This past weekend Atom Driver celebrated the release of their throttle punk EP Slackjaw on Powerbunny 4×4 Records at Pino’s in Highland Park, NJ. On the bill with them was Amy & Alex from Prosolar Mechanics as Bear Claw making their noise duo debut and as well as Couch and Commando cooking up some of their down home music before Atom Driver blasted everybody at Pino’s with songs from their release and a bunch of new tunes.
ATOM DRIVER AND FRIENDS COVERING “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene” By X
Towards, the end of their set Amy and Anthony from Bionic Rhoda made their way to the stage to help hammer home an ode to Chuck Berry with a cover by X from their 1980 album Los Angeles. This is a feel good rock song and proof positive that even though the performances was taking place on the other side of Raritan River, rock is very much alive in the Hub City.
SLACKJAW EP REVIEW – Powerbunny 4×4
Now, we highly recommend Atom Driver’s debut EP Slackjaw, and not just because we’ve known Mike from Buzzkill who plays drums, or Mark Segal from Boss Jim Gettys’s on Guitar and Vocals for more years than we care to admit but because this band has molded perfect parts big noise and melodic metalcore. All tracks will blow the windows out of those soon to come self-driving cars that millenials will be driving around aimlessly and getting lost when the GPS goes out. These rock songs are powerful maps to what fresh rock stank and what ear bleeding hooks should be like. Justin Ingstrup on bass is also my new favorite bass player now as he really holds-up the wall of sound in this band. Recorded and mastered by Jesse Cannon Found Soundation, Union City, NJ, and mixed by the bands long time friend and engineer Steve Evetts.
LA PUNK HISTORY: This is a short Black Flag Documentary which largely focuses on the artwork side and how disruptive the band was before social media. This looks great and Henry Rollins really puts their impact in perspective. Includes interviews with Keith Morris, Chuck Ducowski, Henry Rollins, Raymond Pettibon (Buy an Original) and Flea. If you’re into flyer artwork get the excellent book ‘Fucked Up And Photocopied’ which has huge amounts of flyers from the time. This short film was Directed by Brian Ray Turcotte and Bo Bushnell.
Black Flag Art by Raymond Pettibon
Flea is in this documentary, because not only is he an amazing human being but also because he was in the punk scene way back in the 80’s before starting the Red Hot Chili Peppers with Anthony Keidis. He was in the los angeles band Fear for a while and in the film Suburbia directed by Penelope Spheeris who also directed Decline of Western Civilization. He’s been in a bunch of punk documentaries. Same for Duff McKagan. If you don’t know your music history he’s in quite a few others you’d be “wtf, why are they in this?” All those old punk bands and the various scenes around the country that they flowed through. Dave Grohl used to be quite the hardcore punk drummer too, long before joining Nirvana, as another example, he was in Scream I believe.
Today, I just wanted to share the best ever NSFW anti-trump rant by Angelo from Fishbone at their House of Independents(HOI) show last night. This newish club is now my favorite place to see “bigger” bands live in Asbury Park. I still dig the intimacy of places like APYC and the questionable sonic sound but when you have a 8-9 piece band with horns you seriously don’t want the experience to get lost in cacophony of noise and the sweet stench of cheap beers. Which reminds me I also dig that HOI serves local micro-brews up front and center from Dark City Brewing Company and Asbury Park Brewery and from I understand APB will be available in cans! I think in life fishbone shows have always been fun and life affirming, having seen them over a dozen times since 1987 or so. Only one oldschoolCity Gardens chump got ousted early on in their set by the bouncers until Angelo told them to chill and let people dance and have fun. There may have been a 10 year old kid body surfing and one of the other dad’s made a frowny tisk tisk emoji beard face.
I only got to shoot these two videos for the Review Stalker YouTubes on my iPhone, which the channel almost bizarrely has 500 subscribers for some reason which I think maybe it’s the DJ Red Alert video with over 100,000 listens! crazy contributing to that math.
Anyway, I really wanted to enjoy and dance my freakin’ ass/feet off a little bit- and that I did. I also managed to live stream a couple songs on my personal facebooks and instagram because I’m loco. I’m sure I’ll pay for the bandwidth usage later.
Fishbone is still one of the best bands in not only America but the whole wide World in my humblest of opinions. So go see them in this lifetime soon. Before the show Angelo being the gentleman and showman he is spent time with fans signing autographs and hanging out. Seriously their fuck racism tees are awesome and you can give people a little of your mind with their classic t-shirt online here.
This next one is so Bootsy Collins with Norwoods getting crazy ass bass sounds you couldn’t help but funk it up and shake your booty thing. Man I wish the sound was better but listen to that bass! I can do so much better magic with my NJ based video production company VLHfilms.com for live bands on a budget but alas I was really at House of Independents to get my groove on.
Rest in peace Prince we now know when doves cry and every once in awhile we get crazy for covers and nostalgia of some amazing sexy song writing, so we felt it appropriate for us to add to the Prince Covers bin and share some we’ve collected or have been contributed from RS blog music fans and our special muse(s). Great music like his is something special that connects people through auditory pleasure like the sound of a baby laughing or the tone of a voice that makes you happy except with a beat you can dance or get funky to. That feeling you get when people applaud something great you have all witnessed or shared my dearly beloved music fans. That happiness is what great music does when you experience it either in your car, at home, a concert or at the gym when you work-out. Wherever or when ever. Music like his has the universal power to join us through the sound we hear and interpret in our own way. Thus always great to hear a rendering of art by somebody else which reminds us how great it is; as it transcends life and the afterlife. Music is basically magical like his and many other greats.
If you are a good musician it’s pretty damn hard to fuck-up a Prince song unless you can’t sing; as his songs are perfect canvas for other artists to put their own spin on things, so here is a variety of indie artists doing their thing. Enjoy and live life without any regrets because you never know when your time will be done.
SEGO – “WHERE I BELONG” – Slackerish in dress but total shiny pop duo does Beck and slanted in enchanted meanderings on Raygun Music. Actually, we like (me) the noisy guitar stuff on this so put down the top on your convertible and lets slow drag race down sunset strip in your tube top.
THE DANES – “AR FROM LOVE” – Electro goth pop with this female fronted group featuring Dana Hobson (vocals), Daniel Wolf (guitars, production), and Patrick Zeinali (drums). I didn’t know any of their musical references so for those of you reading along might appreciate the Sinead reference but without the disdain and if she had a big ass keyboard.
THOSE PRETTY WRONGS – “NEVER GOODBYE” – Two guys named Jody Stephens and Luther Russell, old friends blah, blah, blah make pretty roots rock in Ardent studios in memphis on 2″ tape and it sounds like this tune via Ardent/Burger.
ALBUM REVIEW: Happy Accidents by Delicate Flowers can best be described as gridy pop-folk that goes beyond the beard. There I said it, otherwise I would have categorized it as bedroom rock written by Eric Goldberg but instead he did the right thing Not releasing the demo’s from his creepy sad Daddy Mansion in Green Point; he made a proper solo album and recorded in Wayne, New Jersey’s Skyler Ross Recording (Happy Irony?)- We don’t know.
The canvas as whole is a wash of singer song writer insights. “Break Me Wide Open” is when Happy Accidents is this record paints a very vividly a single line indie rock anthem; from something you would find on a Deep Elm comp back in the 90’s with just a chorus to satisfy the hurt you might feel from a regular break-up song. The opener “Dissolution” does what a first track should do and brings you into his relationship struggle cubby-hole setting up your expectations. Song for song the struggle is real, glossy poetic with “Vaseline”, a slick middle three chord pop song discussing struggle of hiding those things called feelings(do a search on twitter and whole world will open up on this subject in it’s own joke format), where as he might just be editing the deeper hurtful parts when he sings na-na-na-nas to further cover up hurt and blurring of the lens. We don’t know but we certainly feel it and that makes this record gracious. Maybe evening sounding a little bit like Allanis’s bad break-up with that bad comedian from Full House. I joke only because there are feelings and good lyric writing through out is meant to relate to the listening through all the tools. “It’s Easy to Love a Martyr” is when we get to it’s most reverb laden Oasis center. All good in many ways and influences through-out I just really get this and it’s a totally a panty dropper. Probably the highest compliment and rating we might be able to give out here at RS and definitely a high-watermark for this year coming from the Sniffling Indie Kids label.
LABEL: SNIFFLING INDIE KIDS RIYL: The Comas, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Dax Riggs, Elliot Smith, Jason Molina
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ALBUM REVIEW: Here’s a good way to celebrate DIY country punk the day after tax day with the Waco Brothers at Monte Hall in Jersey City and their newest studio album in years called Going Down In History (Bloodshot Records). Seasoned alternative guys mostly Chicag0-ians and one brit ex-pat with guitar lineage (Mekons, Jesus Jones, Dollar Store). In the New York area go see them in all the halls.
04/13/2016 Union Hall
04/16/2016 Monty Hall
The rock shuffle number “We Know It” is one of our favorite tracks on this album, respectfully the opener “DIYBOYB” gets political in way circling up the wagons talking of the posthumous world where artisal world will live on through ideas as they sing “you can’t kill us because we’re already dead”. We asked Jon Langford thoughts on playing WFMU’s venue Monty Hall and he said “I did a session there with the Mekons but haven’t played a full on show there yet so I am very interested to see what mayhem will ensue.” We also ask John like where they find the energy to make grizzly music like this still? and he said “they bottle their rage in the winter time and unleash it in spring!”
SAT MAY 5th 2016 at PINO’s in HIGHLAND PARK, NJ a whole slew of 90’s indie rockers will be playing some tunes and listening to book excerpt(s) describing main character’s boyfriend’s penis. It could happen and you won’t know unless you attend. We love Mercy Brown confident nature and sexy personality right off the wiffle ball bat when she doesn’t even take her own advice to not sleep with anybody in the band; as she digs deep in her Hub City e-romance debut series LOUD Is How I Love You.
