John Joseph: Playing Cro-Mags Set at Dr. Tom/Walter Ryan Benefit Show + Second Video from Book Reading at The Delancey

On September 27th, the NYHC is coming together for a benefit show at Studio B for Dr. Tom and Walter Ryan (Subzero/Merauder). John Joseph is playing a Cro-Mags set and other bands on the bill include Sick of It All, Jasta and Murphy's Law.

The NYHC community has always come together to help out someone in need and, from what I've heard, Dr. Tom and "Monsta" Ryan really need our support. Come on out to the show, sign up for Moli (click on the poster), make a donation. Every bit helps...



While on the subject on John (Joseph)...I finally located a misplaced video where I filmed some of John's book reading at The Delancey back in June.



If anybody missed it, I also did an interview with John before his book reading (see previous post).

Links:
John Joseph's MySpace Profile

Gorilla Biscuits and CIV Added to Black N Blue Bowl @ Studio B, April 5th

I have been procrastinating getting tickets for this show but this recent announcement will get me moving. Black N Blue Productions have comfirmed that both Gorilla Biscuits and CIV will be playing the show next Saturday. I don't think Gorilla Biscuits have played in NYC since their 2006 shows at CBGB and BB Kings and CIV broke up in 2000. The lineup includes Agnostic Front, Madball, Terror, Breakdown (reunion), and Fahrenheit 451.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

Urge Releases Exclusive 4-Song EP of Klaxons Live @ Studio B, Brooklyn

Urge, who sponsored The Klaxons at Studio B this past April, just released an exclusive four song live EP from the show through Urge (obviously). I am listening to the EP now and the songs sound great. The tracks on the EP are Gravity’s Rainbow, Golden Skans, Atlantis to Interzone, and Magick.

Here is a link to the tracks on Urge(link). I was an iPod bigot for the longest time but now that I have sat down and checked out Urge, it is a pretty cool program. Check it out and see what you think...

Links:
The Klaxons' Main Website (link)
Pictures & Review from April 13th show at Studio B (link)

Bonde Do Role @ Studio B, Brooklyn, NY April 13, 2007

Bonde Do Role opened for the Klaxons last Friday. (I am a bit embarrassed that it has taken me so long to post these pictures.) In short -- these people are wild. Rolling Stone magazine listed them as one of the "10 Bands to Watch" last month.


Below is a snippet from the Rolling Stone write up:

SOUND In complete disregard for U.S. copyright law, Bonde do Role (D'eyrot, 22, MC Marina Ribatski, 21, and producer and DJ Rodrigo Gorky, 25) pile super-recognizable samples -- AC/DC, the Grease soundtrack, Tone-Loc -- into an over-the-top party-starting mix. A typical lyric (from "Melo do Caldinho"): "I was at a party/And I saw a whore/I put my tongue into her asshole/And my tongue came out all dirty." "That's the shit we're doing, man," D'eyrot says. "Nasty stuff. Sex with food, general perversion."

WHAT'S NEXT The group is planning a U.S. tour this summer and is working on an LP with Diplo. "We're going to try to use some samples that are not so recognizable and try to get a guitarist," says Gorky. But for now the trio is psyched to be playing increasingly raucous live sets at home. "The crowd at the last show was a mix of playboys and, how do you say, high-class whores," says D'eyrot. "That was crazy."

H20 & Negative Approach Added to Superbowl of Hardcore at Studio B on May 19th

The Superbowl of Hardcore is going to be a big show as H20 and Negative Approach were just added to the lineup. Below is the list of bands that have been announced thus far:

NEGATIVE APPROACH (first NYC appearance since the 80s)
H20
COLD AS LIFE
ONE 4 ONE
DARKSIDE NYC
ALL OUT WAR
COLDFRONT
FULL BLOWN CHAOS
BILLY CLUB SANDWICH
H8 INC
SAVANNAH

The show is at Studio B in Brooklyn. Doors are 2PM and tickets are $25.

The Klaxons @ Studio B, Brooklyn, NY April 13th, 2007

MTV Urge Nights sponsored The Klaxons at Studio B last Friday night. I haven't seen a crowd this ready to party since the closing shows at CBGB. The show was sold out and the club was at capacity.


The crowd started pogoing and dancing from the minute the band hit the stage up until the last song. With that many people moving, the temperature rose quickly and that jacket (in the above picture) didn't last long.


As I have heard The Klaxons' music described as "new rave" so I was expecting their live show to sound something like the Happy Monday's. This wasn't the case at all. Below is part of an interview that Urge did with singer/keyboardist James Righton:

URGE: What does the phrase "new rave" mean to you?

Righton: Jaime [Reynolds] invented the term for the band, just as a joke. Then NME got ahold of it, and what the NME says suddenly becomes gospel. So it spread. It's a misrepresentation of the music and misleading in a lot of ways.

URGE: So you're saying you don't take 10 ecstasy pills a day and wear a Dr. Seuss hat to bed?

Righton: No, no. [Laughs.] It's not happening. It's funny, because as soon as it got talked about, we tried to distance ourselves from it. I don't think any band likes a tag, let alone one that conjures up images that we probably don't adhere to.

URGE: What are the differences between the first generation of rave and what you're doing?

Righton: The differences are musical: We don't use electronics, we don't use 303s, we don't use any of that. We're a live band, an organic band, and that allows for human failures and elements. We don't go onstage dressed in neon out of our minds, either. Not every night.





If The Klaxons truely believe the world will end in 2012, they obviously aim to have some fun over the next five years. The new album's final song, "Four Horsemen Of 2012," references the final year of the Mayan Calendar, when some, including Klaxons (Reynolds, Righton and guitarist Simon Taylor-Davis), believe the world will end. But reveling in our worldly demise is cause for a party, according to Righton: "Celebrating that we all are going to die is great! Every gig, we give out the address to Simon's house, that's where the barbeque is going to happen on New Year's Eve 2012."

URGE: Do you really believe that the world is going to end in 2012?

Righton: Of course we do. We're going to design T-shirts that say "12 12 12." Then watches that say "countdown to apocalypse." They're not going to tell the time, just the countdown. You're all invited to Simon's barbeque, as well.

New Interview with the Klaxons Posted to Urge.com

MTV has a new download service Urge that looks more than capable of giving iTunes a run for its money. The site has a 14 day free trial so check it out.

MTV Urge Nights are sponsoring the Klaxons at Studio B in Greenpoint this Friday night (and there are still tickets left) and just posted an interview with the band to Urge.com.

Below are some excerpts from the interview and a link to the full text is below.

URGE: What was the first gig you ever played as Klaxons like?

James Righton: We started the band on November 4, 2005, booked a gig for November 11th and so had to learn to play something quickly. The venue was located in the center of London in a small basement, and when we turned up we found out that the main act had pulled out, so we were suddenly playing our first gig as a headliner with literally three or four songs. Within the first two or three minutes of the set, every instrument fell apart, everything broke, and it was the most punk thing most people in London had seen in a long time.

URGE: Do you really believe that the world is going to end in 2012?

Righton: Of course we do. We're going to design T-shirts that say "12 12 12." Then watches that say "countdown to apocalypse." They're not going to tell the time, just the countdown. You're all invited to Simon's barbeque, as well.

The rest of the interview is available here (link)

Klaxons Play Studio B in Brooklyn Friday April 13th

I was surprised to see there are still tickets available for the Klaxon's show next Friday at Studio B. The band is playing Bowery Ballroom this Tuesday and tickets for this show sold out fairly quickly. The band also drew a strong crowd as headliners on the just completed NME tour in the UK so I wouldn't count on getting tickets day-of-show for this one.

For anyone not familiar with the Klaxons' music, Wikipedia notes that "HMV describes Klaxons as "acid-rave sci-fi punk-funk", while their MySpace page touts 'Psychedelic / Progressive / Pop'. Though the band's sound is decidedly art rock, they draw upon some less common influences (notably the rave culture of the 1990s, which they appropriate and redefine in a post-modern fashion). This is perhaps most evident in their cover of novelty rave hit "The Bouncer" by Kicks Like a Mule and 'Not Over Yet' by Grace." The Klaxons were recently named the Best New Band at Shockwaves NME Awards and just released their full-length debut Myths of the Near Future on Polydor Records. The new CD and the band's live show have been getting great reviews and many of the band's UK show in May are already sold out.

The show at Studio B is part of MTV Urge Nights and should be a fun night. Bonde Do Role from Brazil and Surkin from France are also on the bill. Tickets are only $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Advance tickets are available at Other Music (in the East Village) and at www.igetrvng.com.

Links:
Klaxons Main Website (link)
Klaxons MySpace Page (link)
Studio B, Brooklyn (link)

Love as Laughter @ Club NME (Studio B), Brooklyn, March 1, 2007

Love as Laughter headlined the Club NME show last night and drew a strong crowd. The band sounded good despite some technical glitches and held the crowd's attention through out their set. NME.com posted a review of the show earlier today.

The Stalkers @ Club NME (Studio B), Brooklyn, March 1, 2007

Club NME made its debut in Brooklyn last night with a show at Studio B that featured The Stalkers and Love as Laughter. The Stalkers played a great set that touched on influences from The Dolls to 1977-era British punk. The band is releasing their debut CD next month on Dollar Record Records.

The Stalkers are playing a number of shows in the area in the next few weeks. Here are the upcoming shows:

• March 9th @ Niagra (anyone catch The Stalkers opening for Jesse Malin at Bowery Ballroom)
• March 15th @ Don Hill's
• March 28th @ Lit (w/ Star Spangles)

The Thermals Are Playing a Todd P Show in Brooklyn on March 5th

Todd P has just announced a Brooklyn show with The Thermals on March 5th at Studio B. This looks like a fun show as the band is playing with The Big Sleep (French Kiss Records) and Meneguar (Troubleman Unlimited). Advance tickets are $12.

Here is how Todd P describes the bands:

[ THE THERMALS ]The Thermals' Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster have been playing together for years. First, after meeting in Maine, they formed the acoustic duo Haelah - then, after moving to Portland, Oregon in the late 90's - they went rock with the Urban Legends - then - back to acoustic, simply, as Hutch and Kathy - and then, finally, in 2002, teaming with one-time drummer Jordan Hudson and (briefly) Ben Barnett (of Kind of Like Spitting) to create the Thermals. Ben left quick, and Jordan would later be replaced on the drum stool by Lorin Coleman, and then also, very recently, with new addition Joel Burrows on 2nd guitar. Through whatever incarnation, Hutch and Kathy churn out absolutely heartfelt, totally crunchy, slightly spazzy, rock and roll anthems. Joyful stuff that'll make you want to learn the words and scream along and jump up and down.
SITE --> http://thethermals.com
MYSPACE --> http://myspace.com/thethermals

[ THE BIG SLEEP ]"The Big Sleep are a trio that plays driving psych-rock that sounds similar to the forever-underrated Turing Machine, or Trans Am back when they were good. This band is extremely tight on the rhythms, creating walls of stunning guitar sound backed by precise percussion. Their songs definitely get a groove going, and you can almost hear each member's pure delight at how well they can rock it with each other. But their jams never cross that common threshold into ostentatious grandstanding. The Big Sleep know less is more, and 4-5 minutes is all they need to completely hook us and reel us right in." - OhMyRockness.com-- MYSPACE --> http://myspace.com/sonofthetig

[ MENEGUAR ]These angry boys jump around and yell and spit out catchy, intricate punk influenced rock songs - conjuring disassembled and disjointed memories of past bands along the lines of as Missions of Burma, Hüsker Dü. One of the best and most unique straight ahead rock bands in New York, for serious. Recent (re)release on Troubleman Unlimited. Shares a member with Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice. Killer riffs beneath intense, goosebump inspiring, on-the-edge of their vocal chords 3-part harmonies.
SITE --> http://angelfire.com/clone/sheryls/
MYSPACE / MP3s --> http://myspace.com/Meneguar

The Thermals will be on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly next Friday (Feb. 16th) performing A Pillar of Salt.