Local Commotion

Upcoming Gore Girls FundRager!

2007-06-10T15:11:00.000-04:00

The last one was a blast!

GET PSYCHED.

2007-04-25T00:23:00.000-04:00

Weekly Mailbag! Vol. 5: Remedial Letter Writing

2007-04-14T16:25:00.000-04:00

It's been at least a year since my last Weekly Mailbag, so the name isn't even REMOTELY accurate. I kind of like calling it Weekly Mailbag in spite of that. It's kinda what makes blogging fun.

Let's start with an e-mail:

To: the Public Readers of The Hartford Advocate & the Editor and Dan Barry

Dan Barry has it all wrong.

For anyone that was standing in the club on Saturday night in down town Hartford- Up Or On the Rocks was featuring Connecticut's TIP THE VAN from Marlborough & the crowd loved them!

The place was packed. The crowd was cheering,dancing,singing

,clapping and the SOUNDMAN "FESTER" was swinging the chain hung lamp back & froth because he was so excited.TIP THE VAN was never a full blown ska band anyway, and if Mr.Barry had ever seen TIP THE VAN at any previous show in CT he wouldn't have made the unfair comments he published in this weeks Local Motion. Up Or On the Rocks will see me again if they book TIP THE VAN and I will tell all my friends to come out for one of the best bands this state of ours has to offer.TIP THE VAN is a rock/reggae/power ska band. Pick up their newest cd titled 'Something Wicked" and you would know this is a band that has a rock influence. The horn lines are awesome and powerful. "Chicago" is a rock band. Anyone with have a brain knows that a band with horns doesn't necessarily mean you are a ska band. TIP THE VAN'S two lead vocalist sisters Nicole & Simone make this band my # 1 band to go see & listen to.I can't wait for TIP THE VAN to re
lease another cd because I'll be in line amongst the many fans who voted TIP THE VAN the # 1 band in the Hartford Advocate Grand Band Slam - to get another cd to skank to.Check out TTV'S web site and listen for yourself.
www.tipthevan.com  or www.myspace.com/tipthevan


Yup, Dan Barry has it all wrong.

                                                      Signed-                TIP THE VAN FAN FOR LIFE!

So what you're saying is, um, you're a fan of TIP THE V... excuse me, Tip The Van. And you advertised their CD, which I already knew about. Was there anything else?

No? Great. Moving on, then.

* * *

As you might imagine, the vast majority of responses to my column -- when they're not from the musicians themselves -- are from someone claiming to to be the General Public (though they are often, I shit you not, girlfriends/parents/roadies of the band who received my less-than-sparkling review. You know that MySpace page you made where it says "MY BOYFREINDS BAND IS SOSOOOOO FREAKIN AWESOME"? Yeah. It's not hard to find). And they're fuckin' angry. They want to kill me. They want to bleed me to death slowly by hundreds of tiny papercuts made with Hartford Advocate pages.

Unfortunately, these people then sit down behind their keyboards and compose letters like the above. "I've got it all wrong," our anonymous writer claims -- and then goes on to summon up a bunch of random information that has absolutely nothing to do with what I wrote. Yup, the crowd was definitely into it -- but I never claimed they weren't. I caught those powerful horn lines; I remember specifically complimenting Steph, the trombonist, as a good player. And yeah, I was aware of their CD -- I first listened to it when I penned the cover article about TTV winning our Band Slam this past summer. (Our correspondent must have missed my byline.) In my recent review of Tip The Van, my central point had nothing to do with any of these things. I argued that they are not a ska band, despite their claim to be. I argued that due to certain things they did in their songs and on their instruments -- and certain things they did not do -- they were more like plain old alternative rock.

"TIP THE VAN is a rock/reggae/power ska band," writes our correspondent. Well, ska historically preceded reggae, so if they don't have the elements of ska style, they probably don't have much reggae in 'em, either. And I had never heard of "power ska" as a subgenre before, but a quick Google search seems to turn up other bands who are rock/ska hybrids -- which, as far as I can tell, is exactly the same kind of watered-down, 3rd-wave skate-punk ska I was bagging on in the first place.

So... what you're saying is, I was right? Because a second ago you said I was wrong. You're losin' me, baby!

* * *

It saddens me that the vast majority of our readership, it seems, is so lacking in anything resembling argumentative or rhetorical skills that they can't even latch onto the main idea of my column -- let alone disprove it. It saddens me more when a zealous reader, trying to come to the defense of their beloved band, accidentally lends support to my arguments. That shit is so sixth grade. Like, if it came to me written on a piece of paper folded up into one of those little square packets, I would take it seriously. But somebody let you on the internet, and that means you're old, and should know better, and that shit scares me.

A lot of people put the burden on members of the press to write responsibly. And we should and must, I agree; but the buck doesn't stop there. I think the public also has an obligation to read responsibly. If you can't read an article or watch a newscast and isolate the main idea, then you're not going to notice when media organizations start replacing Good Press with ridiculous biases, factually incorrect statements, and self-imposed censorship.

Wait. Wait a second. OH, FUCK!

Calling All Breakers!

2007-04-06T19:11:00.000-04:00

Make sure you sign up before the 22nd!

OMG Disturbingly Awesome Pairing

2007-04-02T06:52:00.000-04:00

The answer is: a ghettotech white boy hip-hop electronica duo bearing the AMAZING name House of Blow.

The question, Alex, for $1000, is:

What do you get when the hulking, hard-drinking, neck-tattooed guitarist for Hatebreed teams up with the scrawny, scrotally-tattooed, straight-edge singer for Glassjaw and Head Automatica?

House of Blow.
Say it out loud with me now.
House of Blow. House of Blow.

House of Blow plays this Saturday, April 7th at the El 'n Gee.

APRIL 12. Redscroll Records Opens. Mark it on Your Calendars.

2007-03-25T22:56:00.000-04:00

Redscroll will be to Wallyworld what Metropolis is to the Northwaste Corner -- which is to say, the hub. The center. The everything.

CD CONTEST!

2007-02-14T15:30:00.000-05:00

That's right -- it's going down!

The wonderful folks at The Space have recently put out an AMAZING CD compilation featuring 20 (!!!) local bands who have crushed their stage. Among the many bands features are Local Motion favorites Call it Arson, Welcome, Shadowgraphs (ex-Eschellon), and Mile Marker Zero. The great thing about the comp is that it has so many different genres of music, you're bound to discover a band you like (even if you haven't heard of them before).

HERE'S THE DEAL. I have THREE copies of this disc to giveaway. To enter, all you have to do is post a comment on this blog entry (see link below) telling us about the best concert you ever saw at The Space. Haven't seen a show at The Space? That's fine -- tell us who you'd like to see play there and why. (And yes, I'll know if you're promoting your own band, so don't bother.) The best entries get the goods!

A quick note: you don't have to sign up to Blogger to post comments (there's an "Anonymous" option), but if you go that route, please sign with your e-mail address so I have a way to contact you if you're a winner.

Hehe, "if you're a winner."

GOOD LUCK!

More Glam Than You Can Shake A Golden Guitar At

2007-01-22T19:03:00.000-05:00

PHOTOSHOOT WITH KITTY KITTY BANG BANG!

Hurtling Back Into Orbit

2007-01-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

Long time no see, huh?

I'm really excited -- I'm almost ready to get back into the action here. And you know what the best part is gonna be?

CONTESTS.

Oh yes. I'm gonna give you shit. Free. For no reason whatsoever.

What's taking so long? Well, other than moving to a new apartment, another car breakdown (ahem), and a gigantic cold that wrecked my holidays, Blogger has also upgraded to their new version. Among other improvements, they now offer LABELS! So now you can sort through all the entries I've written by topic -- I've even got tags for different genres of music. (I personally recommend the "Shitty Music" label.) It's taking a while to go back through all my old posts and tag them, but I'm almost done.

You can anticipate all of this -- tags, giveaways/contests, and a completely overhauled links section -- sometime in February. With any luck, I'll even be linked on the Hartford Advocate's main page.

Hang tight -- just a little while longer...

Going on Hiatus

2006-11-05T17:32:00.000-05:00

Because of some crazy circumstances and big changes in my life (moving, etc.), Local Commotion is going on hiatus until late December '06/early '07. I'll be back soon to continue writing silly, ridiculous crap. Until then, have some wonderful holidays, make sure you get enough sunlight to keep those crappy New England moods at bay (these lightboxes work wonders), and drop me a line if you hear somethin' good.

Until then,
Dan

CBGB Closes. In Other News, Punk Has Sucked For Years.

2006-10-25T20:36:00.000-04:00

Sigh.

If not for Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, I might never have seen the crusty, poster-slathered inside of CBGB. And now it's gone. Check out Yahoo News' article on its final show:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061016/ap_en_mu/music_cbgb_finale

I like that Patti Smith and members of Blondie were there to close it out.

But I gotta tell ya: Hilly Kristal? I'm not a fan.

Don't let the fluff in this piece fool you. Kristal let this happen. To some degree, he even wanted it to happen. CBGB's last gasp as a culturally active institution was sometime back in the '80s, if not earlier. Since then, it's pretty much just been a t-shirt. Kristal never really grasped the cultural significance of his own venue or its meaning in the birth of punk -- he merely wanted to make a buck. So when it began to look like CBGB was going to bite the dust a few years ago, he immediately started talking about moving to New Jersey or Las Vegas. He didn't understand that it wasn't the name CBGB, or the awning, or the logo that made CBs important -- it was the space.

It was the disgusting, awkwardly-shaped, piss-infested, sounds-like-shit space. It's a space only a punk could love. It's a place you can only enjoy if you don't give a fuck about anything, drink hard, and prefer physically intimidating your crowd over performing for them. Kristal, ever clueless, recently said, “For some reason, they want us here. I don’t know why it matters to them, but it does.”

[Read more of that interview here. It's excellent.]

As the interview makes painfully clear, Kristal does not care about the space. It was filled with numerous code violations (a big no-no after the Great White show fire in RI); he didn't pay his rent; he's long viewed the place as an instution to museumify, rather than a living place that can transform music and culture.

CBGB is dead. Long live CBGB.

Musical Instruments Are People, Too. Sorta.

2006-10-14T08:44:00.000-04:00

This helpful announcement just in from Lys Guillorn:

Cold weather PSA for my fellow musicians: humidify!

Howdy. Just a reminder to put your instrument humidifiers in your guitar or other wood-based instrument cases as we get into cold weather. If you don't have "real" humidifiers, you can use a film canister with holes poked in the lid and a damp, but not sopping piece of sponge inside. If you need film canisters, I can give you some... (Film? Yes, people still shoot film...) A little prevention will spare you having to have cracks repaired later.

Be very well,
Lys

Album Cover Deathmatch!

2006-10-12T22:09:00.000-04:00

From what I hear, this video has taken off pretty quickly, and well it should -- it's hilarious. Watch classic album covers battle to the death!

Mildly unsafe for work.

Local Commotion October Updates

2006-10-06T11:16:00.000-04:00

... and no, I'm not going to call it fucking "Rocktober."

Just got back from the Tool concert last night... Wow. Interesting experience. On the upside, I enjoyed watching some brilliant musicians play some wicked tunes. On the downside, the Hartford Civic Center sounds like a subwoofer trapped in a dumpster. Not to mention it's kind of weird seeing thousands of drone-like Tool fans mouthing the lyrics to a band who advocates thinking for yourself.

Anyway, I'm thrilled -- THRILLED -- that my interview made the cover this week. It's only the second time that's happened (not counting the Band Slam/Snow Slam previews I do), and I get all giddy about that shit. It's definitely a high point of my writing career so far.

Enough blabbing. I'm here to tell you about some updates I made this morning! I've got new shit for the fans and new shit for the bands. Something for the holes and something for the poles. You know how it go.

For the Fall season, I've put some new tunes up on the Local Commotion MySpace, which is basically a jukebox/soundtrack to this blog and the Advocate column. I focused on a "creepy" theme for the autumn! You may have never heard of these groups or genres, but believe me, the sounds and textures are a perfect fit.
I've separated the categories in my links section on the right-hand side. I also shrank the font to make it a little more readable. Let me know if you don't like it and I'll change it back.
I've created a new links section for blogs! There are so damn many CT-related music and arts blogs out there -- it's about time I started spreading the love. Like cream cheese. I had jalapeno cream cheese on a cheddar bagel from Lox Stock and Bagel in West Hartford this morning. Mmmm. I'm hungry again just thinking about it.
I've finally begun linking (and expanding) the link sections for Record Stores and Labels, and I created a new section for Promo Agencies. If you're a musician, or in a related field, please send me links to help fill out these sections -- and pass the word along to other CT people looking for local music resources.

Thanks for reading.

(Image courtesy of Scary Bunnies.)

Holy Shit, Sugarfist!

2006-10-03T00:37:00.000-04:00

HUGE and bittersweet news from the Sugarfist camp. Jenn Jacobs has parted ways with the 'Fist! She's been around since the beginning, and to many of us her awesome voice has come to represent the band just as much as the goofy stage antics and the jambalaya clusterfuck songwriting. Meanwhile, they've already found a replacement!

Here's the announcement from the band:

"We would like to take this opportunity to extend a gracious and sad farewell to one of Sugarfist's own- Jenn Jacobs. Beginning in 1999 and one of our founding and core members, Jenn has decided to depart from the band. She has been a part of the Sugarfist family for many many years and we all wish her the very best in her future creative endeavors to come. Her last performance with us can be seen at a free show this Saturday September 9th at The Haddam River Days Festival in Haddam, CT.

We would like to give a new toasty welcome to the always entertaining and extravagant...Krizta Moon!!!! Joining the band now on vocals!!! Krizta will perform our last song of the evening on Saturday night and can be seen with us thereafter at the following locations of mass media cronyism..

FRIDAY October 6th The Beanery Old Dam Road Fairfield, CT ALL AGES
SATURDAY October 21st The Colony Woodstock, NY"

Tupac: Robbing Men of Their Boners and Women of Their Conjugal Bliss, Even From the Grave

2006-10-02T12:19:00.000-04:00

Now I've seen it all.

The Associated Press (killing local reporting since 1846) offers up this report about a lawsuit between civil rights activist C. DeLores Tucker and two Philly newspapers. At issue? "Her dispute with the estate of slain rapper Tupac Shakur," according to the article.

What did that naughty Tupac do? He rhymed "Tucker" with "motherfucker." Oh SHIT!

But wait -- the shit has only begun to fly. According to the AP article,

"Tucker had sued Shakur, alleging, among other things, that her husband, William Tucker, had suffered loss of 'consortium' because of the emotional distress brought on by Shakur."

Oh yes. Consortium. If you think that sounds like some kind of awful Freudian metaphor for something, award yourself one point. Baby, Dictionary.com gives us this legal definition:

"The legal right of husband and wife to companionship and conjugal intercourse with each other."

So let me get this straight: a so-called activist is suing a newspaper for mischaracterizing a Tupac lyric which was so scathing that it prevented her husband from getting a hard-on?

I've got one word for ya:

By the way, have any of you seen the movie Tupac: Resurrection? (Thanks, Olympia, for sending it my way.) It's interesting in the way Born Into Brothels is interesting, which is to say that if you peel back the cutesy, crowd-pleasing surface, there are some very ugly monsters lurking underneath. The selling point is that it's told in "Tupac's own words," and indeed it's compiled from a number of interviews and monologues. But a careful listener will hear that many times, Tupac's speech is spliced together from several different interviews, often in mid-sentence! His speech, his life -- they're so heavily edited to put a positive spin on a man who was one of the most internally embattled characters of his day. By the end of the film, Pac is basically being cast as a black Jesus figure, a patron of the arts, and a sensitive gentleman who only occasionally ran into trouble with the press and the law. It's no coincidence that the film was made by Tupac's mom, Afeni Shakur. You can just see her pulling the strings the whole time.

Guess she had to get him back for "Dear Mama" some way or another.

Meszenjah Spreads the Irie Vibe to Middletown

2006-09-29T09:17:00.000-04:00

DJ Meszenjah puts on one of the sickest live sets I've seen a local kid spin. I was especially impressed with how deep he got during an all-reggae set I saw at Zen Bar. It's so rare that a DJ around here will dig into the reggae stacks, let alone navigate them with a degree of eloquence. Meszenjah has all the beats you could ever want and eloquence to boot. Check him out at Vibrations, a club night at Tommy's in Middletown. He'll be there October 6th and 20th.

Will Haven Signed

2006-09-27T16:57:00.000-04:00

Bieler Bros Records, home to UK math-metallers Sikth, have recently signed one of the bands that got me into hardcore: Will Haven.

When I first discovered them in the late '90s, Will Haven's thick-chained guitars and relentless 3/4 time signature were quite possibly the heaviest thing I had ever heard. It was simplistic, reductive, and palpable. I grew up listening to alternative; in 1996 a high school friend turned me on to the Deftones, and from there it was only a short jump to heavier sounds. Snapcase came first -- they had just released Progression Through Unlearning, which I think to this day is their best album ever. But shortly thereafter, I found Will Haven's "Ego's Game" on a comp CD, and was thrilled to hear another band using the same kind of guitar style and rhythm. After investigating both bands' back catalogs, I have to say unequivocally that Will Haven's is the better of the two: it's more consistent, and while that certainly leads to a degree of predictability (Will Haven outside of the 3/4 time signature is almost impossible), it's definitely preferable to Snapcase's many failed experiements.

The official announcement:

"Bieler Bros Records is proud to announce the signing and return of metal-core pioneers WILL HAVEN. Will Haven will release their as of yet untitled Bieler Bros. debut in early 2007. The release will be the bands first since 2001's critically-acclaimed Carpe Diem."

Apathy Tears Collabos a New One

2006-09-27T15:43:00.000-04:00

Check out Apathy's post on MySpace where he shreds one of hip hop's most abused institutions: the collaboration track.

The Conspicuous Willingness of Secondary Metal Markets to Commercialize/Market Themselves as Though They Were Primary

2006-09-18T16:24:00.000-04:00

... or: You're All Fucking MySpace Sellouts.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF OVERHYPED DEATHGRIND ARTISTS

Summer 2003: Daughters
Fall/Winter 2003: Between the Buried and Me
Summer 2004: Invocation of Nehek
Summer 2005: Through the Eyes of the Dead
Fall/Winter 2005: Job for a Cowboy
Summer 2006: Suicide Silence

Oh yes, motherfuckers: I see you. I see exactly what you’re doing.

You know what you are?
Coldplay.
Keane.
The Killers.
Editors.
of metal.

The "it" band until the next "it" band comes along.

Fuckin’ shame on you.

Spouse Hates Your Obnoxious Snore? Play Didge!

2006-09-08T22:58:00.000-04:00

I saw this and thought it was freakin' fantastic. Didgeridoos are pretty easy to make out of PVC tubing or the like... Though nothing beats a nice one made from natural materials. I was pretty impressed with the stuff sold in the store section of this site. They go out of their way to seem pretty ethical and up-front about stuff.

But that's not the point. THE POINT IS PLAYING DIDGERIDOO STOPS YOU FROM SNORING!

http://www.laoutback.com/images/parts/SnoringPopUp.html

Bleach Transfusion Completed: Initiate Self-Termination Process

2006-09-04T20:38:00.000-04:00

After an incredible 4 or so gigs, and with seven epic minutes of recorded audio under their belts, the boys of Bleach Tranfusion have announced their indefinite hiatus. Vocalist/synth player Ben Kohanski is beginning his college education (majoring in Gore, no doubt), leaving the future for the acoustic grind band open but uncertain.

While I wouldn't exactly classify Bleach Transfusion as good, they're certainly one of the more interesting bands* I've encountered, both in terms of setup (cheap drums, crappy synth, capes, gas masks) and artistic vision. (Their aborted album, Purging the Swarm, was to be an epic tale of Space Marines [think Doom, Halo] forced to annihilate a malevolent race of sentient insectoids. Not exactly typical concept album material.)

*(Note to readers: please do not call bands/works/artists "more unique" or "less unique." "Unique" means one-of-a-kind; there are no orders of magnitude. It's either unique or it's not.)

For those of you who never saw them live -- and let's face it, your number is legion -- it sounds like a DVD is in the works. If you enjoy B-movie kitsch, you may want to get a copy.

Relevant MySpace bulletin (from vocalist Brian Sierakowski) below:

Is this truly it for BLEACH TRANSFUSION?

As many of you probablly know, our beloved keyboardist/vocalist, Ben Kohanski, will be departing for college today. He was a great bandmate and friend, and truly the mastermind behind Bleach Transfusion. We've had a good run with our acoustic grindcore project turned synth led grind assault on the senses.

Is Bleach Transfusion dead?

No. We are just on indeffinate hiatus. Myself and my brother, Sam, will be part of two untitled bands, currently forming. Our first is an artsy hardcore project, and the second (which I am personally excited about) is a synthy gore grind project featuring Poop Sludge vocalist Chris Little and ex Revelations of Doom guitarist Tyler, whose name I embarassingly forgot this morning (sorry, man). Also, I myself might be playing keyboard for a local black metal project.

Bleach Transfusion does, however, plan to release a special DVD/EP CD set at Jamfest 07. This DVD will include their full live performances from Jamfest 06 and the 06 Dodgeball Tournament. Also, we will include the "basement sessions," which will show everyone what happened while we recorded our sick awesome tracks. We'll show you the laughs, and more laughs, because really, there was never any drama. The EP will provide you with all of our old tracks from The Lies That Grind, and the Purging The Swarm concept album. We will also include unreleased and alternate tracks. Whether we will actually make an appearance at Jamfest is highly doubtful.

...

It was a fun ride, guys. And hey, we might actually pick this up again, we still have Purging the Swarm to try and finish.

So thanks again, all.

And look forward to our DVD/EP release at Jamfest 07! It will be the best $7 you've ever spent.

Cute. Ridiculous. Awesome.

2006-09-03T15:28:00.000-04:00

Have you seen the video for Welcome's new song "Dead Weight"?

CT DnB: Big Up for a Hot Summer

2006-09-01T14:27:00.000-04:00

Maybe I blinked or something, but it seems like in the past few months, Drum 'n Bass in CT has quadrupled. All of a sudden there's a ton of ill events!

(WTF is drum 'n bass? Click here to find out.)

You hear that, house music? You don't own this town for much longer! Mu ha ha.

Naw, but seriously. If you want the scoop on what's going down week-by-week, I highly recommend checking out Miz-Eyesis' MySpace page. Aside from being a DJ, she's one of the scene's most ardent supporters right now. If an event is within driving distance, she's spreading the word about it -- if not attending it. And as much as it may seem like an explosion of brand new events, that's hardly ever the case -- it's almost always the result of years of hard work finally paying off.

So hats off to CT D'nB -- I hope this is the first of many years when you get (aka regain) your due respect.

Ramallah's "Kill A Celebrity": Officially REQUIRED LISTENING for Readers of Local (Com)Motion

2006-08-28T02:27:00.000-04:00

You may or may not like heavy music. You may or may not like punk. I don't care. You need to hear the messages on this album.

Normally I would be racing to write a CD review of this so it could be published in The Advocate and reach thousands of readers. Unfortunately, I slept on Kill A Celebrity for too long (it came out in late 2005) and The Advocate has a policy of publishing CD reviews that are fresher.

So I'm sitting down at 2:30 in the morning, after 2 and 1/2 glasses of wine and exactly two listens of this CD, to tell you that you need to hear this. Why? Because, quite simply, Ramallah's latest disc is the kind of music that compels you to act. You can't fucking listen to this and sit still.

Within the legendary Boston hardcore scene, there has been one band that has been consistently hailed over all others: Blood for Blood. If one were to liken them to Connecticut's Hatebreed, it wouldn't be too far off the mark. Blood for Blood (who have since broken up) had a dubious reputation for shedding, um, blood (imagine that) at shows, and for generally attracting working-class thugs who needed an outlet for their pent-up frustrations. To quote from the Victory Records website:

"Their ‘white-trash working man’ ethics and ‘no holds barred’ attitude have garnered Blood For Blood a following that is among the most fanatical and dedicated of any fanbase in the music scene today. In a scene currently lacking in old-fashioned angry hardcore, Blood For Blood stands where legends Sheer Terror and Killing Time once reigned."

Yeah. There's violence here. But it goes deeper than that.

Class lines have always clearly divided the hardcore pretenders from the real heirs to the scene. Blood for Blood, you might say, were the kings of lower- and middle-middle class hardcore: they ran into problems with society enough to have a political bent, but they were still sonically punk-as-fuck. (Compare to Hatebreed, who, over the long-term, have shown themselves to be eagerly upwardly mobile -- both in business practice [signing to Universal Records and, for their latest release, Roadrunner Records] and musical composition [their increasing metal influence culminated in a guest spot by Slayer's guitarist Kerry King on 2002's Perseverance]. Hatebreed's lyrical material has always stayed squarely centered on abstract values, whereas Blood for Blood were always eager to grapple with real-life issues.)

So enter Blood for Blood's "White Trash" Rob Lind, the mastermind behind the Ramallah project. Their first disc, But A Whimper, was a wicked taste of things to come (it clocked in at just 13:53). On Kill A Celebrity, White Trash Rob takes the time to unpack and expand his views, providing what one might dub a "working class progressive" stance on international politics and domestic affairs.

At least, that's the scholastic way to put it. Another way to put it: far-left liberals (as opposed to centrist Democrats) and progressives have always struggled with giving their beliefs an artistic voice. The effortlessness with which Ramallah does so suggests that we (I say "we" because I count myself among the ranks) have all been overthinking, overarticulating, and self-censoring too much.

White Trash Rob cuts straight to the fucking chase, and it's magnificent. One can only quote.

"What a beautiful rage/what a noble crusade/what a beautiful hatred ... I wish I was as strong as you." -from "Brother Malcolm"

"I'd love to... put some sarin gas/in the central A/C at the VMAs/and watch those beautiful faces/turn ashen gray... Kill a celebrity, and you will find you can strike down a god." -from "Kill a Celebrity"

Watch in awe as Rob quotes from the Sacred Cow themselves, The Beatles, by covering "A Day in the Life" and translating it into hardcore-ese as though the song's original authors were just, y'know -- people. (As someone who resists the canon [and canonization] of The Beatles as one might resist Titanic, The Da Vinci Code, and the Harry Potter books, I knew from the opening notes that Ramallah was covering a song. But, ignorant as I was of the source, I have to say that I enjoyed knowing that Rob was making an old song relevant in the first half, and explicitly updating it in the second. Such audaciousness could only be punk. Doubly so upon realizing [a Google or two later] that he was fucking with the holiest of rock's holies.)

But the high point of the album, for me, had to be "Heart Full Of Love." Reading is good, but listening is better. Shit, if you want an MP3 of this, e-mail me.

"I want to cut the brakes on every SUV in the world. And I'd love to burn down to ashes every jewelry store in the world. I'd love to drown in crude oil every 'spring break' beach in the world. I'd love to slap awake every sheep that puts their faith in the monsters that run our world. My heart's so full of love... I'd love to rape a Hilton sister or kill an FM show director and piss on the illusions that you hold so dear. I'd love to silence all the liars preaching what they know is poison; piss on their illusions and show you true fear. I want to grind into dust your American Idols, all with a heart full of love... My heart's so full of love that I would save you all if I only could. My heart's so full of love, I'd even die for your sins than watch it all fall... My heart is so full of love... Blood. Terrorist, is your heart also full of love?"

Incredible. Incredible. Finally someone is able to step up to the plate and say: no, no, my dissent, my qualms, all the times I've disagreed with you and freaked out and told you you're full of shit -- they're not because I'm neurotic and not because I'm weak and not because I don't have anything better to do. They're because I am so fucking full of love that cold assholes like you could never even comprehend it. They're because I love this country and this world and its people so much that I can't do anything but point the finger and call "bullshit" on your lies. And you -- you're not even from the same planet.

Ramallah's dreams of MTV-destroying, SUV-disabling violence may be short on real-life solutions -- but they're long on giving pent-up frustrations a voice and a purpose. For once, here's an aggressive disc that does the real thing: by articulating and advocating extreme solutions, it gives those of like mind the impetus to seek realistic changes.

Pencilgrass is Breaking Up, Too?

2006-08-22T21:30:00.000-04:00

AAAGH! SUMMER OF TOTAL ULTIMATE SADNESS! KITE-EATING TREE OF ROCK AND ROLL!

At least the Deftones haven't successfully murdered each other yet.

As per that indubitible bastion of news, the MySpace Bulletin Board (TM):

we are not quitting music.
but pencilgrass is exiting your reality forever.
the members will forever make music in one form or another .
with one instrument or another.
with one band or another.

but for now yall.

we are going into a cocoon.
so that we can become beautiful butterflies.
do you understand?

DB Attempted Translation from rock-star-ese into English:

We hate each other.
Actually, some of us like each other, but the loud band members and dudes who would be hard to replace (like the drummer) hate each other.
We're not making enough money.
You haven't been coming to our shows.
You ate all our bean dip.
My heart will live on.

On Paths of Torment is Calling it Quits!

2006-08-22T21:19:00.000-04:00

So if you want to see the the band that's arguably been at the core of the young Torrington metal scene for the past three years, come to Musomania this weekend. They play on Saturday.

Here's their announcement from MySpace today:

That's right kids. After 3 years, we feel that it's finally time to put OPOT behind us, for various reasons. Regardless of the fact that we won't be doing much after this show, we'll still be shooting a video for "There's Something Rotten In The States Of Condition", so we want as many of you guys there as possible to make it something to remember. To everyone who has ever supported us or helped us out in any way, we can't thank you enough. It's been an amazing ride, but at this point this band is just not what all of us want to pursue. And to Josh, thank you so much for giving your all to us over these past few weeks, and busting your ass to learn our songs as quickly as you did. We all <3 you and are sorry things turned out this way; we hope there are no hard feelings. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Again, thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past few years. We'd absolutely love for you all to come out to Musomania this weekend and rock out once more. The show's profits are going towards our singer Lou's hospital bills, as he suffered a fractured larynx earlier this summer, putting him in the hospital for 3 days without any insurance. So come out for a good cause, rock out for the video's sake, and have a great time. Check out our shows page for more details.

http://www.myspace.com/onpathsoftorment

OMG SRSLY.

2006-08-21T21:24:00.000-04:00

Things have been SO busy in my personal life lately. I've been totally neglecting you, and I'm sorry.

If it's any consolation, I have some big things in the works for the blog right now:
*Several nifty exclusive articles
*A regular series of CD reviews
*The return of the "Weekly" Mailbag (which was, ahem, never even CLOSE to weekly)

In the meantime, I've been uploading to Flickr like a madman. Click the link on the right-hand side, and take a look at "My Sets" -- I've got a bazillion concerts, all organized by date and band. Who knows -- maybe your fat ass or ugly mug is accidentally in one of the pictures. OMG you're on the INTERWEB!

And to everyone who's been a part of all the crazy good things happening in my life right now:
Thank You.

The Realm's Swan Song May Just Be The Band Slam!

2006-07-30T23:46:00.000-04:00

Those who know me well by now know that I don't toot a horn not worth tooting.

Well, The Realm is an amazing band -- four dudes who are skilled musicians and sweet guys. And after 10+ years, they're finally calling it quits -- and the last show will be the Band Slam. (If they play it.)

