REBELFEST Volume 1: A Rebel Time Records Compilation

Want a really good Canadian punk compilation filled with progressive and radical leftist songs?  Want it for free?  You are in luck because the awesome Canadian label, Rebel Time Records, has recently released a burning and critical fifteen song album that has had regular rotation on my phone for months.  Rebel Time and their artists always fight the good fight, speak of things that most if not all of the major labels are afraid of, and is run by two awesome dudes.  You are not much of a left punk if you don’t at least give these tunes a listen.

My favorites on this album are Broadcast Zero’s On Freedom, The Decay’s Cigarette Burns, and The Rebel Spell’s It Can’t Just Be Me.    

Get any single or the whole album for free, no strings attached, right here: http://rebeltimerecords.bandcamp.com/album/rebelfest-vol-1

Also make sure to check out the expansive collection of music and merch at Rebel Time’s main website here: http://www.rebeltimerecords.com/

Various Hands, This Party Will Be Fun

Every once in awhile I step outside of the political punk genre for this blog and give some props to independent bands worth a mention.  This week I’ve been treated to two pre-release tunes by the Saint Louis band Various Hands. Their debut EP, This Party Will Be Fun, is being released in a month or so and I was lucky enough to get some advance singles. The tunes, especially Blackout Weekend, stir up my often hidden but still somewhat operational happy and fun sides. Vocalist Jeff Nations has a pleasant and sincere delivery with moments of impressive passion and energy.  The songwriting and musical performances are equally pleasurable.  I especially like the breakdowns, shifting melodies, and guitar parts. For me, the vibe of the songs bring forth a feeling of strolling around a beautiful park on a low humidity 80 degree summer day with the people I love smiling all around me.  Not much music moves me like that nowadays.  Various Hands has a certain happy go lucky aura without all the clichés that makes me want to listen to them more.  They really do deliver the goods.

Like them on facebook and/or check out their debut EP release party at Saint Louis’ The Firebird on November 26.  I just might be there, and I'd be willing to wager that I'd leave pretty happy.

Rise Against, Foo Fighters, and Mariachi El Bronx. Scottrade Center, Saint Louis, September 17, 2011.

An almost sold out Scottrade Center in Saint Louis was very loud for about four hours last night, especially during the almost three hour long set by headliner Foo Fighters.  It is true what they say:  The volume and quality of the mix improve pretty dramatically as you move from openers to headliners.  Mariachi El Bronx, the alter ego band of punk hardcore aficionados The Bronx, opened the night with a tight half- hour set of well written and upbeat tunes (although I think the references to Jesus is dead was lost on most of the crowd).  Throughout the set singer Matt Caughthran showed he has chops, which is no small feat for a hardcore singer.  He smiled, swooned, and left the impression that he couldn’t believe he was playing mariachi music in front of a couple thousand people.  The irony was not lost at all, but it didn’t take away from his presumably genuine delivery.  I did take offense to their suggestion that everyone was here to see the Foo Fighters.  More on that later.

Next was Rise Against, who absolutely killed it in their way too short of a set.  They delivered about nine songs spanning their last three albums, culminating with one of their top singles, Savior.  Lead singer Tim McIlrath was straight on with his vocals all night, as usual, and “lead” guitarist Zach Blair (poorly pictured above) was as animated as ever.  As with the first time I saw the band, drummer Brandon Barnes kept time nicely but is about the worst show person drummer I’ve seen.  He always looks bored, never makes eye contact with the crowd or his band members, and seemed like he needed a nap.  The mix sounded fuzzy for the last couple of songs, like the guitars were peaking out,  which was really disappointing.  Also disappointing is that Tim said nothing political, or even mildly controversial, other than how everyone loves the Foo Fighters (again, more on that below).  Rise Against’s radical left politics were probably lost on most people who listen to their somewhat top 40 friendly songs, and that is just a shame.  Maybe they are trying to code everything too much.

