Month: May 2012

The Cry! (Portland, OR)
http://www.facebook.com/RamonLP4?ref=name#!/thecrypdx

The CRY! is four young guys from PDX who have reinvented the 2 min pop song for the next generation. Merging ’77 Punk with 50’s Doowop vocals and jangle of 60’s Pop-rock, The CRY! has created an energetic “New-Old School” sound that is earning them fans all across the country!

“These kids from the PDX get my vote as the “next big thing” to come out of the Northwest. A perfect fusion of doo-wop, pop and punk translates onstage with a “beyond their years” skill set and unrivaled, cohesive camaraderie.” - Tim Basaraba - Nada Mucho
…
“When The Cry showed up for their gig at the International Pop Overthrow festival in Seattle, I was pleasantly suprised to see such young men sporting ’60s styled clothes and haircuts. I was intrigued, and couldn’t wait to see their set. Well, they delivered the goods: lots of ’60s and ’70s inspired tunes spiked with in your face vocals, hooks galore, and enough energy to light up the city of Bend! These kids were taught well, and if this is the wave of the future, I hope they ride it for many years to come!”” - David Bash - Founder/CEO,The International Pop Overthrow Festival

 

Something Fierce (Houston, TX)
http://www.somethingfiercemusic.com/

Something Fierce is a three-piece punk/pop band from Houston, Texas whose music combines the sound and attitude of first-wave 1977 punk with an energy and outlook that’s thoroughly contemporary, updating the attack of the Clash and the Buzzcocks for the 21st century.

Something Fierce were founded in 2005 by guitarist and lead vocalist Steven Garcia (ex-Gun Crazy and Born Liars) and bassist and vocalist Niki Sevven (formerly with the Neckbreakers); the group went though several drummers before teaming up with Andrew Keith, who they recognized from his frequent presence at local shows and parties.

In 2006, Something Fierce recorded their debut album, Come for the Bastards, which they released themselves. The release was followed by frequent touring through the Southwest, with occasional road trips into the South and Midwest; they group also recorded a handful of 7″ releases, including a split single with the Hangouts. In 2008, Something Fierce released their second full-length album, There Are No Answers; while the first pressing of the album was distributed by the band itself, the Portland, Oregon-based punk label Dirtnap Records liked the disc and reissued it after signing the band in 2009.

The band continued to tour extensively and released a 7″ on Action Town Records in 2010 before recording their third album, Don’t Be So Cruel, in 2011. The third album found Something Fierce’s sound evolving in a more sophisticated, pop-influenced direction without losing sight of their punk roots. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

 

The Wrong Ones (Houston, TX)
http://www.myspace.com/thewrongoneshouston

“The end of the world has been on people’s minds lately, what with the Mayans apparently penciling in the apocalypse next year and the Rapture rain-checked for October of this ‘un. That preoccupation with the end of the world is why we skipped straight to ‘Doomsday Transmission” on the Wrongs Ones’ new album, Deceiver (Cutthroat Records).

In most of their moments, the Wrong Ones are a textbook punk band. That’s not meant as a knock against them, but what expectations you hold in your head when you’re told that an album is a punk album will be met within standard parameters when you throw on Deceiver. True, it’s a bit angrier than modern punk, and there is a curious lack of artistic difference in that sung vitriol.” – Houston Press

Black Cobra (San Francisco, CA)
http://www.blackcobra.net/

Southern Lord is proud to present the new opus from The Bay Area’s devastating duo BLACK COBRA. Formed by drummer Rafa Martinez (ex-16, ex-Acid King) and guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian (ex-Cavity), BLACK COBRA catapulted themselves onto the scene in 2001 with their ravenous, upbeat and ultimately unique style of punk/hardcore-fueled sludge metal. They were picked up almost immediately by indie At A Loss Recordings becoming the band’s label home for the release of their debut full-length, Bestial, and follow-up album, Feather And Stone. By 2009, with the band then virtually a household name to the tens of thousands of fans who’ve seen their flooring live performances over the years, BLACK COBRA signed with juggernaut Southern Lord Recordings for the release of Chronomega, the band’s most diverse material to date.

For the recording of this, the band’s second release for Southern Lord Recordings, BLACK COBRA recently ventured across the continent to pound out their anticipated new album, the follow-up to 2009’s massively well-received Chronomega. This time around the outfit enlisted the talents of Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou and his God City Studio in Salem, Massachusetts. After a brutal week-and-a-half in the notorious lair, ‘COBRA hammered out what will soon be known to the world as their almighty fourth full-length album, “Invernal”. This is BLACK COBRA’s most honed and diversified material to date, and will definitely tear your face off completely.

