2 posts tagged “g tom mac”

HEAVY WATER EXPERIMENTS
heavywaterexperiments.com ♥ myspace.com
Not exactly scary, but definitely creepy, the cover art to Heavy Water Experiments' self-titled album shows a woman semi-melting due to a lens distortion. Since I think cover art also lends itself to the overall feel of the album, I would have to say that this album is also moody and dark.

I thought one of the more amusing names they used to describe their sound is "Pink Sabbath," which is a very good self-description of the band: a cross between Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath. Also what's worth noting about this band is that it features singer and bassist David Melbye on his 8-string bass/electric guitar. I believe most common bass guitars are four string, and I'm assuming that the extra double bass lines are for low and high of each music note.

I can't say that I have the ear to pick up these subtle differences, but they definitely don't really sound like a typical band. The bass isn't at all that aggressive, not like, say, Primus, but it is a big part of their sound.

"Anodyne" is the stand-out track for me. Melbye's vocals come in loud and clear on this track and the waves and waves of guitar and sound layers go up at crucial points.

Check them out at the Derby:

28 Oct 2008 The Derby Los Feliz Village, CA

If you like heavy psychedelic 70's music, you might want to check out this Los Angeles-based band. Their self-titled album can be purchased on cdbaby. If you can't get enough of them then, you can pick up the band's previous incarnation, Imogene.

KINETIC STEREOKIDS
kineticstereokids.net ♥ myspace.com/kineticstereokids
I like, nay, I love doing these singles/EP reviews because these are a quick listen. Judging from the Misfits-type cover artwork, you would think that Kinetic Stereokids are only two kids (one playing the upright bass and the other, the drums)... but their 'space lists at least five band members (although I think there's only officially only four members, judging from their promotional pictures).

Their Have A Nice Day EP came out last Tuesday, October 21^st which really consists of only two songs, "Have A Nice Day" and "Blunder". The third and bonus track is "Explosions Were Heard", which was recorded live On KEXP. I am assuming it is only a bonus because their 7" color vinyl could not spare the room to fit in an extra six minutes.

I actually really enjoyed their live song. It shows me that they have mastered the art of incorporating samples into their live songs and I get the impression that the singer likes to be very, very close to the microphone (listen closely for his spitty lyrics). Also stay tuned at the end of the song, where you can hear the DJ talking to the soft-spoken band members.

If you like those Broken Social kids or Arcade Fire kids, I think you'll really like these Kinetic Stereokids. Their Have A Nice Day EP is out now on Overdraft Recordings. Definitely check out their insane Halloween show coming up on the 31^st:

31 Oct 2008 The Loft Flint, Michigan
01 Nov 2008 (Scene) Metrospace Lansing, MI
08 Nov 2008 The Aloha Flint, Michigan

G TOM MAC
gtommac.com ♥ myspace.com/gtommac
G Tom Mac, aka Gerard McMahon, is my special guest for W♥M Podcast #28. His latest release is Thou Shall Not Fall, which was recently released as part of The Lost Boys: Tribe. I did manage to rent the sequel on DVD, as I do own and love the original Lost Boys movie by director Joel Schumacher.

Talking to Mac, he explained his involvement with both movies, which I'm sure he must've answered a billion times. He also tells me that there will be a tour in Spring of '09, which I will also be mentioning when the time arrives on W♥M, as it seems only a few dates are confirmed at this time (be sure to be at the Virgin Megastore for the signing and spot Corey Heim).

10/30/08 Virgin Megastore Los Angeles, CA
11/01/08 Dracula's Ball Shampoo Nightclub Phila, PA

I thought I would play it safe and use the new re-made "Cry Little Sister" (the Caveclub Video Mix), as the album seems to be revolving around this song. The original song does appear at the end/closing of the album, which made for a nice reprise. The song is absolutely timeless, and 40 years from now, it will still sound just as refreshing as it did in 1987.

After using "Box of Fantasy" as suggested by Mac, the song ended up stuck in my head for a few days, thanks to its catchy guitar riffs! I also really enjoyed his theme song to another movie, I-See-You.com. Although I hadn't heard anything about this movie, based on the song, it feels upbeat, like a comedy or something.

You can get the album via iTunes, but I do recommend getting the CD from amazon.

JOETOWN
joetown.com ♥ myspace.com/joetown
Rounding out my vote for scariness is Joe Delaney, aka Joetown. Looking at the all-red cover art for Pills And Ammo, which was released just last August, I can tell you that Joetown scares me. He looks like a cross between the Devil and Jack the Ripper.

Anyway, Slash from GNR is one of Joetown's biggest fans, and you can see why: Joetown is an excellent guitarist and songwriter. It's mostly classic 70's style guitar rock, so if you're not into going out drinking at a bar and rocking out, this album might not be your thing.

Although mostly guitar-driven songs, I did enjoy the bass-y sound of "Broken Man" and the bluesy 46 second "Devil as Woman" (which I suspect is a cover song?). Some of the weird tactics Joetown uses are distorted vocals and odd sound effects.

Speaking of Blues, Joetown thinks most of his songs are basically blues songs:

If you break down my songs to chords and words, they are pretty much simple I-IV-V blues songs. They address the human condition and the give-and-take between relationships and the sexes.

If you like guitar shredding and don't mind a few f-bombs, you'll love "My Anger Knows No Bounds". This sounds almost metal with the hardcore singing. But I've decided to go with "Hole In My Soul" to represent Joetown. This song features a lot of the distorted vocals I mentioned earlier. It's pretty much guitar-city on this song.

Pills And Ammo is out now, you can pick it up from CD Baby.