31 posts tagged “punk”
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07/18/08 Uncle Fester’s Bloomington, IN
07/24/08 Ronny’s Bar Chicago, IL 07/25/08 Isabella’s Dubuque, IA 07/26/08 Record Bar Kansas City, MO 07/27/08 Monolith Tulsa, OK 07/28/08 Rubber Gloves Denton, TX 07/29/08 The Mink Houston, TX 07/30/08 Mohawk Austin, TX 07/31/08 Conservatory Oklahoma City 08/01/08 The Replay Lawrence, KS 08/02/08 The Bluebird St. Louis, MO 08/12/08 The Bluebird Bloomington, IN 08/14/08 NYC, New York 08/15/08 Middle East Boston, MA 08/16/08 Portland, ME 08/17/08 Providence, RI 08/18/08 Philadelphia, PA 08/19/08 Ottobar Baltimore City, MD 08/20/08 Charlottesville, VA 08/21/08 Black Cat Washington, DC 08/22/08 31st St. Pub Pittsburgh, PA 08/23/08 Casa Nueva Athens, OH |
The Coke Dares is a three-piece band from Bloomington, Indiana, consisting of Roger (bass), Kenny (singer), and Roger (guitars). Reading their self-written "biography" on their website, I get the impression that these guys have a great time goofing around and being clever (or not so clever) about it.
My first reaction to their new album, Feelin' Up, was "WTF, how can an LP have 32 tracks and be UNDER 30 minutes?!?" You know what? None, and I mean NONE of their songs reaches over 1 minute and 20 seconds.
This was all by design, not it's a one time joke! (their last album, Here We Go With... The Coke Dares from 2004, contains 32 tracks and presumably under 30 minutes too). In trying to figure out how this evolved, apparently they started off as a "classic rock" band, covering Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc. At one of their gigs, they suddenly stop at the bridge and said "thank you" and started another song. They continued to do this until they exaggeratedly described the night as playing "at least 230 songs".
Man, I just re-read that last paragraph, it sounds like a secret origin to a super villain.
Some of the songs I noted that I wanted to mention are the three "The Coke Dares Theme" that are played throughout their concert. Each song is very different, but are grouped under that title.
As for the four second song called "Fuck You I Quit"... I wouldn't call that a song! I think you'll find that many of the titles actually tells you all you need to know about the song. Can you guess what "I'm Just Trying to Drink to Get Some Sleep", "I Wish I Could Get As High as Neil Young Does", "Everybody's Got Some Time To Die Unless You're a Zombie", and "Mask Map" (it's big, it's huge, it's a big big big big map) are about?
I think the song that I was going to use was "Emergency Room Blues" by default because it was the longest song on the album. I've decided to use "Ronald McDonald" as it sounds like a monologue at the beginning. Plus Ronald McDonald gives me the creeps.
The truth is, it really doesn't matter how I dress this up, I suspect the band is amazing live, based on the songs on the recording. It's definitely not for everybody, but if you like a mix of improv, DIY, garage, punk rock, with less commitment and a sense of humor... definitely check out Feelin' Up. The album comes out this Tuesday, July 8th on Essay ("SA") and Reibenbach Records.
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A sunny Friday night, quite a modest crowd at the Factory Theatre in downtown Marrickville (not far from my house, so I was happy). I had not actually been in there before and I must say that it's a pretty awesome place to see a band. Tacky (but not sticky) carpet and a great sound.... and the best bit... the beer wasn't astronomically priced!
First band up (and I admit we only caught the last 3 songs of) was Brisbane band, Yves Klein Blue. I was actually quite blown away by these guys. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but just by looking at them I surely didn't expect what I got. The singer had a sound that if i was to close my eyes, at some points sounded slightly Pete Doherty-esque, but that's probably highly insulting to most normal people, so I won't say that.
As I said, I only heard the last 3 songs, but in those songs was a wealth of musical diversity. I don't think I could label these guys into any sort of genre. All I know is that as well as being very dance-able, they were also fitting to sit back and relax.
