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RVA Shows You Must See This Week: June 15 – June 21

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FEATURED SHOW
Saturday, June 18, 8 PM
No Moniker, Piranha Rama, Lobby Boy, Gnawing @ Black Iris – $8 in advance, $12 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Ever notice how the music scene’s activity always gets ramped up in the summer? School’s out, everybody’s feeling alive again, and big plans are being made. One of the great things that comes from all that are new albums from bands who’ve spent the winter woodshedding. Of course, this year summer is extra crazy, because we may as well call it the first summer in three years, at least where the music world is concerned. So: is it any surprise that bands we haven’t heard from in years are suddenly springing into action with entire albums’ worth of new material? I certainly don’t think so.

No Moniker’s been around the Richmond scene for a dang minute now, and while members have come and gone, singer-guitarist Jordan Scott has remained at the helm the entire time, even if her pronouns have changed in the interim (so much love for that). Since No Moniker’s last release back in 2019, she’s paired up with drummer Madison Hinson and stripped the band down to a duo that has spent the past couple of years putting together a brand new set of deliciously off-kilter alt-pop tunes. That entire set will enter the world this Saturday under the name Let’s Don’t (an excellent album title if I’ve ever heard one). That album is the reason for the season where this big throwdown at Black Iris is concerned; not only will Let’s Don’t be available in its entirety, No Moniker will also be delivering us a headlining set full of awesome new tunes.

If you’ve been paying attention to what this band has been up to over the past year or so, you’ve heard a few of these tunes already — “One To One,” released as a single last month, was the fourth teaser track from Let’s Don’t to enter the world, and all of them are a blast in their own right, with a common thread of bouncy postpunk basslines, introspective lyrics, and tasty pop melodies tying all of them together. If you’re as inclined as I am to respond by saying, “More of this, please,” then Black Iris is where you need to be Saturday night. And while No Moniker’s LP release set is going to be enough to constitute a full evening’s worth of entertainment, you’ll get a massive bonus helping of Virginia indie in all its forms, as they’re joined by nine-piece indie-surf-pop supergroup Piranha Rama, upbeat postpunk/new-wave popsters Lobby Boy, and jangle-grunge noise-rockers Gnawing. It’s a veritable all-you-can-eat buffet of amazing music — and if you’re still hungry for sound, grab a copy of the new No Moniker LP on your way out the door. There, that’s your whole weekend sorted. You’re welcome.

Wednesday, June 15, 7 PM
Gag, Under Attack, Killing Pace, Caustic Agent @ Cobra Cabana – $8
I love hardcore. I cut my teeth in Richmond’s hardcore scene, and even as this city’s music scene has exploded across a thousand different genres, I still am always looking for the great hardcore shows that prove this city is still in touch with its roots. My favorite kind of local hardcore show is one like this one — at a venue big and legal enough that I can safely write about it, without being driven by some label-sponsored four-band package tour that keeps any local openers from getting onto the bill. Places like Cobra Cabana and Fuzzy Cactus are bringing that energy these days, and it’s been too goddamn long if you ask me, so I am super glad to see it.

Let’s talk about who is actually playing this show, though. Gag hails from Olympia, Washington, but if you’re expecting Beat Happening, you couldn’t be barking further up the wrong tree. 2020’s Still Laughing, released on Iron Lung Records, is a raging, out-of-control blast of degenerate hardcore, full of reverbed vocals and noise-rock riffs even as it goes a thousand miles an hour and packs a dangerous punch. If you love Poison Idea or Verbal Abuse, this band is squarely in your wheelhouse, but fans of everything from the Laughing Hyenas to the Dwarves are sure to get a lot out of the Gag set at Cobra Cabana. Thankfully, you’ll also get a great window into the Richmond hardcore scene circa 2022, with sets from ripping-fast old-school thrashcore combo Under Attack (who just released a split with legendary Dutch hardcore band Seein’ Red), metallic crust-core sickos Killing Pace, and pummeling old-school hardcore newcomers Caustic Agent. Richmond hardcore is still a real thing; come out tonight and find out for yourself.

Thursday, June 16, 7 PM
Gillian Carter, Infant Island, To Forget, In Wolves’ Clothing @ The Bike Shop – $10
It’s probably been at least five years now since I stopped worrying about whether the term “screamo” has any validity. While my objections to it (which are many, drop me an email if you’re really curious) still stand, I’ve accepted the fact that, when people use the term “screamo” today, they’re talking about a style of music I really love — one that incorporates melody, metallic influences, hardcore tempos, and yeah, a whole lot of really emotional screaming. It’s great stuff, and I really feel bad for anyone who is totally blowing it by letting the fact that the name for the genre is pretty goofy keep them from listening to its many excellent practitioners.

A lot of said excellent practitioners come from right here in Richmond, but the first name on this bill is that of Gillian Carter, a long-running Florida trio who, just in the past couple of weeks, have finally followed up their outstanding 2019 LP, …This Earth-Shaped Tomb, with a new EP called Songs Of Summer. At a total length of 3:28, it blows by so fast that you might miss it if you go in the other room for a soda, but Gillian Carter’s rich back catalog means they’re more than ready to give you a nice full set at The Bike Shop tomorrow night. And when they do play those two new songs, it’ll prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they continue to operate at the peak of their powers — as they have for years now. With a bill featuring two of the foremost currently active Richmond-based screamo practitioners (Infant Island and In Wolves’ Clothing), plus the excellent Charleston, SC-based trio To Forget, this show will be a festival of the senses that won’t soon leave your mind. That’s true regardless of how goofy the genre name is.

Friday, June 17, 10 PM
Two Thumbs Down, Combat, Rikki Rakki, Kat Nap @ Ipanema Cafe – $10
Earlier this week, I watched that Roger Ebert documentary, Life Itself, so when I see a band on this week’s upcoming-show roster called Two Thumbs Down, I gotta admit that’s the first place my mind goes. That said, unlike the way Siskel and Ebert felt about Lost Highway or Faces Of Death, I really dig New York’s Two Thumbs Down, an energetic, upbeat band who mix indie vibes, pop-punk songwriting touches, and the occasional third-wave ska influences into a tasty smoothie on 2021’s End All Be All. That album’s been out for over six months now, but their original tour was booked for the moment when the Omicron wave was spiking, so they had to delay everything, and there’s no way they won’t be stoked to hit the stage and give these songs their all at Ipanema late Friday night.

