Tokyo Police Club Mixtapes THE AQuabats SAOTW x CSTVT Tour Richard Minino THE HEadroom DNML SIXES
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January 2011 SIXES Mixtapes Scrnd: DNML Tokyo Police Club Transmissions: Stay Ahead of the Weather/CSTVT The Aquabats A Sound Design: Richard Minino The Headroom Philadelphia Reviews
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Cover: Tokyo Police Club Photo: Riley Taylor // rileytaylorphoto.com Here: The Aquabats Photo: Danny Bligh // dannybligh.com Captain of this Ship: Adam Sever Correspond: mandexzine@yahoo.com P.O. Box 1616 • Monticello, MN 55362 mandexzine.com // facebook.com/mandexzine Check out music from this issue: mandexzine.podomatic.com
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The Saddest Landscap
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Direct Hit! - Nick Woods
Looking back, how was 2010 for you? Pretty ballin’. The Human Centipede came out, I got to see Fucked Up play a couple times, Tila Tequila almost got stoned to death by juggalos, my band recorded and released 10 new tunes, our first 7” came out, we got to drive out to the East Coast and back... Not too much to complain about. What was your most memorable moment of 2010? The show we played with Devon Kay & The Solutions, and Dr. Manhattan back in October in Chicago. “Friendship Fortress 4LYF. What was some of your favorite music from 2010? The singles comp that Fucked Up did, Couple Tracks; the new Bust! and Brokedowns records; Eyes & Nines by Trash Talk. Body Talk was fucking great too, and Titus Andronicus’s new one too that everyone is shitting themselves over. What music are you anticipating for 2011? To tell you the truth I don’t really hear about new music until it’s out. We’ll have a new full-length album this year though. It’s gonna be the shit. If you could eliminate one thing in 2011, locally or globally, what would it be and why? I’d eliminate The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and anyone who asks for an explanation why. What are your plans/resolutions for 2011? Get the new Direct Hit record done. Tour in the summer. Stay too out of my mind to care about the rest of the year.
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Fisherking - Ben Jenson
Looking back, how was 2010 for you? 2010 was our first year in existence, and it honestly couldn’t have gone better. We managed to play with some really awesome bands, recorded a 6-song EP, and another 2-song demo, both of which we are very proud. It was about as good as a fledgling band can hope for. What was your most memorable moment of 2010? Playing with Dead to Me at the Strutt in Kalamazoo was huge. The crowd was great, all of the bands killed it, and they were some genuinely nice people. Our EP release show with Lemuria is definitely up there too. What was some of your favorite music from 2010? 2010 was a good year for music. The new Hostage Calm album was mind-blowingly genre-defying. Run Forever’s debut full-length hasn’t left my CD player since I got it. RVIVR, Good Luck, and the Dopamines, and the Menzingers also released some solid material. The list could go on. 2010 was great. What music are you anticipating for 2011? New Lemuria, Dopamines/Dear Landlord split, whatever Converge has in the works, a new Small Brown Bike full-length. Again, this list could go on. There’s some really good music going on right now. If you could eliminate one thing in 2011, locally or globally, what would it be and why? I feel like I should be getting really deep and philanthropic with this one, but that stuff kind of goes without saying. I would eliminate people’s apathy towards local music and shows in general. There’s nothing worse for a new band than to play a show to six or seven people who couldn’t care less about the music they paid money to see. What are your plans/resolutions for 2011? Touring! We haven’t been able to stray too far from home yet, but we’re hoping to get something together for the summer. Writing and Recording and actual full-length would be cool too, but it’s too far off to tell.
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The Saddest Landscape - Andy Maddox
Looking back, how was 2010 for you? 2010 was solid, we put out what we think is our best record, You Will Not Survive, did a split with one of our favorite bands, Pianos Become The Teeth, got to close out the Cry Me A River Festival in Germany, and added one new member, Eric, to the band. So overall it was pretty solid. What was your most memorable moment of 2010? The final season of Lost. What was some of your favorite music from 2010? I have answered this a lot lately and I always come up with a slightly different list, so besides delving deeper into my Red House Painters obsession here is what I would consider to be the top of 2010: The Twilight Sad Forget The Night Ahead, The Dead Weather Sea of Cowards, Murder By Death Good Morning Magpie, The Black Heart Procession Six, Touche Amore/Make Do And Mend split, Pianos Become The Teeth Old Pride. What music are you anticipating for 2011? New LP’s from Touche Amore, and fingers crossed Pianos Become the Teeth, and because I still love it, I am very much looking forward to the new Bright Eyes. If you could eliminate one thing in 2011, locally or globally, what would it be and why? I would really like to see a full tilt health care reform, get complete socialization so that money/coverage would no longer be an obstacle in people getting the care they need. What are your plans/resolutions for 2011? We really want to get out to play the West Coast this year, and we would like to make 2011 the year of the Fests, so if you book one, get in touch.
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Annabel - Ben Hendricks
Looking back, how was 2010 for you? 2010 was a great year, for the band and me personally. We toured the whole country and got to places we’ve never been before. I also got a puppy. What was your most memorable moment of 2010? The moment I saw The Thing, a highway attraction on I-95 in Arizona. What was some of your favorite music from 2010? Joie De Vivre, The Reptilian, The National, Snowing, Everyone Everywhere, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Radio Dept, Superchunk, and Kanye. What music are you anticipating for 2011? Jens Lekman If you could eliminate one thing in 2011, locally or globally, what would it be and why? Jobs. I don’t want one. What are your plans/resolutions for 2011? Write a ton of music and start working on the Annabel Broadway musical.
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Hostage Calm - Chris Martin
Looking back, how was 2010 for you? 2010 was a great year for us. We finished the recording of a record we were very proud of, and then unleashed it on an unsuspecting world. That was a great feeling. We did a few national tours, played a ton of shows in just the second half of last year, lined up a Euro tour, and worked hard to get our music out there. What was your most memorable moment of 2010? My personal most memorable moment was probably just when our final record mastering came in from Alan at West West Side. Tim and I were at UConn, playing ping-pong, and eating celebratory vegan hot dogs with our friends deep into the night. Our friends liked the record and that was enough for us. We were all phoning each other to talk about the record and how it felt to be done with it. It was right around the same time that Tim and I were graduating from school. I was really reminiscing and taking the whole thing in, and I remember being emotionally overwhelmed by how fast things were changing. What an exciting time. What was some of your favorite music from 2010? We have too many talented friends. I’ll list a few of them: My Heart to Joy Reasons to Be, everything that Sacred Love put out, Transit Keep This to Yourself, and too much more. For “bigger” records, I liked Superchunk’s Majesty Shredding. What music are you anticipating for 2011? I am always excited to see what our friends will do, since they always put out impressive records: Baby Grand, Make Do and Mend, The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die, Balance and Composure, Tigers Jaw, Midi and the Modern Dance, Transit, Man Overboard, The Wonder Years, Pianos Become the Teeth, and so much more. If you could eliminate one thing in 2011, locally or globally, what would it be and why? Originally, I thought poverty. But if this counts, I’d rather eliminate the lack of (and barriers to) a solid universal education across the world, which I think would not just work to solve the poverty issue, but would do it in a sustainable way that respects people’s dignity and gives them the chance to own their future. What are your plans/resolutions for 2011? We are going to tour as much as possible. Europe at least once and the U.S. multiple times over, probably a few ventures into Canada. We haven’t discussed the timing of tracking a record, but I think that would be on the horizon as well.
