REAX #32

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06

CONTENTS ISSUE 32

GUILTY SOUNDCHECK 08 INTRODUCTION

CALL & RESPONSE 10

READER MAIL

SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING 11 12 14 14 15 16

DEAR GLOFFY OPEN MIC YOUR BAND BLOWS STEP BY STEP FORWARD THINKING DRINK OF THE MONTH

SOUNDBITES 17 18 19

I SET MY FRIENDS ON FIRE COMBICHRIST THE TWO MAN GENTLEMAN BAND

YOU ARE HERE LOCAL MUSIC TAMPA BAY

20 24 26 29

HOT SPOTS REAX COVER CONTEST RESULTS SPOTLIGHTS UPCOMING EVENTS

ORLANDO + CENTRAL FLA

34 HOT SPOTS 35 SPOTLIGHTS 36 UPCOMING EVENTS

GAINESVILLE + NORTH FLA

38 HOT SPOTS 39 SPOTLIGHTS 40 UPCOMING EVENTS

REAX INTERVIEWS 42 44 46 48

JOHN LEGEND ASG JJ GREY & MOFRO DÄLEK

Publisher Joel Cook jcook@reaxmusic.com

Sales Associates Emily LaDuca emily@reaxmusic.com

Queen Finnie Cook finniec@reaxmusic.com

Alicia Zorrilla alicia@reaxmusic.com

Editor Scott Harrell scott@reaxmusic.com Head Writer Michael Rabinowitz miker@reaxmusic.com Columnist Jeremy Gloff deargloffy@gmail.com Art Director Mike Delach delach@cookwaremedia.com Illustration Noah Deledda noah.deledda@gmail.com Photography Tony Landa landa@reaxmusic.com General Manager Marshall Dickson marshall@reaxmusic.com Circulation Manager Scott Jensen scottj@reaxmusic.com

Shawn Kyle shawn@reaxmusic.com Interns Amy Beeman abeeman@reaxmusic.com Molly Hays molly@reaxmusic.com Andrew Pellegrino Contributors Timothy Asher Joe D’Acunto Mike DeLancett Brandon Dunlap Jason Ferguson Chris Gaughan Jack Gregory Justine Griffin Robert J. Hilson Colin Kincaid Daniel Martin-McCormick Joel Mora Ryan Patrick Hooper John Prinzo Susie Orr Lance Robson Trevor Roppolo Susie Ulrey Amy Vanschaik Carrie Waite Cover designed by Chris Parks / PaleHorse www.palehorsedesign.com

REAX Music Magazine P.O. Box 5809 Tampa, FL 33675 Phone: 813.247.6975 www.reaxmusic.com www.myspace.com/reax Reax Magazine is published monthly and is available through Florida businesses, music venues, restaurants, independent record stores, outdoor boxes, and F.Y.E. stores. Reax is also available nationally at over 160 record stores. Go to reaxmusic.com for a full list.

SOAPBOX 50 52 54 55 58 59

UPCOMING RELEASES PRODUCT PLACEMENT DVD REVIEW MUSIC REVIEWS VIDEO GAME REVIEW HANDS ON PRODUCT REVIEW

PAGE 6 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

Advertisers warrant and represent the descriptions of their products advertised are true in all respects. Reax Magazine assumes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers. All letters and their contents sent to Reax Magazine become the sole property of Cookware Media, LLC. Use or duplication of material used in this publication is prohibited without approved written consent from Cookware Media, LLC.

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 7

08

SOUNDCHECK INTRODUCTION ISSUE 32

LAY OUT THE WELCOME MAT, BUT DON’T BE ONE

C

ome the weekend of February first, there’s gonna be a hell of a lot more people here in Tampa than usual.

Most Floridians are used to out-of-towners, whether of the recently retired, snowbird or running-from-the-law variety. But this is a whole different, ahem, ball game. These folks might avail themselves of warm weather and sunshine by default during their stay, but the real reason they’ll be here is simple: party. Party party party.

There will be people you’ve never heard of, but who nonetheless have more money than God, stumbling down Seventh Avenue with entourages in tow. There will be celebrities renting out whole restaurants and nightclubs to throw the kind of soirees you’ve always thought you’d be able to scam your way into, given the chance.

(Read: You haven’t got a chance.) There will be taxis and limos and car services and charter buses clogging up I-275 and Dale Mabry to unprecedented degrees, as all of these people remember at the same time that they’ve got a football game to attend.

PAGE 8 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

influx of strangers and battening down our favorite watering holes, we should be thinking about ways to expose our influential visitors to the part of the culture we love and nurture - the part that largely won’t be found at the private parties and VIP rooms of Ybor. How do we get ‘em to hear a couple of songs from an original band? How do we get ‘em to step into a gallery that features something a little more cutting-edge than leaping tarpon or dolphins at sunset? How do we showcase the fact that Tampa Bay has its own vibrant, vital community of creatives?

We’ve expanded the Tampa section of this month’s “You Are Here” Florida spotlight, to include as many of our favorite places and events as possible. Locals know all about this stuff, but we’re hoping some of the ‘Bowl crowd will grab copies of the mag, and maybe find themselves in the middle of a scene they didn’t know existed when they bought their tickets. We’ve got a few more things in store for the weekend of February first, as well; we’re gonna try to get the word out.

IT’S GOING TO BE CRAZY.

So should you.

But instead of bitching about this inevitable

- Scott Harrell

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Studio #4 210 South Kings A Brandon, FL 33511 813.654.9990 Studio #5 1118 34th St N St. Pete, FL 33713 727.322.9999

Studio #6 1512-B Fowler Ave Tampa, FL 33612 813.910.7777

Studio #7 8238 W. Waters Av Tampa, FL 33615 813.884.4445

www.atomicta JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 9

10

CALL & RESPONSE READER MAIL ISSUE 32

CONTRIBUTORS

SEND FEEDBACK TO REAX@REAXMUSIC.COM FROM THE MAILBAG RE: “The Little Debbies” by Colin Kincaid Just wanted to drop you a little note letting you know how much we LOVE our write up in REAX this month! Thank you so much for taking the time and interest in us and it was a pleasure to speak with you! xoxo - Erin Nolan (The Little Debbies) RE: “Your Band Blows Metallica: Too Little, Too Late”

by Scott Jenson Hey Scott, Just wanted to take a moment and say it was very refreshing to read your review on Death Crapnetic, whether people agree with you or not, they should find some satisfaction to your honest approach and opinion. Metallica had the oppo rtunity to go out with a bang, but their desperate attempt to rekindle an old flame has let their last two albums ... well, fall short. Bands should always play from the heart, anything forced will forever haunt them. I am sending Mr. Hetfield a bottle of Jack for Christmas.

- Patrick

still managed to screw up the production value with Rick Rubin at the helm. Are they trying to be this terrible?

Keep on rockin/rappin/playin/ shakin/shelackin TSMS.” - Ben Fry, December 11

And what’s worse is all these mags like [Rolling Stone] fall all over themselves and say it’s the “best thing they’ve done in years,” and they need to define that, because St. Anger came out in 2003 - five years ago. And technically it’s the ONLY original album they’ve done, besides St. Anger, since Reload (which was simply scraps from the Load album) in 1997!

“These fellas kept me more or less sane through the Marine Corps.

They’re a huge influence on my life. I love these guys.”

- Bernei, December 11

They just go away to build up this false expectation of “They’ll do it this time. They will come out with a shredding album and James will not sound like the Cowardly Lion this time.” AND IT NEVER HAPPENS! If you want heavy, go check out God Forbid or one of the several other great bands making actual metal. What Metallica did in the ‘80s and the crossover success they had in the ‘90s stand as the greatest achievements a band of that genre could hope for.

That is history. The ride came to an end a long time ago.”

- John, December 15

FROM REAXMUSIC.COM

Comments on “The Stick Martin Show,” by Colin Kincaid

Comment on “Behind The Lens - REAX Reader Appreciation Party”

“TSMS is great, go see the next time you want to see a band that plays as good as they can for everybody, anywhere!!!!”

- DJ BackBone, December 12

“Awww, no shots of the big crowd that was there.”

- Hoola Hoopla, December 25 Comment on “Your Band Blows - Metallica: Too Little, Too Late”

by Scott Jenson “All I can say is I don’t get it either.

It’s the same thing as St. Anger, only this time there’s guitar solos (only redeeming quality), and they

“Yeah, I’ve known Stick and Harlow for many years now and they are one of my favorite bands.

Plenty of bands go up and just play their music but TSMS is really a show. They are an entertainment force that is hard not to like. And believe me, I’ve tried ... anyway, glad to see them doing well. They are a big inspiration to me as well.

PAGE 10 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

Comment on “Joe Satriani Sues Coldplay over Cheesy Guitar Riff,” by Michael Rabinowitz “Pretty clear. I don’t know about all the copyright nonsense at some point. Except that both these “artists” are highly overpaid, Coldplay probably more so. So Satriani must need some cash.

Be interesting to see how much he wins. George Harrison lost and so did Zeppelin or the Stones for a blues song. Maybe someone can comment on that music infringement history and monetary amounts.”

- Dan F, December 10

FROM MYSPACE “Sup REAX and family?! Good times last night at the New World;-) Good to see/meet everyone. Ciao” - Fey Maven, December 19 southwest florida’s music scene is not dead!!! please don’t neglect the fort myers/naples area ... we have some really good bands down here. vega under fire, fake problems and wedgepiece come to mind ... “ - swfl music, December 4 Subject: 3OH!3 “Is the worst shit ever. I’m already sad just seeing the blurry sneak preview. You know I love you guys!”

- Mes, December 4

I’m Chris Parks.

Part-time thrasher, part-time designer and full-time art nerd. My work is often inspired by various themes, such as Japanese culture, Soviet propaganda, death metal, mythology and horror movies.

Yes, I went to art school and actually graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree from Ringling College of Art & Design for Graphic & Interactive Communication (whatever that means).

In 2006, I decided to live the American dream and open my own design studio and gallery here in downtown St. Petersburg which is now called Pale Horse Design. It was a huge step and one that I really can’t believe is actually working out.

Since opening the studio, I’ve had the opportunity to create artwork for companies, like Hydro 74, Nike, Vans, Etnies, Mattel, Red Bull, Hurley, The Cartoon Network, Iron Fist Clothing, Urban Outfitters, Steadfast Brand and many others.

Check out more work at palehorsedesign.com.

In 2004, Christopher Thomas Gaughan spent a very confusing summer in the foothills of South Dakota.

There he had his future read by an ex-Mormon named Sandy who claimed to be a reincarnated Atlantean prophet– ess. Because of this, he spends more time than he should wondering whether our future overlords will be Chicano-Canadian Nationalists, Skynet, or a resurrected William Howard Taft.

Consequently, he spends too much of his time studying Mandarin, Perl, Aleister Crowley, and classical Egyptian metaphysics. For him, the world is a much more confusing place then it actually is, though he would disagree with this assertion.

