Monday, March 14, 2016

INTERVIEW: Alex from New Gods at The Dial, January 11th 206

IAN: Hi, this is Ian, I'm talking with Alex, the vocalist of New Gods, who's looking over the merch table where I just got a large white shirt with Felix The Cat on it
[FULL DISCLOSURE: I never wore that shirt and it is now in the possession of Evan Coltrane, who still owes me $5]
So, you guys have been down here a couple times, are you on tour right now?
ALEX: Yes
I: What's your next stop from here?
A: We are playing in LA tomorrow
I: Cool
A: Yeah, its on the way home
I: How do you feel about this area down here?
A: We love The Dial. We're glad The Dial is a thing again. The kids down here are always really wild; you got the The Coltranes, you got Half Goon - rest in peace
I: I've seen you guys a couple times, I know you're from Seattle; are you familiar with Health Problems?
A: Yeah
I: What would you say about your scene up there?
A: I think it's the best scene in the U.S. right now, or maybe the world
I: Yeah, every time I talk to somebody from that area, it sounds like it's a great place to be...What would you say is the difference between your scene up there versus other places you go?
A: I don't know, I don't really wanna speak on other scenes because I don't experience them on a day-to-day basis; but for us, there's an incredible amount of camaraderie and there's no weird pretense. Everyone is friends and the bands are all super diverse and we all support each other. Shows are usually lots of fun.
I: Word. Now here's something I've always wondered about; I guess back in the day [up there] there was something called the Teenage Dancing Ordinance?
A: Yeah, that was years ago
I: So, if I were to go to a punk show nowadays, I'm not gonna get kicked out for moshing?
A: No. That pertains to nothing. That has not meant anything for like, 15 years.
I: Word. Alright well it lopoks like the next band is almost done setting up, so I really appreciate your time talking with me...Do you have any upcoming releases?
A: Yeah, we have a single coming out on a record label called Anybody's Flowers. We were able to get the cassette version but the vinyl version is taking awhile to get out, but that should be out relatively soon...although we've been saying that for awhile
I: Understandable
A: We're in the process of recording an LP but that'll be awhile out...so we have a lot of stuff coming up
I: Hell yeah
A: Just trying to get stuff out there
I: Okay so to kinda wrap things up, this is something I ask pretty much everybody when I talk to them: What's your favorite breakfast food?
A: Grits
I: Just grits?
A: Yeah, that's it
I: Alright, I can live with that
A: I'm a simple man. I'm easily pleased.
I: [Laughter] Alright, well again, thanks for talking with me!

https://newgods.bandcamp.com/

Thursday, March 3, 2016

BAND INTERVIEW: Lost Cause, January 11th at the Dial

Lost Cause is a hardcore band from the Badlands, Southern California. Loren is the frontman and main idea guy for the band and the group is filled out by Lily (also from the band Liquid) on guitar, and KP and Shane (both formerly from The Gravitys) on the rhythm section. Shane left before this interview was conducted but this conversation includes all the other members.

IAN: Alright, I'm here talking with Loren and Lily from Lost Cause; where the fuck are Shane and KP?
LOREN: I think [Shane] had to go home and go to sleep
IAN: Bullshit. How did you guys feel about the show tonight?
LOREN: Honestly, I felt really good about it. From other experiences, and with the new line-up and stuff, we're going in a direction that's more individual and creative with what we do and what we like in this music.
IAN: What was the difference between [now] and the old line-up?
LOREN: [One of] the differences is that the old guys were more into, like, going heavy, like Xibalba. They wanted to by like Turnstile and all that. And really, we're more about just being creative and not trying to be somebody else.
IAN: Now Lily, this is your first show with [Lost Cause]; is this like, your first hardcore show as well?
LILY: You mean, like, playing?
IAN: Yeah
LILY: Yeah
IAN: Is this your stuff or what?
LILY: Yeah of course!
IAN: Word
[KP and MILLER show up dancing behind Loren]
IAN: It  looks like we've got a dance crew behind us
LOREN: KP is back from the dead
IAN: KP!
MILLER: Let's all go over here
[LILY laughing]
IAN: Now it's become a multi-family affair
KP: Why are you interviewing me?
IAN: Why do you wanna be in this band and not in my band?
[Laughter all around]
KP: Well, that's a broad question. Its because I know Loren won't show up [to a show] hammered
[Laughter]
KP: And I say that out of love
[Noise off to the side]
IAN: Did we break something? What's going on over there? This Lost Cause interview has gone awry. What is this thing?
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Move like sourdough
LOREN AND IAN: Ohhhhh....whoaahhhhh
IAN: Alright, so to sum it up, what are your plans from here?
LOREN: Honestly...
IAN: You guys need bananas and carrots
[LAUGHTER]
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Your diet is all vinegar and salt
LOREN: For real, we're gonna play Standing Hard 2 with a bunch of bands from the Northwest, some bands are reuniting [for the fest]...
IAN: Counterblast is playing that
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: And CoolSide! Bananas!
LOREN: After that, we're just gonna play more shows as they come along, record a new EP with Madison Fury & Response and then try to release that in the springtime. And then there's rumors of Strawberita Weekend with The Coltranes
IAN: And The Gravitys
LOREN: All I gotta say is, you know, rest in peace Tim Butcher, Lemmy, and David Bowie. Lost Cause...we're here.
IAN: (chanting) Cause ! Cause! Cause! Cause! Cause! Cause!
LOREN: 4 more years!
IAN: Thanks man...Hey KP, do you have anything you'd like to add?
KP: No
IAN: Alright.

 http://lostcausehxc.bandcamp.com/releases

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

INTERVIEW: Kyle Ferguson (aka Misery Ritual), January 11th 2016 at The Dial

IAN: Alright, this is Ian, I'm here interviewing Kyle Ferguson, otherwise by his performance name Misery Ritual...How are you doing, man?
KYLE: Doing pretty good; tired after the set
I: Yeah you had a great set, you played before New Gods and then Lost Cause; I thought you were gonna play like, in between those bands. Do you prefer to play first?
K: No, I think somebody in Lost Cause had work and couldn't be here til later so they had me open, which I don't mind. As long as I'm able to do my thing it doesn't matter when I play. It's all good.
I: So, I gotta say, I'm not that versed in the kind of art that you do...With the kind of music you make, I hesitate to even call it 'music.' How do you feel about that?
K: No that's fair. I mean, I go out of my way to take all the musical aspects out of it. I mean, there are notes hidden, hidden somewhere, but one of the things that I like about the noise genre - I guess you could call it that - is that there's no rules. There's no music theory, there's no 'these notes sound wrong next to these other notes,' it's all free sound. It gives me an appreciation to use anything I find as an instrument.
I: Yeah, I've seen, even tonight, you used a chain or something
K: Mmmhmmm
I: As an artist myself, I'm very lo-fi, I only use an acoustic guitar. I don't really understand all the effects. Do you have any songs that you feel you could play without a bunch of effects, or is that kind-of part of the [instrinsic] part of the way you make your art?
K: That's hard to say; have you listened to the recordings at all?
I: I did, and I'm unsure as to what's instrumental and what's not.
K: Some of the recordings that I've put out and plan to in the future, it kind-of spans everything non-music. There's some dark ambient, there's some harsh noise, some very wall-of-sound soundtrack.
I: Word. What I mean is like, would you ever be able to play like, an acoustic set? Do you play music without machines or is that a [fundamental] part of your art?
K: Yeah, I would definitely say it's a part. I like everything to be as abrasive as possible, you know? To everything, add distortion and reverb. Everything is clashing and dissonant; it's all about trying to get the emotions I feel in my head out of my head. That's why I named it Misery Ritual. It's more of a purge of what's in my mind instead of me writing songs.
I: That's something I noticed while you were playing, the way you perform is obviously very, very passionate, even though you're performing [in a way] that most people won't even understand what you're doing. If you had to explain yourself to like, your grandparents or your family who have never been exposed to this kind of stuff before, what would you say you do?
K: Um...you know, cuz noise is such a foriegn concept to a lot of people, I usually start off saying 'noise' and then elaborate that. There are certain sounds that people like, you know, and [on the opposite end] I feel like a lot of people will a have a [natural] aversion to the sound of glass breaking, or metal-on-metal scraping or something like that. But the thing is, it's all just sound, and everything has importance and beauty, in a way. Even in the aversion to it, it's important to me, that metal-on-metal scraping. To me, it's pleasing to the ear, but to anybody else it might make them cringe. It speaks to each person as an individual. I do waht I like regardless of how it could be interpreted by other people. Like I said, this is [all] to purge my brain of negative emotion.
I: That's what's up. [Now] I'm gonna go backwards in time: You used to have a band called Skinslip; what happened with that?
K: Uh, so basically I did guitar and the majority of the vocals, and that was a major depression/aggression outlet for me, but it go to the point where my own negative feelings came between me and the rest of the band. To them, it was better that they do their own thing with me not in the picture.
I: Are they doing anything right now?
K: Not to my understanding. Actually, no. It was more, with me being as emotional as I am you know, I have ups and downs. During that point it was mainly just downs. I was not the easiest person to be around. So I'll put some of that on myself. There are other circumstances also, you know, that played into it, but that's not my place to talk about. But yeah, of course I'm just glad [it happened]. It's freed me to do things on my own. As far as that had been going, I had been dedicating a lot of my free time to playing quote-unquote "real music," but without that, you throw out music theory, you throw out drum beats, and you get the rawest form of sound and passion. That's what I'm doing now. I feel like I'm better off, even though I do miss playing those with guitar and singing.
I: But you're doing what you are into right now
K: Exactly. This is exactly what I set out to do and, you know, based on how I feel afterwards, and the reactions I've been getting, I feel like I'm doing alright.
I: When I was watching you [I thought], if I were to die an untimely death soon, I would like you to play my funeral because it would explain to my parents and my family something about me that they don't understand. Just in the darkness and the unpredictability of your music, it's something that I want my family to understand. They way you've done it is so dark but so obviously filled with emotion; I see that and I really appreciate that.
K: That's like the most meaningful thing, the best feedback I think I've received so far.
I: So if I die soon, you're playing my funeral [LAUGHTER]. I'm gonna end out this intervuiew; the last thing that I always ask anybody, my favorite question because it shows what people really value: What's your favorite breakfast food?
K: Breakfast food? Hmmm...Of my god, that's....You know what, there's a spot in Corona called Goodfellas and they have a pastrami & swiss omelette and I am all about that
I: That does sound good
K: Pretty bomb
I: Alright well I'm gonna end this out then, do you have anything else that you'd like to say?
K: Well, I'll be here Saturday playing at Insect Worship Fest; [Insect Worship] is like, an online collective that I'm a part of and basically what we do is create noise tracks, upload them, and then each person can download and edit it however they want. We end up putting out CDs that are pretty much compilation CDs, we'll throw 5 people working on a track over time, and it's gonna be a bunch of us playing together at this fest on Saturday the 16th, so it'll be fun.
I: Word. Well, Kyle, thanks again for talking with me!

https://miseryritual.bandcamp.com/

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Playlist for February 2016

This is a list of all the albums, EPs, demos, singles, etc that I listened to in their entirety during the month of February 2016, followed by lists of stuff I watched and read and bands I saw live as well. Notes regarding each follow. Enjoy.


MUSIC
2/1/16
Silverstein - "Discovering The Waterfront"
Quicksand - "Manic Compression"
Lee "Scratch" Perry - "Essential Madness from the Scratch Files"
Slipknot - "All Hope Is Lost"

2/3/16
Amon Amarth - "Once Sent From The Golden Hall"
UB40 - "Greatest Hits"
The Ruins Of Beverast - "Enchanted By Gravemold

2/4/16
Gorgon City ft. ROMANS - "Saving My Life" digital single
Wartorn - "Banzai" EP
Florence and the Machine - "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful"
LCD Soundsystem - "Christmas Will Break Your Heart" digital single
Rebelution - "Courage to Grow"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Master"/S/T EP
Ambersmoke - "Wear Your Love Like Heaven"
Shpongle - "Tales of the Inexpressible"
Sunk - Demo

2/5/16
Behemoth - "The Apostasy"
American Football - S/T
The Grateful Dead - "American Beauty"
Ordinary People - "Nothing New"
Negative Approach - "Tied Down" LP

2/6/16
Jackson Shaw - "Just Met You" digital single
Radiohead - "Spectre" digital single
Anathema - "The Silent Enigma"
Deeds Of Flesh - "Inbreeding the Anthropophagi"
Wiz Khalifa - "Khalifa"
end of the summer/Troy Campbell - "Living Situations" split EP
Shojo Winter - "Somewhere Else" EP
Happy In Hemet - "Hush"
Skate Death - "You Break It, You Buy It"
Mount Eerie - "Wind's Poem"
Count Basie - "The Complete Atomic Basie" Disc 1
R.E.M. - "Chronic Town" EP
Less Than Jake - "Anthem

2/7/16
The Locust - S/T EP
Refused - "Freedom"
The Horrors - "Primary Colours"
Dow Jones & The Industrials - "Let's Go Steady!" EP
Primus - "Rhinoplasty"
Shinobu - "10 Thermidor"
Twenty One Pilots - "Blurryface"

2/8/16
Veil Of Maya - "All Things Set Aside"
Motherboy - "Not Punk Session #8" EP
frnkiero and the cellabration/Lonely The Brave - split EP
Halestorm - "Into the Wild Life"
Candiria - "300% Density"
Woodruff - Practice Demos
Cryptopsy - S/T
Lost Cause - "The World Is Yours" demo

