ARTICLES
Yawning Man: The Legend Becomes Reality
Yawning Man - Nomadic Pursuits (Cobraside)
FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE STARS
This album should win an award for managing to be transcendentally amazing in spite of its cover art. Actually, never mind, I take that back. Nomadic Pursuits being so perfect in spite of that goofy Easter Island-inspired Geocities cartoon on the jacket is wholly representative of what Yawning Man are about. They absolutely don’t give a fuck about “success,” marketing, press releases, booking agents, publicity, or making the front of their record look cool; never fucking have, never fucking will. What other band has so wholly eschewed all trappings of Record Business over the course of their 25-year career that they have never, even to this day, toured the entire US? What other band has successfully launched such an innumerable horde of imitators-cum-millionaires, in fact likely influenced the progression of not just their own musical universe but indeed the fabled Rock World in general, without ever having sacrificed their integrity for the almighty dollar, or breaking apart on the precipice of their egos?
DESIGNER DRUGS! Ate your Brains!
Check out the dope mix from Designer Drugs, and download this set and more from their Myspace page.
CLICK HERE FOR THE DATAMIX 09 PODCAST
Designer Drugs DJ Michael Vincent Patrick recently played RVALUTION at The Hat Factory and completely killed it. I had a chance to hang with him and his crew at the show, introducing him to the local scene and the big weekly party that is RVALUTION. I was dressed up as a zombie, with blood and makeup on ready to hit the floor, which I'm sure he found amusing, considering the apocalyptic themes that Designer Drugs explore in their music and merchandise. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Michael was impressed with what he experienced here in Richmond. "I love it," he told me. "I would play there once a month if I could. I didn't expect it to be that big at all. It was epic."
Dressed like a cross between a neo-apocalyptic punk and a hipster Buddy Holly, Michael fits in well here in Richmond. With PBR in hand and shots of whisky ready to go, he hit the decks, playing many of the tracks that have made Designer Drugs such a popular act. DD's music pulls sounds from electro, but gives them a pop feel, even while many of the tracks have an ominous, apocalyptic sound. Asked about this tendency towards darker sounds, Michael responded, "The apocalypse is happening right now." In light of this statement, for him to gear up and hit the stage in front of an entire crowd dressed as zombies seemed both appropriate and a bit ridiculous. Nonetheless, he apparently enjoyed himself, telling us that he hoped to return to Richmond "soon. And when I do I'll bring some CDs and free merch."
DAILY RECORD: Face Value
Face Value - Rode Hard, Put Away Wet: Clevo HC 89-93 (Smog Veil)
In an era during which hardcore bands have the ability to reach larger audiences than ever before, it can sometimes be difficult to recall that at one point this music was infused with a palpable sense of danger. Hardcore was a subculture whose adherents were drawn more from genuine misfits and outcasts than from suburban kids trying to vent a few years’ worth of adolescent aggression before settling into the normalcy of the adult world. Those are the years that seemed to produce genuine characters, some famous and some infamous, who were as polarizing as they were memorable. These characters have become rarer with each successive year, with hardcore musicians becoming as faceless as the music they play. One of the major polarizing figures from that era is Tony Erba. As a member of bands like 9 Shocks Terror, Gordon Solie Motherfuckers, and most recently Cheap Tragedies, Erba, with his shrill voice, a decidedly non-politically correct stance on just about everything, and a propensity for directing live shows towards destructive mayhem, has provided a strong counterpoint to whatever trends currently dominate hardcore. When popular bands were playing more intricate, technical material, his bands played faster and simpler. When audience participation at shows was characterized by the dichotomy between fans who would stand as still as possible with their arms folded and those who would try out the kickboxing moves they had practiced in the mirror before the show, Erba threw bricks and firecrackers in the audience – anything to be as confrontational as possible. But what many hardcore fans also don’t recall at this point is that Erba got his start singing for Face Value, a Cleveland band, existing from 1989 until 1993, who, at their best, stood out like a sore thumb from the post-Youth Of Today doldrums which predominated in much of that era’s hardcore.
FILM REVIEW: Piranha 3D
It is pointless to criticize a movie like Piranha 3D. Kitschy, hyper-violent creature features like this are meant to be comedies more than horror films. The filmmaking team clearly had set goals in mind: Have plenty of bloody violence, show a lot of breasts, pack in some funny cameo appearances from some old stars, and make as ridiculous a film as possible. They succeed on every point of the list. If you do not want to see the things on the list, or if you want anything else besides what is on the list, do not see this film.
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SHOW REVIEW: Screaming Females, The Two Funerals, Body Cop, Little Master
Screaming Females, The Two Funerals, Body Cop and Little Master
August 16 at Gallery 5
Monday evening at Gallery 5 felt like a celebration. All the bands on the bill were wonderful. It’s a great feeling to have a new favorite song embedded in your head and a new sense of rediscovered inspiration in your step. After the show was done, I couldn’t stop talking about all of the bands that played. One thought that came to mind was the role of women in rock bands and the progression made over the years. Each band that played last night featured a female musician that had an integral role in the band beyond vocal duties. Whether it was Leah Clancy playing bass for Little Master or the front-women of DC’s Body Cop, The Two Funerals and Screaming Females, there is a changing dynamic at play here.
DAILY RECORD: Prisoners
Prisoners - Back In The USSA (Smog Veil)
My first listen to the debut album from Ohio’s Prisoners left me without an opinion. A second listen helped to highlight the strong influences of bands like the Replacements and the White Stripes in the band’s songwriting. With twangy, grungy guitars and gruff, crackling adolescent vocals, Prisoners do an excellent job of emulating the bluesy style of both of those bands. The problem I have with this album is that it never goes beyond mere emulation.
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HIP-HOP REVIEW: Outasight
OUTASIGHT – Never Say Never mixtape (LRG)
ZERO STARS OUT OF FIVE
Over the course of this bloated, wildly unnecessary piece of hip-hop-clothing-line-sponsored promotional ephemera, Outasight manages, against all odds, to shit out one magical golden egg of inadvertent retard-savant wisdom: there are some people in the world who are simply not worth wasting your breath on. They are such privileged, deluded, highly moneyed, ego-drenched cocksuckers that they will never, ever listen to what you have to say, even if it is true, no matter how you put it. The only solution to dealing with these people is to ignore them--allow them to continue to “do them” as you continue to “do you.” This singular tenet is clearly what has defined Outasight’s existence; there’s no other plausible explanation that could possibly be given for this dude managing to cut open the pants pocket of somebody in the record industry (debut album coming from Warner/Asylum in 2011!) and steal a bunch of their money.
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DAILY RECORDS: Just Plain Ant, Netherfriends
Just Plain Ant - Rumble, Young Man, Rumble (justplainant.bandcamp.com)
Just Plain Sounds’ prolific beat making impresario, Just Plain Ant, returns with a vengeance on his latest guest laden full length release. Ant’s signature style of jazz infused hip hop is strongly on display and more eclectic than ever as each track is taken in a new direction by a cast of some of the area’s best MCs. The album’s bass-heavy jazz sampling hearkens back to the early 90’s positivists hip hop movement, fronted by acts like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, while also sounding entirely contemporary and progressive in its embrace of grander melodic progressions and themes in the songs themselves. The early album track, “No Title For It (feat. Ohbliv and Gordy Michael),” is an anthem to musical nonconformity that rises to inspiring heights. Funky organ samples give way to a sea of rising and swooning strings that swell under a distorted chorus, sounding like a hip-hop-militant protesting the record industry, standing with a megaphone atop a burnt out car. The sheer multitude of local talent on this release is staggering, perhaps even more impressive considering the fact the each MC does one of the most difficult tasks imaginable in hip hop--sounding like they belong on a record with Chuck D. The Public Enemy legend makes his mind boggling guest spot on the album’s eighth track, “Way Back When (feat Chuck. D)”, a disco-infused Michael Jackson-sampling boogie that finds the acclaimed MC taking us back in the day to the music of the early 80’s, when life was about house parties, roller skating, and above all getting down. With guest spots from the likes of Joey Ripps, Black Liquid, Draztiq, and Sleaze, among many others, the album is a nonstop best of Richmond’s hip hop underground.
Netherfriends - Barry And Sherry (netherfriends.bandcamp.com)
The music of Chicago’s Shawn Rosenblatt, the one man touring machine known as Netherfriends, is a sonic dedication and celebration of all things indie pop. Berry and Sherry, the artist’s most recent release, is a deftly orchestrated album of reverb drenched pop songs, beginning with the opening track, “Bret Easton Ellis Novel." The song’s ambulation from its strident click-clack rhythms into a wall of explosive distortion and echo sets the tone for the majority of the album. “More Than Friends Who Like Good Music,” the album's brightest and happiest moment, starts as a Burt Bacharach light-jazz swing, flourishing into a sentimentalist’s rant about backyard delights and frugal wisdom. Rosenblatt’s lyrical stylings are best described in the line “I’m gonna start singing like the way I talk," from the album’s second cut “I’m Gonna Start." It’s a style that serves him well, especially on the grand and haunting piano centered ballad, “Lead You Through the Misty Fog of Milwaukee Ave.” Berry and Sherry is an album about the life of someone unsure if they are going to reach the finish line they’ve set in front of themselves. The entire album is an outstanding summation of youthful desires, fears and uncertainty, in a world that puts obstacles in the way of your dreams.
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"We Don't Go For Big, We Go For Ridiculous": Best Friends Day 2010
In less than 48 hours, the Ninth Annual Best Friends Day Weekend will begin, kicking off with a Thursday night show at the Bike Lot. Over the course of a long three-day weekend, the festival will encompass at least 6 more events, featuring live performances by Andrew W.K., Propagandhi, and reunited hardcore legends Negative Approach, among many others. It's come quite a long way from its origin as a one-day get-together at which all of the attendees were actually best friends. But co-founder Tony Foresta believes that the spirit of that original event still lives within the current incarnation of Best Friends Day.
Old Skool Meets Old Skool, Graffiti In Motion
The decade old animated .gif continues to evolve as the fashion driven designer Insa and street artist Inkie bring a fresh take on an old favorite. Can you see this in an ad somewhere soon?
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