“I just write what I feel,” explains Ryan Patrick Hooper, as he gingerly grips a cup of scolding hot tea and begins to spoon feed a petite Asian girl sitting to his left, the hustle and bustle of a small Detroit cafe swirling around us. “And, in this moment in my life, I happen to feel very sexual.” For this issue, Ryan (figuratively) probed John Legend about the pleasures of songwriting and (figuratively) fingered about in Dälek’s desire to always challenge his fans through music.

DEAR GLOFFY SEE SOMETHING...

ISSUE 32

11

Words: Jeremy Gloff Photo: Kim Hicks

DEAR GLOFFY,

What if you like someone who’s in a bad relationship? They fight all the time, whatever. I read a punk ‘zine where a guy was describing himself as that. He liked a girl who was dating someone and they were fighting. He described himself as a “relationship vulture” for hanging around hoping they broke up, and called the “relationship vulture” one of the lowest forms of life. I was like, “fuck, I’m a relationship vulture.” What do you think?

Signed, Feeling Shitty

DEAR FEELING SHITTY,

They say birds of a feather flock together.

That said, if you consider yourself of the “relationship vulture” variety, what kind of birdies do you expect to attract? I am not basing the following advice on studies or facts, merely personal observation. Never in my experience have I watched ANYONE jump from an unhealthy relationship right into a healthy one.

Even if one leaves their crappy significant other, they will need time to heal. If you are seriously in the market for damaged goods, I suggest you head over to the Goodwill clearance bin. A ripped shirt is a lot easier to mend than a ripped heart. If only the “Mr Fix It Man” in Teena Marie’s 1983 synthtastic funk jam “Fix It” was real ...

DEAREST GLOFFY,

I read your blog online. I applaud you on getting tested for HIV. Most people in relationships don’t get tested because they ‘trust’ their partner to NOT cheat. One example

is the bassist in my boyfriend’s band. I heard he has been cheating on his girlfriend for a month. I also heard the he never uses condoms.

Should I say something since I know he isn’t getting tested? [The girlfriend] isn’t really my friend ... but for the sake of her health?

Gloffy, what would you do?

Signed, New College Gloffy Fan

DEAR NEW COLLEGE,

This is a problem with a lot of gray area. I never trust what people say. I tend to keep out of people’s affairs as a general rule because truth always has a way of eventually presenting itself. But I also realize this situation carries a bit more weight. Unless you accumulate some concrete evidence of the bass player’s affair, chances are anything you say will be dismissed. Perhaps you could encourage your boyfriend to get tested and to have him encourage his band to do the same.

Remember when Prince first sang about HIV in his 1987 song “Sign O’ The Times? (“In France a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name ... “) It breaks my heart that 21 years later, there still is no cure. If anyone needs information about where to get tested, e-mail me and I’ll help you. Please be safe everyone.

To send your problems my way anonymously just go to jeremygloff.com and find the DEAR GLOFFY page.

WE HAVE COLOR Photos: Brian Adams DOWN TO A SCIENCE Models:The Benz Agency TYRO LEVEL STYLIST CUTS START AT $15

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 11

12 OPEN

SEE SOMETHING... OPEN MIC ISSUE 32

MIC

MUSIC IN (OUR) TIME

I

was planning on writing a piece about performance, music, sound, the experience of sound in the body and what performance means to me in terms of lived experience versus simulated drama; what music means in terms of memory and perception; and the idea of fusing one’s consciousness with sound. But it got too unwieldy. Maybe next time. For now, here are some (five) nice musical things that happened to, with, or around me in 2008, one of the greatest years of my life. Was gonna write more, but ran out of space.

- STEVE SUMMERS’ DJ SET AT HOUSE THIS HOUSE PARTY II, 2.8.08 AND LIVE AT GENTLEMAN’S TECHNO 6, SAN FRANCISCO, 5.22.08 Thank god for shitty PAs. A few cool things happened in January, but I think this year got off to a serious start with the second House this House Party, held at Steve (real name Jason) and Damon’s house.

Text messages brought more people than anyone knew what to do with, and many were ditching the upscale nightclub downstairs to hang in a muggy apartment.

Meanwhile, one room was packed with dancers. The reason I mention the PA was because we had rigged together a pretty bootleg setup that ended up sounding perfect for the occasion: booming, heavy, kinda hard to take but also great. What I appreciate about Jason’s music is that he totally skips over the annoying takes on modernity, kitsch, and irony that clutter up so much dance music. Nor is it the dreaded indie dance, which has no place in any venue beyond a college sophmore’s iPod. Whether DJing (at the party) or playing live (heavy acid house, through a much better PA, at the GT party circa 2:30 am), the feeling is real and deep. People who think disco is all about polyester and cocaine are idiots. Disco and its many house/techno/ etc. children are, at their most glorious, profound explorations into a pre-verbal emotional world where joy and depression are one, two sides of the same coin.

Thanks Jason.

- PISSED JEANS LIVE AT THE SILENT BARN, BROOKLYN, 2.15.08 This show was written up in the NY Times the next day, but they refused to print the word “pissed.” What the hell? Anyways, hands down the most violent show I have ever been involved in and all the better for it. A maniac on PCP fucking shit up, a room-sized mosh pit, people coming in off the street desperately seeking a fight, and so on. Man, it was crazy, and of course the Jeans just kept it coming. Being from Allentown, I can’t imagine this was so PAGE 12 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

shocking to them. What was especially compelling to me was (is) the weird melancholy at the heart of their sound, buried under layers of punk/Flipper/Stooges intensity. A band I can’t wait to see again.

And again.

- FOOD FOR ANIMALS LIVE AT NOW THAT’S CLASS, CLEVELAND, 2.21.08 This was great. Anyone who has ever been on tour knows the feeling of arriving at the tiny bar on a snowy Sunday, knowing that no one will be at your show that night, and having to make the best of it.

Mi Ami played for two people and it was cool, but FFA stole the show by going out to the bar and inviting anyone who wanted to hang onto the stage with them.

Andrew and Sterling are a magical duo, somehow able to instantly ignite a flame of genuine excitement and enthusiasm at the drop of the hat. Showmen sounds too manipulative - they’re just living it. They even got a request for a song off their first CD. This night also featured Jacob from Mi Ami singing karaoke to Black Sabbath’s “Changes” in his sleeping bag.

An unrelenting man.

- SOFT CIRCLE LIVE AT TRIPLE BASE GALLERY, SAN FRANCISCO, 5.10.08 Usually when the lights are on at a show, it’s a huge bummer and people just mill around complaining. Not so with this one, as the video below proves. You can see me and Damon in the front. I’m in a denim jacket, headbanging with a Tecate. I love how Villalobos and crew opened the door for a whole world of techno outsiders to get into beat-heavy sonic journeys in 2008.

Drone was cool, but what could be better than extreme cosmosis paired with infinite rhythm? http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=NYR91TX3aI0

- BLUE SABBATH BLACK CHEER AT GODWAFFLE NOISE, SAN FRANCISCO, 10.11.08 Damn. Over the past few months, I have been obsessing over the concept of the “rock out” part, and heaviness as a legitimate emotional and physical experience rather than the placid signifier it is in all radio rock and most so-called independent music (the screaming in Suicide’s “Frankie Teardrop” being everything great about the former, with none of the bullshit of the later). BSBC weren’t even punishingly loud, but they had a truly punishing presence. Their music is a thick, murky and raw world which you are left to sift through, at your ... leisure? Well, there’s nothing leisurely about this music, but you get it. You have to adapt to their terms, completely. I love the juxtaposition of members, too: two older noise lifers, one nerdy dude, and two girls, one crusty and one with weird traces of mall style. I don’t know ... along with the absolutely stellar Zs, who I would have written about here given more room, one of the heaviest bands I have seen in quite a while.

Ex-Black Eyes member Daniel MartinMcCormick is the guitarist and vocalist for San Francisco rhythm-punk trio Mi Ami. The band’s new single/EP Echononecho come out January 27 on Quarterstick Records, with a full-length, Watersports, following in February.

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC Magazine • PAGE 13

14

SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING YOUR BAND BLOWS / STEP BY STEP ISSUE 32

STEP

BY STEP

RUIN A HORROR MOVIE

M WILLIAMSBURG: YOUR BANDS BLOW

I

n the information age, it’s relatively easy to nationalize an act if you get enough people talking about you, positively or negatively. It’s an interesting phenomenon when it happens to a band, but it’s even more fascinating when it happens to a geographic region - the ability to push bands into mainstream consciousness not on their own merits, but just because they’re from a certain place.

It’s not always the case that buzz about a scene is bad or misused. But when a hype machine gets moving and there’s little or no substance behind the majority of the bands coming out of that area, it’s a pretty disgusting sight to behold.

Unfortunately for you and I, there is currently a “cultural happening” taking place in a quickly gentrifying warehouse district in Brooklyn called Williamsburg that is exposing the world to some egregious music. Some apparently groundbreaking things are happening there due to the dense population of musicians and artists who gravitated to the spot for its low rents and reputation for collectives of creative people. But through my eyes, the majority of the “groundbreaking” things coming out of the ‘Burg are just pomp and hyperbolic flatulence, and are only breaking ground on a buried megaton of shit.

There have been a few bands that evolved in the area that have made it big; MGMT is a good example. And until recently, the area was one of the only places within spitting distance of Manhattan that you could get a studio apartment for less than two grand. But the majority of what’s coming out of the area’s music scene now is really terrible. It’s easy to see why groups like Dreamburger or Alexcalibur aren’t doing much. One is an all-girl electro-noise band with an upside down cross and a cheeseburger for a logo, and the other is a huge buff guy that straps bicycle wheels to his back and does interpretive dance while singing songs about relying on “the rock.” And there are bands like Bunny Rabbit + Black Cracker, a gender bending duo that makes some of the most boring ambient music ever created (and that’s saying something), and has the most heinous Myspace page that I’ve ever seen. It’s really disturbing; I recommend checking it out if you’re into retinal masochism.

The bands I’ve just mentioned are bad, and hopefully won’t see the light of day past a blog post here and there, but there are some that for no good reason are HUGELY popular.

I recently saw one of the successful ‘Burg

bands play to a packed house. I won’t name names (we recently covered them and the interview was very interesting), but know that the lead singer is a huge fat hairy guy who gets naked and makes out with random people in the audience. Fair enough? The show was mildly entertaining because of the wookie flopping around onstage and tongue-kissing unwilling guys and girls in the front row, but the music was like something from a tone-deaf punk band of 10-year-olds. I can appreciate a spectacle - Gil Mantera’s Party Dream are an amazing live act that make their mediocre music enjoyable due to their ridiculous costumes - but the band I was watching was seriously overcompensating for a lack of musical talent. It was like that skinny five-foot-three redneck down the road that drives a truck the size of an earthmover - you know he’s not packing much heat downstairs (or upstairs for that matter) if he needs to present himself in that way. After the show I asked several people about what they’d just seen.

