WHAT OF US: 2 SONGS.

Thom and Eric didn’t waste any time when their last band came to a halt.  What of Us picks up right where their former project, Capacities left off, offering a burst of emotive, socially aware hardcore with a bit of a heavier edge.  They recorded the two tracks they have up during a live set at Backroom Studios with Scot Moriarty of Organ Dealer handling the tracking and Steve Roche taking care of the mixing.  The recording perfectly captures the brash nature and urgency of the band and I hope it’s the first of a deeper catalog to come.  You can catch them at the Ridgewood Elks Lodge this Sunday with Prize the Doubt from Ohio and NJ’s Mudbeard.  Listen to the songs below.

SPOTLIGHT ON: THE ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD

This started as a review of Bloodpheasant’s latest LP, but I lost everything so it’ll become two separate posts.  I’ll start with The Elephant Graveyard…

One of the best parts of playing in a DIY band is playing at non-conventional “venues” and submerging yourself in said culture surrounding the places. The Elephant Graveyard stands in a “dead zone” on acres of farmland in Chester, NY. You wouldn’t know it just by looking at it, but the barn houses some of the most high-energy, diverse and positive shows I’ve been to in years- the kind of shows that remind me of why I started playing music and reaffirm my involvement in it when things go sour. The kind of shows where the focus truly lays on the music and the message.

Jay and Drew of Common Folk book everything from stripped down folk-punk to in your face hardcore and they always lend a hand to help touring bands.  They aren’t the only ones making things happen there, though.  Colin Jay of Entropy often has a hand in booking and Jay’s parents are so supportive they actually cook vegan friendly meals for the bands and proceed to stay to watch the show.  It’s a true privilege to have met this group of people who first welcomed me back when I was playing with Melissa (aka Francie Moon) and who continue to support projects I’ve done since.  I’ve met a lot of great people and have been exposed to some music that will stick with me for a while because of this place.  I just want to leave this here as a “thank you.”  “All good things come to and end” or at least need a break sometimes, I guess.  I’m hoping with The Elephant Graveyard it’s the latter and they come back strong and continue contributing to the scene they helped build.  Come to the  bon voyage show this Saturday at 7pm with Control, Tesla’s Revenge, Common Folk, and Entropy.  Wear a costume.  Listen to each band below.

The Lies Leave for a Short East Coast Stint Tomorrow

Ian and Paul of The Lies embark on a short east coast tour that leaves tomorrow.  They’ll bring their own brand of blues/garage/punk to Winchester, VA with an interview and stripped down performance on 90 Proof Podcast and they’ll end with a double header in Savannah, GA, playing a house show in Chesapeake, VA and visiting Myrtle Beach on the way.  In early August The Lies (full band) tracked four new songs at Black Box Studios in Byram, NJ with Miles Austin.  They have plans for a proper fall release of the tunes.   Listen to the debut from The Lies, “Whatever” below.

ENTROPY: All Work, No Plagiarism.

Stand up comedians, Entropy, from Orange County,  NY decided to let Bedside Manner Collective make them a few cds.  They’re going fast, get on this.  They are limited to 50 and come with a different color scheme than the upcoming record will.  Next up:  a picture disc with only their stage banter pressed to side B.

LISTEN:

PURCHASE

BALLROOM: ENTER THE BALLROOM

Ballroom are one of NJ’s current hidden gems and if you find yourself skipping most songs on your playlists, i-pods, shuffles, spotifies, winamps, et cetera, Enter the Ballroom is for you.  I stumbled upon this mysterious band at one of my favorite North Jersey Venues, Pat’s Bar, over a year ago and struggled to find anything out about them since.  Their live show imbedded itself in my brain with their unconventional musical explorations/various and interesting rhythms- all under catchy melodic vocals despite the ensuing craziness.  All of the instruments existed in their own little world, yet it all fit together so perfectly.  Fast forward a year or more.  I haven’t forgotten.  Apparently, my friend from Portland hadn’t forgotten either and he happened to be thinking about them around the same time they re-surfaced in my head and he had a fresh link ready for me.  After little exploring on said link, I finally found it: a click-able to the band’s full length on some obscure label’s bandcamp:  16 songs of progressive post-punk reminiscent of Nomeansno.   Oh and no song reaches the 3 minute mark, which is something I always feel necessary to mention- to confine such awesomeness in such short time is a feat not to be ignored.  I’ve posted it below. ENJOY!  Hopefully, we’ll be hearing more about Ballroom in 2014, as they appear to still be active!

BENEATH TREES: HARVEST EP

What do you typically find Beneath Trees?  Worms? Rocks? Dirty old dirt? Ants? Roots? For the sake of this argument, let’s go with roots.  I’m all for the stripping down of rock and roll to the blues that birthed it and that’s just what Beneath Trees do with their grimy/punk influenced garage rock.  Shortly after their relocation from North Jersey, the bass-less duo hit the Savannah, Georgia DIY music circuit with their EP, “Harvest.”  Their “down-to-earth” approach serves Genevieve and Hemmy well- with little polish and touching up aside from some distortion and reverb.  Really, what other effects do you need?  Just play…be real…and remember: less is always more.  Check the EP out below and keep your ear to the ground as they have been keeping themselves rather busy.  I’m eager to see how Beneath Trees grows (puns intended).

EARTH ANCHOR: VIRTUE AND FAULT

What do a mechanic, exterminator, office administrator and audio engineer have in common?  Well, besides being honest career choices, each of the four people in question make up ¼ of Earth Anchor– a heavy-hitting rock band who calls Portland, Oregon home. 