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Now, Now - Jess Abbott
Looking back, how was 2010 for you? 2010 was really rough for us at first. We came home in January after an awesome tour, and things suddenly took an unfortunate turn. We did a lot of waiting and waiting and waiting up until September, when we met a bunch of great people who started working with us. From that point until the end of 2010 things really turned around in the best way. What was your most memorable moment of 2010? Finishing the Neighbors EP was definitely a big one for us in 2010. It was the first release with 3 members, and we wrote, produced and recorded it ourselves, so we became really connected to it. In the end we are just really proud if it and are so happy it was so well received. What was some of your favorite music from 2010? Snowing, Lemuria, Ke$ha, Dev, Slingshot Dakota. What music are you anticipating for 2011? Lemuria’s Pebble, Death Cab’s new record, too. Hopefully Slingshot Dakota releases something too. If you could eliminate one thing in 2011, locally or globally, what would it be and why? Cacie says animal abuse because she is the animal queen. And we all say overpopulation and pollution. Too many people on the tiny earth, making a huge mess. What are your plans/resolutions for 2011? Tour like crazy! And release a new full-length already.
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Mixtapes Interview with Ryan Rockwell Photos: Keith Mahon// vimeo.com/steadfastvideos 15
You’ve said that Mixtapes started after your dad passed away. What kind of relationship did you and your father have? Did his passing affect the way you wrote music? My Dad and I had a really great relationship. We were together almost every day and he was just a great guy that was easy to love and talk to, and I know most anyone that knew him felt the same way. After he died I started writing a lot more from a different perspective. It just made me not worry so much about things that didn’t matter. I know when Maura and I started this, I told her I just wanted to write very honest songs that didn’t have metaphors or could be interpreted different ways. I just wanted them to be heart on the sleeve kind of songs that people would understand immediately. We were both coming from similar places, so that clicked immediately between us. Did any of the “depressing” songs that you wrote after his passing make it onto Maps or Thought about Growing Up? I think a good amount of them did, yeah. Something I like that we do is that even if the songs come from a sad place they still usually tend to have a positive outlook at least in some way. My mind-set is usually that life isn’t always the best, people usually are the worst, I don’t really have it bad though and everyone has their ups and downs and I try to be thankful for anything I do have, even if sometimes you can’t look at the good. If anything, the depressing songs were a tribute to my dad and anyone or anything else that any of us have lost. I want to make something good from the ideas and memories, and “If We Both Fail” off of Maps is directly about that feeling, “Anna Maria” off of Short Collection of Short Songs is directly a song about that. It’s become a joke cliché that all of our songs are about being anti-social or depressed and while I guess that’s kind of true, there is always a positive outlook. I hope that didn’t sound real hippie like.
What got you interested in playing music and did you play in any bands previous to Mixtapes? There used to be this record store on the west side of Cincinnati called Circle CD’s, and it was hands down my favorite record store ever. The people that worked there were really cool and when I was like 13 and 14, I would go there and buy stuff usually based off the cover art or off of the employee recommendations. They had a punk section and I remember one day I bought Screeching Weasel Boogada Boogada Boogada, Groovie Ghoulies World Contact Day, Descendants Everything Sucks, Blink 182 Cheshire Cat, and Less than
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Jake Losing Streak at Media Play like a week later. Before that I had Green Day and Rancid and NOFX and such, but honestly those bands didn’t make me want to start a band. The week that I bought all of those records, it was just the stereotypical study of those albums front to back and I fell in love. I got a really cheap guitar, and like 10 years later started almost learning how to play it. 2010 was a big year for Mixtapes, you released one album and two EPs, all to much praise. When writing these songs did you think that they would be received as well as they have? Well when writing the songs that became Maps, we didn’t even know if anyone would hear them at all actually. Maura and I wrote them acoustically just to write and hopefully record them. We were like, it would be cool to play a couple shows. A lot of credit can go to Mister Tymm Rengers for being on tour and staying at my house and saying “Hey I wanna play drums on these songs!”. Everything then became a lot more upbeat which is what we wanted any ways and we started writing with that in mind and just had fun with it. After we put Maps out for free we just kept writing and putting more out. Honestly, when we write I don’t really think about how the songs will be received because then I think it would accidentally change the way we write them. I think worrying about that stuff can be the death of a band. Are you surprised by the amount of attention that has been paid to Mixtapes? I am literally overwhelmed by it. Every cool little or big thing that has happened has totally turned this past year and a half around and made it the coolest experience of my life. The shows and fests we’ve gotten to play, putting out vinyl on labels, people wanting to then buy that vinyl, people knowing our songs at shows. I think what we do is honest and we just love doing it and I love that all these other people are a part of it, we’ve somehow met the coolest people that are just into music because they love music and having a good time. Do you think releasing Maps and Thought About Growing Up for free has helped more than having it released via a label for money? Do you think you will continue to release your albums for free in the future? Releasing Maps for free no doubt helped us in so many ways. After we recorded it, we had never even played a show or anything, so releasing it for free was a no brainer. We didn’t realize how many people would end up hearing it. The songs mean a lot to us, so how many people are continuing to hear it is awesome. After Maps we basically went right back into the studio to do Thought About Growing Up and talked to Scotty at Death To False Hope and said let’s just put this out for free immediately as well. We loved the songs and just wanted people to hear them. Our plan is, every time we go into the studio to record an album, an EP, a 7 inch or whatever, to record extra songs to keep putting out for free alongside anything else we have going on. You’ve worked with 3 different labels on your 4 releases, will you continue to work with various labels in the future or stick with one? The labels we have worked with have all been really awesome and helpful. Scotty at DTFH was the first person to say “Hey, your band is rad, let me put this up on our site” and that was amazing and he has continued to be awesome, although I am going to slap him in the face, that’s a promise. Lisa at Kind of Like Records put a lot of work into us and it was only for a split 7 inch and she worked her ass off to get it anywhere she could and she did an awesome job. Especially because if you ask her, basically every time she had to talk to me, I was the most difficult person ever, but I still succeeded in getting Godsmack lyrics in the insert to the 7 inch and she will NEVER LIVE THAT DOWN! Matt at Animal Style has honestly just become one of my best friends because we are too much alike and he was so easy to work with so everything ran smoothly, I love him. His girlfriend thinks we are gay together. Is that considered not PC? Brett from AMP and All for Hope was also one of the first people to continually call me and keep updated and ask questions and just be there if we needed anything. He pressed Maps and has been awesome. He loves music and has been around long enough to know what sucks and what is real. Man, I just made this into a big love letter for these people. With that said, fuck em’ all, but I’m sure they are people we will keep working with in one way or another.
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Ohio has had numerous bands coming out of areas like Cincinnati, Akron, Kent and they’re all different genres. What’s with all these bands coming out of Ohio lately? I think the bands that obviously started this was Blessed Union of Souls and 98°, and it was awesome of them to pave the way for bands like us to make a name for ourselves. But really, I think for a long time Ohio was ignored, but now it’s becoming much harder to ignore because there are just too many great bands coming out of it. You have The Dopamines, New Creases, The Sidekicks, Delay, Letters to the Moon, Light Years, Two Hand Fools, and many more. I think Ohio has its own unique attitude and songwriting and it’s a great place. In addition to the split you did with Direct Hit!, you also did a split video for the song “Werewolf Shame”. Was the fight that went down in that video pretty accurate as to what would happen in a real Direct Hit!/Mixtapes fight? I think so to a degree, although it would be way more brutal, or we would end up playing Risk. You’ve mentioned that you’re a fan of the show Prison Break. What do you think of they way they ended the show by skipping ahead 4 years, leaving the viewer to wonder what happened to Michael Scofield? I am actually re-watching the show right now from the beginning and am into Season 3 and still love it so much. Just how cleverly written and engaging it all is. The way they ended it was confusing and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it honestly, but then recently my friend Greg informed me that there is an hour and a half movie/show type thing on Netflix that fills in that entire period and as soon as I finish the series again, I will be watching that! What’s on the horizon for the future of Mixtapes? Right now we have DTFH Fest this weekend. Then we are recording a split with our friends in A Loss for Words. Then some touring with Daytrader and Light Years. Then a Canadian tour this summer and Pouzza Fest with Dear Landlord, Banner Pilot, The Queers, Such Gold, St. Catherines and more. And at some point in there we are making a full-length!
