty five years later the band shows no sign of packing it in or making changes to impress any major labels ( so ....no turntables or djs kiddies). They call the Orange County based TKO RECORDS and the Philadelphia based Steel Cage Records . On September 20th, 2008 the band played it's 25 year anniversary show in it's hometown of Charlotte, NC which saw fans, friends and bands from all over the world coming in for the celebration. This marked the end of an era which had Greg Clayton and Doug Canipe saying goodbye after many years of dedication and service and hello to the new era with Bowman & Keller. Is the end in sight?Who knows? Until then.........FUCK ALL Y'ALL!!!!!!!

As the guys of the band say, "25 minutes to go plays punk rock, no prefix or suffix.", and it coudn't be stated better. This is one of the few punk bands that wont dissapoint. The fun-loving energy they project from stage gets everyone dancing and chanting along, tall boy in hand. Influenced by great bands such as Social D, MxPx, Bad Religion, and the infamous Cash, they've got what it takes to captivate you and take you prisoner from the first note and make you realize just why everyone is saying "BLADOW!" -Amanda Crap (www.stillnotdead.com)

Winner of 2006/2007 Flagpole Music Awards:Best Punk/Hardcore Band (Athens, GA)

When you’re staring down a band like Athens’ Music Hates You, it’s like coming face-to-face with a grizzly. You know you’re going to get batted around, but if you can escape at all, you’ll call yourself fortunate. -Andy Stokes
Metrospirit

For the uninitiated, let me just say this: Music Hates You is brutal. These guys are seriously one of the heaviest bands to ever call our town home.
-gordon lamb, flagpole magazine

Right now, there's a band in Athens called Music Hates You that I think is fucking great, but they're a vicious metal band that doesn't subscribe to the art-student vibe.
-Hugo Burnham, Gang of Four, in Creative Loafing

After more than a decade of continuous releases, Hopewell has managed to birth it's own little world in the galaxy that is modern indie rock. Weathering music industry collapse, stylistic shifts and near fatal personnel conflicts, the tenacious band continues to pump out genre defying music to critical acclaim. A series of releases in the late 90’s brought them to Europe’s festival circuit, Peel Sessions, and NME fame. The results of this pressure were nearly catastrophic for the small town band, spawned in Hopewell Jct, NY. Hospitals and institutions were employed. Hopewell rallied around the stormy Dave Fridmann produced “Hopewell & The Birds of Appetite”. What followed was a period of constant touring, culminating in 2007’s release of the joyful “Beautiful Targets”, an album that is the sound of a band celebrating its survival. Hopewell’s 5th and most ambitious work is well underway. Somehow melding Can and Roxy Music with a touch of early tribal Jane’s Addiction, the group is zeroing in on it’s musical holy grail: the transmutation of their live show to tape.

Coma League Imagine a Tusk-era Lindsey Buckingham jamming in tight quarters with a Murmur-era Peter Buck, backed by an any-era Swell Maps, all hopped up on a muscle relaxer speedball. Think a Southern-fried garage band sound (back before bands started trying to sound like garage bands, but rather came about it honestly). OK. You know what? Fuck it. The pet project of the super-talented show poster designer and visual artist Ben Gelnett, Coma League have a tasty little EP out thru Kinnikinnik Records, and a listen to that will tell you more than I can. All I can say is: me likee. With Matthew Paul Butler and the Beards of Power and The Flying Eyes. Milestone (Timothy C. Davis)

Many bands get all uppity about how they hate labels and comparisons and all that, but Brooklyn’s Goes Cube don’t really care what you call them. They're just unpretentious like that – no fancy gear, no fancy clothes or haircuts. They're simply three friends who are obsessed with making each song heavier, more intense, more glorious, and just plain better than the last.
Goes Cube has steadily gained attention as one of the most intense bands in both their hometown of New York City, and beyond. Their music is a brutal blend of metal, punk, and full-on rock, and is performed with an urgency rarely witnessed or experienced anymore. None of the members have any sort of formal or traditional training on their instruments, and as a result their music—from the dizzying and unexpected drum fills, bizarrely and lowly-tuned guitars, and unrelenting bass—has a singularity in its sound and structure that simply does not exist elsewhere.
Stereogum has said that the band's "sledgehammer assault" is "inescapably awesome," and that they've become their "favorite underground locals." Oh My Rockness said, "Goes Cube is an insanely good band" and that they give "newfound hope for the future of rock in New York City." Hell, they’re even taking note 3,000 miles away: the Los Angeles Times warned its readers that "You'll need a bit of time to recover from this one — perhaps book a cell in a monastery for quality silence. This is as loud as loud gets."
And for all you fans of heavy music, isn't that what it's all about? You won't find these guys at the hottest parties. You'll find them in a cramped van, heading for their next tour date. You'll find them in a tiny practice space, deafening themselves and their neighbors. You'll find them at the bowling alley, drinking beers and smashing pins like they've smashed so many eardrums.
The band has rapidly sold out of their first three EPs – ‘Beckon The Dagger God’, ‘Not What We Thought’ and ‘Hutchinson’ – and now set their sights on a full-length debut entitled ‘Another Day Has Passed’ which will be released via the band’s newfound home label, THE END RECORDS, in the Spring of 2009. Produced by Dean Baltulonis (Sick Of It All, Most Precious Blood, Freya, Hold Steady, and more), Goes Cube slams its way through 13 songs in a little more than 45 minutes, and with hardly a second to breathe from start to finish. Some songs are sonic hammersmashes, and others are dark but glorious tractor-trailers plowing through your eardrums. Every second of it is pure intensity.
Call it metal, call it post-metal, call it quasi-metal-post-punk-pre-twenty-second-century-independent-art-sounds if you're into that kind of thing. But just do yourself a favor: Take a listen.

AS SEEN ON RECENT TOURS WITH MY MORNING JACKET and KINGS OF LEON

The Times - Brilliant. 4 stars

NME 8 of 10 stars

Q Q Recommends - 4 stars

Hit Sheet- Weve never seen a drummer leap five feet above his stool and land perfectly in time before, or that much head nodding in the audience. If The Features dont break in the UK, it wont be their fault- this band possesses everything needed to go the distance.

Evening Standard 5 stars - Extraordinarily catchy anthemsThe Features are the United Statess answer to the Kaiser Chiefs. The World will soon be coming to them.

MOJO 4 stars - Cracking debut from Tennessee pop mavericks. They certainly have an armoury fit to attack the mainstream. An amp-popping live show and a catalogue of songs that at once recall the Pixies and Blurs post Pavement fixation."

The Guardian - A dazzling romp through Buzzcocks-like spiky pop and agitated soul reminiscent of the Animals. Powerful and poignant, The Features are difficult to ignore.

RockSound - What a ridiculously promising album The Features debut looks set to be. Leave It All Behind is a stomping anthem that should break them into the big time and see them bandied around in conversations about The Killers and Kings of Leon.

The Sun - You just know this latest American import can blaze an all-conquering trail over here. There are more hooks than an angling shop.

AS SEEN ON RECENT TOURS WITH DRIVE BY TRUCKERS, LUCERO, HOLD STEADY, etc...

Playing a gale-force fusion of punk and hard rock fueled by massive doses of guitar firepower, the Dexateens came together in Tuscaloosa, AL, in 1998. After the breakup of his band the Phoebes, guitarist Elliott McPherson met drummer Craig Pickering (aka Sweet Dog), who was also bandless after Verga called it quits. Looking to form a high-powered rock band, the two recruited bassist Matt Patton (ex-Model Citizen) and guitarist John Smith (formerly with American Cosmic), and the Dexateens were born.

Influenced by classic Southern rock as well as renegade punk, the band began dabbling with a three-guitar lineup and began playing shows with fellow Dixie rockers the Quadrajets, who taught them valuable lessons about generating a wall of sonic pummel on-stage. After an attempt to record an album with Fat Possum Records founder Bruce Watson in the producer's chair failed to satisfy either Watson or the Dexateens, the band hooked up with Texas punk pioneer and seasoned garage punk producer Tim Kerr, who added extra guitar to the band's self-titled debut, released by Estrus Records in early 2004. Little more than a year later, the Dexateens released their second full-length, Red Dust Rising, which found the bandmembers turning down their amps a bit for a less aggressive but still ballsy take on classic Southern rock.

NY TIMES PICK "This young country trio from Murfreesboro, Tenn., is a tangle of bare legs, cowboy boots and Southern sass. In defiance of its moniker, the band is resolutely unladylike: “I got drunk and I ate a chicken/I ate a chicken I found in my kitchen/Not just a leg and not just a wing/I’d like to let you know that I ate the whole damn thing,” they yelp over acoustic guitar and mandolin. The band’s songs, which can be deliciously unserious, are as memorable as they are charming." -Amanda Petrusich, NY Times

PITCHFORK- Track Review - "Wild One" "When Those Darlins sing "If you can't handle crazy go ahead and leave," they're not crazy-talking the way Patsy Cline talked crazy-in-love, but insinuating something darker and probably a lot more dangerous. The trio's sassy Tennessee twang and nimble rockabilly swing, however, could have landed them a regional radio showcase with Cline back in the day. Hey, they've already opened for late-career Wanda Jackson in Nashville and, not to whack the hornet's nest of authenticity or anything, make for more legitimate heirs to the pioneering early rock queen's throne than any country-punk act I can think of. First proper single "Wild One" is a brisk, breathless, three-minute drum, bass, and baritone ukulele romp of no-bullshit "my way or the highway" declarations sung in slightly jaded three-part harmonies." — Amy Granzin

BOSTON GLOBE PICK: BAND SET TO BREAK IN '09 "Kelley, Jessi, and Nikki Darlin are a trio of smart, sassy 20-something chicks from Tennessee who combine vintage country charm with saucy rock attitude. These Dixie chicks even nicked a page from the Ramones playbook by adopting the surname Darlin. Great harmonies and fleet finger-picking round out their toe-tapping tunes about snaggle-toothed mamas, beer swilling, and chicken-eating."- Sarah Rodman, Boston Globe

BUST MAGAZINE - COOL EP ALERT "Those Darlins' debut EP, Wild One, is a completely worthwhile tease. Each of the three songs is so full of energy and fun on its first meet that you hope and pray there was some sort of mistake and you are actually listening to a full-length album. The opener, also called WIld One, perfectly combines a '50s country twang with brassy vocals from bandmates Kelley, Jessi Darlin, and Nikki Darlin, while "Whole Damn Thing" has a kitschy variety-show feel as the girls sing about devouring an entire chicken while drunk. The EP closes with Snaggletooth Mama," a sadistic ode to country living in Tennessee, with jangly guitars and hollers in the background adding extra dome-home charm. Just one request: please, please, please send an EP soon!" -Meylinda Fuller

"I keep playing this video of “Wild One,” by Those Darlins, a band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The core of this song—independence and sweetness with strings attached, rendered in three-part harmony—sounds like a script for any successful Labor Day weekend. If your next three days can’t mimic this song, keep the tune in your head anyway. It will come in handy soon." -Sasha Frere-Jones (The New Yorker)

"Every decade or so a new group comes along that completely shakes up Nashville's dismissal of its hillbilly heritage and turns it upside down. Not since the phenomenon of the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack has a Nashville project had so much potential to bring hardcore country music to a trendsetting, young, broad-based musical audience. Those Darlins completely inhabit the deepest, raw roots of country music. But with primal charisma, musical chops, and easy confidence, they make these roots seem jarringly modern." -BMI

"Those Darlins rule! (T)his one really stands out to me. Get into the groove, it's infectious!" ---Tobi Vale (Bikini Kill/Kill Rock Star mo blog)

Eyeball Records is pleased to announce our newest signing: part underground back-pack hip hop artist, part folk singer, and constant raconteur, Astronautalis. The Jacksonville native is the first hip hop inspired artist to call EBR home and we, as long time fans, are proud to be releasing his next, and to date, most ambitious record. On Pomegranate, Astronatalis, AKA Andy Bothwell, has weaved rich narratives alongside musical textures which call Tom Waits, Pharrell Williams, Beck, DJ Shadow, The Decemberists, and Hunter S. Thompson to a tea party on the evening of the Apocalypse. So its not surprising that the record was helmed by John Congleton, the producer behind Explosions in the Sky, Modest Mouse, The Polyphonic Spree The Paper Chase and Chris Godbey, a beat producer who has since gone on to work with Timbaland, With friends like these, Florida's lyrical genius has re-imagined the American folk tradition with all of the elements seemingly familiar and all of the compositions startlingly foreign. Of the artist, All Music writes “If Beck were a decade or so younger and had grown up more heavily immersed in hip-hop, his debut album likely would have sounded much like Astronautalis.”

Pomegranate plays out like a collection of short stories, each song as varied in style and sound as they are in subject and character. One moment Astronautalis plays a sweet talking con-man seducing you out of house and home on the dark piano driven, “The Wondersmith and his Sons”; next he is a crossing the Delaware with George Washington himself in “The Trouble Hunters”, an epic fight song that somehow seems to channel the story telling spirits of Bruce Springsteen and Against Me! over funk drums and Miami sub bass. Each song spins a unique tale of love in the face of obligation and obstacle, told through the eyes of white-collar criminals, haggard opium runners, beleaguered farmers, and noble alpine mountaineers. With such a scope of subjects spanning over the colorful cadre of characters, it seems as if Astronautalis must have lived a thousand lives in his 26 years.

Astronautalis is perhaps best known for the awe-inspiring freestyle abilities he displays during his live performances. He effortlessly builds flowing, cohesive stories from unrelated words thrown out by audience members. After having spent 6 years on the battle circuit, Astronautalis has been working to find new ways to have the typically uninspired medium of freestyle resonate with new clarity and inspiration.

Pomegranate, which defies convention and expectations in every sense, will be available in stores everywhere September 23rd, 2008.

"He's one of the most positive yet bitter MCs you'll ever have the pleasure of nodding your head to. In a single line, he'll sound as political as Noam Chomsky, as dirty as 2 Live Crew and as emotionally fragile as a young girl's diary entry." Raf katigbak (Montreal Mirror)

In this age of war, confusion, and numbness, Bleubird comes barging in unhindered and unannounced. Flying the flags of rebellion, honesty, and self-expression, his music is the reflection of a life lived within the struggle; the soundtrack of an artist attempting to swim against the current without drowning or shedding his integrity. "Masked beneath the oddities, Bleubird's true self becomes evident. He is a man on a musical mission who has sacrificed relationships and stability, loves his family, fears for his country's demise, and refers to God as 'she'." Sonya Tomlinson (Portland Phoenix)

Performing with intensity and passion bird continues to tour the United States, Canada, and Europe with his eyes set on Japan and Australia for the upcoming year. This show is forever on the road, only stopping home in Montréal to record and work a grip of odd jobs like a professional factotum. Drawing inspiration from diverse life experiences and a solid work ethic, seeking to challenge and entertain audiences and minds of all types.

He is driven by progressive sounds and ideas, and a need to make a difference; working both with sample based and live musicians from around the world to continue pushing the music in new directions. Bleubird is a rapper, but think Abbie Hoffman meets Jello Biafra meets Propaghandi...rapping, respecting tradition but shrugging off it's limitations, betraying with a kiss. A provocative spectacle of humor and social commentary smashed together into a sloppy package of finesse and undeniable energy. Buy this car, support post rap.

Pretty & Nice’s first release for Hardly Art, Get Young, is officially out! My vow of silence is finally broken! I’ve had this album for two months and omgomgomgomg it is overwhelmingly good. (That has been building up for some time - I’m relieved I could express it in print so as to save myself the physical embarrassment of flailing my hands and jumping up and down.) I had the fortune of doing an interview with them 2 months ago for another magazine I wrote for (you can find it here) and have obsessed over this album ever since.

It took six months to record Get Young in their own all-analog, basement studio, putting in long hours and agonizing over every slight detail, staying up late in the night to record a sequence of bells on “Gypsy,” inviting friends to stomp and hoot at the end of “Pixies” and layering the hell out of each song with an armada of instruments scattered throughout their home. The result: their songcraft is unique and infinitely charming; the album progresses from frenetic punk epic to to sagacious pop classic, blending abrasive guitars bursting from broken amps with subtle vocoder hooks and pretty, oh-so-pretty pop falsetto. The guitars on “Pixies,” lilting and winding, are a melange of late Of Montreal and early Queens of the Stone Age, while the immaculate closure of “Wandering Eye” hits with an unexpected poignancy and ends with an immediate sense of withdrawal. Dammit, it’s already over? And clocking in at just under thirty minutes, listening to Get Young in its entirety relates an even stronger sense of accomplishment, like I just did an intense work out, or something. But with my brain!

This is the indie-pop epic you didn’t know you were waiting for. I’m often skeptical of “Best of the year…” type statements, but I’m going to make one. Get ready. This, if not the best, one of the best albums this year.

Just get this album, however you can. I won’t even pretend any more; buy it, download it, send for it via money order, or carrier pigeon. And considering P&N’s seeming obsession with the broken and archaic (their blown out speakers, their vintage recording studio, their old synthesizers), I’m sure they have a carrier pigeon package-plan tucked away somewhere in their scheme for world domination.

Then go see them live and freak out. I don’t know how people can thrash that hard and play guitar parts that intricate. Unless, of course, they are magicians. As I’ve suspected from the beginning.

And “Wandering Eye.” Goddamn that song hits hard. I’m still reeling.

From Get Young - “Wandering Eye”:
- INDIEMUSE.COM

Treephort started in the late 90s. They made thousands of fans over they years with energetic shows and refreshingly simple rock and roll. They encouraged people to dance and not take life so seriously.

Treephort has recently reformed. Hopefully, this will encourage people to dance and have fun again. Old fans? Nice to see you again. New fans? Welcome. That thing under your nice bangs is called a smile.

Tartufi is Brian Gorman and Lynne Angel. They are friends. They make explosive, scary, pretty - and sometimes ouchie - epic masterpieces. Their music is full of live loops (guitar, bass, and vocals) that build on one another to create intense and haunting structures that are supported and furthered by Brian's frenetic and complex drumming and grounded by Lynne's beautiful, ethereal, and stabbing vocals.

Tartufi have been performing since 2001. They have a strong and loyal following and were voted by the SF Bay Guardian as one of the best live shows in San Francisco. They play seemless sets- not stopping from the moment they pick up their instruments until the show is over, often trading instruments mid-song, and leaving their audiences in awestruck.

After releasing their critically acclaimed Westward Onward EP (2004), Tartufi returned to producer and engineer Tim Green of The Fucking Champs and Nation of Ulysses at Louder Studios (Comets On Fire, The Melvins, Sleater-Kinner,) to record So We Are Alive, their highly anticipated, first full length album.

In Fall 2005, Tartufi signed on with Spanish label Acuarela Records to release an exclusive 4 song EP titled "Trouble", recorded by Phil Manley of Trans Am at Lucky Cat Studios in San Francsico. After its release Trouble charted in the top 75 on the CMJ charts, Tartufi toured the west coast a number of times, and embarked on a successful east coast college and club tour last fall when the San Francisco Bay Guardian marked Tartufi as one of the top ten bands to explode into the national scene.

"Us Upon Buildings Upon Us" Review
Aquarius Records
Now that they're a duo instead of a trio, SF's Tartufi have shifted their focus away from punchy pop hooks and towards a more epic and expansive punk/prog/pop exploration.

Singer and guitarist, Lynne Angel and drummer, Brian Gorman with the help from Tim Green (of The Fucking Champs) have crafted a mathy stew of beauty and noise with vocals that are at times both angelic and damning with turn-on-a-dime changes, majestic sweeps, soft interludes, and only a touch of over-indulgence. The acrobatics that Angel brings doubly to the guitar and her voice have to be seen live to be believed, where they seriously sound like a four piece with a choir.

1/2 of MELVINS

ex- Tight Bros from way back when, Karp, Murder City Devils, The Whip

Despite their lack of physical similarity, this Los Angeles by-the-way of
Carbondale, IL duo are brothers, and it is that kinship that plays an integral part of
the music that Caleb and Ashton Bird create together as Tweak Bird.
Performing together for a better part of a decade in various incarnations, it wasn't
until these two early twenty somethings moved to Los Angeles that they decided
to embrace the notion that any new musical endeavors would consist solely of
themselves. It's this bona fide kinship - the perfectly tempestuous older
brother/younger brother symbiosis—and their not-so-typical dual vocal delivery
that sets Tweak Bird apart from their peers and allows them the ability to craft
expansive jams despite their lack of members. It also means that no two Tweak
Bird shows are the same, songs may begin and end based on their mood at any
particular moment.
Produced under the helm of the impressive production team, Deaf Nephews
(Melvins’ Dale Crover and Altamont's Toshi Kasai), Tweak Bird's debut album,
“Reservations”, is a sweeping seven song introduction to a band exploring the
depths of heavy experimental, progressive and psych-infused rock. Songs like
"Whorses" and "Spaceships" emanate a powerful brooding air—foreboding, almost
threateningly so—of some new sonic assault about to be heaved upon the listener.
“Reservations” is an introduction of sorts, one that leaves a musical Armageddon
looming on the horizon in an unabated swirl of fuzz that begs for a resolution.

"I've never made a dollar playing music." -Louis DeFabrizio

Why be in a band? For Gasoline Heart, the answer couldn't be clearer. In days where major record labels are in outright panic over how to make money and control the industry, what keeps these so guys cool and confident?

They've made one record that aches with hidden joy and outright pain, toured the U.S. to increasingly enthusiastic crowds, all the while continuing to toss everything they have into the pot to let it simmer.

After seeing his last band run aground, singer Louis DeFabrizio was ready to take a break from the manic touring that had defined his life. Following the break-up of his five year marriage he was armed with a new vision and a notebook full of songs. After a few phone calls to long time friends John Fortson (Squad Five-0), Jeff Irizarry, Ricky Calvo, Gasoline Heart was born.

"The best parts of your music collection reshuffled and stitched into something completely new, yet totally familiar" -MSNBC

They headed to Chicago to record with legendary producer/engineer Steve Albini, and returned with "You Know Who You Are," a cathartic statement of purpose that sums up the utter heartbreak of life while still leaping with the kind of Springsteen-esque triumph you can only feel when you're defiantly challenging the shit forces of the world.

Gasoline Heart is a go-for-broke band live, engaging the crowd with everything they can muster to make or break the show. The band's hometown shows in Orlando have taken on mythic qualities, the whole town showing up to see if the band will turn in a blistering set of sing-alongs and smiles or self-destruct in beautiful train wreck.

The show brims with a recklessness last seen in The Replacements, at times rising to the bombast of bands like The Who or Pearl Jam. Although on tour they rock with abandon, the record has songs that evoke the effortless cool of Tom Petty or London Calling -era Clash.

Gasoline Heart is a band with nothing to lose - so they make music that you can hold up like a mirror and see who you are, and what you could be. Why be in a band? For these guys, it's the need to take the chance you thought you never could, go out on a limb, give her one last look, and see where it all leads.

We’ve been around for a couple years and have had a few different members over that amount of time. To date, we've recorded and released a full length CD (Songs With No Market), a split CDLP with Fox Trotsky (Escape to Millers Cave), and a donation based digital EP (Songs With No Market, Vol 2). We’ll be hitting the road as often as possible in 2008, as well as writing and recording new music and etc etc etc.
Actual Testimonials
"Aside from being a bunch of pole smoking sex fiends, Die Benny is a solid group of musicians with an innovative approach at writing agressive music. Show last night: 5 Stars." - Fox Trotsky, collectively

"Die Benny is the future of Sorcery!" - Smo!

"fox trotsky sucks donkey balls. they seriously have to be the worst band in atlanta. i mean shit- they are worse then the power and the glory, the loose skrews, julius, and die benny combined. which is hard- SINCE I'D RATHER HEAR MY EARS BLEED THEN ANY OF THOSE SHITTY SHITTY BANDS." - Someone on the Punknews.org forums

"you guys have no fucking clue how fucking cool you are. you make amazing music! i'm glad to be friends with you all and happy that we play shows together! p.s. i am also tripping right now. not that that takes from anything i just said, but you should all listen to your songs on shrooms. they are cool." - Jonathan from Wrister

"all these songs are terrible. you guys are the worst band ever. and jesus is going to set this world on fire." - Max / the OK Tanks

“The guys of Arizona are weird. Then again, the oddity of their sound and style may be their very best attribute. Their album Glowing Bird is lush with creative instrumentation, while lead-singer Ben Wigler’s lithe voice seems to float through the music like a dry leaf in the wind.” – Paste

“Arizona’s songs seem simple, but a close listen to these inventive and infectious songs… reveals surprisingly complex layers and textures.” – NPR

“From infectious, well-orchestrated pop songs to creepy ballads about ghosts, Glowing Bird is a sonic adventure.” – Performing Songwriter

“Vocal harmonics and maximum guitar shreds were surely the order of the night.... Arizona displayed an infectious joy while they performed, a joy emboldened by the members’ obvious talent....” – Relix

“I was shocked at how good these guys were playing live.” – Dave Allen, Gang of Four / Pampelmoose

Elonzo is an independant Americana/Folk Rock band based out of Rock Hill, South Carolina. In the heart of the Carolina Piedmont, they write songs about everyday life: sitting around on the front porch, watching the train go by, loss of loved ones, childhood, their hometown and their dreams. Elonzo's music represents some of the most classic elements of the Southeastern United States: earnestness, good story-telling, and an awareness of tragedy that never seems too far around the corner.

Elonzo began as a "family gathering" trio comprised of singer/songwriter Jeremy Davis (Vocals/Guitar), sister Maggie Bourdeau (Vocals/Keys) and brother-in-law Dan Bourdeau (Drums/Percussion) but have recently expanded to include Dennis Contreras (Bass) and David Sleigh (Fiddle/Guitar).

Based out of the Baltimore/ D.C. area, the Fishnet Stalkers have been around for almost 5 years now. Were constantly on the road, playing up and down the east coast, building followings in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, D.C., New York, Pittsburgh, Ohio, etc. Were currently in the midst of recording our first full length, expected to be complete and available by early October of 06. Weve had quite a few line-up changes that can be to blame for why we currently have very little recorded music. Never the less, weve still been fortunate enough to share stages with such acts as: THE ADICTS, DWARVES, VIBRATORS, WILD HEARTS, SKULLS, DICKIES, DRAGONS, MISFITS, TRASHGLIGHT VISION, GO BETTY GO, MOTORPSYCHOS, CRASH AND BURN, EARLY MAN, NEEDLES, MIDNIGHT CREEPS, 7 SHOT SCREEMERS, KID EGO, DETROIT COBRAS, and ORIGINAL SINNERS to name a few.

No Bullshit Queen City, East coast punk rock. We have played with The Vibrators, The Casualties, Lower Class Brats, Street Dogs, The Briefs, Dead Pets, Clit 45, River City Rebels, Brain Failure, Go Betty Go, Left Alone, NAKED AGGRESSION, Retching Red, the Independents, Straight Jacket, the Low Budgets ect. Our goal is to make horrible noize and start a war

"The Houstons are kinda hard to nail simply because they stir up so many different emotions when you listen to them play. It's almost like watching the sun set. It sets a peaceful, laid back mood with a hint of sadness as you say goodbye to another passing day but then there's a sense of invigoration and a tinge of mystery as you feel thankful to be moving forward and curious as to what lies ahead. In other words, it's warm, heady stuff that you can really get lost in." Lynn Farris, Creative Loafing Charlotte 2006

The Meatmen formed in Lansing, Michigan in 1981. Fronted by Tesco Vee (of Touch and Go Fanzine fame), they were the most outrageous and original of the “funny punk” bands. With The Meatmen, nothing was safe or sacred. Using biting humor as a tool with which to annoy and poke fun at the politically correct, The Meatmen managed to make many enemies (and friends) everywhere they went.

The first incarnation of The Meatmen, based in Lansing, went through several line-up changes, but began in the twisted minds of Tesco Vee and Rich Ramsey. Their first 7” EP, Blood Sausage, was released in early 1982 and featured Tesco on vocals, Rich Ramsey on bass, his brother Greg Ramsey on guitar, and Mr. X on drums. Later in the same year, they recorded and released the Crippled Children Suck 7 EP with Tesco on vocals, Rich Ramsey on guitar, Mike Achtenburg (of The Fix) on bass, and Todd Swalla (of the Necros) under the pseudonym Berl Johnson, on drums.

In the fall of 1982, Tesco disbanded the last of the Michigan-based Meatmen lineups and moved to Washington DC. In DC, he had a legion of musician friends and fans just waiting to indulge him. In 1983, with an all new lineup that included Lyle Preslar and Brian Baker (both formerly of Minor Threat), Tesco Vee And The Meatkrew recorded an EP titled Dutch Hercules. It was released in 1984 and was to be the final new Meatmen material on Touch and Go. However, in 1991, Touch and Go released a compilation CD of all of the Meatmen’s Touch and Go recordings, aptly named Stud Powercock: The Touch and Go Years.

Throughout the second half of the eighties and all of the nineties, the Meatmen had numerous incarnations and released several more records on a variety of other labels.

"All hail greasy, loud, riff-heavy rock!" - Greg Prato, ALL MUSIC GUIDE

"The Lights, Fluorescent are an Indie Rock band based out of Charlotte NC. Featuring ex-members of Instrumental powerhouse VIA, Fort Mill pop punkers Frontpage and the amazing Erika Blatnik. Weaving guitars, driving bass lines and powerful drumming supply the perfect back drop for Erika's unique and amazing vocal abilities. The Lights, Fluorescent are proving to be one of Charlotte's best. With the beginnings of a loyal following and momentum building around the upcoming release of their debut CD "Neoteny" The Lights are an act you do not want to miss."

Anal Cunt is a grindcore band from the United States. They are often referred to by their initials A.C (often written as AxCx). due to the perceived—indeed intended—offensive nature of their name; many of their album covers simply displaying the initials A.C. However, the band has managed to subvert even this abbreviation, by drawing these letters in a manner resembling an anus and a vagina. Their musical catalog consists almost entirely (barring the overwroughtly satirical Picnic of Love album and a number of cover songs) of ridiculously offensive material. The band has often been criticized for its popularity being based solely on their controversial song titles and lyrics rather than any musical ability, and is often mentioned when a debate is being made against the grindcore genre of music. One ongoing dispute is how much Anal Cunt actually believes in what they say on their albums.

Common lyrical themes include misogyny, homophobia, anti-Semitism, racism, ridicule of the unfortunate, and insults directed towards other bands of a similar genre ("Anyone Who Likes The Dillinger Escape Plan Is A Faggot"). Some examples of their controversial song titles are "Hitler Was A Sensitive Man", "I Hope You Get Deported", and "Your Kid Committed Suicide Because You Suck" (the original title was "Connor Clapton Committed Suicide Because His Father Sucks"; it was changed because they were working for a label in Britain, where libel laws are very stringent). One recurring song title is "X is gay", with X being a person, place, thing, idea or event. Some well-known examples are: "Technology is Gay", "The Internet is Gay", "Windchimes are Gay", and "The Word 'Homophobic' is Gay".

The sound of a typical Anal Cunt song is that of loud, extremely distorted guitars playing very simple riffs (often using only open strings), blast beat drumming, and loud (often unintelligible) screaming.

Anal Cunt was founded in 1988 in Massachusetts by Seth Putnam. He chose the name by making a list of obscene words, and then trying to find what he believed to be the most stupid, offensive combination of them--Anal Cunt. The band was meant as a joke, and was to only release one album and do one show; however, they are still going strong in 2006.

Anal Cunt's take on making song titles a joke in themselves may have influenced many other hardcore and grindcore bands who attempt to get laughs from humorous, but often cryptic, titles.

Since 1997, Anal Cunt has also become known for its acoustic black metal side-project Impaled Northern Moonforest, another joke band.

In 2000, they released Split With The Raunchous Brothers. The tracks on the album are: "I'm Hitler", "The Guy Who Shot His Kid Up With AIDS is Awesome", and "I Went Back In Time, And Voted For Hitler".

Additionally, infamous punk rocker GG Allin has a song titled "Anal Cunt", but there is no relation between them, although according to Putnam, Allin requested Anal Cunt to be his backup band on one particular tour. This never happened, most likely owing to Allin's death.

In October 2004, Seth Putnam overdosed on "a combination of heroin, crack, alcohol, and two months worth of ambien sleeping pills done all at once." As a result, he was comatose for several days and sustained severe nerve damage, needing months of physical therapy to recover. According to Putnam, doctors had intended to "pull the plug", fearing he'd spend the rest of his days as a vegetable. Some observers considered this poetic justice, given such Anal Cunt song titles as "Jack Kevorkian Is Cool" and "You're in a Coma". - RELAPSE.COM

WRETCHED is a melodic death metal band based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Formerly known as And Since Forgotten, WRETCHED was formed in September of 2005. Recreating what seems to have disappeared from the NC scene, is the blend of European, and American Metal. For the first time listener, WRETCHED brings sonic mayhem to their ears, leaving them with a craving for more. Keeping the NC thriving music scene going, WRETCHED are an immaculate take on this music scene. They are unstoppable, unyielding, and powerful live and on record. With a devastating live show, a show attendee leaves more than satisfied anticipating the urge for more WRETCHED.

Formed in 1993, STRONG INTENTION continues to deliver brutal hardcore fueled by extreme speed, heaviness, and disgust. The band's earliest incarnation found itself heavily Influenced by classic NYHC outfits such as AGNOSTIC FRONT, BREAKDOWN, and the CRO-MAGS, and released the What's At Stake demo in 1993. These early recordings aligned the band with ultra-tough heavy hardcore represented in Maryland by NEXT STEP UP and GUT INSTINCT. But by 1995, issues of focus took their toll on the lineup, leaving then-guitarist Zac as the only original member, and putting the band into a year-long hiatus. In 1996, the band re-formed around a new core lineup, and the new members brought a new, diverse range of ideas and influences to the band. Gradually writing faster and faster material, the band released a debut 7" EP in 1996 on Crucial Blast. This EP was a minor departure from the earlier heavy NYHC hardcore the band had been known for; as the newer material was much faster and moved Zac over to lead vocals. After the EP was released, STRONG INTENTION continued to go through a myriad of lineup changes throughout the 90's; yet managed to tour the US and Canada 5 times. Through all of this, the band's sound has continued to shift more and more towards the harshest ends of the underground extreme hardcore / metal spectrum, as well as cultivate a thoroughly apocalyptic worldview. Recent actions have included the May 2002 STRONG INTENTION / CRIPPLE BASTARDS East Coast tour, the release of the band's latest recording, a 14 song CD entitled Extermination Vision, released on the European label COALITION RECORDS, and a BRAND NEW split EP with Germany's Y. Over the past 2 years, the band has also released their debut LP/CD, What Else Can We Do..., as well as the 10 song 7" EP Each Day Lived An Act Of Defiance on California label SIX WEEKS. Strong Intention also completed a May 2004 East Coast tour with PHOBIA and ROTTEN SOUND (Finalnd) and just completed a 40day US summer tour with crossover legends D.R.I. 2005 saw more touring from S.I. , including 2 US tours and about 75 shows for the year.
In 2006 the band did a Feb/March US tour with NEURAXIS (Prosthetic), which included west coast dates with IMPALED and DISFEAR and marked the bands first show ever in MEXICO. The band followed up that tour with an east coast/midwest tour with DISFEAR,MISERY INDEX, PHOBIA and 9 SHOCKS TERROR. It was definitely a career high point as far as touring goes.
Once the tour was completed the band went into the studio with STEVE AUSTIN (TODAY IS THE DAY) and worked on the follow up to Extermination Vision. 18 songs were recorded and 2008 will finally see the release of the new cd.........FREEDOM IS SLAVERY !!

Arbouretum first began in late 2002 as a vehicle for singer/guitarist David Heumann's songwriting. Since their debut album, Long Live the Well-Doer, there have been several lineup changes that have included musicians such as Ned Oldham (Anomoanon), Walker Teret (Cass McCombs' band), and Jennifer Hutt, as well as drummers Mitchell Feldstein (Lungfish) and David Bergander (Celebration). The sweeping, atmospheric textures of the first record soon gave way to a more visceral, elemental approach. Amplifiers were turned up, drums were hit harder, and songs crescendoed into spiraling, noise-soaked climaxes on the second full-length, Rites of Uncovering. Released on Thrill Jockey in early 2007, the record garnered much attention and critical acclaim.

"the best doom-folk record of all time"- XLR8R

"a sonic explorer like Wilco or Crazy Horse - a cult classic" – Uncut

"Epic and melancholic… it conjures up such a brooding sense of Gothic Americana… [that] is underpinned by a drive and energy which suggest an equal immersion in American Rock lore." - The Wire

"Dave Heumann's vocal melodies are clear, grand, and hymnal and at the risk of stretching the arboreal theme, it is possible to hear the solid, ringing chords and exquisite pealing twin-guitar solos as the trunk and the canopy of their unique sound. Pretty special." - The Guardian (UK)

Love as Laughter - All Parts of Me Directed by Danny Perez from Love as Laughter on Vimeo.
Following the 1994 dissolution of indie pop cult faves Lync, singer/guitarist Sam Jayne formed the lo-fi solo project Love as Laughter, self-releasing a pair of cassettes (an eponymous effort and Clear Sky = Blue Dye) before issuing The Greks Bring Gifts on K Records in 1996. #1 U.S.A. followed in 1998, heralding the additions of guitarist Jessica Espeleta and ex-Lync drummer Dave Schneider; Destination 2000, Love as Laughter's Sub Pop debut, appeared a year later. After following it with a series of singles for K and another album for Sub Pop in 2005 (Laughter's Fifth), the band jumped to Epic for its next album, 2008's Holy.

500 Miles to Memphis. To some, its merely the distance from Cincinnati to Graceland. To others, itS the heartrendingly honest country punk rockers whose high octane rock and downtrodden lyrics create the perfect blend of classic country with todays punk rock.

The instrumentation includes one rippin' guitar, lap steel, upright bass, drums, and two harmonizing vocalists. The dynamic live performances make this crew one of the top must-see bands in the good ole U.S. of A.

Since the release of the debut album on 3rd Silo Records in the Winter of 2005 they have hit the road never to return until they have hit every honky tonk, dive bar, and club across the country.

The Show is the Rainbow is a one man band from Lincoln, NE, A.K.A Darren Keen. For much of 2006, The Show is the Rainbow toured as a three-piece, with Javid Dabestani and Jim Schroeder playing alongside Keen. Currently, Keen is touring as a one-man band. The Show is the Rainbow plays an eclectic mix of rock, electronica and hip-hop inspired by artists such as Todd Rundgren, Frank Zappa, Nina Hagen, Les Savy Fav, Squarepusher and Beck. The Show is the Rainbow has gained a national following by means of near constant touring and energetic live shows that focus on audience interaction.
Darren Keen has gained notoriety for his commentary on indie fashion and scene icons such as Conor Oberst and Saddle Creek. This is most notable in the song "Up a Creek without a Saddle." Darren Keen also produced his own version of the fake interview from Bright Eyes' own Fevers and Mirrors, where he discusses cocaine, trite symbolism and indie scene stereotypes. This was in response to being "called out" in a hidden track that appears on Criteria's En Garde. Darren is also notorious for writing his own Wikipedia page and talking about himself in the third person.

Since The Life and Times formed, oh, roughly 1,825 days ago and began disarming audiences and critics with unbelievably loud yet relentlessly beautiful music, the main constant for the band has been how uncategorizable they've remained. Sure, they're a "rock band", but one that skirts the boundaries of this word in each song, tipping their collective cap to the giants that loom in each melody.
Yes, they're still moody, spacey, sonically overwhelming, symphonic and always grandiose. But threading these traits together is the same obsessive attention to detail from singer Allen Epley, drummer Chris Metcalf and bassist Eric Abert that was the calling card of Suburban Hymns (DeSoto) and each subsequent release. The music made for their 2nd full length release Tragic Boogie (Arena Rock) reflects a process that's even more detail-obsessed than earlier efforts.
Quoth Allen Epley (gtr/vocs/etc), "We wanted to make the kind of record that a big-name band with a lot of money might make, except we don't have any money. But we said what the hell and decided to do it anyway by going in debt and built our own studio and recorded it in my basement". The result is a record with layered intricacies that rewards repeated listenings. It's also one that heavily scratches that rock itch, ahem, but doesn't drown you in Gee Whiz Factor bullshit.
The time granted by recording without being under the pro-studio-money clock was liberating. Some songs were recorded multiple times, trying different tempos and nuances. Songs like the title track 'Tragic Boogie' reflect an ethos of what they call "pre-post-production", where the idea is to try to "anticipate how we might manipulate the song in post on pro-tools, and then actually perform it that way as we were recording it, and not rely on post to create the effect". After recording , the bulk of tunes were mixed by Jason Livermore (Rise Against, Shiner) at The Blasting Room with the band and their fine-tooth combs in hand.
And though they have made a record for the ages, the live show is the proof. Blisteringly loud, unbelievably lush and brilliantly lit with white light, the sound created by these 3 gentlemen belies their numbers. The muscular 26" kickdrum thump of songs like 'Fall of the Angry Clowns' is not just heard live but felt in the belly. 'Let It Eat' recalls Blonde Redhead in 5th gear at 125mph, anchored by Eric Aberts' headbob-inducing bassline by the time we reach the chorus.
Where '07s The Magician EP (StiffSlack) echoed slivers of Floyd, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, Tragic Boogie finds them wearing multiple masks within one song, or even one verse. The majesty of 'Que Sera Sera' reflects an ethos of grandiosity of The Flaming Lips, while songs like 'Old Souls' and 'Catching Crumbs' owe a debt of gratitude to Doves and Interpol. And an instrumental with a name like 'Pain Don't Hurt' is proof that, while they are moody and melancholy, they refuse to take themselves too seriously.
Tragic Boogie, like the best albums made with unending attention to detail and looking to scale grand heights, never gets bogged down by the frippery. What really hits the listener are 12 foundation-changing rock songs that have been woven together with love and that slippery agent, time.

Based in San Francisco during the '80s, MDC trumped the Dead Kennedys by performing politically charged hardcore punk that was arguably more extreme than what got the Kennedys into trouble. Alternately known as Multi-Death Corporation, Millions of Dead Cops, or Millions of Damn Christians, the group formed in Texas in 1980 but moved to the West Coast by the time of their first release, a 1981 7" titled "John Wayne Was a Nazi." After their album debut, 1982's Millions of Dead Cops, the band released a 1983 EP but then was silent for several years.

MDC returned in 1986 with their second album, Smoke Signals, a musically mature record which didn't leaven the political content one bit. MDC aimed their sights at religion for 1987's This Blood's for You -- recorded as Millions of Damn Christians -- and began to expand their sound on the album, using acoustic guitar and definite attempts at melody. After releasing some rare and unreleased material on More Dead Cops, MDC returned to their hardcore roots on 1989's Metal Devil Cokes. Issued the same year, Elvis: In the Rheinland consists of a 1988 show recorded in Berlin. - ALLMUSIC.COM

Dirty South Revolutionaries came together in the winter of 2004 in Charlotte, Nc. Each member had been
in other high-profile local bands based out of the queen city, but none had found their real niche in the
scene before DSR. Moss and Pete had a long-standing friendship that helped to solidify their places in the band. Though at first they vied for the same position of lead singer, no one could imagine the power that would come from
their dueling vocals when they decided to work together. Steven Stoner and Adam Lane were there from
the start. Steve was fresh out of a band break-up while Adam actually entered into DSR as a side project!
Over the first year and a half DSR endured ongoing member changes. They could have anywhere from three to seven members on stage at any given show. DSR's line-up was finalized in January of 2006 with the addition of Jim Taddeo on bass guitar. Jim had been on band hiatus for years and his readiness to play brought a new bout of energy to Dirty South.
With new members and new songs DSR focused on live shows. In February DSR went to The Milestone, a
favorite local club, to watch American Distress. After bumming the band's equipment for an impromptu
after-show set, DSR took American Distress to a typical Charlotte after party at the South Side Punx house. Apparently, one night of their antics and a short demo was all it would take to convince Tent City Records that a recording session was in order. Six months later this album was rendered. Birthed of the
eclectic influences of DSR's unique members, spawned from the filthy streets of Charlotte, NC, prepare to have your ears assaulted by the sweet sound of Queen City Underground.

His 2006 debut solo record "The Door Booth Album" was well received by the greater Charlotte Milestone family, proving that making a release centered on song writing and layered arrangements while harnessing his mystical 4 track media craft he's perfected over the past 7 years will rival any state of the art main stream album. Supported by a DIY 19 day tour with the notorious WV band Cryptorchid Chipmunk, an almost month long tour with the EMOTRON, and several smaller regional tours. Now sporting an early 2007 album "The Mt. Holly Sessions" and an early 2008 split disc with 2013 Wolves. Tip your local Door Bum.