Earth Anchor proved their self-sufficiency early on with no deterrence from quality or excellence.  In less than a year, the quartet released 2 EP’s, 1 music video and an album of B-sides and covers with no outside help. 

Kevin Carafa moved from New Jersey to the other side of the nation to start Earth Anchor on guitar.  He handles ALL of the mixing and mastering of ALL of the band’s output.  Andrew Carreon and Todd Fowler showed great interest in the original 4 Earth Anchor tunes (Outshined EP) when they were posted online.  Together, they make up the band’s rhythm section.  Additionally, Andrew handled the editing duties of their debut music video which perfectly represents the band and their relatable songs.  Heather Steele binds everything together with her emotional melodies and sincere lyrics.   

You won’t find over-the-top story lines or a giant back-line of fake guitar cabs with Earth Anchor.   Nor are they masked by skunky hair-dos (PEE-YEW!) and caked on make-up or flashy photos and “fake” production.  What you will find are four passionate people combining their various abilities to play songs they wrote and love: truly the greater sum of the individual parts.  Listen to them at their (current) best on their sophomore EP, “Virtue and Fault” below. 

MATT PLESS: TUMBLEWEED

7 or 8 years ago I mail-ordered a boxed set of 7 cds with packaging built from a collapsed barn from a quirky singer/songwriter known as Captain Chaos.  I think only 50 were made and I listened to these 7 CDs non-stop for almost six months.  That was my introduction to folk-punk, or whatever you wanna call it.  I have no idea what Chaos is up to these days, but listening to Matt Pless leaves me with a sense of nostalgia, bringing me back to that time period and reminding me that “you never forget your first.”  I don’t listen to many bands/singer/song-writers of the genre, but the few I do listen to really stand out.  I imagine, like any other genre, that countless bands exist that sound the same and follow the same sentiment/ideals, however I’m willing to bet that only a few persevere because of their hard work, dedication and well, song-writing ability.  Matt Pless is one of them.

“Tumbleweed,” the latest full length of Matt’s impressive repertoire of musical output, houses 12 hook-friendly tunes that will have you singing along, nodding your head, tapping your foot,  giggling and thinking.    Mr. Pless calls upon various literary  elements to keep his words interesting and clever with an extreme honest and almost uncomfortable undertone.  In 12 tracks he sings of everything from letting his father down, drug use, minor crime sprees, love, god, technology and tall/short tales which all could be metaphors (that really happened).  His use of humor and his catchy melodies make his message clear and accessible, while adhering to the “don’t take yourself too seriously” protocol.  You won’t find the distraction of over-production, over instrumentation or tasteless noodling on Tumbleweed.  What you will find is one guitar and one friendly voice ready and willing to make your day that much better.

Matt toured  and continues to tour extensively on the album, hitting the DIY circuit hard and relentlessly.  Chances are Matt Pless played your town in some barn, basement, living room, storefront, street corner, kitchen etc and you probably missed it.  Don’t fret.  I’m sure he will return,  so keep a look out because he is definitely worth checking out.  Listen to “Tumbleweed” below.

FIRST RELEASE OF ’14/MORE TO COME

We started 2014 with no resolution(s), but we did release the digital component of  the debut EP from North Jersey’s, The Lies.  This will be the first of many limited-run DIY releases of 2014, from us.  Mike Belveduto of Earth Stood Still, Control and Atlas stepped on board to help with art for these physical releases.  Keep checking back for updates on that.  We have two in the works already!   HERE’S MIKEY:Check out that debut EP from The Lies right here:

You can download it for free for pick up a physical copy at their first show on 1/15/13 at the Stanhope House.  As of now, only 20 exist.  Joining them will be Hides a Well, The Lungs, Nude Dudes & Books.  We teamed up with Kevin Oakley to get that show together.

Click READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY, for some brief background info and a bio about The Lies.

LOCAL RESIDENT FAILURE: A BREATH OF STALE AIR

Every few months, something comes along and reminds me of my undying love for skate-punk and that early Epitaph/Fat Wreck Chords sound:  the bands that taught me how to play guitar, the songs at the foundation of my love of music, the sound that made me want to be in a band…and I still am in one…or more.  What can I say?  I couldn’t skate.

Enter Local Resident Failure, who I stumbled upon on accident because their drummer, Kyle Smith, made two drum videos spanning the entire Epitaph and Fat discography.  Watch those here and here.  They’re quite impressive based on volume alone.  Now, the more aggressive side of this genre always held my attention over the poppier side.  In ’94, I went the Offspring-Smash route as opposed to the Green Day– Dookie, route, if you know what I mean (Kyle also has a video spanning Green Day’s career here).

Local Resident Failure offer a comfortable blend of that aggression and the melody/hooks/harmonies that could draw someone who doesn’t typically listen to punk derivative stuff.  There’s upstrokes, too…like the ones you’d find on an early Millencolin record.   Their first full length, “A Breath of Stale Air,” could very well sneak it’s way into the Fat Wreck Chords catalog (I’m not too sure what Epitaph is up to these days, but that last Bad Religion record ruled).

Local Resident Failure sound like The Deviates meets NOFX with a hint of a real accent on the vocals, on their debut.  You usually know what you’re going to get with this genre, which is why the titled makes me laugh, however it’s rare that a new band comes out and does it so well.  Listen for yourself below: