ARTICLES
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TONIGHT: Roma w/ The Dream Machine At The Republic
Last Wednesday at The Republic it was Downbeat Switch and The Dream Machine. DBS opened and killed it; you can tell these guys have been playing together for more than a decade.
DAILY FIX: Royal Headache, "Girls"
Australian quartet Royal Headache are probably considered a punk rock band by most of their fans, but if they'd been around 40 or 50 years ago, they'd have simply been rock n' roll. They write short, hyperactive three-chord tunes with simple song structures and choruses that are easy to remember and sing along with. The guitars are jangly rather than crunchy, and if anything marks them as part of the modern punk rock era, it's the speed with which they deliver their quick-fix tunes. The best single-word description of their music is actually probably "fun."
DAILY RECORD: Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica - Stones Grow Her Name (Nuclear Blast)
Power metal in the year 2012 is a genre so defined by grandiose pomp and circumstance that it can be tough to figure out what actually makes it count as metal. It can't be denied that even the earliest power metal bands, such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, worked on an epic scale, and there were definitely times that they went over the top. However, when you listened to Maiden or Helloween back in the day, you could always tell that they were grounded in the fundamentals of metal. Quick, pounding tempos, solid drumming, and most importantly, chunky guitars delivering heavy, distorted riffing kept everything nailed down and made sure that anyone who heard those songs knew what genre they were listening to. Fuckin' METAL, dude!
Sounds Of RVA Presents: On The Horizon #10
This week a former aquaintance of mine passed away. He was a very talented guitarist and had so much potential to do something pretty great. He had a shed in his parents' backyard where he grew up "shedding" for real. At 28, he was taken too soon, but his passing can truly remind us to take that chance. Take a moment and create a lasting product, something that the world needs to hear.
RVALUTION SUMMER RUN #2 [PHOTOS]
Following up from last weeks RVALUTION, here are some more great pics of performers and DJs! Check out the pics and links, and remember: this is happening every Tuesday night at Epic Theatre (formerly known as The Hat Factory).
Radio Rubber Room EP 63, Featuring Splendid Suns
What a splendid show with Splendid Suns. This group has a unique sound that needs no label. They gave a live preview of the album they are about to get hard to work on. These kids are a blast.
MOVIE REVIEW: Unauthorized And Proud Of It
Unauthorized And Proud Of It: The Story Of Rock N' Roll Comics (2012)
(dir: Ilko Davidov)
Music and comic book fans who were around in the early 90s may remember Rock N' Roll Comics, a small-press comic book title that printed unauthorized sequential-art biographies of then-popular rock stars, and took a lot of legal heat for doing so. However, despite the fact that the story was big news at the time, at least in the music and art world, it is mostly forgotten now, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if our younger readers don't remember it at all. This documentary exists to remind everyone who comes across it about Rock N' Roll Comics, and why they mattered. And make no mistake, they did matter, as publisher Revolutionary Comics, and specifically its owner and the creator of Rock N' Roll Comics, Todd Loren, fought and won quite a few legal battles that set precedents in favor of freedom of speech and the press that still stand today.
TONIGHT: Free Art Show At Kingdom!
Kingdom, a local club located in Shockoe Bottom, which opened up last year in the space formerly known as Alley Katz, has been carving out a solid niche for itself in the local scene since its opening date, particularly through the booking of excellent metal and hardcore bands that previously tended not to play here in RVA. Now, in an effort to help boost the local art scene as well as the music scene, they've started hosting free art shows once a month. The first of these, held last month, was apparently quite a success, and they're following it up with another excellent showcase tonight!
DAILY FIX: Gull, "Fast Enough"
Here's a live performance by talented RVA musician and one-man band Nate Rappole, aka Gull. Gull's notorious for creating music that seems like it should require several people playing different instruments together to make. However, Rappole does the whole thing by himself, and while he does utilize electronic technology to some extent, the main ingredient to his crazy one-man band sound is his ability to play a guitar and a drum kit at the same time, all while singing through a mask with a built-in microphone.
DAILY RECORD: Left And Right
Left And Right - Left And Right (leftandright.bandcamp.com)
Out of the several bands that caught my eye at Macrock in Harrisonburg this year, Left And Right was a pleasant surprise. Their live set was full of energy and enormous gang vocals. It reminded me of a time in music that I hadn’t revisited in many years, a time when the most important bands to me were Hot Water Music and Jawbreaker. I can still listen to those records with keen ears and enjoy the reminiscence. Yet in recent times, I have rarely made an attempt to go out of my way to discover bands that have inherited this musical thought and taken it further. Left & Right are the perfect heir for this genre and they represent it well in this geographical region.
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