Another touring band on this bill is Combat, who hail from Baltimore and are apparently just bandleader Holden Wolf and a laptop on this tour. I’m not convinced that’ll do anything to drain the massive amount of energy this band displays on their new EP, Text Me When You Get Back, because I’m honestly not sure anything could. The frenetic, nervous brand of jangly pop-punk they dish out here is a ton of fun, and even hearing a guy and a computer recreate it should still be a blast. This bill is rounded out by some equally charming and peppy homegrown Richmond all-stars, by which I of course mean alt-garage rockers Rikki Rakki and indie-folk newcomers Kat Nap. This show is at Ipanema, which has only recently started hosting shows again after three years or so out of the game. Yay for venues getting back into the swing of things!

Saturday, June 18, 7 PM
Beatles Party, feat. Goldrush, Warren Campbell, David Long @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance, $12 at the door (order tickets HERE)
My wife is a big Beatles fan. I mean, I think everyone who digs rock n’ roll music has to give the Beatles some credit, and sure, I had a Beatles phase back when I was 12 or 13 like a lot of other people, but I’ve heard way more Beatles tunes since I got married five years ago than I had in the previous 25 or so years. And my first takeaway from that renewed immersion was: damn, I forgot how great the Beatles really were. If you also have forgotten how great the Beatles were, Richmond’s got a show coming this week that’s perfect for acting as a strong reminder. I’m not talking about the Ringo Starr show out at the racetrack on Tuesday, either (sorry Ringo). I’m talking about this Gallery 5 event, which is not only honoring Sir Paul McCartney on his 80th birthday but is also bringing Goldrush back into action!

If Prabir Mehta isn’t Richmond’s biggest Beatles fan, he’s certainly one of them, and the fact that he’s reunited with his classically-trained pals Matt and Treesa Gold to bring Goldrush back into action for the first time in three years probably has a fair amount to do with all that. They’re promising an evening full of Beatles and solo McCartney tunes to make all the Fab Four fans happy, but I gotta say, y’all — upon revisiting, I’d found I’d forgotten how great Goldrush really were too. So I for one hope at least a few originals grace our ears as part of the festivities. Regardless, this will be a fun evening that is sure to be far less boomer-saturated, not to mention friendlier to your wallet, than the aforementioned big Ringo throwdown. Send Mom and Dad off to that one. Go to this show yourself.

Sunday, June 19, 7 PM
Arlie, Nordista Freeze @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $15 in advance, $18 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Every week there’s some new band I discover and fall in love with during the process of making this column. This week, Arlie is the one. I’d never heard of them before receiving a press release two weeks ago touting their upcoming Richmond Music Hall date and their new LP, Break The Curse. As is my usual process, I filed away this information in preparation for the day when I would decide which shows I was writing about this week (usually, this two-to-three-hour process takes place on Monday afternoon. This week, it took place this morning, in case you were wondering why the column came out at 4 pm today), but when I finally got around to cueing the album up on my Apple Music account at like 10 am this morning, I was blown away.

A big part of that is Arlie’s hybrid approach to the indie-flavored pop sound within which they operate. Since Haim made it big six or seven years ago, I’ve heard a lot of bands within the alt-pop world follow their lead in much more overtly pulling from the sounds of the 80s — not Prince and Madonna either, but less-remembered talents like Rick Springfield, Corey Hart, or Joe Jackson. Arlie do that, for sure, but more on a sonic level. Where actual songcraft is concerned, these guys are much closer to modern emo-pop goodness, and when they really nail the combo, as they do on tracks like “Poppin” and “Landline,” the result is absolutely undeniable and will get you up out of your chair dancing around every single time. That’s what really matters in this business, so my honest advice is not to worry about all the pop-crit pontificating I’ve been doing for the past two paragraphs. Follow your heart, and your feet, to the dancefloor. I promise you won’t regret it.

Tuesday, June 21, 8 PM
Sonoa, Cyber Twin, Tanglewood Revival @ The Camel – $7 in advance, $10 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Tuesday night isn’t necessarily the most active night for live music, but there are a lot of hidden gems that could easily slip under your radar if you don’t pay attention. This Tuesday night show at The Camel is a great example of what I’m talking about, and far be it from me to advocate for FOMO, but if you don’t show up this Tuesday night and catch Sonoa — yet another band from this week’s crop of shows that I totally wasn’t expecting, but was delighted to find — you really will be missing out.

Sonoa are a New Jersey combo who’ve got one foot in the introspective indie world and the other in the most spaced-out corner of the modern math-rock landscape. Vocalist Gabriel Yoder Shenk has a voice that can’t help but remind me of Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, but on Sonoa’s 2021 LP Forward Motion, he lays it down overtop of riffs and melodies that are much stronger and contain far more inspiration and energy than anything Death Cab’s done since at least Narrow Stairs. The fact that Sonoa aren’t afraid to crank up the distortion on their guitars is a very welcome fact as well. They’re sure to liven up a humdrum midweek night at The Camel this Tuesday, and god knows we all need more of that in our lives. You know what to do.

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]

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: April 20 – April 26

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, April 22, 8 PM
Book Of Wyrms (Photo by Joey Wharton), Night Goat, Foehammer @ Wonderland – $10
There are a lot of underrated bands at work in Richmond’s music scene these days, but I think stoner-metal quartet Book Of Wyrms deserves special recognition within that cohort as a band that has never let the hometown love they haven’t gotten slow them down. Forming back in 2015, a time when doom metal was at a relatively low ebb in the wake of the genre’s having reached hipster saturation point in the early 10’s, Book Of Wyrms blazed their own trail, building up a cult following within the world of metal and sticking with what they knew they did best, regardless of which way the trend-wind blew, for seven years.

In 2021, Book Of Wyrms released their third album, Occult New Age, on Desert Records — an album that didn’t get much local attention until it showed up on the short list for the Newlin Music Prize a few months ago. Having not caught up with what they were doing in a few years, I was duly impressed by its expansion of the sonic territory laid out by these headbangers. They’ve certainly not let their fundamental grounding in the primeval riffage of Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, and Hawkwind stop them from upping the tempo and bringing in more modern textures — notably synthesizers, which are generally used to create abstract layers of space noise and heightened atmosphere on an album that really benefits from their inclusion. And of course, the riffs that stand as the bedrock of the entire sound remain absolutely top-notch.