Check out their e-mail below for an explanation -- and follow up. Let's hope it goes through and everything works out. If it does, it's gonna be one set you're not gonna wanna miss this Thursday!

We're honored once again the accept the award for Best Fusion from the Hartford Advocate for Grand Band Slam 2006. Thanks to everyone who nominated us and voted for us to help make this happen. Grand Band Slam occurs in downtown Hartford this coming Thursday, August 3, 2006. Details at www.HartfordAdvocate.com

Regretfully however Band Slam 06 will be the last performance of The Realm. Lots of reasons for this but in short - after doing this for more than a decade - we've decided that the winds in front of us are stronger than the winds behind us and it's time for us to move on to other things. Our website will remain up indefinately at www.TheRealm101.com and in the time to come will be further populated and chok full of photos, goodies, and as much music as we can possibly cram into it.

As far as our last performance at Band Slam goes, there is still some question as to whether or not it will occur. We are having some difficulty with the powers that be over whether or not we will be able to perform using our own equipment - or whether we would be forced to use common drums and amps in order to save time and space. We are definately against using anything other than our own drums, guitar and bass amps for obvious reasons. No band can perform at their best without being able to use their own equipment; equpiment that they have spent thousands on, are comfortable with and have spent years tweaking and dialing to their own unique needs.

We've been trying all last week to work out the issue with those powers that be and it's looking like things will probably be OK. We're hoping to have the chance to go out with blazing progressive music rather than with a whimper and a sigh. However unless we can get assurances that we will be able to use our own gear at Band Slam, we will be forced to regretfully decline to perform at the show. More on this situation can be found on the Inner Circle section of our website.

As it stands now, we should be able to perform, and will do so at Black Eye Sally's on Thursday August 3rd. Our set time is still in question but we will likely either be the first band at roughly 9pm or the last band at roughly midnight. Either way we will keep you posted by email and likely the next issue of The Advocate will have an updated schedule. Our website at www.TheRealm101.com will also be updated with the latest information as it comes out.

We're certainly hoping for a chance to kick this mother one last time before we all go home. If the show happens, it's sure to be one not to miss. Stay tuned.

regards,

yer friends at The Realm

New Photo Sets Up on Flickr!

2006-07-27T19:31:00.000-04:00

GOD, Flickr is the coolest thing since Google.

Mouth to Mouth @ BAR, New Haven, 7/23/06
Kim Leaman @ Sub Rosa Party, Cousin Larry's, Danbury 7/22/06
Medicant Downline @ ConnectiCon, Hartford Convention Center
Burt Teague Jam @ Goomba's, Granby
Eula @ Acoustic Cafe, Bridgeport
The Gavel's Weight @ Acoustic Cafe, Bridgeport

and some Oldies But Goodies:

Aloha @ West Haven American Legion, 10/17/04
Sparrows Swarm and Sing @ Josh Kelly's Basement

Calling All Superheroes!

2006-07-25T14:26:00.000-04:00

Back in March, I had the opportunity to scope out a preview staging of the first acts of GRIMM, an extraordinary performance featuring Connecticut's world music ensemble SaReel Project as both musicians and actors. (Check out my review here; pix of the performance are on my Flickr. You can view the invite to the NYC opening here.)

Well, the performers of GRIMM are gearing up for the debut of the show... but first they have to raise some funds!

That's where you come in. The performers of GRIMM would like to invite you to a fundraiser party in Brooklyn! Please e-mail me (Dan) at localmotionct@gmail.com if you're interested; I'll pass along the address of the party and the phone contact info for tickets/RSVP!

I, unfortunately, won't be attending; I live in a shoebox and eat tin cans for breakfast, so I'm afraid I can't afford the door price (despite REALLY REALLY wanting to). If you're like me and can't go, please continue to pass the word along to friends and family and art lovers. Tell them a big-shot critic says this shindig is worth it! :P

Below is producer/dancer/choreographer/genius Faith Pilger's original e-mail to me (hee hee, they QUOTED me -- to this day, shit like that still makes me giddy):

Dear friend and fellow superhero!
You are cordially and enthusiastically invited to...
A "GRIMM" FUNDRAISER ART LOFT PARTY!!!(including wild performances by the original cast of GRIMM!)

WHEN: Thursday, August 10th @ 8:30pm
WHERE: The Artist Loft of Dalton Portella (between Bedford and Driggs in Williamsburg, Brooklyn! Only 1 stop on the L train and a short, scenic walk to *SOUTH* 5th Street!)
WHY: GRIMM, a new Off-Broadway production which premieres August 24th needs to meet their final fiscal goal! GRIMM has been made possible by a Special Project Grant from the Princess Grace Foundation as well as individual donations of goods, services and monies by art lovers such as yourself!!!
OUR GOAL: $10,000 in one night! (100 attendees who will have an entertaining and fulfilling summer evening in hip Billyburg, NY!)
HOW MUCH: $100 entrance will include...
*Open bar
*Snacks
*Live entertainment from the dancers/acrobats in GRIMM!
*A peek into the art studio/"backstage" of visual artist, Dalton Portella!
*An opportunity to meet and mingle with artists, art presenters, art lovers and generally interesting humans!
*The satisfaction of knowing that your contribution is making it possible for this exciting new production to begin it's own exciting journey and transformation!

(Please see our website for details on "giving" to GRIMM. Fearliss Productions is sponsored by The Field and all donations such as this event are tax deductible to the full extent of the law!)

COMMENTS:
A. If you can make it, please RSVP by email to: faith@agrimmproduction.com Faith Pilger/Fearliss Productions/Executive Producer of GRIMM

B. If you cannot make it, please pass this along to a friend who you thinkwill enjoy a one-of-a-kind opportunity to meet and mingle with the cast of a new off-broadway production in a casual setting, with surprise performances throughout the evening. ALL ART LOVERS WELCOME! IF YOU LOVE ART, WE LOVE YOU!!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and pass it along to your friends and colleagues. It is individuals such as yourself who keep great art alive in AMERICA! Thank you!

Please view the attached invitation to the PREMIERE of GRIMM, at The Duke on 42nd Street Theater, NYC, on August 24-27, 2006! This fusion of dance, theatre, live music, puppetry and aerial silk is appropriate for all ages! Please also visit http://www.agrimmproduction.com/ for photos and information.

*****
"GRIMM is as timely as it is exciting. The activist in me sees it as a starting point for discussions about poverty, class, and child autonomy. The psychologist in me sees it as a boldly honest study of family dynamics. The environmentalist in me sees it as a call to re-affiliate ourselves with the mystery of the woods."
~Dan Barry, The Hartford Advocate (From review of preview performance at CCSU in CT)*****

We look forward to your R.S.V.P. and the opportunity to bring our world into yours!
Sincerely,
Faith Pilger
Fearliss Productions
http://www.agrimmproduction.com/

Brian MacDonald Finally Gets His Due

2006-07-24T15:29:00.000-04:00

Almost exactly two years ago now, I found myself in Marlboro, CT, home of the now-defunct Pine Needles cafe. I was attending the show that would become the material for my third-ever Local Motion column.

Wait -- before I continue, you NEED to see this fuckin' stuffed moose head they had on the wall in this place.

I mean, look at that! 100% of the moose, 0% of the old boys club elitism! Who else has that? SUCH a bummer that it closed.

Anyway, so I'm at Pine Needles, hanging out, and seeing this guy Brian MacDonald for the first time. And this dude -- to hear his voice is to be instantly bowled over. He has a beautiful baritone. I was just astounded. He ran down Dylan and Warren Zevon covers with such reverence and integrity; he had originals that ran the gamut from wacky tunes about getting old to love songs to wondering where the hell your life is at in the middle of the night.

After his set, I talk to him for a good long time. Turns out he's already read my column (!!!) and he chats with me about my predecessors (Tom Pizzola, India Blue, Jayne Keedle, others I can't even remember -- homeboy's been on the scene for a long time). We had a great conversation.

Well, turns out that Bri was gigging something like 300 nights a year -- and, y'know, no insult to him or anything, but he's not exactly a young whippersnapper no more, so I'm just amazed at the work he puts in. And he's just released this album called Midnight in Nowhere (get it on CDBaby) that's doing respectably well, but seems to be getting more attention in random European countries than here in the states.

If there's anyone who was going to be able to gracefully continue doing all that heavy gigging and songcrafting into their old age -- whether or not they got their due -- it was Bri. Luckily, now he doesn't have to.

He called to tell me about some good news. A couple months ago, he was coming off of a previous night's lackluster gig when he got a phone call from his longtime producer, Rick Jarrard. Rick's Nashville-based song publishing company has been taking off of late.

"You sick of gigging, Bri?" asked Rick.

"Well, yeah, I kinda am. I had a gig that I just kinda ... got through last night."

"Well, you don't have to gig any more. I wanna take you on as a salaried songwriter."

When Brian got off the phone with Rick, he sat down right where he was -- which happened to be a Stop and Shop parking lot -- and called all of the venues where he had upcoming gigs. He politely cancelled them all. As he explained to me, "pretend you work at McDonald's. You're not ashamed, but you have to pay the bills, you have to feed your family, so that's what you do. Now imagine it's the middle of the lunch hour rush. Someone walks in and says, 'I wanna give you the job of your dreams. Here.' How long would it take you to take off your apron?"

Congratulations, Brian. I've never looked so forward to not seeing someone play live.

What I Wrote/What They Quote

2006-07-20T17:56:00.000-04:00

A story:

About a year ago now, I received a review copy of Livintrust's CD "BlindDrive" in the mail. I put it on and gave it a few spins... And I was like, "eesh -- I am *really* not feelin' this." I put it aside, and when I had a chance, I went to see them live. (That's the true test -- after all, look at what happened with Porto. I wasn't very keen on their first LP, Nemesis -- but then I checked them out live, and holy shit! They're awesome!) I saw LivinTrust play at Zen Bar in Farmington, and before their set, their drummer Matt Chirsky sidled up to me, acted chummy, bought me and my girlfriend drinks... Then they went on stage, and they sounded exactly like their album. Which is to say that they came off as talented musicians who crank out cookie-cutter nu-metal songs.

In the following days, the LT boys were politely persistent about asking what I thought. I told them the truth: that I saw a lot of problems with their tunes, that if I wrote a review it would be pretty critical and negative, and that I didn't want to go to press with a review like that when they had been good to me at the show. A while down the road, Chirsky got back to me and said that the band had talked about it, and decided that they wanted me to go ahead and publish the review anyway.

Ok, I thought. If you say so.

Fast-forward to today. I just saw this and I thought it was awesome. Guess it just goes to show: your words can be used against you in a court of law, but they can be flipped around sideways and backwards by musicians!

WHAT I WROTE
(from "Kiss It Goodbye," Hartford Advocate, January 5, 2006 - http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/Music/content.html?oid=oid:138763)

Livintrust
Blind Drive
(One Six One)

Considering the massive success that local boys Staind have enjoyed in recent years, it's not surprising that Connecticut musicians are still eager to jump on the "I'm so angry and misunderstood" bandwagon. Problem is, Staind peaked a while ago. Now they, like their nu-metal sires Korn and Limp Bizkit, are cranking out drivel that even the most terminally abused teenagers can see through. While the rise and fall of these bands is enough to make a solid case for the death of nu-metal, the real clincher is the onslaught of pre-fab "heavy alternative" bands on the local level, each trying to get a peck at the corpse. Such is the case with Livintrust. They've modeled their album Blind Drive almost note-for-note on Sevendust's recent material. (Gosh, don't those names sound so similar?) Meanwhile, Livintrust are enjoying all the commercial plaudits you might imagine a flawless rip-off would get: corporate sponsorships, song rotation on WCCC, and a recent opening slot for Audioslave. The real talent in the Livintrust camp is their marketing execs.

WHAT THEY QUOTE

(from the Livintrust MySpace, www.myspace.com/livintrust05)

Hartford Advocate, Dan Barry
"...like Korn and Limp Biskit...Livintrust are enjoying all the commercial plaudits you might imagine... corporate sponsorships, song rotation on WCCC, and a recent opening slot for Audioslave...real talent..."

This blog post brought to you by the ellipsis (...), Bud Light True Music, and unresolved teenage angst.

New Mima Track!

2006-07-14T11:02:00.000-04:00

This shit is the sex! The girl can do no wrong.

http://www.myspace.com/mimamusica

Sparrows Swarm and Sing: Upcoming Album, Ambitious Tour!

2006-07-12T01:04:00.000-04:00

CT/MA post-rockers Sparrows Swarm and Sing (who I reviewed, um, ages ago in this article) are in the midst of a gigantic national tour right now. They're gearing up for the release of their first LP on Magic Bullet Records, titled 'O Shenandoah Mighty Death Will Find Me.

You want MP3 clips? Peep clips.

Across Canyons/Canons Part iii (CLIP)
Warm Blood Within (CLIP)

I am a sucker for quality album packaging and art. I think it's something that gets overlooked too often. These days, when everyone (including me) is downloading almost everything, there's such a high premium on being able to enjoy music with your hands and eyes as well. And I can honestly say that the Sparrows releases I own (which include two radically different copies of their first untitled CD and a 12" record of their second untitled release) are some of the most beautiful, thoughtful, and fun recordings I've ever come across.

That said: check out this fucking AMAZING album art, which is by their drummer, no less. (Click for detail.)

The final kicker? Pre-order copies supposedly come in a handmade buckskin pouch! Very not vegan; very damn cool!

My little weekend in Bushnell Park.

2006-07-10T21:30:00.000-04:00

On Saturday afternoon I interviewed a bunch of the Grand Band Slam winners.

Can I just say really quickly:
HOLY SHIT.
This year is going to be so fucking good.

More details soon, baby. All I can say is: mark off your calendars. I'm not saying this because they're making me say it. I'm saying it because I wanna see your face get rocked.

Farewood -- Alive and Kickin'!

2006-07-07T11:41:00.000-04:00

Just got some great news in from Leah of Farewood, one of CT's best on-again-off-again alternative rock bands. (Adam G of Hatestick once described them as Dinosaur Jr. something something Bjork something lots of drugs. Fuck. I wish I could remember his exact quote.)

Anyway. Check this shit out.

----

Farewood, the indie-rock/soul band out of Meriden CT, will be hosting a show at Cherry Street Station in Wallingford on Friday, July 14th. The band has just completed a video which they will premiere that night. The video was filmed in Meriden and is a bit of a tribute to the city's local spots and it's people, both of which have shaped the band's sound and influenced their music. Parts of Meriden, including the abandoned and semi-desolate cityscapes and it's colorful cast of local characters, have prompted songs about despair and the idea that hope can lie in what may seem like a dismal scene. The video, "King John" which is based on a Meriden local, pays homage to the band's hometown and so will their third album "Figures In Shadows" which will be released in the Fall.

Join Farewood and other locals, including Chrispy, Ben N, the Carlos Projeckt and Florida Equals Death at Cherry Street Station in Wallingford on Friday 07/14/06. Doors open at 8:30pm. Admission is $5.

Icepick, Motherfucker

2006-07-05T02:45:00.000-04:00

For those of you who aren't up on your hardcore history, here's a crash course: hardcore evolved from punk rock in the very early 80s. Much of its roots are located here on the East coast. In D.C., bands like Black Flag, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat were crystallizing a scene that had outspoken social/political lyrics. Meanwhile, up towards our neck of the woods, NYC bands were taking a slightly different tack. Groups like Agnostic Front and Sick of it All (both of whom are amazingly still active) were a bit less political and a lot more thuggish. These bands and their crowds had much more of a "street tough" appeal -- they were more working class and less intellectual.