The show is going to be very campfire style but with full on rock with 20 minute sets followed by a reading or just gabbing on the mic. Members from the different groups will be filling in for those that can’t make it to celebrating words and music from Mercy’s head. A big chunk of the New Brunswick 90’s local music scene will be here and there may or may not be Hello Biafra shots being served.
The book really throws one back to a very exciting time – pre-internet where you actually had to see a flyer, or talk on one of them landline phones devices, read a local paper or hang out in a record store in order to know what local bands were playing in the Hub City. While those in attendance will be tweeting and instragramming like like millennials; what will really matter most is the music that is being performed this evening.
Check out the ebook iBooks or Amazon.
LINE UP:
9pm Three to Six
9:30 The Urchins
10:00 Ex-Vegas/Prosolar Mechanics
10:30 Bionic Rhoda / Holly Hobbies
11:00 Buzzkill / Boss Jim Gettys
11:30 Aviso’Hara / Eastern Anchors
12:00 The Stuntcocks?
PS A new documentary film announcement is coming soon for NOISY BASEMENTS & BARS which will take a look backwards to the punk heyday of 1980’s, the birth of hardcore and the indie rock of the 90’s when music was dangerous and all the way up to the present day New Brunswick local music scene. For details visit VLH FIlms.
It warmed my heart in huge way to finally see the guys in ween making amends and bringing back some greatness. Takes a lot of personal development and trust to be able create the musical magic these guys have been able to do live and happy to see something that should just be and exist. One of my longest running buds from my New Brunswick day is my brother from another mother is Claude. He is always able to bring out a vibe and humility to his drum thang. His playing is natural and pure instinct; which is always amazing to watch and hear and especially when I had the chance (and feel extremely lucky) that I was actually able to play with him and tour a little when I asked him to play on Suran Song in Stag’s first record Shiny Objects way back in 1995.
Anyway, here’s a couple classic including a solo by Mr. Coleman and “Don’t Squeal On A Pusher” and one of my favorites from GOD WEEN SATAN – THE ONENESS – “Pollo Asado.”
WEEN 2/14/16 BROOMFIELD, CO
On Facebook Mr. Coleman had this to say about comeback.
“Gonna step outside my comfort zone and post my drum solo from Never Squeal on the Pusher, by Ween, from night 3 from our latest Denver run. The boys know I kinda hate doing drum solos – they’re not for my personality type really, and I have such a complex about my brain injuries/paralysis stuff. But I always just go for it blitzkrieg style, try to make them musical, and give it up for the boys as best I can, ‘cos I know that’s why they make me do them – for them, standing there with shit-eating grins as I go for it. Then I sheepishly limp off stage wondering what the hell happened. But I’ve listened to this one a few times and it’s kinda cool – I’m kinda proud – fuggit. Been digging on old Roy Haynes videos and I can hear the inspiration. Plus the new drums sound rad. Hope my drummer friends dig on it. Turn it up loud dammit, kinda the only way to hear it well. Oh yea – when I stop a little bit into it is when I went to my hands and the snare mike came off, so went back to the stix – loud”
This year is not starting off well obviously. We can’t chase time but we can enjoy it and appreciate every where Mr. David Bowie appears in our psyche for as long as we last. A reminder of our mortality.
Born David Robert Jones was/is the definition of a true musical enigma like no other that not only crossed generations, style, movies and technology; he actually connects magic and reality like a rainbow. The devoted fans of his genius and the people he affected can’t even be explained either. Let alone him. This effort is futile like the cancer that ate him. So even what I say here is meaningless honestly. He was that ether you feel when you encounter something you don’t have words for. A feeling. A love letter. A first kiss. A man who knew know boundaries. That is where the start is.
He showed Mick Jagger and Lou Reed how to be a rock stars and always be relevant birthing countless other amazing musicians alike that also are the sound track to your life. Changes One is a perfect example and just the gateway into a man who not so much tried to sell the world but change it one amazing song at a time and I’m sure 1,000’s we have not heard yet. A real artist where even his least successful albums would be impossible for the fucking bullshit mind numbing crap that gets fed as music to come-up with. The general population is enduring some of the worse music in recorded history this past decade and a half and it’s not ok. Not at all.
Bowie taught us that a real original artist should always be unsatisfied and never settle for the status quo. Actually create trends not follow them. The smallest nuances and care for your art is sometimes not perceived at first and most will stop at their first pass. 99% of what passes as music today is an embarrassment with only one goal in mind – greed. Bowie pushed the envelope of creativity making anything after him an obvious cliches to those who actually listen. That is what great art does. That is meaningful and by definition legacy.
Rest in piece David Bowie we love you.
#RIPDAVIDBOWIE
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