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Thee Majesty guitarist Bryin Dall plays the music of Hank Williams at a rare solo show tomorrow night at the Knitting Factory Old Office. 
From Dall's MySpace Page:
I grew up listening to country and early industrial. These influences have led me to this. I'm currently doing Hank Williams songs with Derek Rush playing acoustic guitar (he also produced the songs you hear here). Myself? I'm doing a sort-of Jesus and Mary Chain-type feedback guitar and, of course, vocals.
I am fascinated by the concept of a live concert (at the Canal Room) being simulcast in Second Life. A few months ago, I read a news article about a woman whose full-time job is property development within Second Life. Media awareness of Second Life seems to be growing as I have been hearing more and more stories recently about companies taking their products into the game. I've never used Second Life but it looks like I am going to have to check it out.
Getting back on track...Buddahead and Shock Radar are playing this mash-up concert at the Canal Room on May 10th. Tickets are on sale and are only $15.00.
Links:
Buddahead (link)
Shock Radar (link)
virtualive.tv (link)
I hadn't seen Haste The Day prior to Friday's show at Irving Plaza. These guys are a great live act and their show is intense. The band plays with a passion and conviction that is impossible to fake. In a recent review of the band's new CD, I compared them to a less-intense All That Remains. After seeing their live show, I am not sure this comparison holds as the band plays hard and can hold their own with any metal band. The band doesn't sacrifice any of the melodies and harmonies in their live show but I think the production on the CD hides some of their sonic intensity.
This is really a band to catch live. (They are back in town at the Bamboozle Festival on May 6th with My Chemical Romance.).jpg)
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For whatever reason, the pictures I took of front-man Stephen Keech and bassist Mike Murphy really didn't turn out that great. As such, I wanted to include the picture below which I took at an interview session with the band earlier in the day on Friday. .jpg)
This is one of those rare events that makes me love living in NYC. Brand Upon the Brain is Guy Maddin's new movie which will have a 7 night advance run here in New York. What makes this really cool is that the soundtrack will be performed live in the theatre each night with an 11-piece live orchestra, a 5-piece live Foley (sound effects) team a live celebrity narrator, and Castrato supplementing the filmic image to comprise a one-of-a-kind cinematic spectacle. Filmmaker Guy Maddin will also appear in person to present the film. Following the live tour, BRAND! will open in platform release as a regular film, with a pre-recorded soundtrack narrated by Isabella Rossellini.
Brand Upon the Brain! In which the shocking truth is finally revealed about young Guy Maddin and his hellish childhood on a remote island, under the hyper-watchful eye of a crazed mother hellbent on restoring her youth and a diabolically distant scientist-father, proprietors of a mom-and-pop orphanage they surreptitiously operate within the dank confines of the family lighthouse. Watch! as the sex instinct grabs hold of young Maddin and his sister! Thrill! as the Mysteries of the Light House are divined by teen detectives! Reel! at the headstrong invention and heart-stopping rhythms of the elder Maddin¹s heroic silent moviemaking!!Here is the current list of guest narrators:
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I haven't kept up with what Dallas Taylor has been doing since leaving Underoath so I was looking forward to hearing Maylene & The Sons of Disaster's set at Irving Plaza last night. The band is quite impressive live. The obvious comparison would be to Clutch but, with the band utilizing three guitarists, I can't help but think of Lynyrd Skynyrd. This southern metal sound really seems to work for the band and Dallas' voice sounds great..jpg)
The band just released their second CD entitled "II" on Ferret Records last month. Based on the band's live show, it looks like this CD is well worth checking out..jpg)
Th band is currently on tour with Haste The Day and From Autumn To Ashes through the beginning of May, then they hit the road for 2 weeks of shows with UNDEROATH. They are back in the area on May 5th for the Bamboozle Festival at the Meadowlands. Here are the band's upcoming tour dates:
April 22, 2007 8:00P
Toad's Place New Haven, Connecticut
April 24, 2007 8:00P
The Station Portland, Maine
April 25, 2007 8:00P
Axis Boston, Massachusetts
April 26, 2007 8:00P
Northern Lights Clifton PArk, New York
April 28, 2007 8:00P
Fun Haus Toronto, Ontario
April 29, 2007 8:00P
The Salt Lounge London, Ontario
May 1, 2007 8:00P
Agora Ballroom Cleveland, Ohio
May 2, 2007 8:00P
Skelletones Grand Rapids, Michigan
May 3, 2007 8:00P
Headliner's Music Hall Louisville, Kentucky
May 4, 2007 8:00P
Mr.Smalls Millvale, Pennsylvania
May 5, 2007 2:15P
Meadowlands Sports Complex East Rutherford, New Jersey .jpg)
Links:
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster Main Website (link)
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster MySpace page (link)
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. .JPG)
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."
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Haste The Day is co-headlining the bill at Irving Plaza tonight with From Autumn to Ashes and tickets are available at the door. I had the opportunity to meet the band earlier today as they were filming a video interview for Metal Machine.
More on this tomorrow....jpg)
Haste The Day's new CD falls into the more melodic side of metalcore. New vocalist Stephen Keech has a vocal range similar to All That Remains' Phil Labonte which can range from a melodic harmony to a death metal growl. Musically, the band is less brutal than ATR and a closer point of comparison may be Midtown. Guitarist Jason Barnes was quoted as saying "We wanted melodies influenced by bands like AC/DC and Def Leppard rather than the bands we’ve toured with." There are a lot of strong songs on this CD and it has held up to repeated listenings.
The band doesn't stray much from its core melodic hardcore sound with the exception of the tracks Janet's Planet and Chorus of Angels. The later is an epic track that includes portions of Eye of the Needle (the first track on the disc). This track ties all the songs on the disc together and serves as a perfect closer. On the melodic side, my favorite tracks are Stitches (probably the best track on the disc) and The Minor Prophets. Both feature strong vocals and 'exploding' choruses.
Haste the Day are co-headlining a show with From Autumn to Ashes this Friday night (April 20th) at Iring Plaza with supporting bands Alesana, Twelve Gauge Valentine and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Tickets are still available and are only $15.75.
Links:
Haste The Day MySpace page (link)
After tonight's show at the Bowery Ballroom, check out the afterparty at R Bar. The party starts at 12AM and you can hang out with the band and hear the new CD It's A Bit Complicated in its entirety. Bar R is at 218 Bowery (btwn. Spring & Broome).
The band has a show at Club B in Brooklyn tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 18th) and the new CD will be released on June 26th.
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.
I hate having to get in the car to drive to a show but Madball is one of those few bands that could get me to drive into Staten Island. Since CBGB and L'Amour closed, I think the closest Madball has played is Long Island.
Here are the details on the show:
May 4th
Dock Street
691 Bay Street
Staten Island, NY
SI Rich Productions Presents:
MADBALL
THE BANNER
FOLLY
ENRAGE
MY BITTER END
THE PAST IS PRESENT
REASON ENOUGH
AS YOU WERE
Doors 6pm
1st band at 7
$15 Bucks at the door
All Age
I got into Subhoodz in the late 90's but the band has been pretty quiet for the last few years. Tomorrow, the band releases a killer compilation covering their 16 year career as a band. This CD contains material from This Boy's Life and the Genuine B-Boyz CDs and some remixes and new material. The band is supposed to be hitting the road soon for a tour and a CD of new material will follow later in the year.
Stress calls Subhoodz' music "Hip-Hop for the Hardcore at Heart". For fans of old-school metal/hip-hop fusion (think Biohazard, Crown of Thornz, 25 Ta Life and Skarhead), this CD is a must-have.
Frauke makes its NYC debut tomorrow night and are playing Fat Baby in a celebration of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's birthday.
Here is what the band has posted to their MySpace page:
Since this is a Monday night, and it's our first NYC show, we'll probably be playing with a bunch of bands who apparently maybe like joy division. But we do not know. We only hope that there will be many fat babies in attendance, and perhaps the regular sluts from the fat baby bar to serve us lager and bay breezes. Won't you come and join us, this show will be an absolute fucking disaster. Come for Frauke. Stay for the lager and for to celebrate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's birthday but do not pay heed to anything or anyone else at the lagerhausen that is Fat Baby.I have Frauke loaded on my iPod but haven't had a chance to listen to the songs so..more on Frauke later.
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..JPG)
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..JPG)
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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. .JPG)
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I almost didn't notice this show which I would have regretted as it looks like a great lineup of bands.
TimeOut's advance preview says "Made Out of Babies takes NYC rock back to the sewer where it belongs. Singer Julie Xmas goes from girl-child to Cookie Monster with a pervasive f*cked-up-ness that's only amplified by the rhyth, section's chthonic rumble and the guitarist's theatening riffage."
Opening acts Unearthly Trance, Minsk and Rwake are all on Relapse so that should say something for their sound.
Here are the details about the show...
Mon 04/16/07
CLUB MIDWAY
25 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009
212-253-2595
club@clubmidway.com
$10 ADV/$12 DOS
Made Out Of Babies 12:00
http://www.myspace.com/madeoutofbabies
http://www.madeoutofbabies.com/
Rwake 11:00
http://www.myspace.com/rwake
Minsk 10:00
http://www.myspace.com/minsk
http://www.thesoundofminsk.com/
Unearthly Trance 9:00
http://www.myspace.com/utny
http://www.unearthlytrance.com/
I just found Voivod's official fan site (link) and there is an amazing amount of live and demo material available for download. Demos from Hatross and Negatron were just added to the site. I haven't gotten around to listening to these demos as I have had the demos from Nothingface on my iPod for the last week.
For anyone who is a fan of Voivod or thrash in general, this site is a great find.
Links:
Voivod Main Site (link)
New material from The Dictators is always great news. Norton Records has just released a new 7" of previously unreleased archive material from 1978. The tracks are:
16 Forever which was recorded at Bearsville Studios July 7, 1978 - the original board mix, which was never finished and Stay With Me which is the demo for the song on the Bloodbrothers album.
This 7" is available directly from Norton for only $4.00.
The Dark Horse Project are an interesting return to the post-punk sound of the 90's and I have been enjoying listening to their first CD. The songs on this CD are diverse as the band successfully channels a number of apparent influences. The first track on the CD Haunted Face has heavy southern/gothic overtunes and could easily fit into the songbook of acts like Nick Cave or Mary My Hope. From here songs range from a stripped down power-trio sound (Dark Horse) to torch songs similar to the work Kid Congo Powers did in Congo Norvell and later work with Annie Anxiety.
The members of the band have an interesting pedegree which may explain the band's diverse sound. Singer/Guitarist Liv Mueller(Liv Lovely) tore up the CMJ charts as singer for The Lovelies for a number of years. Marc Hunter and Grant Curry play drums and bass on this disc and were part of James Hall's Pleasure Club for years. For those not familar with James Hall and the Pleasure Club, Hall is part Jim Morrison, part Nick Cave and part the peacher from The Poltergeist movies. This helps explains the dark undercurrent across this disc.
I haven't seen the band play live but they have two upcoming dates in the area and I am going to make a point of trying to catch one of them:
- May 3rd @ Pianos, NYC
- May 4th @ The Williamsburg White Room, Brooklyn
I hadn't heard of the White Room prior to reading about the band's upcoming shows so here is a (link) to the venue's website.
Band Links:
The Dark Horse Project Main Website (link)
The Dark Horse Project MySpace page (link)
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)
