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The Secret World Of the Iron Survivor

Alicen Hackney | January 12, 2021

Topics: Darkest Hour, Hewolf, Iron Survivor 2, Punks For Presents, richmond bands, richmond music, rock paper scissors

With the soundtrack to a fake movie about the secret world of world-class Rock-Paper-Scissors competitions, Richmond trio Hewolf takes their goofy, theatrical cock-rock to the next level.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!” Get ready to rumble, and get ready to listen to Hewolf’s latest album, Iron Survivor 2: The Motion Picture Soundtrack. This movie-less soundtrack needs no visuals to take you on an adventure through the wild world of underground, high-stakes Rock-Paper-Scissors Competitions. Through the eyes of lonely child Danny Laredo, we get to learn about love, lust, and what it really takes to win it all.

Iron Survivor 2 came out on October 30th, and has generated a buzz among Hewolf fans. The album features six tracks that walk listeners through the most poignant moments of the movie (which again, to be clear, doesn’t actually exist). Listen as Danny gains the confidence to compete, take on his most vicious opponents, and then vanquish them all. 

“[Bassist] Paul [Burnette] was the mastermind of piecing all of that together. Erik and I just kind of came with the ideas and Paul just started putting them all together,” said Johnny Throckmorton, Hewolf’s guitarist. “It’s like a Rubik’s Cube. Erik and I are all the colors, and Paul fits us into solid colors on each side.”

“Every time you listen to it from start to finish it can be a different movie in your head,” said drummer Erik Josephson. “The whole thing was laid in order for different characters, themes, and what’s going on in the movie. It’s a different movie every time you listen to it.”

Though the plot puts young Danny in perilous and serious positions, the guys in Hewolf don’t let that get in their heads when writing out his story. Their comedic take on “cock-rock” and the theatrics of metal bring light to the soundtrack, and help entrench us in the fast paced world that Danny strives every day to bury his stake in.

“We’re serious about our instruments, but everything that follows after that is sarcasm,” said Throckmorton. “The three of us are dads so we’re responsible, we’re punctual, we make sure that we get the job done, but we’re also total goofballs.”

In that endeavor to find the lighter aspect of their music writing, the guys have created a slew of easter-egg moments throughout the entire album. If you listen closely enough you’ll be able to hear impressions of Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, and the lovely sounds of the drunken pub song “Oh Danny Boy.”

“Johnny is the Easter Bunny when it comes to the Easter Eggs,” said Josephson. “In the last song, Johnny does these karate calls.”

“Some of the samples I found were from little pieces on YouTube,” said Burnette. “One of them was from an arm wrestling tournament in Louisiana, and you just hear people yelling random stuff. One guy just yells, ‘go the fuck home!’ right in the beginning.”

Encapsulating all of this in the album is one thing, but as it is a movie soundtrack for a movie that never came out, the door is wide open for the creative pursuit of visual and stage representations. 

“Part of the hope for the soundtrack is that it would spark for someone, and maybe someone would want to make this movie happen,” said Burnette.

“We love playing live, and it’d be fantastic to have the big show with lights, smoke, and pyrotechnics, all the big stuff,” said Throckmorton. “Erik could do a Tommy Lee, we’d put him in a cage and just have him spin around while he’s playing.”

“We’d have a spinning octagon with people playing rock-paper-scissors inside,” replied Josephson.

“We do find some movie company to take this on, and we’ve got three executive producers right here ready to pitch in,” said Burnette.

Even though all of these ideas are just dreams at this point, the band has realized a lot of their ideas in the realm of pure music. Iron Survivor 2 was the second release the band put out during the insane year of 2020. Back in September, Hewolf had already released the Into The Darkness… EP. And now, while everyone is looking forward to playing all of this new music live someday, the biggest thing on their radar now is digging in and writing more music.

“Throughout this process, as much as we want it to go out and play, even if everybody is wearing masks and distancing, we just said we’ll do the smart thing and focus on the music,” said Throckmorton. “We have another six or seven songs we’re working on — we just don’t stop. Now is the time for not only us, but a lot of bands, to kind of push it and start writing stuff.”

Working together on these projects has come naturally to the guys of Hewolf after years of friendship and plenty of experience creating music with other bands. Before the clandestine formation of Hewolf, each of the members were in other bands that toured widely. Burnette was in Darkest Hour and Iron Reagan, Throckmorton was in Alabama Thunder Pussy, Josephson was in HRM, and both Burnette and Josephson were in Crackhead. 