2/9/16
Black Breath - "Slaves Beyond Death"
7 Seconds - "New Wind" demo
Carnifex - "The Diseased and the Poisoned"
Steel Panther - "Feel The Steel"

2/10/16
Billy Kenny & Abby Jane - "I Operate" b/w "The Chord March" digital single
R.E.M. - "Murmur"
Iration - "Hotting Up"
ill.Gates - "Mother Mash" digital single
Uli Jon Roth - "Scorpions Revisited"

2/11/16
John Coltrane - "Ken Burns Jazz"
Radiohead - "Kid A"
Killswitch Engage - "The End of Heartache"
PsyOpus - "Odd Senses"

2/17/16
end of the summer/Troy Campbell - "Living Situations" split EP
Death By Stereo - "If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die"
Death By Stereo - "Day of the Death"

2/19/16
Chvrches - "Every Open Eye"
Stereophonics - "Performance and Cocktails"
Twenty One Pilots - "The LC LP"
The Courteeners - "Winter Wonderland" b/w "Small Bones (acoustic)" digital single
Caribou - "Mars" 12"
KISS - "Lo Mejor de...KISS"
The Maccabees - "Marks To Prove It"
Daz-n-Snoop - "Cuzznz"
Young Thug - "I'm Up" EP
Klubbheads - "Klubbhopping" b/w "Work This Pussy" 12"
Borknagar - "Winter Thrice"

2/20/16
Patti Smith - "Horses"
Depeche Mode - "Violator"
Spiritualized - "Lazer Guided Melodies"

2/21/16
The Coltranes - "Sessions of Terror and Piss" EP
Liquid - "Entropy"
Carl Czeny - "Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 780"
Clark Terry - "The Happy Horns Of..."
Atomic Dilemma - "Take This, Kids" EP
Diamond Rugs - 14-song CD
The Grateful Dead - "Infrared Roses"

2/22/16
Disarm - "Deras Krig" EP
Wilderness - "Sleeping" EP
Gryffin ft. Josef Salvat - "Heading Home" digital single
Darryl Hall & John Oates - "Private Eyes"
Disclosure - "Caracal"
Ellie Goulding - "Delirium"
KONE - "Legend Days" EP
Fleshgod Apocalypse - "Agony"
Brand New - "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Of Me"
Wolfmother - "Victorious"
Digitalism - "Idealism"

2/23/16
Asleep In The Lake/Monological Terrorist - "Cosmic Sorrow In The Underbrush" split
UK Subs - "Yellow Leader"
Young Jesus - "Grow/Decompose"
Slade - "Get Yer Boots On: The Best of Slade"
Carly Rae Jepsen - "Emotion"
Frenzal Rhomb - "Meet The Family"
Killswitch Engage - "Strength of the Mind" digital single
The Raconteurs - "Consolers of the Lonely"
Defeater - "Still & True" b/w "Let Me Down" 7"
The Struts - "Everybody Wants"
The Scene Aesthetic - "A Type & A Shadow" EP
Unit Pride - "Live in Berkeley '87"

2/24/16
Judas Priest - "Screaming For Vengeance"
Amber Pacific - "The Possibility and the Promise"
Gorguts - "The Erosion Of Sanity"
Nirvana - "Unplugged in New York"
Suicidal Tendencies - "Lights...Camera...Revolution"
Hatebreed - "Satisfaction is the Death of Desire"
Midewest Moms - "Guilt Trip" EP
Trey The Ruler - "Hell Is Under My Hair" EP
Wu-Tang Clan - "Enter The Wu: 36 Chambers"
Eyedea & Abilities - "First Born"

2/25/16
Job For A Cowboy - "Sun Eater"
Incantation - "Onward to Golgotha"
Dazeac & Carnage - "FNX 338 (2001 version)" digital single
Michael Angelo Batio - "Shred Force 1: The Essential MAB"
Abysmal Dawn - "Leveling the Plane of Existence"
Blaze - "But Nothing Ever Change" EP
Action Bronson & Supplies - "Blue Chips" mixtape
Alien Ant Farm - "Always & Forever"

2/26/16
Kodaline - "In A Perfect World"
RAMBO/Crucial Unit - split EP
Foals - "What Went Down"
Imagine Dragons - "Night Visions"
Courtney Barnett - "Avant Gardener" digital single
State Children - "Bomb Shelter for Moneymaking" EP
Megadeth - "Dystopia"
Muse - "Drones"
ZHU x Bony Thugs n Harmony x Trombone Shorty - "Hold Up, Wait A Minute" digital single
Dragonforce - "Ultra Beatdown"
Tchami & Marshall Jefferson - "Move Your Body (Future House)" digital single
Mark EG vs. Outlaw Brothers- "Injected" digital single
Callejon - "Man Spricht Deutsch"

