Music 3 - rpg punk

Edible Onion

Edible Onion is a small indie label out of Philadelphia. What makes Edible Onion interesting is that all of their releases are hand made!

From the Edible Onion website:
We silk-screen and sew record jackets together, hand paint labels, attach flower pedals to record jackets, and more… to make every record we release individually unique and special. We hope to put something beautiful back into the art of releasing music amidst the frenzy of the digital world.

I think this is wonderful! Digital music has its place, as we listen to MP3 players on the bus, or while we’re walking somewhere, or even on our home computers – it’s convenient.

But nothing, NOTHING, beats the aesthetic value of something you can physically hold, put on a shelf, look at and enjoy.

You might have 10,000 mp3’s on your drive, but when your drive craps out (and it will eventually), all of those songs are gone. forever.

Vinyl records have existed for decades, actually about a century. And vinyl records are still being made because people want to be able to see, feel, smell, and love their music.

Edible Onion takes it one step further by actually making their records with love.

“We hope to put something beautiful back into the art of releasing music”

That says it all right there.

In May, they are releasing a compilation album called, A Cure For The Broken-Hearted in an accordion style book filled with watercolor paintings and information about the songs contained within.

How awesome is that?

here is a link to one of the songs on the compilation album. It is from Minneapolis based band, The Chord and the Fawn. The song is called, “Love, Sex, and Rock N’ Roll”

http://www.edibleonion.com/media/acftbh/love-sex-and-rock-n-roll.mp3

Interview: Alexx Calise

A few months ago, Alexx Calise contacted me about possibly reviewing her new album, set to come out later this month. While I haven’t listened to the album yet, she seemed so interesting that I just had to interview her.

Alexx is a guitarist and singer out of Los Angeles who is about to come out with her second solo-record and is also in a band called, “Sound of Cancer.” She owns her own business, does pretty much everything herself, and is a great example of the DIY movement. Her views on major labels and the recording industry are interesting and should be read by any band thinking about selling their souls to one of the (dying) record labels.

Enjoy.

When did you first feel that you could really make a career and living out of music? Were you always dedicated? And if you’ve ever had doubts, what brought you back?

I’ve always been a writer first and foremost. It wasn’t actually until I picked up the guitar at 11 though that I knew I wanted to be a songwriter.

What sealed the deal for me was when I played Silverchair’s Suicidal Dream” at my middle school’s talent show. After I finished playing, I think I successfully horrified nearly everyone watching in the auditorium. I knew I wanted to instill that kind of shock in people on a daily basis, so that’s when I decided I had to become a career musician.

Sure, I’ve had doubts and serious ups and downs in my career, but I really didn’t have a choice of whether or not I wanted to be a musician. It chose me. It just wouldn’t be right or make any sense for me to do anything else.

When you write, what inspires you? Do you write an album with a specific goal in mind? Or do you work on individual songs as they come to you, until an album forms?

I’m inspired by a lot of different things: life, death, love, hate, pain, joy, the human psyche, the human condition, and existentialism.

I usually just write songs individually and see where they fit. If they’re not appropriate for my solo project, and they’re a bit too brooding, then they may fit Sound of Cancer, my other project with Dennis Morehouse, which sounds like Massive Attack had a lovechild with The Cure. Anything else that doesn’t fit into either of those projects I just end up licensing somewhere.

You grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but now live in L.A. Did you move there to pursue your musical career, or were there more or other reasons?

Well, I originally came out to LA to record a few tracks for my first album, “Morning Pill,” but I ended up falling in love with the place in the process. It wasn’t exactly a hard decision moving from Florida, because I was more than ready for a change, and it isn’t exactly the music Mecca of the world if you know what I mean. Since moving to LA, I’ve had more opportunities presented to me in the short time I’ve been here than I’ve ever had back home, I’ve started up my own business, my career has grown by leaps and bounds, and I’ve found the love of my life. While I do miss my family and the few friends I have back home very much, I’ve never once looked back, and I couldn’t be happier.

When did you decide that DIY was the way you wanted to pursue your career? What were/are the reasons to do it yourself rather than immediately seek out the support of a label?

I’ve always done everything independently because I’ve found that no one cares more about my career more than me. Being independent, and being a solo artist for that matter are my insurance policies. I know that I can always, always rely on myself, and that I can count on myself to get things done effectively and efficiently.