“Johnny and I were in our first band together when we were in high school, and then we were in another band together around 2000,” said Burnette. “Erik and I were in two bands together. We were in a band in like ’93, and another band in the mid ‘90s after that. We’ve all been in bands together and known each other for decades, just had never all played together.”

Now that they’ve joined together for Hewolf, there is no separating them. Each member comes from a similar background and is living in similar circumstances, so their friendship has only gotten stronger over the years. 

“Any time I get opportunities to work with someone else, I always want to bring Paul and Erik into it somehow,” said Throckmorton. “We try to write things about real life, what’s going on. As far-fetched as a rock-paper-scissors tournament is, it could still happen. It’s not a song about dragons and sorcerers.”

“We’re singing about real shit, man,” Josephson chimed in.

“I don’t even miss singing in other bands because it feels so good to be here,” said Throckmorton. “If they said, ‘hey, put your guitar down, you’re going to play the kazoo now. We’re bringing in another guitar player.’ Just as long as I’m here playing with these guys, I’m happy. I’ll play a mean kazoo.”

Growing up in the punk and metal communities brought the guys a great deal of experience they don’t take for granted. Looking back, some of those experiences landed them in places they never thought they’d be, and are glad never to be in again, no matter how fun they were. 

“Darkest Hour got thrown in jail in Oklahoma,” said Burnette. “They hit us with like five different things and threw us all in jail. The band had money to get three of us out and we had to leave the rest of the guys in there until the next day so we could wait for western union the next day at the local Wendy’s. So we got $5,000 wired to us at the Wendy’s, and we still made it to the show in Texas.”

And this wasn’t the only run in with the law; sometimes they even got in trouble in other countries. 

“Our guitar player was having issues, so he [relieved himself in] a bag. He went down to the lower level of the double-decker bus and just was like, ‘What am I gonna do with this?’ Someone suggested to throw it out,” said Burnette. “So he pops open the door of the bus and he’s swinging it, he counts down ‘1…2…’ and as soon as he says ‘3’ there are these Belgian cops coming up alongside the bus going to an accident up ahead, and I swear this bag of hot shit was about three inches from this cop’s nose as he drove by at like 30 mph.”

While all these crazy experiences make for amazing stories and an exciting life, band life wasn’t always this way. Between the many nights of shows, the stops in fun places, and the run-ins with the law, there was plenty of downtime that wasn’t much to write home about. And to the Hewolf guys, that’s okay.

“I wouldn’t change it, but it was definitely hard,” said Throckmorton. “There’s no way I could do it now. We would definitely need the rockstar treatment, have a big bus. Show starts early, ends early — because we’re all dads, and we’re falling asleep by 9 o’clock.”

“With past band experience you can take all that time and boil it all down and it’ll sound like the craziest shit that’s ever happened to somebody. And it really is,” added Burnette. “But before you boil it down, you have this massive amount of downtime — time that’s boring, or wasted, time.”

Something more fulfilling in this season of their lives has cropped up, and that’s fatherhood. The guys of Hewolf have all, at different points in their lives, become dads, and that commonality has helped them build a better routine in their creative life. However, dad life comes with its own ups and downs — ones that may just be as crazy as their former lives.

“Erik is helping take care of his daughter’s cat who had AIDS,” said Burnette.

“Yeah, that was also this week’s gift to me. ‘Dad, I got a cat!’ Okay, great! ‘…and the cat has feline AIDS’,” said Josephson. “I’m looking forward to vet bills on that, that’ll be great.”

Fans of Hewolf’s music might find it surprising that the members’ families aren’t always into what they have going on. However, if you’re a parent, you might not find it surprising at all. The dads of Hewolf have experienced some lackluster responses from their kids, but they know they’re loved regardless. 

“My daughter comes to some shows to support her dad, but it’s not her cup of tea,” said Josephson. “A couple years ago we had a sticker, and her whole car had all the Richmond band stickers on it. So I asked if I could put our sticker on, and she said, ‘No, ugh, you’re my dad.’ But she comes to shows — that is our thing to do.”

“My kid is 14, so the last thing he wants to do is anything to do with what his dad is doing. Whenever he’s ready to hang out, I’m all over it,” said Burnette. “You gotta jump on those moments, because when you’re 14, you want to be with your friends.”

Becoming dads and renewing their commitment to music has given the members of Hewolf new motivation in their work. Now, it’s not about simply being rockstars and having fun; it’s also about their families and using their influence and platform to help others.

One of those outreach platforms the members of Hewolf has been a part of over the years is Punks For Presents, a Richmond based punk non-profit organization that puts on charity shows every year featuring a variety of tribute bands. Through the shows, Punks For Presents raises money to fund donations of presents to children in hospitals and difficult situations during the holidays. In past years, the members of Hewolf have performed at these shows under the pseudonym Elvzig.