Gaza (Salt Lake City, UT)
https://www.facebook.com/GAZAMUSIC

From Salt Lake City, Gaza play a dark, glooming and frantic breed of hardcore and metal mixed with grind. Combining the sludgy, droney elements of Crowbar or Soilent Green with the absolute blasting force of Pig Destroyer, adjectives like abrasive and devastating, do not even begin to touch the full extremes of this group. I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die was an absolutely bleak & terrifying experience and follow up He Is Never Coming Back took the band to new extreme heights and has won all sorts of critical acclaim. This is some of the most hateful and frightening music that we will probably ever release.

 

Lord Dying (Portland, OR)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lord-Dying/128958100484443
Lord Dying come from Portland, Oregon, a place over abundant with purveyors of the heavy riff. A region where the inhabitants are plagued with nerve and joint damage due to lack of sunlight. In a time where everyone is trying to out-sludge or out-doom each other Lord Dying gives something less than a fuck. They are a metal band with members of Black Elk , Portals, Le Force, and Cremains, who in their short, one years time as a band have shared the stage with Unsane, Red Fang, Yob, Valient Thorr, and others locally. They have also braved the west coast twice, the first time alone, only to meet up with crazy prog-shredmeisters Danava and heavy lust-lifers Lecherous Gaze for a few shows, followed a few months later by another co-headling tour with local heavy punishers Nether Regions. Shortly after Lord Dying teamed up with longtime bros Kelly and Erica G and solidified the first monumental release, Lord Dying “s/t”, in 7” form on his Powerblaster Records label. Lord Dying are here to pummel with heavy riffs and promote simpler things like Cold brew-Hot Shower.

 

Broken Arrows (Sorry No verifiable Information at this time)

 

Sideshow Tragedy (Austin, TX)
http://thesideshowtragedy.com/

The Sideshow Tragedy burns up stages with blues-damaged garage rock…ancient resonator guitars played through an array of effects boxes backed by a kick ass kit master and percussionist, topped with R&B drenched vocals and dark, poetic lyrics.

“I’m influenced by Chris Whitley, and I kind of blend his approach of playing National guitars with that really loose Keith Richards/Johnny Thunders guitar style…I’m trying to marry blues and punk aesthetics with that of songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Townes Van Zandt.” — Nathan Singleton.

 

Red 100’s (Dallas, TX)
http://www.thered100s.com/

The Red 100’s won best Blues Act for the Dallas Observer Music Award’s - 2011

“The Red 100’s have raw energy and gritty guitar licks so dirty that it becomes hard to decide if you should take a shower or just continue to roll around in it. Their music will get you drunk on rock and roll, love you up, and even leave a note in the morning for good measure. It is oh so dirty in all the right ways.” Pegasus News

“Finding modern music that embodies the spirit of Deep Ellum’s days as a haven for blues visionaries and outcasts is far more difficult than one might expect. If you’re looking for a history lesson fueled by fried, live-wire guitars and amp-busting distortion, look no further than Dallas blues-rockers The Red 100’s.” QuickDFW.com

The Red 100’s are a band from Dallas, TX that screams Rock N’ Roll through the use of high voltage Marshall guitar amps. Culminating from influences such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, The Red 100’s embark on a hungry rampage to hand deliver their rock tinged synthesis of blues and soul to the masses.

“This is meat-and-potatoes rock, cooked well done and smothered in gravy. The best way to enjoy this stuff is with a couple of (cheap) beers and a pack of Marlboros. Music this soaked in fuzzed-out ’60s garage rock has to be enjoyed with the proper old-school vices.” Dallas Observer

Gut Radio (Baytown, TX)
http://www.facebook.com/gutradio

It was kind of like Chernobyl, but better.

One day, special agent Red Taint noticed that crew leader Death Shark was online, so he sent a Fb text. Through a short conversation the two realized that they would be converging on the same metropolitan area within a few months. A few months after this indeed happened, a pact was made that the bearded rock and roll that would espouse from their alliance would shake the earth from the sonic orgasm that is….

 

Sour Patch (San Jose, CA)
http://sourpatchpop.com/

Sourpatch is a four piece 90’s pop-worship ensemble from San Jose, Ca—-whose songs talk of (but aren’t limited to) crushes painfully hopeless, awkwardly awesome and feelings of the like. Formed from a mutual love of songs about unbearably impossible romances, Sourpatch channels the 90’s Northwest sound and in vein of bands like Velocity Girl, Tiger Trap, Rocketship, Boyracer, Cub, Heavenly, Go Sailor, Black Tambourine, and so many 90’s west coast babes! or any number of female/queer punk groups on the roster of Spin Art, Slumberland, Chainsaw & K records in the ’90s.