Headliners Foo Fighters emerged exactly at 9 p.m..  Armed with three guitars along with a keyboardist and the usual rock rhythm section, Grohl spastically and enthusiastically showed he loves his music perhaps more than anyone else.  Good for him.  He also took great pains to tell everyone how many songs the Foo Fighters have and how they could play about 120 of them.  Wow, impressive.  Any musical writer over the age of 20 has a hundred songs written.  Anyway, Grohl and his men plunged through several dozen songs representative of their past studio efforts.  The crowd was at times wild with energy at others times sort of confused, especially on some tracks from their new album and some b side tunes from years ago.  I was perplexed throughout the show, mostly because the Foo made about every other song into a boring Bachman Turner Overdrive sort of mess.  Here’s how it went:  Starting a song as the studio version was recorded, then cutting it in the middle, and then Grohl looking around for some support for a major musical tangent, then various cacophonies of substance less instrumental boredom.   None of those dudes are excellent musicians (especially the wildly overrated drummer Taylor Hawkins) – they should leave that hack kind of stuff to those that are. The funniest part of this show was the so-called dueling guitar event.  Grohl,  hamming it up to the tee for yet another hour, was at one end of the venue on a catwalk while another guitarist Chris Shiflett was at the other end.   They went back and forth in a series of pedestrian pentatonic hammer ons and pull offs any second year guitarist could do in her or his sleep.  The crowd went wild throughout all this, despite the fact they could have heard better soloing by musicians at local venues Lemmons and The Way Out Club that night.    And for like five bucks.    Dave Grohl likes his music, likes to ham it up, and likes to show off, even when he isn’t really doing anything.  These are not bad things, but when packaged with lyrics about nothing but his weird feelings (which are narcissistic and uninteresting) and super boring musical tangents reminiscent of old guys in a garage playing the 12 bar blues quite poorly, it is not a good combination.   

Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance, Saint Louis August 20, 2011.

I certainly hope people are not stupid enough to go to a Blink 182 show and expect much musicianship, tightness, maturity, and anything resembling on-pitch vocals.  Here’s what you should expect:  Travis Barker showing he is one of the most talented drummers around who is surrounded by mediocre talent.  Now, I am not sure if he is all that great in an objective sense, or if the clunkers and missed guitar notes along with the out of key vocals of his bandmates simply make him seem like a percussionist to admire.  Either way, I found myself locked in on Barker throughout the set.   He’s super active, dramatic, fill-ridden, creative, and always fast and busy.   

Mr. Hoppus surprised me throughout the night.  It’s pretty clear from most of Blink’s studio recordings that the guy is a baritone who has problems being on pitch.  That’s hard to believe in this day and age when correcting vocal notes in a studio is as easy as copying and pasting a sentence from a peer reviewed journal article to plagiarize into your college research paper.  Live, at least last night, Hoppus didn’t embarrass himself all that much.  He hit most of the notes, and even showed he could sing one note on two octave levels.  That’s pretty impressive for these guys.

Now, Mr. Tom.  This guy is the epitome of sloppy in every sense of the word.  His guitar playing is actually pretty insulting.  Clunked notes, missed timings, strange cut-outs, and some unfortunate spontaneity at the end of a few songs which stood out like a pimple on a baby’s bottom.  Vocally, he hit some correct notes, and many that were not.  He dropped octaves several times.  I am actually glad he did that:  an out of tune low E note sounds much better than a high one.  Yeah, treble always comes through more than bass.

The crowd seemed to love it all, though, and I got into the show as well.  Those dudes compose some catchy songs and do produce high energy riffs on occasion.    

Co-headliners My Chemical Romance put on a fairly tight set, and Gerard was pretty spot on the first half of the show.  Fatigue appeared to set in later as he was dropping octaves like crazy.  The mix was low on guitar, which sucked since those dudes are pretty decent on their six strings. 

Opening act Manchester Orchestra was intolerable.  Possibly the most boring set I have ever heard at a hard rock show.  The guitars were annoyingly high in midrange (a bandwidth I hate with a passion by the way). Lyrically, these guys are lame: everyone has feelings, and I didn’t really care about theirs.  Performing songs with boring feelings mixed in with boring tempos and ripped-off Zeppelin hooks should be a crime.  Judging by their reaction, the crowd would agree with me.