"This Austin sextet expands on the arc-riff grandeur of local travelers Explosions in the Sky with John Cale-like viola and simple, rising melodies that take you way up and out. My Surprise find at SXSW this year, My Education are advanced ecstasy" - David Fricke, Rolling Stone

my education first emerged in 1999 as a trio, and has since expanded and contracted - currently into the shape of a five piece with Brian Purrington on guitar, Chris Hackstie on more guitar, James Alexander on viola, Scott Telles on bass, and Christopher Stelly on drums. Along the way they've been privileged to have the contributions of Eric Gibbons, Sean Seagler, Kirk Laktas, Travis Weller, and Sarah Norris.

my education has played shows across the United States and Canada, sharing the stage with Pelican, the Red Sparrowes, the Black Angels, Six Organs of Admittance, Trans Am, Tone, Bardo Pond, and many others. The latest tour takes the band through US Southwest, West Coast, and the Mountain States.

my education has released 4 full-length albums, several singles, compilation appearances, and a 12" vinyl collaboration with avant-hip hop duo Dalek. Recordings have been remixed by members of bands Kinski, Pelican, the Red Sparrowes and Dalek. Albums include 5 Popes, Italian, Moody Dipper, and the new release Bad Vibrations.

my education has scored and performed live two original film soundtracks for Angels Egg and Sunrise.

my education has a new release out on Strange Attractors Audio House called Bad Vibrations. It has been well received and was recently featured on NPR's Second Stage.

Well, it happened like this. Jeffery Wayne Mosley was a bass picker and Robert Jason Vandygriff guitar picker and singer when they met in a place called Fannin County. Much later in life they put together a little outfit called the Von Ehrics. After going through drummers like Jeffery goes through women, they settled on an outlaw named Gabe "Stix" Aguilar. Now these three Texans had been raised on two things: the country music that was fed to them as little Texans (which is kind of a birth-right) and the punk rock and metal bands that they found as they got older. They put the two together and created a country punk sound. Honky-tonk metal, if you will. It�s just straight forward, country-styled songs played fast and loud. After all, they grew up in Texas - and around Dallas in particular. The bands they looked up to were Hagfish and Reverend Horton Heat. Put those with some old school Merle and a little Motorhead and your starting to get the idea

Formed in the summer of 2007, Let Me Run has captured a sound and a feeling that has struck a chord with a large audience in a short amount of time. Hailing from New Brunswick, NJ, members Travis, Corey, Louis, and Trevor make up a hard-working-hard-rocking band who keep it simple. Drawing influences from bands such as Hot Water Music and Jawbreaker, Let Me Run has a lot on their plate but show no signs of backing down. The band built a solid relationship with XOXO Records and entered the studio for their debut release Meet Me At The Bottom, a collection of honest, eclectic sounds that stays true to their punk rock roots. With a love for rock and roll, this group offers a fresh sound to anxious listeners. Chances are you'll be seeing these boys for yourself sooner or later. Party invincible.

In other words, imagine yourself drunk as fuck flying a fighter jet through the Grand Canyon at one billion miles an hour with a bear. That is how let me run lives every second, every day.

"There are really things which do not mislead! Some times it are enough to read, here and there, of the infos on a disc to know with few things close the musical orientation group and this, without same to have listened to only one title of said album. And Young Livers makes party of these groups there! Acknowledge nevertheless that it is rather difficult to imagine them to play of the post ambient rock'n'roll or even of the jazz manouche when it is known that they come from Gainesville, that members of Fiya and Glass and Ashes make parties of the group and that their new album "The new drop will era" fate on No Idea Records and Kiss of Death Records. And indeed, the premieres notes played on the 1st album of Americains do not lie. Young Livers sounds like punk rock'n'roll with strong amount of melody! And I want to better say so much because what it is good!! In a little more than 20 minutes I am conquered. The 8 titles of this pretty LP purple are played without artifices. Only the effectiveness counts and this is why each piece oscillates between 2 and 3 minutes. Short titles but of an incredible richness, the happy medium enters the smoothness and aggressiveness. A smoothness characterized by the work carried out on the melodies. In my eyes it is really what has the most impact in this album. One takes some of all the with dimensions ones but in the good direction of the term because the execution is made with grace and intelligence. There is never too much of it, proportioning is perfect. Aggressiveness as for it is primarily contained in the voice éraillé of the singer who without is not pointed out that of the singer of Hot Water Music. It comes to give even more relief to each piece. Frankly, there is not great a deal to say the bad one on this album. The kill-joy will say that Young Livers sound like so many melody groups. It does not matter because the important thing is to know if we take pleasure with the listening of this "The new drop will era". For me the bet is successful, the pleasure is there and I do not ask any more. And I cannot, with the final one, that you advise to throw an ear on this group."

-Mathieu @ www.tristetemps.com

From the deep forests of Scandanavia rose a man. Not just any man but a man that stands above other men. This man cried out in the wilderness and three other righteous men heard his call in their souls. They have since been bound together in a pact of blood and strive to climb that great mountain that lies before them. We can only aspire to be pieces of the men they are and only can dream to climb that deadly mountain... METH MOUNTAIN.

naked gods are a tragi-comedy roving minstrel troupe from North Carolina. They have been known to, on occasion, perform music in the "rock and roll" style so popular among today's youth. Theirs' is a constant journey through big hooks, clever phrasings, soaring melodies, and distorted wails, in search of the perfect batch of songs for their next album, which is not in the works right now and probably won't be anytime soon, considering that they just released one.

"The Lights, Fluorescent are an Indie Rock band based out of Charlotte NC. Featuring ex-members of Instrumental powerhouse VIA, Fort Mill pop punkers Frontpage and the amazing Erika Blatnik. Weaving guitars, driving bass lines and powerful drumming supply the perfect back drop for Erika's unique and amazing vocal abilities. The Lights, Fluorescent are proving to be one of Charlotte's best. With the beginnings of a loyal following and momentum building around the upcoming release of their debut CD "Neoteny" The Lights are an act you do not want to miss."

Midnight Peacocks is a collective of musicians from many different styles and backgrounds, brought together by composer, lyricist, vocalist and bass player Eitan Radoshinski at the summer of 2004 in their hometown of Tel Aviv Israel. Together they play music Radoshinski likes to define as "circus-core" – a crossover between hard-core, oriental and cabaret.
Radoshinski addresses in his music and lyrics issues such as obsession and fanaticism, which he believes to be at the core of the world's disharmony, in a style soaked with the schizophrenia and jolly Sinicism that come with the territory of life at the geographical point of friction between east and west.

The song opening Midnight Peacocks' debut album "IT'S A BRUTAL MACHINE" is titled "Just The Two Of Us" and tells the romantic story of a prophet guided by his belief to go to the most morally corrupt city (a.k.a NYC) and raze decadence to a new meaning (by becoming a transvestite prostitute, how else?) in order to serve as a human mark for the punishing bomb when it falls.
It's A Brutal Machine was recorded at Low Swing Studios in Berlin Germany under the producing hands of studio owner Guy Sterenberg in October 2004. The Album was mastered by Darius van Helfteren at Wisseloord Studios in Hiversum, The Netherlands. Midnight Peacocks started performing in October 2004 and has since played around 80 live concerts. It's A Brutal Machine release dates: Israel – 01..04..2006 ( www.earsayrecords.com), Germany – 01..06..2006 (www.phonector.de), USA – 01..06..2006 (www.phonector.com). The songs "Port Saeed", "Zombie Town", "Brutal Machine" and "Ganja To The Chairman" from the album have all been played by Israeli radio and TV, as well as indie radio stations, online radio and podcasts in Canada, Brazil, USA, Germany and the UK.

Radoshinski believes that any meeting between musicians on stage and a crowd is unique and can only be the same once. For that reason he tries to create a different experience in each and every live show rather than to duplicate a show in front of different crowds. This idea is kept by playing more or less the same materials, but with different musicians, instruments and vibes on every live show, giving constant new meanings to the recorded album. Midnight Peacocks played their music in many different locations ranging from an enchant cave in Jerusalem, where they played with 12 musicians on stage including violins, Darbuka drums, saxophone, and a performance artist, to clubs in Berlin were they performed with just Radoshinski on bass guitar and Haggay Fershtman on drums, and possibly almost any combination in between.

Radoshinski's musical influences range between Seattle Hard core group Melvins and Mike Patton's super group Mr. Bungle to Egyptian musician Mohamad Abdel Wahab.

Former associate editor of PUNK PLANET, member of Chicago bands MILE MARKER and CHALLENGER, creator of BURN COLLECTOR zine

in addition to being a Shitty comic book artist and Friend to rockandroll, Cassie is also an avid 8 Track Collector.

Bucky Sinister is a San Francisco standup comedian and author. With a set of hard-earned chops from his misspent years on the punk circuit,
Bucky's comedy continues the tradition of the storyteller comics such as Janeane Garofalo and Jen Kirkman. His comedic inspirations include
Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Greg Proops, and Patton Oswalt.

On What Happens in Narnia, Stays in Narnia,
Bucky tackles a harrowing, side-splitting array of personal and social demons such as video store renter shame, the most politically correct café in the entire United States, and atheism versus tidal wave obsessed twelve-steppers. Not to mention rock songs about heroin being used to sell birth control pills, the social phenomenon of 'Extreme Brads', real and imagined dates with Laura Ingalls and Wonder Woman, and a show-stopping tale about his non-monogamous punk rock speed-freak stalker.

The Physics of Meaning is a chamber rock band from North Carolina spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist Daniel Hart. Daniel is a member of St. Vincent and John Vanderslice's band, as well as a contributor to the recordings of The Polyphonic Spree, Annuals, The Rosebuds, Pattern Is Movement, and many others.

"Hart and his violin are one and the same apparatus, working in unison to bend the frames of typical pop, into pieces that open up old souls from the grounds."
-Daytrotter

"With a focus on character-driven narratives, Hart crafts beautiful bits of chamber rock that tell the oft-times tragic tales of a multitude of characters."
-KEXP

"Strong melodies, gorgeous layering and simple honesty."
-Time Out New York

"Snake Charmer is wonderfully crafted and gracefully executed."
-The Independent

"The Physics of Meaning aims for a grandiose display, and delivers".
-Shuffle Magazine

DD/MM/YYYY are trying to confuse you. Every single decision they make is confounding and enigmatic, and just when you think you have them figured out, they stop whatever they're doing just to fuck with you. It would be frustrating if it wasn't so weirdly enjoyable, mathematic yet danceable and, in spite of all their sonic riddles, strangely catchy. Are They Masks? builds on the electro/post-punk of their first album, The Blue Screen Of Death, but instead of random bursts of creativity, DD/MM/YYYY channel their oddness into fully fleshed-out songs. They still switch gears whenever they please, but give you the impression that things are more calculated this time around. At 21 tracks, it's amazing they don't overstay their welcome. And to that end, each song reveals more layers with each listen. If you like music that makes you stare at your stereo and ask, "What the fuck was that?" then Are They Masks? should be the next gem you seek out.

MOENDA is a new project featuring two members of Calabi Yau. This will be a continuation of the spirit and ethos of Yau with a new sound. Avant-Fun indeed, someone’s been listening to their Faust records.

Altamira was formed in October 2007, only three months before their first tour of the Midwest. The three members of the band, Nick Millevoi, Ricardo Lagomasino and John DeBlase are all busy in their own right, but when they play together the sum is greater than that of its parts. Combining progressive song structures, brutally intense improvisation, and an amalgam of musical influences, they pull off quite an exciting live show.

A live EP recorded at the second show of their first tour exists. It was pressed on the road and limited to only 20 copies. A second EP recorded in March '08 and sold on their second tour is still in circulation. The band is currently in the process of recording their debut LP.

"Too heavy and distorted for the beret-and-cigarette-holder set and too skilled (check guitarist Nick Millevoi’s two-handed guitar hammer-ons) to impress jaded indie kids, [Altamira] are odd ducks on most bills, which is probably how they like it." -NOW Magazine - Toronto

What do you do when the only bandmates you can find like to party as hard as you do, and that band falls apart? Start a one-man band, of course. Or so it is that Spinns drummer Josh Johnson moved to another country and started Pinche Gringo. Always a fan of primal garage blues, Johnson's found an appropriate idiom for his raw, electrified squalor. While pounding floor-bound bass and snare drums, Johnson unleashes swells of distortion grimy enough to soil your clothes. Johnson's making his way back north from Mexico City as part of an exchange program that will include a five-day November tour of Mexico by his old blues-punk outfit, the Spinns. Like those compadres, Johnson's focus remains more vibe than songcraft: "Friday on Izazaga" builds on a ragged drone, like the Velvets chasing a shuffling blues groove, while "Electric Orgy" is a goofy, gonzo blues rave-up fueled by Johnson's mischievous insouciance. INDEPENDENT WEEKLY.

Coma League Imagine a Tusk-era Lindsey Buckingham jamming in tight quarters with a Murmur-era Peter Buck, backed by an any-era Swell Maps, all hopped up on a muscle relaxer speedball. Think a Southern-fried garage band sound (back before bands started trying to sound like garage bands, but rather came about it honestly). OK. You know what? Fuck it. The pet project of the super-talented show poster designer and visual artist Ben Gelnett, Coma League have a tasty little EP out thru Kinnikinnik Records, and a listen to that will tell you more than I can. All I can say is: me likee. With Matthew Paul Butler and the Beards of Power and The Flying Eyes. Milestone (Timothy C. Davis)

Death Becomes Even The Maiden is not a name for a catchy band. But Eric Greenwood, the bassist and singer of the Capital City trio, is quick to admit that, surprisingly enough, Death Becomes Even The Maiden’s songs are catchy. But to clarify, we’re using the term “catchy” less as a euphemism for “gimmicky” and more as a woefully inadequate placeholder for the word “memorable.” Songs such as these are guaranteed to leave an impression.

For a taste, try the band’s latest recording, the Pink EP, a single in the classic sense: two songs on one seven-inch record. A-side “The Chop” digs deep with a melodic bass line slicing through a fog of synth-chords before the beat drops and the song turns around into its post-punk snarl. Joy Division’s moodiness meets Gang of Four’s staccato vocal delivery. But it’s tempered by blips of Dinosaur Jr feedback in the guitars and becomes something very close to pop. Good thing it’s balanced by its flipside, “The Only Thing I Feel for You is the Recoil,” a frantic guitar-charged gallop bookended by hissing amplifiers. “Sort of a Jekyll and Hyde,” says Greenwood of the EP. With barreling drums and a vocal delivery from Greenwood that starts off urgent and builds its way up to enraged as he scorches his throat through the chorus, “Recoil” is ignition for a mosh pit — but still there’s that hook. Don’t be surprised to find yourself screaming right along.

The band’s influences are clear: post-punk jitters keep the band’s math-rock proclivities from sitting still while The Pixies’ loud-quiet-loud dynamic gets cranked up. But it’s a testament to the trio’s chemistry that the songs can be so simultaneously urgent and approachable. “I almost feel like I need to apologize for being too catchy,” Greenwood says. No apologies necessary. — B. Reed SHUFFLE MAGAZINE

The Independents "Back From The Grave"
(Reviewed By Joe Grimm)

A while back at 'The Ghouls Night Out Fest' I got the latest Independents album "Back From the Grave". It is one hell of a CD. The Independents are a ska-punk band from South Carolina. Their sound is very unique. It's like listening to the Misfits and Elvis Presley with a little ska thrown into the group. Their music comes in a poppy and energizing style. If you ever have the chance to see them in concert, I strongly recommend you go see them and you would know what I am talking about. Now back to their new CD, "Back From the Grave". This CD contains 16 tracks, including a special guest such as the late Joey Ramone (god rest his soul). Joey Ramone was their manager. This CD is a little more upbeat than all the other CD's but it is still a fucking good album. It includes great songs like: Bloody night, Beer song, Left for Dead, Insane (a personal favorite), and Succubus. These are some of my favorite songs, even though I like all the tracks. The Independents are the first and still the best of horror punk-ska.

No Bullshit Queen City, East coast punk rock. We have played with The Vibrators, The Casualties, Lower Class Brats, Street Dogs, The Briefs, Dead Pets, Clit 45, River City Rebels, Brain Failure, Go Betty Go, Left Alone, NAKED AGGRESSION, Retching Red, the Independents, Straight Jacket, the Low Budgets ect. Our goal is to make horrible noize and start a war

Maximum Rocknroll "The Devil Is Real" demo Review
Sick Sick Sick play the kind of punk that I remember seeing a lot of in the late '80s. Fast and mean, with a guitar solo or a double bass beat to mix up the song - but those elements aren't overriding factors in the music. The vocals are pissed and kind of spoken, kind of shouted, and the back-ups kick in here and there. This band sounds like a time before sub-genres, and I like that a lot.
(Erin) Maximum Rocknroll, no. 279 August 2006

Left of the Dial:
Recorded back in the dark-thronged years of 2005, this do-it-yourself, at times Sabbathy sludge might be the industrial juggernaut of the windy city come to life in giant sloth riffage. Imagine the southside slums rearing up in slowly twisting anger and molten revenge, one almost mythic (I mean, heck, the band is named after an old metal weapon that soldiers slugged, also known as a star nail) and otherwordly, and this might be the slow, undulating soundtrack. Are they even from Chicago? Who knows? Only the lord of the underground. Well, at least the songs were recorded in such a murky place. With odd timing and vocals that are not drenched in terror-noise howls (in fact, the third song [all untitled, and this clocking in at 10:00 minutes!] sounds surprisingly like the off key throb vocals of Pavement being wounded and encircled by guitar work resembling early Thin Lizzy…what a blend). Overall, though, this commingling of old-school space rock and current stoner-isms makes for a good companion to the likes of Nebula and Totimoshi in your CD player longing for something with muscled style and finesse.

In May of 2008 Dan was introduced to Jake through a mutual friend. Jake jammed with Dan a few times and both parties decided to continue the project. Then we moved into Let The Night Roar's jam space at Avatar Sound Studio in downtown Atlanta, where we began to round out our set and perfect our songs. Eventually Jeff expressed interest in joining, so we began practicing with Jeff on bass and our line up was complete at three members. A few weeks later we moved to Thunderbox Studios near Little 5 Points. On 8-13-2008 we tracked our first demo in our room at Thunderbox. It was four songs and was recorded by Mike Longoria (Withered, Waited), it is availiable on CD and will also eventually be realeased on limited 7" format. We have began writing our sixth song and began to play shows, check the calender and come join us for a few beers sometime soon. -Jake

PEELANDER-Z, the Japanese Action Comic Punk Band, was formed by Peelander-Yellow, Peelander-Blue, and Peelander-Red (claim they are from Z area in the Planet Peelander!!) in 1998, and came into action based in NYC.
These three dress up in color-coordinated costumes about as if they came out of Japanese Animation (claim those are not costumes, but the skin!!!) put on a fun entertainment. Yes, their performance is not just playing music. Have you heard of human bowling, wrestling and kung-fu action, or funny dance at the punk rock shows? Peelander-Z knows how to entertain the audience by dragging them into the show. One experience would capture you!! Peelander-Z is the best of the universe!

Peelander-Z has been appearing not only on the major music festivals like Bonnaroo Music Festival, CMJ and SXSW, but also on the TV programs like Best Week Ever on VH1, Upright Citizens Brigade on Comedy Central and MXC: Most Extreme Challenge on Spike TV, and on Anime Network. They have played with many national bands, such as Buckethead, Electric Six, Particles, and more. Also they've performed at many other major Anime conventions and the festivals all over the US. Just pay attention to their coming activities!!!

In The Red is pleased to announce that we have signed to Suburban Home Records. Be sure to check us out at: http://www.suburbanhomerecords.com Below is the press release that our good buddy Virgil at Suburban Home put together:

Suburban Home is really excited to share with the world that we have signed Carpinteria, California's In the Red. In the Red features Mike Hale on Guitar/Vocals and Matt Glasgow on Drums. We had earlier announced that we would be working with Mike on his next solo album. It is really exciting for us that in addition to his solo material, we will be also working with his rock band.

As I got to know Mike we had quite a few discussions about In the Red. Our friends at Kiss of Death released their debut album, Volume 1, and everyone at Suburban Home just loved the record. We also all really like Mike and honestly, it is very important that we have a good relationship with our acts. There was a little hesitation on behalf of Mike because many of the records we had released this year were singer/songwriter and/or Alt-country/Folk, but I reminded him that we have worked with a lot of rock bands including Ghost Buffalo, Stereotyperider, Love Me Destroyer, LaGrecia, and more and that with Vinyl Collective, we had released a lot of heavier acts. Luckily I convinced him to give us a shot and in 2009, we will be releasing their new album.

For those of you unfamiliar, Mike Hale had spent a lot of time in the No Idea Recording artist, Gunmoll. When Gunmoll disbanded, Mike moved to California where he started In the Red. If I had to compare In the Red's sound with a few bands, I would say that they would fit in nicely on a bill with Hot Water Music and Leatherface. They are an incredible band and I am so excited to be working with them.

Colin Moore is a Canadian singer/songwriter hailing from Montreal, Quebec. His raspy voice began to gain him attention at an early age, and by his mid-teens Colin was fronting his first punk band, Suburban Trash, now known as Road Bones. Armed with a guitar and a strong urge to expand his musical horizons, Colin’s desire to write music has now taken him in a completely different direction: « bar-room » folk. Influenced by the greats, Springsteen, Petty, Dylan, Mike Ness, and many others, Colin’s ability to tell his stories through lyric and melody weaves a rich and inspiring musical tapestry. Although a new player to the folk-rock scene, he has quickly gained attention from both fans and industry alike. Following his debut showcase at CMW in March 2008, Moore has gone on to play a variety of festivals and shows, recently opening two sold-out shows for Joseph Arthur. Colin also recently signed his first licensing deal, placing his song “Friends of Mine” in the television series Family Biz, which airs in both Canada (YTV) and France (France 2 and Canal + Famille). Now signed to Indica Records, Colin is currently in pre-production on his debut CD, which will be released in February '09. The album is being produced by Ryan Battistuzzi (Malajube), and mixed by Mike Fraser (Aerosmith, AC/DC).

Formed in Athens, Ohio, SKELETONWITCH has been launching metal assaults on an unsuspecting underground since 2003. The members of THE WITCH are bonded by the universal truth, that heavy metal is the law, thereby unleashing the band's brand of ripping, epic thrash. Everything begins with the purity and aggression of the 80s Bay Area thrash scene, but SKELETONWITCH further fuels its evil onslaught with elements of black and Viking metal while proudly waving the NWOBHM flag. Imagine a young Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Exodus slamming beers and cranking up Immortal records at a rager in 1985. Just when you think the keg is killed, Judas Priest joins the party with a fresh case of beer.