At Wonderland this Friday night, Book Of Wyrms will be celebrating the long-awaited vinyl release of Occult New Age (when you hear that pressing plants take a year to fulfill orders for vinyl, that’s not an exaggeration) with a show that’s sure to be full of pounding riffs, soaring vocal crescendos, and volcanic amplifier rumble. Their efforts to shake the foundations of Shockoe Bottom will be joined by Ohio noise-rockers Night Goat and VA-based Khanate-style apocalyptic dirge-metal merchants Foehammer. If you haven’t seen Book Of Wyrms live before now, there’s no shame in that — but if you miss this show and continue to wallow in your ignorance of their excellence, that’s an extremely shameful decision. Don’t blow it.

Wednesday, April 20, 8 PM
Greet Death, Infant Island, Downhaul @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $10 (order tickets HERE)
If you know what’s up, you surely recognize that Michigan quartet Greet Death take their name from an Explosions In The Sky song. Therefore, it probably wasn’t a surprise, if you tuned in to what they were doing a few years ago, to find a band with a decidedly shoegaze-influenced approach to their melodic, emotional songs. On their first two albums, they derived some of their power from how loud their guitars got even in the midst of the catchy choruses they wrote. However, the pandemic has clearly changed some things. Over the past six months or so, Greet Death has taken the first steps toward following up 2019’s New Hell, releasing four stand-alone singles with a decidedly less noisy and at times downright acoustic feel. It’s almost as if they stripped away the shoegaze noise to reveal an indie-folk band with atonal tendencies, like Wilco circa Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or something.

Now, that’s not a complaint — personally, I think the new Greet Death singles are all brilliant, especially “Panic Song,” which still retains some of the fuzzy guitars we came to know and love from previous Greet Death releases. Even at their softest, though, the latest music from Greet Death carries forward the band’s facility with pop hooks and indelible choruses. At the end of the day, the best part of previous Greet Death material was the tunes that got stuck in your head all day. Rest assured, they still have plenty of those. And traditionally everything is louder in the live environment, so if you want to hear the new Greet Death tunes at their loudest and most raucous, the time and place to do so is tonight at Richmond Music Hall. You’ll fortunately get to catch a set from Fredericksburg screamonsters Infant Island as well, and while this excellent quartet brought us not one but two LPs back in 2020, I’m definitely hoping some new material is in the offing at this show. Only one way to find out.

Thursday, April 21, 6 PM
Smino, Kaash Paige, Kidz At Play @ Bon Secours Training Center – $25-35 for students, $35-45 for general public (order tickets HERE)
Y’all, I try to keep up. I really do. But the fact is, I’m 46 years old, and I don’t necessarily always know what the kids are listening to. Therefore, it might be a little more understandable when you hear that I didn’t really know about Smino until only a couple of weeks ago. Nevertheless, once I heard he was coming to town, I knew I needed to write about it. Because where modern sounds in hip hop music are concerned, Smino’s music strikes me as near the top of the heap. MCs who seem to croon over their beats as often as they rap have become quite common in the past several years, but the results they get from this technique are mixed, at best. After all, just because you can spit killer rhymes with a perfect cadence doesn’t mean you can hit a note worth a damn.

Smino can, though. If you need evidence, look no further than his two most recent singles, “Rice N Gravy” and “I Deserve,” both of which came out in 2021 and both of which have been in heavy rotation for me lately. Both of them mix melodic grooves and R&B-style sung choruses with quick, assured rhyme flows that burrow into your brain and don’t let go. These two singles are supposedly the first two singles from Smino’s forthcoming third LP, Luv 4 Rent, but whenever I google things like “Luv 4 Rent release date” what I get is Reddit threads speculating that it’s coming out in February of 2022. That clearly didn’t happen. So I can’t tell you when the new Smino album comes out, I’m afraid. All I can do is send you to Bon Secours Training Center to see Smino live and in the flesh. If there’s one thing I can tell you, it’s that the music at this show will keep you dancing.

Friday, April 22, 9 PM
Vinyl Conflict Presents: Ekulu, Division Of Mind, Richmond Vampire, DJ Hip Hop Henry @ Fuzzy Cactus – $10
Here’s a welcome sight: a straight-up hardcore show at Fuzzy Cactus. It’s not that odd, really; Fuzzy’s all about the raging punk circle-pit action, as you know if you follow this space. However, the introduction of Ekulu and Division of Mind into this space might just be the outright heaviest core action this place has seen yet. And I love everything about it. Ekulu may hail from New York, but they have some strong connections to Richmond, with at least one member having also done time in RVA’s own Candy. Regardless of where they’re from, though, it only takes one listen to their debut full-length, 2021’s Unscrew My Head, to see that these guys are on some next-level shit. Personally, the album’s title reminds me more than anything of the late-80s Suicidal Tendencies single “Trip At the Brain,” and that’s appropriate since Ekulu have successfully reincarnated the same crossover thrash sound that created such an amazing musical movement back in the late 80s and early 90s. On Unscrew My Head, I hear echoes of everything from Suicidal Tendencies and Anthrax to the Cro-Mags and Agnostic Front, all of it delivered with a vicious aggressiveness that makes extremely clear that this is not music for the faint of heart.

Richmonders Division Of Mind, who co-headline this bill, made this same thing clear about themselves on their self-titled debut LP, released back in 2019. The territory these guys patrol is decidedly darker and heavier, even slightly noisier, but what DOM has in common with Ekulu is a similarly aggressive, confrontational sound that’s sure to wake you up if you’re dozing off in the back of the club between bands. I realize that to some readers, these descriptions might not be all that inviting. However, if you’re the sort of person who walks through every day feeling assailed by the millions of ways in which modern American life is a depressing, alienating shitshow, this is the show for you. You’ve got some frustrations to let out, and these are the bands to help you do so.

Saturday, April 23, 7 PM
Blake Layman, Dogwood Tales, Wifipassword @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $12 (order tickets HERE)
When I saw the notice for this show, I didn’t recognize the name Blake Layman. However, in the process of giving things a listen in order to decide which shows to pick for this column, his single “Unhistoric Acts” grabbed my attention and made me want to dig deeper. Layman’s music is quiet, delicate, and focused on melody; and his warm, pleasant vocal tones and undeniable guitar-playing talent are obvious as soon as you pay attention. The fact that he turns out to be the bassist for Frames, the Richmond quartet whose 2021 LP, Every Room, was probably the biggest pleasant surprise of the Newlin Music Prize shortlist for me (more on that in the next blurb), helped me understand how it’s possible that this singer-songwriter dude I’ve never heard of is releasing music this good without me hearing it before now.

Layman’s new LP, the release of which he is celebrating with this Richmond Music Hall show, is called Goodness Littered. And to be fair, it’s been out a while — the digital release was last summer. But, you know, something something pandemic. Indeed, this show is a rescheduled version of a January show he postponed during the Omicron wave. So is the music we’ll be getting here worth all of the waiting we’ve had to do to receive it? My magic 8 ball says “It is decidedly so,” and I couldn’t agree more. Layman and his band, which features close relatives and members of Frames, will recreate the delicately beautiful sounds of Goodness Littered live on stage, and we’ll all be the beneficiaries. Assuming, of course, that we show up. You know what you must do.

Sunday, April 24, 7 PM
Good Morning, Packs, Frames @ Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House – $18 (order tickets HERE)
I think I discovered Australian duo Good Morning through one of my nerdiest middle-aged loves: the KEXP Song Of the Day podcast. I can’t be sure at this point, but what I do know for sure is that hearing one of their songs sent me hunting for their 2021 album Barnyard, which I loved as soon as I heard. This indie-folk group manages to simultaneously evoke groups like Okkervil River or Iron And Wine, and others like Parquet Courts or The Velvet Underground. Even as they strum their acoustic guitars overtop shuffling minimalist drumbeats, even as they sing sweetly in the manner of fellow Aussies The Go-Betweens, they bring an undeniable slacker-rock drone to the proceedings. The mix is perfect for disaffected rockers who want to mellow out a little before they go crazy, and for folky types who wish Camper Van Beethoven would make another album already.

Meanwhile, from Canada (specifically Toronto) comes Packs, the quartet led by singer-songwriter Madeline Link, who started the project on her own but has definitely been aided by the project swelling into a quartet. The ramshackle jangle-pop of 2021 LP Take The Cake can at times evoke everything from Courtney Barnett to Courtney Love, but what unites it all is the flawless melodic sense Link brings to the group, which always keeps listeners tapping their toes. The third band on this bill is Richmond’s own Frames, who I mentioned above, and whose relatively under-the-radar status here in Richmond is baffling to me now that I’ve heard last year’s Every Room. This album’s evocative emo-pop tunes are sure to come alive in glittering detail at this Richmond Music Hall performance, and it would be a damn shame if you weren’t there to see it. So come to this show, and make sure you show up on time. There’s no better way to wrap up your late April weekend.

Monday, April 25, 7:30 PM
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Photo by Grywnn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia) @ The National – $25 in advance, $30 day of show (order tickets HERE)
I’m thankful that Godspeed You! Black Emperor have become a musical institution these days. Back in 2003 when they went on hiatus after Yanqui UXO, it was hard not to think of how much more they had in the tank, how much more amazing, uncategorizable, almost indescribable music they could surely have left us with. And of course, they’ve proved that suspicion correct on the four albums they’ve released since their 2011 return, beginning with 2012’s ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! and showing up most recently with last year’s G_d’s Pee At State’s End! The uninitiated among you may wonder what this band’s about; the rest of you are now about to snicker under your breath at my forthcoming attempt, which will surely be ham-fisted, at describing and categorizing a band I’ve already admitted are indescribable and uncategorizable. Nevertheless, here’s a valiant attempt.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor are, if nothing else, anarchist both in musical and political intent. Their strong left-wing consciousness comes through clearly in their music despite its almost complete lack of lyrics and vocals. They act as a huge collective featuring ten or so members, who augment the standard rock instrumentation of guitars and drums with everything from violins and French horns to tape loops and film projections. Their sonic foundations are in hardcore punk, but their epic, often 20-plus-minute compositions operate more like classical symphonies building slowly into entrancing grooves that seem particularly appealing to post-rockers who love Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky. But there’s something there that has a strong chance of appealing to just about any music fan, whether they’re into Mahler, John Coltrane, Talking Heads, or Black Flag. Or even if they don’t like any of that stuff. What I’m saying is: if you care about music at all, in any form, seeing Godspeed You! Black Emperor is something you should do at least once in your life. Why not this Monday night? After all, who knows when they’ll make it to town again?

Tuesday, April 26, 7 PM
The Story So Far, Joyce Manor, Mom Jeans, Microwave @ The National – $50 (or… more?) (order tickets HERE)
OK, for this show, I need to start out by saying that I’m not really sure what’s up with tickets. It sure appears that tickets aren’t available at face value anymore. However, the ticket vendor who sells tickets for The National will still absolutely sell you a ticket for this show; when I checked last night, it looked like you could get one for about $50. Which is steep, especially for bands that you could once have seen for $10 at a VFW hall — or maybe for $5 at the gone-but-not-forgotten Bike Lot right here in RVA. Whatever — this is apparently the price you’ll have to pay to see them now, but considering that’s still only $13 or so per band, and all four of these bands are brilliant, I think there’s a good argument that it’s worth it regardless.

The Story So Far are our headliners, and they’re the sort of band whose melodic emo-punk means so much to its fans that they can all tell you a story about which song or album helped them through which hard time they were going through when they first heard it. For me, it’s “Empty Space,” which got me through a really terrible Christmas in 2013, but anything this band has ever done has that sort of power. As for Joyce Manor, this frenetic punk band have survived multiple disappearances and overjoyed their many fans this year with the sudden appearance of their sixth album and first in four years, 40 Oz To Fresno (yes, that’s a Sublime joke). Indie-punk quartet Mom Jeans also just dropped their first LP in four years, Sweet Tooth, and it’s got the same strong melodic sense this band’s always had, but with a more profound musical depth that sees them taking their sound to a whole new level. Microwave are the heaviest of these four bands, but the emotional resonance of their music is easily matched with the others on this bill. Overall, this gig is an embarrassment of riches, and is well worth what it takes to get you there — even if that is fifty bucks.

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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]

VA Shows You Must See This Week: October 23 – October 29

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FEATURED SHOW
Friday, October 25, 8 PM
Majjin Boo, Gold Connections, Castle OG, Antiphons, HotSpit @ The Camel – $5
Mathy, melodic indie rock is a sound that’s in vogue right now, and if you’re anything like me, you might find yourself mostly thinking “Yeah, this stuff is cool,” then going months without giving it another thought. However, Richmond’s own Majjin Boo blows all that faint-praise damnation into a million pieces.

