Oh Hello, I Didn't See You Come In

Welp, I guess its time to start this thing back up again! In the month-long hiatus a lot of stuff has happened in the music (that I like) world. I don't want to take up too much space, I'll be brief.


1) Ron Asheton of the Stooges died January 6th (lame)

Fun House and Raw Power are fucking amazing albums, and Asheton's guitar furious guitar playing, I'd argue, is the primary reason for that. yeah yeah Iggy is cool and all, but seriously, Ron can shred. He gave punk the hair on its balls, and that's that. shut it. RIP Ron, the first three albums combined are enough to forgive you guys for The Weirdness (shudder).

2) Lux Interior of the Cramps died almost exactly a month later (Feb. 4th, equally lame)
I honestly thought he died years ago, considering his persona and antics. Nevertheless, it is a bummer that he died. He was one of the greatest frontmen in punk for one of the greatest bands in punk. All the pseudo-psychobilly bands on Hellcat Records are in incredible debt to bands The Cramps. Hopefully he's entertaining mental patients in hell now.

Dear god, next thing you know, Mick Jones or Wayne Kramer might die (please don't)

3) Propagandhi's new album leaked yesterday(ohh fuck yeah)
this is the most recent news, and the most fucking exciting for me. I really liked Potemkin City Limits, don't get me wrong, but it seemed a little forced, and at times not them memorable...(but the good songs on it are some of the best they've ever written). Upon first listen, its definitely better than its predecessor. The opening track rips your fucking face off immediately, and they just keep fucking going. The addition of their second guitarist into the band has allowed them to develop their newer sound into regions beyond. This shit is on par with Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes. Once the record is sitting in my hands, I'll be able to judge it more thoroughly.

4) 10-4 Eleanor played at my house (almost bad, but turned out great!)
This show almost turned out to be disaster. Another band was supposed to play, but they dropped out without telling me, leaving us without a PA or a sizeable audience. After some scrambling and lots of apologizing, we managed to wrangle a PA from a friend up the street and the show, despite the tiny audience, went great. The boys play some top notch "orgcore" and its always a pleasure to see them. They also get kudo's points for their new EP, Words Cannot Express How Much Fuck This Band, which was packed in a giant 5 1/2" floppy disk casing.

5) Renegades played their last show at the house with The Masters of Suspicion and Goochie Boys (fucking insanity!)

All three of these bands brought a large crowd to my house. The last time I saw it that crowded for a show was for O Pioneers!!! in September. I opened up with a few new songs to my 5-6 fans in the room, and then let tMoS take the floor. My good friends played the best I've ever seen them. They've dramatically cut down the set to about 10 songs, dropping the covers (although we did coax them into playing "1000 More Fools" and "No Scrubs") and a few of the weaker songs. The crowd that didn't come from them even got into it! The Goochie Boys/Goochie Punx (whatever their actual name is) were a last minute addition and I had no idea what to expect. Turns out they fucking rule! They played very much 60's inspired garage rock/surf/trash and it was incredibly fun. RNGDS packed the house and turned my basement into the sweatiest dance floor ever. Fantastic last show, fantastic night in general.


-TSOL came out with a new album (hmmm...)

I haven't listened to this yet, but I can't imagine its anything groundbreaking or exciting. I'll just listen to Dance With Me and Beneath the Shadows instead.

-The Marked Men came out with a new album (sweet)
Great stuff really, but upon my first couple listens, it doesn't really sound much different then everything else they've put out. Still fun to listen to, and I bet they're killer live.

-I discovered how awesome Leonard Cohen is (awesome)
I think that really sums it up. Songs of Leonard Cohen is a tremendous album, and I need more!

-and of course my computer decided to stop recognizing my external hard drive, and I fear I've lost everything on it (super fucking lame)
I really don't know why it decided to stroke out on me, but it didn't and I can't fucking figure it out. Most of my music is backed up on cd, or I actually own it, but alot of my bootlegs I hadn't gotten around to burning yet. Same goes for my TV shows (all of South Park, Futurama, It's Always Sunny, and Spaced) and a few episodes of Mystery Science Theater. Hopefully everything works out, or I'm gonna be pissed.

that's all I can remember at this point...so till next time

I Remember Halloween...

...or most of it.

This past weekend was awesomely fun, minus the loss of the Descendents' Frank Navetta (RIP my friend). The Masters of Suspicion and I teamed forces (and its looking to be a permanent team) to play Misfits covers all night at two locations

First show was the Bulldog Bar on E. Colfax in Denver. We went there not knowing what to expect, but knew not to expect much. We were right. The staff were incredibly nice and accommodating, despite their bar not being much of a music venue. For starters, the stage was about 3 feet deep and 15 wide. You try fitting 4 band members and gear, and still have room to breath in that cramped space. We also had trouble setting up their PA system (shouldn't they have set that up before any of the bands arrived?), and then found that the bar's only mic didn't work. Thankfully we brought one of ours as a back up. With the regulars looking awkwardly at us, and our 10 or so fans (my roommate, drummer's girlfriend, my parents and 4-5 of their friends, and one Misfits fanguy who was actually pretty cool) cheering on, we busted into our set with Halloween. We made best with what we had, I had a hard time singing with the loose mic rotating away from my mouth, and trying to backup vocals was near impossible. We had a ton of fun, and even our screwups weren't so bad. We finished in about 30-40 minutes, packed up as the next band was arriving, and drove back to Boulder

Our good electronica friends/neighbors RNGDS had just finished setting up when we arrived. Much to the enjoyment of all, they had built floor lighting boxes complete with flashing colors, strobe lights, and a smoke machine. Awesome. They were substantially less drunk than last time, and had brought us all a much better PA, and played well, even being dressed like Sunny and Cher. Dance parties are always fun at the Soulquarium.

After a long breakdown, we got our gear in the basement as quickly as possible, soundchecked and were ready to go. It was incredible. The whole basement was alive and energized, and everyone nearly died of heat exhaustion. I don't even think we screwed up more than twice, and it wasn't even noticeable. We were all much more comfortable in a basement surrounded by friends and people who enjoy the music, and also having, you know, room, and uhh, three microphones. I was jumping all over the place, and I'm surprised I didn't give my self a concussion from the ceiling. Especially considering how much mead I drank. Singalongs and dancing were abound, and I nearly got knocked over by my friend dressed as a giant vagina (filled with teeth none the less)!

Here was our set:

Halloween
Where Eagles Dare
We Are 138
Skulls
Night of the Living Dead
Hybrid Moments
Astro Zombies
London Dungeon
Teenagers From Mars
Some Kinda Hate
She
I Turned Into A Martian
Horror Business
Violent World
Bullet
Braineaters
Last Caress
Braineaters + Astro Zombies (Reprise, haha)

After we finished, a DJ friend of RNGDS "spinned" some tunes the rest of the night in the basement. One of my friends asked if I was going to play some Jack's Smirking Revenge, and I agreed after some more mead and a smoke. With what voice I had left, I went through a few new songs for a few friends and my bandmates outside. That was pretty fun as well. I guess I passed out at some point, and woke up confused in my clothes, and my Flava Flav clock annoying the shit out of me.

The next day I had work, which was relatively exhausting, followed by painting signs for my Amnesty Int'l group, and then another party, after which I walked home at 3am. Alright time for some pics! I'm sure more will surface, and I'll post those at some point too if I find them worthy. More will probably be on the Masters of Suspicion myspace eventually.

It looks like half of the images are getting cut off, so you'll have to click on them to see the full
















OH! one more thing. I acquired a copy of the entire Denver Revival Tour audio, and I uploaded it on Mininova. So go forth and download!

The Classical Arrangement

I've heard the things you've spoken
The conviction in your eyes
I believe that you believe them
But I can't empathize
You wanna live life your way
And not let others do the same
The world turns to a desert while you pray for rain

I'm glad you found your answers
In your parents' fairy tales
Spin around in circles with no wind to push the sails
Mythology and magic, religion's all the same
The world turns to a desert while you pray for rain

And I have faith, I have faith in me
Faith in things that I can see
And I have learned some things about devotion
Stop judging me and I won't judge you
We're all looking for our own truth
And we are only tiny droplets in the ocean
Drops in the ocean

So I got Dillinger Four's new LP in the mail the other day. I actually got about 8 LPs in a 2 day span from friday-saturday, which is always fun. I haven't even had the time to listen to all the awesome new music I got, (Fucked Up, Two Cow Garage, Weakerthans, Lagrecia, Chuck Ragan/Austin Lucus (more on those two later!), Ghost Mice/Andrew Jackson Jihad, Mischief Brew!!!) but back to D4. Honestly, this album is stronger lyrically than it is musically. Musically its a pretty standard D4 album, lots of gruff midwestern pop-punk, but less hardcore sprinklings than their first two full lengths. So its a pretty solid "progression" from Situationist Comedy. But this album boasts some pretty strong lyrics which is what puts it in the top 10 albums of the year for me (right now its #6 on my preliminary list). The above example is one of my favorite songs on the album. Its incredibly minimalist instrument for the majority of the song puts the emphasic on the lyrics, a scathing attack on religion, a theme that pops up previously on (what I consider) the album's best song ("Ode to the Great American Snake Oil Distributor"). Further standouts are "Fruity Pebbles," a Paddy sung ode to a fallen friend, the opening track "Jingle for the Product" (I'm a sucker for whoa-ohs), and the closing track, "clown cars on cinderblocks" whose lyrics I feel such an emotional connection to, I'm gonna post them, and you can't do anything about it!

December drags on
It's thirty-one days too long
This silence is killing me
I fear it when I'm tryin' to sleep

It's been one thing then another
Taking all the strength that I can muster
Not to pull the plug
When did I run out of luck?

Watching for the double-cross
I always knew I wouldn't escape without a scratch
Felt my feet on solid ground
Until I saw those fingers
Your fingers
Were crossed behind your back

Drown the pain with cheap champagne
And wake me when it's time to go
I'm far to faded to celebrate it
This clock is moving way too slow
One more year like this one
I could never make it on my own

I smoked my last cigarette
I emptied any bottle that dared cross my path
Lying in this spinning room
I contemplate the remnants of my life
And curse away the past

Drown the pain with cheap champagne
And wake me when it's time to go
I'm far to faded to celebrate it
This clock is moving way too slow
One more year like this one
I could never make it on my own

I'd offer up a sacrifice
If I thought it would do any good this time
I recognize the pain I've caused
But I can not pay these crimes
I'm not sure I expect to be here New Year's Day

word.

In other news I totally didn't have the time over the weekend to make a post regarding the complete and utter awesomeness that was The Revival Tour. I went down to the good ol' Marquis Theater on Thursday by myself (as usual) and it was on the most fun shows I've been in a while. It was also nice to be up front and watch the music without fear of being crushed. Its been a while since i've been to a non-punk show. The show started at around 8 with all of the members currently on the tour (Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, Tim Barry, Austin Lucas, and Jon Snodgrass) playing a few songs together before splitting off an allowing each member to play individually before everyone coming back together at the end. Of course there was contributions between a few of the members at times (especially Chuck and Austin) and that added to the overall brotherly comraderie feel to the tour. Austin Lucas looks like like the last person you'd expect to be playing traditional folk/country, but the former crustie played some amazing tunes from his forthcoming album on Suburban Home (and at times yelling at Virgil, who runs the label and its sister Vinyl Collective, to clap along) as well as his split with Chuck.

Jon Snodgrass played next, and also played considerably well, and had a sizeable amount of fans in the audience, due to Drag the River being from Colorado and all. I really need to check out more of their music...Tim Barry, who was is always a treat came up next with his simple songs (with simple boring chords to quote him) infected with Richmond, beer, and traveling. He has a penchant for talking alot though, which is perfectly fine, it adds more personality to the performance. And Tim is certainly a man with a lot of personality. He briefly mentioned the Iraq Veterans Against the War, who had a table in the back, and how amazing and important they are in general. The veterans there even joined him on stage for "South Hill", and that was pretty cool. Ben Nichols of Lucero (whose album Nobody's Darlings is goddamn amazing), who looks pretty damn funny with a full beard, did his best to get through his set, despite how visibly drunk he was (and that only intensified over the night, haha).

Chuck Ragan came out (by came out I mean got up off of the box he was sitting on on the side of the stage most of the night) and went straight into his passionate folk songs from his debut full length, some from his Austin Lucas split, and even a Hot Water Music song (God Deciding!) and some folk standards. He played the longest of the night, since he was technically the "headliner" and ring leader of the whole tour. After he finished his "solo" set, he was joined by the rest of the tour members for a few more group songs. I began to get antsy, as I had to catch the 12:06am bus back to Boulder, and time was getting short. However as that time approached, they still weren't finished, and it was too much fun to leave. I made a good decision, and it was totally worth watching that extra 15 minutes of show in exchange for 45 minutes in the bus station.

Finally, the Masters of Suspicion super awesome Misfits cover show is shaping up pretty good. We have about 17-18 songs down, and a couple more that are rougher than the rest that we probably won't play. In addition to the Soulquarium basement party show, we will also be playing at the Bulldog Bar in Denver right before. So that will be interesting to say the least. Hopefully we can get a good turnout. Cause honestly, who doesn't love getting drunk and playing/listening to the Misfits? I sure do!

Word.

I Hate This Place, But I Love These Chords

What an awesome fucking weekend. And by weekend I mean from Thursday to Sunday. And by awesome I mean just those two days. Friday and Saturday were pretty fucking boring. Actually Friday wasn't too bad, I played risk with a couple friends, and I fucking love Risk. anyways:

Thursday:

O Pioneers!!! was a smashing success. We had a great turnout, the basement was packed, and the all the bands were fucking awesome. I look foward to both O Pioneers!!! new album coming out this month (hopefully) and 10-4 Eleanor's new whatever they are recording this month. Seriously go check out 10-4 Eleanor, they have that whole gruff midwestern melodic punk thing that everyone is into (myself included). So I guess that means they're orgcore. They brought a bunch of friends down from Fort Collins, who got the (basement) floor moving during their set. They were sort of on a mini-tour with OP!!!, as they were playing all three Colorado dates (Ft. Collins, Boulder, CO Springs), which is pretty cool for them. Masters of Suspicion played first, and it was one of their best performances yet, although I wish they would bring some new songs to the table.


After 10-4's set, everyone went upstairs as OP!!! began setting up. I was outside for a while talking to people, and as I heard noise drifting upstairs faintly from the basement, I figured the band was just doing sound check. After a couple minutes, I decided to head down to see how set-up was going, only to realize they had started their set already! I only missed a couple songs, but the rest of the set was fucking awesome, as I expected. It was a lot of new material, because of their recently acquired bassist, who hadn't learned all of the songs yet. From what I heard, the new album will destroy (again, as I expected). Eric announced the crowd that Aaron had been a douche all day, and promised a t-shirt and a CD for the first person to punch him in the balls. There was one attempt by 10-4's guitarist, but according to Eric, it "wasn't hard enough." After waiting a few minutes, I made my way to the bathroom, which was behind the band. It was there I saw my opening, and Aaron immediately keeled over in pain. It was hilarious, but I still kinda felt bad. Nobody likes getting punched in the balls. I smoked a bowl with him and and a couple others, and everything was cool. Speaking of which, the band had awesome fucking beer coozies that had "O Pioneers!!!" on one side, and "Drink More Weed" on the other. After OP!!! finished, everyone hung out for a few more hours, chatted, played ukele, got more drunk and high, and all the other usual post-show activities. It seems like house shows at "The Soulquarium/The Soulq/The Sulk" are becoming a regular occurance, and I'm ecstatic to be one of the few places in Boulder that actually has punk bands



Fuck the Fox.

Sunday:

Hot Water Music! Words cannot express how excited I was for this show, as they were one of the bands that broke up before I was able to see them live. I caught the bus down to Denver, and walking out of the bus I ran into two friends, and then walking out of the station I ran into a dude who was at my house for the O Pioneers!!! show, and two of his friends. We took the next bus to The Gothic Theater, which is a bitch and half to get to, especially on Sunday, and this trip was no different than my last attempt to go to a show there (Gogol Bordello, in the middle of December, finally arrived, and the show was sold out). Finally got there about 8, as the opening band, Mustangs and Madras, was playing. I saw them previously, opening for Planes Mistaken for Stars' final show, and my opinion on them hasn't changed. They were kinda boring, but the baritone sax their frontman played was interesting, if anything. Only Thunder came up next, and were much more enjoyable, and had a decent amount of fans in the crowd. It was really hard to hear their full sound, being directly in front of their lead guitarist the whole time, and that's more or less all I heard.

I stayed put, and luckily I was right in front of Chuck Ragan when Hot Water Music took the stage. Everything about their set was amazing. The venue wasn't too packed, there were no douchebags (very key), the song selection was awesome (a lot from No Division and Forever and Counting), and everyone in the band had a big smile on their face the entire time. You could tell they love doing what they do, and I hope this realization on their part will keep them off their hiatus. As much as I love Chuck Ragan's solo work, and enjoy The Draft, they just don't compare to the raw intensity and passion of Hot Water Music. When Jason's bass malfunctioned, right when he was supposed to have a solo (I believe during "Our Own Way", George just kept drumming, and Chuck and Chris joked back and forth, and as I have come to expect, Chris was drunk. Not so much as last time I saw him with The Draft, but noticeably so. When the bass problems were sorted out, they kicked right back into it. I managed to snag the set list and shake Chuck Ragan's hand when they finished, and that was worth more than any t-shirt.

Set:
A Flight and A Crash
Wayfarer
Rooftops
--------------
Trusty Chords
Giver
Paper Thin
--------------
Better Sense
Jack of All Trades
Choked and Separated
----------------------
All Heads Down
Moonpies for Misfits
The Sense
---------------------
Just Don't Say You Lost It
Swinger
Hard to Know
-------------------------
Our Own Way
Remedy
Manual
------------------------
(Encore)
At the End of A Gun
Alachua
Turnstile

Thank you Hot Water Music, for allowing me to no longer hate the Gothic Theater


oh, and for making awesome music, that too.

Suspicioncore!

I know I said I would upload the other two discs of Phil Ochs, but those will have to wait.

Instead, two things.

First: The demo for Jack's Smirking Revenge, entitled "Bitter Songs For Bitter People" is now up on my last.fm page for both streaming and download. So go check it out! Mind you, the songs were recorded on my computer with a crappy microphone, so they are a bit subpar sound quality. Oh well, I'm still proud I managed to record em all.

Second: My friends' band The Masters of Suspicion, who played our house again last night, were kind enough to give me a demo/live bootleg of their own. It is their only recorded output that I know so far. So that is up for download right here:

The Masters of Suspicion
Live 7/17/08 at Buffalo Rose, Golden CO
1. Fistfuck
2. Heaven Is A Place On Earth (Belinda Carlisle)
3. Intervention
4. Stool Pigeon
5. Lager Lullaby
6. 1000 More Fools (Bad Religion)
7. Kenny G Experience
8. Uncle Benny
9. Larry Walker
10. Alcoholocaust
11. No Scrubs (TLC)
12. Fools and Kings
13. (Unknown)
14. Gunslinger