2/27/16
The Tar Babies - "Honey Bubble"

2/28/16
As Cities Burn - "Come Now Sleep"
John Alden Carpenter - "Diversions (for piano)"
Armando Trovajoli - "Profunda di Donna"
Tomber Lever - "C21H10O5" EP
The Distillers - "Coral Fang"
Gorguts - "From Wisdom To Hate"

2/29/16
Vlad Voorhees' Wallachian Nightmare - "Illegally Alive!"
V/A - "PooPoo Platter" Laramie compilation
Chingalera - "Dose"
Gestaffelstein - "Maryland" OST
DJ Khaled ft. Chris Brown, August Alsina, and Fetty Wap - "Gold Slugs" digital single
Unholy Grave - "Crucified"
Therion - "Lepaca Kliffoth"

MUSIC NOTES
- New albums from Florence and the Machine, Chvrches, Liquid, Young Jesus, Carly Rae Jepsen, Gestaffelstein are all on-point
- LCD Soundsystem sucks
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: Ambersmoke, American Football, Ordinary People, Shinobu, Chvrches, Darryl Hall & John Oates, Young Jesus, Carly Rae Jepsen, Armando Trovajoli, Unholy Grave
- Weird how I know the people in Ambersmoke fairly well and this was the first time I actually listened to them....for shame
- Steely Dan winning Best Album over "Kid A" is probably the most egregious error ever committed by the Grammys, and thats coming from a Smashing Pumpkins fan who got snubbed by Celine Dion AND a Jethro Tull fan who snubbed Metallica
- The Courteeners, The Maccabees, Kodaline, Foals, Imagine Dragons, etc are so bland, it's like I guess I understand why they're popular cuz they're not out-and-out horrible, but they're just so boring how can anyone be excited about this stuff?
- I'm sorry but I have never been able to really get into Brand New...Like, they're alright, but pretty forgettable...
- O my god Wolfmother fucking sucks I thought they stopped doing this hokey shit like a decade ago
- The new Killswitch Engage single and music video is fucking LAME, they're just sitting around the studio but the editing makes it seem all EXTREME lol
- Worst of the month: The Struts
- For whatever reason I though The Scene Aesthetic was gonna be a shitty screamo band but no they're a shitty acoustic band
- That Unit Pride live recording is alright if a bit noisy but things kinda went dark when the singer said he was proud to be straight and this next song is about being straight...at first I heard it as like, straight edge, but then I realized maybe this band is like anti-gay or something, they're from the hardline era after all...IDK
- Isn't it weird that Alien Ant Farm is still like, really popular in Europe? Speaking of which, sometimes I wonder why alot of European metal, punk, and psychobilly is so fucking blatantly silly, and then I remember that Faith No More never really lost popularity there...Hmmm

ZINES/BOOKS/COMICS
2/1/16: FINISHED: "L.A. Record" Issue 120 Fall 2015
2/3/16: FINISHED: The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
2/21/16: "This Damned Band" Issue 1

ZINE/BOOK/COMIC NOTES
- Dam-Funk is a fucking genius

MOVIES/SHOWS
2/4/16: "Woodstock '94"
2/6/16: "Heart and Souls"
2/11/16: "Led Zeppelin: Mothership"
2/20/16: "Grumpy Old Men"
              "Ace Of Base: The Sign" VHS
2/21/16: "Junior" series
              "Faith No More: You Fat Bastards - Live at the Brixton Academy"
              "Bullet For My Valentine: The Poison" Deluxe Edition
              "Burnt"
2/22/16: "Ted 2"
2/24/16: "Straight Outta Compton"
2/26/16: "Iron Man"
2/27/16: "Neighbors"
              "The Town"
2/28/16: FINISHED "Straw Dogs"

MOVIE NOTES
- Dang Faith No More was even more badass than I already thought they were
- "Straight Outta Compton" was good but too long

LIVE
2/18/16: (end of the summer)/Dead Rosemary Blue/Ordinary People/fogof @ The Dial
2/19/16: Happy In Hemet/Lost Cause/Caveman Movies/PEST @ The Dial
2/20/16: Liquid/Happy In Hemet/Ill Com/C.O.T./Fight Like A Girl/Captain Mayhem @ The Happy Haus

LIVE NOTES
- Dead Rosemary Blue fucking sucks, fuck that band. They're everything I hate in music. Rockstars.
- That dude who calls himself PEST played his guitar with a fucking buzzing toothbrush in his frets it was badass...his real name is Ian also so thats cool
- Captain Mayhem closed their set with a Coltranes cover...easy circle-pit material