I’ve liked Majjin Boo since their earliest demos, circa 2016 when they were just a quartet, but my esteem rose to a whole new level with the two-song single, “Tension Rod/One Wing,” that they released earlier this year after growing to a six-piece. Out of every new release I’ve heard this year, I’ve probably played those two songs most often. Not just out of Richmond bands, either — I love the new Jamila Woods, Bob Mould, and Mannequin Pussy records, but Majjin Boo has them all beat.

That’s why I am stoked as fuck about the fact that their debut full-length, Go Between, comes out next week on Egghunt Records. And that’s why I’m imploring you to go to The Camel this Friday night and catch their record release show. Complex yet glittering guitar melodies are only the beginning with this band — the dual-vocal harmonies, the dynamic and energetic drumming, and the whole band’s incredible ability to perfectly layer their instruments so six different people combine into one beautiful, seamless whole… well, suffice it to say, this is why Majjin Boo aren’t just another mathy indie band. The bandwagon’s pulling up Friday night at The Camel — jump on it now while the getting’s good.

Wednesday, October 23, 9 PM
Carnivora, Future Projektor, Cut The Architect’s Hand @ Wonderland – $7
Straight out of Salem, Massachusetts, some brutal, witchy metal is coming at you tonight in Shockoe Bottom. Carnivora is a band that’s been around for most of a decade. However, the recently released “Bogdweller” single is their first new material in over four years, and it finds the band heading into some new musical territory, thanks in part to the addition of Haydee Irizarry on vocals. Irizarry is capable of unleashing some gorgeous clean vocals, but for most of this song, she growls with terrifying low-end aggression over riffing that’s heavier than anything Carnivora have done before.

Remarkably, that makes this new single both heavier and more melodic than anything this Massachusetts band has done before. And it’s just one song! Imagine how much more awesomeness they have in store for us. Well, if you make it out to Wonderland tonight, you won’t have to. And you’ll get a bonus in the bargain; Future Projektor is a brand new power trio who bring back the early 90s days when heavy, complex instrumental bands (Breadwinner, Alter Natives, etc) ruled the roost around here. They feature members of Kepone, Gritter, and Honor Role as well, so the lineage is definitely there. Local heavy mainstays Cut The Architect’s Hand will kick this evening off with a solid dose of pounding midtempo grooves. Be there.

Thursday, October 24, 8 PM
Cyber Twin, Trash Boy, Deer Eat Birds @ Bingo Beer Co – Free!
There are a bunch of bands running around Virginia these days with “Twin” in their names, so I can understand why Cyber Twin might confuse you. But to clear things up, this is not Silver Twin, Twin Drugs, Glass Twin, or Two Cars (OK, that last one doesn’t really count) — it’s Cyber Twin, a Harrisonburg-based trio with a delightful resemblance to early Green Day showing through on debut EP Wire. Before they wrote the graduation song or the rock opera, Green Day were just a snotty power-pop band with messy hair, and Cyber Twin are pretty much the same thing, a quarter-century later. What’s not to love about that?

This show also features Philadelphia quartet Trash Boy, who have a ton of fun and make some really great catchy punk noise on their new LP, Who Will Take The Trash Out When We’re Gone? Their anthems for the alienated working class — “Job Interview,” “Piss On Their Graves,” and “Perfect Teeth” notable among them — are great things to hear and sing along with on a Thursday night when you’re just struggling to get through the week. The fact that this show is free will help you make it until payday without dying of boredom, and Deer Eat Birds will get things started with some great rock sounds to ensure that the second you walk in, you’ll have a smile on your face.

Friday, October 25, 8 PM
Camp Howard, Night Idea, Alfred @ Gallery 5 – $10 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
Damn — almost any other week, a Camp Howard record release show would have scored the feature slot. The fact that Majjin Boo put out my favorite record of the year thus far got them the nod, but it’s by a narrower margin than you might think. Camp Howard’s phenomenally structured indie-pop gems have stood head and shoulders above the average here in Richmond for years now, and their new LP, Cañón, is a stunning collection of their best material — now available on local powerhouse Citrus City Records, natch.

So what I’m saying is, you might end up choosing to hit up this Camp Howard record release show at Gallery 5 rather than the Majjin Boo record release show at the Camel, and if you were to do so, I wouldn’t have a single problem with that decision. These boys are moving in a downright Beatlesque direction on some of the new LP’s material, and that’s sure to light Gallery 5 with brilliant rays of sunshine pop this Friday night. With math-rock veterans Night Idea and unorthodox hip hop genius Alfred also on the bill, this show is sure to be a delight. If you’re not at the Majjin Boo show, you damn well better be at this one.

Saturday, October 26, 8 PM
Emily Easterly, Prabir Trio, Kevin Ganley @ Capital Ale House Music Hall – $8 (order tickets HERE)
You might know Emily Easterly as a local musician, if you’ve been around Richmond long enough. Back in 2001, when she was still a high school student, she released her first LP, Assembling Emily, by herself here in Richmond. Education took her to Miami later that year, and she’s been living in Brooklyn for the past decade or so, but whether you classify her as a local musician or not, she’s continued to make memorable sounds that whole time, and her first Richmond show in quite a while is certainly worth checking out, even if you’re young enough not to remember the days when she was making records here (and I know some of you are, which makes me feel a million years old).

Easterly’s most recent release is a 2018 single, “Yellow Leaves,” but she’s right on the cusp of releasing her fifth LP — and first full-length release in a decade — The Blems. In fact, it should be out the day before this show happens, so keep an eye out for copies at the merch table. But first, make sure you focus your full attention on the stage when Easterly is playing, because her riveting, dramatic take on alternative rock is positively gripping, with a dark, foreboding instrumental undercurrent that adds depth to her memorable vocal melodies. Easterly will be joined on this bill by Prabir Trio, featuring the talents of another early-00s Richmond singer-songwriter who’s remained local; and Kevin Ganley, a younger performer most familiar to local audiences as a member of HotSpit. This is going to be a wonderful-sounding night throughout. Be a part of it.