They were very enthusiastic about the creepiness, but I couldn’t even get them to comment on the music. It was almost as if they were tuned out.

This is just one particularly bad example.

There are so many it’s impossible for me to go into every shitty band from Williamsburg. The majority seem to be groups more into creating a display of how edgy they are than making palatable songs. Last I checked, the word music was the first part of musician. If you don’t get that part down first, you’re nothing but an overblown performance artist. I really hate performance artists. Unfortunately for Williamsburg and us, however, the shit-ton of people living there are currently having mind-meld sessions and taking their ridiculous concepts to newer, stranger and more sonically revolting heights, all in the name of being cool or becoming famous.

With acts like these coming out of a socalled hot music scene, I fear for our future.

Not just because things like song structure or audience connection or just plain sanity are going out the window, but also because we as music consumers will be further pressured to accept this crap as good. And as far as I’m concerned, we don’t need any more people telling us that the ludicrous sounds they’ve made in their basement with a homemade banjo and an overinflated ego are art. We already have Pitchfork.

PAGE 14 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

ost horror movies suck. Back in the day, really bad horror flicks were sometimes appreciable on their own level, for their insane dialogue, their conspicuously abysmal no-budget effects, their overabundance of young nipples, or whatever. Now, the confluence of comparatively affordable, user-friendly digital-video cameras, computer editing programs and CG - not to mention what seems like an almost complete absence of anything even remotely resembling an original idea - has filled that vast space between the rare good horror movie and the perhaps rarer so-bad-it’s-good horror movie with crap you can’t even love in the idiot-child way.

The prospect of making a decent fright film must seem pretty easy to an assload of people, because sometimes it seems like I’m the only horror buff of my generation who hasn’t tried it yet. Of course, the overwhelming majority of aspiring independent filmmakers eventually figure out that they didn’t make a decent fright film. Instead, they eventually figure out they made a money pit to fill up with lawyers’ fees when it never finds distribution, and only six people rent the DVD. They eventually figure out that it’s tough to make a good horror flick. It’s easy, however, to make one that won’t be remembered, even as spectacularly bad.

Here’s all you have to do: Make sure your script is about some Big Idea. This is a perfect way to make your little splatter movie seem like a pretentious load. Good horror films entertain first, and allow viewers to discern their own subtext. You might be thinking about how Friday The 13th is an allegory about the death of youthful innocence or the wages of denying personal responsibility, but the folks that made it were thinking about how to fit more boobs and red Karo syrup into the budget.

Hire the hottest leads you can afford, regardless of talent. One of the reasons the low-budget horror movies of the ‘70s and early ‘80s work so well is that at least some of actors with speaking roles remind us of ... us. And bad acting is actually easier to swallow when it comes from people who don’t look like they almost got on The Real World, anyway. Plus, seriously, do you really think the slutty chick from, like, Temptation Island or whatever really has some kind of cinematic draw?

Seriously?

Stunt-cast virtually every other role.

Isn’t it cool when you recognize 20 people in a horror flick from other stuff, like Jackass and really cool commercials and bands and shit? No. It’s not cool. It takes the viewer out of whatever semblance of a story you’ve tried to build, and that’s so stupid an MRI might be in order. I don’t want my creeping suspense derailed by a cameo by Flo from the Progressive

ads. Stunt casting requires a deft and knowledgeable hand; basically, if comedy isn’t your aim, only obscure horror-hound icons are allowed. And yes, Tom Savini is too well-known to count.

Pack the dialogue and characterizations with recently hot pop-cultural references. Your movie won’t be finished for a year. Your movie won’t be shown for another year and a half.

Most people won’t even know your movie is available on DVD for at least a year after that. So by all means, work in all the talk about the Jonas Brothers, Twitter and Lost you can. Timeless!

Don’t let your singular vision be compromised by the suggestions of a more experienced director of photography. Who the hell is he? He knows you did the final digital cleanup on that local band’s video, right?

During the shoot, arbitrarily decide to rely more on digital effects, and settle for “fixing it in post” whenever things get a little stressy. Because nothing brings coherence from chaos like a last-ditch attempt to fit the monster into the scenes that jump from night at the beach to late afternoon in the woods for no discernible reason.

And, of course, when in doubt, always add more bad metal to the soundtrack. It doesn’t matter if your film is set in Transylvania in 1460; the easiest and most often employed way to render your horror movie unwatchable is the liberal deployment of the kind of repetitive industrial-tinged nu-metal that’s only still played by unsigned bands from the nether regions of flyover states. (And, like, 60 bands here in Florida. And also Mudvayne.)

And now I’m off to ruin my own indie horror flick. It’s part horror, part legal thriller, and largely framed in flashback, a la The Exorcism of Emily Rose (because another great way to ruin a horror film is to rip off a disappointingly mediocre one). It’s about the family of a dead smoker that’s suing a young woman who loves white belts and The Hives, because the smoker was killed by a bear mutated by global warming after the young woman made him go outside to have a cigarette during her party. It’s called Smoked, and it stars the entire well-toned cast of Survivor: The Middle of The Fucking Desert. Tom Savini and Adam West make cameos; the soundtrack will be by Saliva.

FORWARD THINKING ISSUE 32

COLIN KINCAID

15

(Writer, Button Pusher, Frequent Pooper, International Man of Mystery)

WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2009

The REAX crew give their resolutions and predictions for the year ahead, because nobody is as qualified to talk about what’s happening tomorrow as someone who can’t remember last night.

TIM ASHER

(Writer, Punk Expert in Residence, Sock Monkey Aficionado) 1. Crystal Pepsi, your time has come.

2. Santa Claus, after a grueling 14-hour battle, will be defeated and consumed by the Krampus for the domination of Christmas. The Easter Bunny remains at large, but will be more proactive about hating your guts 364 days a year.

3. People will begin referring to bars as “Church” so they can go drinking on Sundays without repercussions. (Not so much a prediction as a fevering, desperate hope.)

4. The CERN Large Hadron Collider will not create a black hole, thus ending all life, as we know it. It will, however, bring about the Zombie Apocalypse, thus ending all life, as we know it.

5. Asher will get a more reliable dealer.

SUSIE ULREY

(Writer, Musician, Beacon of Nice) I look forward to seeing Morrissey throw a couple of shirts out into the audience in March.

I predict that I will purchase and read the entire Twilight series. [Urg! Ack! No! - Ed.] I resolve to not be sheepish when admitting I plan to read the entire Twilight series.

I hope to talk to more of my favorite bands and write about them for REAX. I can’t wait for the White House to be Baracked.

SHAWN KYLE

(Hands On Reviewer, Ad Rep, Musician, Bringer of Tour Anecdotes and Hot Scarf Action) PREDICTIONS: 1. In 2009, gas prices will go back up above $3.00 a gallon.

2. In 2009, the RIAA will stop suing people for downloading music but will continue suing people for downloading movies.

3. 2009 will be a year of re-growth of the artistic communities in America, but bad for shopping malls and car dealerships.

4. Anton Newcombe will die from misadventure, and people will claim that his death was faked, to find out that it actually was, in fact, faked.

5. REAX will continue to print something for you to read and for your parents to misunderstand.

RESOLUTIONS: 1. I will learn how to ride a motorcycle, as soon as I get my helmet in the mail.

2. I will get my Corvette running, as soon as I get the gas tank for it.

3. I will write and record a new album of music.

4. I will get up an hour earlier every day.

5. I will spend more time in the woods.

RYAN PATRICK HOOPER

(Writer, Yankee, Guy None of Us Has Ever Met in Person) 1) Quit sitting outside of my ex-girlfriend’s house.

2) Quit smoking cigarettes.

3) Plant at least 50 trees this summer.

4) Quit stealing things from my parents. I don’t need any more towels.

5) Learn how to write.

PREDICTIONS FOR THE YEAR OF OUR GOURD 2009: I. Tattoo removal becomes a new craze, followed by a trend in getting new tattoos over old removed tattoos explaining and apologizing for the previous tattoos.

II. Bitter older local musicians break up their bands and take up crafting cartoon strips about the many frustrations of their former passions - and get rich doing it.

III. Somebody else comes along and puts together yet another Tampa Bay “music conference,” convinced that they’ll be the first to do it right and make it a success.

Co-sponsored by Cocaine Energy Drink and Boost Mobile, Good Stuff Tampa Hell Yes! takes place the first weekend in October. It is later discovered that, when band members, significant others and immediate family are subtracted from the total attendance, no one actually came.

IV. Ironic ‘90s nostalgia replaces ironic ‘80s nostalgia; some sincere Pearl Jam tribute act from Ocala accidentally becomes the most popular band in the state.

V. Five Words: THE RETURN OF RAP METAL.

JACK GREGORY

(Reviewer, Soul Poet, Unrepentant Red Sox Fan, Hat Wearer) JACK GREGORY IS LOOKING FORWARD TO: 1. Getting Hitched 2. Being in the Superbowl halftime show 3. Copious amounts of fine beers and whiskeys 4. Discovering new and interesting music, and trashing it 5. The hope of a new tomorrow - and a new Fugees album

SUSIE ORR

(Writer, Beer Enthusiast, Orlando Operative, Blonde) TOP FIVE THINGS I HOPE WILL HAPPEN IN 2009: 5. Gas prices will stay down.

4. People will stop worshipping the offspring of the Beatles. Sean Lennon and Dhani Harrison are not talented. They just look like their dads.

3. Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are movie will be amazing.

2. M.I.A. will win a Grammy.

1. I will cut down on the weeknight beer benders. (Oh, but I love them so.)

TREVOR ROPPOLO

(Game Reviewer, Curly Hair Production Expert, Positive Energy Thrower-Offer) 5 THINGS: I hope to stop the aging process by using Oil of Olay daily.

I hope to get a Chipotle in my neighborhood - it’s so damn good.

I hope to bring back the “rat tail.”

I hope American Idol and all of their “Idols” go away.

I hope people stop killing people ... unless, of course, they really have it coming.

SCOTT HARRELL

(Writer, Editor, Procrastinator Extraordinaire, Cook’s Folly) WHAT WON’T HAPPEN IN 2009: Everybody who drives like a total cretin is gonna suddenly realize it, and stop.

Deadlines are courteously remembered and respectfully adhered to.

Dehydrated figs become this year’s sun-dried tomatoes.

Quinlan plays a show I ask him to.

Change.

WHAT WILL: The Warped Tour lineup will make me feel old and jaded and out of touch with what the kids are into these days, and also that they sure do like a lot of questionable music.

I will, no really, quit smoking. Seriously this time.

There will be a really, really cool show at the New World, the high point of which I’ll miss because I’m busy slurrily embarrassing myself and pissing Charlie off over at Fuma.

Someone will want to fight Jenson over a Your Band Blows column. They will be defeated.