“That definitely sums it up — we’re a dad rock band, and you gotta do it for the kids,” said Throckmorton. “If we can help these organizations, or be the theme song to somebody’s really shitty day, that makes us happy. Someone walking down the street who just had a really shitty day and they throw on some Hewolf, then it’s mission accomplished. We are a light in the darkness, and I think it’s pretty awesome.”

Next time you’re feeling down, just imagine yourself winning the ultimate title at a rock-paper-scissors competition. And remember what this message from Hewolf: “Rock always wins.”

To find Iron Survivor 2: The Motion Picture Soundtrack, visit Hewolf’s Bandcamp page. Hewolf also encourages you to check out the Punks For Presents shop, at punksforpresents.storenvy.com. 

Photos via Hewolf/Facebook; Iron Survivor 2 artwork courtesy Hewolf

VA Shows You Must See This Week: August 28 – September 3

Marilyn Drew Necci | August 28, 2019

Topics: Appalling, Battlemaster, Bean Weatherford, Bryan Fountain, Court Street Company, Croy & The Boys, Danet Jackson, Daniel Clark, Dave Brockie, deathcrown, Deau Eyes, Dominy, Enhailer, Fruit & Flowers, Fuzzy Cactus, Gene Loves Jezebel, Gutterance, gwar, GWARbar, Habibi, Hewolf, Hot Coffee, LAVA, Leya, LIZA, Logan Vath, Modern English, Museum District, Occultist, Pet Name, Pip The Pansy, Piranha Rama, RAWG, Righter, Serqet, Shockoe Denim, shows you must see, Silence In The Snow, Super Doppler, The Alarm, The Camel, The Dark Room, The Day Of The Beast, The Gilberts, The Heart Stompers, The NorVa, Thief, Thieves Of Shiloh, Toast, Vomit Stain, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, August 31, 1 PM
Brockie Birthday Bash, feat. RAWG, Battlemaster, Occultist, Hewolf, Enhailer @ GWARBar – Free!

It can be a sad thing, to gather in celebration of a dead person’s birthday. However, Dave Brockie was never the sort of person to dwell on sadness, so when GWAR gathers the bohabs together this weekend in celebration of their late, lamented leader, it’s sure to be a party regardless. Things really kick off the day before this show, when the new monument to Brockie’s memory will be unveiled in Hollywood Cemetery. But then on Saturday afternoon, the parking lot of GWARBar will be transformed into a raging outdoor rock-a-thon to commemorate what would have been Brockie’s 56th birthday.

And what a rager it will be! GWAR themselves won’t be performing, but RAWG — their alter-ego from the days when Richmond had a ban against GWAR shows within the city limits — will headline this event, bringing you all the goofily hilarious thrash-metal power of a typical GWAR show… only without the costumes. It’ll be a headbanging good time regardless — after all, these guys have got some great tunes!

They’ve also got some great friends with excellent bands, and a lovely selection of Richmond metal tunesmiths will be taking the stage in support of the GWAR… er, RAWG headlining set on this lovely Saturday afternoon. Battlemaster’s swords n’ sorcery thrash metal is on the menu, as is Occultist’s blackened death rage, finally back to full-time activity after a few years of woodshedding. Hewolf sees the return to action of several longtime Richmond metal veterans from bands like Iron Reagan, Darkest Hour, Alabama Thunderpussy, and HRM, who bring us some groovy headbanging grunge-metal stomp. And Ohio’s Enhailer bring their mostly instrumental doom-sludge to town to liven things up. It’s gonna be an afternoon of amazingness, so don’t miss a moment of the happenings at GWARBar!

Wednesday, August 28, 9 PM
Silence In The Snow, Thief, Serqet @ Wonderland – $10

Here’s an evening of music that’s sure to bring some relief to all you gothic post-punkers currently wilting and melting away in the oppressive heat of Richmond’s scorching, sticky summer. Silence In The Snow brings an icy, fog-enshrouded sound from their home in the SF bay area to RVA tonight. On new LP Levitation Chamber, frontwoman Cyn M. picks out harsh, cold melodies on her electric guitar, while bearing a striking vocal resemblance to Siouxsie Sioux circa 1985.