Sunday, October 27, 6 PM
Knocked Loose, Stick To Your Guns, Rotting Out, Candy, SeeYouSpaceCowboy @ The Canal Club – $22.50 (order tickets HERE)
It’s a heavy night of hardcore at The Canal Club, and it’s getting kicked off early so all the energetic teens who love to stagedive and mosh it up can do their thing in the pit. If you’re solidly middle-aged like me, you might want to stand back from this one a bit, since Kentucky’s Knocked Loose bring some serious pit-heaving rage on their latest LP, A Different Shade Of Blue. The vocals have enough of a raw edge to keep this band from descending into outright tough-guy monotony, instead introducing notes of apocalyptic anxiety into their incredibly brutal metallic hardcore pound.

So yeah, basically, you’re moshing. Or maybe headbanging towards the back of the room, depending on how well your hips are holding up these days. And Knocked Loose are bringing quite a few heavy hitters along on this jam-packed bill, so you can expect to be rocking out throughout the night. Veteran hardcore acts Stick To Your Guns and Rotting Out are also performing at The Canal Club this night. Local chaotic hardcore juggernaut Candy are on the bill too, and you can expect them to blow your mind with their noisy, aggressive attack. Plus, fresh off their first LP of all-new material, The Correlation Between Entrance and Exit Wounds, SeeYouSpaceCowboy rounds out this bill with a set of heavy-as-fuck chaotic sasscore that’s sure to get you revved up from moment one. This show’s gonna be mega.

Monday, October 28, 7 PM
Blacker Face, Spowder, Brain Drain, Tavishi @ Poor Boys – $5
Poor Boys, the venue formerly known as Flora, Balliceaux, and — if your memory stretches that far back — the original Bogart’s, has (re)opened their back room, and great sounds have returned to it once again. Let’s all rejoice with this challenging Monday night bill, topped off by Blacker Face. This multi-racial quintet has taken some heat for choosing such a name while also having white members, but co-founder and vocalist Jolene Whatevr has made it clear that she intentionally chose to combine the name and the racial makeup of the lineup, specifically to challenge the biases of their audience — especially the white members of that audience.

If you’re ready for that challenge, you better be ready for a musical challenge as well, because once you get used to how Blacker Face’s members look, you’ll be confronted with their fascinating musical mixture of jazz, postpunk, soul, and experimental music. On their latest LP, Distinctive Juju, the band throws clashing moods into the same songs, alternating between dissonant heaviness and soulful beauty and sometimes even layering them overtop one another. It’s not predictable or easily categorizeable, but Blacker Face definitely is an invigorating listen that is sure to be twice as eye-opening in the live environment. This is one performance you owe it to yourself to catch — even if it does take a few minutes for you to wrap your head around what Blacker Face is doing, the result is sure to be rewarding, and to provoke thought. And, speaking as a white person, I will say that we in particular always need more provocation to use our brains.

Tuesday, October 29, 7 PM
Wine Lips, She, Captain Scrunchie @ The Camel – $10 (order tickets HERE)
I’m inclined to have warm feelings toward Toronto’s Wine Lips, and not because I drink wine, or any other alcohol — you know by now that I don’t. It’s because “Wine Lips” is the name of a song by my favorite outlaw country singer, Lydia Loveless. However, this Canadian trio didn’t go along at all with my expectations before hearing them. Rather than even a touch of country, they bash out some energetic, catchy garage punk with a strong helping of rock n’ roll majesty mixed in. If you dig the more recent work of Ty Segall or Thee Oh Sees, Wine Lips are sure to connect with you.

They’re joined on this Tuesday night Camel bill by She, a group led by Liza Grishaeva and, indeed, formerly known as LIZA. It seems Grishaeva is pivoting towards a band identity rather than a solo project, but that doesn’t diminish the massive atmospheres and mournful ambience of the songs She has released thus far. Perhaps there’ll be a thicker sound backing them this time around? We’ll only know for sure once Tuesday night rolls around. This event will be rounded out by a performance from Captain Scrunchie, whose girls-in-the-garage aesthetic results in some very pleasing tuneage on their recently-released demo. Get ready to rock at this one.

Elsewhere Around The State:

Saturday, October 26, 5 PM
LAVA Halloween Extravaganza, feat. Black Sabbath, The Strokes, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty And the Heartbreakers, System of a Down, Pavement @ Toast (Norfolk) – $12 in advance/$15 day of show (order tickets HERE)
OK, so it’s almost Halloween, and you can’t be but so surprised to see shows like this popping up. Musicians love to learn sets of material by bands they love and play shows “in costume” as those other bands on Halloween, and if you’re a music fan, chances are you get a big kick out of it too. Therefore, this LAVA Extravaganza should bring you some delight, as a variety of Hampton Roads-area musicians come together to present the music of their faves on a fun Saturday evening at Toast.

A couple of these sets bring us a single band interpreting their favorites, and these are always pretty intriguing. For example, a Black Sabbath set by progressive soul band Paper Aliens and a System Of A Down set by indie-rockers Berries both inspire questions along the lines of “What’s THAT gonna be like?” Meanwhile, members of Tidewater-area notables like You’re Jovian, Mas Y Mas, LADADA, Mae, The Last Bison, Pet Name, Cupid McCoy, and more will join together to bring us sets of material by The Strokes, Pavement, Tom Petty, and Fleetwood Mac. All of this should be quite enjoyable, and to top all that off, there’s a costume contest too! What’s not to love about this one? So come on, all you Halloween heads! Get in the car this Saturday afternoon and get there.

Sunday, October 27, 6 PM
Taking Meds, Infant Island, Smallhands, Dozing @ The Recreation Center (Fredericksburg) – $5
Taking Meds is the sort of band name that lets you know where you stand right away. Nobody who’s in a super great place in life names their band Taking Meds. And sure enough, their most recent LP, I Hate Me, New York’s Taking Meds give us a collection of melancholy melodies with a powerful underlying crunch that’s sure to evoke memories of Dear You-era Jawbreaker or the last couple of Wonder Years LPs. It’s music for people who are getting older and still not quite finding the place in life where they fit. If you’ve ever felt that way, even for a moment, you’re sure to connect with what Taking Meds is bringing to Fredericksburg this Sunday evening.

They’ll be joined by a few Fredericksburg locals who do a lot to make clear that there is a real honest-to-god scene in that small city halfway between Richmond and DC. Infant Island’s energetic screamo has been buoyed considerably over the past couple years by the band members’ go-getter nature, and their contribution to a recent 4-way split EP shows that they’re only getting better as they go. Expect some serious emotional-musical fireworks from this performance. Fellow Fredericksburghers Smallhands have a hazy yet metallic approach that might make you reach for the term “blackgaze,” but gimmicky terms like that never really convey the full impact of bands like this one, so expect something quite a bit more expansive than that subgenre tag might evoke. The show will be rounded out by the first performance from Richmond melodic hardcore crew Dozing. Overall, this one should be well worth the single hour’s drive north. Make it happen.