Some brand-new teen act from Tampa will take the world by storm for three minutes with an abysmal mulch of watered-down pop-punk cliches, overproduced dance hooks and adolescent skin. Meanwhile, Win Win Winter, Zillionaire, Have Gun, Will Travel and Geri X will play for a couple of hundred people, a couple of hundred bucks and free beer, and for a brief, shining moment, it’ll all be OK. JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 15

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SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING DRINK OF THE MONTH ISSUE 32

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DEDICATED DRINKERS DEDICATE THEMSELVES TO ONE BEVERAGE. ALL NIGHT LONG.* THIS MONTH:

REAX READER

APPRECIATION PARTY

W

hen it came time (read: the last minute) to put together this issue’s Drink Of The Month, it was agreed upon by all that our upcoming Reader Appreciation Party at Ybor City’s New World Brewery would probably make for the sort of perfect-drunken-storm environment we’ve been searching for as a backdrop for the feature. (Well, since Fest.) Most of the staffers would be in attendance, a lot of friends and readers would be dropping by to quaff, and there would be a wild variety of beverages from which to choose.

So many imbibable options presented themselves, in fact, that we decided to go with an International Waters-style free-forall; we figured hell, if people showed up, they could drink whatever they wanted.

This month’s Drink Of The Month was to be, well ... drinks.

And show up you did. After the early staff get-together - during which a handful of complete strangers managed to make off with an infuriating percentage of our delicious, delicious pizzas, and almost everybody decided to forget about the Yankee Gift Swap - friends and wanderersby flowed in to fill the joint admirably.

Nessie kicked off the live show in classic it’s-a-party-not-a-gig form by coming apart during the first four bars of their first song, then recovering in fine bar-rock style. Guiltmaker delivered their melodic posthardcore in better form than we’d seen yet, confirming the rumor that they get better with every show - and they were pretty damn good to begin with. Orlando’s History melded energy and originality with an ever more catchy songwriting style, more than earning the gas money we probably forgot to pay them, and hometown heroes The Beauvilles opened with a couple of loose impromptu numbers that went just fine with the soulful rock and

showmanship for which they’re known.

People drank Guinness. They drank Dale’s Pale Ale. They drank Blue Moon and Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and Blackthorn Dry Cider and dozens of others. They slipped across the street for a shot of Jager or Jameson at Fuma Bella, and came back to catch some more rock. And the whole evening went down like those superior drinkables, tasty and satisfying and without so much as a hiccup.

(Actually, someone might’ve thrown up in a garbage can. We’re not sure who.)

Many, many thanks to the crew at the New World, and to the bands, and the peripheral folks we don’t get to see in person too often, but who help fill these pages with words and images and attitudes and enthusiasm. And thanks most of all to you, the folks who pick it up, and hand it off, and keep it going.

Welcome to 2009. * Drink of the Month™ participants are always 21 years of age or older, and designated drivers are a mandatory requirement for participation.

PAGE 16 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

SOUNDBITES ISSUE 32

GET IT OR DON’T

Words: Timothy Asher Photo: Matt Grayson

HERE’S THE PLOT: TWO TEENAGERS GET TOGETHER AND PUT A SCREAMO/ GRINDCORE VERSION OF SOLUJA BOY’S “CRANK THAT” ON MYSPACE. IT, ALONG WITH A COUPLE OTHER SONGS, GENERATES OVER A MILLION HITS AND PEAKS THE INTEREST OF A LARGE INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL, WHICH WONDERS IF THEY MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN A DEAL.

T

his all happens in about four months.

If you think it sounds like an Emo Generation made-for-TV movie, you’re right. But it’s also a reality for Nabil Moo and Matt Mihana, the pair behind I Set My Friends On Fire.

“Literally on graduation day I stepped out of that auditorium or whatever it was, and

I went into a car,” says Mihana. “We drove to Georgia and recorded the album in two weeks.”

That album, You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter, was released on Epitaph Records to mixed reviews. At times it’s screamo, others electronica, occasionally pop and maybe even grindcore. To further confound the listener, sometimes all of those styles are applied in the same song.

17

That is, of course, part of what makes it interesting.

for a while, and the crowds have been overwhelmingly receptive.

“We’re not trying to go for weird, we’re not trying to show off, we’re not trying to put all these weird sounds together and have people go ‘oooh, that’ so cool,’” says Minhana. “We’re writing what sounds good to our ears and whatever we’re capable of writing. Some people expect so much out of our music and it is what it is.”

“It’s been great,” vocalist confirms. “This is our first tour and we’re still learning stuff.

It’s only Nabil and I on stage and you figure that it would be kinda difficult to please a crowd with only two people, but we seem to do it. We’re very intimate with the crowd, we’ll jump into the crowd, even Nabil will go into the crowd with his guitar. We just go nuts.”

With song titles like “Ravenous, Ravenous Rhinos” and “HXC 2-Step,” some of the Warped Tour set might suspect I Set My Friends On Fire is more tongue-in-cheek than their contemporaries. And they’re probably on to something there. While Moo writes all the music, vocalist Minhana, who takes it more seriously than the titles imply, does all the lyrical content.

“I spent several days in agony with writer’s block, trying to come up with clever shit just because I wanted everything to be perfect,” Minhana says. “Me and Nabil are kinda like perfectionists, so we have to do everything dead on.

“If some people don’t appreciate the music, then they might appreciate the lyrics. If they don’t appreciate the lyrics, they’ll appreciate the music.”

It’s a philosophy that seems to be paying off live - the duo have been on the road

While not taking any of it for granted, the young men of I Set My Friends On Fire are looking forward to bringing their own brand of chaos to more places in 2009. They’re also contemplating their next move.

“We really haven’t had time to write anything. I think we’re going to start writing after Warped Tour,” says Minhana. “Now that we’ve found our sound and know what we’re capable of writing, we think the next album is going to blow everyone’s mind away.”

I Set My Friends On Fire is currently touring America. They’ll hit Florida for shows at Orlando’s Social on February 10 and Ybor City’s Orpheum February 11. You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter is out now on Epitaph.

MYSPACE.COM/ISETMYFRIENDSONFIRE

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 17

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SOUNDBITES ISSUE 32

COMBICHRIST AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDY LaPLEGUA

Words: Colin Kincaid Photo: Robyn Von Swank

THE UNIQUE, INFLUENTIAL AND UTTERLY RELENTLESS MIX OF TECHNO-CLUB BEATS, HARDCORE PUMMEL AND METAL MALEVOLENCE THAT IS COMBICHRIST RETURNS THIS MONTH IN THE FORM OF A NEW FULL-LENGTH, TODAY WE ARE ALL DEMONS.

B

efore he caught a plane bound for some DJ gigs in Europe, the band’s architect Andy LaPlegua got on the phone to talk a bit about his process.

REAX: You’ve said that for Demons, you wanted “more of everything.” Do you feel challenged to show other people all the possibilities that come along with the kind of music you make, or is it more of a personal thing, for your own satisfaction?

Andy LaPlegua: It’s definitely more of a personal challenge, to do what I want to do … I usually set myself a little idea, and it’s a challenge for myself to be able to do that.

If other people like it or not, that’s a totally different issue.

REAX: Was it the thought that you’d have more sonic options that originally led you to electronic and dance styles?

AL: I had kind of been doing all the different things at the same time. I’ve definitely been into electronic music and even doing it

since the beginning, you know? I just finally got my focus on electronic music in the mid to later ‘90s, and the reason for it, honestly, was because I was sick and tired of dealing with a full band, and it was time to take control of my own stuff. And that was the right thing to do for that time period.

REAX: Combichrist’s music and lyrics complement each other very well, evoking the same heaviness and darkness and volatility. Does the vibe start for you with one more than the other?

AL: That really goes from song to song.

Some songs, the lyrics might be the original idea, and might be the defining factor for that song. I might have a very personal topic, and then of course I’ll focus a lot on the lyrics. It’s rather a play back and forth - it’s one song for me, one shouldn’t mean more than the other, but sometimes that just happens.

REAX: Is it a cathartic thing? When you’re creating this dark music, do you get a real

PAGE 18 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

feeling of release from your own anger and frustration?

AL: I would say that’s one of the reasons I named this album Today We Are All Demons. I believe we all have our own demons and issues to deal with - we all have our dark side. This was kind of my therapy, making this album. It’s definitely therapeutic, and it was a good release. At the same time, it also brought me to a lot of darker places where I didn’t want to be. But coming out of it, it was really refreshing.

REAX: How did Gen come to do guest vocals on “Kickstart The Fight”?

AL: I’ve known Gen for years. I was sitting in the studio, done with the track, and I was like, ‘you know what would be cool?’ It was one of those moments. I called her, and asked if she wanted to do it. She said ‘sure, when do you need to be done?’ And I said ‘tomorrow.’ [Laughs] She jumped straight into it. She’s a sport.

REAX: Do you prefer playing on certain

types of bills, like shows that have more guitar-oriented acts or shows that have more dance-oriented stuff?

AL: I actually like a mix of it all, for the same reason why I’m doing this kind of music. I listen to so many types of music, and I like the variety. Ideally, sometimes I wish my five top industrial bands would play, or my five top metal bands, or whatever. But I think when you have a variety, people walk out with more, even if they pretend to not like part of it, like, ‘I only like industrial’ or ‘I only like metal.’

Deep inside, they walk out with a little more experience. They’ve been entertained a little more than usual, because it’s something different. That’s kind of the basic idea of our live shows to me, to give a little.

REAX: That’s a good point, that even though people say they only like one type of music, whether they like it or not, they’ve at least been exposed to it.

AL: And for me personally, too. It’s much more refreshing to go and listen to four or five different bands than hearing the same thing over again.

Combichrist plays Ft. Lauderdale’s Club Premier January 14, St. Petersburg’s State Theatre January 15 and Jacksonville’s Jack Rabbits January 16. Today We Are All Demons comes out January 20 on Metropolis Records.

MYSPACE.COM/COMBICHRIST

SOUNDBITES ISSUE 32

19

If you’re digging the Two Man Gentlemen Band, Andy Bean also recommends:

JELLY ROLL MORTON “That’s a popular one,” says Bean of jazz’s first great songwriter.

UKELELE IKE

(CLIFF EDWARDS)

THE TWO MAN

GENTLEMAN BAND

The ‘20s vaudeville star was “a big influence on all those ukelele bands out there these days.”

THE CHEAP SUIT

SERENADERS

“It was sort of a revival of this stuff in the ‘70s.”

EDDIE PEABODY

OLD, OLD, OLD SCHOOL

“On YouTube, if you search for ‘banjo genius,’ he’s first to pop up. I’m hoping to overtake that someday.”

THE OLD SAYING ABOUT HOW EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN COULD’VE BEEN COINED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE REALM OF POPULAR MUSIC. IT OFTEN SEEMS LIKE POP, ROCK AND THEIR ASSOCIATED MAINSTREAM OFFSHOOTS RECYCLE THEMSELVES ON SOME SORT OF REGULAR SCHEDULE -“WAIT, IT’S 2003? TIME TO BRING THE ‘80S BACK,” AND SO ON.