That’s not to say that I would be opposed to hooking up with a major label in the future, but for now, I enjoy owning my own masters and publishing, and having the freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want on my own terms. These days, you don’t necessarily need label support. Unless a label is going to latch you on to major tour or pour some serious advertising dollars into you, you can already independently distribute your own music (and make 100 percent profit), license it to film and television, and tour on a small scale. All you really need is the drive to do it.

How much of your musical development do you consider to be due to your parent’s influence? What instruments does your father play? Is your mother musically inclined as well?

I think most of my musical development can be attributed to my father, Paul. I grew up listening to him play The Beatles and the James Bond theme on the guitar and bass. I always thought he was one of the coolest people on Earth, so naturally, I wanted to be just like him. I picked up the guitar when I was about 11.

My Mom, bless her heart, isn’t what one would call “musically inclined,” but she is a proud supporter of the arts however, and the reason I’m as stoic and driven as I am.

I will also have to cite Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Silverchair as major influences in my playing and style. When I first started playing guitar, I would hole myself up in my room for hours and practice SRV and Silverchair songs until my brain went numb.

What was your very first tape/CD? (to be honest, mine was a Richard Marx tape. i was like 5 or 6, so i think i’m blameless for that)

I think the first CD that I was ever able to call “mine” was Green Day’s “Dookie” album. What an amazing record.

However, I can’t fault you for owning a Richard Marx tape. I too, fell victim to the raspy vocal styling of Mr. Richard Marx.

(Note from Tim: I did NOT fall for his “raspy vocal styling.” I just saw the cover art of a dude in a black leather jacket and a bad-ass mullet under a street light in an alley and thought, “this guy is cool!” Unfortunately, I found out just how cool Mr. Marx is when I got the tape home and listened to it)

Why the switch to a more electronic sound on the new album from Morning Pill’s more straight-up rock feel? What is the new album called, and when is it coming out?

Well, to be quite honest, I think it would be boring. What I like about working with my producer, Luigie Gonzalez is that he adds something extra (and different) to the music. It’s easy to produce a lot of my songs in a very straight-ahead rock manner, but Lu brings his dance/remix experience to the table, and combines it with my love of rock and grunge. It’s a really interesting marriage of genres.

The album will be titled In Avanti, and will be released on an undisclosed day either this month or early next. ☺

What is your greatest irrational fear?

Old age.

You seem incredibly nice, why the anger in your music?

Well, thank you! I like to think of myself as a nice person, haha.

I guess I can’t really fault anyone for thinking that my music is angry at first listen because the performance and execution of it can be pretty…aggressive. However, I think it’s quite the opposite. I always try to illustrate the importance of strength and self-preservation, and more often than not, I try to offer a positive resolution at the end of every song I write. I’m not an angry, vengeful person, and alternatively, I’m not one to wallow in self-pity or let people walk all over me.

I think that my music is a very accurate representation of my true persona in that it’s often misunderstood. On the outside, it appears to be very tough, but when you really get to know it, it’s very esoteric, thoughtful and insightful.

What is Inkabink Kids Party Entertainment?

Inkabink is kids party entertainment company that I own. When I first moved to California, I needed a flexible job to keep me afloat while I was pursuing my music career, so I got into the kids entertainment business and learned how to face paint, make balloon animals, and perform magic tricks. I worked with a few companies in LA for a couple years, and then I decided that I wanted to open up a company of my own that catered to the lower-income families here in Southern California. Before I knew it, we started booking parties like crazy. Just don’t ever come up to me after a show and ask me to make you a giraffe. ☺

You appeared in the Discovery Channel documentary, “The Science of Sex Appeal.” Do you find sex appeal to be helpful or a hindrance as a female musician? As in, while it may be easy to get noticed, you might not be taken seriously. How do you work that to your advantage?

Well, I’m certainly not offended if people find me attractive, or if that’s what initially motivates them to visit my site or listen to my music. At least they’re taking the time out to care at all. ☺

The bottom line is, I have substance and I’m a true artist. That, in turn, is what is going to bring true fans back at the end of the day.

Any plans for a national or international tour?

Yes. As soon as my albums are finished and released, I’ll be booking up a national tour. We’ve also had a few offers to play in the UK, which would be a dream come true, so here’s hoping!

What keeps you going? What drives you?

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had an insane amount of drive and motivation to succeed. I know that no one is going to do this for me, so it’s up to me to make it happen.

I always need to be working towards something, because I know that complacency equals death.

If you could beat up any musician, singer, “artist,” or band, who would it be?