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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

The Secrets Of Infant Island’s Touring Success

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Fresh off a week-long tour of Canada and the northeastern US, Infant Island bring us some tips to help you and your band successfully pull off a DIY tour.

Touring in a band is never easy — especially when you’re doing the whole thing yourself, from planning and booking the shows to playing them. And yet, something about being stuck in a hot, crowded van and playing music with the same people for extended periods of time is totally intoxicating, so much so that it drives many of us to do it over and over again.

Last month, my band, Infant Island, embarked on a week-long trek up to Canada and back. It was our second trip to the great frozen north. Here are some nuggets of wisdom that hopefully will help you, should you choose to do something similar — one from each day of tour.

Infant Island in Montreal, QC (Photo by Yannick Tango)

Day 1, Pittsburgh, PA: Supporting local business is good practice at home, but on tour, Guitar Center is your friend.

I’m not being paid to write this, but God is the ‘ol Guitar Center a boon. As soon as the show was over in Pittsburgh, we realized that something horrible had transpired — the dangers of letting other bands borrow our kit had been realized; the head on bass drum we had brought with us had been smashed.

The next morning, we woke up and tried to find a store that sold drum heads while sitting at breakfast, calling every music store in our vicinity. All of them were either closed or had previously sold drums but decided to move on. So, after a fruitless search for non-corporate gear stores, we ended up making the first of this tour’s multiple treks to Guitar Center. Each time we had to replace something different, and they faithfully had all of it in stock. Kick drum head, snare head, china cymbal, cymbal stands — they might as well call it “Drum Center.”

Photo by Yannick Tango

Day 2, Elyria, OH: Bring your own sleeping situation (or get good at sleeping in uncomfortable places).

Day two of tour we hit northern Ohio to play a festival. Afterwards, we headed back to the promoter’s house, along with three other bands. This is where we’d all crash — all fifteen of us. Now, I’m thankful for any hospitality we get on tour, so by no means is this anyone’s fault but my own, but it takes some skill to score a spot on a couch when there are more than a dozen other people vying for the same spot.

I’m the perpetual light packer; I brought neither a pillow nor a sleeping bag with me on tour. So when I got stuck on the unfinished hardwood floor, I wasn’t thrilled. This brings us to the lesson at hand: if you want to be comfortable, you have to bring your own bedding.

Alternatively, you can get good at sleeping on floors – our vocalist, Daniel, has what I can only imagine is Stockholm syndrome about sleeping on wood floors. He’s developed a taste for them, and claims the floor wherever we stay. He swears it feels better than any alternative. I must admit, I’m skeptical.

Photo by Yannick Tango

Day 3, Chicago, IL: Cherish your showers, and be prepared to take alternative measures to achieve cleanliness.

Some may find this fact disturbing, even grotesque, while others will recognize it as par for the course: On tour, showers are few and far between. This particular run was a shining example of that, as Chicago was the only place over the whole week we were away where we were afforded the opportunity to shower. Keep in mind that this tour took place in late July, the dead of summer, and that temperatures outside reached over 90 degrees almost every day.

On top of this, most DIY venues have only somewhat functional air conditioning. What I’m getting at is that the amount of sweat and grime which built up across each day was unprecedented. If cleanliness is next to godliness, then it was in Chicago that I was saved. I must’ve shed a pound or two of dirt in that claw-foot tub… only to gain it all back over the next four days.

Some methods to mitigate the effects of insufficient showering on tour include: multiple layers of deodorant (both stick and spray), dry shampoo, and air fresheners. Consider investing in one, if not all, of these items before embarking.

Photo by Raf Santos

Day 4, Lansing, MI: Eat well, and respect your bowels.

More horror stories from biology: in Lansing, located in ICP’s home state of Michigan, we were challenged by a local Juggalo to shotgun Faygo. Naturally, we obliged — if only for the novelty. This was a mistake. No more than two hours after each of us consumed two or more cans of the clown-liquid did we start to feel its effects: its slow, carbonated poison seeping through our guts. “Tour Tummy” was upon us, as it would be for the remainder of our trip, featuring symptoms straight out of Oregon Trail. Eat and drink nutritionally fulfilling foods on tour, lest ye suffer the same fate.

Photo by Yannick Tango

Day 5, Toronto, ON: Consider bringing smaller gear.

While stacks of guitar cabinets and stands upon stands of giant cymbals certainly create an aesthetically powerful image, if you’re not prepared to carry all of that gear up and down multiple flights of stairs each night, bring something a little smaller. More often than not, house shows take place in basements down a precarious flight of stairs, while bar venues are often at the top of one! Pick your poison, but both will have adverse effects on your physical wellbeing later on in life.

Treat your body with some respect, and remember that it’s the only piece of gear that you can’t replace. The other option is to go to the gym more often, but who am I kidding with that one? You don’t have money for a gym membership — like me, you spent all your money on music gear. And rest assured, your vocalist who does go to the gym ain’t carrying shit!

Photo by Raf Santos

Day 6, Montréal, QC: Know your limits.

This night was a prime example of an absolute mess which could have been avoided entirely. First, when we arrived in Montréal, a member of our touring party decided it was a good idea to buy a fourth of legal weed from a dispensary, less than 18 hours before we would be returning to the United States. This person was determined to consume the entire amount before we crossed back over the border, and successfully did so. However, it was at the expense of their coherence for a good 16 hours. This is a good example of ignoring a physical limit.

Following a great show, we loaded out our gear and were then invited to karaoke at a venue a brisk walk from where we were staying. We, the deliriously tired touring band, went for it without much hesitation, despite how drained we all were. This was blatantly ignoring a social limit.

After six days of tour, it’s a good idea to get a little space from other people. A crowded French-Canadian karaoke bar located a 30-minute walk from your van is not the best idea at 1 AM — especially when you have to be up at 7 AM.

Photo by Raf Santos

Day 7, Philadelphia, PA: Don’t switch between night and day driving.

Driving ten hours to play a show, then driving six more after the show is a bad idea, no matter how much you want to get home. Pick one time of day to drive, and stick to it. Falling asleep at the wheel is a real concern, and it happens to the best of us. So, if not for yourself, drive safely for the sake of your gear — who knows if you’ll ever find your boutique one-off bass for that price again.