The whole thing adds up to a spiky gothic postpunk sound that’s sure to thrill all the black-enshrouded night children who wait until darkness has fallen before they venture out of their air-conditioned chambers. Such habitues of the shadows are sure to also be intrigued by LA’s Thief, who bring a spooky electronic sound and a strong influence from sacred chants and medieval hymns to their postmodern gothic sound. And of course, Richmond’s own Serqet is in the house to provide a dose of their always-on-time anarcho-postpunk sound. When the sun goes down, head to Wonderland tonight — you’ll find what you’re looking for.

Thursday, August 29, 7 PM
Habibi, Fruit & Flowers, LIZA @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$13 day of show (order tickets HERE)

New York’s a multicultural place, and the melting pot culture it creates is clear in the music of Habibi. Reflecting the members’ Middle Eastern and Latin American heritage, this NYC group focuses on psychedelic garage pop from a variety of different traditions. On latest EP Cardamom Garden, they use layered vocal harmonies, hazy guitar textures, and rock n’ roll backbeats to create a sound that’s simultaneously reminiscent of The Byrds, The White Stripes, and Brazilian psych group Os Mutantes. The EP even includes a cover of 60s proto-punk classic “Green Fuz,” sung in Farsi — making that Middle Eastern influence that much clearer.

Habibi are joined on this trip to RVA by fellow New Yorkers Fruit & Flowers, who have a more American-oriented garage-punk bounce that’s shown off to excellent effect on their 2017 EP, Drug Tax. Like Habibi, this quartet will get you dancing around, but they’ve got a decidedly more uptempo approach that’ll keep your feet moving double-time throughout their set. This three-band lineup will be rounded out with a set by Richmond locals LIZA, who will bring a live, full-band expansion to the psychedelic bedroom pop tunes of singer-songwriter Liza Grishaeva. It’ll be a great way to start out an evening of delicious psych-pop excellence.

Friday, August 30, 9 PM
Deathcrown, Appalling, The Day Of The Beast, Gutterance @
Wonderland – $10
Death metal still rules. We all know it, even if we don’t always talk about it. But on a Friday night like this one, it becomes clear that the best way to spend our live music dollar is to head to Shockoe Bottom and let almighty death metal roll overtop of us in its own inimitable way. That’s the opportunity that Wonderland is offering us with this tour-kickoff show for Deathcrown and Appalling, a couple of the heaviest death metal bands currently active in this town.

Deathcrown’s been dishing out that raging sound that’s sure to appeal to fans of bands that came out of Florida in the 90s — think Morbid Angel, or Death themselves — for a while now, most recently on their 2018 split LP with Ribspreader, Comorbid Diagnosis. Meanwhile, Appalling take a more Scandinavian approach to raging speed on their recently-released LP, Inverted Realm, evoking the harsh snarling rage that you At The Gates fans can never get enough of. Virginia Beach rippers The Day Of The Beast will augment all this heavy-as-fuck pummelling with some furious death metal noise of their own, while King George-based newcomers Gutterance will get things kicked off in proper fashion. Come ready for serious headbangs — because you’re going to get them.

Saturday, August 31, 9 PM
Museum District, Hot Coffee @ The Dark Room – $5

When Saturday night comes around, it’s time to dance, and this weekend, The Dark Room has you covered, presenting a set by Museum District. Not actually a performance by an entire neighborhood (which was called “the Upper Fan” when I was living up there in the 90s, grumble grumble, I’m an old person who hates change), but instead a duo made up of two talented RVA musicians with credentials of their own. Jame Moorfield has been producing dancefloor bangers on his own around town for years now, while Anneliese is a fixture on the local music scene due both to her longtime membership in The Folly and her solo work.

When the two combine their talents, though, magic happens, and on recent EPs like Hairdown and I Like It, Museum District has unleashed some powerful disco-house grooves with strong diva-style vocal melodies and thrilling musical crescendoes. They’ll fill The Dark Room at The Hof with some powerful booty-shaking anthems this Saturday night, and you’ll want to save some energy throughout the day so you’re prepared to dance the night away with them. DC producer Hot Coffee will be warming up the joint with a set of his own, but Museum District is what this evening’s all about.

Sunday, September 1, 7 :30 PM
Leya, Thieves Of Shiloh @ Shockoe Denim – $10

If you’re a fan of musical experimentation, you’re definitely going to want to end your weekend at Shockoe Denim this weekend, regardless of who makes your pants. On this Sunday evening, Little Dumbo is bringing Leya to town, and this New York duo combines instruments with centuries of history into sounds that are unlike any you’ve heard before. Leya brings together harpist Marilu Donovan (Eartheater) and violinist Adam Markiewicz (PC Worship) in pursuit of a sound that has nothing to do with the classical music fields in which these instruments are normally deployed.

On their 2018 album The Fool, Leya run their instruments and their voices through a variety of effects and use unorthodox tunings to create otherworldly sounds that would be completely at home on the soundtrack to a horror movie, but also manage to evoke an atmospheric beauty. It’s the kind of thing that fans of Philip Glass or Diamanda Galas might tap into, but for most will take some getting used to. It’s worth the effort, though — this evening of unusual sounds is sure to be rewarding for all in attendance. Leya will be joined by local sound experimentalists Thieves Of Shiloh on this bill — news that’s sure to make attendees of Cheap Fest in years past very happy.

Monday, September 2, 8 PM
Danet Jackson, Bryan Fountain, The Gilberts @
The Camel – $5 in advance/$7 at the door (order tickets HERE)
Band names are getting weirder and weirder, y’all, and Danet Jackson might just be the weirdest one I’ve heard yet. That said, if you’re expecting a combination of The Dan Band and the lady who sang “Rhythm Nation” from this Richmond group, you may or may not be let down, as this group fronted by local singer-songwriter Dan Jackson (the name makes a little more sense now — but only a little) dishes out some shambolic bedroom indie-pop in a manner that evokes both Wavves and Washed Out. Or maybe that’s just me.

Either way, on recent LP Planet Danet, this group is better than you’d ever expect them to be based on the name. Give them a listen. And expect things to get even weirder when fellow Richmonder Bryan Fountain takes the stage, bringing a memorable form of psych-damaged hip hop that, at least to me, sounds like Lil Ugly Mane at times, Lil Uzi Vert at others. The man can definitely rhyme, but if you ask me, the weirdness is the best part. The stumbling, jangly punk-pop of The Gilberts rounds out this fun evening of Labor Day musical madness. Get with it.

Tuesday, September 3, 9 PM
Croy & The Boys, Bean Weatherford @ Fuzzy Cactus – $8

Fuzzy Cactus just opened a couple weeks ago, but they’re already integrating themselves into the Richmond live music scene, and that’s certainly a wonderful thing. This Tuesday night show is billed as “Totally Pauly Tuesdays,” and is apparently themed around which bartender is behind the bar, but as far as I’m concerned, the main reason you want to be at this show is because Austin, Texas’s Croy & The Boys are playing it. This quintet brings classic country, Western swing, and Tejano-style bounce to their classic Lone Star sound, but it’s frontman and chief songwriter Corey Baum’s wry, tongue-in-cheek approach that really makes them stand out.

On new LP Howdy High-Rise, fun songs like “A Song To Play The Next Time That I Meet Your Mother” and “For The First Time I’m Starting To Think About My Age” alternate with humorously-delivered but sincere laments about income inequality and working-class struggles that any Richmonder without a $75k a year Capital One job is sure to relate to. Singing along with “I’m Broke” by Croy & The Boys might not make you any richer, but it’ll bring a smile to your face this Tuesday night, and with the rent coming due any day now, that’s something we could all use.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Saturday, August 31, 4 PM
LAVA Mini-Fest, feat. Super Doppler, Piranha Rama, Court Street Company, The Heart Stompers, Dominy, Pet Name, Righter, Daniel Clark, Logan Vath, Deau Eyes, Pip The Pansy @ Toast – $12 in advance/$15 at the door (order tickets HERE)

We’ve definitely got a big afternoon outdoor fest of our own happening here in Richmond this weekend, but if you’re not feeling like an afternoon of metal, you certainly can’t go wrong heading down 64 E to join our indie-rock pals from Norfolk-based LAVA, who are throwing a one-day fest of their own at Norfolk’s own Toast this Saturday evening. It’s jam-packed with talent, too, and topping the bill is Super Doppler, whose Beatlesque psychedelic pop sound has been a Tidewater treat for years now. They’re about to release their self-titled debut album, and this show will mark the official release celebration, so get ready to party with them!

But there’s a lot more happening at this party, so you’ll want to show up early and plan to stay all night. RVA’s own Piranha Rama have been making their mark in the region with their unique, multi-layered indie-psych sound over the past year or two, and if you haven’t gotten down with that yet, the time has definitely come. There’s plenty more to enjoy on this bill as well, from Norfolk alt-country veterans The Heart Stompers to Atlanta pop goddess Pip The Pansy and even a solo set from Richmond’s own Deau Eyes. There’s even more than that, but we frankly don’t have the space to go through it all — you’re just going to have to show up and find out for yourself. Trust us, it’s worth the trip.

Sunday, September 1, 7:30 PM
The Alarm, Modern English, Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel @ The NorVA – $25 in advance/$30 at the door (order tickets HERE)

The UK punk explosion of the late 70s affected a lot of musicians, and in the next few years, the punk-influenced musicians of the British Isles went in a variety of different directions, from the noisy, ferocious hardcore of Discharge to the experimental weirdness of Flux Of Pink Indians. Welsh group The Alarm represent yet another branch on that post-punk evolutionary tree, having landed on an acoustically-fueled anthemic sound with a ringing, emotional power that retained all of the furious defiance of the classic first-wave punk bands. On 1984 debut Declaration, the band staked out a sound somewhere between U2, The Pogues, and The Clash at their arena-filling height.

35 years later, The Alarm is still marching on, and despite only retaining original singer Mike Peters throughout their career, the group currently features former members of Gen X and Joe Strummer’s Mescaleros, so the fact that their 17th album, Sigma, released earlier this year, still shows plenty of their arena-filling anthemic power only makes sense. They come to The NorVA this weekend in the company of two other 80s UK post-punk powerhouses — Modern English, about whom I need only say four words: “I Melt With You”; and Gene Loves Jezebel, best remembered for their late 80s gothic glam-rock smash, “Jealous.” If you loved the big anthemic sound of the 80s New Wave, this is your night.

—-

Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

VA Shows You Must See This Week: April 10 – April 16

Marilyn Drew Necci | April 10, 2019

Topics: Allison Shearer, Alukah, angelica garcia, Bandito's, Black Matter Device, Calvin Presents, Capital Ale House Music Hall, Cycles, Dave Mackay, Destruct, Eliza Battle, Erin Lunsford, Filth, Hewolf, Horsewhip, Infant Island, Jim Shorts, Life In Vacuum, Manzara, Mas Y Mas, McCormack's, Mestis, Ostraca, Papadosio, Pet Name, Plini, Shake Your Baby, shows you must see, Suppression, The Bones Of JR Jones, The Camel, The Canal Club, The Machinist, The National, Toast, weekend plans, Wonderland

FEATURED SHOW
Friday, April 12, 9 PM
Horsewhip, Infant Island, Eliza Battle @ Wonderland – $5

The loss of Strange Matter at the end of 2018 was, as everyone reading this knows firsthand, a devastating blow to the Richmond music scene. We were really feeling its departure in January of this year, when it became a real struggle some nights to find a place where good bands were playing. Thankfully, though, the Richmond scene has shown its longtime resilience in the face of setbacks; these days, we’re starting to see a new normal establish itself. Indie bands that would previously have played Strange Matter have a number of potential alternative destinations — The Camel and Capital Ale House’s Richmond Music Hall among them. As for the heavy bands, they’ve got Wonderland.

Wonderland’s always been a good spot to see a punk or metal show on a Saturday night, but it seems of late that their stage is seeing a good bit more use, and by more high-profile bands, than ever before. That’s certainly a positive development, especially when it gives bands like Horsewhip an opportunity to play in town. These Florida-based hardcore veterans released an absolutely pulverizing self-titled mini-LP last year, and they’re set to bring the noise to Shockoe Bottom this Friday night.

The group’s lineup is packed full of multi-decade DIY hardcore vets, featuring members of Early Grace, Reversal Of Man, Order of Importance, and the Sutek Conspiracy — and if you weren’t around in 1999 to hear the sounds they were cranking out at the time, rest assured they’ve lost not an ounce of power as they’ve aged. Their self-titled debut brings all the hectic chaos of prime 90s chaotic hardcore bands like, well, the ones they used to be in, as well as packing a heavy-as-fuck wallop that draws strength from bands like His Hero Is Gone and From Ashes Rise. Joined by a couple of Virginia bands representing the new generation of a similarly heavy, chaotic, and noisy hardcore sound — Infant Island and Eliza Battle, to be specific — Horsewhip is set to terrorize Shockoe Bottom this Friday night with some essential high-volume rage. Bring your earplugs.

Wednesday, April 10, 7 PM
Life In Vacuum, Ostraca, Manzara @ The Camel – $10 in advance/$12 day of show (order tickets HERE)

One night of chaos deserves another, so let’s move forward in the show column as we move backwards in time from Friday night to tonight, when Canadian trio Life In Vacuum rolls into town and sets up shop at The Camel. This group might not have Horsewhip’s sheer heaviness to draw on, but their chaotic energy more than makes up for it; last year’s All You Can Quit finds the group drawing on frenetic influences from multiple decades. I hear everything from Angel Hair to Single Mothers in this band’s sound, and all of it sounds great when they do it.

So yeah, get ready for some manic chaos with a quirky, mathematical feel when Life In Vacuum take the stage, and stay stoked for the local openers. Though, having said that, I should admit that at least in my heart, Ostraca are headliners in their own right. And considering the sheer power of their dark, heavy take on chaotic hardcore, as displayed most recently on their third LP, 2018’s Enemy, they should be headliners in your heart too. They will pair well with Life In Vacuum’s less heavy but just as chaotic approach, and the opening set by local psychedelic postpunk gloom merchants Manzara will get things started off on the perfect note. This one’s gonna rule.

Thursday, April 11, 7:30 PM
The Bones Of JR Jones, Angelica Garcia, Erin Lunsford @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $10 (order tickets HERE)

This one’s gonna be fun, because The Bones Of JR Jones is an honest-to-god one-man band, and I always enjoy those. JR Linaberry sits behind a highly abbreviated drum kit he plays with foot pedals, singing and playing rootsy countrified rock n’ roll on a hollow-body guitar. The results sometimes appeal in a similar way to gutbucket roots-rockers like Hasil Adkins and Scott H. Biram, but there’s an undeniable tinge of heartfelt emotion and sincerity that comes through in the group’s more melodic moments.

The overall feel is somewhere between high-lonesome country and noisy garage rock, and that’s definitely a good place to be. 2018’s Ones To Keep Close LP showed Linaberry’s talented songwriting capability, but you won’t get the full feel of what The Bones Of JR Jones are about unless you go see them live, in all their foot-stomping one-man glory. Local songwriting excellence will come to us in the form of talented openers Angelica Garcia and Erin Lunsford. This one will be glorious.

Friday, April 12, 9 PM
Suppression, Hewolf, Destruct @ Bandito’s – Free!

It’s always great to see local veterans at the top of their game show off their prowess in an intimate venue, and we’ll get multiple chances to see that exact thing go down at Bandito’s this Friday night. Suppression’s coming close to three decades of existence, and their sound has mutated multiple times over the course of that lengthy history; their recent revival as a hyperspeed powerhouse of lo-fi grind, as captured on last year’s Placebo Reality LP, has been a real blast to watch and enjoy. When they start tearing it up at Bandito’s this Friday night, there’s no telling what chaos will result from the wave of sonic destruction they unleash. The prospect is thrilling.

But what’s really fun about this night is that it offers us a bonus chance to see what some multi-decade scene stalwarts are up to these days. In this case I am talking about Hewolf, a new trio with a grunge kick and some killer riffage to dispense. Out-of-towners might not completely know what’s up, but longtime local showgoers will know exactly what I mean when I say this band brings together members of Alabama Thunderpussy, Darkest Hour, and the almighty Crackhead to dish out some Slianglaos-style heavyosity. It’s gonna be fun as hell, in a Headbangers Ball-flashback sense, so get ready to throw some devil horns. Destruct starts the evening off with some blown-out Negative Approach-meets-Discharge old-school hardcore punk to get your juices flowing. Grab some tacos and settle in for a long night of awesomeness.

Saturday, April 13, 7 PM
The Machinist, Filth, Alukah, Black Matter Device @ McCormack’s – $12

It’s a heavy week in Richmond, y’all. And Saturday night might just be the heaviest of them all, as New York deathcore crew The Machinist rolls through town on a tour celebrating the release of their debut album, Confidimus In Morte (which apparently translates to “In Death We Trust” — love it). Opening single “No Peace” shows not just how heavy this band can make their breakdowns, but also their extensive rage, as huge chugging riff monsters meet with more melodic, progressive interludes, all topped with vocalist Amanda Gjelaj’s incredibly powerful roars.

The Machinist certainly aren’t just here to sound spooky, either, as their lyrics tackle weighty political topics and don’t hesitate for a second to confront the powers that be who keep us all in chains. Their music is a defiant roar in the face of trying times, and that’s always a huge plus. The Machinist are joined on this tour by Filth — not the Northern California crust-punk group a lot of us may be thinking of right now, but the North Carolina death metal group whose guttural vocals and sludgy tempos add up to a more straight-up take on deathcore than that of The Machinist. One thing’s for sure though — both of these bands are extremely heavy. Like, atomic-weight-of-plutonium heavy. Wear your radiation suits for this one.

Sunday, April 14, 7:30 PM
Papadosio, Cycles @ The National – $15 in advance/$20 at the door (order tickets HERE)

I will go ahead and admit I don’t typically pay much attention to the scene from which Papadosio hails, a scene the proponents of which twist themselves into rhetorical pretzels to avoid calling “jam-tronica.” It’s not exactly a term that invites curiosity from wary outsiders, of which I’ve certainly been one at many points. However, once I checked out the latest LP from Papadosio, 2018’s Content Coma, I found myself surprisingly intrigued. It seems that perhaps I have sold this band short.