I don’t know if I have it in me to fight anyone. I may talk a big game, but really, I’m a just a big Teddy Bear.

You can reach Alexx at Alexxcalise.net, on Myspace, and Facebook. You can find her music on MP3.com, Last.FM, or order it from her site.

Concert Review: Burglar, Mount Carmel, American Nude

Last week my roommate and I needed something to do, so we forced a friend to be our designated driver and headed out to Circus to see Burglar. First things first though, there were two other bands to see before Lindsay, Meghan and the boys came on; American Nude and Mount Carmel.

American Nude started out with a song that was straight up guitar-driven 80’s power metal. Well, for about 30 seconds anyway. But that 30 seconds was as glorious as Manowar’s hair in ’86. This was their second-ever gig, and while I didn’t (and still do not) know them personally, I was hoping it went well for them.

But then, something happened. American Nude is not a metal band. In fact, it’s pretty difficult to arbitrarily label them into a genre because they were all over the map; switching styles mid-song. Their first couple songs (with the exception of what I mentioned above) were mash-ups of Filter and Nickelback with traditional delta blues thrown in. The male singer’s voice would change mid-song between Dave Matthews an Eddie Vedder; in fact, the last few songs sounded very much like Pearl Jam songs, which is a conclusion both my roommate and myself came to independently.

American Nude were very good musicians, with an obvious amount of talent that you could perceive, but it seemed kind of squandered in that everything they played sounded like someone else; they don’t seem to have their own voice quite yet.

Nest up is Mount Carmel. For some reason their name bugged me and I dismissed them before they even started playing.

Big mistake.

These dudes kicked all kinds of ass. Good ol’ garage metal ala Black Sabbath, the Sword, even the Black Keys. Huge amount of blues influence.

The drumming was sweet; you could feel it thumping in your chest like a second heart. I was tapping both feet on the ground, bobbing my head, and slappin’ my thighs with my hands. The guitar was fuzzy and as heavy as a piano falling 10 stories on to your head.

I wish I could say more about these guys, but my notes are spotty and illegible.

And now the headliners of the evening; Burglar.

One of the things I like about Burglar is their use of gimmicks. The band members are always dressed up and looking sharp, and they look comfortable doing it. I’ve seen Lindsay the horn player dressed up as a mariachi player and Meghan, the lead singer, dance around the stage like Carmen Miranda wearing a fruit-filled hat.

That’s another thing; Burglar is one of the few bands where every time I have seen them perform, most of the crowd is dancing. Even better, most of the crowd is women! Maybe I shouldn’t have written that last part; I don’t want guys rushing to Burglar shows and ruining my good time.

Anyway, on this particular evening, Columbus’ best Parisian lounge act was on; a mellophone, an upright bass, guitar, drums, keyboard, and of course a sultry singer slinking across the stage. She can seduce a crowd with not only her voice, but a shake of her hips, a bend at the waist, or just a sly seductive glance and a wink.

But this particular show, she was more laid back. They all seemed to be, actually. Which isn’t bad, not at all.

From a technical standpoint, Circus failed hard at doing the sound for Burglar. The vocals were difficult to hear unless you were right up front. The horn tootin’ was impeccable; as a former horn player myself, I love to see brass incorporated into a band, but I can also be pretty harsh in my judgments if I don’t like how it is used. But here, it works great and is wonderful.

All in all, I recommend seeing any of these three bands.

Album Review: Sunset Ammunition by Miclordz & Sauce Funky

the bands myspace site
official site

I was at a Lackluster show and these dudes opened for them. I got a CD from them and told them I would review it. That was last Spring. It took me that long to finally work up the nerve to put this in my CD player. I wasn’t disappointed. Not because it is better than I expected, but because it is exactly what I expected. With a name like Miclordz & Soul Funky, there is very little room for doubt about the caliber of what I have put myself through.

I’ll just do a song-by-song summary.

Intro: the bands’ friends giving testimonials about how much “they make me move,” “make girls shake their ass,” and my favorite; “Mic Lordz & Sauce Funky are the past, the future, and most importantly, Mic Lordz & Sauce Funky is NOW.” and the whitest guy in the world saying, “the sickest funky beats!” Hilarious.

Start the Show: fast song about “let’s start the show.” Really digging the drums in this. This song is basically about how awesome the band is, how the ladies “get laid like futons,” and something about women having sex with them because “we’re number one!”

Funk You Up: this song reminds me the Kottonmouth Kings or the Phunk Junkeez. Not just reminds me of them, this could be a cover of either of those two bands.

First I’m Gonna…: Starts off with individual members of the band explaining how they think about music, the music industry, mainstream music, in previously recorded interviews. Song starts pretty slow, but picks up some steam around 40 seconds in. This is what could be considered the ‘introspective’ song of the album. Lyrically it is about “duckin’ drama,” and dedicating oneself to living life. The phrase, “going to see better days,” is repeated throughout.

Roll With Me: Begins with a guy listening to his voice mail messages. Some cool guitar gets ruined by some Fred Durst imitation raps. “Two shorties (dats right), gotta blunt with a bag, split it up like the jack pot. And now we smoke till we choke, I provoke to get up in that backseat (hopin’ I can poke).” For some reason they slow the song to morose levels then surge again with more rap-rockin’.

Why U So?: Once again the voice mail messages. The first is from some ho who expected the band to pay her tab because they are rock stars. The second message is a bar manager calling to tell them they didn’t pay their tab. The third is another ho who says she wants to go out but has no money and wants them to pay for her. The music once again the Phunk Junkeez, the chorus goes, “why U so, why U so, Why U so MONEY HunGRY!” More mentions of smoking reefer. Ha! they say something about “hungry skeeza’s” which is one of my favorite expressions.

All My People: Now it is the political do-gooder interview excerpts. You know the ones, where the person who is speaking talks earnestly and vaguely about people on the “other side of the world” who suffer because of “us.” Someone else chimes in about fighting the power or something, then another person says that music (I’m guessing the music of Miclordz & Sauce Funky) will bring the world together in peace. The actual song that follows is pretty much the same; but with rap-rock instead of spoken-word.

Rebelling… (R.A.P.E}: Begins with a skit about a girl getting a ride home from work from some dude. The dude says he wants to hook up, the girl says she just wants to be friends. The dude tries to kiss her, she says no, and then he apparently tries to rape her. Remember the Date Rape Song by Sublime? Remember how Sublime tempered the subject material of the song with comical justice and a fresh, fun musical style? This song has none of that. It’s depressing – for a “funk” band, a party band, why the hell would you write a depressing song? Do the frat dudes who listen to you really want to hear this?

Intervention: I’m really trying, but I have no idea what this song is about. If they made this into an instrumental jazz song, it would be worth listening to.

Smooth: Another Limp Bizkit-esque tune, with a jazzy-funky back beat. Apparently about a woman who is smooth.

We Get Live: Once again, a track that starts with pre-recorded interview soundbytes of the band talking about how great they are. I’m getting tired of this. This is like a Fred Durst-Red Hot Chili Peppers mash-up. I hate to keep mentioning Limp Bizkit, but god-damn, it’s everywhere in these songs. People stopped listening to that shit years ago. And furthermore, even the Chili Peppers stopped doing the funk-rock thing like 15 years ago. This is just tired, unoriginal, bland, gimmicky, trite, lame, boring music. Obviously made for frat boys and sorority sluts who like anything soulless as long as it gives the illusion of depth.

Dirty: meh, fuck it. I don’t care anymore.

Sunset Doze: Oh WOW! More soundbytes of the band speaking!

Sauce Funky, may I suggest two things? First, drop the Miclordz. Get them drunk, toss ’em out of the van, and drive off. Second, stop trying to revive rap-rock. It is a genre that should have began and ended with Rage Against the Machine. No one has ever been able to improve on that. Limp Bizkit sucked, Fred Durst sucked, the Phunk Junkeez sucked, and everyone else who has tried it has sucked. You want to call this “funk-rock” or something equivellant, but it’s not. It’s rap-rock. And it needs to die.

Album Review: Closer by Camp Out

http://www.thesixtyone.com/campoutmusic
http://www.myspace.com/campoutmusic

Camp Out is a band out of San Francisco consisting of Maddy Hanks (vocals and guitar) and Jackie Law (keyboard, drums, backup vocals). According to their bio, they like to eat burritos and camp out. Two of my favorite things.

The guitar, bass, and drums are not complicated, and that’s what gives the music strength. The sound is crisp but not robotic; it’s alive and complimentary with the vocals. Speaking of which, the vocals are clear and muddle-free. The recording itself sounds very good; clear, crisp, precise… everything comes through great.

Camp Out layers the vocals, which doesn’t come across as a gimmick or cheesy. The effect actually makes the songs sound more earnest yet fun; like children singing rounds. Which is interesting because the lyrical content of the songs is generally somewhat sad and depressing. It is a nice contrast and Camp Out makes it work very well.

Some songs, like Leave a Light On, and Small Steps, utilize an acoustic guitar playing a nice melody to back the vocals. Small Steps takes me back to a summer night after a particularly bad day. Music that takes me back and elicits such an emotional response definitely has something special about it.

My only complaint about the album is the last song; Crossed Out Face. There is just way too much going on. The vocals, the effects… all are very distracting. Perhaps that was the intention, but it doesn’t come across very well.

For comparison purposes (for those of you who need to compare things), this album is similar to Metric or even the less manic songs by Be Your Own Pet. This is mostly due to Maddy’s ability to sing very innocent one moment, and then bust out with a much more mature voice the next moment. The best way to describe her voice is “pretty.” I don’t mean any of that as an insult; I like both of those bands and I find that style of singing to be very pleasing to the ear.

This isn’t disposable pop garbage, or soulless indie crap. I want to listen to this album again and again. There is a depth and beauty to the music that you don’t often get these days. Or any days for that matter. Thanks Maddy and Jackie, hope to see you sometime.

Review: Dave Matthew’s Band

A few weeks ago, a friend made me hold true to the promise that I would go to a Dave Matthews concert if the ticket was free. This particular concert also happened to be in Virginia Beach at the Verizon Center, and I love road trips.

Funny thing is, this road trip could probably be made into a movie with little or no exaggerations made. But this is a concert review, not a road trip review.

Arriving at the Amphitheater 2 hours early, we pull out some lawn chairs and start drinking beer with the thousands of other people who were doing the same thing. Some people had mini-grills and were cooking out, at least one truckload of frat boys brought a keg.

Two VB police officers came up to us and told us that we could continue drinking, but our beer had to be in cups, not cans or bottles. Fortunately, we had some taco bell cups left over from lunch.

We made friends with two dudes from Delaware who were fresh out of high school. They were drinking Jameson and coke out of big cups, and entertaining the two ladies that accompanied me with stories of past Dave concerts (i’ve noticed that people who love Dave Matthew’s Band often refer to him as if they are close friends). These dudes assured me that I would change my mind about ‘Dave’ once I saw him perform live. I told them maybe that’s true, but don’t hold your breath.

Soon after the doors opened, we went inside to use the restroom and find a spot on the lawn. Our new friends, Dan (we kept calling him Lt. Dan because he’s in ROTC) Chad (i’m probably wrong about his name), split to go buy t-shirts. Later on the found us because my friend Shannon was drunkenly hippie-dancing to the opening band and almost falling over everyone around us.

Speaking of the opening band, I don’t remember their name. However, I saw or heard absolutely no difference between them and Dave Matthew’s, and I do recall that they were named after the frontman. To me, they were musically and lyrically boring, sounding just like Dave Matthew’s Band, but I was in the minority. I could hear preppie douche bags say things like, “oh man, this is sick! i hope he plays [insert song name here]!”

One good thing I can say about a Dave Matthew’s concert is that it is a smorgasborg of vapid, slutty, preppy chicks, most of whom are pretty hot and scantily clad. More on that later.

Dave Matthew’s Band comes on and everybody stands and goes crazy. Everybody but me is dancing. Dan and Chad grab me and yell at me to dance. “Don’t be ashamed that you’re white with no rhythm, your surrounded by white people with no rhythm!” I admire their spirit and energy, but Timmy don’t dance, and Timmy definitely doesn’t dance to this kind of music.

I was honestly surprised at how many Dave Matthew’s songs I knew. Probably at least a dozen that I knew the words to the chorus at least. Funny thing is, they are all songs I’ve heard on the radio, and I didn’t think old Dave got that much radio play.

The fiddle player is a beast. He’s the single most entertaining person in the band. Evidently he rarely takes off his sunglasses, so when he actually did take them off, the crowd went ape-shit.

With the exception of the final song, the trumpeter sucked. He just stood in one spot the whole time, and would play one or two or three notes and then stop. Why was he even there? The final song had him play a trumpet solo that quite honestly was amazing. Not Doc Severenson or Dizzy Gilespie amazing, but pretty good nonetheless.

The lead guitarist was competent but i didn’t notice anything all that special about his playing or style. Same with the new sax player. From what I overheard from the crowd, the new sax player can’t hold a candle to the old one. Many were saying that with the previous sax players death, the entire band sounds different and not as good. This made me chuckle because everything sounded exactly the same as on the radio, exactly the same as I expected it to.

An interesting note is that a lot of people follow the band around the country. I was told at the show that the set list was very different than previous shows, which is pretty refreshing. Some bands play the same set list every concert, or just change the order a little bit. So I give you good marks for keeping your fans on their toes, Dave Matthews.

One song of note that was played was Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill, which in my opinion was better than the original.

After it got dark, I was standing behind Lt. Dan and Chad when a dark haired hottie walks up and hugs Chad. He hugs her back and they start swaying together to the music. Soon, his hand is down the back of her pants as she is texting someone on her phone. He says something to her, she replies and he pulls his hand out of her pants, turns around and comes up to me. I said, “hey who’s your friend?” and he shoots back, “hell if I know, just some random drunk girl who is now texting her boyfriend trying to find him. She wanted to make out with me, but if she’s that easy, I’d probably get herpes or something.” Better luck next time dude.

Some weasely looking dirt bag walks up to me. This guy looked like he didn’t belong. He was dirty, greasy, with a goatee. Not like any one else there. He introduces himself with a handshake and says his name is Josh and he’s from Delaware and he’s just looking for some green. I tell him good luck finding it, and turn away. I didn’t have anything, but I sure as shit can spot a cop when I see one, and I sure as shit won’t talk to one for any reason. ‘Josh’ moves on to the group in front of me; no luck their either for drugs, but Chad manages to pass the drunk slut off to Josh. Karma is real folks.

After the concert is was back to the parking lot for another hour due to the traffic jam of people trying to leave. Some people just started tailgaiting again waiting for traffic to die down. Some girl walked up to our car and asked if we wanted any cheetos. Of course we did!

Overall, Dave Matthew’s Band was nothing out of the ordinary. If you are a young douche bag with some game, you can probably get laid quiet easily. Other than that, I really don’t see the appeal. The tickets are expensive, the food is terrible, the beer is overpriced, and the music is bland. However, the people were all very nice and friendly. Possibly the nicest crowd I’ve ever seen at a concert.

Lackluster at Skully’s

This review is like a month late. Sorry Jon. Lost my notebook and had a lot of other things going on. shit happens.

anyway, Lackluster performed at Skully’s. Before them was Black Eyed Betty, and before them was Monolithic Cloud Parade. After Lackluster was another band but i had to leave before they came on.

We’ll start from the openers.

Monolithic Cloud Parade are interesting. Visually, they’re a few white guys of the Trendy-Beard-and-Vintage-Clothing-type and one black dude who plays trumpet and keyboard. I liked the trumpet, although at times it seemed like they just threw a trumpet in a song in a “what the hell, why not?” kinda way. In short, i wouldn’t mind seeing them again.

Black Eyed Betty. Oh man, here goes. I overheard several women in the audience say that they LOVED the singers shoes. That’s about it. For a more or less bubblegum punk band, they were decent. But this was not a show that they should have been booked at. Completely wrong for the type of crowd, completely wrong for the other bands on the bill, and completely wrong on playing a ridiculously long set of songs that all blended together into a 45 minute mayonnaise-y on white bread punk set.

i would think about seeing them again if it was at a punk show and if their set was shorter by at least 15 minutes. The singer was cute though. very bouncy and smiley. and fishnetty. actually, forget the band, i just want to see her.

Lackluster was really good. One of their best performances to date. Whereas the dance floor was completely empty for the first two bands, people from the front of the bar and from outside filed into the main room after the first couple songs. that’s a pretty good sign that you have a good sound. In fact, out of all the bands from my hometown of Reynoldsburg, Lackluster has the best chance of actually accomplishing something. The song that stands out the most is the brilliant cover of Eddie Murphy’s Party All the Time. when i first heard that they were going to cover this, i thought it was a terrible, horrible, incredibly stupid thing to do. However, i was wrong. It was great! There were trendy scenester kids dancing everywhere! seriously. i haven’t seen a crowd reaction like that for a local band in a long time.

i’ve said my piece. i’m out.

Lackluster

Official: Lacklusterband.com
Myspace: Lackluster
Garageband: Lackluster

Jon Hayes, the singer, guitarist, main songwriter of Lackluster describes his band as being “essentially a one man project stemming from the remains of Bender, a local central Ohio band,” but I have to respectfully disagree. Bender, as I knew the group, was musically limited to a grunge/post-grunge, almost Nirvana wanna-be style that, quite honestly, wasn’t that interesting to listen too.

Fast-forward ten years and Jon has created something fresh, something new, something that is willing to take risks, and more often than not, succeeds in what it’s trying to do.

Like a lot of bands, Lackluster’s recorded music doesn’t match the brilliance of their live show. So if you don’t dig the music on the official site or the Myspace site, then you should definitely check them out live. It’s definitely worth your while. Besides, the shows are usually either free or no more than 5 bucks ya stingy bastards!

Jim Weisbarth of Verner Caliper and the unfortunately-defunct foid plays bass and Mike Shiller is on drums.

Jon managed to spare some time to answer some questions:

How many concerts a month do you play? how many would you like to play?

JH: Right now, we’re playing maybe two or three times a month on average. As far as how many I’d like to be playing? Somewhere between 27 and 31, depending on the month, would be nice.

do you still use drum samples now that you have a dedicated drummer?

JH: Right now, no we don’t. We do use a sampler of sorts for instrumentation we haven’t acquired in the human sense, but not really so much for additional drum layers. We do have another song that doe shave additional percussive elements to it, but we haven’t started working on it as a group just yet.

what was your favorite cartoon show growing up?

JH: Growing up… that’s a tough one. Snorks. All childhood cartoons have become a blur to me, so it’s not like the Snorks have a special place in my heart for any particular reason; other than, when i mention it to people, more often than not, I get a look of bewilderment staring back at me. Like the Snorks are the product of my own imagination. I question that sometimes. Have you ever heard of Snorks?

Why do you complete so many Myspace surveys?

JH: Ha, it used to be out of boredom, when I had a regular, lame-ass job. Now that I no longer have that job, it’s far less frequent.

Have you seen Lackluster’s fan support grow from people you know personally, to people you don’t know at all?

JH: It’s changing to an extent. It’s weird because I imagine however popular one might become, they are always kind of relying on the support of others. Perhaps even more than their own abilities. We’re just as dependent. Though, I’d like for it to be a symbiotic relationship. I’d rather someone come to see ebcause they get something out of it than just because we know each other. But we’ll takes what we can gets, and be thankful for it. But, yeah, it’s growing slowly. The tough part isn’t getting people to come up to you after a show and pay you compliments, or money for a CD. It’s getting them to come back. But, it’s growing. Occasionally someone I’ve never met will say they saw us somewhere, then kick me in the balls and tell us we suck. It’s kind of an honor really.

How was life in the Air Force? Did your service influence your musical taste?

JH: I can adapt to things pretty well, and I don’t have any notions that anything but my own stink revolves around me. The military, to varying in degrees, is mostly just made up of people who feel the same way. It fostered integrity, which I feel translates into different aspects of music… but I still hate Creed.

How has your music grown since you first started playing?

JH: It’s weird, because sometimes it doesn’t seem like it has at all, and sometimes it does. If I were to sit down and play something current in front of myself, from fifteen years ago, I think there would be a difference. But, I actually put some effort into lyrics now. That’s definitely changed.

Do you find it difficult to write songs, or does inspiration just come to you?

JH: I find it extremely difficult BECAUSE it just comes to you.

When did you first start playing music, and what made you start?

JH: I think I was 13 or 14, and I’d skip school to hang out with this kid. He had a guitar, and we’d pretty much just play it all day, wherever we could that would piss off as many people as possible. He told me my fingers were too fat, and I thought he was wrong. So, I played.

Dragonforce

Dragonforce is coming to town tomorrow. Not only that, but they’re playing at the Newport Music Hall, which has more history and character than any other concert hall in the country. But to add a little shit to the sugar, I have both the flu, and an extreme lack of funds.

I was first introduced to Dragonforce when the video for “Through the Fire and Flames” first started playing on Fuse several years ago. My friend Metal Joe would always play it while we drank at his apartment. He played it loud. Really fucking loud. And we would all sing along with it as if it were some old irish drinking song. That is, if old Irish drinking songs were power metal played at 800 beats per minute.

I’ve seen Dragonforce twice already; once as the openers of the main stage at Ozzfest and once as the openers for Killswitch Engage.

At Ozzfest ’06 Dragonforce opened up the main stage at like 10 in the morning. They played 4 songs, lasting about a half hour to 40 minutes. Even though it was early, and a more popular teeny bopper candy-metal band was playing on the second stage, Dragonforce brought their A game. They actually had a small crowd going (the majority of Ozzfest attendees had yet to arrive because the concert was on a weekday). What made me laugh out loud was the Keytarist. That dude is absolutely driven. He starts out every song playing a traditional keyboard, then mid-way through switches to a keytar and rocks his fucking balls off for the rest of the song, leaping and jumping and kicking like a maniac.

Less than a year later Jason Perlman at Musicohio had an extra Photo Pass and gave it to me. I didn’t have a camera, but I didn’t particularly care about that. I got to see Dragonforce up close; so close I could smell what they had to eat for lunch. So close that I got repeatedly hit with strands of Dragonforce sweat.
This was LONG before they became huge through Guitar Hero III. They were one of the opening acts for Killswitch Engage. Really. Both I and the band itself were surprised by how much the crowd was into it. It was an indoor show, and people were going crazy. The whole place was singing along with the chorus to almost every song. It was amazing.

Go see Dragonforce. Even if you don’t like metal. No matter how much tickets cost, you will get more than your money’s worth.

A Primer on Columbus Music pt 1

Bands in Columbus are constantly evolving, mutating, and changing. Contrary to what Cringe.com says about the “Columbus Sound,” there is very little that any Columbus band has in common with any other Columbus band.

there is no such thing as a “Columbus Sound.”

that phrase is simply a marketing term, and as with most marketing terms, it does a huge disservice to everyone involved.

As far as i care to go back, there have been three major musical movements in Columbus in the past 25 years. these three trends aren’t clear cut, overlap each other, and many bands do not fall into these loose categories.

the Punk movement of the 80’s and early 90’s; bands such as New Bomb Turks, Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, and Great Plains.

The 90’s and early 2000’s Pop movement with Royal Crescent Mob, Watershed, The Sun, and Tiara

The Stoner Metal trend with Deadsea, Evil Queens, and Teeth of the Hydra among others

there has also been a growing hip hop community with such greats as Blueprint, Envelope and Hotsauce.

A lot of the older bands are still around and still very influential to the younger bands coming up.
For example, the New Bomb Turks are still one of the best live bands in the city, and they can really be called a national band now (or even international: i have a DVD of them in Edinburgh, Scotland for christ’ sake).

Our Columbus venues support these trends.
Bernies Distillery, while slowly dying, was for a very long time the BEST place to see punk shows. i say slowly dying because it’s true. Bernie’s nowadays is a far cry from what it used to be. i blame the smoking ban; the scenesters used to stay inside and smoke and be seen and could act cool while listening to a band. Now, all the little kids who think they’re bad-ass lil’ punx hang out outside and never even hear the bands they paid 5 bucks to see. As Bernie’s dies, i think the Columbus punk seen will die with it. Not completely die out, of course, but it will be dealt a serious blow.

Cafe Bourbon Street and The Summit, as well as the numerous house show places have helped to further reduce Bernie’s reputation. They don’t usually showcase the frenetic hardcore acts that populated Bernie’s, but they’ve taken everything else. Plus Cafe Bourbon Street has a built in hotdog stand (not as good as Taco Ninja though)

Ravari Room is THE place to see metal shows in the city. there is absolutely no where else that can get the talent Ravari Room gets in terms of metal bands. Cheap beer, decent service, good food, and awesome bands.

Skully’s has decent support of local bands, including a free local show every week, but seems to be moving towards national electronic dance and hip hop acts.

Carabar could be the best venue in the city for local bands except for two reasons; location, and clientelle. the location is on Parsons in Olde Town East, far from just about everything else in a high crime neighborhood. The clientelle is mostly (but not all) snooty, elitist scene kids. I know that Carabar has had that reputation for a while now, and from what i hear things have been changing, but i’ve never felt welcome, i’ve never seen the kids dance or move at all to any band, and it just makes me kinda sad. They tend to have the more “artsy” and experimental bands, as well as a decent, if limited, selection of local punk and metal bands. For a band, if you don’t know the people at Carabar and you somehow get a gig there, you’re probably not going to have a good time.

The Circus ruined what used to be a great bar, the High 5. No, i’m not talking about the High 5 you probably remember from the past 5 years. I’m talking about the bar BEFORE it was renovated. No windows; just dank, smoky darkness and a 50 year old nasty woman bartending and local and regional punk bands tearing it up. From what i can tell, Circus is a gay bar made for straight people. Their biggest night of the week is karaoke, if that helps you out any.

There are lots of house shows as well. If you are unfamiliar, it is simply a house whose owners or renters have converted the building into a concert hall. Legion of Doom has been around forever and is for you straightedge kids. but there is also Monster House and Metronome House (acoustic) to name a few.