SKELETONWITCH brings together the old and sacred elements of true heavy metal, melts them down, and forges them into a brand new monolith of riffage. This new beast that has been created, while completely fresh and unique, is still able to give you that 1986 feeling (whether you were already there or are just feeling it for the first time). And THE WITCH’s live show is not to be missed - This is a fact known by the countless hessians, thrashers, stoners and punks alike that have bore witness to the vicious spectacle: a whirlwind of nipple-length hair, dual flying Vs, roaring Marshall stacks, and a black master of ceremonies as sick as Satan himself.

Through persistent touring and the release of a full-length and an EP, SKELETONWITCH has already garnered serious buzz in the underground metal scene. By inking a deal with Prosthetic in early 2007, THE WITCH is now bringing its heathen crusade to a larger audience. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll come out and bang your head when SKELETONWITCH comes to your town. WORSHIP THE WITCH!

Since this Savannah, Georgia quintet first formed in early 2001, worrying about genre limitations has never been a priority. Taking musical chances, however, always has been. While KYLESA are as heavy as any band out there, they are beholden to no one scene and no preconceived notions of what heavy music should be.
"Lots of people like to stick to one kind of music," guitarist/vocalist Philip Cope elaborates, "and even with the underground, lots of people segregate themselves into small little categories and place lots of imaginary rules on these scenes."

"We just like playing heavy music and we've always liked playing it regardless of what is popular or trendy," guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants adds. "It's most rewarding for us to try and push our own boundaries of what we can to do with our music and hopefully, in the end, offer something that is at least original."

Kylesa's third full-length, Time Will Fuse Its Worth, is the eagerly-awaited follow-up to 2005's To Walk A Middle Course, which topped many year end lists and landed the band in metal and mainstream press alike. After grabbing ink in Spin, the New York Times, and metal mainstays Revolver alike, Time Will Fuse Its Worth again showcases the band as the ultimate definition of do-it-yourself dedication. With Cope lending his ears and hands for production duties at The Jam Room, and featuring comprehensive artistic layout and packaging from Pleasants, the KYLESA of current day continues to put the band's future in their own hands by relentlessly touring Europe and North America alike.

Time Will Fuse Its Worth sees the band continuing to evolve upon KYLESA's signature sound, seamlessly flowing from track to track encompassing listeners with sounds far and wide and an utter disregard for musical boundaries. Bringing together avant-garde experimentalism with the pure fury of dirty, sludgy riffs and raw, coexisting male and female vocals, KYLESA's ambient noise interludes, grimy rock riffs and impassioned, gruff vocals portray the doom-inspired punishment they are capable of dishing out through the power of the band's music.

Now adding to KYLESA's signature sound and trademark triple vocal attack is the recent addition of a second drummer. "When we first started the band, we had planned on having two drummers but it didn't work out, so now it feels like everything is coming together," Pleasants says. "There is definitely a new level of intensity to Kylesa now. Since the new lineup has gotten together we have felt the strongest creative spark yet."

The band's reluctance to attach itself to one sound or scene and to not play by conventional rules, along with that strong creative spark, has ultimately made KYLESA that much more versatile. With a constantly heavy touring schedule has found the band crossing boundaries, sharing bills with bands as diverse as High On Fire, Circle Takes the Square, Coliseum, Torche, Red Sparowes, Big Business, Baroness, The Sword, Disfear, and Darkest Hour both at home and abroad, as well as playing to enthusiastic crowds throughout Europe. "While we are no kings of one scene," says Cope, "we have, in a sense, just developed our own thing.

Artsy Seattle post-hardcore act These Arms Are Snakes mixes the urgency and aggressive vocal style of punk with the exploded song structures and technical complexity of the original wave of math rock bands. This fusion is a logical progression from the bandmembers' former projects: singer Steve Snere was formerly of the Minneapolis-to-Seattle emo transplants Kill Sadie, while bassist, singer, and keyboardist Brian Cook was formerly in long-running math rockers Botch. (Scene incest note: other former members of Botch and Kill Sadie, guitarist David Knudson and bassist Cory Murchy respectively, formed another Seattle post-hardcore act, Minus the Bear, whose drummer, Erin Tate, was in both Kill Sadie and one lineup of These Arms Are Snakes. A Pete Frame-style family tree among all these bands would probably induce a nagging headache.) Snere, Cook, guitarist Ryan Frederiksen, keyboardist Jesse Robertson, and drummer Joe Preston released their first EP, This Is Meant to Hurt You, on Jade Tree Records in August 2003. With Tate replacing Preston and with Robertson out of the band, These Arms Are Snakes released their debut full-length, Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home, in September 2004. Their second full-length album, Easter, followed in the fall of 2006, with new producer Chris Common also taking over the drum throne from Ben Verellen (of Roy and Harkonen fame). Over the next two years, the quartet toured with like-minded groups Pelican, Mastodon, Hot Water Music, and the Blood Brothers before releasing their third album Tail Swallower and Dove on Suicide Squeeze records in October of 2008.

"One minute you're joking around, and then you're starting the band you've always wanted to..." - BeBe CoathangerIn less than three years, The Coathangers, Julia Kugel (guitar/vocals), Stephanie Luke (drums/vocals), Candice Jones (keyboard/vocals), and Meredith Franco (bass/vocals) have grown from a band of girlfriends buying the cheapest instruments an Atlanta pawn shop could offer, to a group of formidable, adaptable performers...Here is the group as a group, an unbreakable unit - the chemistry and magic of all component parts interacting - all the girls or none.You could look at them and think they're this way or that, but they will not conform. These are four really different people who have bonded beyond the point of just being friends. You might think you can pin them down, but they don't care. Their fashion isn't contrived...their music feels like music for music's sake because that's exactly what it is...natural, voluntary, spontaneous, impulsive, intuitive...and entirely better for it."We write all the songs together, trying everything out within a day; we switch instruments, waste time, thrive on building pressure," says Julia Kugel, "every song is an art project, a starting over, a Scramble."Songs like "Bury Me" and "Time Passing" use chanted vocals to approach a kind of personal sloganeering - like Huggy Bear, shot with syncopated voices, but minus the political fury. In "Pussywillow," the melodic chop of the guitar brings the chorus, "This means nothing to you... It means nothing to me, too. To me, me..." lifting the call-and-response action from bratty disgust to melancholy realization, then back again.
There's a definitive strength in the scrambled vernacular of the band's songwriting. Do they bring the party, as rumor has it? Absolutely. It's an exhausting time. But what these ladies' have to give, both performing live, and on record, leads to a beautiful exhaustion: a feeling both empty and full, like at the end of intense physical activity, when your body is burned, yet charged...Strip away the music-biz pretense like that and it leaves you with only the things that are simple, stunning, and true. The Coathangers are one of those things. Start the party.

Early Man: Two Pentecostalists from Columbus, shielded from pop culture their entire lives, discover rock at the age of 19. Kicked out by their families and ostracized by their friends, their adopted kin are the works of Judas Priest, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate, Minor Threat, Diamond Head, Motorhead, and Head of David. Nurtured and warmed, they move to New York City and start a band whose elemental street thrash recalls a time before metal splintered into 54 micro-categories.

Mike Conte alternates between a '73 Gibson SG and a white '84 Jackson Randy Rhodes Flying-V, pre-sharkfin inlay. The Jackson is Sandimas-built, of course. The guitars feed through 2 full stacks: a Marshall JCM 800 and a Peavey 5150. Full German-made Bogner cabs.

Conte occasionally uses an MXR Distortion Plus pedal, but in general, he remarks, "All my distortion is natural -- as it should be." Similarly, he says, "Purposefully (mainly for the sake of pissing off the nu-metal world) I do not use ANY alternate tunings, such as drop-D. If it can sound thunderous in standard tuning then I've accomplished my goal."

Adam Bennati plays a five-piece Zickos glass acrylic drum kit manufactured in 1972 only. It weighs over 500 pounds.

Early Man recently toured the West Coast and Midwest with Mastodon and are in the process of auditioning a new bass player. Following the release of their debut album, 'Closing In,' on October 11, they'll be touring constantly through March of 2006.

Red Fang is the formation of long time friends and collaborators Bryan Giles (Last of the Juanitas, Party Time), Aaron Beam (Dark Forces, Lachrymator), David Sullivan (Party Time, facedowninshit, Shiny Beast) and John Sherman (Party Time, Bad Wizard, Trumans Water, All Night). Unleashed on New Year's Eve of 2006 in Portland, Oregon, Red Fang stormed out of the gates, introducing a sweaty, seething basement to a new kind of unforgettable fist-pumping, beer-chugging rock music. Since that night, the band has continued with the same intensity, energy, and intimacy to quickly become a touring juggernaut, playing shows all over the US with bands like The Melvins, Big Business, and The Sword, to name just a few.

Residing somewhere between Black Flag and Black Sabbath, Red Fang recall a time when rock was more urgent and horrifying. Synthesizing a variety of heavy music influences into their own distinct musical identity, the band easily shifts from barn-burning punk to mid-tempo, hyper-distorted bass destruction all while maintaining a cohesive sound. Red Fang create gigantic rock songs that are easy to listen to (not easy listening, mind you) and qualify the simultaneous usage of both the thinking and the banging head, which are usually mutually exclusive. Their instrumentation is fluid and effortless, and the vocals are delivered melodically and forcefully, with enough rasp and effect saturation to fit nicely within the music. Paired with elemental imagery, the lyrics are immense and satisfying without any pretense.

Red Fang's self-titled debut full-length will be released on Sargent House in March 2009.

It's heavy hand, quick wrist, to the point Rock, that doesn't follow the same ideals of most bands in this genre or any other. We don't write about our love for a mate, how drunk we've been, what we wear, how many women we think we have, how bad-ass or evil we are, which of us is the bigger thug or how real to keep it! It's not just about making the crowd happy. You gotta be pleased with yourself as well. So we write songs that sometimes challenge us and NO BULLSHIT LYRICS! BOOLOW comes from Shelby, N.C. and started around the summer of 2000. The three original members were Mitch, Jeff and Jason. Richard, who had played in a group with Jason in the mid to late 90's was added in the fall of 2003. The new line up was a success from the first practice. Couple that with a driving drum/bass backbone and astute lyrics...that's BOOLOW! In the spring of 2007 we sadly parted ways with our original guitarist (Jeff). Matt Mode, a.k.a. "Moder" joined us in the Summer of 2007. We are full force and having a great time. Many different artist and genres have left a mark on us as individuals. From Hendrix to Old School Hardcore & Oi! Light on the fluff and at times politically loaded. BOOLOW does have an agenda. To Hell with Liberals!

Dirty South Revolutionaries came together in the winter of 2004 in Charlotte, Nc. Each member had been
in other high-profile local bands based out of the queen city, but none had found their real niche in the
scene before DSR. Moss and Pete had a long-standing friendship that helped to solidify their places in the band. Though at first they vied for the same position of lead singer, no one could imagine the power that would come from
their dueling vocals when they decided to work together. Steven Stoner and Adam Lane were there from
the start. Steve was fresh out of a band break-up while Adam actually entered into DSR as a side project!
Over the first year and a half DSR endured ongoing member changes. They could have anywhere from three to seven members on stage at any given show. DSR's line-up was finalized in January of 2006 with the addition of Jim Taddeo on bass guitar. Jim had been on band hiatus for years and his readiness to play brought a new bout of energy to Dirty South.
With new members and new songs DSR focused on live shows. In February DSR went to The Milestone, a
favorite local club, to watch American Distress. After bumming the band's equipment for an impromptu
after-show set, DSR took American Distress to a typical Charlotte after party at the South Side Punx house. Apparently, one night of their antics and a short demo was all it would take to convince Tent City Records that a recording session was in order. Six months later this album was rendered. Birthed of the
eclectic influences of DSR's unique members, spawned from the filthy streets of Charlotte, NC, prepare to have your ears assaulted by the sweet sound of Queen City Underground.

Snagglepuss - The Sound Report (Coolidge) "The '80s had Fetchin Bones and the '90s had Sugarsmack. Naturally, a new decade had to give way to a new project for Hope Nicholls and Aaron Pitkin, Charlotte, NC's most enduring power couple. In the seven-member Snagglepuss, most every musical corner they've explored in the past has been brought together. The Sound Report, the band's third LP, seamlessly integrates the southern-fried pop and unhinged mayhem of their previous endeavors with a newly revealed appreciation for the sickly slick radio mainstays of their youth. There's sax. There's violence. And you're invited."- paul, www.750rless.com

"The Lights, Fluorescent are an Indie Rock band based out of Charlotte NC. Featuring ex-members of Instrumental powerhouse VIA, Fort Mill pop punkers Frontpage and the amazing Erika Blatnik. Weaving guitars, driving bass lines and powerful drumming supply the perfect back drop for Erika's unique and amazing vocal abilities. The Lights, Fluorescent are proving to be one of Charlotte's best. With the beginnings of a loyal following and momentum building around the upcoming release of their debut CD "Neoteny" The Lights are an act you do not want to miss."

"I have never been one to steer clear of hyperbole, and so it is with great pride and conviction that I embark on this over- the-top endorsement of what may well be the greatest band to ever call Athens home. From their early days as post-emo-reformed-math experimenters, Maserati showed promise, but with last year's addition of dynamo Jerry Fuchs (who for my money is the greatest living rock drummer), the group embraced the misunderstood and oft-maligned universe of psychedelic rock, introducing a healthy dose of Pink Floyd and Can to their already compelling prog-punk mix. Drunk on the power of this newfound experimental freedom, Maserati continues to evolve in ways their built-in hipster audience might not fully appreciate but lovingly laps up all the same."
- Ryan Lewis, Athens Banner-Herald

Fin Fang Foom formed in Jacksonville, Florida, over a decade ago. After early incarnations of the band with drummers Eric Puestow and Peter Enriquez, Michael Glass joined Michael Triplett and Eddie Sanchez to form the one that would persist until Cynthia Main joined this year. Puestow left the band for college, but Enriquez suddenly passed away in an automobile accident, marking the first (but unfortunately not last) occasion when the Foom would have to overcome disaster. The band moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1998 and soon became synonymous with the local scene, gigging incessantly and establishing themselves as local fixtures. A pair of LPs for Lovitt Records, 2001’s Texture, Structure, and the Condition of Moods and 2003’s With the Gift Comes the Curse, found the band streamlining and amplifying upon their math-rock/post-rock sound, and the Foom became popular enough to warrant their first European tour. That was the gift. Then came the curse. In 2004, Triplett was diagnosed with spinal meningitis. He spent several months in the hospital, and several more recuperating in Florida. No one would’ve blamed the Foom for throwing in the towel. But, in typically cavalier spirit, they didn’t, and Triplett returned to North Carolina in 2005 to complete the Native Tongue EP, out now on Japan’s Stiff Slack records. A Japanese tour to promote the EP will ensue. Given the circumstances of its creation, it’s no surprise that Native Tongue is frankly triumphant: Fin Fang Foom’s glacial gloom is moodier and grander than ever, thanks in no small part to the brooding strokes of cello that new member Cynthia Main threads through Michael Triplett’s driving guitar themes, Eddie Sanchez’s booming bass, twinkling pianos and overcast vocals, and Michael Glass’s surgically precise percussion. The band’s time-honed dynamic is manifest on Native Tongue, which finds them striking a delicate balance between pensive delicacy and raw power. The adversity that they’ve hurdled over the years is writ large in their modern sound, which is uniformly bleak, but always seems to portend redemption around the corner.

“It’s time for a revival,” is a common sentiment in modern music, but Kiss Kiss’s Josh Benash, doesn’t say it, he embodies it. With their explosive debut album, “Reality Vs. The Optimist,” Kiss Kiss don’t just revive music, they build a cathedral to it out of a gypsy circus tent. In the space of twelve tracks, the caberet catches fire, the orchestra aches and Josh Benash’s voice breaks it’s way through a truly groundbreaking masterpiece.

The word is getting out. Death and Taxes write, "In an eastern-European-flavored whirlwind of circus music gone rock, Kiss Kiss have dished out a very creative album that somehow manages to mold infectious pop out of avant-garde insanity. Go see them live and you'll understand.” Through the ferocious dissonance of “Machines” the band channels Nirvana for sheer power and originality while “Satellite,” with it’s sweeping chorus and Beach Boys verses, proves that Kiss Kiss aren’t just obscure fair for the art school crowd.

“I got a job at the Knitting Factory as an intern, and it was there I Discovered musicians like John Zorn, Glen Branca, Mike Patton, Sun Ra,” explains Benash, “But I think that initial love of a good pop song never left me, and I began to try and incorporate the strangeness I loved in Avant Garde, with the Great melodies I love in Pop.” Alternative Press concludes that the band make “Epic and experimental pop… you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them.”

The band have been touring the country tirelessly in support of bands like Mono, Black Dice, Ramona Cordova and the Ataris and have built a dizzying reputation as a live band. They will be continuing to support the full-length through 2008, bringing their unique mix of gypsy melodies akin to Beirut, Gogol Bordello and DeVotchka to every city in the country.

Reality Vs. The Optimist is in stores now through Eyeball Records, the Independent NJ label responsible for the similarly genre-breaking bands, Murder By Death and The Number Twelve Looks Like You as well as giants My Chemical Romance.

“The mainstream has a knack for sucking the Honesty out of a genre, and it takes a new leaf to bring that back.“ Josh Benash, Kiss Kiss

Band bios are boring. They are useless pieces of clap-trap used by record companies to squeeze that last few dollars from the overtaxed wallets of ignorant pre-teens who haven’t figured out how to use limewire. They have a basic format that everyone follows and use big college words like emotive or contextual. They discuss how a band starts (duh! How does every band start? A couple people get together, play some music, if it is ok then they play a show. Sometimes they play a couple more.) I could see putting in the origins of the band if it was something like this: They met in rehab. Fuck yes! Remember that nu-metal band from Minneapolis whose big claim to fame was that they met in rehab? Best thing about them by a long shot, homey. Nathan the singer, rescued the band from prostitution and needed a positive direction for them so that they wouldn’t fall into old patterns. Nathan inherited them from a crazy uncle who first made him figure out some ancient riddle and fight ninjas to achieve his rightful destiny as Nathan, Leader of the Casting Out. Nathan is actually the Holy Grail descended from Jesus…uh, ok that is weird. So if a bands origins aren’t like that, I don’t give a fuck. Got it? So Nathan was in a band called BoySetsFire. They did ok, then they broke up. So the Casting Out started, first with some terrible name that (THANK GOD!) was already taken, played some shows, lost some members, got some members, changed their sound, (yeah I know…it “evolved”) It got louder. More raucous. More fun. More of that good stuff that keeps you coming back. Catchier than a plateful of syphalitic lepers. EW. They started touring in a crappy van that broke down. Of course they did. Who didn’t? Played to smatterings of people who began disinterested, but were slowly (so slowly!) run over by their dynamic stage show. But they are doing it the way you are supposed to. They are sleeping on floors. They are eating pasta. Playing freaking VFWs, Which is fine for all the retards out there with their first band who are just excited to get out of Arkansas, But Nathan is no spring chicken. He ain’t even a Winter Goose. He has been touring since he was 20 which was nearly two decades ago. When he started touring, gas was ninety cents a gallon. When he started touring, no-one had cell phones. We used this cracked out gadget called the “Straight Edge Dialer” which somehow imitated the sonic patterns of quarters dropping into the slot. We would gather around a pay-phone and use it to call home and try to get shows. When he started touring, there was no major-label debate because major-labels simply did not sign punk or hardcore bands. When he started touring the internet was a mere gleam in Al Gore’s nutsack. When he started touring, people bought cds. Yeah, I know... That long ago. So the question was posed as it has been before and will certainly be again. Why? Why start over? Why not look back at the admittedly somewhat impressive body of work. (4 full lengths, countless tours, blah blah…) and just say fuck it and get a jobby job? “Because it is the only thing I am good at”. To be honest, that isn’t quite true. Nathan can also paint like a mother fucker. He is wonderful at touch up, and even with ideas about certain color schemes, But who the hell wants to paint for the rest of his life? Not me, And I guess not him. I have another idea about why Nathan is still doing it. Because it is fun. Because the Casting Out is fun. Lots of fun. Nathan, the grizzled lead singer, seems to have discovered a new tool in his writing tool-bag (?) –a sense of humor. The songs are performed with a knowing wink and jaunty tip of the hat. No cute (is what we aim for) word play. No long ass song titles. Just lyrics written from a good perspective and good punk-influenced pop music. Melodies that will make your heart sing. Starting a new band at 35……… Crazy bitch. -joshua latshaw-

Rob Huddleston's time in the music scene has been far reaching. He was the founder and frontman of punk outfit Ann Beretta from 1996-2004 and began playing solo acoustic shows as early as 1995. Huddleston was ahead of the curve, stripping down his punk anthems and turning them into a one man show long before it was en vogue. His intention was to show that great songs can be slowed down and whittled away to their core elements and still pack the needed punch to captivate an audience.

After the release of the first self-titled Foundation record in 2001 on Fueled by Ramen and the subsequent tours that followed, Huddleston decided to expand on his solo project and invited some close friends to join his ranks. In late 2006, Foundation began performing as a full band whose set was comprised of songs from the self-titled full length as well as the new material Huddleston had been composing.

As the group evolved, the members revolved. Each show became a little bit different as the cast changed. However, Huddleston's signature twang and heartfelt lyrics remained the constant. With a differing combination of acoustic and electric instrumentation, the songs have been proven to obtain a unique life in each new setting.

In 2008 Huddleston rejoined forces with Vinnie Fiorello the ex-owner of Fueled By Ramen to bring this new reincarnation of Foundation to life. Vinnie's new multimedia label Paper + Plastick seemed to be an ideal place for Huddleston to showcase his new rendition of an old band with an old friend.

The approach to the record was simple. Rob would record a simple acoustic guitar track and vocals as the literal foundation of the songs, and then they were built upon to create the textured and multifaceted final product. This product would be called Chimborazo. Named after a historic district in Richmond, Virginia's Church Hill, the album sounds like the culmination of many summer nights on an old front porch.

What separates Chimborazo from Foundation's earlier work are the amount of additional players and instruments rounding out each song and the time and deliberation they spent producing the record. However, Chimborazo is not overly polished. The album gives the feeling of a live setting with the inclusion of everyone that had been participating in Foundation over the years. The songs range from traditional Americana to bluegrass to straight up Rock and Roll, and are bridged together with common themes and lyrical elements that give the record a strong sense of cohesion.

2008 has shown to be a busy year for Huddleston. With Foundation releasing Chimborazo in the fall, and Ann Beretta out of hiatus to play select dates, there will be no shortage of heartfelt catchy punk and rock music for the masses.

Pontiak is made up of three brothers from the Blue Ridge farm country of Virginia, Van (guitar, lead vocals), Lain (drums, vocals) and Jennings Carney (bass, organ, vocals). Their music is swaggering guitar rock that straddles the line between a power trio and something far more expansive in sound and scope. Their broad song structures allow ample room for three-part vocals, drums, organ and stellar slide and lead guitar to stretch and captivate. Songs roll along with an effortless synchronicity despite their extremely varied textures. Julian Cope described them as, “straddling a wide sonic rift valley, with references that stretch from the southern latitudes of Spain’s Viaje A800 to the northern majesty of Black Sabbath and Harvey Milk via the Doors.”
Sun On Sun, their second full-length album, was recorded in a log cabin just north of Charlottesville, Virginia in about four days. The thick wooden walls of the structure reflected a lot of sound that gave the recording a sharp biting quality. Each string pluck from Van’s guitar can be heard soaring above the rich ethereal reverb that coats tracks like “White Mice” and “The Brush Burned Fast”. The wilderness surrounding the cabin and the appreciation for it that the brothers share can be heard seeping into every track. From start to finish, Sun on Sun evokes the nature that surrounds the brothers from the rolling meadows, to the dense woods, from the early morning solitude of the rural farmer, to the open and endless night sky. The psychedelic organ flourishes of “Tell Me About” and the bass heavy churn of “Shell Skull” keep the album grounded in the rock tradition, never wandering too far from the epic and at times heavy trail that the brothers are blazing.

Sticking with this tradition, the Carneys honed the songs that make up Sun On Sun while touring and didn’t waste much time tinkering in the studio. Most of the tracks were recorded in only a few takes, if not the first and they strived to create an album that flowed like a live performance. “Swell”, which was written in the time it took to record it, bleeds into the pounding rhythms and guitar swirl of “White Hands”. The title track was a song that had been written long before and road tested but underwent a sudden metamorphosis in the studio, a happy accident if you will, that the brothers have continued to build on since that moment.

Pontiak’s other releases include their debut album, Valley of Cats, on their own Fireproof Records and Kale (July 2008), a split LP with kindred spirits Arbouretum, built around a mutual admiration for John Cale. Pontiak delivers a potent cover of “The Endless Plain of Fortune” and a great new interpretation of “Mr. Wilson,” along with two new originals. Kale was recorded at Pontiak’s studio on their farm.

"The Houstons are kinda hard to nail simply because they stir up so many different emotions when you listen to them play. It's almost like watching the sun set. It sets a peaceful, laid back mood with a hint of sadness as you say goodbye to another passing day but then there's a sense of invigoration and a tinge of mystery as you feel thankful to be moving forward and curious as to what lies ahead. In other words, it's warm, heady stuff that you can really get lost in." Lynn Farris, Creative Loafing Charlotte 2006

formerly Hot Rod Greased Lightin, featuring Battlin Bobby Childers on skins and Randy Saxton on guitar!

Armed with guitars, drums and guts, Sioux City Pete & The Beggars mutate the classic style of Mississippi Delta Blues into previously uncharted territory, stripping the music down to it’s raw soul and rebuilding it with volume-soaked armor plating; tipping their hat to legends like Charlie Patton and Elmore James while creating explosive, original rock and roll. The 14 tracks on Necro Blues go from hypnotic to psychotic, never straying too far from the spirit of the Delta. Likened by many to the Gun Club—albeit a much more bare-boned version—The Beggars channel the swampy heart of the blues and spawn a more intoxicating, blacker juju.

No Bullshit Queen City, East coast punk rock. We have played with The Vibrators, The Casualties, Lower Class Brats, Street Dogs, The Briefs, Dead Pets, Clit 45, River City Rebels, Brain Failure, Go Betty Go, Left Alone, NAKED AGGRESSION, Retching Red, the Independents, Straight Jacket, the Low Budgets ect. Our goal is to make horrible noize and start a war

Emerging from the smoldering embers and archaic black ashes of the former Soviet Union, The Shockwaves are truly the phoenix-phenom of the symbolic revitalization of the old socialist republic. Imagine if you put Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin all in a street brawl and had them duke it out to the death, the blood that would fill the streets couldn’t be any more red than this band’s display of devotion towards their “motherland.” From their insurgence into the world of music, they have mercilessly clawed their way through the hardcore-dominated scene of their west metro-Atlanta homestead to have their unique and impressionable presence noticed. And if the Soviet flag they take with them to every show doesn’t manage to catch a few second glances, they have plenty of solid reinforcements to keep you entertained. The performances they put on at their shows can be described as no less than maniacal ultra violent outbursts of caged animals lashing out while staring down the barrel of a gun that promises to put them down – playing as if each time will be the last. The band has even gone so far as to arm themselves with whipped cream, orange juice, and hotdogs to launch into the crowd to keep their audience guessing what they’re literally going to throw at them next. Even if their ridiculous and sometimes obscene stage antics don’t convert the skeptical into loyal followers, those with an ear for music have to recognize the ingeniously individual and appealing sound that these musicians produce. From start to finish, each song has a life of its own raging from the brutal onslaught-inspiring songs that puncture the audience with a vendetta in mind to the soulful, funky dance hits that keep your legs moving and your ass shaking long after the music ends. Some might wonder what all their fuss is over everything Russian – or for that matter, what their music is about. The truth is no one is quite sure – most of the lyrics are pretty much a mystery to everyone, even those in the band, but if one thing is for certain, it seems as though they might be aiming to assemble a massive mob through their fans to prepare for a revolution. And so the band plays on leaving it up to the masses to lead their way into infamy and challenging any other talents who think they can out-do the Shockwaves – “If you want us, come and get us!”

Grease up those vocal cords and poorly perform your most hated song, or try your hardest and get scorned!
Image above is an example of what happens at extreme karaoke when the karaoke-box breaks.
DRESS TO IMPRESS

OBSTRUCTION coming through your town!!!

We used to be in some bands and we are currently in some other bands (ex-Oblivions Rise, ex-Falling Upwards, A-Priori, & The Rogue Nations). We play really fast, hard, and sloppy!

OBSTRUCTION has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with...(Municipal Waste, Double Negative, Protestant, Get Rad, etc.)

"North Carolina thrashers bust out some sweet, sloppy SOD worship." -Scotty from TANKCRIMES.

From Austinist.com:

Capsule Review: The Steps


Every once in a while a band manages to completely surpass the local initiation, breaking out into the national or international scene seemingly out of the blue. Though it's often the case that these bands -- despite well-educated marketing teams by their side -- fling themselves out into the wilds of pop fancy only to be thrown back home to local audiences who have never heard of them, it's not necessarily the rule. The Steps are certainly hoping that's not the rule.

You might not have heard of them, or maybe seen their name in passing, but that's just because you haven't been paying attention. They've toured the world, they recorded their album here in Austin at the Bubble with Frenchie Smith (Dandy Warhols, Meat Puppets), and they played at the New American Music Union in Pittsburgh earlier this summer with Dylan. Besides, they're huge in Japan. That's not a joke, by the way. They are really, really huge in Japan.

On first glance, they appear to be another Brit-rock influenced pseudo-garage act, oozing into tight jeans and Chelsea boots each morning with a smirk. Glancing at their one sheet doesn't help: marketing themselves as the "darlings of the Austin indie scene" is a bit of an ... exaggeration, but it does clear some things up. They're not worried about local reception as much as the bands who might actually lay claim to that title. They're out of here, y'all. (Seriously, Japan.) Lately, however, in the midst of a vie for an ACL spot and (possibly) some actual cred in their hometown, we've been given a few more opportunities to actually see them play. They've got a handful of shows lined up here in town (one is at Stubb's on Thursday in a real moment of kismet with Electric Touch), and there are no plans to head overseas again ... yet.


But here's the thing, the one pesky, obnoxious and all-together irritating reality of the Steps' eponymous full-length (out now on Kurofune Records): it's good. It's not a little bit good, or tolerable, or even qualifying party music for American Apparel staff parties. It's really, really good. Opening track, "Pull the Chord" is an incredibly loud, prismatic ode to guitar noise and thinly-veiled psychedelia, "Dagger" is a jangly, almost Westerbergian tune fueled by an incredible bass line that weaves in and out of Will Thompson's sexualized drawl. "Cold Floors" echoes MC5 and the Modern Lovers, utilizing some old-fashioned 'oh yeahs' and 'woos' alongside rock'n'roll harmony to great ends. These songs are dying to be bar room singalongs. Sure, there are bits of the Strokes (and others like them) in here, and pretty undeniable longings for Mick Jagger, but a few tracks into the Steps reveals the undeniable appeal. These guys are loud and snotty, and if they actually spend some time playing around town, will probably end up being worthy of their self-appointed titles.

Rob Crow is a man of visions. Not the hallucinatory kind, mind you, but to fence his incredible talent into a singular vision is just plain inaccurate. By fusing the jazz-prog of the Residents, the dynamic time signature and tempo shifts of Slint, the pop acrobatics of Sparks and the stellar vocal harmonies of the Beach Boys, he single-handedly invented the music you could call post-pop over two albums in the mid-1990's (and a posthumous comp) with his band Heavy Vegetable, a feat almost no one saw fit to write about at the time and even fewer critics have discovered in retrospect.

He furthered this sound's progression with two more albums and an EP with his band Thingy, turned novelty-pop on its head with two albums by Optiganally Yours, barreled through hardcore with the Alpha Males and Fantasy Mission Force, genre-hopped from boy-band pop to death metal and back with three solo albums, put his stamp on modern arena rock with Team Sleep, and still has a few more projects up his sleeve (including a posthumous third Thingy album, a new Optiganally Yours album O.Y. in Hi-Fi, a collaboration with Zach Hill of Hella called the Ladies and other projects which have yet to be announced). Most publicly, he and his collaborators have earned a legion of followers with the innovative rhythms and alluring melodies of Pinback.

Some have surmised that Rob Crow has the equivalent of musical A.D.D., but it's more a case of seeing the world through song and brimming to the gills with inspiration and originality. He is clearly one of the most distinct and innovative musicians of the last 20 years. Of course, nothing exists in a vacuum and at the heart of this long and twisting musical career is a metalhead. And in that metalhead's heart of motherfucking hearts is a band found at the heart of rock itself, Black Sabbath. That secret black heart has been simmering in a vast cauldron filled with orc's blood, seasoned with a comic books obsession and injected with a vulgar sense of humor juxtaposed over a love of simple things (such as Sesame Street's elusive pachyderm, Snuffaluffagus). From the caustic, bubbling froth emerges Goblin Cock, monstrous in its potency, grotesque, fully formed, vile and virile in its power. OK, I could write this bio with enough cock puns to choke a critic (see?) and enough hyperbole to make it any metal release, but it's not. It's better. Goblin Cock's debut Bagged and Boarded is the best rock record in years. This is not a side project. This is not ironic. Yes, this is serious. Yes, this is fun. Yes, this record is so fucking great for so many reasons, chief among them the way it rocks. Both Rob Crow and guitarist Brent Asbury (ex-Thingy, ex-Pinback) are expecting newborns in October, so Goblin Cock won't be touring until after the new year. Wait and/or be destroyed. Fuckface. Available on CD and glorious, glorious picture disc vinyl LP.Goblin Cock is a band from beyond time, beyond space, beyond your naive concept of dimension in METAL. Since before your pathetic "god" had supposedly "created" you and your kind, Lord Phallus was hunkered in a cybertimeship/fun dungeon skating the layers of what was considered "true metal"in all societies and in all generations. Eventually His Majesty realized that he really didnt care and launched a full-scale war against bland metal with and emphasis on ACTUALLY HAVING A GOOD TIME! "Bagged and Boarded" is the first assualt on your laughable 5 senses (Lord Phallus and his kind have 32). Expect a future double whammy in the form of "Come With Me if You Want to Live" - a collection of new supercharged action-metal wonderhits, and "Dragonfucker" - the 20+ minute uberpiece with a bside of numerous BRUTAL cover songs (the roaches, the osmonds, and the monkees have been rumored). arrrgghh! -"Total" Dick McThinkseeknowseverything

It’s hard to imagine a sound even heavier and more musically challenging than that of Long Island metalcore innovators From Autumn To Ashes, until you hear Warship, the crushing new project by FATA members Francis Mark (vocals/drums) and Rob Lauritsen (guitar/bass). The duo’s forthcoming Vagrant Records debut, Supply And Depend, showcases a startling union of imagination and brutality for a lethal sonic arsenal entirely set apart from the signature attack of their former band. After collaborating on new music earlier in the year, Warship hit the studio this past summer with producer Andrew Schneider (Pelican, Cave In, Keelhaul), resulting in Supply’s 10 uncompromising tracks. Favoring torrents of blackened guitar sludge instead of mathematical shredding, capped by Mark’s tortured, face-melting screams, Supplyis the sort of album that takes all of a second to make its devastat- ing intentions clear. “I don’t think a lot of people were expecting this. When I said I was starting a new band, people thought I was going to go in a more mellow direction,” says Mark. “It’s definitely a lot more blown-out, and raw, and with more driving rhythms and ugliness than we ever did with FATA.” From Autumn To Ashes debuted in 2001 with the Ferret Records release Too Bad You’re Beautiful, immediately establishing the band as vital part of the modern heavy music scene. Four more releases followed on Vagrant, including 2003’s breakthrough The Fiction We Liveand a 2008 concert album, Live At Looney Tunes. But refusing to rest on laurels, Mark knew it was time to begin a new chapter in his life after wrapping up touring behind FATA’s well-received 2007 release Holding AWolf By The Ears.Originally intending to begin working on a new FATA record, Mark and Lauritsen wrote together for the first time (Lauritsen had only joined the band in mid-2006), and a rapid chemistry between the two developed. While the songs born of that collaboration were immediately compelling, it became clear early on that the Mark and Lauritsen were venturing into completely new musical territories. “This was first time that [Lauritsen] was able to showcase what he was sitting on, and I was blown away. That dude can play his ass off, but he hadn’t been chal- lenged before, so I didn’t even know,” Mark recalls. “But the stuff we started com- ing out with just didn’t feel like a From Autumn To Ashes record. I was looking at this new opportunity as an exciting challenge.” Warship answered the call head on and at ramming speed, wielding a high-octane debut that makes a major impression not just with its sheer power, but also through the dynamic, unpredictable nature of the music. Driven by Lauritsen’s downright ominous guitar tones, Supply fuses frantic hardcore with savage doom metal and gloomy, melodic fuzz-rock, for a sound somewhat akin to bare-knuckle street brawl between Saint Vitus, Snapcase and High On Fire. The palpable energy surrounding the project also drove Mark to contribute one of the defining vocal performances of his career. Those familiar with Mark’s prior recordings may find the singer’s ventures into Supply’s more melodic territory (“Lousy Horoscope”; “Indoors”) something new and intriguing, but the infernal, larynx-shearing screams he unleashes amid scorchers like “Toil,” and “Fetus Fly Trap” are sure to grab just about anyone’s attention. “I’m singing as hard as I can,” Mark says. “In heavy music across the board, I think many guys have cultivated this new way of screaming, where no one’s putting any emotion into it and really screaming. There’s a difference between just distorting your voice a little bit and making that contrived sound, or really grabbing the microphone and yelling your head off, and meaning what you say.” That philosophy is all the more relevant in the context of Mark’s often scathing lyrics, which paint topics like war, suicide and the ills of society with equal preci- sion, and at times, plenty of vitriol. “Some of it has to do with the uneven distribu- tion of wealth in the world—how a handful of people have so much, and the major- ity has so little,” he says. “As long as people are comfortable, they don’t care what’s going on around the world. We’ve been at war for almost six years and peo- ple don’t even stop and consider it, because it’s not here. It’s business as usual. Maybe you see your gas price going up a little bit, but that’s about as much as it impacts us. Nobody’s very bothered by it unless they have family members in the armed forces. I don‘t intend to be a political band, it‘s just thoughts on what I‘ve observed”. The band’s name also holds special meaning—a play on the word “worship,” the moniker serves as a reminder of the destructive power of religion, which has often been wielded for less-than-glorious ambitions under the auspices of benevolence. “I had a religious upbringing, but then in my teens the whole thing started to feel a little off,” Mark explains. “I feel like religion should be a personal thing, and a tool to bring people together, and have people take care of each other, and respect each other, but it’s not. It becomes a tool of segregation, a political tool, and peo- ple use it to gain power over one another, and that’s off the mark.” With a November 2008 release slated for Supply And Dependand a string of warm- up dates already underway, it appears Mark and Lauritsen are ready to spend 2009 getting listeners acquainted with their bold, powerful new sound. As they introduce Supply And Dependto an unsuspecting scene, Mark plans to enjoy his return to the simple joys of playing in a small band, with a staggering future. “The old days when FATAwere starting out, and really hustling, were to me the most fun. Those old tours, when we were sleeping on peoples’floors—those were the best times,” he recalls. “With Warship, we’re just going to make music that we would personally enjoy listening to and see where it takes us.”

Lord Dudley of Midwood-Vocals /Lightning Rod-Bass /Snake Skins-Drums /Lead God-Dameron-Guitar /Kentucky Mike Maker-Guitar

It's been almost 8 years since North Carolina’s The Dead Kings began to become known as one of the regions most notorious and hard working rock-n-roll bands. Presently, The Dead Kings enjoy a reputation as being the most fun, yet dangerous performing bands currently hitting the road and destroying stages (and beer tabs) in towns across the Eastern United States. But it wasn't always the case. The Dead Kings started when childhood friends Stabb Frehley (Steve Wensil) and Biggy Stardust (Jeff Williams) decided to form a band that was far more entertaining that it was credible. Both were originally members of metal bands that could never seem to escape that trappings and tight confinement of writing heavy metal songs that were pretentious, predictable, and overdone. What was strived for was a band that would be influenced by rock and roll bands such as The Ramones, Alice Cooper, Motorhead, Joan Jett, The Dwarves, Kiss, The Sex Pistols, Twisted Sister, Reverend Horton Heat, David Bowie, King Diamond, and Elvis. The only problem, Stardust had no experience writing music or playing an instrument. But in the fall of 1999, Stabb Frehley gave Biggy a crash course in playing bass. Within a month, a drummer was acquired and songs were being written. In less than a year, The Dead Kings released their first full-length CD "Murder City Or Bust". After that, shows became a weekly part of their lives. Over the next few years, (and several drummers) The Dead Kings produced several releases on both vinyl and CD, including their controversial 2nd full-length CD "For All Those Hot Black Chicks". Dead Kings' records have been put out in America and Europe on labels such as Scat Boy Records (USA), Proud To Be Idiot Records (USA/Europe), Casual Records (Europe), and Scarey Records (Europe). Over the past several years, touring and traveling have proven to successfully earn them the reputation as a band that is as fun to watch, as it is to listen to. Over the 8 years of their existence, The Dead Kings have evolved their stage show into something more reminiscent of a mid 70's Kiss or Alice Cooper concert. Frehley and Stardust's admiration for 70's glitter and stage show excess, mixed with their love of down and dirty driving rock and roll (ala The Ramones, Motorhead) have them doing something that is going unexplored in modern times. Sequins, rhinestones, Elvis inspired jumpsuits, glitter, studs, and platform shoes are the staple on a Dead Kings stage. Eventually, a 2nd guitarist was added in the form of Angus Hung. And with the addition of drummer Beef Moon in 2005, The Dead Kings recorded their 3rd full-length CD entitled "Armed and Delicious" (Scat Boy Records 007). While in the process, The Dead Kings have set out to tour and play shows as much as humanly possible. Currently, The Dead King's are enjoying their job of going out and promoting and supporting their newest full-length CD with new drummer Slave Lombardo. A European release is currently being strived for so "Armed and Delicious" can reach the other side of the Atlantic, with a European tour to follow. Domestic shows here are always being booked and played, with a tour being planned for late summer. Interviews are, as always, more than welcome anytime.

ex - Candy Snatchers, Electric Frankenstein

Ironhead, a hard rockin' power trio from Virginia Beach, VA, combine 70's punk with 80's hard rock to create a new and exciting brand of high energy rock n' roll. If you can imagine mixing The Dead Boys with early era Motley Crue then you get Ironhead! Formed less than two years ago by Johnny Sonic and the sexy blonde bass goddess Angela Foxx they have already been taking the world by storm. They have toured Europe twice, with many of those shows being sold out . They continually tour the US when not rockin' abroad. Their brand new debut full length cd, "Livin' Like We Wanna Die" was produced by Sal Canzonieri of Electric Frankenstein and will be released worldwide in January on Dead City Records. And for all of you that prefer vinyl, they have a split 7 inch out with Electric Frankenstein on No Balls Records in Germany. Two more 7 inches will be released on Conformist Records later this summer and one is a split with The Candy Snatchers. See for yourself what all the hype is about www.iron-head.net

Named after the distance from the band’s hometown of Cincinnati to Graceland, 500 MILES TO MEMPHIS plays rowdy, insanely catchy, sometime heartbreaking but always inspiring "country punk" on their debut SUNSHINE IN A SHOT GLASS. These songs are whiskey-soaked in bittersweet lament, but this is definitely not an alcohol-fueled pity party. Rather, it’s the slug of Jack Daniel’s you throw back before crawling on stage to sing your heart out. It’s the glass of liquid courage that dirty barroom brawls and back alley fistfights are brewed from. It’s the bottom of the bottle where fiery, drunken tirades aimed at ex-lovers are unleashed. It’s everything we’ve regretted from the night before but can only half-remember the next morning. It's knowing you’ll survive the hangover to raise hell yet another day.

Lead vocalist Ryan Malott is the impetus behind 500 MILES TO MEMPHIS’ heartache, and this soon to be acclaimed debut is undoubtedly his catharsis. While Malott’s lyrics draw from afflictive personal experience and a weary western sprawl that only true country music can evoke, these rousing tunes are cranked out with punk grit and determination and a brash rock ‘n’ roll attitude. Somehow it makes life seem a little more bearable and a hell of a lot more fun, at least for the duration of these twelve exhilarating songs. Slather on an infectious melody, some bright, brash guitars and a touch of bluegrass fiddle and suddenly tracks about cocaine-addicted friends and coma victims praying for sweet death ring out like the perfect, invigorating remedy for the honky tonk blues.