What I found when I listened to their music, the sound they will present onstage at the National this Sunday night, was a band with almost none of the post-Phish “jam” tendencies I feared. Instead, they tend towards a proggy vibe with a lot of spaced-out ambient melodies. At its more digital moments, Content Coma has an atmospheric feel; when things kick in, they get downright epic. I hear moments reminiscent of everything from Yes and Soft Machine to Tangerine Dream and Tame Impala. And thankfully, it never makes me think of Disco Biscuits. So yeah, if you’re bored Sunday night, you should head over to the National and groove with Papadosio. It’ll do you no harm.

Monday, April 15, 9 PM
Allison Shearer (photo by Drew Bordeaux), Weekend Plans, Calvin Presents @ The Camel – $7 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)

It seems not a week goes by lately without me writing about live jazz in the show column, and I for one am stoked about that! Let’s keep the ball rolling this week, shall we? Alison Shearer is coming to the Camel this Monday night with her quintet in tow. This New York saxophonist has both jazz and hip hop cred due to her founding membership in PitchBlak Brass Band, who worked with everyone from Pharoahe Monch to Snarky Puppy during her tenure with the group.

These days, she’s heading up her own quintet, which mixes together the rockin’ jazz sound of fusion and the groovy bounce of hip hop. Their instrumental tunes are sure to get you moving and shaking on the Camel’s dance floor. What’s more, they’ll be in good company! Local brass-heavy ensemble Weekend Plans have a good bit of hip hop sound in their jazzy mix as well, having done Slick Rick covers during past Camel sets. Maybe we’ll get more of that this time around? We’ll certainly get some soulful keyboard-driven jazz tunes from Calvin Presents to start off the evening, and that’s sure to be wonderful. Give the grey start of the work week a delightful splash of color with this one.

Tuesday, April 16, 7 PM
Plini, Mestis, Dave Mackay @ The Canal Club – $18 in advance/$20 at the door (order tickets HERE)

Remember the Generation Axe tour that came through town back in December? It packed practically all the legendary shredders of the 80s and 90s — Malmsteen, Bettencourt, Vai, etc — onto one single stage for a night of metallic fingertap gymnastics. I bring this up now because the arrival of Plini in Richmond could easily be heralded as the new generation of axe.

The man’s playing is not just skillful in the manner of too many guitar-store showoffs — million-note runs going nowhere in particular over generic backing beats. Instead, on releases like his latest EP, Sunhead, Plini shows that he’s actually got riffs and songs to make his guitar instrumentals not just worth admiring but worth listening to. Best of all, his tunes aren’t just triumphant, in the Iron Maiden-ish power-metal sense, but downright jubilant. If you never thought a performance by an instrumental guitar shredder could lift your mood and make you smile, you should definitely go to the Canal Club Tuesday night and check out what Plini has to offer. Your therapist will definitely thank you for it.

Bonus Hampton Roads Pick:

Saturday, April 13, 7 PM
Pet Name, Jim Shorts, Shake Your Baby, Mas Y Mas @ Toast – $8 in advance/$10 day of show (order tickets HERE)

For indie/alt-rock/power-pop types, the name to watch in the Virginia Beach area is LAVA. They book a lot of other shows too, but it seems like this particular conglomerate gives particular shine to groups playing jangly, melodic sounds with a quirky feel. That’s certainly what you’ll get at this show over at Toast Saturday night. Headed up by Norfolk locals Pet Name, this bill is chock-full of charmingly amateur-sounding indie tuneage.

Pet Name’s self-titled EP from last year lets you know that, while you can’t expect major volume or heaviness from this crew of popsters, you can expect catchy tunes delivered with a winsome charm that’s sure to win you over. Meanwhile, Maryland’s Jim Shorts, who’ll be in town on a solo jaunt by frontman David Haynes (who has recorded a fair amount of the group’s tunes on his own anyway), bring a bit more of a Weezer-ish alt-rock kick to their powerful pop sounds. How that’ll translate when brought to life by just one guy isn’t entirely clear, but we do know that he’s got some incredibly well-written and memorable tunes to work with. Expecting great things is a safe move. Punk rockers Shake Your Baby (not actually a good tip, like, at all) and energetic indie kids Mas Y Mas open this one up. Get ready to smile!

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Email me if you’ve got any tips for me about upcoming shows (that take place after the week this column covers -– this week’s column has obviously already been written): [email protected]

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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