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Scrnd:DNML
Words by Daniel Luedtke
I usually approach every design with a loose concept. I keep this goal in mind as I go through my sketchbook for little ideas, or motifs to use in a design. There are exceptions, but most prints include some figurative element, or tangible representation of a thing, with moments of abstraction (geometric or other). When I say “goal” I usually tell myself that each piece should contain something A: to do with color, B: technically graphic and C: something for the viewer to relate to. This keeps me, as an artist happy, and also throws a bone to the viewer, keeping me from sinking into a hole of abstraction. I think in layers, trying to maximize the interaction of each layer. I use color overlaying and split colorways give each piece a certain impressionistic or mysterious quality.
Gay Beast
This was a tour poster for my band Gay Beast. For this one I had found a diagram of a throat. It was from some new age website that explained where certain “energies” were located within the throat. I took the opening of the “throat” on each end, and built up the C-shaped grid sweeping structure. I envisioned reclining figures on this grid. I started sketching, and these two characters came up. There is something satisfying about drawing people/beings lying down.
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Mid American Print Council
This is a poster for the Mid American Print Council “Printmakers’ Ball” event. I helped organize a portion of the conference, curated a print show, and threw this afterparty. For the poster, a frequent collaborator, Anna Tsantir gave me a drawing of a diamond with a wavy string weaving up from the bottom. I was more willing to go mostly abstract for this poster due to the conferences academic context, so I looked through my sketchbook, finding two separate drawings that I felt were complimentary. One was a strange, bulbous factory scene, with 4 versions of the same building. The second was a snake-like drawing with primitive looking beads. Anna airbrushed some ink onto a page for texture, that I scanned in, and I worked and reworked the type, and colors (there are 4 layers) until I felt the composition was realized and dynamic.
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Velveteens // Lambs Of God // Trin Tran Piles // Larry Wish // Dj Gay Pain Dj Tell It To My Heart
This was a quick poster. I paired a very quick drawing of a house by a freeway (my house is next to the freeway), with this line texture that I had lying around. I worked the colors, and drew some minimalist handwritten type. I wanted it to have the feeling of a Polaroid. View more of DNML’s work at dnml.org
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Interview with Greg Alsop
Live Photo: Riley Taylor // Other Photos: Chrissy Piper
First of all, I wanted to ask about this magazine you guys just made. Yeah, we just finished that. Can you tell me a little bit what it’s about. Is it about the band, tour photos or... Um, I think it’s kind of all of that. We all kind of wrote a different piece for it and we had our buddy Spencer, who tours with us, do some kind of candid interviews with us and its got photos. It’s just kind of something we wanted to do just cause we thought it would be a cool project and maybe something that would be interesting for fans to read about something from us, for them. It’s kind of an indulgent project as it is to have 40 pages devoted to just yourself and having to come up with new content and all that. I think we did a good job with it and I’m really excited to see what people think of it. Will it only be available on this tour or available all year? Just this tour. We printed 200 copies. They’re hand painted covers and hand bound zines, so yeah it was all from our blood and toil and sweat to their hands. I’m not sure how many people are going to pick up a copy of it, but we’ve got 200 of them and that’s it and they’re gone after that. Maybe we’ll make another issue in a few months, but it’s available this tour, so come check it out at the merch stand, we’ll be there talking about it. It’s been about 6 months since the release of Champ, are you guys happy with how it’s been received so far? We have, yeah. We are really satisfied with it. The crowd’s reaction at the shows for the new material have been great and it’s been starting to pick up steam. The record industry is in such a weird place right now. It’s really hard to tell how your album is doing with the traditional means of it, like the Billboard charts and the Neilson Soundscan sales ratings and stuff like that cause they’re not really effective ways anymore. No one is really buying records, so you have no real idea how many people actually have your record. I wish there was some way of people saying, “Oh this is how many people downloaded your record or shared it with their friends” or if there is someway to track that, then that would be amazing. You’d actually have an idea of how many people actually gone out and gotten your record in some way, but it doesn’t work any more. We’re happy with it, and critically it went really well. Everyone we’ve talked to after the shows has said nothing but great things about it and that’s kind of like the best response you can get right there, is talking
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to somebody and havin them say “I play it in my car all the time” “I showed it to my friends and they liked it” and you know just like going up on stage and playing those songs live and having people sing along to it, that’s amazing, that’s like the best response you could ever really ask for. You guys got a lot of early recognition for the A Lesson in Crime EP, did that put any pressure on the way you wrote Elephant Shell and Champ or not so much. It did. It definitely did. Especially with the first album, Elephant Shell, the fact that we were able to tour and expected to tour for so long on the EP, A Lesson in Crime, it didn’t really give us a chance to write new material until almost 2 years after we had written the songs we had put on the first EP, so it was really hard to re-find the momentum and inspiration for writing that record. We had a bunch of ideas, but we didn’t know how they compared with the ideas we had for the first record, we didn’t know if sonically they meshed, and if it met with people’s expectations for what they wanted to hear out of the debut album from the band that they knew just from 7 to 10 songs that we had released in EPs and singles over those 2 years. Having that EP come out and do as well it did, was kind of self inhibiting where we just didn’t know how to be a band afterwards. It was such an organic and free and easy experience writing the EP where we had zero expectations for it and now all of a sudden there are a lot of expectations. It’s kind of hard to come to terms with that when you’re 20 and all the sudden you’ve just been on the road for 2 years. That’s something we definitely faced writing Elephant Shell and we tried to rectify when writing Champ where we decided “Alright, we released Elephant Shell, it did what it did and we’re still a band afterwards so there aren’t really those make or break records anymore”. It kind of just let us know we could exist on our own terms for as long as we wanted to keep doing it and to know that we’re kind of established now and people enjoy the record Champ, that didn’t enjoy Elephant Shell or A Lesson in Crime and so we don’t need to stick to what people initially thought we were as a band. You’ve done 3 videos for Champ already, are you going to do more for other songs? I’m not sure we’re going to do any more videos or not. It doesn’t always make sense to make videos unless you have a really great idea that can kind of stand alone as something that people will want to watch even if they don’t know your music or don’t enjoy your music. I really like the “Wait Up” video for that just because who doesn’t enjoy dogs jumping in a pool. We were just talking to our friend, who is a director in Toronto, and he just had this idea and it seemed to work with the tone of the song and we’re glad it did. Ok Go set the bar really high for videos in that way. They’re really successful at that where it’s just a visual feat every time they go out and the song is almost always secondary to what they’re doing on screen. They’re expensive and MTV doesn’t play them anymore, so it doesn’t make sense to do another video, but if someone came up with something amazing and we were like “Oh OK we have to do it then”, I’m sure we’d find the time. How did you guys get hooked up with the ASPCA for the “Wait Up (Boots of Danger)” video? That was just an idea we had. Josh’s girlfriend did work for the ASPCA, I think throughout high school and they have a connection with and we’re all animal lovers, so it just kind of seemed to be a good fit. It’s kind of hard to figure out how to work charity into your music and your band cause you don’t want to become the focus ever where you’re Bono and going out and every weekend you have another like summit to attend. It almost becomes disingenuous at that point where people are wondering why you’re doing this and why are you the person to bring this message to people when you don’t really know that much about the subject. Maybe your job could be that spokesman where you bring people’s attention to people who do know more about it and that’s kind of what we felt we could do with the ASPCA, where people who just finished watching this video with a bunch of happy dogs running around and then right at the very end tug at their heart strings a little bit and see if they wouldn’t mind giving 5 bucks to it and that’s how it ends. We’re not doing a commercial saying go out and adopt a dog and doing something very heavy handed in that way, but it’s enough to hopefully make some kind of difference.
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You switched to the Mom + Pop record label for this release and you were previously on the Saddle Creek label. Was there any reason for the switch in labels? With Saddle Creek, they always just do one album deals with their bands and so we had the freedom afterwards to explore a different label and it seemed like a good fit. We’d been talking with Mom + Pop for a while, probably a good almost 8 months by the time we actually decided to sign with them. We love Saddle Creek, we love the people there and the community that they’ve built around themselves. It always did feel like a community label in that way and being a band from outside of Omaha, it wasn’t like we weren’t very warmly welcomed into it, but we kind of wanted to start on the ground floor with somewhere which Mom + Pop was doing. They had only released maybe 2 records by the time we decided to sign with them and they’re doing some really innovative stuff. It just kind of seemed like a good fit and a good way to kind of get that fresh start somewhere.
You toured a lot between A Lesson in Crime and Elephant Shell and between Elephant Shell and Champ. Will you be touring as much between Champ and the next album? We’ll tour as long as we can on it. It was a really different climate back then just cause it was our first release and I guess we were one of those “buzz” bands at the time and the momentum just kept building. We weren’t really able to take time off because we kept getting these amazing opportunities and it would’ve been impossible to say no to them and so now since you’re kind of an established band you can dictate your schedule a lot more. I think we’ll probably tour until the end of the summer and then maybe do one more run across Canada in September and then take another couple months to write and record the new record over the fall and winter. So yeah, it won’t be as long that time. I don’t know if you can tour that long on a record anymore without people getting bored of it. People are constantly getting presented new music every day and really new and exciting music, so you kind of need to keep fresh just to keep people’s attention.
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You recently got a bus for touring right? Yeah we did, we just moved into a bus on this album. We still do a van every now and again, but eventually it’s kind of part of growing as a band and growing as stage show. You want to be able to visit every city you can on the way which a bus helps you do cause you do the drives overnight and you want to be able to bring a full production with you, like a light show and so that requires the hauling power of a giant Greyhound bus to take you where ever you need to go. There’s definitely a comfort thing with it as well but I don’t know if it’s that much more luxurious than being in a van. I like having the freedom of touring in a van where you know you can be on a 5 hour drive in the middle of America and just see a billboard somewhere for “Foot High Pies!” and be like “We gotta stop for the foot high pies!” and there’s no way you’re gonna be able to do that when you are doing that same drive at 4 in the morning. So I like that, it’s that camaraderie and road trip aspect that you miss. You guys came from a small town outside of Toronto and you’ve toured many parts of the world at this point. Has there been any location that you got the most culture shock from? Yeah, there’s a lot of places that we always enjoy going to, but there’s definitely some that you maybe will only get to go once. We went to Jakarta for the first time this fall and it was just for a weekend, for one show, and that was just a very surreal experience. We were already on tour in Europe and the UK at the time, so to go from one foreign land to a completely different foreign land on the other side of the world over the course of two days was hard to wrap your head around. Like when you really think about the distance, you’re like wow, I was just this far away from home and now I’m way more far away from home than I’ve ever been before and I’m eating fried duck out in a street somewhere, underneath a tarp. It was one of those culture shock experiences that you don’t get when you travel to like Columbus, Ohio or something like that. I was looking at your website, and there is a photo of the four of you outside of the Mall of America. As someone who lives near the Mall and rarely visits it, I was wondering what someone who is not familiar with it thinks of it? It’s a big mall. We have big malls in Canada and it was a massive mall. Once you get beyond the Ferris wheel and the wave pool, there’s still the Apple Store and The Gap and Banana Republic and you know just like the same stuff that you can get anywhere else you go in North America. It was cool to see. It was fun to walk around in. I kind of enjoy that culture because it does kind of feel comforting in that way to know that stuff is anywhere you go when you’re on tour. Like we have a mall in Newmarket, where we’re from, with the same stores, and for a second you can kind of say “You know what, were just around the corner from our home” and that’s... It’s a nice feeling to have that when your are away for so long. Sometimes you kind of need just something that is familiar, like you know your mom could be there and you could be shopping for jeans with her. It’s more about the feeling of the mall than anything? Yeah, exactly! It’s just the feeling of a common American experience.
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You mentioned that the tour “was possibly the most fun I’d ever had in my life.” Tell us about some of the fun that was had and what happens when you have two bands in one van? I think the fun we had, had less to do with it being 2 Bands/1 Van and more to do with the fact that, for everyone, it was sharing something incredibly fun and successful (in a small space) with 7 of your BEST friends. We were all looking forward to it with great anticipation, but it far exceeded what you would expect. A myriad of inside jokes... Constant riffing and hard times given... Sing-aongs... It almost seemed like the time in between shows was more fun then the shows themselves. However, the shows were all bananas. We got to see all of our friends whom we’d made in the last year through touring and our incredible DIY community in Chicago. We played shows with My Heart To Joy, Street Smart Cyclist, The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Snowing, Everyone Everywhere, Daytrader, Agent, Boyfriends, Midi & The Modern Dance, Bongripper, Koji, The Felix Culpa and so many more. No stone was left unturned... Everything fell into place too, which was incredible, and extremely rare, for two bands that don’t get to tour super often. It had a couple hiccups, but nothing too severe to put anyone in a bad mood (i.e. a girl throwing up on the merch in Brooklyn). We beat the snow that hit Chicago the day after we left and then just missed the snow that had crushed the East Coast something like 2 days prior. I also had to fly to Chicago from Philadelphia, where my family is from, the morning after Christmas. I missed the blizzard by an hour. The tour gods were on our side. Since the band is named after a part in the movie Groundhog Day, what day of the tour would have been the best day to relive over and over? I would say the second day of tour. We woke up in a free hotel room thanks to our friend Craig. Had a super fun drive to Bethlehem, PA (pot leaf doo-rags were stolen from a truckstop). Then we got pizza, loaded in our gear and played the 2nd Street Smart Cyclist reunion show. 300 kids in an awesome VFW hall. We all had a blast. After that, we got Taco Bell and stayed with our friend Tom, who drums in Slingshot Dakota. It was incredible. I’ll take that day everyday.
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Stay Ahead Of The Weather / CStVT
Dec 10 - Jan11 Tour Recap Words by Evan Weiss Photo: Chris Teti
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Interview with Christian Jacobs aka MC Bat Commander This photo: Andrew Bossi, Flickr Other photos: Danny Bligh
You had no label support for much of the writing and recording process of Hi-Five Soup, was there any uncertainty that you wouldn’t find a label for it? Well, we really started writing songs and having parts of songs long ago. After the deal with Nitro went away, we were pretty resigned to the fact that we were just going to have to do it ourselves. We had a few offers, but the economics of record deals these days doesn’t really present an attractive solution for things like “day jobs” and “tour support”, so we just thought “Sheeeooot, y’all lets just plop this thing on the cyber web!” Hoping to recoup costs faster by having it come directly to us. How did it feel when Fearless became interested in releasing it? We have been homeys with Fearless forever. Bob Becker is an old friend of the band and actually they had sent over an offer earlier in the year, 2010, but it wasn’t the right deal. We needed to just put out a record, not a few. We understood they needed a guarantee that we would stick it out with them, and we needed just a one off deal. So we had to forget about their offer and just forge ahead. They came back in the eleventh hour and said, “Hold up there ninjamen, lets do this right.” The last minute offer made sense and we were stoked because we wanted to work with them all along. What were some of the things that caused such a large gap in between albums? There is a long list. But mainly it’s been economics. We just didn’t have and never have had a label (until now?) push us the right way. Goldenvoice Records was a joyous experiment that sadly could not sustain. Nitro was struggling with shifting tides in the industry and we haven’t really had the time to get out on the road, much the less take a year or so to finish an album. Also, Yo Gabba Gabba! started up in 2006 and has kept a few of us busy. Between family pressure and work and the weird place we fit into the music landscape, it just makes it hard. We wish we could be The Aquabats full-time, but we end up losing our minds just to get by and survive as dudes in society. Plus, there is traffic sometimes going to practice and... then... blah blah... excuses...
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At what point did you really get serious about getting a new album done? After we announced it was coming out in November...and it was August. When did you start writing Hi-Five Soup and how long did it take to finish? How many songs did you write for the album? A few songs on the album have been hanging around for a long time, “The Legend is True!”, “Pink Pants!”, “I Spent all my Money!” are the ones off the top of my head that we have been working on for a long time, like years. But then everyone just started writing like crazy. It was kind of a good move giving us a deadline, otherwise it would never have come out. Most of the record was written in September/October and even in the studio in October. We were literally writing a ton of stuff in the studio and just going “Yeah... OK... That will have to be it...” Ideally, when would you have liked to have the follow-up to Charge! come out? That is weird because, weighing in all the options and the new fans we have now and the way things have been going, I think now is the perfect time. I think if it would have come out any earlier in any other way, it wouldn’t be working out as well as it is. It’s like the journey we are on as a band, is like an epic quest, that goes on and on for years! It seems like now is the right time for a new record. Hi-Five Soup sounds like it would please fans of the Aquabats older material while at the same time be embraced by a much younger set of fans. Was it your intention to make an album that could be enjoyed by all ages? Well, now, that is a great question! Seriously, I have been reading some of the reviews and comments on the internet and, it’s super funny. There are people out there who are complaining that the new record sounds like it’s for kids, like “Yeah they just wrote a bunch of goofy kids songs...” It’s like really...??? As opposed to...? When did we ever write serious adult songs? We have always been about all ages, and we definitely have had that in mind for all of our records. So next time you think we have changed our vibe, look at what we are wearing, FREAKING SUPERHERO COSTUMES!! All ages, all the way, always!
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The Aquabats have been around since the mid 90’s and few bands from that era are still going today. What made you want to keep going with The Aquabats? I think we always believed there was a little more success and a few things we wanted to do still with the band but for one reason or another kept missing. The first time we ever set foot in Europe as a band was like last year or something. We’ve never played in South America, or Germany or Italy. There is a bunch of goals we made that we haven’t yet reached. But most of all, it’s SUPER FUN being in our band. We all have so much fun playing shows and going places together, and if we ever actually made good money, it’s like a dream job. Most of all, as long as new people and kids are discovering the band and we are doing fresh stuff, why break up?
There was a few years there where it felt like the future of The Aquabats was uncertain. Was there ever a time where you thought that The Aquabats were over? Honestly, I have never felt like The Aquabats are or were over, but that is different than wanting to hang it up for one reason or another. I feel like The Aquabats as a concept is something that has lasted the test of time and gone through a few generations of kids already. Do I ever get tired of the hassles of dealing with issues and do we get on each others nerves sometimes? Yeah sure. I have felt like, “Is this really worth it? Why do I do this to my family? etc” But then we go play some shows and there are the raddest kids going bonkers and it’s like, “Ok, this is about them, not me.” You know? Had Yo Gabba Gabba! not taken off like it did, do you think The Aquabats would still be a band? That is another really good question. Honestly, I do think Yo Gabba Gabba! saved The Aquabats in a lot of ways. Even though Yo Gabba! is pretty much a spin off of The Aquabats show with the monsters and music and stuff. I do think if Gabba hadn’t proven even just to ourselves that we could come up with something successful, The Aquabats’ future would have been in a very dark hole. I would have gone to my grave knowing The Aquabats was a huge success, and just no one figured it out. But I think for most of us, we would have had to tap out of The Aquabats. Things were just so hard on our families and that alone is not worth it. I don’t want to raise more angry disillusioned children, the world has enough of them.
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Has the success of Yo Gabba Gabba! made it financially easier to do The Aquabats? In some ways yes, in most ways, not really. The Yo Gabba! thing is complicated, but if anything it has brought more attention to The Aquabats which in turn has brought more people to the shows and the website, etc. That makes it easier financially for obvious reasons. The best thing is that with the success of Yo Gabba Gabba! is that it justifies a renewed focus in The Aquabats as a viable thing, and not just a bunch of loser middle aged punkers who should have hung it up a long time ago. It makes The Aquabats seem like not such a bad thing after all, to some people, haha! SOME will ALWAYS hate The Aquabats. And...that is good.
In the beginning of The Aquabats, you were all about being superhero crime-fighters saving the world through music. What are the priorities of The Aquabats now and what are you fighting for? We have always been about being ridiculous and real over the top silly. Like, we are about saving the world, sure I recycle, but who doesn’t? We are just about over stating the obvious and making fun of ourselves, as a species. Humans are incredible and can do so much, and can be complete idiots and wasteoids. That is more what we are fighting against now, our own innate natures as a species to be lazy doofus bags. With the momentum of a new album, where do you see The Aquabats going and will there be another 5 year gap between albums? WHO KNOWS!?! We are just riding this wave again and if it takes another five years to catch another wave, so be it. Let’s just hope we can all survive as a species the drama that is to come. There some crazy things going down in the world and people are sleeping. I wear a rubber hat and dance at kids parties, for a living!!! Let’s just hope we have food for our children to eat in five years!!! Just kidding! PARTY FOREVER AMERICA!
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Richard Minino
New Mexican Disaster Squad // Don’t Beleive Was the art for Don’t Believe something that was created specifically for the album or was it something you had already drawn? I created it specifically for the album. What influenced the art for Don’t Believe and was there any other concepts you scrapped before deciding on that one? I wanted to have a collage of images that represented what was being said in the lyrics. With gas prices on the rise, to religion and even throwing a tiger in just to represent danger. I did have a few other concepts before, because I was still trying to figure what was my style as an artist and I wanted it to be crazy and weird. I was looking too hard in to and not just doing what I felt at the time. I have a tendency to over think things when I want it to have a lot of impact. It was when I first started to work in Illustrator and I was learning a lot about the program as I went along also. Does the imagery reference the music on the album? Yes, the imagery definitely references the music. As I explained in the last question the praying hands with snake fingers represents the ugly side of religion and the gas pump raining oil and money signs on everything represents how our economy is going to shit. Does the artwork reflect the music and the band at the time? Yes. Just like a mirror. Since the artwork is limited to a 4 panel half/half fold, did jade Tree give you any limitations to size of the art or were they open to let you do whatever you wanted? I had some restrictions since we were a new band on Jade Tree and our budget was pretty minimal, but I felt like I made the best of the space allowed to me. I think if we would of done another record with them, I would of had a lot more options to work with. How long did it take to create that piece? Was it all hand drawn or did you use a computer as well? It took about a week to do. Half was hand drawn and the other half was from old imagery. Everything was mashed up together which helped form the style I was looking for as an artist. Besides the art, the other thing I noticed about it was the paper choice. It’s not your standard shiny high gloss paper, it is more of a dull finish with an off-white color. Did you have any input into paper choice and if so why did you choose that paper? Yes I did actually. It’s rare that someone actually notices that. Jade Tree was always very involved in how their releases were printed and what quality of paper was being used. I loved that. We went with a low gloss paper, it’s not completely matte which I like. I also used an off-white color to give a little bit more of an old feel to it.
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Having done a lot more art since then, is there anything you would change or improve on? I’m constantly improving and changing. I think you have to stay fresh in an industry like this. If not, people will grow tired of your work and not see any potential with your future plans as an artist. I don’t think I will ever be completely happy with my art but I’m fortunate for feeling that way in order to constantly improve. It’s been nearly 5 years since Don’t Believe came out, do you think the artwork has held up since then? I do actually. I feel like it’s different from most so it holds up better with being more of a timeless piece of art since I can’t recall many people doing that style back then. I’m very pleased to see a lot of the things I did with that art, but if I had to go back and revise it, I would fix so many things wrong with it. Mainly just a bunch of little stuff, but that’s just me!
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THE HEADROOM
Interview with and photos provided by Joe Reinhart headroomphiladelphia.blogspot.com How did you get into recording and what made you want to open The Headroom? My first experience with recording was actually a Home Alone Talkboy, in 6th grade recording all the rhythm guitar, bass, and drums, then playing it back though a stereo while we recorded the lead guitar and vocals back onto the Talkboy. Multi tracking! I would do anything to have that recording. Many 4-tracks, 8 tracks and computers followed eventually leading to my current set up The Headroom. When did it open and where’s it located? I have always been open to the idea of recording good music, but recording at this North Philadelphia warehouse has been turning out jams for a little over 2 years now. I couldn’t do it without the wonderful family of people I live with and my studio partner Kyle Pulley. What kind of setup do you have? Are you working in analog or digital? Big fan of tape! The first time I ever used 2” was at my school after begging for the tape machine to be set up and calibrated. Changed everything I thought about recording, felt like I was in the Beatles. The Headroom has a Otari MTR90 II 2” machine and a Tascam 388 that is an 8 track 1/4” portastudio that has an incredibly unique vibe to it. Of coarse we have Pro-tools and Logic when necessary. Tons of vintage drums, amps, guitars, keys, all sorts of bells and whistles!
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What releases have you recorded there so far? Which sessions have been memorable? Algernon Cadwallader- Fun 7” Snowing - I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted LP Monument - Goes Canoeing LP Hightide Hotel- split 7” with By Surprise Restorations- single 7”, Strange Behavior 10” Conversations with Enemies- Ok Nowhere LP Boyfriends/Boys and Sex- split 7” with upcoming full-lengths from, Hop Along, Algernon Cadwallader, and Ape Up! As far as most memorable is concerned, they all bring a different element of surprise. Musicians are an interesting breed of people and very easy to work for. I like having some red eyed, long haired, riff shreadn’ dude as my boss. Keeps you on your toes! What are some of your pet peeves when it comes to recording bands? The worst - close mindedness. What are some advantages and disadvantages to having your own studio and being in a band? Recording yourself is always hard. Pushing record, playing, rewinding, deciding if it’s good enough or not. Hard to do by yourself. I often let my own stubbornness get in the way. I could work for weeks on a guitar part or a mix when there is no one telling me it’s time to move on. Being in a band is great because I’m meeting musicians all the time, finding out what they want, what they didn’t like about past recordings sessions, and standing behind a product that I recorded/played all over is the best business card I could ask for. The scene in Philadelphia and other parts of PA is flourishing right now, what do you think is contributing to its expansion? GOOD FUCKING BANDS! I just played a sold out show tonight with Tigers Jaw, The Menzingers and Glocca Morra, all from Philly or right outside of it. Very cool and extremely proud to be playing a small part in it. I hope that younger kids see older bands putting out their own records, doing house shows, making things happen, and get inspired so that this great DIY scene will last long after I grow a ponytail. Tell us why bands should have their albums done at The Headroom? We filled a drum with glass, bricks, chains, and records, threw it down the drive way just to record it.
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This icon denotes an album that can be downloaded from the band. Links are on page 44. After The Fall Eradication Good God this new After The Fall album is heavy and intense! Right from the start it’s all engines go. Eradication starts off strong and After The Fall’s all or nothing attitude drives the album throughout. This album is 25 minutes of cohesive chaos, like a plane crash where everyone escapes unscathed. (Mightier Than Sword)
Annabel Here We Are Tomorrow Every time I hear a new release from Annabel, the level of stoked-edness goes up another notch. Each release tops the previous one, and Here We Are Tomorrow is no different. As much as I liked their full-length Each and Everyone, there was something about it that didn’t click with me. Here We Are Tomorrow is like a new friend, one that you instantly bond with and are comfortable around. Here We Are Tomorrow understands you. It knows what you’re going through and has your back. It’s that voice that talks you off the ledge and that shove that gets you to talk to that girl you’ve been crushing on. Trust in Here We Are Tomorrow and things will be all right. (Tiny Engines)
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Antillectual Start From Scratch Antillectual may hail from the land of windmills, wooden shoes and girls in pigtails in milk maid like dresses, aka the Netherlands, but their sound is straight up American as apple pie. At certain times they sound like Anti-Flag, Rise Against and even Sweden’s Millencolin. They even have the mellifluously voiced Heleen Tichelaar singing on a couple tracks to add some female flare to the mix. With Start From Scratch being jointly released by ten different labels covering the U.S. and Europe, Antillectual is poised to take over the world with their music. Turn your back on your idols, and bow down to the awesome power that is Antillectual. (Square of Opposition)
The Aquabats Hi-Five Soup I can honestly say that The Aquabats are my favorite band ever. Even though they’ve had some questionable material in their discography, they always put on a great show and always come up with the
silliest shit that I have ever heard. Hi-Five Soup starts out with the classic sounding, albeit without horns, “The Shark Fighter”. Seriously one of their best songs from their last few albums. Many people are shitting on this album saying things like it’s directed towards the MC Bat Commander created Yo Gabba Gabba! audience. Sure “B.F.F.” sounds like it was made for The Aquabats next appearance on the show, but you’ve got to remember that this is the same band that wrote “Worms Make Dirt”, “Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates” and “Canis Lupus”. Would critics be saying the same thing if Yo Gabba Gabba! didn’t exist? You can’t expect The Aquabats to release serious material, they’re superhero crime-fighters (read: 30+ year old dudes who wear costumes) for shit’s sake! I’m still bummed that they lost the horns, but I’ve come to accept it. They still got it, horns or not! (Fearless Records) Baby Teeth Boss Much like the For The Heathers EP, this release was a challenge by the band to come up with songs on their own that related to the word “Boss” and not share it with anyone else in the band. What you get is three awesomely different songs. Abraham’s “Good Old Boss” is a slow Randy Newman like ditty that is most similar to Baby Teeth’s music. Jim’s song “You’re Not The Boss Of Me” is fucking outstanding! This song is a straight up rap parody of a Lonely Island song, only way fucking better than anything The Lonely Island could do. Finally, Peter’s “Boss Man” is a slow moving, fuzzed out bass, sample-ridden masterpiece. The dudes in Baby Teeth really upped the ante with this release and really showcased what they can do. (Self-Released)
Birthmark Shaking Hands Birthmark is the solo project from Kinsella cousin and collaborator Nate Kinsella. Nate’s music falls somewhere between his cousin’s, Tim and Mike. While not as abstract as Tim’s music and not quite acoustic as Mike’s music, Shaking Hands is a menagerie of layered instruments with Nate’s hushed vocals sitting on top of them all. Shaking Hands is quite a feat considering Nate played and recorded most of the instruments himself. (A Hidden Agenda Records) Boyfriends 7” I think the male society needs to use the term “boyfriends” more. Instead of saying to their wives that they’re going out with their “Boyz”, they should say they’re going out with their boyfriends. Makes sense to me. What else would you call male friend? I know the guys in Boyfriends are boyfriends. You can feel the chemistry oozing out all over this 7”. To this point, none of Boyfriends’ releases have disappointed and I wish they’d make a full-length already. (Slow Growth/Count Your Lucky Stars) Carpenter Sea To Sky Made up of ex-members of some of Vancouver’s most well-known post-punk bands like All State Champion, By A Thread, and Daggermouth,
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Carpenter’s Sea To Sky is a mishmash of pop-punk and post-punk with some emo sensibilities thrown in. Sea To Sky is an all-around first-rate release. (Goldstock Records/Paper & Plastick) Damp Hay Middlewestern Featuring former members of Chicago’s adored Sidekick Kato, Damp Hay’s Middlewestern is as Midwestern as it can get. It’s got the feel of early Chicago emo bands and more recent punk and indie bands. This album has a great classic sound quality to it and I look forward to hearing more from this band. (Cassette Deck Media) Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)/ Into It. Over It. Split 7” Oh Empire! Empire! how do I love thee? Keith and Cathy and co. always put out good music and I have yet to skip past a song of theirs. On the other side of this release, you’ve got Evan Weiss aka Into It. Over It. I’ve really enjoyed his EP releases lately. I thought that his 52 Weeks album was good, but hard to listen to in such a large dose. His latest split releases have really showcased his best work and I look forward to hearing more from him. (Count Your Lucky Stars) The End of America Steep Bay For the recording of Steep Bay, The End of America paddled across a lake in upstate New York to reach a family cabin. Once there they recorded the nine songs everywhere they could, in front of the campfire, in the cabin, on the porch and out on the lake itself. Steep Bay sounds pretty impressive considering where it was recorded. It’s reminds me a bit of Good Old War due to the acoustics and the harmonies. (Forest Park Recordings)
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FIRS Empty House EP I don’t know what the hell Joey Cook aka FIRS is doing anymore. FIRS started out as a lo-fi electro indie outfit, similar to his other band Pomegranates, then moved onto some spacey futuristic vibes with their full-length, Man In Space. The three song Empty House EP is practically 17 minutes of synth drone, with a 2 minute sparsely sung song sandwiched between them. Even though it’s kind of tiring, the synth drone of the first and last tracks is lush and beautiful. Keep it up Joey, I expect be surprised with your next release. (Self-Released) Football, etc. 7” On “Away Game”, Football, etc. has a sound like Dianogah mixed with American Football. The bass just kills me, it drives the song like Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy. That plus the bouncy guitars and female vocals make me gush over their music like a elementary school crush. (Count Your Lucky Stars) Frodus Soundlab 1 2011 needs Frodus. They deliver a swift kick in the ass that this industry needs. It’s been 10 years since their last studio album, And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea, and since that time, members of Frodus have been staying busy with many other musical projects, but none as influential or memorable as Frodus. Soundlab 1 is Frodus at their best. The time away from this band has not impacted their cohesiveness one bit. A repressing of And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea is due out sometime this year, and lets hope that they release some new material as well. (Lovitt Records)
The Haunted Continents The Loudest Year Ever The Loudest Year Ever is as vintage as it is modern. Mixing 1950’s bop and soul with some 1990’s college radio alternative rock, the duo known as The Haunted Continents have made an compelling and memorable album. (Forest Park Recordings) Hightide Hotel Nothing Was Missing, Except Me After many delays, the much anticipated full-length release from Hightide Hotel has been released. I was kind of neutral on their previous releases, but Nothing Was Missing, Except Me is a really great album and excels over recent contemporaries releases within the same genre. (Runner Up Records)
Into It. Over It./Pswingset Split 7” Like I said in the review for the split with Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate), Into It. Over It.’s best work has been on these splits and these two songs on this split with Ohio’s Pswingset are exceptional. Pswingset sound a bit like The Promise Ring in its early days, but with a modern feel. I’m patiently waiting for more from Pswingset before I make a decision on this band. What I’ve heard so far has been good, so I’m expecting more of the same. (Count Your Lucky Stars)
Iron Chic Not Like This Featuring former members of Latterman, Small Arms Dealer, Capital, Get Bent & Jonesin’, Iron Chic is the next phase of it’s predecessor, Latterman. Shouted vocals and gang choruses fill Not Like This and the energy never stops. Not Like This was one of the finest feel good punk albums released in 2010, if not the best. They’ve got a great formula and sound that I’m sure will make them a favorite among many. (Dead Broke Rekerds) Love Of Everything Kangaroo Trick EP Bobby Burg is not happy. His latest release, the quietly released 4 song Kangaroo Trick EP presumably deals with the divorce with his wife and former band mate. With songs like “I Can’t Live” and “I Want You to Kill Yourself” you can assume this is the same kind of release that Joan of Arc band mate Tim Kinsella released with Boo Human, during his and his wife’s relationship ending. Even though the lyrics are dour, the music is upbeat and catchy. You can hear the frustration that Bobby puts forth in the song “Well That’s a Plus” and it’s kind of interesting to hear Bobby sound this way, since his last release was quite happy. It’ll be interesting to hear what Bobby releases next. (Record Label Record Label) Maritime Human Hearts It’s been a tough road for Maritime. Born out of the ashes of the much loved The Promise Ring and Dismemberment Plan, Maritime was plagued with long-distance band members and label issues with the release of nearly every album. This year marks the release of their latest album, Human Hearts, on the much stable record label Dangerbird. With Human Hearts, I feel Maritime has finally hit their stride. Their early releases were hampered by the
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comparisons to The Promise Ring and the release of Heresy and the Hotel Choir marked a turning point for the band. The two cover songs that were released with the import version of Heresy was a foreshadowing as to what the material on Human Hearts would sound like. Human Hearts will take a few listens to get into, but don’t give up on it, this is truly their best work to date. (Dangerbird Records) Man Overboard Real Talk I am so in love with this Man Overboard album, that if I weren’t already married, I’d consider asking this sweet little album out. Odds are though, the line of potential suitors is a mile long. There are many bands that are doing the pop-punk revival thing right now and Man Overboard is seriously ruling them all. Real Talk is a real treat of an album and is right up there with New Found Glory’s 2000 selftitled album. (Run For Cover)
Mixtapes A Short Collection of Short Songs Mixtapes just keep getting better and better with every release. A Short Collections of Short Songs has some fantastic songs that really hit you in the heart and deep in your soul. “Soups Whatever” is a great song, especially with it’s Lifter Puller reference. It’s just a simple acoustic song with some group choruses and the occasional piano, but damn it’s lovely. (Animal Style Records) Monument Goes Canoeing I was a real big fan of Monument’s numerous demos and EPs they released a while back and was always wondering when they’d record a proper fulllength. Goes Canoeing is a stunning piece of work that embodies the spirit of bands like The Promise Ring, Braid and Cap’n Jazz. It’s emo when it wants
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to be, but turns to noodley math rock at the flick of a switch. Goes Canoeing will reinvigorate your love of music and is one of those albums that will be the definition of the genre for years to come. (Tiny Engines) Mountains For Clouds Some People Buy Scenery Like This I really enjoy it when I get an album that is surprisingly good. Some People Buy Scenery Like This is one of those albums where you know you’ve got something good right after the first song starts. This album is mostly instrumental and reminds me of Rooftops quite a bit. It’s something that sounds good in any environment or with any mood. (Count Your Lucky Stars) Octaves Greener Pastures Guttural, fierce, intense, ponies. Three of those four words describe Greener Pastures from Baltimore’s Octaves, but I’ll let you guess which one doesn’t. Octaves has the technical chops of Botch with the screams of Paint It Black. Greener Pastures is technical and dynamic and is entitled to a listen or two. (Hotfoot Records) Only Thieves Heartless Romantics Heartless Romantics is the epitome of American music. It’s filled with heart felt lyrics and blue collar anthems with a dose of slacker attitude. It’s albums like these that will be held close when shit gets its roughest, while other albums are stomped and burned. (Self-Released) The Reptilian Full Health If you’re familiar with The Reptilian, then you know what to expect from this release. They have a pretty standard formula that work for them and I enjoy it quite a bit. They continually keep things interesting from song to song and the raw energy is always on high. (Count Your Lucky Stars) Restorations Strange Behavior I’d like to think of Restorations as grown-up punk. It still rocks hard, but they’ve done enough to warrant having a little twang in their songs and perfectly OK to sing duets with a honey voiced lady. As expansive as Strange Behavior is, it represents only a small
sliver of what this band can do and I expect them to do big things and have big things happen to them with future recordings. (Paper & Plastick) Run With The Hunted Run With The Hunted This may be a case of judging a band by its name, but Run With The Hunted’s name sounds like a tagline for a wilderness company or a sports team. Or something a jock would say as a final retort in an argument, “If you ain’t running with us, then you’re running with the hunted.” Luckily, their music speaks volumes about the band. They do a good job of letting the music flow on its own and don’t force or over do the screaming vocals. (Panic Records)
Say Hi Um, Uh Oh To say that Eric Elbogen has been prolific with his Say Hi moniker would be an understatement. Since 2002, Elbogen has released seven albums, five of which were released on his own label, Euphobia. Um, Uh Oh is his latest and is a far cry from his early material Discosadness and Numbers & Mumbles. While those records were fun and quirky, Um, Uh Oh is frank and mature. Elbogen has always had clever lyrics and he puts them to good use on Um, Uh Oh. (Barsuk) So Adult Rookie Sharing band mates with Shook Ones, So Adult embraces the sounds from early Replacements and Superchunk albums, and adds their own imprint on it. Rookie is a cool cassette release that shows promise from this band. (Bermuda Mohawk)
Talons Hollow Realm Talons is an instrumental rock band from Hereford, UK and is the first instrumental rock band that I’ve heard to utilize violins as part of their sound. I think the violins really set Talons apart from other bands like Russian Circles. The violins add that feel of a backing orchestra to the already chaotic songs. Hollow Realm is a breath of fresh air to the instrumental genre and I applaud them for trying to stand out. (Topshelf Records) Tigers Jaw Two Worlds When I first heard Tiger’s Jaw self-titled album, I was floored. Everything about the sound and lyrics did it for me. Their following EPs were exceptional as well and I had high hopes for their full-length. Two Worlds is a good record. The problem for me though, is that the novelty of the band has worn off a bit and no longer has that feeling of something new and raw. A couple of the songs, “Coil/Recoil” and “Two Worlds” convey the feel of their earlier work, but the album didn’t match the hype I had built up for myself for it. (Run For Cover) Transit Keep This To Yourself It’s got to put a lot a pressure on this band releasing such good music, album after album. Having to top an awesome release with another awesome release would make me quiver, but the dudes in Transit do it with style. They constantly “bring it” musically every time and leave little, if no room for disappointment. (Run For Cover) Vampire Hands/Daughters of the Sun Skull Judge The Daughters of the Sun side of this release is 17 minutes of noisy drone with some music starting halfway through. This is the first I’ve heard of this band and can say that this epic song has intriged me to hear more from them. Vampire Hands is a bit more straight forward rock. It took me a little bit to get into, but really enjoyed the classic rock/psych vibe to it. (Modern-Radio)
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DOWNLOADS: DOWNLOADS: Baby Teeth Boss // babyteethmusic.bandcamp.com/ Boyfriends 7� // boyfriends.bandcamp.com/album/boyfriends-7 Firs Empty House // firs.bandcamp.com/ Hightide Hotel Nothing Was Missing, Except Me // runneruprecords.bandcamp.com/album/nothing-was-missing-except-me Iron Chic Not Like This // ironchic.bandcamp.com/album/not-like-this Love Of Everything Kangaroo Trick EP // recordlabelrecordlabel.com/music/LoveofEverythingKangarooTrickEP.zip Mixtapes Maps // deathtofalsehoperecords.com/downloads/dtfh022.html Thought About Growning Up // deathtofalsehoperecords.com/downloads/dtfh036.html
Zines + Books
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PHOTO CREDITS: COVER: Riley Taylor // rileytaylorphoto.com Pg 4-5: Danny Bligh // dannybligh.com Pg 14-18: Keith Mohan // vimeo.com/steadfastvideos Pg 22,26-27: Chrssy Piper // chrissypiper.com Pg 24-25: Riley Taylor // rileytaylorphoto.com Pg 28-29: Chris Teti // flickr.com/photos/christeti Pg 30: cc-by-nc-sa, Andrew Bossi, Flickr // flickr.com/photos/thisisbossi Pg 31-33: Danny Bligh // dannybligh.com Pg 36-37: Provided by Joe Reinhart Pg 38: Unknown - Promo Photo Pg 39: TBC Pg 41: Unknown - Promo Photo Pg 42: Keith Mohan // vimeo.com/steadfastvideos Pg 43: Jenny Jimenez
SUPPORT: Bands: Tokyo Police Club // tokyopoliceclub.com Mixtapes // mixtatpesohio.com The Aquabats // theaquabats.com Direct Hit! // directhit.bandcamp.com/ Fisherking // fisherkingband.bandcamp.com/ The Saddest Landscape // thesaddestlandscape.com Annabel // annabelband.tumblr.com/ Hostage Calm // hostagecalm.tumblr.com/ Now, Now // nownowband.tumblr.com/ Stay Ahead of the Weather // facebook.com/stayaheadoftheweather CSTVT // myspace.com/romancastevet People: Evan Weiss // intoitoverit.com/ Richard Minino // horsebitesdesign.com Posters: DMNL // dmnl.org
Ads: Evil Weevil // evilweevil.bigcartel.com Count Your Lucky Stars // cylsrecords.com Side With Us // sidewithus.com Asian Man Records // asianmanrecords.com Tiny Engines // tinyengines.net Black Numbers // theblacknumbers.com Modern-Radio // modern-radio.com Lovitt Records // lovitt.com Saddle Creek // saddlecreek.com
Labels: A Hidden Agenda Records // parasol.com/labels/hiddenagenda Animal Style Records // animalstylerecords.com Barsuk // barsuk.com Bermuda Mowhawk // bermudamohawkproductions.com Count Your Lucky Stars // cyls.com Cassette Deck Media // cassettedeckmedia.net/ Dangerbird Records // dangerbirdrecords.com Dead Broke Rekerds // deadbrokerecords.com Fearless Records // fearlessrecords.com Forrest Park Recordings Gold Stock Records // goldstockrecords.com Hotfoot Records // hotfootrecords.com Lovitt Records // lovitt.com Mightier Than Sword // mtsrecords.com Modern Radio // modern-radio.com Panic Records // panicrecords.net Paper + Plastick // paperandplastick.com Record Label // myspace.com/recordlabel Run For Cover // runforcoverrecords.com Square of Opposition // squareofopposition.com Tiny Engines // tinyengines.net Top Shelf Records // topshelfrecords.org
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