It Might Get Loud (but certainly not entertaining or meaningful)

A poorly executed rendition of Take a Load Off Annie ends this thing?  Seriously? Contrast it with the only good part of this movie, the beginning wherein Jack White puts together a nail string “guitar,”  plugs it in and wails with insane amounts of distortion with a slide.  In between, we see a lot of boring imagery pretending to be artsy and textured, find out The Edge is a talentless and self-conscious hack who covers all that up with millions of effects costing millions of dollars, that Jimmy Page is now about as nimble around the fretboard as Bonzo the Chimp, and that Jack White likes pretending that he is way cooler than he is.  I mean, this thing is a mess.  Nothing about songwriting at more than a superficial level, stock film footage of shows I’ve already seen dozens of clips from, and staged “jamming” that I could see better performed at an open mic night anywhere in the Saint Louis area.  If you idolize Page, The Edge, or White, by all means waste your time with this.  If you are a musician, forget this – it’ll make you mad that they are adored, famous, and rich.  If you are neither, you certainly won’t get this film.  What a disappointment.

It Might Get Loud (2009)

Directed by Davis Guggenheim

http://www.sonyclassics.com/itmightgetloud/

Not political, but whatever: New Blink 182 Single.

OK, so I am sick of trying to find political bands worth reviewing.  Therefore,  I am resorting to some commentary about the band I hate to love, Blink 182.  Full disclosure:  I have always loved Travis' creative and interesting drum patterns.  Most songs in Blink's catalog would completely suck without his active fills and smackage (you may already think all their songs suck anyway - go to hell then).   I feel the same way about Tom's vocal tone.  He can't sing worth a crap (just try to listen to any of his live performances:  It's just impossible), but there is something about his tone - perhaps the weird way he enunciates (sort of like a Brit from Sweden who has a slight speech disorder trying to order a hot dog in Finish).  Hoppus has always sucked on bass and his silly little baritone vocals are so laughable, but whatever. 

Their new single, Up All Night, is a messy little cliche of lyrical worthlessness.  This is true of all their songs, sure, but at least their previous sophomoric substantive content was pretty funny.  I mean, Enema of the State is one  of the best album titles ever, eh? You also can't tell me there have been many punk songs with a better title than Dysentery Gary.  Anyway, the new track starts sort of heavy but with annoying vibrato effects that presumably are setting us up for the  main song.  I have always hated long introductions to songs.  I have also always hated effects too.  Just play the notes.  No one cares about your phaser or vibrato pedal. They are not artsy, they are boring.

OK, so the rest of the song continues with some passable guitar riffage any 2nd month guitarist could play, a so-so breakdown, and a very predictable chorus.  Oh, and let's not forget the sort of decent pre-chorus.  You know, like the appetizers at Denny's that get you warmed up for stale and slightly suspicious "entrees." Just like everything on the radio, right?  Anyway, there are a few nice little tricks on this track that any real producer of mainstream music would love.  Drums silent, repeat instrumentation, add snare.  Repeat instrumentation, add double time drums, then change the riff and  repeat the percussion formula over again.  Not bad.  At least it is not the unbearable monotony of Social Distortion type songs.  Hey, Mike Ness is  cool, but when is he going to get a real  drummer?  Better off using a drum machine - at least it doesn't use heroin. And, hey, Blink 182 is not cool but at least they have a real drummer.  That's about all there is.  Oh, I'll be seeing them on tour this August.  How's that for a paradox? Listen to the song here: http://www.blink182.com/upallnight/

Dead band, vibrant songs: Softer than Yesterday

Softer than Yesterday (www.reverbnation.com/softerthanyesterday)

Although officially disbanded for several years now, the Saint Louis Metro punk/post-punk band Softer than Yesterday produced a wealth of songs which provided powerful and intelligent critiques of capitalism, inequality, and state-corporate abuses of power.  Unlike many bands that write political songs, Softer than Yesterday was blunt, blatant, and as articulate as the thinkers who inspired their message.   Lyrically, the music is well grounded in the radical political philosophies of Marx, and this shines through on almost every song.   The band was engaged in significant forms of praxis, always being true to the spirit of punk by playing all ages shows anywhere they could (including rented halls, basements, etc…).  The goal was to spread a message of hope, resistance, and social action. 

Although there are many songs I could highlight, I will focus on System Overhaul (freely available for download here, as are all the band’s songs).   Two things stand out right away on this track:  Singer Josh Lucker’s high pitched and emotional delivery as well as the tight but turbulent drum parts.  Heavy power chords rooted in drop D tuning supplemented with well placed guitar flashes spur the energy of the track along.  The slow bridge and instrumental spaces later in the song gives the listener some rest, perhaps as a time to reflect on the previous messages, and also a chance for the bass lines to stand out.  The song reemerges with a blend of the previously used chorus with addition of the chant “No war but class war,”  which pushes the meaning of the song to yet another level of critique and resistance. Other songs certainly worth checking out are Reaction Dies Tonight and Are We Listening?