Also, I have to say it. If my nanna were there she'd have a heart attack and try to put headbands on certain band members with hair in their faces (as she did to me when I was about 8 years old trying to grow out a tragic 80's fringe).
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Similar to Yves Klein Blue, VHS or Beta had a diverse range of song types and sounds. Some were poppy, some were dancey, some were sort of more ambient. Partially electronic, but with most of the music being played live by the guys themselves.
I'm sure you're probably more up to speed with the world, but if not, have a peek at what these guys are about at the following places:
VHS or Beta - Official Website
VHS or Beta - MySpace Page
and not forgetting:
Yves Klein Blue - Official Website
Yves Klein Blue - MySpace Page
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"Seasons in the Sun" is one of those songs that is massively popular in Asia, especially where I'm from originally in Vietnam. I found out that the song is actually a 1961 Belgian French song called "Le Moribond" (The Dying Man) by folk singer Jacques Brel.
Brel lived in Belgium and moved to Paris in the 70s, and most of his body of work (from 1954 to 1977), was mostly composed and sung exclusively in French.
The song was translated into English and recorded as a song by Rod McKuen, which sounds kind of like Leonard Nimoy's acting/singing... especially at the end, where it gets a little exaggerated. I found the recording on imeem, so hopefully the embedding feature will work out.
Prior to Terry Jacks hit recording, there were several attempts by The Kingston Trio (1963) and The Fortunes (1968), and Pearls Before Swine (1970), but none of them ever got as popular as Jacks' version in 1974.
A couple of notes, about the Fortunes, they are still active (and playing live) and have the "Seasons in the Sun" song available for download on their website, although from listening to it, it sounds like, perhaps it's a re-recording(?). Anyway, some tour dates:
05/24/08 California Cliffs, Great Yarmouth.
06/06/08 Keswick Rugby Club, Cumbria
06/08/08 Whitby Pavillion
06/13/08 Memorial Social Center, Wickhambrook, Newmarket.
06/28/08 Theatre on the Steps, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
07/05/08 Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe
07/13/08 Pavilion Theatre, Cromer
07/19/08 Alvaston Hall, Nantwich (Warners)
07/25/08 Purley Chase Golf Club. Nr Nuneaton.
07/26/08 Artrix Theater Bromsgrove
07/31/08 Canterbury (CUTG)
More tour dates on thefortunes.co.uk
So the story behind the #1 hit song by Canadian singer Terry Jacks, was that Jacks had proposed to The Beach Boys to record "Seasons in the Sun", but The Beach Boys abandoned the project. Jacks decided to record and release the song himself, and to this day have sold over six million copies.
The main difference in Jacks' version and previous versions, was that his version is a little happier, including removing the 'cheating wife' part.
Speaking of happy, Westlife's version is ... let's just say quite interesting. Their singing and upbeat song doesn't really carry across the message of a dying man. At all. Still the song did well for them, although it was eventually left off their Greatest Hits CD in 2002, possibly due to licensing/royalities rights.
A vast contrast to Westlife's poppy version is from Nirvana, who seems to stumble through the song. It's also interesting to note that you see Kurt Cobain playing the drums, instead of Dave Grohl (who looks like he's playing bass in the video).
Also interesting to note is that the song is vastly popular with punk bands such as Bad Religion, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and Blink 182.
I am including a few other covers below, my favorite is Black Box Recorder, who I've previously mentioned. Their version sounds like a French film soundtrack :).
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Links: www.weheartmusic.com
| Papi Chulo wrote: Tue, May 20, 2008 at 7:04 PM |
Don't forget the awesome version by Too Much Joy (click the Play link next to the track on that page. You can listen to 25 tracks per month free on Rhapsody). They were one of my favorites back in the day, and they still do the best version that I've ever heard. Even better live.
 Hellapop Festival (May 24th) ♥ Bands: The Definite Articles, Teamawesome!, iji, Tinkture, Hey Three Eyes, The Creepy Crawlies, James Rabbit, Charlie Don’t Surf!, The Paper Orchestra, The Panduhs, Old Hack, Tippy the Vegan, Music from Anteria |
Okay, so I've never been an avid calendar user (too much work!), but lately I've been organizing myself with W♥M Calendar so I know which concert dates to attend and what CDs are being release when. Since I also use Outlook for calendaring, Google does offer Calendar Sync which seamlessly sync both outlook and W♥M calendar (so I can manage offline or online).