Formed in San Jose in late 2007, Nicole Munoz, Christine Tupou, Mander Farrell, and Rich Gutierrez played two coastal U.S. tours, self-released a seven-song demo, and released a free single on Where It’s At Is Where You Are (WIAIWYA) by the end of 2009. In 2010, the band announced that they would be releasing their debut album, Crushin’, on Athens, GA’s Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records. Since then they have toured throughout the U.S. twice, another east coast tour and a UK tour in early 2011 also releasing another 7″ single “mira mija” and appearing on several compilations.

Plans for early 2012 include a new full length LP “stagger & fade” with artwork from kicking giants tae won yu plus a full 5 week US tour!

Sourpatch endorses a gender freeing, queer positive, feminist thinking, body positive, crush worthy lifestyle!

Give us coffee and we will never stop being your friend.

Dissent (Houston, TX)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DISSENT/126521374048934

Started in 2005. Toured around the Southwest, West Coast, and Midwest U.S, and Mexico. ‘Apocalyptic War Noise’ Tour with N.I.B.I.R.U. happened August of 2009. During tour TJ left the band on good terms. 2010, they released their split with U.K. crust legends, Hellbastard.

Releases:
‘Against All Oppression’ Demo CDR (Dissent Records 2006) Sold Out
‘By Any Means Necessary’ CD (MND Records 2007) Sold Out
‘Strength Through Chaos’ CD (MND Records 2009) Still available from MND
‘Martyr of the Apocalypse’ Tape (Dissent Records 2009) Sold Out
‘Dissent/Hellbastard Split 7” (Torture Garden Picture Company 2010) Sold Out

 

Turbokrieg (Houston, TX)
[Sorry no band links]
Metal Punk with Frank (ex-PLF, NIBIRU) + Mikey (5050/PLF) + Ben (Dissent/Warmaster)

 

Guilty Party (Houston, TX)
(Sorry, last minute line-up change and no verifiable information on line)

 

Crimewave (Houston, TX)

http://agrowax.blogspot.com/

Houston, Texas punx featuring members of No Talk, PMRC, Bloody Hammer and so on. Both LP and 7″ are total rippers. Straightforward punk rock tunes with a rock n roll edge and slight Oi! vibe now and then. Crime Wave remind me of both Dicks and british crusades Templars a lot. Both releases are out on Agrowax. Agrowax should also put out their new 12″ titled “Nazi Sex / Convulsion Gospels” in May, so keep an eye on that. – Teenage Lobotomy

 

Decent punk rock from Houston. Mainly mid tempo and a growled voice (though not a hardcore bellow type thing). As much as I want to be dazzled by this, it falls short. Not terrible, but this lacks fire. A little more oomph could really help and send these songs over the edge. The title track, which is the slowest on here, is the best, and the one I go back and listen to often. “Jerry Falwell Is Dead” and “Houston Is Gonna Burn” are the other standouts of the five on here. – Razorcake

 

 

Austin Lucas (Bloomington, IN)
http://www.austinlucasmusic.com/

Raised in the backwoods country of Monroe County, Indiana, Austin Lucas was born into a folk and bluegrass lineage. His father, Bob Lucas, is an accomplished musician and performer in his own right, having earned songwriting credits on two of Allison Krauss’ albums, including 1997’s Grammy-winning So Long So Wrong. Learning to harmonize before learning to read, Lucas honed his vocal control in six formative years as a member of the nationally-acclaimed Indiana University Children’s Choir. In a narrative as well-worn as it is true, Lucas rebelled against his upbringing, leaving his Americana roots for the catharsis of punk rock. After the better part of a decade spent criss-crossing the globe with a series of bands in broken-down vans, Lucas hit a musical glass-ceiling, eventually finding respite for his ringing ears in the delicacy of traditional songcraft.

Following his solo debut, The Common Cold (2006), Lucas has steadily built upon his recorded output, releasing Putting The Hammer Down (2007), the Bristle Ridge (2008) collaboration with Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music, and Somebody Loves You (2009), which debuted at #7 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart. Culminating with his fourth album, A New Home In The Old World (2011), Lucas has consistently evolved and grown as a musician and songwriter, resting on no laurels. While some of his earlier recordings were as bare-bones as they come, each successive album has built upon the songs’ framework, incorporating banjo, fiddle, upright bass, and pedal steel. A New Home In The Old World ratchets the sound up to the next level, adding texture with a Hammond B3 organ, the brassy flourishes of a trumpet, and even a little bit of muscle, courtesy of electric guitar.

Recorded in December 2010 at Farm Fresh Studios in Lucas’ hometown of Bloomington, A New Home In The Old World was mixed and mastered by Paul Mahern, who has built his reputation engineering records for Bloomington’s prodigal son, John Mellencamp. Engineered by Farm Fresh owner Jake Belser (who has worked on recent recordings by Bloomington’s gothic Americana quartet, Murder By Death), A New Home In The Old World also marks Lucas’ first time self-producing. While Lucas does not have a regular backing band, his studio accompaniment comes from a rotating cast of friends and family, including members of alt-country heavy-hitters Lucero and Magnolia Electric Co., and no less than four members of the Lucas clan. The songs themselves are the most diverse Lucas has offered to date, pushing past the confines of singer-songwriter genre convention. Opener “Run Around” wastes no time hitting its stride with a searing fiddle lead and galloping drums. With its languid piano and drawling pedal steel, “Sit Down” conjures a house band playing through a hazy happy hour. “Thunder Rail” and “The Grain” pull no punches as Lucas’ most straightforward rock songs, drawing from heartland rock and the guitar riffs of bands like Thin Lizzy. “Sleep Well” sways as a funereal waltz, its chorus dropping to clipped guitar and falsetto vocals that are spine-tingling in their intimacy and fragility. Album closer “Somewhere a Light Shines” is a slow-burner, rising to one of Lucas’ biggest choruses, a swell that could be considered the first power-ballad in the Austin Lucas repertoire. Singing with the conviction of a preacher bereft of his faith, Lucas accordingly tackles recurrent themes of the soul, sin as personal purgatory, and the possibility of finding redemption in this life. The fallacies of man take center stage as the righteous false prophet is denounced as a “hollow vessel with unsteady hands.” Turning the harsh light of hindsight on himself, Lucas addresses the hard lessons learned in the passing of youth, ruminating on the failures and missed opportunities that still haunt him. To make mistakes is only human, to recognize the error of your ways is invaluable, but to dwell on past mistakes until they corrode the soul is a road to ruin. Lucas wants not to lie fallow, pledging, “If there’s a light shining/ Point the way there/ A straight way of walking/ I’ll be like an arrow.”

Having raised his profile on the road with the troubadour-packed Revival tour and Pennsylvania’s Langhorne Slim, and with appearances at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Canada’s Sled Island Festival, and Florida’s Harvest of Hope, Lucas has further developed his loyal grassroots following. Folk music is for the common folk, and Lucas delivers, often ending his shows playing on the floor amidst the crowd. Lucas will tour extensively throughout 2011, hitting Europe in the Spring before joining Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown tour, followed by a US headlining tour in late summer.

 

Glossary (Murfreesboro, TN)
http://www.glossary.us/

The phrase “Long Live All of Us” is the title of Glossary’s seventh full-length album, but it’s also meant as an all-inclusive homage to humanity. Frontman Joey Kneiser says, in light of all the bad things happening in the world, the band just wanted to make a positive record.

Long Live All of Us allowed the band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to take their influences farther than ever before, adding piano, haunting pedal steel, R&B-influenced horns and more to their own style of romanticized rock & roll. The songs are well-intentioned narratives that emphasize the great attributes of mankind — mercy, redemption, forgiveness and second chances.

Over a period of one month, the band transformed a house in rural Rockvale, Tennessee, into a recording studio and self-produced Long Live All of Us with friend and engineer Mikey Allred. The setting, joked Kneiser, would have fit perfectly into a Glossary song. The house was sandwiched between a church and a condemned meth lab, which was still wrapped in police tape.

Previous records — like 2010’s Feral Fire on Lucero’s Liberty & Lament label — were all recorded in 10 days or less, and were made to have a live feel. For the first time ever, the band had the luxury of time on its side.

“That’s the rock & roll dream…to live in a house and write and record together all day,” says Kneiser. “It allowed us a chance to experiment, and if you really wanted to do something you could take the time to make it happen. It was really one of the greatest creative experiences that I’ve ever had.”

The result is a hodgepodge of American music, similar to the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street or the Clash’s London Calling — records that spanned many different musical genres. For example, Long Live All of Us switches from a Gospel-influenced song to a hopping, R&B-styled groove, and then to a crawling, country-tinged ballad and on to a soulful, up-tempo rock song. Jim Spake (Al Green, Alex Chilton, John Hiatt, Lucero … so many more) and Nahshon Benford, (Snowglobe, Lucero) both from Memphis, added horns on several tracks, including jaunty, Stax-like rhythmic horns on “A Shoulder to Cry On” and a lyrical baritone sax solo on “Under the Barking Moon.”

“In the end,” Kneiser says, “when everything around us is constantly reminding us of what we’re doing wrong, we just wanted to remind us of what we’re doing right.”

“The best thing that we have going as human beings is each other,” he says. – Jeremy Rush

Glossary is:

Bingham Barnes (bass)
Todd Beene (pedal steel, guitar, vocals)
Eric Giles (drums)
Joey Kneiser (vocals and guitar)
Kelly Kneiser (vocals, percussion)