It's that influence that carried through to a lot of CT hardcore. If you've ever heard of Hatebreed, then you probably know that CT has a reputation for cranking out thugged-out NYC-style hardcore (especially southern CT -- Hatebreed calls New Haven home).

Well, Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta has a CT/NYC-based side project known as Icepick that recently released an album, Violent Epiphany. While many hardcore and metal fans wring their hands over Hatebreed (and there's admittedly a lot to dislike: the band's willingness to "sell" hardcore to MTV and Hot Topic; their enviable success; their repetitive songwriting; their major-label backing; the constant violence at their shows; their appearances on Hollywood film soundtracks and other "sellout" areas), Icepick is much easier to like. A good part of it may just be that it's a different band with a different reputation. But a cursory listen shows that Icepick has something that Hatebreed doesn't. Icepick's songs are inexplicably simple, unapologetically dumb, and undeniably HARD.

This shit is unbelievable. Put on "Real Recognizes Real." That's ICE-T talking all that trash at the beginning. Ice Motherfucking T. Foul-mouthed doesn't even begin to describe it. I have been known to play the intro to this song over and over just because it's so incredibly in-your-face-offensive and badass.

Violent Epiphany is available on Jasta's label, Stillborn Records.

http://myspace.com/icepick

New Shag Frenzy Location!

2006-07-03T18:01:00.000-04:00

Shag Frenzy @ The Webster Underground, RIP... Shag Frenzy @ Factory, welcome! This just in from Johnny Strangler himself:

We're taking over the old Troutbrook Brewhouse/Spaghetti Warehouse in the nice Parkville section in the west end of Hartford, near Real Art Ways, Wood N Tap, etc. The night will be called Shag Frenzy at Factory, as the club will be called Factory when we are there. We're teaming up with 2 other djs, Markie Gee & Brut Zero, who will be spinning anything from old industrial to electro to Detroit/Chicago acid. Sara and I will be doing our usual sets, just like normal. We have 2 dancefloors, 4 deejays, and 4 drink specials. Yes, we have specials! They are:

* $2 PBR cans
* $3 Jager shots
* $4 Red Bull & Vodkas
* $5 Apple Martinis

The first Shag Frenzy at Factory is 15 July at 9pm. It's 21+ from now on, with the same cover of $5. There is free parking in our spacious lot, so no worries about gangwars and broken glass anymore. Please spread the word... flyers printed as we speak so we'll have nice glossy color ones at the ready.

SHAG FRENZY @FACTORY
45 BARTHOLOMEW AVE
HARTFORD
Directions:84 E or W, Exit 46
(left) onto Sisson Ave.
(left) onto Park St.
(right) onto Bartholomew Ave.
At the old Troutbrook Brewing Co./Spaghetti Warehouse (look for the neon lights)

Your iPod is a Nazi.

2006-06-30T19:35:00.000-04:00

Macworld Daily News

Monday - June 12, 2006

Inside Apple's iPod factories
By Macworld staff

Apple's iPods are made by mainly female workers who earn as little as £27 per month, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday yesterday. The report, 'iPod City', isn't available online. It offers photographs taken from inside the factories that make Apple music players, situated in China and owned by Foxconn.

The Mail visited some of these factories and spoke with staff there. It reports that Foxconn's Longhua plant houses 200,000 workers, remarking: "This iPod City has a population bigger than Newcastle's." The report claims Longhua's workers live in dormitories that house 100 people, and that visitors from the outside world are not permitted. Workers toil for 15-hours a day to make the iconic music player, the report claims. They earn £27 per month. The report reveals that the iPod nano is made in a five-storey factory (E3) that is secured by police officers.

Another factory in Suzhou, Shanghai, makes iPod shuffles. The workers are housed outside the plant, and earn £54 per month - but they must pay for their accommodation and food, "which takes up half their salaries", the report observes.

A security guard told the Mail reporters that the iPod shuffle production lines are staffed by women workers because "they are more honest than male workers".

The report also explains that the nano contains 400 parts, and that its flash memory is the most expensive component. The report looks at several salient components of the nano, and describes the product as a reflecting the global way business works today. This is because the iPod nano contains parts developed by technology companies from across the planet.

Apple is just one of thousands of companies that now use Chinese facilities to manufacture its products, the report observes. Low wages, long hours and China's industrial secrecy make the country attractive to business, particularly as increased competition and consumer expectations force companies to deliver products at attractive prices.

You can comment on this story in the Macworld UK Forum.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=14915

Metal Bands Needed for Sunday Shows in Terryville! (What Weapons Bring War)

2006-06-30T19:15:00.000-04:00

What Weapons Bring War has just recently begun hosting a Sunday night Metal showcase at the New England Sports Bar in Terryville (23 Main St., Terryville; right next to Bristol). The shows will all be 21+. If your crew is looking for a Sunday gig (or if you like metal and want to catch some good tunes at a small/laid-back bar on a Sunday night... you lush), then drop WWBW a line.

http://www.myspace.com/whatweaponsbringwar

Frontline Fridays @ The Oxbow Cafe

2006-06-30T19:11:00.000-04:00

For all you drum 'n bass/electronic heads, this just in from Miz-Eyesis:

The Second Installment of Frontline Fridays with Performances from: Oneself, Drumbelinah + Elijah Divine and the Might Ikari... Oh and for all you dj's out there, Open turntables from 9-10... 18 to come, 21+ to drink... Don't miss it!!!

7/21
9:00 pm
The Oxbow Cafe
Hartford

Missing Fifths update & Guitar Center Spin-Off News

2006-06-25T19:45:00.000-04:00

Last year's Band Slam winners for Best Hip Hop, the Missing Fifths, wrote in last month with an update.

"Its been a long time, and alot has changed with the Missing Fifths. Jason just returned from 3 months in Africa, Erin graduated college (after 8 long years), and Abu is married, with a beautiful baby daughter. Needless to say we've been enjoying our hiatus. Though there's one thing we weren't able to acccomplish, and that's staying off this years Grand Band Slam ballot.

In other news, DJ Syruz has unanimously won the first round of Guitar Center's Spin-Off 2006, yesterday. The District Finals will take place at the Manchester, CT Guitar Center, on Tuesday June 20th, with the winners advancing to the Regionals in NYC."

However, Syruz lost last week's District Finals at the hands of DJ EmmAre, who is advancing to the Regional Finals in NYC on July 19th.

Quark news

2006-06-25T19:34:00.000-04:00

Local indie psych-rockers Quark have been laying low for a while -- partially because bassist Pat Lamothe has had his hands full with his other band, Kiss Kiss. John Cipriano (keys) wrote in with an update:

"We're in the studio right nowrecording a demo/ep of sorts, and it's coming along pretty nicely. We'll probablybe done with it by the 20th. It's pretty exciting... I moved my rhodes and my piano down to Shelton (Dan Franko's doing it, if you know him, I hope I spelled his name right). Plus we've got some friends of ours to play violin, cello, and trumpet.

"I was very sad to hear that Jackie McLean passed, especially since I went to the Hartt School for a while. It was nice that you mentioned him. I was also a big Silent Groove fan... all things must pass, I suppose. I sort of wish I'd stayed on in Hartford, the variety of music is pretty amazing (although I don't need to tell *you* that)."

I'm really looking forward to the e.p. -- check out their website for updates. If you're new to Quark, you can check out their tunes on their website, too.

DISGUSTING

2006-06-21T15:43:00.000-04:00

amount of new Flickr uploads and updates.

Sweetheart Mountain @ Jitters, Southington 3/25/06
Wrenchintheworks, Ed Gein, Animosity @ Wallingford American Legion 8/24/05
Eula @ Lily Pad Lounge (Toad's Place Upstairs), New Haven 4/19/05
Sugarfist @ Michael Angelo's Pizza 1/29/05
...and more!

Now that I have a pro account (THANKS, ROB!) I can post unlimited photo sets. Which means almost all my concerts are organized into nice neat little sets that give the names of bands, show date, location, etc.

I'm working on posting every band picture I've ever taken that's worth posting.

This shit is so future. Go check it out. Musicians: as always, you're completely welcome to use my photos on your website or Myspace -- just list me (Dan Barry) as the photo credit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/localcommotionct/

More updates soon. I've been collecting some good music news from around the state.

Chiane's Open Mic WANTS YOU!

2006-06-14T20:53:00.001-04:00

Diane (the "-iane" half of Chiane's) told me that she's looking for new performers to come to her open mic night. She's also soliciting demos/recordings for her Friday night performance slots -- she's booking well in advance, and wants to have a variety of acts.

Musicians, try your hand! Especially if you're from the Hartford area and want to make a break into the Torrington/NW Corner scene... Or if you just plain don't have a regular gig on Thursday nights.

The lowdown:
Chiane's is at 77 Main St. in Torrington, literally across from the Warner Theatre (which has an un-missable marquee). It's about 45 minutes from the I-84 ramp in Farmington. You just go up Rt. 4 through Unionville, and turn left onto 118. That's literally all there is to it -- you just keep going and it puts you in downtown T-town.

You can reach Diane at (860) 489-0707. Send her a demo CD or a link to your MySpace if you want a shot at a Friday night headlining spot -- or come by on a Thursday (open mic night) to perform and introduce yourself.

Late June Schedule @ Chiane's:

June 16 Space People (Young kids, good and funny)
June 23 Jesse Meade
June 30 Jarrod Cattey (Young Jazz Trio)

Get there around 7 or 8. BYOB. No cover but bring a few bucks for the performers and a snack.

If I Had Eyes Release KICKASS Video

2006-06-12T18:20:00.000-04:00

Want to see what I saw that fateful night at The Oxbow? Check this shit out. It was recorded the same night that I wrote this review.

If I Had Eyes are a bunch of fire-breathing, math-textbook-eating demons. And can I just say that I love the opening of this song? And they have a sick drummer. Ok, 'nuff raving.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=805137213&n=2

!!!THANK YOU ROB!!!

2006-06-12T18:16:00.000-04:00

FOR BUYING ME AN UPGRADED FLICKR ACCOUNT!

You are a peach.

If you like my photos, you should thank Rob too. You're seeing them because of him.

New Tracks on Local Commotion Radio!

2006-06-06T23:43:00.000-04:00

Get over to the Local Commotion MySpace and do your homework!

Local/National Mashup

2006-06-04T23:12:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed that I've been writing more and more about national releases on here lately. Why call a spade a spade? I love talking and writing about music -- local AND national. While the focus here will stay on CT music, I've decided to loosen up and let more national stuff in as well. Hey, national trends directly influence our local scene -- why not?

The Team is Back in Play

2006-06-04T23:04:00.000-04:00

Queercore fans, rejoice -- our leaders, Team Dresch, have reunited and are touring intermittently. They just finished a brief stint in Washington and NYC, but be on the lookout for more dates in the future.

What the fuck is queercore, you ask?

Well, my fellow fans of punk and hardcore: if you've never heard of Team Dresch, you're not just missing out on one of the first bands to herald the mid-90's hardcore/punk blend that Propagandhi and Glassjaw would go on to popularize. You're also missing out on the band that single-handedly made "queercore" a national underground movement. While Bikini Kill spearheaded the riot grrrl movement (and have no doubt that the two movements had MUCHO in common), Team Dresch was opening doors for queer kids who wanted to rock all across the nation.

These dykes make Pansy Division look like the shit band they really are.

OMGZWTFBBQ????!!!11 BUSH DID SOMETHING GOOD?!

2006-06-02T17:40:00.000-04:00

This just in from The Advocate's copy editor extraordinaire, Traci Neal:

On May 17, 2006, President Bush signed into law the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 ...

... Another group of taxpayers that will benefit from the Act are certain musically inclined individuals. Beginning in 2006, the Act provides that the sale of musical compositions or copyrights in musical works created by the taxpayer’s personal efforts is treated as the sale of a capital asset. This means gain from the sale will be subject to the more favorable capital gains tax rate (15 percent maximum) instead of ordinary income tax rates (35 percent maximum).

Great news!

On a separate but related note, I would STRONGLY RECOMMEND to all my friends who are local, professional musicians that you consider using an accountant to help with taxes. There are deductions specifically for performing artists that you can take advantage of; you may even be able to deduct mileage and band-related expenses. Independent accountants around these parts usually charge around $75-$100 to prepare your tax returns (as opposed to the conglommo-H and R Block fuckers, who cost more), but it may save you far more than that in the long run. Drop me a line if you want to talk more about it; I've had a great experience with my accountant and I'm never filling out those damn forms again.

New Smashing Pumpkins On The Way?

2006-05-31T19:04:00.000-04:00

I'm back from the convention, and more deranged than ever!

Peep: http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/

New SP, huh? I have mixed feelings; Billy is clearly flailing about without other musicians to indulge his increasingly shitty compositions. First Zwan nosedived -- to be honest, I never even understood what people liked about them -- and then didn't he release some atrocious solo album? And meanwhile Jimmy Chamberlin, all cleaned up and totally high on life, released this AMAZING solo jazz-rock album just filled with crackling, explosive drumming. And James went on to work with A Perfect Circle, which somehow seems so appropriate for him (I would still love to see more of his dark side). And D'arcy was supposed to be just chilling on her farm with her weirdo P-USA husband. So when I hear they're together again after the hot-and-cold crapshoot that was Machina (and the wonderfully rebellious but low-quality Machina II) I get scared: namely because their old material has such intense personal relevance to me, and every crappy song they write since then is just, like, a puppykick.

But you know what? I like the nervous tension of not knowing what's going to happen. It's one of my favorite feelings, whether I get it from flirting, watching movies, or following bands.

Undead Review: Annie

2006-05-25T10:06:00.000-04:00

I'm gonna be away for a much-needed break this weekend (yes, this music reviewer is secretly an anime nerd). Which means that instead of the usual live reviews, on the 31st you can look forward to a CD review column including new releases by Deb Hornblow, End-Time Illusion, Omega Vague, and others. In the meantime, here's my last living-dead CD review (i.e. one that fell on the cutting room floor somewhere along the way!). Hope you enjoy it -- have a good weekend.

Annie
Anniemal
Big Beat/Atlantic, 2005
http://www.anniemusic.co.uk/

What, Lassie? Pop’s been kidnapped?

Let’s be straightforward: Annie’s not going to save it, but she occasionally succeeds at transforming it into something enjoyable once again. Her debut, Anniemal, makes blissfully few concessions to the media, and the hype surrounding her release is largely grassroots. For starters, unlike Kylie (to whose voice Annie’s bears more than a passing resemblance), Annie puts on no airs about being one of the “beautiful people.” There’s no glitz or self-absorption; her persona on Anniemal seems the type you could meet in a bar or a class. And while her lyrics are hardly deep, they’re not vacuous, either. They actually tell stories rather than seduce that same old faceless, hypersexualized “you.” Like The Cardigans and Vanessa Carlton, there’s some substance mixed in with all the sweet.

Song-wise, Anniemal is hit-and-miss. The single “My Heartbeat” is catchy, understated retro, and “No Easy Love” rides an infectious bumpty-bump groove. Then again, “Come Together” takes seven minutes to go all of nowhere, and if the premise of a pop song called “Chewing Gum” doesn’t piss you off right from the title, the chew-boys-up-and-spit-‘em-out lyrics will. Please, ignore the reviewers who would make such songs into witty feminist reversals of male sexual privilege. They’re not. Anniemal is not dissertation material. Unlike M.I.A., whose (more danceable) 2005 release Arular also snuck its way into the hipster cachet, Annie is expressly apolitical. She wants to party, have sex, and sell records, and these themes carry the album.

Dance music is working its way back into the subcultures that expelled it as corporate tripe. Hey, if you’re too skinny to mosh, and too uncomfortable standing with your arms crossed for twenty-minute Explosions in the Sky songs, you gotta move to something, right? And between 2005’s surge in dance-punk and the cash cow known as The Postal Service, radical, indie-minded people are finally starting to feel less guilty about shaking their brilliant asses. Annie won’t herd pop skeptics off to the dance floor—but she might just inspire them to sing her songs into a broomhandle while sweeping. And that’s a step toward getting those “guilty pleasure” types to believe that there’s good pop out there—which there is, in spite of mass media messages to the contrary.

Undead Review: The Deadly

2006-05-24T00:14:00.000-04:00

The Deadly
The Wolves Are Here Again
Pluto Records, 2005
http://www.plutorecords.com/

There’s enough bad metalcore these days to send the staunchest scene stalwart screaming towards Emoville. And with labels flourishing from the influx of “new jack” capital, it seems like new, hot bands are coming out every week. How’s a hardcore kid supposed to stay on top?

Maybe, to some extent, we’re not. The over-saturation of heavy music right now might not be a bad thing—because as much as it reeks of being the new fad, it also places that much more responsibility on the bands to turn listeners’ heads.

The Deadly turned my head. There’s an instant similarity to the Blood Brothers: both bands place screamy vocals and plucky bass riffs in the forefront of their sound. But where the latter are raucous and spastic to a degree that alienates most listeners who, uh, don’t have rabies, The Deadly have enough heft and chunk to their riffs for the sane to glom onto. What’s more, they’re fucking catchy. Right from the opening riff of the CD, it’s clear that bouncy, catchy rhythms á la Coheed and Cambria dominate The Wolves Are Here Again.

The lyrics may be a bit hashed-over by this point. I mean, is the sexual sarcasm of “Make Me Rich”—“so you want to make out again well we’re stealing every heart we can”—really going to send any ex-lovers to the emergency room? But then, who really listens to hardcore for the lyrics anyway? The nitpicky downsides are a disappointing read-along and a lyric booklet full of typos; but these are balanced out by the unconventional, beautifully executed design work. Every hardcore band, including your mom’s, seems to have a logo with blood drips and splatter marks. The Deadly opt for disturbingly clean design, and photographs of high-rises and chandeliers that reek of too much order. Sometimes spitting in the face of the trend can be good for one’s dignity.

Diamondback Featured on I-84 West's Electronic Billboard

2006-05-19T23:47:00.000-04:00

Driving from Hartford back to the Local Commotion Compound, ducking through lanes of rush hour traffic, I look up and who do I see on the big billboard (near Hartford Elf Storage) than cover band extraordinaire Diamondback.

Come to Hartford. It's fun, I swear!

UJIMA, Cipher's Online Community

2006-05-19T00:11:00.000-04:00

hey y'all,

some of you may remember me mentioning a band called Cipher a while back. I did an interview with them in Clamor Magazine -- you can peep it in my previous Local Commotion posts.

Anyway, Cipher has created an online community and message board called Ujima. Anyone with an interest in activism, progressive politics, building communities, or finding common ground between various socio-political movements will want to get on board. I just signed up and it looks excellent. I would assume that as Ujima grows and matures, the bulk of its members will be hardcore and punk kids who dig Cipher's music -- but whether you're into hip hop, jazz, or hardcore, you'll be able to appreciate the vibe and the momentum that's already under way there.

Come talk to us!

http://www.cipheronline.com/ujima/community/index.php

May & June Music at Chiane's

2006-05-15T19:51:00.001-04:00

May 19 The Sawtelles
May 26 Carrie Reeves (Phenomal Strong Vocals) Really Powerful

June 2 Anne Ganem
June 9 Carrie Johnson
June 16 Space People (Young kids, good and funny)
June 23 Jesse Meade
June 30 Jerrod Cattey (Young, Jazz Trio)

Get there around 7 or 8. BYOB!

Undead Review: Żegota

2006-05-15T19:51:00.000-04:00

Żegota
Sinnerman/The Anarchist Cheerleader Song 7”
Crimethinc, Inc., 2005
http://www.crimethinc.com/

Doesn’t good album packaging just turn you on? I mean, let’s be real: it’s like opening a sexy letter from someone who handmade an envelope just for you. The textures and images in Żegota’s latest 7” will remind you that music isn’t just about hearing; it’s about touch, it’s about work, it’s about physical sensation and spectacle as well. Sinnerman’s lyrics are printed on beautiful ridged brown paper; the vinyl itself finds a home in a photo of mannequin-like figures spreading their arms and taking flight. One can’t help but think of the hands that packaged these records; indeed, the back of the record sleeve meticulously describes and thanks the people involved in the countless phases of assembly.

Such gorgeous packaging makes me wish from the bottom of my heart that the songs lived up to their sensuous introduction. Sadly, they were an anticlimax. “Sinnerman,” the traditional that comes down via Nina Simone, doesn’t translate well into hardcore punk. Well, let’s be honest: it doesn’t translate well into rock. The problem is less Żegota’s execution and more their idealistic notion that a gospelly spiritual could be rocked with panache. The song describes a sinner frantically seeking refuge on the day of judgment, not realizing it’s too late to repent. The levity of the lyrics seem betrayed by the standard bass-drums-guitars rock setup; whereas a jazz band or choir could really scare the shit out of you with this material, Żegota merely scaremongers.

Of course, a title like “The Anarchist Cheerleader Song” makes one hope for rousing choruses, circle pit brotherhood, and pithy, street-punk chants. Nope. Not to be found. Żegota’s idea of a fists-in-the-air lyric? “A, give me an A.” What a bummer! The endeavor may have been punk in attitude and communal in execution, but even the revolution’s most strident cheerleaders will have a tough time adding these tunes to their songbook.

Undead Review: Stamen & Pistils

2006-05-13T16:04:00.000-04:00

Stamen & Pistils
End of the Sweet Parade
Echelon Productions
www.echelonproductions.com

Perhaps the biggest surprise on the soundtrack for 2004’s Garden State was Iron and Wine’s cover of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights.” Well, let’s be specific: the surprise wasn’t the covering so much as the fact that The Postal Service’s techno-ey glitchpop translated wonderfully into a whispery acoustic arrangement. If the two acts were to jam together, they might sound like Stamen & Pistils. The D.C.-area group melds acoustic guitars and hushed voices with foamy, purring computers. The vocals and lyrics are introverted, while the electronic noise is talkative, at times deafening.

Occasionally The Sweet Parade’s concept exceeds its execution: the singing is gawky and untrained, and S&P prioritize fiddling with ambient textures over articulate songwriting. But on the whole, Stamen & Pistils break such imaginative ground that one is left counting possibilities rather than annoyances. By casting their electronics as warm and charming narrators, these musicians’ voices and instruments become cold, uncompromising antagonists. It’s the complete opposite of the typical folk-pop arrangement—which may not drive you back for repeat listens, but it’s certainly reason enough to watch what happens next.

Music fans will dig this.

2006-05-12T18:56:00.000-04:00

http://pandora.com/

It creates a "radio station" for you based on your likes and disklikes. Really easy to use, and awesome sound quality! FREE!

Thanks for the link, Olympia, you cyberslut whore.

Undead Review: Discordance Axis

2006-05-12T18:51:00.000-04:00

Discordance Axis
Our Last Day
Hydra Head, 2005
www.hydrahead.com

If you think your metal’s been getting faster in the past couple of years, you’re not hearing things. Discordance Axis is almost single-handedly responsible for the recent popularity of grindcore, a spinoff of death metal that uses the fastest drumming humanly possible. No, seriously—the fastest. (It’s called “blasting,” and it involves an alternating one-two punch on the kick snare that, at high speeds, sounds like a machine gun.) Grind musicians are basically endurance athletes, and DA led the charge with their phlegmatic growls and dissonant anti-chords. Their songs rarely last more than one minute, but who can blame them when they play so sickeningly fast?

Our Last Day is more a tribute than an actual DA recording—the band broke up shortly after the release of 2000’s opus The Inalienable Dreamless, arguably the pinnacle of the grindcore genre. New fans should start there rather than here; the odds and ends that comprise Our Last Day are more likely to interest those with a more developed interest in the genre.

Two previously unreleased tracks open the album, and the rest is devoted to covers of the more popular songs in the DA catalog. But this is no chintzy tribute album—amazing bands like Melt Banana and Mortalized rewrite the songs entirely, taking bold liberties with the original material. The most unexpected treat on the album are the contributions by Cide Projekt, a rabid fan who programmed covers of DA songs with the synthesizer sounds from a Sega Genesis console. The robotic drums and plucky synth lines are minimalist as fuck. But by stripping away all the vocals and distortion, these particular tracks reveal just how powerful DA’s songwriting is. (Cide Projekt’s songs forced even my metal-hating friends to admit that, with the screaming vocals out of the way, they liked what they heard.) There’s a crackling tension between Dave Witte’s straightforward drums and Rob Marton’s spiraling guitar riffs; the latter seem to swirl around the former at such a dizzying rate that even computerized drums threaten to fall off-tempo at any moment. Unsurprisingly, it’s that same creative tension that eventually drove the band apart.

Eliot Spitzer, You're My Hero

2006-05-11T15:38:00.000-04:00

A lot of people (including me) rant and rave about how control of the media has been taken away from the people, and no longer represents their interests.

Here's proof.

I've been tracking the radio payola scandal for a while now, and this is another big-yet-obvious revelation. According to this Yahoo News article, Sony and Warner have already agreed to big-money settlements, and today Universal did as well.

Why are they paying? Because they've been bribing radio station employees to rotate certain songs more heavily. They've also been engaging in "fraudulent call-in campaigns" to skew a song's popularity.

Some of the Universal artists whose songs were payola'd: Nick Lachey, Ashlee Simpson, Brian McKnight, Big Tymers, and Lindsay Lohan.

ALL SHITTY MUSICIANS.

On the downside, the stuff these labels were giving to radio reps and Program Directors was pretty tame (Yankees tickets, Miami hotel rooms, preferred seating at U2 concerts). I was kind of hoping it would at least be hookers and blow.

Invocation Of Nehek Announce Breakup, Farewell Show

2006-05-09T15:20:00.000-04:00

This just in from Lambgoat.com:

Invocation Of Nehek has called it quits. The Connecticut group released one album with Prosthetic records. Guitarist Robb Cyr comments:

"Over the last 5 years ION has had so many great experiences, and we have met so many awesome people, and we are truly grateful for all of it, we sadly have come to a point where it was just time to move on. Although this is a sad moment for us, we know that it is best. When this band started it was meant just meant to be something fun to do on weekends, ION exceeded all of our expectations, trust me you don't name a band 'Invocation of Nehek' and expect to get a record deal or tour the country. We are all still great friends, and will support each other in any new projects. Keep your eyes peeled because you certainly haven't seen the last of all us. We'd like to thank everyone that we have met along the way and that has helped us out in some way shape or form. It was an amazing experience that we will never forget."

The band will play one final show on June 10th at the Sons of Italy in Torrington, CT with Necrosis and Wrenchintheworks, among others.

Shitty news, but then again ION has been plagued with lineup change problems for a long time now.

There are lots of other good local bands on the June 10th bill, too. They include These Days Are Ours, the posi-core group featuring members of On Paths of Torment; Shroud of Turin; and Porphyria.

Just recieved word from Nick Necrosis that the original ION drummer (Tom) and vocalist (Robb Sheol) will be coming down to perform the band's old material. The new drummer and Lou will perform the new stuff. Should be a good send-off.

The Terrifying Haunted Graveyard of Wandering Dead Record Reviews

2006-05-09T00:30:00.000-04:00

AAAAAHHHH!
Ahem.

Well, as you may or may not know, being a freelancer, I occasionally generate stuff that for one reason or another never gets printed. Sometimes it falls through the cracks; sometimes there's not enough room in the publication; sometimes the tone or content just doesn't jive with the rest of the publication's material. For whatever reason, I end up sitting on pieces -- usually record reviews.

What I'm going to do is toss them up here for your reading pleasure. The releases they cover are a little old, but they're still worth checking out. Let's start with one from The Kills.

The Kills

No Wow

(RCA/Rough Trade)

If you took away PJ Harvey’s antidepressants, she might make an album like No Wow. It’s the darkest, evilest non-metal album I’ve heard in a long time. Thing is, it’s sexy. Doubly so when you count the fact that it’s made by a boy-girl duo that’s more Jolie-and-Pitt than Jack and Meg White. Chalk it up to VV’s feline vocals (which may be too Harvey-esque for some, but hey, it’s not like she has much of a choice). Underneath, Hotel’s gritty guitar sounds like an overdriven bluesman. They use a drum machine for their rhythms, but they know how to make it sound driving and organic. Head-nodding, raunchy, slanky electro-pop.

The Afro-Semitic Experience

2006-05-04T20:28:00.000-04:00

... kicks ass.

I wrote a review of their latest CD, Plea for Peace, a little while back, but it's not going to run in The Advocate -- so enjoy it here!

You can find more info about ASE at bassist David Chevan's website: http://chevan.addr.com/

The Afro-Semitic Experience
Plea for Peace
(Reckless DC Music)

I’ve had a while to sit on ASE’s latest LP—and that’s a good thing, because Plea for Peace raises a bevy of questions. At the top of the list was whether or not the intersection between African and Jewish musical traditions was fertile enough to merit a fourth ASE album. Were these cats really on to something, or was it merely a gimmick that would expire if one ceased to consider the band’s name, the players’ races and religions? The album’s title felt fraught as well—especially in this time of international conflict. How would a “plea for peace” translate musically? And would that plea be clear to the average listener without forcing them to consult Cliff’s Notes on the connotations behind each piece?

Two facts become apparent after repeat listens. First, the playing on the album is immensely skilled, and, in its best moments, infectiously joyous. Second, between the disc’s ultra-hi-fi production and the spotless, over-rehearsed feel of the pieces, the first half of Plea for Peace retains a scholarly inflexibility, suggesting that this musical Voltron may find its origin in academic junctures, rather than organic ones. I found myself thinking the whole endeavor might be more aptly (if less poetically) titled Plea for Cooperation, since, by a stroke of Orwellian logic, the stuffy, unilateral peace suggested in the first tracks is just as creepy as unilateral war (if not more so).

But the theme of peace as a living, tenable concept finally rings true beginning with track 5—the sonorous “Introduction to A Song for When the Temple is Rebuilt.” Not coincidentally, this track features the album’s first musical acknowledgement of malice. With the introduction of an antagonist, peace—hitherto abject and abstract—springs to life full of pathos and rugged desire. The “Song” that follows offers substantive suggestions for conflict resolution. The track’s reliance on a hand percussion backbeat, rather than a traditional jazz drumkit, suggests that the work of “rebuilding” is human, practical, graspable. And Stacy Phillips’ guitar solo traverses angular Eastern scales that meld with the African-flavored percussion while retaining a foreign dignity. Respectful integration is the key.

Thankfully, it is this idea of peace that illuminates the latter half of the album. If “Song” is the centerpiece of the album, the title track is the capstone—an absolute jazz victory that was undertaken as a rehearsal, and ended up being the final take. Warren Byrd’s form is unmatched as he channels mellifluous piano work from some beautiful otherworld. And David Chevan’s bass solo is the very heart of the album—for in it, the “plea” finally reveals itself not to be one founded in desperation or simplistic idealism, but rather in vulnerability, in the human needs for love, safety, and warmth that bind us into a community.

James Arbys is booking some killer shows.

2006-05-03T18:22:00.000-04:00

Here are some upcoming show flyers. The May 6th show in particular looks incredible; The Red Chord, Doomriders, and Ed Gein are all amazing.

Shroud of Turin posts new song

2006-05-03T18:18:00.000-04:00

Peep it at: http://www.myspace.com/shroudofturin

100 Pageviews in 3 Days!

2006-05-03T15:47:00.000-04:00

HOLY SHIT!