I believe the calendar is shared among all the weheartmusic.com users by default (but you can set it to private or "friends only"), so, anyroad, I know someone will be attending Hellapop Festival (May 24). This looks really fun, and I would be there too if I lived in California.
I thought I'd mention two bands doing this festival that I thought looked interesting.
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Tinkture looks like a group of very young ladies, into DIY punk, possibly Riot. I thought "Pyrotechnics" is a very fast and feels very garagey. The vocals has a southern sound to it too. I generally like these DIY punk, as you've probably figured from my various punk articles.
I couldn't help but think of Supergrass's "Alright" when I heard "Farther Away" by Shadow Puppet Theatre. These guys looks very hip and are snappy dressers on top of that. Plus, they seem like they would hang out at all night cafes. They are from Modesto, and consists of singer/guitarist, Adam Bishop, and upright bassist, Jessica Jones.
These are only two of the many, many bands that's attending the Hellapop Festival, so be sure to check them out. That Team Awesome sounds pretty fun, as well as Charlie Don't Surf (which may have stolen their title from Apocalypse Now, but they seem too young to actually have seen that movie - so I vote for Veronica Mars).
Links: myspace.com/popsongromance
www.tinkture.com
myspace.com/shadowpuppettheatre
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Tour Dates
05/30/08 Electric Weekend Madrid
05/31/08 Siesta Festivalen Hässleholm 06/13/08 Skabazac Festival Rodez 06/14/08 Greenfield Festival Interlaken 06/15/08 Mix Up Festival Verneuil/Paris 06/21/08 Hurricane Festival Germany 06/22/08 Southside Festival Neuhausen 06/26/08 Frihamnen Göteborg 06/27/08 Peace & Love Festival Borlänge 07/03/08 Sundsvalls Gatufest Sundsvall 07/05/08 Ruis Rock Turku 09/05/08 Gröna Lund Stockholm |
Punk rock Swedes Millencolin has been around forever it seems. I've been listening to them since 2001, and they were already established with several CDs. My absolutely favorite disc by these guys is Pennybridge Pioneers. It loud, fast punk but not thrown together. It's smart, and displays their talents wonderfully. That's why I was surprised when I popped Machine 15 into my Macbook because it doesn't even sound like the same band!
You can definitely recognize Nikola Sarcevic's gritty vocals, but they are prettier, and more melodic. They whole album has taken a straight rock, dare I say, emo/indie rock turn. Songs like "Brand New Game" and "Saved by Hell" sound like they should be played with Taking Back Sunday, instead of at a Bad Religion show. The closest they come to their old stuff is with the song "Route One".
They are great songs, but I'm still shocked at how different it is in comparison to their late 90s-early 2000s stuff. I was actually most impressed with their opening track Machine 15, which has a slight euro-rock feel, ala their Swedish friends The Hives (and personally one of my favorite bands). I wish there was more of that influence on the entire album, but hey, who knew these guys could pull off power pop too?
They are touring in Europe all summer, but be sure to check back in the fall.
Links:
www.millencolin.com
myspace.com/millencolin
epitaph.com//Millencolin
What do I have here? Three Aussie bands. Three interesting bands, really quite worth tracking down really.
The release itself contains a comprehensive biography of the band (which I wont bother repeating here) and some rather sinister looking photos of what most of our dad's probably looked like in the 70's.
The music on this Milesago is really like nothing I've heard. A lot of experimental type progressive rock sounds mixed with some very cheesy melodies.... not to mention the names of the songs. Love's My Bag, has to be a highlight (and of course, was the first track I listened to).. Do The Crab and Mama, Did Jesus Wear Makeup? and are also up on that level.
Additions to the original release are bonus tracks (including one track that is a brain-breaking 20-something minutes) from their performace at the Sunbury Festival in 1972.
A new release and 2nd EP release from Sydney band Me vs.You, The Fear Of Falling, spans a range of musical genre influences. From pop to rock to metal to punk. It really has something there for most people. The Fear of Falling presents an energetic but melodic collection of songs (the CD artwork itself contains the lyrics so you can sing along... great!).
Formed in 2005, by looking at their myspace page it's pretty obvious they have quite a solid following.
They also seem to like the colour green.
Check out their offical website: www.mevsyouband.com ...and and and get down to Luna Park on ANZAC day (April 25th) to catch them alongside Envy Parade, My Name 4 Your and The Hotel Charlie ($15 entry) and you'll receive a copy of The Fear of Falling FREE! They're also embarking on a tour of the east coast... so keep your eyes peeled.
Go/No-Go
It had been a while since I had ventured out to take in a band that I had not heard of before.
For a first live performace, Go/No-Go have started on brilliant footing. It was rock, but popesque rock, perfect for dancing. Was i dancing? Well... no. They played at 8:15pm so there clearly weren't enough beverages in me by then.... but I would have! I swear!
There was a sizeable crowd there as well.. which was encouraging, but I guess that may have had something to do with the fact that it was the birthday of drum person, Nicholai. (If anyone see's him in the near future tell him that I wanted to wish him happy birthday, but the nanna in me was throwing a tantrum and made us go home).
Anyway, a entertaining performance by a band that I am sure will gain a following at a rapid rate. So get in early so you can't be accused of jumping on any band wagons. I'm not sure how they're going to deal with the fact that there are a swag of bands with the same name... but hey!
Check em out: Myspace page or May 13th @ the Hopetoun Hotel, Surry hills.
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04/21/08 The Rock Nightc... Maplewood
Discography
04/22/08 The Pageant St. Louis 04/23/08 Blue Note Columbia 04/24/08 Cains Ballroom Tulsa 04/25/08 Baton Rouge Riv... Baton Rouge 04/26/08 Cynthia W Mitch... Spring 04/27/08 Pizza Hut Park Frisco 04/29/08 The Social Orlando 04/30/08 Floyds Music St... Tallahassee 05/01/08 State Theater St. Petersburg 05/04/08 Chameleon Lancaster 05/05/08 Mod Club Toronto, CA 05/10/08 Groezrock Festi... Meerhout, BE 05/11/08 Waterfront Rotterdam, AN 05/13/08 Markthalle Hamburg, DE 05/14/08 Oostbahnhof Berlin, DE 05/15/08 Elserhalle Club Munich, DE 05/16/08 Arena Vienna, DE 05/18/08 Volkshaus Zurich, CH 05/20/08 Mean Fiddler London, UK 05/21/08 Academy 2 Birmingham, UK 05/22/08 Academy 2 Manchester, UK 05/23/08 QMU Glasgow, UK 05/25/08 Slamdunk Festiv... Leeds, UK 05/30/08 Tivoli Brisbane 05/31/08 Luna Park Sydney 06/01/08 Billboard/ Afternoon show/ Under 18 Melbourne 06/02/08 Billboard/ Evening Show/ 18+ Melbourne 06/19/08 Warped Tour!!!! ALL DATES!!!! Pomona, California
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Fans of St Louis's Story of the Year will be lining up in line tomorrow to get their much anticipated album, The Black Swan, their debut on legendary punk label Epitaph.
So a little background on SOTY, that they formed in 1995, originally as Big Blue Monkey, but due to conflict with a blues band, they changed their name to SOTY in 2001. Shortly after a huge buzz and a signing deal with Madonna's Maverick label, the group exploded on the alternative punk scene with their debut album Page Avenue (2003).
Sure, you've all seen the album art plastered on store's walls and windows, these guys were huge.
Their sophomore album, In the Wake of Determination (2005), wasn't as successful as their debut (probably due to lack of marketing and promotion), so I am assuming after their contract ran out, they decided to go with a great label as Epitaph that offers the kind of freedom and attention they need.
Surprisingly, the album starts off with a pretty hardcore song "Choose Your Fate", following some British television dialogue. The hardcore song soon gives way to what they're best known for: catchy alternative rock.
The key single is "Wake Up", which was the preceding single for the album. The song is mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, who you may know as mixer for Bad Religion, AFI, and My Chemical Romance. He really has an ear for constantly making the song sound louder and longer and more rocking.
For a second before the album ends with its riff-heavy song called "Welcome to Our New War", you're given this sweet and thoughtful dialogue:
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. Thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. It underscores our responsibility to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot.
Apparently this is a rearranged excerpt from a speech by astronomer Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot". For a complete translation (in its corrected unedited sequence), head over to wikipedia
The Black Swan is out tomorrow at most major record store. You can get additional tracks if you buy it from iTunes (pre-order). Story of the Year is also in the middle of a very long tour, chances are, they are headed to your town soon.
04/21/2008 22:51:18
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armyoftheblackswan.com
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| Tour Dates
04/11/08 Record Release Party!!! Olympia
04/12/08 Vera Project Seattle, WA 04/17/08 Sunset Tavern Seattle, WA 04/18/08 Work/Sound Portland, OR 04/21/08 Towne Lounge Portland, OR 04/22/08 Hemlock San Francisco, CA 04/23/08 Thrillhouse Records San Francisco 04/24/08 Oakland, California 04/25/08 Muddy Waters Santa Barbara, CA 04/26/08 La Conga San Pedro, CA 04/27/08 Part Time Punks Los Angeles, CA 04/28/08 The Smell Los Angeles, CA 04/29/08 Trunkspace Phoenix, AZ 04/30/08 Stab Mountain Flagstaff, AZ 05/02/08 Beerland Austin, TX 05/03/08 San Antonio, Texas 05/04/08 Denton, Texas 05/05/08 Jack Rabbit Lounge Shreveport, LA 05/06/08 Jackson, Mississippi 05/07/08 Memphis, Tennessee 05/08/08 Florence, Alabama 05/09/08 Huntsville, Alabama 05/10/08 Spazzatorium Greenville, NC 05/11/08 Red and Black Washington DC 05/12/08 Sonor Baltimore, MD 05/13/08 Brooklyn, New York 05/14/08 Cake Shop New York 05/15/08 Providence, Rhode Island 05/16/08 Worcestor, Massachusetts 05/17/08 New Brunswick, New Jersey 05/18/08 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 05/19/08 Garfield Arts Pittsburgh, PA 05/20/08 Columbus, Ohio 05/21/08 Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois 05/22/08 Bloomington, Indiana 05/23/08 Replay Lounge Lawerence, KY 05/24/08 Record Bar Kansas City, MO 05/26/08 Hi Dive Denver, Colorado 05/27/08 Urban Lounge Salt Lake City, UT 05/28/08 Boise, Idaho 05/29/08 Portland, Oregon 05/30/08 Olympia, Washington |
Something new for garage punk fans.
Check out Poisonous Times, the 3rd release from The Old Haunts, the Washington state garage punk band featuring Craig Extine (vocals, guitar), Scott Seckington (bass) and Tobi Vail (drums).
A little creepy, a little cooky, perhaps altogether spooky, but this may just make you wanna get up and dance. They remind a lot of Television but they really have their own unique sound. Gritty & Grungy, and sometimes quirky, the band comes up with a wirey layered guitar sound that would make Billy Gibbons smile.
It is weird and fun for sure.
I haven't heard any of their earlier material, but I really enjoyed this record as I think a lot of garage punk fans would. My favorite track on the record is a toss-up between "Volatile" and "Outside of Divided Time". Both songs are well written, with a fun jerky rhythm to them.
The Old Haunts are keeping the torch lit on the vibe and sound coming from Pacific Northwest punk scene, adding their own personal touch to the garagey punk they so creatively and forcefully spit out.
Poisonous Times will be available next week on April 8th from Kill Rock Stars Records. Look for The Old Haunts on tour.
04/02/2008 21:23:32 todd my♥posts 
www.oldhaunts.com myspace.com