It would be a shame for Softer than Yesterday’s compelling message to die along with the band.  Download and spread these tracks.

All Ages: A New Kind of Citizen

All Ages (www.iloveallages.com)

A New Kind of Citizen

San Francisco’s All Ages works hard.  They have toured much of the U.S. over the years and regularly play shows in Japan.  In fact, they are in the middle of a three month stint on the small and troubled island right now.  My band was fortunate enough to share the stage with them back in February 2011 at a show in Saint Louis.  I was impressed with their musicianship, songwriting, and energetic stage antics.  More importantly, I have always been a sucker for gritty and harmonized vocal melodies over distorted guitars, speedy and active drums, and run away bass lines.  All Ages delivers this style of music in fine form, and that they often write songs about building community, getting engaged in social movements, and calling for youth activism makes them one of my favorite independent melodic punk bands.  Illustrating their commitment to more than entertainment, the band is heavily involved in raising funds for Japanese tsunami victims. 

All Ages’ 2010 full length, A New Kind of Citizen, is loaded with excellent punk and rock songs.  The title track, which I’ll focus on here, is a blazing and chunky blend of harmony, guitars, and drums, with a very nice bass presence provided by the notoriously crazy Tom (pictured to the right).  Starting with a cleanish guitar and bass riff and then quickly moving into a charged classic punk beat and harmonized guitars, the vocals soon cut in with singer Derrik Soares’ distinctive and powerful tone.   Think Rise Against meets Rancid, except with better singing.  Soares’ delivers good timing and inflection throughout the song, punctuating notes at just the right points and still letting the instrumentals breathe.  The refrain “We need a new kind of citizen, hey are you listening, this is a message of truth, directed at the youth,” is super catchy but also poignant because it underscores the main theme of the song:  Get involved, get conscious, and just get off your ass and do something meaningful.  I like the breakdowns and bridge of the tune as well – they help support the totality of the song and message.

Check out this song on their official website under the music tab, and while you are at it, you have to spend some time watching their videos.  Some are moving, and others are just flat out funny.   

Don’t let corporate radio control you.  Buy A New Kind of Citizen from All Ages and show that you give a damn about good guys making good music that matters beyond the existential.

Voice of Addiction: September Remembered

Voice of Addiction (www.voiceofaddiction.com)

September Remembered

It may seem odd to start off this blog with the caveat that I know the guys in Voice of Addiction because my band has shared the stage with them several times.  I can say, however, that I am reasonably sure that even if I didn’t know and like these guys, I’d probably come to the same conclusion:  Voice of Addiction is a cut above most punk bands.  

VoA is a three piece band, a structure I’ve always admired.  It requires a responsibility for each person in the band to fill, but not overfill, their parts.  It also usually requires someone to lead sing and play their instrument well.  That is harder for many musicians than you may think.

The band's live shows are energetic, their performances genuine, their playing skills impressive, and most importantly to me, they write and perform songs critical of injustice and oppression.  If I were you I'd catch them before everyone in the punk scene is waiting outside venues paying some serious cash to see their shows.  They are that good.

Voice of Addiction is rooted in Chicago and regularly plays loads of shows across the Midwest. They are almost finished with a full length album, which should be available for download in about a month.  For now, I call your attention to a single they released sometime back, September Remembered.  To say this song is melodic, catchy, and full of interesting riffs would be an understatement.  The track starts with seductive, warm, and somewhat prickly guitar licks,  picks up energy very quickly via bright drums, and then kicks in with perfectly timed vocals. There is just something about the way lead singer and bassist Ian Tomele sings “You’ll never extinguish the fire.”  It sort of makes me wish I had written the song, and certainly makes me wish I could draw out a phrase like that and make it sound good.  The song continues with more thoughtful vocal and percussive cadence, punctuated with emotional but articulate lead and background vocals, and rather basic but powerful guitar parts.  The guitar solo is perfect – it has just enough contained flash to provide an extra layer to the song.   

You should download this song for free while you can.  All you have to do is go here, the official VoA website where you’ll probably hear the track start right away, and sign up for their mailing list.  Knowing Ian and the boys, they’ll probably send you the song within a few hours. Yep, they are that passionate about sharing their collective vision.