Now if only more of you assholes would post comments! What are ya, mute?

Full Text of my Interview with Cipher!

2006-04-30T22:44:00.000-04:00

Now HERE'S the crazy shit! This is why it's nice to have a blog.

I had my interview with Cipher published in the spring issue of Clamor Magazine. (They're an awesome publication that will appeal to progressives, punks, DIY kids, and anyone who's generally into indie culture/politics.) Cipher is an excellent hardcore band from Long Island who set amazing sociopolitical lyrics to VERY heavy, danceable music.

Here, for your reading pleasure, is the full text of the interview on which my article was based. I've made minor readability edits to some of the band members' typos, but for the most part left their words intact. Enjoy!

DB: I read on your website something about the hardcore scene losing touch with its roots. What do you see as the biggest problems facing the scene today?

Moe: It’s a frustrating and complex phenomenon. As things get bigger - meaning more people buy Hardcore records and there’s more money in Hardcore - more and more people that simply want to profit off the culture and community get involved in it.

Money is not bad. There’s nothing wrong with bands being able to eat on the road or pay their rent off of their music.. That’s a beautiful thing. What’s really wrong is marketing people, executives, PR folks, and others that never went to a show dictating how our culture and community will be depicted and how our stories are going to be told. So now people think that they can buy a few records and wear some clothes and be part of some “underground scene.” In fact, the superficial elements, the fashion, the romance, and the glamour have taken such a front seat, it’s like the music is simply a vehicle for everything else. And people forget that punk and hardcore is rebel music. There’s very little dissent or critique on these records nowadays. People are too busy trying to convince themselves they’re living in a Def Leppard video. It’s amazingly cheesy and trite, yet it sells and it’s surprisingly popular.

It’s American excess with no critique, no challenging commentary, nothing.

Danny: To me the biggest problem facing the scene is the corporate influence. A hardcore show to kids today is nothing more than a concert event. The scene lacks the community of yesteryear. Generally, kids aren’t giving back to the scene, all they do is take and that’s what the corporate world looks for. A lot of bands that get lumped into the hardcore genre, incorporate a modern hardcore musical framework but they lack the integrity, sense of community, and ethic that is hardcore to me and our fellow scene veterans. Hardcore is now more accessible, which isn’t a bad thing for people like our selves who want our music and message to spread. It’s just a different time now. To illustrate, compare your reaction to seeing a kid in with a Bane shirt five years ago, to your current reaction stemming from seeing a bunch of 12 year olds in Comeback Kid shirts. Seeing someone wearing a hardcore or punk T-shirt is no longer a indicator that this person is part of any community.

Another problem facing the scene from a musical standpoint is that there are new bands coming out whose influences are current mediocre metal-core bands. What good is going to come out of that?

DB: To get a bit more specific on that last question: I know you guys participated in the filming of the documentary AfroPunk. I still haven't seen it, but I checked out the website. It looks awesome! Before I saw the website, I would be hard-pressed to name many black hardcore/punk musicians—all I really personally knew of was Howard from Blood Has Been Shed, Carley Coma, and (the obvious) Bad Brains. I could probably brainstorm up a couple of other minority punks—a few Asian dudes come to mind—but it's still obvious just by the lack of representation that there's racism in the scene. And of course there's always been the dark underside of punk, which is the white power movement.

Have you guys encountered racism in the scene? And not just the overt kinds (like neo-nazis). Have you ever had any bad run-ins with punks and hardcore kids who wanted to think they were open-minded, but were actually doing/saying something racist? Do you think the legacy of the original nazi punks has stuck around even though a lot of crews (in the early days) and Anti-Racist Action groups (more recently) have tried to isolate them and push them out? If possible I really want all the members of the band to take a stab at this one.

Moe: Just the other day at a show in Syracuse some kid confronted me and said, “dude, you look exactly like Darryl from the Bad Brains.” I thought that was the funniest thing ever. Funny in an unsetting way, of course. This kid was trying to compliment me and all he could say is “you look like another black dude with dreads.” I look nothing like Darryl Jennifer, or the dude from Stuck Mojo or the dude form Sevendust, or Howard Jones, and we sound absolutely nothing like any of those bands yet we always get comparisons. That type of not-quite-overt racism is stuff we need to deal with everyday. I mean, we actually have a few reviews that start off, “yo, fans of Stuck Mojo...” are you kidding me? Stuck Mojo? Have you listened to Stuck Mojo before? Me neither?!? So to say we sound like or were influenced by them is laughable!! Or “Sevendust fans should steer away.” Hell yeah Sevendust fans should steer away from us! We sound nothing like them.

As soon as they see that there are black folks in the band they immediately assume, “oh rap-rock, or rapcore.” We’re thinking, “have they listened to our record?” Listen to a Sick of It All record. Is that rapcore? A lot of the Hardcore of the late eighties and early nineties from New York had a staccato vocal delivery. Sure we’re influenced by Hip-Hop and other musical forms but a lot of people make unfair comparisons that we feel have more to do with race than anything else. Limp Bizkit is rapcore.

I could go on and on. I think every day we encounter some form of it. Or these “tough guy” idiots who refer to themselves as ”nigga.” It’s like the most insane thing to hear a white kid actually refer to himself like that. It’s tiring calling these kids out. Every single one, every time they say something? After a while I think, “you know, it’s not my job to play racism police to white kids in the hardcore scene.” It’s a tiring and unrewarding profession.

These kids don’t feel comfortable in living out their own identity and culture so they appropriate other cultures in a really superficial way. They think black culture is what they see on TV and they liken that with being tough, so they emulate that. Most of these kids are from the suburbs and any brush with that life is something they elect to experience. It’s like a little adventure for them. It’s a topic I could go on and on and on about. I haven’t even touched the surface.

I could really critique your question. I mean, there’s actually not a whole lot of black folks in punk and hardcore but our contributions are huge. We’re usually doing pretty visible/meaningful things in the scene: putting on shows, in bands, etc. But we’re invisible so a lot of people conveniently forget these contributions. The Afropunk message board has a running list of hardcore bands with black members in them. It’s pretty long!!

It’s funny to say buy often times, people don’t even realize certain people are black, like the bassist of Fall Out Boy. I bet most people think he’s just kinda tan or something. So the fact that we’re being rendered invisible is not surprising. America has a rich history of rendering people of color invisible.

Racism at its worst is insidious and subtle. It shows itself through people you know and like, people you live with or even date, your co-workers, your friends. It’s in us all. White supremacy permeates this society, plain and simple.

You hardly see flagrant Nazi-style racism. What’s more ubiquitous is the racism that plays itself out without stating itself. It’s the type of racism that white people can deny and claim is paranoia, but it’s real and more pervasive and more troubling than some drunk Nazi dude spewing racial epithets.

Mark: Well, I don’t know about the other guys in the band, but I myself have encountered some racism in the scene. I was about to walk into a venue to hand out samplers when a group of white hard-core kids (who happened to not notice me) made a harsh racist comment towards a black man having some difficulty getting out of a parking spot. I confronted them and they immediately left before other people realized what they said or reacted against it.

I generally think that hardcore kids aren't as open minded as what they might claim themselves to be. We live in a world in where racism is subtle enough to where people don't realize what they say might be offensive to others. The only way we can ever eradicate this type of racism is by continuing to confront the ones who speak it, live it, and replicate it.

There are groups that still represent nazi-punk beliefs in the present day. Although we might have anti-nazi they persist. The fact that they feel comfortable shows that we live in a culture that continues to create an environment where white supremacist organizations, Nazis, and others feel welcome.

DB: Let's flip it around and take a look at the positive side, too. A lot of hardcore groups like to say they have a positive message or a message of hope but if you look at their lyrics, there's no basis for that claim—they're just as depressed and hopeless as Korn or anybody else. I was psyched to see that there is actually hope and positivity and humanity in your lyrics. What are some of the signs of hope that you have seen recently—in the band, in the scene, on tour, in our nation? What are the things that renew your faith and give you the energy to keep resisting?

Moe: We played Victoria, TX and to see the heart of those kids was amazing. They really loved music and they dedicated their lives to the Hardcore community. A couple that put on our show had a hardcore wedding. Isn’t that amazing? And this community was so genuine. Mostly Mexican kids, all working class. These kids were not caught up on the hype fashion, and crap that’s been attaching itself to hardcore. It’s good to know that scenes like that are still vibrant. We met a lot of bands and a bunch of kids that were tired of the soap-opera-core. And these kids were putting on shows, playing in bands, making zines. The DIY underground is still alive, we saw it on tour.

Globally, we need to be clear and recognize when revolution is taking place right before us. “The revolution” is a concept that is unhealthy to presume will happen in the future. Not only can it be a very real and palpable thing in our lives, it is really happening outside the context of North America.

Look at the Zapatista movement in Mexico and the very real democratic alternatives to capitalism they’re creating, look at what’s going on Argentina with the autonomous movements, Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolution, and even the movements in Brazil. Look what’s happening across the world. The world is shifting from the structural adjustment programs and the globalized capitalism and looking for alternatives. These are exciting times. We should be very hopeful for the future.

DB: A lot of the issues you confront in your lyrics/song explanations require a very specific vocabulary. To me, it makes sense, but that's partly because I studied some of those same issues and learned the same vocabulary in college. Is it ever frustrating to have that kind of limitation placed on you? Obviously you don't have to be college educated to be part of the resistance, but how do you overcome that language obstacle?

Moe: We never talk down to the listener. Yeah, I read a lot and have a certain degree of academic privilege, but we try to make the music accessible while using everything we have within us to present our ideas. Limiting the words I use would be like limiting the notes a instrumentalist could play. It’s stifling.

Our fans read up on the stuff they don’t get and they actually learn through our music. We’ve had countless fans come up to us after a show and say, “yo I didn’t get the lyrics at first but they inspired me to read up on this or pick up that book and now I get it.” If we dumbed everything down we’d impinge upon their opportunities to grow though the work. However, there is a balance. If your work is super inaccessible, nobody’s gunna get it. That’s one of the reasons we write explanations for each song, to give folks a road map to interpret our music. We give people a piece without spoiling the fun of exploring the work and putting things together themselves.

DB: Ok, here's an easy one: What have you guys been rocking out to lately? Are there any new albums on the horizon that you're really excited for?

Moe: I’m look forward to the new Saigon and Black Star records. I’m listening to Marvin Gaye, Between the Buried and Me, and Bad Brains.

Danny: I’m currently really psyched on the new Ion Dissonance record. The new Coheed and Cambria and Meshuggah rock hard as well.

Mark: I am currently listening to Ion Dissonance's new release entitled "Solace" and I can never get enough of Underoath's latest "They're only chasing safety". I don't that I am looking forward to anything besides the new Deftones cd entitled "B Sides and Rarities"...

More Sketchiness From the Sketchballs at The Webster

2006-04-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

As Q-Tip put it on The Low End Theory:

"Music Industry Rule number 4080:
RECORD COMPANY PEOPLE ARE SHADYYYYYYY!"

For our purposes, let's include The Webster Theatre in that assessment.

From a recent post by The Sesha Loop on MySpace:

CD Release show POSTPONED!!
Hey everyone,
In light of some new details in regards to our time slot at the Webster Underground, we are postponing the CD release show and cancelling the Webster show on Thursday. We can't in good faith expect our fans to plunk down 10 bucks to see us perform for *20* minutes without even a guaranteed time slot (could be 6:30pm, could be 9pm...). To those of you that purchased tix through us, we'll be happy to refund em for ya. Instead of paying your 10 bucks to the Webster Theatre, use that money to buy our CD instead--we could use the money more than they can!

In case you didn't know, the Webster's policy re: local/opening bands is NOT TO LET YOU KNOW YOUR SET TIME UNTIL YOU ARRIVE ON THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW. This is because they choose your set time based on how many tickets you sold. (More tix sold = later set time.) Not only is this incredibly unprofessional -- how can bands expect fans to show up if they can't give them an approximate showtime? -- but it creates all sorts of ethical problems. I spoke to both The Webster Theatre's owner and the guy who books local bands there. You can read what I discovered here.

You can listen to and buy The Sesha Loop's CD at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/seshaloop

New Pencilgrass Tune!

2006-04-30T10:01:00.000-04:00

Shake your ass on over to http://www.myspace.com/pencilgrassmusic

New tunes from Apse

2006-04-30T09:44:00.000-04:00

This comes via Apse on MySpace:

We have posted two tracks, entitled Demos - Parts 1 and 2.

They consist of various, spliced-together working/referential recordings the band had originally made for itself, from October 2005 to March, 2006. They include demos that were written and recorded apart from the band - working versions of songs at practices, as well as bits of different live performances. All of the material has been created in preparation for our forthcoming album Spirit - to be released this summer on Spanish label Acuarela Discos. A European tour is to follow in the fall.

Not all of the music presented here, will necessarily appear on Spirit. However, many of the sections are in fact, early/demo/live versions of songs that will indeed appear on the album. We are well into making it - and as always, recording and fully producing it ourselves.

Again, nothing posted here is in its final form - there are no cuts from the album. In 1-2 months, we will be replacing these demos with a pair of tracks that appear on the final release.

Look for Spirit, available in stores, through the internet, and on Itunes this summer.

http://www.myspace.com/apse

"Rock and Roll"

2006-04-29T09:02:00.000-04:00

...is racist doublespeak for "R&B"!

Things that make me go apeshit crazy #2501: Racist Double-standards

2006-04-27T17:21:00.000-04:00

So, I'm listening to Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele, because

it's off the hook, and
I want to refresh myself on what I like about him in preparation for delving into his newest LP, the critically-acclaimed Fishscale.

And Ghost hits this line in "Mighty Healthy":

"Livin' off land you god damn right I fuck fans king me
Check checkmate props like the micro chip founder
Neck to neck stocks with Bill Gates now."

(The bolding is mine.)

It got me thinking about how the media faults rappers for their promiscuity. Promiscuity is second only to rap violence on the list of "things rappers do that are bad examples for the youth." Question: why is this being painted as a black-only problem? Why don't we fault [white] rock stars for their promiscuity as well? More critically, why is promiscuity so characteristic of musical success in the first place?

It seems rather Puritanical for media pundits to fault ANY musician for their philandering when that same media sensationalizes groupie sex as one of the signs of artistic achievement. It seems equally foolish for musicians to buy into such a worthless standard -- but then, I suppose if you asked most of the "successful" male musicians today why they went into the biz, picking up chicks would rank pretty high on the list of responses.

I fuckin' hate double-standards. Can I get a witness?

Show @ Metropolis Tomorrow (Apr. 21st)

2006-04-20T16:26:00.000-04:00

Short. Sweet. Cheap. Come bro down.

These Days Are Ours
Arms And The Man, I Sing
Northend

-April, 21 2006
-Metropolis Records
-537 Main St., Torrington, CT 06790
-Cost: $5.00

Bleach Transfusion

2006-04-18T23:20:00.000-04:00

All other bands in the world: you can shut up now. Bleach Transfusion officially has the best name of any band, ever.

Oh, but it doesn't stop there. These demented assholes -- who originally conceived the band as an acoustic grindcore project -- actually are good at titling songs and writing lyrics, too!

Whether they're good at playing them -- well, that's up to you.

They just recorded two new songs:
Industrial Center Of Planet Gabriel XIV
and
Evacuating Carrier Ship 37-B

They sound exactly like you think they do: like the corpulent heavenly bodies of outer space imploding into one cataclysmic, erotic bird's nest of sound.

This may be the most twisted piece of news I've ever announced.

2006-04-18T22:58:00.000-04:00

Ok. So you take these two bands. First we've got Welcome. They're like the wonderful people you see on the street every day and you wave to them and chat about small but somewhat meaningful things... AND THEN THEY GO HOME AND UNLEASH THE ROCK MONSTER WITHIN THROUGH A STRANGE MIX OF SYNTHESIZERS AND LIKE 10,000 BONE RATTLING DRUMS. But as soon as they get off stage they're normal again. And they kind of make you want to go, "um, wait a second... weren't you just..." But you know that if you did, you'd totally be the weird one.

And then you take the Smooth Hands. They're what happens when you give computer nerds musical instruments and go, "ok, I want you to talk about your sex life into this microphone." Except the microphone is secretly going to the Pentagon, who are recording everything because they think the Smooth Hands are terrorists. But the more they talk, the more the Pentagon realizes they're not terrorists -- but that they are total fucking lunatics. So they take the sound bites of the Smooth Hands' musical sexual confessions, and start e-mailing them to each other as inter-office jokes.

Ok. So you've got these two bands. What happens if they jam together? Obviously it's got to be the MOST FUCKING DEMENTED AWESOME THING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED IN CONNECTICUT.

So, now you totally have to click here.

www.myspace.com/taterno

Porto is kicking ass and taking names at Emergenza!

2006-04-18T22:46:00.000-04:00

They've already destroyed two rounds of brutal, limb-mangling competition; now it's time for round three!

Quoth the Porto:

Only ONE of 8 bands moves onto the Regional Finals at Webster Hall! Help us kick some ass!

Knitting Factory 74 Leonard St, NYC / May 6th / 8pm / $12 / All Ages

Getcha tix at:

http://www.portomusic.com/tix_buy.html

d_CYPHERNAUTS got some new tunes up!

2006-04-18T22:43:00.000-04:00

Peep the MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/dcyphernauts

The new ones are "Suffer and Sacrifice" and "Murder Music."

The Nauts have also announced that from now on, they are requiring every song title to have alliteration.

Sweet Ass Video!

2006-04-18T21:36:00.000-04:00

Whether you know what hardcore is or not, whether you like it or not, you should check out this video. It's for a local band called Wrenchintheworks. And it's a really good introduction to both the band and hardcore in general.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RMj-79qQ8yk

EDIT: I totally fucking forgot that these guys quote me in the video. It SO looks like I'm patting my own back, which was not my intention at all.

I still get freaked out when I see people quoting me on the internet or in press brochures. Having your words published far and wide is a very weird feeling. (Said Dan to the world on his blog.)

Which probably sounds like I am complaining, but I'm not. Let me try to put it into context: to me, that quote I wrote about them was just part of a column I wrote on a Sunday night or Monday morning. If your job is writing, you generate words in such a volume that it's impossible to get really deeply, emotionally attached to each one. And then all of a sudden you see a particular quote or soundbite come back at you, and it's obviously one that someone felt strongly about, since they're including it in their press kit or whatever. It really kind of shakes you up -- it reminds you that even the lines which, to you, are just typical 9-to-5 sort of lines may have a much deeper resonance with someone else.

Or, as Uncle Ben said: "with great power comes great responsibility."

Job Opportunity: Biotechnician/Viral Engineer

2006-04-17T21:58:00.000-04:00

Freelance writer seeks talented laboratory technician to engineer and oversee production of small batches of cover-band-killing virus. Pay commensurate with experience. Minimum of 1-2 years experience covering ears, overdrinking in greater Hartford area nightclubs required. E-mail localmotionct at gmail dot com for further details. Please, no telephone calls.

De-Mystifying My Job: Or, How To Get A Job Like Mine

2006-04-17T21:05:00.000-04:00

This time, I've been silent for a reason! I've been working on this monster -- the first of several Feature articles I hope to post here. I hope you enjoy it.
-db

Have you ever seen Kurt Vonnegut give a talk? At this point, he is so old that he is basically a dying lung that just happens to have a body around it. He spends equal time in his speech talking and coughing. So I recommend that if you haven’t seen him yet, you do soon. Every time Vonnegut speaks, he says that the title of his speech is “How To Get A Job Like Mine.” He then proceeds to talk about whatever the fuck he feels like.

I thought that was pretty fucking rad. So I’m going to take that as my starting point from which to talk about exactly what it is that I do as the columnist for Local Motion and as a freelance music writer. Of course, there will be stops along the way ;)

There’s pretty much a constant flood of music-related e-mails in my Gmail account. It’s pretty intimidating. Between show dates, tour announcements, requests for press or reviews, and my conversations with artists, it is easily the biggest, dirtiest, busiest inbox I’ve ever seen. Reader feedback is few and far between—it comes in spades when I don’t like a band, though. Imagine that.

I spend a good chunk of time every week sorting through this cluster fuck trying to pull out good show dates and plug them into my calendar. I use a Palm Pilot, which is severely dorky, but dude—it works. There came a point where I just couldn’t remember the date and location of every show I wanted to go to—and I was slaughtering a small rainforest with all the post-it notes I was using to fail at keeping track. Anyway, I’m good with gizmos, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to get on board this Palm thing.

Meanwhile, I get a package in the mail once or twice a week from local artists and PR people who have CDs they want me to check out. This is one of the best parts of my job. I get free CDs in the mail!

Of course, there’s a disclaimer: a lot of them suck. I don’t say this to be dismissive or rude, nor do I say it because I’m trying to project some image of myself as a morbidly cynical critic. (See Pitchfork.com if you want kids who are brilliant at that—and I mean “brilliant” as the worst possible diss imaginable.) It’s just that a lot of these CDs seriously fucking suck. There’s no apologizing for them. There’s no “maybe I need to give this time to grow on me.” You listen to twenty seconds and you’re like, “yup. Coaster.”

Which reminds me: I love it when people write letters to the editor where they say something like, “I bet you just listen to the first two tracks of a CD and then dismiss it.” Um, yeah, I totally do! And you’re telling me that’s unprofessional? Dude, shut up. If you’ve ever changed the channel on your television set, or told your friend to switch the radio station because you hate a song, or sold a CD that didn’t turn out to be as good as you thought it would when you first bought it, then you’ve done the same thing. Critics and writers aren’t some zen, holistic people who give every single piece of artwork a full, undivided chance just because (gasp) it’s art. We have lives, too. Sitting through an entire CD when you can tell after the first track that it’s crappy or amateur—I don’t call that professional. I call that a waste of time.

It’s funny: when you’re surrounded by tons and tons of art, it kind of becomes more holy and less holy at the same time. I feel less callous than ever dismissing someone’s “masterpiece” if I don’t think it has artistic/aesthetic merit (although, at the end of the day, it’s still just one guy’s opinion); but at the same time, I get more amped then ever when something really wows me. Before, it would just be a quiet little surprise in my personal world—now, it makes me want to tell the world about it. And I do.

So anyway. Sucky CDs. Some I sell online; some I donate to libraries (like the one in Derby Neck) who maintain collections of local music; some I give to friends; some I put in the “free stuff” box at Metropolis Records. I never throw them out. I may not like them, but someone out there will, so I try to get them closer to that someone.

The weekend eventually comes. Sometime around Thursday afternoon/evening I start trying to nail down just which shows I’m going to attend that weekend. Sometimes it’s obvious—like if there’s a big festival, a CD release, a good artist in a genre I don’t review much, or a venue I’ve just discovered that sounds hot. Other times, I use those resources you see over on the right side of the screen, and between them and my inbox, I can usually scrounge up something interesting :)

I hit the road in my trusty bucket, usually listening to downtempo techno, death metal, local CDs I just got in the mail, or MP3 CDs of stuff I’ve recently downloaded. (I download a lot of music. I’ve got about 40 gigs of music that I like, and another 15 gigs of albums I have yet to listen to thoroughly.)

When I get to the show, I play it by ear. If it’s at some big venue, I do the press thing and get in for free (another huge job perk); if it’s a small show being run by scene kids or the bands themselves, I pay the admission like anyone else. (I mean, it goes straight into the gas tanks of the bands, so it would be pretty rude not to.)

If the band sucks, I usually slink away and find another show to write about. In general I prefer to use my handful of words each week to point people in the direction of good stuff, rather than warn them about bad stuff. If the band is good, I snap a few pictures with my little Cannon PowerShot—it doesn’t have a very impressive zoom, but it gets decent resolution, and, most importantly, it’s TINY and INDESTRUCTABLE.

I get back home, sit down at my desk, offload the pictures onto my computer—and usually fall asleep.

Sometime on Sunday I start “sketching” my column. I write out my strongest impressions of the bands and venues and crowds I saw during the weekend. Sometimes it’s a particular musical moment, like an unexpected twist in the song or a crafty technical flourish. Sometimes it’s noticing who the crowd responds to. Sometimes it’s noticing how the band shapes their sound to fit a given venue. I record brief accounts of these moments, and also jot down words that I feel accurately describe the band’s sound.

At this point I let the writing part sit and stew for a little while. It’s amazing what good ideas one can get in the bathroom :) I also pick out the best pictures of the band, throw them into Photoshop real quick, make minor touch-ups and alterations, track down the names of any band members in the photos, and upload the photos to my editor.

Then comes the tough part. I settle down with a couple beers (if it’s Sunday night) or coffee and a muffin (it it’s Monday morning) and crank out the column. Some weeks it pulls itself together right in front of my eyes, and I have a winner in less than two hours. Most weeks, though, it takes between 3 and 4 hours to write. Finally, I title it (SO HARD to do—dude, a good title is so hard to come by), and ship it off to my editor.

And if the writing process has gone anything like it did this morning, I usually stand up from my keyboard and faceplant into my pillow.

Tuesday Nights, Transformed (New Hartford Open Mics)

2006-04-07T15:32:00.000-04:00

Tuesdays.

Suckiest night of the week.

For real! You can't gripe about it being Monday, but the better part of the week is still ahead of you. And if you go out on a Tuesday, you automatically feel like an alcoholic party animal with no sense of duty to society.

Which you basically are anyway, you scumbag. So seeing as there's really no hope for your moral growth and development, why not go out?

If you feel like hip hop,
Filthy Kleen is starting a new open mic at MiBar (1995 Park St.) that will carry on the legacy of their old Tuesday night hip hop open mic at Sully's.

If you feel like rocking out,
Andre Balazs (ringleader of the band of vagrants known as Bipolar Jukebox) is starting a new open mic at Sweet Jane's (88 Pratt St.). He says the audio there is sweeeet. They also plan on incorporating a "featured artist" spot into the set.

With hosts that good, you better believe both of these spots are going to blow up. You read it here first.

And while I'm in a complainy mood,

2006-04-04T18:12:00.000-04:00

Can somebody PLEASE explain to me what the deal is with whores in metalcore lyrics? Specifically, why they're in every other verse?

I mean, is it supposed to be some kind of sociopolitical commentary on selling out and whoring yourself for fashion? (Because this got big WAY before MySpace. I mean, even Dillinger Escape Plan was screaming about whores on Calculating Infinity back in '99. And that was before the guys-wearing-girlpants explosion and LONG before those fucking studded punk belts were suddenly around every sorority girl's waist.)

I mean, do these men actually USE whores? Do they KNOW whores (biblically and/or non-biblically)?

Is it some kind of metaphor for postmodern malaise? Because I'll tell ya, bub -- the whores have been around for a lot longer than postmodernism.

Actually, can somebody just explain to me why 98% of metalcore lyrics fucking suck?

It's enough to drive me to listen to Elvis Costello or The Pixies or Tom Waits or some shit.

My TOTALLY INADEQUATE List of Reasons Why I Haven't Updated My Blog In A While

2006-04-04T12:36:00.000-04:00

1. Sikth is finally getting a stateside release with their new album -- and the track they're sneak-previewing from "Death of a Dead Day" is fucking SICK.

2. Anime Insider magazine has been giving me tons of assignments! It's a great little rag -- pick it up next time you're in Blockbuster.

3. I found this video for my favorite song by Animosity, and have been watching it over and over and over... San Francisco + grindcore + house party + gold teeth + sociopolitical commentary = LOVE!

4. I finally watched Lords of Dogtown, and holy shit -- I NEED to practice skating more. It wasn't an amazing movie (between Lords and Thirteen, Catherine Hardwicke is proving to have an annoying penchant for imagining California as an all-permissive Fairy Land which she seems to never have had access to. The geography of Lords in particular has the same quasi-pathetic reek as an adult who becomes a teacher at his former high school so he can finally be the "cool guy" there.), but it was pretty good -- especially in the way it portrays the three main friends fighting and splitting up. MASSIVE tension between them as they choose separate paths in life. Plus, skateboarding. I mean, fucking rad, right?

5. Rent Girl by Michelle Tea makes me want to find her and confess my undying love. The girl writes AMAZING sentences. I want to die.

6. World of Warcraft. Yup! Dorky.

7. I've been homebrewing beer. There are five gallons (!!!) of IPA fermenting in my closet right now. How hot is that?!

8. I've been ebaying shit like mad to pay for my huge tax check and recent car tune-up. Make no mistake: freelancing will pay the bills, but it ain't makin' anybody rich.

And oh, I almost forgot:

9. OkCupid -- because, god DAMN. Who do I have to fuck in order to get laid in this awful state?

More updates coming soon. Promise.

(Quasi-)Weekly Mailbag vol. 3: Activate the Activist

2006-03-19T23:49:00.000-05:00

WARNING! This is a post-in-progress -- I figured it would be better to put up what I had and add over time.

----

This week, I'd like to use a cool e-mail I got from Ron Zabrocki in February as a jumping off point for a larger conversation. Check out Ron's response to my old column on Torrington's growing music scene:

Date: Feb 6, 2006 6:47 AM
Subject: Torrington's Musical Renaissance is greater than you think!!

Hello,
I am responding to Dan Barry's article about the misic scene in Torrington.

I am producer living here for the last 3 years. I am originally from NY and moved hear because of the dying music scene after 9-11. My wife and I had a feeling about Torrington. Never even heard of it before....but the morning we pulled into town..had a feeling this wqas the place...The music scene is passing through my home studio on a nightly basis. there's Shattersphere, a Metal group who I am producing who just caught the attention of a label owned by Sevendust. There's AJ jansen. She's a Country singer who won the a best Modern Country Recording along with myself for the CT chapter of the CMA. There's Jeremy Hopkins. He's an incredible singer sonwriter I am producing. He's opened for Tyler Hilton and is plannimng a tour of his own now as we finish the project. This is just a handful. All play locally and otherwise. The downtown of Torrington is hopefully going to be renovated with the new YOUNG Mayor we have. Chiane's feels like a NY hotspot. Otter's was always cool. The Warner Thater. I could go on about artist's like White Mike, a rapper who is amazing and who's Dad is a Berkely Music Professor. Tylet Thompson, Tony Colucci..the list goes on. I would be happy to talk to you and even get together in my home studio with some of these artist's and myself. there are soo many. It is growing. there is a revolution going on. My wife is a photographer. She has been helping all of these guys with photo shoots for free.

Come on down and let's keep Torrington in print!! There's a big noise about to happen in the music scene and this could be the next Seattle. Thanks for giving it some light...I just want the light to get brighter!!!!!

Peace
Ron Zabrocki

And my response:

Date: Feb 14, 2006 1:47 PM

Hey Ron!

Thanks so much for writing. Diane down at Chiane's has said some really good things about you, so I'm glad to be in touch!

I've lived in the Torrington area since I went to kindergarten. I've seen the town start off so-so, really fall off economically, and then in the past year or so really start to become something culturally. We've still got a ways to go -- like you, I'm crossing my fingers that our new mayor can keep the momentum going -- but when you consider places nearby like Waterbury that have just been stagnating for years, I think any positive momentum is a huge development.

My big hope is that Torrington has a chance to evolve into something along the lines of New Haven -- i.e. a place with a vibrant arts scene that isn't enslaved by cover bands, club music, and shady promoters. There's nothing wrong with party bands in moderation, but right now in Torrington, original artists have the spotlight -- and I want it to stay that way. That's why I'm pushing the downtown venues so hard in my column.

For it to keep happening, the artists have to continue to support one another, creatively and economically. That's why I think it's so important to buy your coffee from Chiane's, your beer from Otter's or Memories, your records from Metropolis... All of these venues support good, original rock, and we need to support them.

Drop me a line -- maybe we can meet up at Chiane's sometime and shoot the shit :)

Thanks again for writing!
-Dan

----

Ok. So what's the point of all this?

I probably do not have to describe to you why arts-based professionals struggle on a day-to-day basis to stay financially afloat. We joke about "starving artists" for a reason. The business of live, local, original music is NOT LUCRATIVE, neither for artists nor for venues. Practicing and songwriting are incredibly time-consuming; musical equipment costs assloads of money; and the downtime and $$$ touring acts spend on travel/gas is enormous. Most local musicians I know have a day job as well -- they're basically living double lives. Venue owners, for their part, work their asses off slinging beverages. They mostly rely on beverage sales and cover charges to offset the high cost of hiring a band for the night. It's a rare original band around these parts that can draw head counts large enough and consistent enough for a venue to want to form a long-term relationship with them. Put differently: what venue is going to spend the time and money to "develop" an artist when they can book a well-known party/cover band that is guaranteed to draw hundreds?

Now. You may not envision yourself as an activist -- or maybe you do. Either way, you are a factor -- in fact, you are THE MAJOR factor -- in the dynamic I just described above. And if enough of us start to take that power into our own hands, the CT music scene will transform in an incredible way. What follows is a rough guide on how to make financial choices that will promote and enliven Connecticut's live, original, local music scene.

A HUGE part of being an effective activist (or organizer, or community-builder, or responsible music fan -- whatever you want to call it) is making sure that your money, energy, and resources go to people and groups who support like-minded causes. Every day we make choices about which businesses to support. If we select businesses who support local music, we give the local music community the money it takes to put food on its tables. We also give them the strength and motivation to keep doing what they're doing (i.e. writing songs, booking local acts, or inviting unknowns through the door for open mics). Yes, I know that second part sounds warm and fuzzy. But if someone believes that no one out there gives a fuck about what they're doing, it becomes really difficult to keep sinking time/energy/money into the arts (instead of grinding out a day job that pays). And I think most of us agree that the arts enrich our lives.

The great thing about having a local music community is that Average Joe fans can help out just as much as self-described activists or musicians. All it takes is thoughtful decision-making and a little commitment. Plus, whether you're a musician or not, you can feel good knowing you're a modern-day patron of the arts. You don't have to be a Rockefeller or Medici to make a difference.

But let's not be naive, either. It DOES cost more money to patronize music-friendly businesses. It DOES take more of your time and energy. And it WILL add up. But remember: that's the point. You may have to shell out a couple extra bucks for a record at Metropolis that you can get on sale down at FYE or Best Buy. You may have to drive an extra ten minutes into Simsbury to go to The Maple Tree Cafe for a brew instead of hitting Double Down in Avon. That's a choice you have to make each time -- and sometimes it's tough.

Still, there ain't nothin' stopping you from being a smart shopper at the same time. :) Some cases are a clear win-win proposition. For $3.45 at Chiane's, I get a bigass coffee and a fresh bagel with so much cream cheese it squeezes out the sides. AND my money goes into the cash register of a venue that books kickass musicians week in and week out. The same meal at Dunkin' Donuts costs about the same, and tastes like... every other Dunkin' Donuts bagel 'n coffee combo ever. The money goes to a chain, and if I'm lucky, the server didn't piss in my coffee. Hey, I still go to Dunkin' from time to time, but you better believe I take my money to Chiane's whenever I can.

Enough of my blathering. What follows is a (partial! incomplete! in-progress!) list of establishments that primarily support live, local, original music. If you enjoy that kind of music, then patronize these places as often as you can to show your support for their mission and their musicians!

SIMSBURY
The Maple Tree Cafe (bar/restaurant)
Peaberry's (coffeeshop)

COLLINSVILLE
Crown & Hammer (bar/restaurant)

TORRINGTON
Otter's (bar/restaurant)
Metropolis (record store)
Chiane's (coffeeshop/restaurant)

HARTFORD
Mad Dawg's (bar)
Peter's (bar/restaurant)
Piggy's (bar/restaurant)
Black-Eyed Sally's (bar/restaurant)
La Paloma Sabanera (coffeeshop/restaurant)

DANBURY
Cousin Larry's (bar)

MANCHESTER
The Hungry Tiger (bar/restaurant)
The Main Pub (bar/restaurant)

SOUTHINGTON
Jitter's (coffeeshop)

MORE TO COME!

Download the Smooth Hands album!

2006-03-10T00:49:00.000-05:00

How the fuck did I not blog this already?

Download the Smooth Hands' hysterically sexy lo-fi mindfuck "I Love You So Much" here:

http://luzcruz.com/thesmoothhands/TheSmoothHandsILoveYouSoMuch.zip

Updated Links

2006-03-10T00:22:00.000-05:00

I've been expanding my links section on the blog sidebar. This is a big pain in the ass, but it's also a major portion of what I want to do with this blog. It's a list of resources for bands, fans, and just regular people who are looking for something to do. (Because we know what life in CT is like... BORING!)

PLEASE contribute any good links you think people should know about... And spread the word about my blog! Stop by for the links as well as the articles.

Born Under Saturn

2006-03-10T00:05:00.000-05:00

I just got a big fat package in the mail from the wonderful Robotic Empire records. In it, among other things (GOD I LOVE DEADWATER DROWNING... ahem), was Born Under Saturn's "Reflecting The Beautiful Design."

It is awesome.

This CD only furthers my previous argument that CT-area bands were defining the current metalcore sound back in 2000. It's loaded with the distorted noise that bands like Wrench in the Works and Engineer are still exploring; it's got the blastbeats and punky drums that everyone and your mom is obsessed with. And lyrically, it reminds me of the late great Light is the Language: it looks at society through a series of metaphors about technology, biology, and the intersection between the two.

If you want to listen to samples or order a coppy (hurry -- Robotic Empire has the last copies of the CD, since its original label, Ellington Records, folded!), check these links:

http://myspace.com/bornundersaturn
http://roboticempire.com/record.php?id=286

The Blacklist

2006-03-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

The following songs have been BANNED by Local Motion:

Wonderwall
Mustang Sally
Brown-Eyed Girl
Lovin' (Is What I Got)
Livin' On A Prayer
Jenny (867-5309)
Hotel California

This is just a partial list. Readers, submit your blacklisted songs!

The Courant's Film Critic's Secret Life as a Singer/Songwriter!

2006-03-09T23:36:00.000-05:00

Now here's some news you don't hear everyday.

Deborah Hornblow, an arts writer probably best known around these parts for her column as the Hartford Courant's film critic, has been working for seven years on a collection of songs. She's finally released them as the CD "The Permanent Thing."

When I asked Deb about the CD and her current leave-of-absence from the Courant, she wrote:

"I'm not pursuing music full-time as much as I'm pursuing writing all the time. The record you have is the result of an attempt I made several years ago to write a novel. I was scribbling and scribbling (and writing page after page of garbage). I'd get frustrated and bang around on the guitar. The"novel" gradually morphed into a cycle of songs."

"The Permanent Thing" is often narrative, literary, and also happens to be really, really good.

Take a look at Deb's website and listen to some samples: http://www.deborahhornblow.com/

(Not So) Weekly Mailbag! Vol. 2: More Covers than Bed Bath and Beyond

2006-03-07T00:22:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed by now that my Weekly Mailbag feature is, uh, not very weekly. Fact is, 50% of it is I'm lazy, and 50% of it is that negative reviews are the only things that generate significant amounts of feedback. (And POORLY WRITTEN feedback at that.)

Still, occasionally I get a tidbit worth sharing. Here's part of an interesting exchange I had with Dave, the bassist of a new band called Kadarka Blu.

Dave wrote:

Date: Feb 14, 2006 11:29 PM
Subject: Re: Local band info

Hi there-

I am in a local band called "Kadarka Blu"(http://www.kadarkablu.com/) and we are currently finishing up a demo CD. We will be ready to start playing out within a couple months. My question to you is, even though we're doing a good job of writing/recording some original music, because I am fairly new to this (as is most of our band with the exception of the drummer) I have made it clear that I think we'll NEED to play covers to begin booking gigs. My bandmates are really against this, and honestly I would LOVE to focus on just originals but for now I feel like we need to just get our foot in the door and I am also concerned that there are few clubs in CT that book bands playing mainly originals.

I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this topic, and maybe suggestions of certain clubs, best open mics(we are thinking of trying Sully's this Sunday), etc. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Dave(Bass player)

I responded:

Hi Dave,

Thanks for writing! I'm so psyched that you asked me to weigh in on this.

As you've sensed by now, the bars in the greater Hartford area tend to like their covers. A lot. Too much, actually.

If your aim as a band is to stay financially viable, pay for your equipment, and put some cash in your pockets on the side, then yes,you will need to play covers. The fact is that all the most desirable local rock venues (The Hungry Tiger, The Red Door, All-Stars, Bourbon St., etc.) have cover bands regularly-to-exclusively. Even Sully's, who is probably the most supportive venue of original music in the Hartford area, has a fair percentage of cover bands.

What a lot of bands overlook -- and it's really unfortunate -- is the vast number of venues towards the south of the state that push original rock really hard. As you get closer to New Haven, bars get friendlier and friendlier towards originals, until -- poof! -- you're at someplace like Cafe 9 or Rudy's that brings in asskicking original rock pretty much every night of the week. It *is* possible in CT -- or anywhere, for that matter -- it's just that Hartford chooses not to do it. (More on that in a minute.) If you guys are willing to drive, I cannot urge you strongly enough to get in touch with the New Haven area bars and build a fanbase down there. If you get your foot in the door in that area, you'll be able to make money AND keep your original-rock integrity intact -- which, to me, is like having your cake and eating it, too :)

If you want to get a feel for how Hartford-area bands confront the cover vs. originals problem, you should all come out to the Snow Slam in Hartford on the 23rd. I don't say that to plug my own event ... There are a few bands playing that you should keep your eyes on. Magnesium Jake and Kaya will probably play a mix of covers and originals -- Tenet and Pushboxx may do some originals, too. The Snow Slam is our cover band event; in the summertime, the Band Slam is much more focused on originals, and will give you a better feel for bands who are set up similarly to yours.

If you've been following my column, then you probably know some of my main problems with the whole cover band scene around here. Most bands play 90% covers and then throw in an original to comfort their guilty conscience. With so many bands doing that, newcomers like you guys get screwed because you have to figure out to what degree you want tofollow the trend.

So, that's problem #1: bands are too eager to cave to the covers trend. (Problem #1.5 is that a lot of the songs they coverssssssssuck.) Problem #2 is that local bar/club owners are too restrictive; they mostly want cover-heavy bands. Problem #3, and this is the super-difficult one, is that you have dudes like Mark Tannenbaum, who basically books and promotes every single popular cover band and every single popular bar. At some point most successful bands around here have to make a decision as to whether to work with him or not. It's ultimately your choice. He can get you gigs at the best venues, which will get you a big fanbase and move tons of merch. But then, there's that whole, you know, selling your soul thing. Look at http://tannentunes.com/ to get a feel for what's going on behind the scenes here in CT.

SO that's the long answer. It *is* possible to make it as an all-originals band -- but not recommended in the Central/North part of the state. Down South = much easier and much more fun. (Hey, if I live up by Torrington, and *I* drive down there to review shows, they must have somethin' good.)

As for good venues -- check out the link to my blog at the end of the e-mail. There's a list on the side of the blog that has links to all my favorite venues. No crap allowed on that list! :) So that may be a good starting point.

I wish you guys luck, and definitely send me a demo when you're done with it -- I'm excited to hear it.

Take care, and thanks again for writing,
Dan

March 12th Concert

2006-03-07T00:17:00.000-05:00

Club Hipnotic has opened in the space of the old El 'N Gee club -- and MUCH to their credit, they've continued the prior venue's tradition of being one of CT's outstanding punk/hardcore/metal clubs. Here's a bill for one of their upcoming shows.

Winsted's CAFE 64 has an open mic!

2006-03-01T11:36:00.000-05:00

I'd tell you about it myself, but local music junkie Ed Hoyer wrote in with the following scoop:

Jeff, the owner of Cafe 64, gave the green light to advertising the heck out of the open mike. Here's the details.

Cafe 64, 64 Main Street, Winsted CT
860-738-9952
Wednesdays 7:30pm - 10:30pm

Reuben James is the host. Sign up sheet at the open mike. All ages. No cover.

This is a small restaurant. One corner of the front room is used as theperformance space. It fits solo performers or duos. Tight fit for trios.Acoustic music preferred, electric okay if you watch your volume.

Small four channel PA, with two 10 inch speakers, instrument cables andtwo microphones with stands provided.

Crowd noise varies. Sometimes, it's quiet, sometimes, people are talking in competition with you. This is a small space, and you are very close to the audience.

Last Wednesday, both rooms were filled. People were sitting on the floor.

Regular performers:
Reuben James
Crystal
Jesse Meade
Andrew Jamieson
Paper Street
The Space People
Jesse H. and Nioxin
Joe Hoover
GrimFacts Ed Hoyer
MANHOLE

Other people who have stopped by in the past few months:
Krizta Moon
Joe Carniglia (hosts the open mike at LaSalle's in Collinsville onFridays, 6pm-9pm)
Rob
Cheap Antiques
Matt
C-Side Alley (They appear occasionally at The Peanut Cupboard open mike in Plymouth on Saturdays)
Brenden Donahue (Downtown Cafe Bristol on Thursdays)
Tom (Lead singer of Federal Hill, a bluegrass band)
The Sawtelles (They stopped by once in October)

March Music at Chiane's

2006-03-01T11:29:00.000-05:00

Here is the latest update on the Friday night music series at Chiane's:

March 3 Tracy Walton (Member of the Black Lab Project)
March 10 Crystal
March 17 TBA (either Tom Hansom (Blue Grass) or Dave Richardson (Irish Folk & Ballads))
March 24 TBA (the other of Dave Richardson or Tom Hansom)
March 31 Seaside Alley

All music starts at 8. BYOB and a few bucks for the artists.

Crystal is damn good -- catch my review of her in Local Motion here.

Upcoming On Paths of Torment/Necrosis Show

2006-02-27T22:48:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah -- the High School.

INCREDIBLE Looking Hip-Hop Fest in April

2006-02-27T22:02:00.000-05:00

Looks so awesome I'm gonna do an article about it!

Keep your eyes on the Advocate as the date draws near...

Damn! Has it really been a week?

2006-02-27T21:46:00.000-05:00

Dude! Sorry about the recent lack of activity over here at Local Commotion. You'll have to forgive me -- it's because this past week was my birthday, and, well, I really hooped it up. :)

Of course, there's tons of news that needs posting, but for now, allow me to toot my own horn over the fact that I just had my first band interview published in Clamor Magazine. It's with the Long Island-based hardcore band Cipher, and the folks at Clamor did a wonderful job with the layout. I'm so psyched!

Kid Ginseng

2006-02-20T22:02:00.000-05:00

Fans of electroclash, breakcore, and other punk electronics will want to check out Kid Ginseng. His shit is pretty ill. Reminds me of Drop The Lime.

Quoth the Ginseng:

"Blesse" CD released. YES you can get it in america!
KID GINSENG “BLESSE EP” OUT NOW ON LA LA LAND [RECORDS]
Check it out!
BUY CD NOW!
Listen to tracks on my profile!