Take care of yourself and your gear on tour. Remember that your space is not your own when you’re on the road — you share it with the people who come to see your band every night, the promoters who put you up, and (most importantly) your bandmates, who you spend every waking moment with. Respecting yourself is respecting everyone else; never forget it.

Top Photo: Infant Island in Toronto, by Raf Santos

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Sickle Moon Blues: Weekend Playlist By Infant Island

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you an absolutely essential playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.

This time around, we’ve got one from Infant Island, the Fredericksburg-based screamo band who is working hard to carry the torch for Virginia screamo far beyond the Commonwealth. In fact, they just released a 4-way split EP with three bands from various points across North America — New Jersey’s Massa Nera, Illinois’s Frail Body, and Montreal’s dianacrawls. You can grab that EP in vinyl, cassette, or digital form at Infant Island’s Bandcamp.

The band will be headed out on tour in July, and will next play Richmond in August. But until they return to our fair city, they’ve brought us a jam-packed playlist that mixes the past, present, and future of screamo and metallic hardcore into a wide variety of sounds from outside their genre — ranging from quiet folk ballads to soaring post-rock anthems. It’s quite the journey, and is sure to spice up your weekend.

Let it rip, Virginia.

Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Hidden Sound Collective’s Devotion To Hip Hop Culture Keeps Its Members Going

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It’s no secret that Richmond has a prolific crop of hip-hop artists working to build on and expand elements of the genre – from scene stalwart McKinley Dixon’s full band jazz-rap, to Alfred’s sample-heavy, forthcoming Topshelf Records debut. The hard work and influence of these local heavyweights hasn’t just raken Richmond by storm, but seemingly the whole state – one need only travel an hour north on I-95 to Fredericksburg to see how this cultural movement is spreading.

Hidden Sound Collective is a new hip-hop collective based in Fredericksburg, named after the ninja villages of Naruto, which recently started hosting shows as well as releasing music under their own imprint.

“We found ourselves all hanging out all the time, making music together. Ya know?” said Kyle Guerra, beatmaker and core member of the collective. “We were all talking about how Kwamé [Pope], and his brother OC, have been a part of multiple groups and nothing ever really worked out. And nobody was actually productive… It all kinda started with me bein’ like, ‘Y’all don’t do anything, let’s do something. We can start like this.’”

“The whole thing was to really make a group that was truly for the culture of hip hop,” said rapper and Hidden Sound collaborator Dominique “Kwamé” Pope (who goes by Kwallah, the God when performing). “Just based around more local artists and local talent having a light to break and shine through [with].”

The collective recently put out its first official release, Kwallah, the God’s debut album $TRE$$ – a combination of classic hip-hop instrumentation with dark samples and contemporary sensibilities and flows. “The process for recording it was blood, sweat, tears and a lot of pain,” said Pope of the recording and production process. “It’s about going through a lot of transitional states and changes in my life. The only way I’ve really been able to think about things is through music. That’s how $TRE$$ was created, — just the personal problems of a young kid trying to figure stuff out.”

Pope’s been putting this one together for quite a while. “Believe it or not, the project is almost two years old,” he said. “I started working on [it] in almost 2017, and it’s just now coming out. So it took me a while to get through – but I had two years worth of stress.” The tape is almost entirely self-produced by Pope, adding to the level of self-sufficiency shown by the collective.

“It’s been very broken,” said Pope of the hip-hop scene in Fredericksburg. “There’s like 90 groups out here secretly, and out of the 90, maybe seven of them are actually doing something. It’s been a very fragile, broken piece of glass, and I guess Hidden Sound Collective is trying to it put back together.”

To Pope and Guerra, the problem is that people see making music as a competition to reach the best possible position. “Everybody wants to be on top,” said Pope. “Everyone thinks that there’s only one seat at the top, when in reality, ‘the top’ is an endless metaphor. It’s not straight up, it’s on a flat plane.”

Guerra concurred, mentioning that the collective’s members “would keep talking about how the other people trying to do hip-hop just weren’t doing it right, and how it was all just their internet presence. Everything looked really fake, and just for money.”

For Hidden Sound Collective, it is definitely not about money. “We make music because we have to, because it helps us through things,” Guerra said. “We’re not trying to get paid off of it.”

For Guerra, coming from a background in the DIY hardcore/punk scene — he plays bass in Fredericksburg screamo band Infant Island — the weirdest part of the hip hop scene was the lack of community support and encouragement between its members. “Nobody’s actually helping each other out,” Guerra reflected. “There’s no community.”

Guerra sees the lack of community reflected in the way a lot of Fredericksburg hip hop shows are organized. “These shows aren’t even fun to go to. They have the façade of being poppin’ shows, but they have like 12 performers a show, and every performer has to pay to play. They [each] get on stage, play like two songs, and then it’s the next person.”

Pope doesn’t even think anyone involved with the scene is happy with the situation — it’s just all they know. “Everyone’s hating, everyone’s upset. You get a show and don’t put someone on the ticket, and it’s a problem,” he said. “That’s what we try and avoid, by just doing it with the people that we want to do it with, because they’re friends and family – and they have the vision of doing it more for the culture, rather than for the clout or money or any of that.”

Hidden Sounds Collective hope their work can present the Fredericksburg hip hop scene with a viable alternative. “I’m trying to actually help people put their shit out, show the community what they’re doing, and help that flourish, instead of making money off those people,” said Guerra. “That’s just detrimental to the artists, if you ask them to pay money to be able to [play a show]. Then you’re just leeching off of your community – we’re trying to do the exact opposite of that.”

Hidden Sound Collective has multiple releases planned for 2019, as well as a variety of other projects and shows. “We’ve got about four different projects that will be done before the end of the year,” said Pope.

Guerra proceeded to rattle off a list of upcoming planned releases — a new mixtape featuring Pope’s rapping and Guerra’s production, a mixtape by collaborator Phwaygo Dharma, a beat tape of his own that he plans to surprise everyone with, and a whole bunch of shows, including a winter tour. It’s clear that these guys are staying productive. But for them, it’s just business as usual.

“We’re just going to keep trying to book shows and bring outside people to Fredericksburg,” Guerra said. “Those are the plans for this year — just trying to learn how to run a label better.”

You can find Hidden Sound Collective on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp. Top Photo: Kyle Guerra in producer mode.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond