by rudyards | June 26th, 2011
The Inanimate Objects - (Houston, TX ) The Inanimate Objects are a Houston, Texas based three-piece alternative music band, which has been cranking-out original compositions since the late 1970s, when the punk rock era was just beginning to surface. The band’s roots go back to 1978 in the Park Place region of southeast Houston, Texas, when original works were performed at parties with friends, using instruments such as a toy drum kit and a Silvertone guitar.
The band currently consists of the following, all of whom have been members since the band’s first public gig in 1980:
Ted Bare – lead guitar, rhythm guitar & vocals
Ron Obvious – drums
Ollie Stevans – bass guitar and vocals
During the early years, the band also included lead vocalist, Id Pleasure, who later resigned in 1987. Subsequently, Ollie and Ted have shared lead vocals about 50/50.
Skeleton Dick- (Houston, TX )
Bunny - Vocals and Backing Guitar
Nicky DaFish - Vocals and Backing Drums
JTan - Vocals and Backing Bass
Machine - Vocals and Backing Solos
Delron - Vocals
Shiny Darks - (Houston, TX )
It’s rock-n-roll with a kick to the face and a pat on the back. It’s true that “happy” and “positive” aren’t normally associated with aggressive music, but there’s more to The Shiny Darks than meets the eye. The thrillsome threesome from Houston, TX has managed to create a sound like no other- one that can start a pit and keep you smiling all at once. Epitomized in their newly released EP “Stab at Love”, The Shiny Darks’ transcend traditional punk, kick it up a notch, and slam it back down with some good ol’ rock-n-roll fun.
To create the magic, the Houston-based band took to the outskirts of the nation and found their resting place in Radiostar Studios (Weed, CA). It was there, through the eyes and ears of the great Sylvia Massy (Tool, Powerman 5000, Johnny Cash) and veteran studio/session musician turned producer Cameron McKenzie, “Stab at Love” came alive.
“Recording in Weed, CA with The Shiny Darks was definitely in my top five experiences of all time.” says Cameron. “Everyone there had nowhere to go but straight into rock history.”
“Recording The Shiny Darks could be the highlight of my career.” says Sylvia. “These guys live and breathe true rock-n-roll, dredged from the depths of dirty thoughts and high-school rejection. Bite marks bleed with the song ‘Stab’. Paul’s vocals and bass wrap around you like a warm strait-jacket. Gem’s drums drill into your temples like a lobotomy. Quenton’s guitars wake you up like a slap in the face. No kissy-kissy music here…”
“Stab at Love”, the first single off of the titular EP, explores loving and losing with the honesty of being freshly wounded. A heart that was, as the song pines, left “beating on the floor” now picked up and proudly displayed on the wounded’s sleeve.
“These songs are lyrically very personal to us. But everybody can relate. Love and loss in ‘Stab’ and ‘Photographs’, the desire for the ‘greener pasture’ and its ultimate disappointment in ‘Kennedy’, and surviving tough times in ‘Holiday’.” says Quenton Rockwell.
“Human nature is driven by two basic emotions: love and fear” says Paul Mendez. “These songs delve into the love side of things…mostly surviving the pain of it. We wrote about it and, to a degree, celebrate survival.”
Though “Stab at Love” boasts the flavors of rejection, pain, and agonizing heartache, the underlying theme which can all but be avoided is hope. The same could be said of each band member. Three very distinct personalities that are each tinged with optimism. “We want people to know that these times don’t last forever” says Gem Mendez (Paul’s baby sister). “There’s something else right around the corner. We wish for our music to touch those that have endured such pain and have fun with it, enough to take a peek at what good things are to come.”