500 MILES TO MEMPHIS sound like a band you could drink a round or two with before the show…and definitely a few more afterwards. More than likely, you’ll get your chance as these boys are on a mission to play every country dive bar and punk rock club across the US. Perhaps that’s why 500 MILES TO MEMPHIS’ songs come across so warm and heart-wrenchingly familiar, even when they’re played fast, loud and with reckless abandon. It’s the type of honest music that can prompt a sentimental, liquor-tinged therapy session between old friends or incite a raucous, fist-pumping sing-along amongst perfect strangers at your neighborhood pub. And that’s a shot of firewater we’re happy to take any day of the week.

"Incredibly dark, sinister and unbelievably brilliant..." - Dayton City Paper
"An exercise in American Eclectic: gritty, dirty and damn good." - Independent Weekly
"Harnessing the bucking bronco of country punk and holding on for dear life." - Knoxville Metro Pulse
"Bridging the spirit of sweaty punk and old-school country, 500 Miles To Memphis is irresistible." - CiN Weekly

500 MILES TO MEMPHIS is Ryan Malott (vocals, guitar), Jeff Snyder (bass), Stephen Kuffner (guitar, vocals), Kevin Hogle (drums), David Rhodes Brown (lap steel) and Paul Patterson (fiddle). Sunshine In A Shot Glass was recorded at The Bamboo Room Studio in Highland Heights, KY just outside of the band’s hometown of Cincinnati, OH. The record was co-produced by Ryan Malott and Erwin Musper.
Recommended For Fans of: Lucero, Green Day, Drive By Truckers, The Clash, Old 97’s, Social Distortion

Winner of the 2005 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for best Roost/Americana/Folk
Nominated for the 2006 CEA for best Rock
Winner of the 2007 CEA for best Live Act
Winner of the 2007 CEA for best Rock
Nominated for the 2007 CEA for Album of The Year
Nominated for the 2007 CEA for Artist of the Year
Winner of the 2008 CEA for best Rock

Noah Sugarman hails from the great state of Kentucky where he studied jazz and classical guitar, as well as bluegrass, which is instilled in musicians from that region at a very young age. After 13 years of writing and performing 25 year old Noah Sugarman has created a genre trancending style all to it's own. With melody heavy lyrics from a big rythm and blues voice touching on deep subject matter, rythmic finger picking and beats that keep you guessing. Noah Sugarman's recordings and live shows are truly a sight to hear and see.

It's heavy hand, quick wrist, to the point Rock, that doesn't follow the same ideals of most bands in this genre or any other. We don't write about our love for a mate, how drunk we've been, what we wear, how many women we think we have, how bad-ass or evil we are, which of us is the bigger thug or how real to keep it! It's not just about making the crowd happy. You gotta be pleased with yourself as well. So we write songs that sometimes challenge us and NO BULLSHIT LYRICS! BOOLOW comes from Shelby, N.C. and started around the summer of 2000. The three original members were Mitch, Jeff and Jason. Richard, who had played in a group with Jason in the mid to late 90's was added in the fall of 2003. The new line up was a success from the first practice. Couple that with a driving drum/bass backbone and astute lyrics...that's BOOLOW! In the spring of 2007 we sadly parted ways with our original guitarist (Jeff). Matt Mode, a.k.a. "Moder" joined us in the Summer of 2007. We are full force and having a great time. Many different artist and genres have left a mark on us as individuals. From Hendrix to Old School Hardcore & Oi! Light on the fluff and at times politically loaded. BOOLOW does have an agenda. To Hell with Liberals!

As the guys of the band say, "25 minutes to go plays punk rock, no prefix or suffix.", and it coudn't be stated better. This is one of the few punk bands that wont dissapoint. The fun-loving energy they project from stage gets everyone dancing and chanting along, tall boy in hand. Influenced by great bands such as Social D, MxPx, Bad Religion, and the infamous Cash, they've got what it takes to captivate you and take you prisoner from the first note and make you realize just why everyone is saying "BLADOW!" -Amanda Crap (www.stillnotdead.com)

Forming in the summer of 2006, Charlotte based band Red State has come to deliver a sermon of rock and roll. Every member brings with them their own set of influences that range from rock, country, indie, punk. dare I say metal???... Combined with Stevi's unique vocals and the band's commitment to writing quality music, Red State is sure to be a force to be recognized.

"We are a midwest electric company representing all things melodic, baroque, psychedelicate, and true. We are proud purveyors of both pomp and pop. You can even sing along. You can even remember our songs the next day..." - from the Manifesto of Starling Electric

Ann Arbor’s Starling Electric will be releasing their debut album Clouded Staircase, nationally via veteran independent label Bar/ None August 19. The album was originally available locally and drew considerable acclaim from hometown media which helped the band quickly build a loyal fan base in lower Michigan.

Recorded entirely at their own White Lodge studio, its 18 original tracks represent no less than a mission statement - or maybe a call to arms for anyone still interested in melodies, harmonies, and the power of a good pop song. Starling Electric soon caught the attention of Robert Pollard (of Guided By Voices), who invited them to open for him on an east coast tour swing. Soon after, the group was championed by Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow (Posies/Big Star) on BBC-6 Radio and their respective websites.

Starling Electric was originally a solo project by singer/songwriter Caleb Dillon that has grown into the dynamic four-piece that exists today. With Caleb on lead vocals and keyboards, SE is rounded out by producer extraordinaire Jason DeCamillis on lead guitar John Fossum on drums and Christian Blackmore Anderson on whatever else might be needed (rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion). Everybody sings.

Described as "...startling and arch orchestral pop music of the best kind", the group is a melting pot of 60s and 70s influences - the melodic harmonies of the Beach Boys, Zombies, and Byrds; the prog and art-rock exploration of Yes, 10cc, Genesis, and Elton John; the baroque craftsmanship of the Left Banke and Love; and the pomposity and swagger of The Who, Queen, and ELO. In their first two years playing together, they shared bills with Robert Pollard, The Hidden Cameras, Evan Dando, Saturday Looks Good To Me, The Sights, Canada, Chris Bathgate, Great Lakes Myth Society, The Satin Peaches, and many others.

They’ve headlined every major city in their home state of Michigan, including two years at the Metro Times Blowout in Detroit. Starling Electric has been featured in magazines such as the Detroit Metro Times, Real Detroit Weekly, Lansing City Pulse, The East Lansing State News, and the Northern Michigan Express, as well as a cover story and interview in the Ann Arbor Paper and a cover feature in Lansing's Noise Magazine. They were featured and interviewed for a WDET Radio Benefit and have received an impressive amount of airplay on college radio in Detroit, Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Traverse City. SE were voted "Best Rock Artist" by the readers of the Ann Arbor Current and the song "Camp-Fire" was showcased in an episode of the UPN television series, "Veronica Mars".

"The LP-format track listing and Kodachrome photos certainly set up the retro vibe on Starling Electric's Bar None debut, Clouded Staircase (not to mention the Blossom Toes font on the cover). If you happen to know what a "Blossom Toes font" is, and you are still reading this, don't stop now, because this record is probably your cup of tea. The CD's look certainly befits the content, with its heady vibe of Zombies-inspired vocal acrobatics, Brian Wilson arrangement know-how, and patchwork bell bottom-pantedness. Clouded Staircase is most decidedly retro all around, but pulling from so many different period sources that the music can be described more precisely as retro-informed, rather than retro for retro's sake. These gentlemen have record collections -- big, sprawling, eclectic ones. The kind that any serious '60s-'70s pop aficionado would have accumulated over the course of a lifetime (Brian Wilson, Left Banke, ELO, the Beatles, Love, Gilbert O'Sullivan, solo McCartney, pre-disco Bee Gees) with the added spice of some kitsch favorites, as well as the work of more modern pop purveyors (Jason Falkner, Eggstone, Matthew Sweet, the Posies). A pretty standard lineup for fans of this stuff, though you might also notice that there's a huge stack of Guided by Voices 7"s next to the turntable. Make a note of that, because what Starling Electric has, over every other '70s pop-kissed revival band out there, is guts. Among the pretty and the flowery lurks an element of sexy danger -- a real "rock" danger, bordering on punk -- that manifests itself in the lyrics as well as the frequent fearless guitar outfreakages. Not a twee note to be found here, no sir. Dewy, yes -- but never overtly precious. Just listen to the glorious and garagey din the fellows whip up on "The St. Valentines Day Massacre" and "Black Ghost/Black Girl," two bona fide rockers that manage to deliver the goods in the "pretty" department as well. That's a tough trick to pull off without sounding like a schizophrenic train wreck, and the Starlings make a habit of pulling it off, with aplomb, throughout Clouded Staircase's 18 tracks." - J. Scott McClintock/AllMusic

"'Clouded Staircase' is definitely a TOP TEN record for me personally..." -Jon Auer, The Posies / Big Star

"Startling and arch orchestral pop music of the best kind. Really amazing stuff. It calls to mind the greats of the 60s...Detroit might be facing a new pop renaissance..." -lagerhousedetroit.com

"...This is a band people ADORE. Starling Electric's members have their hands on the stuff of which legends like Guided By Voices were made." -Jason Gibner, The Ann Arbor Paper; April 2006

naked gods are a tragi-comedy roving minstrel troupe from North Carolina. They have been known to, on occasion, perform music in the "rock and roll" style so popular among today's youth. Theirs' is a constant journey through big hooks, clever phrasings, soaring melodies, and distorted wails, in search of the perfect batch of songs for their next album, which is not in the works right now and probably won't be anytime soon, considering that they just released one.

For us Nico Vega is a way of life. We are 3 people who play music together. We write as a band and help each other develop our ideas. The root of the music is the relationship between us. Nico Vega is about collaboration. We are a family and we honor each other by listening and allowing each other to grow. We push each other to be better and to carry each other when we feel weak.

Nico Vega represents a modern day saint. A warrior that has led us to a more fulfilling, lighter way of being. She represents people and unity. She fights for all of us and teaches us to fight for each other. She is an idea that has evolved into a message and she fuels us in our bellies. She is the person we are all capable of being, but she holds the bar high above our head so that we must reach to be better human beings. We all have honesty inside of us, we all know how to love, we are all made of the same flesh, and we are all stuck here together. Nico Vega reminds us that we can learn to fuse these ideas together and grow more solid as a unit of man. Alone we are lost, we fail, we grieve, we search, we struggle, we feel small. Together we are solid, found, loved, and powerful. We are our own greatest natural resource. Our ego falls away when we listen to each other. It is when we stop believing that we can learn from one another that we stop learning altogether. Only then are we alone. We are no different from each other; the same flesh, the same pain, the same love, the same heart. Our greatness is no threat. The more beautiful we are individually, the more powerful we are together. It is our Ego that betrays and lies and tells us that we are threatened when we are not.

You are a part of our family and we will always make music to communicate our love and gratitude for you. If you come to our show, throw your hands up so we can feel you... you will feel us.

"The (new) album showcases the trio’s increasingly stripped-down and electronically juiced-up sound (think Detroit Cobras–meets–Le Tigre–meets-MSTRKRFT)."
-Melissa Goldstein 7x7 Magazine


"They're soul-shaking dance-punk queens-and they're going to rock your world."
--Kimberly Small Bust Magazine

featured in upcoming Jim Carrey movie Yes Man as Zooey Deschanel's onstage band

Semi Precious Weapons is the creation of Chicago born gay/ambisexual singer/songwriter Justin Tranter, a charismatic frontperson with a long history of outrageous performances. Tranter fell under the spell of Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid when he was a boy, and after seeing Courtney Love and Hole perform, his course was firmly set. He wanted to be a rock star. Realizing he wanted to write songs, as well as sing them, he begged his parents to get him a piano and taught himself to play. He went to a music and arts high school where he studied classical and pop piano, before moving on to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Being a practical man, he studied the business side of the music business, as well as songwriting when he was at Berklee. While getting his degree he founded Musicians With a Mission, a scholarship fund for GLBT youth education. He also put out his first solo album, Scratched, a piano based album that turned the conventions of pop songwriting inside out with its dramatic flair.

After graduation he moved to New York and put together his first band. They were going to be the house band for an off Broadway play called Rockstars NYC, but the show only ran for three weeks. Still, Tranter's over the top performances started a buzz. His second album, Tear Me Together was meant to push emotional buttons with depictions of the extremes of love and hate, life and death. The album cover art featured Tranter's "dead" body being dragged out of a bathroom and people either loved it or hated it. But Tranter knew the value of a good visual, and the record's notoriety help increase his underground profile.

Tranter finally decided he wanted a full-tilt rock band. Bassist Cole Whittle, his college roommate knew drummer Dan Crean,and the producer of Tear Me Together introduced them to guitarist Aaron Lee Tasjan. The minute they played together something clicked and they all had the same ideas about rock's power to outrage people. The band's sound borrows from glam, garage, punk, and new wave funk, but it's distilled into their own high-octane Molotov cocktail. After their first gigs in 2004 they landed a high profile manager, former Marc Bolan/T. Rex publicist B.P. Fallon. He brought Tony Visconti, legendary for his work with David Bowie, to a gig and he offered to help produce an album for the band. We Love You was originally released on their own label, Precious Records, and was produced by the band with the aid of Mario McNulty (T. Rex, Laurie Anderson) and Visconti. The album was financed by Tranter's booming jewelry business. (Urban Outfitters and Hot Topic have moved over 100,000 necklaces designed by Tranter featuring the band's guns and heart logo. He also designs high-end gold and diamond skulls for Barney's.) The first video, for "Magnetic Baby," showed Tranter making out with girls, which upset some of his longtime gay fans, proving his point that rock can still outrage people if it's done right. We Love You brought offers from many major labels, but the band ignored them in favor of Razor and Tie, who will allow them to continue to chart their own decadent path. The album was released nationally in September of 2008. - ALLMUSIC.COM

Fucked Up formed in Toronto in 2002, high-school friends influenced by first- and second-wave hardcore bands like Minor Threat and NOFX. It was instantly apparent that they were not carbon-copy punks. Their first 7" was entitled No Pasarán after an anti-fascist slogan from the Spanish Civil War. It was also ferociously melodic and inventive, setting the scene for a string of 25 singles over the next four years that combined political commentary with incredible musicianship and a sense of theater.

Known by bizarre aliases, Fucked Up employ creative methods of spreading information & misinformation, spurning MySpace and a band website in favor of Wikipedia and an oblique blog. Basic facts are constantly in flux. A guru-like manager named David Eliade shares the same last name as a controversial Romanian philosopher, and allegedly taught 10,000 Marbles how to garden. It is unclear how many of their 7"s have actually been released. Rumors about Fucked Up circulate like wildfire among their obsessive fans.

Some things nonetheless became clear during the course of the band's early existence. Their musical influences are varied and deep: singer Pink Eyes' record collection is one of the more noteworthy assemblages of independent vinyl in Canada. The band has a deep affection for twee English pop, while the live shows are theatrical events where it's not uncommon to find a half-naked, bleeding Pink Eyes prowling the audience. Fans caused thousands of dollars of damage at MTV Canada's studios during a performance of the appropriately titled "Baiting The Public." Attention follows Fucked Up like a sick puppy, whether from a midnight bridge concert at SXSW that turned into a police riot, or a split single with an allegedly fascist band that required clarification at a Toronto press conference.

In 2006 Fucked Up released their first album, Hidden World (Jade Tree), and they had clearly moved on from their frenetic early singles (collected on Epics In Minutes). The songs were stretched out, slower. Guest musicians played string intros and outros. Songs explored organized religion, rebirth, mysticism. Tibetan motifs in the artwork enhanced this newly mysterious direction. Still, despite new textures and layers, much of the music remained very much punk and hardcore in its massive riffage, its guitar-only breaks and, of course, Pink Eyes' gruff vocals. This was about to change.

In 2007 the band released an 18-minute single entitled "Year Of The Pig," an impassioned commentary on the plight of sex workers in Canada. Opening with female vocalist Jennifer Castle singing creepily about pigs being led to slaughter, guitars enter one by one, followed by Pink Eyes trading vocals with Castle as the song crescendos. Abruptly it slips into a fast, intricate breakdown more reminiscent of Neu! or Faust than anything punk. The effect is thrilling and disorienting — this band could only come out of hardcore, but they are now making music like no hardcore band in history.

Fucked Up's new album, The Chemistry Of Common Life, synthesizes all these diverse impulses into an expansive epic about the mysteries of birth, death, and the origins of life (and re-living). Merging elements of hardcore songwriting with up to 70 tracks of guitars, organs, winds and vocals, (including 18 guitars on the first single, the fatalistic "No Epiphany"), the music remains iconoclastic and startling, with Pink Eyes' vocals front and center. Guest musicians, of course, abound, notably gorgeous female voices such as Brooklyn's Vivian Girls and Toronto's Katie Stelmanis.

The band remains contemptuous of churches and religion (opening track "Son The Father," with its refrain "It's hard enough being born in the first place: who would want to be born again?") while promoting an almost Buddhist mysticism ("Royal Swan"). But in the end the view is idiosyncratically scientific: amid soaring guitar chords, the title track pays homage to the random chemical processes that created life on this planet. Though Fucked Up remain punks at heart - if quixotically diverse ones - they have created a great, weird, heavy record that stubbornly sticks in your brain and your heart.

As seen on this recent ALL OF TOMORROW'S PARTIES:

Indie Soul is a cross-breed of Music from contemporary Indie influences from the 60s onward, with a strong foundation of soul without being bound to a conventional R+B form.

I like a lot of things cookies, laughter, high definition cameras, you, san Francisco coffee, my Spanish espadrilles, floral print, refrigerator magnets, my dad's Italian soap opera books and my grandfathers old shorts…oh and hugs, I like those. Most of all I like music Singing just so happens to be the way I channel it. I like songs that usually start with I feel.... I love…. I wish…. And music that is pretentious and polished with a hint of lethargic zest…. Really I'm just being cynical… I like the nutritious kind of music the kind where you feel like you've had a great bowl of cereal in the morning to start your day. It took me a while to allow myself to be me. I would say 22 years of it. What you now hear is... me. It's the product of all those years of experimenting, exploring and imitating. I tried to begin to write a conventional biography with a headline and numerous events that changed my life at specific moments and using dates to inform you of the shows I've played and what cities I've lived in, along with metaphorical babble, but came to the conclusion that what matters and what you probably actually want to know is who I am and not what I've done. If you're still reading this, I appreciate you. Next time I have a show and you want to come, bring hugs and cookies.

From the mailroom to “Move,” to “One A.M.” and beyond, Diverse innovates. A self-described poet, his rhymes are true. Shunning the pseudo-hard stance taken by some emcees in favor of everyday human experience, Diverse consistently ups the ante. Over the course of numerous releases and collaborations, his rhymes have shown that flash and substance don’t necessarily have to be adversaries.

“Move” was released on Chocolate Industries in 2001, receiving a strong response from critics and listeners alike. A collaboration with Mos Def on the first installment of “Urban Renewal Program” followed soon thereafter; “Wylin’ Out” would go on to dominate college radio airwaves for the better part of the summer. The “Certified/Build” 12” was enough to keep heads happy for a minute, but soon the pressure would be on.


Diverse’s debut full-length “One A.M.” dropped in the latter part of 2003 to critical acclaim, featuring collaborations with Jean Grae, Prefuse 73 and Madlib among others. The tour appearances and showcases that followed packed venues, seeing fans channel the same charismatic energy that keeps our guy in the studio late at night.

With a grueling tour schedule and verbal delivery that would make UPS envious, Diverse has still found time to collaborate with other artists and work on fresh releases of his own. Be on the lookout for the next full-length, “Round About,” in your area sometime next year.

His 2006 debut solo record "The Door Booth Album" was well received by the greater Charlotte Milestone family, proving that making a release centered on song writing and layered arrangements while harnessing his mystical 4 track media craft he's perfected over the past 7 years will rival any state of the art main stream album. Supported by a DIY 19 day tour with the notorious WV band Cryptorchid Chipmunk, an almost month long tour with the EMOTRON, and several smaller regional tours. Now sporting an early 2007 album "The Mt. Holly Sessions" and an early 2008 split disc with 2013 Wolves. Tip your local Door Bum.

"...catchy hooks with shimmering arrangements...['Air'] finds Anneke moving towards more aggressive & dramatic territory..." SEA OF TRANQUILITY

features andre, craig, and zack from VIA and Erika from Erika Blatnik

Charlotte's favorite punk/reggea/ska. Guitar, bass, drums and a trumpet.

I.E.D. is a five piece ensamble from Charlotte, North Carolina. Combining the minimalist fury of traditional hardcore punk with the infectuosly dancable rythms of ska and reggae. With a socio-political conscience, obtstainant faith in chaos, and sense of humor to it all I.E.D. hopes to be a visceral yet thought prevoking experience.

500 Miles to Memphis. To some, its merely the distance from Cincinnati to Graceland. To others, itS the heartrendingly honest country punk rockers whose high octane rock and downtrodden lyrics create the perfect blend of classic country with todays punk rock.

The instrumentation includes one rippin' guitar, lap steel, upright bass, drums, and two harmonizing vocalists. The dynamic live performances make this crew one of the top must-see bands in the good ole U.S. of A.

Since the release of the debut album on 3rd Silo Records in the Winter of 2005 they have hit the road never to return until they have hit every honky tonk, dive bar, and club across the country.

JUCIFER has been defying the limits and expectations of two-person music since 1993. Known for brutal beauty and fiery intensity on stage, remarkable dimension on wax, and the most daunting wall of amplification ever wielded by a single guitarist, Amber and Ed bleed Doom. Pop. Noise. Majesty.
-Rolling Stone

You can't pin a genre on JUCIFER. They are simultaneously one the heavist bands in the world and a fragile chanteuse with her paramour. And (with some exceptions) their live show is almost antithesis of the albums. If you only see/hear a part od their repertoire, you're not gonna get this band. You might dismiss it as not your kind of thing. Likely, your loss! The cool thing is that they just do what they want and could care less if it makes sense to anybody else.
- Shadow Zine


Jucifer Without a doubt, this was the LOUDEST, HEAVIEST, ACCOUSTICALLY MASSIVE outfit I've ever held witness to. That seems ridiculous considering the Death-Metal shows I've been to, 14+ Melvins shows and various Lightning Bolt performances. No disrespect to the affore mentioned bands, but these two lovely magicians just swooped you. Don't be fooled, though! They are far more than loud. They are impressive songwriters capable of delicate and intelligent prose. Their albums are testimony to the multi-faceted emotions that reside in the sweetest and darkest reaches of the human psyche. Their set left a lasting impression and I have resolved to see this band whenever possible. Sleep be damned! Jucifer calls! *(By 'Sleep' I mean unconsciousness, not the Stoner-Rock Gods) http:pbase.com/pistolswing/jucifer

TENSPEED (Brent Bagwell - reeds, Ben Kennedy - violin, cello,
Scott Wishart - percussion)

Brent is also in Black Congo, Bruce Hazel & Some Volunteers,
Buschovski, Project Bluebird, The Eastern Seaboard. ex-Pyramid

Ben is also in Project Bluebird, Buschovski. ex-Pyramid

Scott is also in Planet Piss. ex-Horse Thief

No Bullshit Queen City, East coast punk rock. We have played with The Vibrators, The Casualties, Lower Class Brats, Street Dogs, The Briefs, Dead Pets, Clit 45, River City Rebels, Brain Failure, Go Betty Go, Left Alone, NAKED AGGRESSION, Retching Red, the Independents, Straight Jacket, the Low Budgets ect. Our goal is to make horrible noize and start a war

A wise man once said that a good song should make you want to tap your feet and get with your girl, while a great song should make you want to smash the state and set fire to the suburbs. Have Nots is interested in writing great songs. Formed out of the ashes of Stray Bullets and Chicago Typewriter (two Boston punk mainstays), Have Nots is far from your typical ska band. This Boston based foursome stands out in a sea of horns and checkered hats, playing aggressive, rabble-rousing punk rock music, with just enough reggae/ska influence to remain catchy and danceable.

Each Have Nots song is an open letter of indignation to the world. The subjects range broadly from the plights of the true Have Nots in our society (migrant workers, disabled veterans, prisoners held with neither charge nor evidence, can collectors scraping by off 5 cent deposits) to examinations of interpersonal relations. You know, love songs. It’s as much a part of life as hardship, and somehow, the two often go hand in hand.

While the dual singer/guitarists may sound like they want to jam a stick of dynamite down your throat (they do), Jon Cauztik and Matt Pruitt also want you to listen, and think, about what goes on in the world around you. The rhythm section of Jameson Hollis on bass and Steve Patton on the drums is really just there to make you dance to their solid ragga punk foundation...and dance you will.

Thunderlip hails from Wilmington, North Carolina infecting the masses with top-shelf rock n roll! Their undeniably catching composite of classic sounds like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Deep Purple with more contemporary masters like The Hellacopters and Turbonegro has become a favorite of many critics and show-goers over the past few years. Their followers know Thunderlip isn't rehashing anything, but trekking on with the best brand of heavy metal rock they love so much.

Guitarists James Yopp and Micheal McDowell etch each song with smartly-written and expertly-executed guitar harmonies and screaming solos. Bassist Kenny Ells keeps it together with volcanic low ends and attack. Drummer Johnny Collins always gets a round of applause with his scalpel-like precision and 70's rock style. Vocalist Chuck Krueger exudes a charisma that is unforgettable. This snake-faced marauder is a mascot for energetic rock music, complete with wrestling masks, leather clothing, and the occasional cross-dressing moments. There's nothing bashful about this band.

Ready for anything, Thunderlip has no plans to calm down their fun-themed crusade for extreme rock, so look for their name on flyers in your town and get licked by the sound!

Transplanted from NC to NYC and back again to NC, unapologetic, nonconformist singer / songwriter / guitarist Zoe Vette is unrelenting with catchy choruses and gutsy riffs. Described by many as something between KISS, Joan Jett & the New York Dolls, her music melds a variety of genres but fits into none. Influenced by Glitter/Glam, Shock Rock, Horror Punk, UK Punk & New Wave, she is able to portray all of these & force fit them into a new genre of her own.

from Burke :
I am madly in love and madly in hate with the whole damn world, from the bottom of my heart.

I play mostly solo shows, with just me and my guitar, but it ain't exactly the kinda music you'd expect to hear a solo singer-songwriter-guitarist dude play. It's pretty hard-rockin' stuff, actually....I've heard some people say that I'm one guy with the power of an army of rock'n'roll bands. And, I don't mean to be conceited, but who am I to argue with a nice compliment like that?

Basically my act combines punk, old-time rock n' roll, folk, soul, and cock-rock....with some performance art, spoken-word, standup comedy and pornography thrown in just for the hell of it. Um, I guess you kinda have to hear it to understand what I'm talking about....

Grease up those vocal cords and poorly perform your most hated song, or try your hardest and get scorned!
Image above is an example of what happens at extreme karaoke when the karaoke-box breaks.
DRESS TO IMPRESS

"Hilarious name aside, even PETA members should enjoy these Brooklynites." —Ehren Gresehover, New York Magazine


"One of the finest bands to emerge so far this century." —Dandelion Radio, UK


"Listen up kids, for seriousness, Kittens Ablaze is talented. This is one of those groups that you really want to hear now so that later on when everyone and their grandmother is talking about how killer their sound is you can say that you knew them when (and actually be being honest for a change)." —Starved Magazine


"Ra Ra Riot meets Cursive" —The Music Slut


"Drawing comparisons to Ra Ra Riot, Defiance Ohio, Arcade Fire, Cursive, and the Pixies can never be a bad thing. In fact it’s working quite nicely for Brooklyn’s Kittens Ablaze...an emerging six-piece indie-punk garage band that features piano, cello, violin, bass, and guitar that circle a lead singer/drummer like paganistic sundancers at a bonfire."—Salad Days Music


"It is a manic clusterfuck of dance-punk-folk that sounds like what might happen if Defiance, Ohio moved to New York City and started gettin' busy in the club scene...a highly enjoyable and welcome addition to my collection (or yours)" —Eric Mueller, Can You See the Sunset From the Southeside?


"Kittens Ablaze are a highly passionate, enormously energetic, and lyrically fun indie rock group, whose unique and raw sound alone separate them from most others coming out of Brooklyn these days." —Consequence of Sound


"[The EP] is full of ideas, bristling with confidence...it’s the sort of really promising demo that should have any record exec pricking up his ears. Were they not mostly idiots, of course." —Song, By Toad


"The six-piece play music like it's meant to be played. Their raw energy and passion comes across in almost every song and leaves you with an overwhelming sense of urgency and excitement." —Dan Kagan, Panda Toes

Mitch Easter is recognized as one of the rock world's premier guitarists. He led his band Let's Active (I.R.S. Records) from regional to international recognition by touring and recording from 1981-1990. Mitch wrote all-original material for the Let's Active catalog, which includes an EP and three full-length albums. His song "Every Word Means No" became a new wave hit and a staple of early MTV. He also found time to work as a session guitarist on recordings by artists such as Marti Jones and Suzanne Vega. The Let's Active catalog was recently re-released by Collector's Choice Music. While Mitch is well-known as a producer and engineer (R.E.M., Let's Active, Pavement, Helium, Ken Stringfellow, Glory Fountain, Mary Prankster, Shalini, and many others), he knows he was put on earth to play guitar.

SPIN Magazine says: Raw neediness from regular guys who still can't grasp why they aren't stepping over red carpets... Weirdest part is, they really do deserve attention. Cashbox says: In a better world, any of their songs would be spilling out of your radio. Jon Pareles, New York Times says: I like your songs quite a bit. If you put out an album make sure I get it. Billboard Magazine says: Tuneful and inventive. The Independent (Raleigh, NC) says: Their performances are remarkably strong and confident. They rock--hard. Like the Who and Clash, they are one of us, champions of the underdog. Rett Snotherly, Ah Bartleby! Magazine says: As awesome as the Public Good is on CD, they are even awesomer live. I Cover the War Magazine says: Best unsigned band in America. Neglecting them will lead to your soul burning in Hell.

Nobody sounds like Jacky Claiborne. Big fat stompin garage rock pouring out from a gentle soul. Whether he's singing about the tragic closing of the local Pizza Hut, the joys of watching soccer games from the cheap seats, or about the things he's lost while daydreaming about the girl of his dreams, nobody can touch Jacky's originality. Seeing him play live is like seeing the light. Come to his show at the Milestone on December 26th.

In the mid-1990's, Weedeater arose from the ashes of the southern-drug-lord-band Buzzov-en, who had disbanded along the swampy shores of the Cape Fear river in North Carolina not too long before.

Fronted by famed madman and bass virtuoso "Dixie" Dave Collins, this three piece doom juggernaut has been eating audiences alive for more than 10 years now.

After two critically acclaimed full length releases under their belts recorded by Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Melvins, High On Fire, etc.) and released respectively on Berserker and Crucial Blast Records, the latest and highly anticipated album, entitled "God Luck And Good Speed"

is due out in July of 2007 on Southern Lord Recordings. All but one of the songs on the album were recorded and produced by the legendary Steve Albini (Neurosis, High On Fire, Nirvana, etc.) at Electrical Audio studios in Chicago.

The sound is gigantic and both the production and recording skillfully capture the intense experience of a Weedeater show while achieving tones that will swallow you whole. The remaining track, "Alone", was recorded by Mike Dean (Corrosion of Conformity) and simply consists of an acoustic bass track, a banjo track, and vocally some of Dixie's best somber and sub-baritone rasping. The mastering was executed by John Golden (Neurosis, Melvins, Pelican, etc.) and the finished product is nothing short of amazing.

In May of 2008 Dan was introduced to Jake through a mutual friend. Jake jammed with Dan a few times and both parties decided to continue the project. Then we moved into Let The Night Roar's jam space at Avatar Sound Studio in downtown Atlanta, where we began to round out our set and perfect our songs. Eventually Jeff expressed interest in joining, so we began practicing with Jeff on bass and our line up was complete at three members. A few weeks later we moved to Thunderbox Studios near Little 5 Points. On 8-13-2008 we tracked our first demo in our room at Thunderbox. It was four songs and was recorded by Mike Longoria (Withered, Waited), it is availiable on CD and will also eventually be realeased on limited 7" format. We have began writing our sixth song and began to play shows, check the calender and come join us for a few beers sometime soon. -Jake

Studio Gangsters began in a basement in 1998. In 1999, we put out a tape. That tape is now legendary. After an 8 year hiatus, we are back to wreck shit. For real.

The Independent Weekly
FEBRUARY 7, 2007
Social Memory Complex
BY CHRIS TOENES

Social Memory Complex Prequel EP (Second Law Records)

Social Memory Complex's battle is upHill. That is, their existence is a reflection of what it means to be making rap music in a predominantly indie rock town, a town like Chapel Hill. SMC gigged locally for several months before releasing a wax single, True Light, last year. This, their nine-track Prequel EP, not only makes it easier to get inside the Complex fully, but it also makes a starter's case for a fledgling hip-hop community with bigger aspirations. Indeed, Social Memory Complex talks about life in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, as full of hilarious detail as it may be. Check the trivia: Above Modest's productions, lyrics from MCs Staj Prezence and TrizComplex offer images from across town, like women wearing all black in case of the apocalypse or the really big shows at the Cat's Cradle. Rappers in the "Paris of the Piedmont," listening to deep hip-hop cuts instead of doing the boho at Weaver Street Market? "I can't afford to laugh down on society like all these rich white kids/ Consequence is just too big/ I'm already stuck behind the counter at the coffee bar/ Servin' hippy fucks with guitars," they rhyme at one point. Compared to Chapel Hillians Kaze and Spectac, who dug directly into self-reflection and their roots, and living dead's nihilism, the SMC cats go way out into Philip K. Dick's proto-cyberpunk fear-scape. There's a telling segment from "Fantastic Machines": "Worst case scenario: All of a sudden, Armageddon's downloaded with the press of an escape button." The Complex agrees with old Bill Burroughs that "A paranoid is someone who knows the facts." It's hard to ignore the cover, too, which looks like Appetite for Destruction cover artist Robert Williams getting a science-fiction novel cover commission. The art symbolizes the paranoid, futuristic thought here, like Doctor Octagon's surreal narratives. Political-minded outcries for change—those call-outs so overdone in independent hip hop today—pop up occasionally, too. But, among these observational snapshots, other jewels shine: "Fantastic Machines" uses a grimy groove and some old-style sampling to great effect, and the growling "Sirens" rambles like a squad car with axle trouble. And Modest's concise production here should push him out of the well-kept secret category: Just behind the main beat of a cut, he's prone to float a scratchy undercurrent, adding a foreboding tone or a bit of drama to the proceedings. While Social Memory Complex remain "conscious" (as reggae folk would say), here, they're testing their skills and exploring their own identities as Americans and Chapel Hill rappers.

Oh My Rockness
"Hooray for Earth sound big and famous even if they are still relatively unknown..."

QRO MAGAZINE
"On Cellphone EP, Hooray For Earth really exceed their eponymous debut – and with only half the songs. They keep their core progression sound while expanding into new and different places. That kind of growth is reason enough for anyone, anywhere to cheer."

BOSTON GLOBE
"The Boston rockers spew big guitar noise, crafty synths, gripping melodies, and intricate aural theatrics with massive style and ridiculous aplomb. They need to be famous."

ALL MUSIC GUIDE
"Promising young Boston quartet Hooray for Earth build on their self-titled debut with the all-new and even better Cellphone EP. About roughly split between guitars and keyboards, Hooray for Earth are equally balanced between contemporary indie rock and new wave revivalism, fitting comfortably into neither category."

Having their foot firmly planted in the ass of the North Carolina music scene - while giving the finger to the world - Babyshaker slams glammed-up punk into loud, dirty rock that you can make love to. This veteran live act has toured with Jucifer, as well as shows with Iggy Pop, Kiss, The Toilet Boys, Blonde Redhead, Poison, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Make Up, Glass Candy, Fetchin Bones, Fu Manchu, and Antiseen to name a few. They have released one full - length, "The Best Of", and have been featured on several comps, including "Hard Candy And Sweet Brown Liquor" in the U.K., "Jesus Christ Surferstar" in Italy, and "Bomb threat" in the U.S. Recently the members of Babyshaker made an appearance in the film "Great World Of Sound" and contributed a song to the soundtrack of the underground horror film "Come Get Some". Up next is the soon-to-be-released, Don Dixon - produced second full-length that captures the spirit of their bombastic live shows. Get ready!

Transplanted from NC to NYC and back again to NC, unapologetic, nonconformist singer / songwriter / guitarist Zoe Vette is unrelenting with catchy choruses and gutsy riffs. Described by many as something between KISS, Joan Jett & the New York Dolls, her music melds a variety of genres but fits into none. Influenced by Glitter/Glam, Shock Rock, Horror Punk, UK Punk & New Wave, she is able to portray all of these & force fit them into a new genre of her own.

Neal MF Harper and Hansom Banjo Bobby Childers, Mount Holly represent!

A 34 year old daughter of three, Julian Kross was born in Southern Germany in 1941. A sorted childhood began when he was forced to escape Nazi territory by accepting a job in Nascar. When in the early 60’s it became clear he was not cut out for a career built around the mindless following of ignorance and lies he quickly jumped into a life of politics.
The social turmoil of this decade combined with the 1920’s issues with prohibition ended his political career just before he was to receive county wide recognition. Forced to choose a new line of work, Kross made it clear his goal was to be in the public spotlight by writing unpublished short stories under the pen name Harriet Tubman.
Through his research during the sexual revolution of the 1950’s he met and married his soulmate, twice. With the support of his second wife Julian was able to find the courage to overcome the adversity caused by the civil rights movement of the 1980’s. With the end of the Vaudevillian era, it became clear his only chance at a future in the entertainment industry was in talky pictures and radio. It was that realization that finally sent Julian Kross on a clear path to become a lawn maintenance engineer or a stand up comedian.
If that’s not the information you were looking for, then here are a few more specifics. In 2002 Julian Kross became a regular performer at Todd Yohn’s Funny Bone Comedy Club in High Point, NC. It was at this club where he developed a style that has been called forceful, unrelenting, and polite charming. It was also at the Funny Bone where the beginnings of the production group How to Kill Your Dog was formed.
In 2003, Julian started touring the country opening for acts such as Ron White, Dave Attell, and Colin Quinn. He has since appeared at Carolines on Broadway, The Laugh Factory, The Stardome, The Comedy Zone(s), and countless others.
Kross is a contributing writer for Cringe Humor and Xratedshirts.com, as well as one of the founding members of How to Kill Your Dog providing voices and material for it’s many projects.
Julian Kross is currently on tour promoting the upcoming release of his debut album The Donkey Show.

I.E.D. is a five piece ensamble from Charlotte, North Carolina. Combining the minimalist fury of traditional hardcore punk with the infectuosly dancable rythms of ska and reggae. With a socio-political conscience, obtstainant faith in chaos, and sense of humor to it all I.E.D. hopes to be a visceral yet thought prevoking experience.

"I want to be someone who people recognize and want to come to see, but stayed true to their art and message through their whole career. I want to be able to tour the world and play sold out shows. I'd love to have some mainstream exposure to subversively bring my ideas into the popular eye, as long as I don't have to compromise what I'm doing for the sake of popularity. I want to work with more artists that I admire and be known for having one of the most fun live touring shows that has ever hit the road. I'd like to die having put out one of the most original greatest hits albums in the history of the popular music. That would be awesome." MC Lars

It isn't easy being a Post Punk Laptop rapper. You're forced to lead a genre that doesn't exist, navigate around cookie cutter superstars, push yourself to make music unlike anything else on earth and spend every penny of your own money to get it all done. You meet kids at every tour date who love what you do, yet turn on MTV and see homogenized puppets that regurgitate their genres and make piles of dough in the process. You push the boundaries of DIY and give major labels the middle finger. You hope (and know) that this will be all worth it some day.

MC Lars is a member of what he dubs the "iGeneration," a group born and raised in the time of the Ninja Turtles, cassette tapes and new wave music, who now live in the age of Gossip Girls, iPhones and screamo bands. These are the kids who have grown up using the Internet as a part of their every day life. They can conveniently carry 30,000 songs in their pocket, but are faced with the glooming fact that the world's oil supply and Social Security will both run out in their lifetime. MC Lars is the hero of this new generation, addressing their thoughts and every day struggles in his music.

From 2003-2005, Lars has spent every day years building this group of fans, performing around the world with nothing but his laptop and lyrics. His indie EP has sold over 10,000 copies to a dedicated group of misfits, allowing him to pulse the mainstream through unexpected outlets like Rolling Stone and MTV News. All of this led him to the decision to steer his own ship and to release the album on his own label (Horris Records) rather than fall into the major label glut. He sees little need for the traditional label trappings and would rather storm his own trail through the Internet, even encouraging file-sharing as a means of promoting his music. "I think I've shown that you don't need to have mainstream exposure to get a dedicated fan base, especially when you have things like MySpace and LimeWire as creative ways of marketing yourself," he says.

Released in 2006, "The Graduate" was an album chock full of wildly different subject matter, from playful and goofy to socially conscious and critical. The album opened with "Download This Song," featuring guest vocals by Jaret Reddick of Bowling For Soup; the song served as complete manifesto on the future of music industry. "21 Concepts" was a track featuring 21 different song ideas Lars rejected for the album, including an ill-fated jam about a fetus running for governor. He gave listeners a literature lesson on "Ahab," retelling Herman Melville's class Moby Dick in under four minutes (to a Supergrass sample, no less). Lars collaborated with The Matches on a song about mallrat-infested Hot Topic and with another with notorious rapper Ill Bill (Non Phixion) on "The Dialogue," a marriage that will surprise many. "The Roommate From Hell" teams him up with nerdcore rapper mc chris, who was cast as Lars' college roommate who is also, coincidentally, Satan.

"The Graduate" was a collection of songs that was quite possible the time capsule for this generation. In a hundred years, iPods, MySpace and Hot Topic may be nothing more than a distant memory, but one listen to MC Lars' music will bring people back to the iGeneration. The title may have been a nod to Lars' recent graduation from Stanford University, but the album also served as a musical graduation, allowing Lars to move from sampling his favorite artists on his laptop to being able to collaborate with them in the studio. He adds, "I also like to hook up with older women like Dustin Hoffman does."
After the radio success of "Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock" in the US and "Download This Song" in Australia, Lars surprised even himself with selling 20,000 copies of "the Graduate" worldwide. He did this through touring with bands like Simple Plan in the UK, the Matches in the US, returning to Australia, and headlining shows in Japan. After coming back from a year of hard-core touring, Lars hit the studio again to record his follow-up record. While pondering names for the record, Lars thought about his late mentor, Wesley Willis, who despite his mental issues, used a DIY and punk rock approach to spread his energetic funny songs across the world. Before passing away in 2003, Willis told Lars, "Lars Horris! I like your songs, I'll write a song about you. I'll probably write it on my next rock 'n' roll record, which is called 'This Gigantic Robot Kills'." Willis died soon thereafter, and Lars decided to create an album unlike any other, and dedicate it to Wesley's memory by naming it after the unfinished albums of one of his heroes.

Lars worked with many diverse and eclectic artists for this album. "True Player for Real" sees him teaming up with childhood hero "Weird Al" Yankovic on the accordion and Brendan B. Brown of Wheatus on vocals and guitar, while the title track is a hilarious ska throw-back featuring the MC Bat Commander from the Aquabats that mourns the death of a ska generation to the hands of the bratty kids from the Hills. "Hey There Ophelia" returns to Lars's literate retelling of classic works, built around a Therapy? interpolation featuring Brett Anderson from the Donnas and Gabe Saporta from Cobra Starship, all of whom work together to retell the classic Shakespearean tale of Hamlet. On "O.G. Original Gamer", Lars teams up with the "godfather of nerdcore hip-hop" MC Frontalot, telling a surprising tale of a father who pushed his kid into becoming a world class gamer, as the child rebels and would rather mow the lawn and clean his room. "No Logo" takes an interpolation of Fugazi's "Waiting Room", as Lars teams up with Nova Scotia's most famous rapper, Jesse Dangerously, railing against people who claim to be corporate revolutionaries but by the poster board for protesting at Wall Mart. On "Beating Guitar Hero Doesn't Make You Jimmy Page", Lars teams up with Nerf Herder frontman Perry Grip, to comment on the notion that video games like Guitar Hero take kids away from playing in bands and actually learning their instruments. True Guitar Hero Paul Gilbert of Mr. Big joins Lars and Parry on this track, showing what actual musicianship can do. On "It's Not Easy (Being Green)", Lars joins forces with Pierre Bouviere of Simple Plan on the "hottest" track about global warming ever recorded. "Santa Claus's sleigh will need jet skis", Pierre sings, as Lars raps about consumption in a "greening" industry.

Horris Records teamed up with Jaret Reddick from Bowling for Soup's new imprint under Oglio to release and distribute the new album. Following its completion, Lars hit the road for a college tour with pop-punkers Cartel and rapper Yung Joc, and a six week tour with MC Frontalot in November. In January of 2009, "This Gigantic Robot Kills" will hit shelves across the world, as an army of post-punk laptop fans rejoice and see what Lars has been up to for the past three years.

As Chuck D of Public Enemy memorably put it, "Hip-hop is the CNN of the ghetto." While it serves that purpose, hip-hop started as a much broader genre and eventually, after emerging from the wasteland of gangsta, regained part of that potential. Hip-hop can be about anything, as proven and embodied by MC Frontalot, a proud nerd who takes the stage in glasses, tie, and pocket protector to rap about webcomics, computer games, blogs, and picking up girls at Star Wars conventions.

MC Frontalot was born Damian Hess in San Francisco. He grew up in Berkeley where, as a teenage rap wannabe, he secretly four-tracked his own songs on tape. While working as a web designer in 1999, he resurrected his rap hobby by creating a website for MP3s of his homemade music, the beats credited to the imaginary DJ CPU. In a song of the same name he coined the phrase "nerdcore hip-hop" to describe his music about the geeky subject matter closest to his heart. Other artists like Dream Warriors, MF Doom, and Deltron 3030 had explored geek-related themes previously in their music, but by naming it, MC Frontalot made it a subgenre of its own. Other nerdcore rappers would later follow in his footsteps, including MC Lars, Optimus Rhyme, MC Hawking, and YTCracker. Several of his early songs were entries in the weekly Song Fight! competitions at songfight.org, in which amateur musicians would write songs with the same title and listeners would then vote for the best of them. Each time he entered as MC Frontalot, he won. In 2002 the extremely popular webcomic Penny Arcade also gave him their seal of approval, declaring MC Frontalot to be their official rapper and giving his popularity a boost. He recorded the song "Penny Arcade Theme" as a tribute to them, which later appeared in the video game In the Groove.

After moving to New York, where a musical he had written for Emerald Rain Productions called Young Zombies in Love was featured at the International Fringe Festival in 2004, he recorded his first MC Frontalot album. Nerdcore Rising was released independently -- ascribed to Level Up Records & Tapes -- in 2005 at the Penny Arcade Expo. The post-album concerts were his first tour, an experience caught on film by Negin Farsad. Sales of CDs and merchandise as well as guest appearances like his role as TP Factory Rapper on the Elmo's Potty Time DVD enabled Hess to leave his day job behind and focus on creating music, including his 2007 album, Secrets from the Future. Negin Farsad's documentary Nerdcore Rising: The Movie, which also featured MC Chris, Prince Paul, J-Live, Jello Biafra, and Weird Al Yankovic, premiered at the SXSW festival in 2008.
- ALLMUSIC.COM

Bryce Case, Jr. (b. August 23, 1982), otherwise known as YTCracker (pronounced “whitey cracker”), is a rapper, former cracker, and Internet entrepreneur. YTCracker began producing rap music in 1998 in the genre that has since become known as nerdcore hip hop. YTCracker is a self-proclaimed “jack of all trades”, also making a name for himself as a professional disc jockey, computer programmer, graphics designer and webmaster.

LOL Internet

In 1999, Bryce gained notoriety for defacing the web site of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (wired, cnn) along with other government and commercial websites (a partial list can be found here), including servers maintained by the FAA, the DCAA, NATO, the Colorado Springs Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Honda, Nissan, and AT&T.

These happenings launched him into the media spotlight, making him a resource for the media commenting on other hacking-related events, such as the denial of service attacks on Yahoo, eBay.com, and other well-known websites in 2000. He also divulged the technical information regarding the AOL customer account breaches the same year (cnet, internetnews).

YTCracker also owns the board digitalgangster.com, a very large and active web board (well over 10k members and growing) which also has within its ranks many former and current hackers. The members from this board are responsible for the Paris Hilton T-Mobile breach of 2005, the Tom and Tila Tequila Myspace breaches of 2007, the Amor Hilton extortion plot, and the Miley Cyrus hacked email scandal of 2008 (aol, foxnews, cnn).

He also has been labeled a “spam king” by prolific author Brian McWilliams and has admitted to drawing income from spamming in the past.

LOL Music

YTCracker performs (as both an MC and a DJ) at many events - most notably, he has DJed in some of the hottest venues in Las Vegas, including Club Ice, the Empire Ballroom, the C2K in the Venetian, the Jet Nightclub in the Mirage, and the Hard Rock Casino’s outdoor pool. He has also performed alongside such musical acts as Xzibit, Cypress Hill, Digital Underground, George Clinton. Metal Skool, Naughty by Nature, and Too Short at the infamous Players’ Ball. He also received a writing credit (credited as “whitey cracker”) and a shoutout for his contribution to PIMPANDHO.COM, a song by the notorious “Mayor of Oakland” Too Short on his 2003 album Married to the Game.

Considered by most to be a progenitor of nerdcore hip-hop and a radical artist in general, YTCracker has been featured in numerous forms of print and visual media, including two feature-length documentaries, Newsweek, Blender, and the Boston Globe, and MTV, G4TV, and SpikeTV, among others:

Andrews, Robert. Rap Marketing Comes to Nerdcore. Wired News. 23 Jun 2005.
Shephard, Chuck. News of the Weird - Wack MCs Who Hack PCs. Orlando Weekly/syndicated. 28 Jul 2005.
Gizmodo. Gizmodo - Ytracker (sic). Gizmodo. 22 Sep 2005.
Slashdot. Review: Nerdcore Hip-Hop Compilation CD Project. Slashdot. 12 July 2006.
Thomasson, Roger. Me So Nerdy. Wired. Sep 2006.
Braiker, Brian. Geeksta Rap Rising. Newsweek. Jan 2007/Feb 5, 2007 Print Edition.
Meyer, Frank. G4TV : Famous on the Internets. G4TV. Feb 2007.
Patterson, Eric. L. Feature : Five Albums We Couldn’t Live Without. Play Magazine.
MTV Live. MTV. July 2007.
Game Head. SpikeTV. August 2007.
Dannon, Allura. What is it? Nerdcore. XLR8R. 29 Oct 2007.
Miranda, Jeff. Refrain of the Nerds. Boston Globe. 4 Nov 2007.
G4TV Ad. G4TV. June 2008.
Salazar-Moreno, Quibian. Top 10 Hip-Hop Songs that Sampled a Video Game. Examiner. 5 Sep 2008.
Blender. The Geek Squad. Blender. Oct 2008.
YTCracker is also an official DJ/MC for the largely popular social network Facebook, as well as an official corporate brand icon for G4TV.

With two commercial albums and nine free projects (at the time of this writing) to his name, along with over 200 tracks available for download at his site, YTCracker is an awesome person.

One faithful afternoon, Humphrey was taking a smile walk deep with-in the Butterfinger forest. It was there he stumbled upon a three-legged unicorn that seemed to be in the midst of a tickle fight with an invisible leprechaun. Humphrey chuckled heartily and shouted "Triple Tickle Threat match!", he then dived on top of the unicorn and began tickling the giggles right out of the disabled beast. Little did Humphrey know, this Magical amputee wasn't ingaged in any sort of tickle fight, he was merely in the depths of a diabetic seizure. It took about seven minutes of non-stop tickling for Humphrey to realize this. He jumped to his feet and reached in his pocket for his magical insulin wand. Humphrey waved it in the sky with his thick sausage fingers, reciting the incantation, "I NEED YYYOOOUUUU TO CRANK THAT SOULJA BOY!", and before long, the cripled unicorn sprung to his three legs so fast chocolate sausages began to shoot right out of his bottom! Humphrey rubbed his round belly with joy. The greatful unicorn smiled and said, "Thank you, young hoofless one. You saved me a costly visit to the emergency room, and for that I want to share with you a very special secret. A secret I've never shared with anyone, not even my whore of a wife. Oh, and by the way my name is James" This excited Humphrey so much, chocolate breakfast meat began to shoot from HIS bottom too! James lead Humphrey even deeper into the forest. Humphrey had never been this far and began to get frightened. James sensed his fear and reassured him, "Look, Humpdy, is it? You're going to have to stop acting like a fagmo and man up. My two week old colt is harder than you, bitch." Humphrey was calmed by James' soothing words and began to smile again. The two arrived at the biggest tree Humphrey had ever seen! The tree had eyes and a mouth, and a White Snake '85 world tour tee-shirt on. James tapped the tree's mighty root with his only front hoof. The tree didn't budge. "He must be passed out", James said. "Hey! Ted! Wake up!", screamed James, in a bit of a tissy. The tree mumbled something inaudible. "Hey! Ted! Uh......The cops are here! Wake up man! they found the stash!" Ted jumped to life with a startled look on his bark covered face. "What man?!?! Oh, shit, wait....wait.............fuckin' James man! You dick." James laughed in a way that only a crippled unicorn can. "Fuckin' got you bro! Hey, but seriously, this guy liked saved my ass earlier, so I told him I'd show him the thing." Ted looked stunted, as if all his leaves had disappeared. "You what?!?! Dude, that shit is not, no, not today man, I'm so not cool with this." "Come on bro, chill, this is Hucklebee. I kinda owe him something, he did save my life and everything." James pleaded. At this time Humphrey felt the need to chime in, "Actually my name is.." "Shut the fuck up Fucklebee." James said playfully, and Humphrey didn't say another word. Ted looked to James and then to Humphrey, and then to James, and then to Humphrey again. He looked back to James, and then back to Humphrey. Finally he looked to James and said, "Alright, if this is what you want to do, go ahead", He turned to Humphrey, "You alright? You look a little pale, are you a cop?" Humphrey looked befuddled, "Heavens no." "He's cool, come on man hurry up, Teresa's going to bitch if I come home late again." James said. "Ok", and with that, Ted began to gag himself with one of his mighty branches. He made the most wreched noises Humphrey had ever heard in his life! "Oh, God, why do we keep it in my stomach again? We need to talk about that one James. Aougck!" Ted heaved. Finally, Ted spewed forth a shoebox, wrapped heavily with ducttape. Humphrey looked upon the shoebox with confusion. "This is it?" James said "No, this is!", and from behind he stabbed Humphrey deep in the gut with his magical horn. "Ted! don't just stand there get his watch man!" THIS IS THE ONE OF THE MANY SHAMELESS TALES OF JAMES.

The Independents "Back From The Grave"
(Reviewed By Joe Grimm)

A while back at 'The Ghouls Night Out Fest' I got the latest Independents album "Back From the Grave". It is one hell of a CD. The Independents are a ska-punk band from South Carolina. Their sound is very unique. It's like listening to the Misfits and Elvis Presley with a little ska thrown into the group. Their music comes in a poppy and energizing style. If you ever have the chance to see them in concert, I strongly recommend you go see them and you would know what I am talking about. Now back to their new CD, "Back From the Grave". This CD contains 16 tracks, including a special guest such as the late Joey Ramone (god rest his soul). Joey Ramone was their manager. This CD is a little more upbeat than all the other CD's but it is still a fucking good album. It includes great songs like: Bloody night, Beer song, Left for Dead, Insane (a personal favorite), and Succubus. These are some of my favorite songs, even though I like all the tracks. The Independents are the first and still the best of horror punk-ska.

No Bullshit Queen City, East coast punk rock. We have played with The Vibrators, The Casualties, Lower Class Brats, Street Dogs, The Briefs, Dead Pets, Clit 45, River City Rebels, Brain Failure, Go Betty Go, Left Alone, NAKED AGGRESSION, Retching Red, the Independents, Straight Jacket, the Low Budgets ect. Our goal is to make horrible noize and start a war

As the guys of the band say, "25 minutes to go plays punk rock, no prefix or suffix.", and it coudn't be stated better. This is one of the few punk bands that wont dissapoint. The fun-loving energy they project from stage gets everyone dancing and chanting along, tall boy in hand. Influenced by great bands such as Social D, MxPx, Bad Religion, and the infamous Cash, they've got what it takes to captivate you and take you prisoner from the first note and make you realize just why everyone is saying "BLADOW!" -Amanda Crap (www.stillnotdead.com)

"By far my favourite [of the BBC's Next Big Thing contest]: strange, oddly festive, creepy but uplifting, great use of samples as well as live performance, this is a fantastic, esoteric track."
--Miranda Sawyer, writer/music critic

"King Tut – fresh, dark and crazy, these guys are going their own way, they have no rules in creating musical lines and arrangement. It seems to me that they play not for popularity, promotion and the rest of such stuff, but only to express their inner world. Maybe I'm wrong, anyway, I like it!"
--Yan Nikolenko, Lead Singer, Oedipus Complex

"The sign on their Myspace says Asheville, North Carolina, but King Tut’s pyrotechnic psychedelia might be more at home in Scandinavia. An understated yet frenetic fusion of acoustic instrumentation and electro beats, Tut are perhaps closer to Sigur Ros or even Aussie improvisationalists Architecture in Helsinki, than American contemporaries ‘Explosions in the Sky’....There’s so much variety here that it’s hard to draw general comparisons, but fans of Mogwai, Broken Social Scene and even Grandaddy should all find something to enjoy."
--Gareth Stack, Analogue Magazine

"King Tut seems to make ambiguity work. Nestled in the nether region between the harsh fluorescent glow inside the club and the crisp autumn air outdoors, the beauty of what King Tut creates becomes apparent. Echoing off the metal doors and into the clear night, the band balances the drone of modern psychedelic music with the more humane vibe of indie rock."
-- Jason Bugg, Mountain Xpress

Fauna Valetta is a band from Oakland, mostly, sort of. We're from around. We play a style of rock and roll, people call it garage psych, we do too. Some things that influence our music are Freeways, rivers, neon lights and mountain tops, VU, stooges, sonic youth, the beatles, divorce, love, the warlocks, sucker punches, steel bridges crossing cold water, the wipers, water falls, voices in the wind by the ocean, BrMc, DML, BjM, wild animals, the animals, mental break downs, homelessness, unet, nishimura, long drives, long walks off short piers, liars, saviors, west oakland, the mexican food in fruitvale,sweet young things that ain't sweet no more, spaceman 3, BOB, and our tribe. That's what Allan had to say anyhow. He's our singer-songwriter, fearless leader. He met John a long time ago, out by the woods up north. John plays bass. Those two met Rob, who also plays guitar and sings, and organ sometimes, but we're working on that. Then, Rob brought around his old friend Dave to play drums, and there you have it.
Oh, and also, if you want to, you can listen to our new album for free, Over at Apolloaudio.com. You can even buy it if you're feeling saucy. And even if you don't want to buy our album or any albums, you should check out that site. Because there's lots of really great music there that you can listen to for free. And who doesn't like really great things for free?

from Burke :
I am madly in love and madly in hate with the whole damn world, from the bottom of my heart.

I play mostly solo shows, with just me and my guitar, but it ain't exactly the kinda music you'd expect to hear a solo singer-songwriter-guitarist dude play. It's pretty hard-rockin' stuff, actually....I've heard some people say that I'm one guy with the power of an army of rock'n'roll bands. And, I don't mean to be conceited, but who am I to argue with a nice compliment like that?

Basically my act combines punk, old-time rock n' roll, folk, soul, and cock-rock....with some performance art, spoken-word, standup comedy and pornography thrown in just for the hell of it. Um, I guess you kinda have to hear it to understand what I'm talking about....

Thacker Dairy Road is a road. Way out there, just past Lee Street and Interstate 40. Out where Greensboro's city limits disappear and reappear as the town of Whitsett. Horse farms and dairy farms still outnumber Planned Urband Developments. And the residents openly hope the economic growth gets tired of stretching out, and decides to move back to the city.

Drive down Thacker Dairy Road the road, and it becomes Thacker Dairy Road the band. Turn right on the gravel road, just over the bridge and bamboo bushes. Back there you'll find:


A funk-improv and hammond slammin' keyboard player.
A wicked lickin' art-country lead guitar player.
A punk-turned-funk bass player.
A whiz-kid prodigy and protege' drummer.
A dedicated and die hard bluegrass fiddle player.
And a self-proclaimed "lyric-loving" lead singer


This six-piece group brings it all together for a new sound that blends funk with country, soul with samba, and more.

Nicolette has been playing and performing music for 15 years, and recently released her debut album "Pinafore". She is a 2007 recipient of the Arts and Science Council's regional artist grant, participant in the 2008 Charlotte Femme Fest, and contributor to numerous other musical endeavors in the Charlotte area. Currently, in addition to her solo material, she can be seen playing Cello with local group Buschovski (www.myspace.com/buschovski), and her experimental project, Pinafore(www.myspace.com/Pinaforemusic)

In 2004, LA Tool & Die was founded with two objectives in mind. 1) Have as much fun as possible. 2) Make goofy pop songs. Their debut album Fashion For the Evildoer quickly climbed into the Top 100 of the CMJ Charts. At which point the band broke up and went their separate ways vowing never to talk to each other's lame ass again. In 2007, LA Tool & Die had a tearful reunion on The Montel Williams Show, reconciled their differences, and got back to their mission of converting kids to the vile ways of indie rock one show at a time. So, if you like new wave tinged songs about video games, falling in love, tanuki, moustaches, indie rock, and being saved by Jesus in a dirty punk rock club bathroom stall, then come out and see the show!

Born in '98. As sweet as the popsicle that you dropped on the ground the day that you saw your best friend with your sixth-grade crush. As strange as eating the popsicle anyway.

Athens, Georgia's Casper & the Cookies have been creating a peculiar brand of power pop since 1999, tirelessly testing new waters in their songwriting and sonic pallet. Jason NeSmith (aka Casper Fandango, ex- Of Montreal) shares writing and recording duties with Kay Stanton. Jim Hicks, Joe Rowe (ex-Glands), Davy Gibbs and a rotating cast of unsavory characters round out the lineup.

The most recent record, The Optimist's Club finds them greatly expanding their sound to include european influences, a fuller sound and most importantly, the emergence of Kay Stanton as a creative force. These changes allow the Cookies to reveal their catholic tastes and simultaneously define their identity. The first half of the record is an ep-length song cycle about two friends from Atlanta visiting New York City and falling in love. References to the avant garde and anti-art are sprinkled throughout.

Boss guitars and powerful drumming share sonic space with loops made from green beans, pet sounds, and microcassette recordings.

Regarding the live Casper & the Cookies experience, Cookie Jason expounds: "Every night we try to find a new way to interact with the crowd. Sometimes one of us gets bruised."

The Cookies' dedication to audience interaction extends even to occasionally letting them name their new songs, as is the case with "Barking in the Garden of Ill Repute". An internet contest grossed over eighty submissions from which the band chose two to merge together for the final result.

Over the last year, the Cookies have played over 130 shows across the US, Canada, and Japan in support of The Optimist's Club. The Cookies are currently in the studio, working on an upcoming full length release as well as an EP.

They have played with Black Kids, Deerhoof, Pylon, The Islands, The Marbles, Architecture in Helsinki, The Blow, The Bicycles, Say Hi to Your Mom, Half Handed Cloud, The Rosebuds, Of Montreal, Voxtrot, Elekibass, Kiiiiiii, The Essex Green, Marshmallow Coast, Dressy Bessy, and Elf Power. In August 2007, they served as Daniel Johnston's backing band at the Athens Popfest.

A native New Yorker with a captivating voice and a clear gift for songwriting, Meredith began playing both piano and violin from an early age, switching to guitar through high school and college. She began playing solo shows in small venues around New England, and made a few cds to hand out at shows which proved incredibly popular. Word spread fast, and the 2006 heyday of myspace added rocket fuel to the fire. When we talked with her about working together after the Southpaw show, we had no idea that her songs had already sold 15,000 copies, had not seen the 17 pages of cover versions on youtube, and had never been to one of her (more common) solo shows.

The name Gregory And The Hawk was conceived in 2003, initially devised to avoid her being perceived or pigeonholed as a female singer-songwriter (though, perhaps ironically, when pressed for a list of influences Meredtih cites Nick Drake, Liz Phair, Pj Harvey). Meredith remained playing alone under that name for a few years, until she met Mike McGuire in New York in 2005. The two played live shows together for several months before teaming up with bassist Jeff Ratner and drummer Adam Christgau (both of New York band Paper And Sand). The four of them recorded the 'Boats And Birds EP',which they self-released in 2006. Soon after, the four friends moved apart, and so Meredith began playing live with just Jeff on upright bass, and herself on acoustic guitar and vocals. This was how she played most of the shows to support 'In Your Dreams,' the debut album, again self-released in 2007. The only players on 'In Your Dreams' were Meredith, Mike McGuire (who also engineered most of it), and Susan Ambrose. The recording of 'Moenie and Kitchi' was somewhat different; while Mike, Susan and a host of others contributed, many of the instruments were played by the album's producer Adam Pierce (Mice Parade). The band's current line-up was solidified after the recording process. It consists of Adam Christgau on drums, Doro Tachler on violin and bass, and Mike McGuire on guitar/rhodes, with Meredith's characteristic guitar and voice leading the way. The band could still grow as they prepare for some extensive touring throughout the fall...

The gentle, hook-laden songs of Gregory And The Hawk's mostly solo/acoustic sets have received much of their considerable attention through internet streaming and downloads, resulting in a groundswell of support that belies the fact that up until now, there has been no label, no manager, or indeed any other supportive network to help them on their way. Gregory And The Hawk have but one thing on their side - the ability to craft spellbinding, idiosyncratic pop songs, that sound at once suggestive, familiar, and yet very much of themselves.

~ bio courtesy of FatCat Records

Since releasing their last full length, the critically acclaimed "Mapmaker", Parts & Labor have kept a relentlessly busy schedule. They toured Europe twice and across the U.S. three times. They have diligently worked on their own label, the ever growing Cardboard Records (recently featured in Impose Magazine, and recommended by Pitchfork). And they just released the "Escapers Two" EP, which perfectly captures the whirlwind that is Parts & Labor with 51 songs in under 30 minutes.

The past year has also seen the departure of drummer Christopher R. Weingarten to pursue a writing career. But with the addition of Joseph Wong on the drums the band barely skipped a beat (indeed the band performed its first show with Joe a mere two months after their last one with Chris). P&L also recruited guitarist and noise artist Sarah Lipstate to the fold, adding a new depth and versatility to their already expansive wall of sounds.

With the new lineup solidified, Parts & Labor recorded a new full length (due out fall 2008). The album features a unique, sonic experiment -- the band used audio samples sent by friends and fans to embellish their most adventurous full length to date. Additionally, Parts & Labor will be hitting the road again this summer, including festival appearances in Norway and the U.K., as well as performances at New York's Siren Festival and Baltimore's Whartscape.

Parts & Labor hail from Brooklyn, NY, and have been creating electronics-heavy psych/noise/punk/rock for over six years. They cite the following bands as influences and are totally cool with you name-checking them: Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, Boredoms, Minutemen, Neutral Milk Hotel and Amps For Christ. They've performed with TV On The Radio, Mission Of Burma, Battles, Matt & Kim, Clinic, Deerhoof, Lightning Bolt, and many, many more.