T

he trouble is, most of us remember that shit from the first time around, and eventually it all starts to sound the same.

If looking back a couple of decades for something new only results in thinly veiled nostalgia, and looking forward for something new too often results in, well, arty tuneless crap, then where the hell are we supposed to look for something that’s, if not completely original, at least fresh to our ears?

endeavor petered out, they decided to collaborate on something more steeped in the classic country-music tradition.

Andy Bean and Fuller Condon of New York’s Two Man Gentlemen Band looked back further than most - much, much further - and found inspiration in the hot jazz, ragtime and emerging proto-swing sounds of the early 20th century.

The two began busking in New York City’s Central Park, an extended DIY gig that largely (and barely) paid their bills for the better part of a year and a half. They taught themselves how to grab the attention of passersby with an engagingly dated mix of music and hucksterism, adopting the style and even the appearance of an age of entertainment long past. They incorporated the so-corny-it’s-almost-cute kazoo into the music, and a phone call to Port Richey, Florida’s own kazoos.com about an obscure replacement part resulted in a sponsorship.

“We’ve sort of settled on ‘vaudevillian’ [as a description],” says Bean, who handles vocals and four-string banjo and shares the acoustic duo’s multiple kazoo duties. “It encapsulates both the spirit of the 1910s and ‘20s and the style of performance we like to do, embracing an old-fashioned showmanship.”

Bean and Condon met while auditioning for the same “dreadful rock band” when they were in college. Both made the grade and became friends; after that particular

“But once you get a four-string banjo in the mix, there are only so many places you can go,” Bean says with a laugh. “And we both got really deep into ‘20s records, big band and hot jazz and the like. It began a slow evolution toward swing about three years ago.”

Eventually, the pair hit the road, writing smart, rhythmic, sepia-toned tunes on a wide array of lyrical subjects ranging from their omnipresent kazoos to gentlemanly sports like croquet and such historical figures as

William Howard Taft and Robert E. Lee. “If you let your mind wander for seven hours a day in the car, it’s going to stumble across everything you’ve ever thought of, ever,” muses Bean. “That’s how it happens.

The times we tried to say, ‘let’s pick bizarre historical topics to write about,’ it’s never worked. We have to wait for what’s deep inside our brains that we learned in elementary school to come out.

“And we do actually play badminton and croquet, so in that sense, we do write what we know. It would be dishonest for us to write a song about polo, since we’ve never played it. We’re not trying to do wink-wink nudgenudge novelty, we’re trying to approach smart songs in a clever, different way.

“But,” he hastens to add, “it doesn’t always come across that way.”

Novelty or no, The Two Man Gentlemen Band is offering a fun sound and show music fans sick to death of the various combos of the last two decades’ ingredients are unlikely to find anywhere else. It’s seen Bean and Condon through several years of roadwork and two albums, with a third, Drip Dryin’, coming out this month.

THE WIYOS “They’re friends of ours who were at this a few years before we were.

We’d look at their tour schedule and say, ‘hey, let’s go here.’ I also have to get them back, because I recently insulted them in print - it was a joke that actually made it into the article [out of context].”

“And it’s not just a song and an album,” Bean says. “It’s also a dance craze that we’re trying to start. I’ve gotten word that there’s a vibrant swing-dance scene in Tampa, so if anyone wants to learn how to drip dry, this’ll be the show.”

The Two Man Gentlemen Band in Florida: Jan. 18 - Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Jan. 19 - Bungalow Restaurant, Sarasota Jan. 20 - Hop Jacks, Pensacola Jan. 21 - New World Brewery, Ybor City Jan. 22 - Cafe Da Vinci, Deland Jan. 23 - Engine Room, Tallahassee Jan. 24 - Pineapple Willy’s, Panama City

MYSPACE.COM/TWOMANGENTLEMENBAND

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 19

ALTERNATIVE GUIDE TO THINGS THAT DON’T SUCK...

(LEGIT) HOT SPOTS FOR OUT-OF-TOWNERS THAT GET IT:

INTRODUCTION

W

elcome to our expanded Tampa section, lovingly crafted with all of you who are in town for the big-ass game in mind. Hopefully you’ll find in its pages a little insight into the elements of Bay Area culture we find important and worth sharing - the original music, the alternative art galleries, the independent businesses, the worthwhile nightlife.

Give it a perusal while you’re sipping a Bloody Mary and wondering how the hell you’re gonna kill another whole day in this town. We’re pretty sure you’ll find some interesting options.

And to the beloved locals, before you go mouthing off about how we’re catering to a bunch of tourists like some sort of glossy, advertorial-ridden lifestyle rag - don’t you work, play, and hang out at these places and events? Don’t you want ‘em to be around forever, and get the exposure they deserve? Yeah, that’s what we thought.

Now shut up and smile big.

HOW TO GET AROUND TAMPA’S HISTORIC STREETCAR TAMPA GREEN GO’S FREE www.tecolinestreetcar.org

FREE Call 24 hours in advance to reserve.

813-376-0595

ZINGO

HOP TAMPA

Yes, thay come pick you up and drive your car home. Not free, but cheaper than a D.U.I. 1.888.ZINGO-11

FREE shuttle for Downtown, Channelside & Harbour Island areas.

813-220-0175

HOTSPOTS: WEARABLES IF & ONLY IF SUNSHINE THRIFT This hip St. Pete boutique has some cool/quirky/vintage fashions, particularly for the ladies.

4336 4th St. N., St. Petersburg 727-528-9490

SQUARESVILLE

A longtime local favorite for vintage clothes, not to mention kitschy home furnishings.

508 S. Howard Ave., Tampa 813-259-9944

You can generally always find something cool here, even when the other thrifts in the area are picked clean.

4304 S. Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa 813-831-4377

URBAN OUTFITTERS

You know the deal.

1600 E. 8th Ave., Centro Ybor, Ybor 813-242-8472 urbanoutfitters.com

PAGE 20 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

HOTSPOTS: EATS AGUILA SANDWICH SHOP

We’re not gonna get into any beefs by calling it the best Cuban sandwich in town - but it might be the best Cuban sandwich in town.

3200 W. Hillsborough Ave. 813-876-4022

BURRITO BOARDER

Healthy burritos, fish tacos and other Cali-Mex fusionables with a skaterfriendly vibe.

17 3rd St. North, St. Petersburg 727-209-0202 burritoboarder.com

CAPPY’S PIZZA

FRANKIES

Started in Connecticut in 1933, these are some pretty swell cheeseburgers and dogs - think old fashioned fast food.

Some of the fried delectables include onion rings, sweet potato fries and fried cauliflower or broccoli.

909 W. Kennedy Blvd Tampa, FL 33606 (813) 425-3647 www.frankieshotdogs.com

GRASSROOT ORGANIC

Reviewers call its vegan- and vegetarian-friendly menu “creative” and “tasty.”

2702 N. Florida Ave., Tampa 813-221-7668

Arguably the best pizza on either side of the bay. Casual, and as cheap as a lot of the delivery chains to boot.

4910 N. Florida Avenue, Tampa 813-238-1516 3200 W. Bay to Bay Blvd., Tampa 813-835-0785 2900 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg 727-321-3020 cappyspizzaonline.com

LA CREPERIA CAFE

COLUMBIA RESTAURANT

MELLOW MUSHROOM

Traditional Cuban cuisine surrounded by impressive historical atmosphere.

This is the original location of this FL staple, founded in 1904, and just the building alone is reason enough to visit. Watch out for high dinner prices, unless you really want to see the Flamenco dancers (wink wink).

2117 East 7th Avenue Tampa, Florida 33605 813-248-4961

EL TACONAZO (TACO BUS)

Weird, mostly lunch-only hours, but indisputably awesome cheap and authentic eats.

913 E. Hillsborough Ave. 813-232-5889

A menu that boasts perfect options for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Best known for their extensive list of crepes of which you may want to consider something on the sweet side with nutella and a rich cup of european coffee. Bonjour!

1729 E. 7Th Avenue. Tampa, Fl 813-248-9700

One of the most heavily praised pizza chains in existence anywhere. And did we mention the plethora of awesome beers?

11955 Sheldon Road, Tampa 813-926-3600 10959 Causeway Blvd., Brandon 813-685-1122 mellowmushroom.com

SMOKE BARBECUE AND GRILL

Some of the best ribs in Tampa and the side dishes to along with ‘em. Do not leave without trying the mac n’ cheese.

901 W. Platt St Tampa, FL 33606 813.254.7070

22HOTSPOTS: VENUES & BARS YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO TAMPA BAY ISSUE 32

ARTPOOL

JANNUS LANDING

THE BRASS MUG

KELLY’S PUB

CROWBAR

NEW WORLD BREWERY

A unique take on the gallery space that includes a boutique along with regular shows and events with which the entire community can get involved.

919 1st ave. N., St. Petersburg 727-324-3878 artpoolrules.com

Where just about every band in town cut its teeth, this North Tampa stripmall bar is near USF, and specializes in punk and metal.

1441 e. Fletcher ave. #101, Tampa myspace.com/brassmug

A live room with excellent sound and a fully stocked beer garden stand out amid Ybor’s dance clubs and hipster retail, attracting everything from wellknown touring indie-rock acts to local metal legends.

1812 N. 17th St., Ybor City crowbarlive.com

CZAR

Home to some of the best parties of 2008, CZAR’s three rooms of goodness have a lot to offer music and vodka lovers alike. PULP on Friday night is a must, see hipsters dance the night away in style. Don’t forget the ice shots!

1420 e. 70th ave., Tampa, FL czarybor.com

EMERALD BAR

Cross the bay to St. Pete and visit the local music scene’s favorite dive, where original art adorns the walls and any sort of band or DJ imaginable might take the non-stage.

550 Central ave., St. Petersburg myspace.com/emeraldbar

FUMA BELLA

Consistently voted one of the best places in the Bay area to see a show, it’s an open-air concert hall housed within an historic city block.

16 2nd St. N., St. Petersburg jannuslandingconcerts.com

A comparatively new hangout that helps legendary Tampa bar The Hub keep downtown Tampa happening after dark.

206 N. Morgan St., Tampa myspace.com/kellyspubtampa

A killer beer selection and eclectic, culture-friendly musical slate make this Ybor City bar-and-patio a local-scene favorite.

1313 e. 8th ave., Ybor City myspace.com/newworldbrewery

ORPHEUM

A long-running favorite for national and local indie shows, as well as hipsterfilled dance nights.

1902 avenida Republica De Cuba (14th Street), Ybor City 813-248-9500

RESERVOIR BAR

The Finest Hole-in-the-Wall in Town!

1518 e. 7th ave., Ybor City, FL resbar.com

THE GARAGE

Formerly heavy on the metal and industrial, this medium-sized venue is gaining new respect amid the scene for everything from movie nights to a wider variety of shows and its Skateboard Industry Night parties.

662 Central ave., St. Petersburg myspace.com/garagepromotions

The smallest bar in America, so it has been said by the locals. Friendly bartenders that know how to make a damn good drink. This place is perfect for a small group who wants to sit and chat, or someone traveling solo who wants to meet some legitimately cool Tampa folk.

1318 e eighth ave., Tampa, FL 813-248-6130

THE PEGASUS LOUNGE

GASPAR’S GROTTO

The venue formerly known as The Masquerade (and before that, er, The Ritz) is back in action. And live music is only part of what’s going on there these days.

1503 Seventh ave., Ybor City 813-247-2555 theritzybor.com

Located on 7th Ave. in Ybor, Gaspar’s is for the everyday pirate looking for a good time. You can find live music, food, and tons of booty.

1805 e. 7th ave., Tampa, FL gasparsgrotto.com

Another close-to-USF live-music watering hole that often caters to heavier sounds.

10008 N. 30th St., Tampa 813-971-1679 pegasusniteclub.com

THE RITZ

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THE STATE THEATRE

TRANSITIONS ART GALLERY

TINY TAP TAVERN

UPTOWN BAR

A longtime tour stop for rising punk, rock and alt-country bands, you can catch acts as disparate as Shooter Jennings and The Hush Sound in this converted movie palace.

687 Central ave., St. Petersburg statetheatreconcerts.com

Located right in the heart of Hyde Park, this 40-year-old drinkery is a mainstay for musicians, writers, and non-stuckup locals.

2105 W Morrison ave., Tampa, FL

It’s the Skatepark of Tampa’s edgy, extremely all-ages-friendly exhibition and performance space.

4215 e. Columbus Dr., Tampa 813-382-3477 transitionsartgallery.com

Amiable little dive that features an always-eclectic lineup of local shows, from DJs to hardcore.

658 Central ave., St. Petersburg 727-463-0567

HOTSPOTS: LIFESTYLE Stuff To Do Besides Talk Shit To The Other Team’s Fans

ATOMIC TATTOOS

MOSI

BENTLEY SALON

RED LETTER 1

There are, seriously, too many great tattoo shops (including Monique’s and Mean Machine, to name a couple more) and artists in the area to list, but Atomic has long been reputable in the area, and has locations in just about every Tampa Bay neighborhood, so there you go. atomictattoos.com

Redken-authorized, forward-thinking salon that emphasizes education for aspiring stylists.

3228 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa 813-877-9801 myspace.com/bentleysalon

CANOE ESCAPE, INC.

Not really feeling all of the hustle and bustle? Forget about traffic and drunk football fans for a moment and think about canoeing or kayaking down the Hillsborough River - but you need to reserve your spot early so call in advance. Oh, and yes you will see alligators. Have fun kids!

9335 e. Fowler ave., Thonotosassa 813-986-2067 canoeescape.com

(Museum of Science & Industry) Interesting, out-of-the-box kind of stuff like experiencing what 74 mph hurricane force winds feel like, or flying a virtual reality fighter jet. Check the website for exhibit info. MOSI also has an IMAX Dome theatre.

4801 e. Fowler ave.Tampa, Florida 813-987-6100 mosi.org

RedLetter1 is a flash-free, 100% custom tattoo studio and art gallery located in historic Ybor City. Tattoos are currently made by Lucky Mathews, Jeff Srsic, Angelo Nales and Phil Holt.

Hours are noon to 7, Tuesday through Saturday...other hours available by appointment only.

1818 N 15th Street. Ybor City 813-241-2435

SHARP HAIR

Think you can’t get a hip coif north of Central Avenue or, um, west of SoHo? Think again.

3701 State Road 580, Suite g, Oldsmar 813-855-2422

FLYING FISH BIKES

SKATEPARK OF TAMPA

MAD PADDLERS KAYAK & SURF SHOP

WATTS TUBE AUDIO

A full-service shop for both recreational and serious riders.

2409 S. MacDill ave., Tampa 813-839-0410

Equipment and lessons for beginners and die-hards alike.

8808 Rocky Creek Dr., Tampa 813-243-5737 ospreybay.com

The legendary home of the Tampa Pro and Am comps.

4215 e. Columbus Dr., Tampa 813-382-3477 skateparkoftampa.com

Musicians, stereo hobbyists and do-ityourself amplifier builders will all find something interesting.

2323 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N., St. Petersburg wattstubeaudio.com

A GUIDE TO TAMPA BAY YOU ARE HERE ISSUE 32

HOTSPOTS: RETAIL ALL PRO PERCUSSION

SEMINOLE MUSIC & SOUND

HASLAM’S BOOK STORE

STEVIE B’S TOTAL GUITAR

MOJO BOOKS & MUSIC

VINYL FEVER

Everything from wood blocks to the new Roland V-Drum electric kits, without the annoying eighth graders butchering Avenged Sevenfold over in the guitar section.

10101 e. adamo Dr., Tampa 813-341-DRUM allpropercussion.com

Florida’s largest new-and-used book joint. Make the drive, and plan to spend at least half the day browsing.

2025 Central ave., St. Petersburg 727-822-8616 haslams.com

This place has it all when it comes to music retail. Used CDs and Vinyl of course, but don’t forget about the huge selection of used books. Located in the heart of USF country. Hit it up son.

2558 e. Fowler ave., Tampa 813-971-9717 mojotampa.com

23

Another one of the few music-gear independents still in operation. And they’ve been at it for 25 years.

10720 74th ave. N., Suite F, Seminole 727-391-3892 seminolemusic.com

Let’s just say they know their shit, from vintage instruments to the latest tech.

650 Central ave., St. Petersburg 727-822-3304 30111 U.S. HWY 19 N., Clearwater 727-785-9106

Again, there are plenty of great indie record/CD shops in the area, but Vinyl Fever has been the gold standard for years.

4110 Henderson Blvd., Tampa 813-289-8399 vinylfevertampa.com

VISITORS BEWARE! A SHORT LIST OF THINGS THAT WE DON’T RECOMMEND TRAFFIC

Getting anywhere in Tampa can be a nightmare at the best of times - we’re quickly approaching the era of roundthe-clock gridlock. And it’s going to be even worse as the ‘Bowl approaches.

Carpool whenever possible (and that includes inviting inebriated strangers into your stretch Hummer, kids), and remember street names like Himes, Kennedy, and Cypress.

CHANNELSIDE

Somebody’s going to tell you it’s a cool little shopping and entertainment area right on the water. Punch them immediately. It’s just a pretentious, overpriced mall right next to the industrial wasteland of Port of Tampa.

Out-of-touch baby boomers with more money than taste go there to pay too much to drink in a bowling alley.

BEER CAN BEACH

Don’t ask where the nearest beach is - the nearest “beach” is a strip of dirty sand just across the Gandy Bridge

populated by rednecks and the semihomeless. There are, seriously, turds in the water. Suck it up and make the journey to Clearwater or St. Pete Beach, or make do with our favorite secret spot at the west end of Cypress Avenue in a pinch.

ALMOST EVERY STRIP CLUB IN TOWN

Tampa’s got a reputation as one of the country’s finest cities for exotic-dancer action, thanks to the Mons Venus, which we do recommend if you’re into that kind of thing. But it and a few other exceptions aside, most of the town’s strip joints are pretty seedy.

Avoid any place on Nebraska Avenue, or that can’t afford a sign that actually lights up.

NOW OPEN 7 DAYS!

CARRABBA’S

Not that you’re gonna be eating at Carrabba’s. Harrell’s just pissed because the one on Fourth Street in St. Pete screwed up his takeout order for the second time in a row, and didn’t even have the courtesy to pretend to feel bad about it, so screw them.

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • Page 23

24

YOU ARE HERE REAX COVER CONTEST RESULTS ISSUE 32

Y

eah, we admit it... Most of the time, the cover of REAX is the most frustrating and time-consuming part of publishing the magazine.

It would be difficult to estimate the amount of time spent (and wasted) on just the cover art over the past few years... and trust us, we waste tons of time on a lot of other things. Cover art is tricky, at least we think so, and it’s a big responsibility that inevitably gets pushed back ‘til the very last minute. Thus, as a way to kick off the New Year, we left that responsibility up to you.

This year, our Annual (or whenever we feel like doing it) Cover Contest received tons of great artwork submitted by amazing artists from across the state and it was tough to pick only a handful of them to feature in the magazine. Our winner, of course, is the disturbingly talented Chris Parks of PaleHorse Design, who submitted the beautiful MadBall-esque image that graces the this month’s cover Go ahead, look at it again. Nice, isn’t it? As always, big, sloppy kisses and many, many thanks go to all of the artists who participated and sent in their covers. Here are the “runners-up,” or whatever you wanna call them, featured in no particular order whatsoever.

Page 24 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

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YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO TAMPA BAY ISSUE 32

MUSIC

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

UPCOMING MAGADOG SHOWS: JANUARY 17

The Distillery Bradenton

JANUARY 23

The Copper Rocket Orlando

JANUARY 31

New World Brewery Ybor City

FEBRUARY 20 Taste Orlando

MAGADOG

E

d Lowery is rather tall. He is cheerful and warm but quick with his wit, wears a vintage suit well and can play drums like Keith Moon.

He can also transform himself into the charismatic vocalist for the band Magadog - just hand him a microphone and give him the band.

underground. When it was underground was when the better shows and times happened that I remember. There was more a sense of community then.”

In the 1980s, far from LA’s Sunset Strip indulgence and big hair, another American underground was brewing. Influenced

by British mod style, ‘70s punk, original Jamaican reggae and upbeat syncopation, the third wave of ska was in its infancy. By the early ‘90s it was still underground, with no mainstream support, and veteran Tampa musician Ed Lowery wanted in.

In 2006 Lowery, along with previous members Jim Pedigo (vocals/keys), Dave Akright (bass guitar), and Keith Bartlett (guitar), as well as newcomers Carlos Velez (drums), David Russell (Trombone/ Melodica), Kenny Pullin (Trumpet), and Joe Terrana (Sax) found themselves in the studio, finishing up some material that had been recorded previously and adding some new music to the fray. The resulting record, Sunrise, is more second-wave ska than third wave, more dancehall than punk, with tight horn lines and danceable instrumentals. One thing has changed from the band’s previous records, though:

Getting together a group of like-minded musicians and borrowing the Jamaican slang word for a mongrel dog, he founded Magadog in 1992. With songs featured on MTV and tours alongside bands such as the Skatalites, the Toasters and the Pietasters, Magadog gained international recognition, released recordings on the Moon Ska label and was featured on over a dozen different compilations CDs. Even as publications panned him as the “ambassador of ska music from Florida,” Lowery had perspective at the time on the increased success.

“When it was happening it was a wonderful thing,” he recalls. “But I saw the genre quickly selling out, a lot of people that had no interest in ska and reggae starting bands and labels to cash in. In many aspects I was relieved to see it go back

The band eventually went on permanent hiatus, but as the years passed, Magadog’s fans never forgot them.

“On our first records it was obvious that I was an adolescent, pretty cheeky stuff, even if the song ‘Monkey in the White House’ had political overtones,” says Lowery. “What I am writing now is a little more introspective. Instead of bashing out the lyrics to ‘Louie Louie,’ I am trying to get together horn lines and melodies.”

Magadog is more than a reformation to complete some unfinished music. It has a future, via another record-in-progress slated to be mixed by NYC veteran producer King Django and guest starring Greg Lee and Alex Desert from the SoCal

Page 26 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

FEBRUARY 21

The engine Room Tallahassee ska group Hepcat. The upcoming release is titled Ybor City, a subject literally close to home for the group.

“We started there,” Lowery says. “All of our good times spent with friends in the late ‘80s and ‘90s have worked their way through Magadog. Ybor has also been the place that a lot of tragedy has happened

in the recent years, be it Mike O’Neill’s passing and Dave Rat’s murder, and a combination of all the living going on down there. Even though it has changed there are still elements of the old days even if it is in our memories, or reality. They are still there.”

MYSPACE.COM/MAGADOGTAMPA

ALBUM SPOTLIGHT: PIRATE PRUDE EXILE IN CIRCUITVILLE (SELF RELEASED)

I’ve only seen singer-songwriter Mark Freifeld’s Pirate Prude once. It was quite a while ago, and the most complimentary thing I can say about the performance is that it was, erm, “unrehearsed.” But the kind of arty, morose guitar-and-voice (and, more often than not, cello) meanderings that generally don’t come across very well at loud, talky hipster bars can sometimes work well on CD, and here, on a collection of homespun demos, they often do. Freifeld’s ragged low-range vocals occasionally grate, but that’s more an issue of recording quality and mix than nature; in fact, a little more time spent with the knobs and faders, and this disc would’ve scored considerably higher, because there’s a ton of potential here. As it stands, most pedestrian listeners won’t take the time to hear past the hiss and uneven levels to appreciate Freifeld’s emotional delivery, or the way his interesting, ominous guitar lines can build to devastating climaxes, or killer lyrics like “you scratch my balls, and I’ll scratch yours.” - Colin Kincaid

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YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO TAMPA BAY ISSUE 32

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

ALBUM SPOTLIGHT:

MUSIC

THE DIVE BAR STALKERS ROCK THE HOUSE (SELF RELEASED)

THE TAPE DELAY

Words: Chris gaughan

I

f you’ve lived in Tampa long enough, you know that red brick building on the north side of downtown with the cheesy Tampa postcard painted on the second story. Accessible through the garage of that building, in a torn-out warehouse space, Florida’s sons, both adopted and native, are coming of age.

Fresh to the local scene, The Tape Delay is anything but amateur. Its members - Jeremy Jones, John Brennan, former Pasco-Hernando resident Mike Spenceley, and Dustin Tamilio, a relocated Clevelander - are a welcome addition to the neighborhood lineup.

The group originated with longtime friends Brennan and Spenceley. Jones was later brought in as the bassist, followed by Tamilio filling out the group on accompanying guitar in early 2008.

As these guys would have it, what began roughly six months ago as a let’s-try-itout lark with a broken amp in Spring Hill has grown into a serious music endeavor that’s beginning to raise eyebrows around the Bay. The Tape Delay has played increasingly frequently throughout 2008 with such bands as Giddy Up, Helicopter! and New York City’s Rahim at showcase venues like Ybor City’s New World Brewery and Orpheum.

Each member brings their own influences to the group, ranging from Jones, Brennan, and Mike’s central Florida punk/ emo-derived song structures to Tamilio’s experience with the Ohio metal scene. Like the deconstructed space they play in, the band’s music seems to fall somewhere

in between renovation and innovation.

It’s a baroque kind of rock sound, and is reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky, Unwed Sailor, or the art-punk of Pretty Girls Make Graves sans the vocals. The individual members derive each of their sounds from an eclectic mix of bands, such as Jones’ time spent touring with Underoath, or what Brennan and Tamilio jokingly identify as “early Korn.” Spenceley plays the drums in a way that has left him with a shoulder injury more than once, and probably will again. The two guitarjockeys and bassist sincerely identify the inspirations for their song structures as coming from such sources as Isis, Pelican, Minus the Bear, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Hot Water Music.

The guys are all employed full-time, and their performances are too few and far between because of it. But with something on the order of three decades’ worth of performance experience between the four guys, The Tape Delay’s sound is best qualified as mature. The band’s style is complex and atmospheric, with smooth changes in rhythm but maintaining a core quality of unrefined intensity. A performance

by The Tape Delay is best accompanied by a bottle of good red wine, something which complements their intricate sound, accompanied by undertones that might be a little bit nutty, with a ripe and warm finish.

The Tape Delay plays Ybor City’s New World Brewery on January 13 with Mogul Street Reserve and Via Segovia.

MYSPACE.COM/THETAPEDELAY

Page 28 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

Despite various assertions to the contrary, the Bay Area’s own Dive Bar Stalkers are not a psychobilly band; not even close. What they are is a good ol’ bar-rock experience that incorporates elements of blues, southern rock, and just barely twangy honky-tonk shuffle into tunes whose swagger comes more from straightup rock ‘n’ roll than anywhere else. Most of these songs are solid enough, if a little more workmanlike and a little less truly soulful than one might hope for from the style. The plodding “Ready For Another Round” and incongruently ‘80s-vibed “Sweet Missy Blue” - a strange mash-up of Red Rider, Zeppelin and Aldo Nova - fall short, but elsewhere, particularly in the Skynyrd-esque ballad “Your My Old Friend” and snappily grooving “Keep Pushin’ On,” the group delivers. In the end, though, this is one of those CDs that makes you suspect the band is better live than in the sterile confines of the studio. - Scott Harrell

SPOTLIGHT

DUE DILLAGENCE

A

s many die-hard hip-hop fans know, Jay “J Dilla” Dee was an extremely gifted producer whose gritty, breakbeat-heavy back-to-basics style drew fans of both the underground and mainstream set, and grounded hits by such heavies as Busta Rhymes and De La Soul.

Tragically, Dilla passed away in 2006 at the age of 32 from kidney failure stemming from lupus.

Dilla’s birthday was February 7. On that day this year, some of the region’s best and most creative hip-hop artists - including REAX faves Laws and Eyeznpowa, along with Dynasty, Da Goldminerz and

Superiority Complex - will get together at Crowbar for a gig-slash-benefit to celebrate his memory, and raise a little money for both the Lupus Foundation’s Florida chapter and Dilla’s mother Maureen Yancey, who has her own medical bills to pay and is at odds with the executors of her son’s estate. So Bay Area heads get not only an excellent bill of fare, but also the chance to help out the less fortunate of the local community, and a blood relative of the hip-hop community at large.

DILLAgent Evening: A Musical Benefit, Saturday, February 7 @ Crowbar, Ybor City; Showtime TBD; $5 (18 & Up)

A GUIDE TO TAMPA BAY YOU ARE HERE ISSUE 32

TAMPA BAY EVENTS WED JANUARY 07 Petition, Meantime, Learn Nothing, Sounds Of goodbye, Blood and Cloth Transitions Art Gallery, Tampa Cost: $7 Time: 7 p.m.

THU JANUARY 08 Bryan adams Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater Cost: $39.50-62.50 Time: 8 p.m.

Roadside, ami Dubsquad Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

FRI JANUARY 09 Cigar City Tattoo Convention Feat. Drag The River, Joey Cape (Lagwagon), Whiskey & Co., The Tim Version, Nessie Cuban Club, Ybor City Cost: $15 (per day) Time: 9 p.m. (show) Fascicles: New Work by Lauren garber Lake [5]art, Tampa Time: 7 p.m.

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $20/22 Time: 8 p.m.

Military Junior, Steady State New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $6 Time: 9 p.m.

Pinetop Perkins, Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin Blues Band, Liz Pennock & Dr. Blues Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $15/20 Time: 8 p.m.

Skull and Bone Band, Copeland Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg Time: 9:30 p.m.

Smokestack & Foothill Fury Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

The growing groove, ascending to avalon, Stone groove Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

The Stateside Collective Reunion Crowbar, Ybor City Villanova Junction, Kore, Jett The Garage, St. Petersburg Cost: $5/7 Time: 8 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 10 A Reason To Rock Benefit Feat. Chris McCarty, Soulfound, Radio Reset, The Prospect Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg Cost: $20 Time: 6:30 p.m.

Boon Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Bulldog Johnny Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg Time: 9:30 p.m.

Cigar City Tattoo Convention Feat. Unknown Hinson, Red Rocket Deluxe, Boney Fiend, Doll Parts, Midnight Bowlers League Cuban Club, Ybor City Cost: $15 (per day) Fast Taker, Paradigm, Sins of the Father, Precipice, Kings of awesome, Shattered Spine Crowbar, Ybor City Time: 7 p.m.

Halcyon, Hymn for Her Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $12 Time: 8 p.m.

I Love St. Pete Feat. art, Fashion, Music & More ARTpool Gallery, St. Petersburg Time: 6 p.m.

Lush Progress, Morningbell, New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $7 Time: 9 p.m.

Ship High In Transit, Spirits Down, Nothing In The Dark, Ramble, Mogul Street Reserve, Funeral Daisies State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $12 Time: 7 p.m.

Trench Box, 16 Second Stare, Deshrived Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

SUN JANUARY 11 Sematic, No Inside, The greys, Daybreak, John alle, ago Decorus Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

The Southern Troubadour Tour Feat. anders Osborne, grayson Capps, Mike Zito Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $12/15 Time: 5 p.m.

TUE JANUARY 13 Mogul Street Reserve, The Tape Delay, Via Segovia New World Brewery, Ybor City Time: 9 p.m.

Del Castillo, Chicago afrobeat Project Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $17/20 Time: 8 p.m.

Delta Moon Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg Time: 9:30 p.m.

Dish, Beardsley New World Brewery, Ybor City Time: 9 p.m. elephant Man, Poison Dart Sound Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg Cost: $20 Time: 7 p.m. geri X CD Release Party Feat. The Beauvilles, Have gun, Will Travel, Vega Star State Theatre, St. Petersburg Time: 8 p.m. go Radio, a Kidnap In Color, Colour academy, Set It Off, The Sneak Preview Transitions Art Gallery, Tampa Cost: $8 Time: 6 p.m.

Pigpen, The Scurvy, To Be Hated, grex Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Ted Lukas Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

WED JANUARY 14

Variety Workshop CD Release Party Big Shots, Clearwater Cost: $9 Time: 9 p.m.

Funeral For a Friend, The Sleeping State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $14/16 Time: 7 p.m.

SUN JANUARY 18

THU JANUARY 15

Brett Dennen, erin McCarley State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $16 Time: 7 p.m.

Combichrist, Black Light Burns State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $16/19 Time: 7 p.m.

Down with Paul Reiser & The Renegade Thugs, Mortimer Nova Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Pond Water experiment Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg Time: 9:30 p.m.

The Stick Martin Show Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

FRI JANUARY 16 Del Castillo, Chicago afrobeat Project State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $17/20 Time: 7 p.m.

D’Visitors, Sugardaddy Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Hamel on Trial Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $7/10 Time: 8 p.m.

Netter’s 30th Birthday Party Feat. King Bee, Biggodtalking, Thrash attack Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Roppongi’s ace CD Release Party Feat. Will Quinlan & The Diviners, Have gun, Will Travel, Rachel goodrich New World Brewery, Ybor City Time: 8 p.m.

Smokestack & The Foothill Fury, Corduroy Road, Blind Buddy Moody Dave’s Aqua Louge, St. Petersburg Cost: $7 Time: 9:30 p.m.

Tailgunner Joe & The earls of Slander, Urbane Cowboys, Someday Souvenir, glasgow Crowbar, Ybor City Time: 8 p.m.

The Dive Bar Stalkers Ringside Cafe, St. Petersburg Wu-Tang Clan Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg Cost: $36.50/40 Time: 7 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 17 aSg The Garage, St. Petersburg Time: 8 p.m.

29

Donna The Buffalo Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $20/25 Transmit Now, Sugarroot, Consumed By Solitude, Shaffer, Reggie Williams Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

TUE JOELUARY 20 alejandro escovedo, Randall Bramlett Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $20/25 Time: 8 p.m.

Los Campesinos!, Titus andronicus Orpheum, Ybor City Cost: $13/14 Time: 7 p.m.

WED JANUARY 21 Two Man gentlemen Band, Nervous Turkey New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $7 Time: 9 p.m.

THU JANUARY 22 geri X, Will Quinlan, Vega Star Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

James Hunter, Ryan Shaw Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $25 Time: 8 p.m.

Mogul Street Reserve, Sugarroot, Triptico Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

FRI JANUARY 23 Big Sam’s Funky Nation, The Trio Crowbar, Ybor City Cost: $10 Time: 8:30 p.m.

Clock Hands Strangle, alexander & The grapes, Will Farina, Matt Hires New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $8 Time: 9 p.m.

Fallen From The Sky, Static Radio, arm The Poor, Ramsey, Change Of Ideas, Down N’ Out Transitions Art Gallery, Tampa Cost: $8 Time: 7 p.m.

Falling awake, What Lies Within, Variance, Situation Mine State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

Roadside, WMP, Matthews Hallway Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

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YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO TAMPA BAY ISSUE 32

TAMPA BAY EVENTS Tailgunner Joe & The earls of Slander Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg Time: 9:30 p.m.

None Like Us, The Brass Plaids Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 24

Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Fiesta Feat. enrique Iglesias, Belanova Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa Cost: $20-45 Time: 6 p.m.

Brother Bean, DJ Craig Heneveld Crowbar, Ybor City Cost: $5 Time: 8:30 p.m.

Cowboy Mouth Tamiami Bar, St. Petersburg Cost: $15/18 Time: 8 p.m.

Dreadful Memories, Paradigm, Kronik Disorder, Slave2None, Foreshadow, This endless War State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $12 Time: 7 p.m.

Miggs, Benjy Davis Project, ernie Halter, Poundsalt Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

The Dukes of Juke Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg Time: 9:30 p.m.

Pre Superbowl Reggae Party Feat: gwan Massive, DJ Blenda Crowbar, Ybor City Cost: FREE! Time: 9 p.m.

Sex Robots, The Rest of Us Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

St. Petersburg College Jazz Festival Feat. alfredo Rivero & Manigua, O Som Do Jazz w/andrea Moreas Mason SPC Gibbs Campus Music Center, St. Petersburg Cost: $10 donation/ Free with Student ID Time: 7:30 p.m.

The Dark Romantics, Look Mexico, auto!automatic!!, TV Club New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $7 Time: 9 p.m.

Sunset Bridge Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Walker Smith Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg Time: 9:30 p.m.

SUN JANUARY 25

SAT JANUARY 31

Bobby Lee Rodgers (The Codetalkers) New World Brewery, Ybor City Time: 7 p.m.

Barrelhead Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Fatdaddy, Hudlem Boyz, 1 Block Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Chris McCarty, Mark gaignard Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $7/10 Time: 8 p.m.

The english Beat, Bad Manners Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg Cost: $19.99/25 Time: 7 p.m.

Lobster Newburg Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

TUE JANUARY 27 Keller Williams Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg Cost: $22/25 Time: 8 p.m.

WED JANUARY 28 Dave Matthews Tribute Band Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $7/10 Time: 8 p.m.

THU JANUARY 29 Dark Star Orchestra Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg Cost: $22/27 Time: 7 p.m.

Pre Superbowl Party Feat: DJ Dummy (Common’s DJ), DJ Mega Crowbar, Ybor City Cost: FREE! Time: 9 p.m. green Sunshine Pegasus Lounge, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

John Legend Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater Cost: $46-79.50 Time: 8 p.m.

Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash Feat. Rihanna, Fall Out Boy Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa Cost: $20-45 Time: 6 p.m.

St. Petersburg College Jazz Festival Feat. Helios Jazz Orchestra w/Sue Terry SPC Gibbs Campus Music Center,St. Petersburg Cost: $10 donation/Free with Student ID

Magadog, Light Yourself on Fire, eyeznpowa, Candy Bars New World Brewery, Ybor City Cost: $8 Time: 9 p.m.

My So-Called 90’s Pre Superbowl Party Feat: Uncle Jessie & DJ Hustlehoff Crowbar, Ybor City Cost: FREE! Time: 9 p.m.

St. Petersburg College Jazz Festival Feat. The Sue Terry Quartet SPC Gibbs Campus Music Center, St. Petersburg Cost: $10 donation Free with Student ID Time: 7:30 p.m.

Stuk, Inabliss, To The River Red, Justinface State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

Tucci Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg Time: 9:30 p.m.

WED FEBRUARY 04 Pato Banton & Mystic Roots, DJ Diesel Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $12/15 Time: 8 p.m.

Soilwork, Darkane, Warbringer, Swallow The Sun The Garage, St. Petersburg Time: 8 p.m.

THU FEBRUARY 05 B.B. King & Buddy guy Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater Cost: $49.50-125 Time: 8 p.m.

Perpetual groove Crowbar, Ybor City

The eagles St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa Cost: $47.75-187.75 Time: 8 p.m.

FRI FEBRUARY 06

FRI JANUARY 30

earth Bombs Mars Kelly’s Pub, Tampa Time: 9 p.m.

Damon Fowler group Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa Cost: $10/15 Time: 8 p.m.

Global Decay, Cowboy Mafia, Radio amp, Dude We’re Killer, everise State Theatre, St. Petersburg Cost: $12 Time: 7 p.m.

Paleface, Dish, Lauris Vidal New World Brewery, Ybor City Time: 9 p.m.

Perpetual groove Crowbar, Ybor City

Page 30 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

Sherry’s

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JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • Page 31

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15333 Amberly Dr. • Tampa, FL 33647 myspace.com/peabodysbilliards

813.972.1725

drink FREE from 10:30pm - 12:30am• 18+ Welcome TWISTED TUESDAYS Ladiesr Pitche rs starting at $6 • 2-4-1 Wells Liquo S AT THE PALM

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DOLLAR DAze WEDNESDAYS $1 Liquor Pitchers starting at $6 THURSDAY LIQUOR PITCHER NIGHT 2-4-1 Wells & Drafts • $2 Shots

& Capt. Morgan big check fridays $4 Bacardis stic Beer Pitchers • $12 Capt. Morgan Pitchers $6 Dome

Full Menu • Dancing • 14 Pro Pool Tables Four Full Liquor Bars • 32 Beers on Tap •nic Store 18 Electro Dart Boards • NFL Ticket • Liquor + More!

Page 32 • REAX MUSIC Magazine • JANUARY 2009

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • Page 33

34

YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO ORLANDO & CENTRAL FLORIDA ISSUE 32

A LOCAL GUIDE TO ORLANDO & CENTRAL FL HOTSPOTS: VENUES BACKBOOTH INDEPENDENT BAR Great room and beer selection, a favorite scene hangout with an eclectic lineup of local and touring acts.

37 West Pine St., Orlando backbooth.com

BAR-B-Q BAR

Not really a venue, per se, but it’s a great bar and it’s jammed between The Social and the Independent, so you’re gonna end up taking your business out in the old-school photo booth at some point.

64 N. Orange ave., Orlando

BLACK BOX COLLECTIVE

It’s like a community center for cool kids, activists, anarchists and free thinkers - live music, workshops, art shows, etc.

630 W. Central Blvd., Orlando myspace.com/ theblackboxcollective

CLUB FIRESTONE

It’s actually a converted Firestone building. Great club, heavy on DJ/ dance stuff but hosts trendy-cool touring bands as well.

578 North Orange ave., Orlando clubfirestone.com

COPPER ROCKET PUB

Out toward Maitland, a cool little beerand-wine bar that hosts a lot of roots, singer-songwriter and rock/punk-abilly shows.

106 Lake ave., Orlando copperrocketpub.com

HARD ROCK LIVE

Big, stylish room where you’ll see up-and-coming nationals for the last time before they hit arenas opening for someone even bigger, and the area’s top-drawing regional acts.

6050 Universal Blvd., Orlando hardrock.com

HOUSE OF BLUES

Lots of perennially cool nationals and big local draws.

1490 east Buena Vista Dr., Orlando hob.com

All sorts of hipsterific DJ and dance nights - Wave Pop Wednesdays seem to be a particular favorite - and occasional shows in the downtown space that used to house Barbarella.

70 N. Orange ave., Orlando independentbar.com

REDLIGHT REDLIGHT

The favored killer-beer purveyor is now open at its new location.

745 Bennett Rd., Winter Park myspace.com/theredlightredlight

THE AKA LOUNGE

A nightlife chameleon, where hip-hop, funk DJs and ‘80s nights rage alongside local-band lineups.

68 east Pine St., Orlando myspace.com/akalounge

THE DUNGEON

Often unknown to out-of-towners, this warehouse space caters to the extreme metal underground.

6440 North Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando myspace.com/dungeonorlando

THE HAVEN

Another Winter Park destination, this one specializing in metal and the heavier end of the alternative spectrum.

6700 aloma ave., Winter Park 407-673-2712 thehavenrocks.com

THE PEACOCK ROOM

HOTSPOTS: EATS AUSTIN’S ORGANICS JAX 5TH AVE. DELI & ALE Organic Fairtrade beans, a surprising array of light and/or vegetarianfriendly fare, and regular nighttime entertainment.

929 W. Fairbanks ave., Winter Park 407-975-3364

DRUNKEN MONKEY COFFEE

Emily sez “free wi-fi, homemade soups, Panini, wraps, quiche, vegan & vegetarian available, live art on Mondays, movie night on Sunday, music movie night on Tues.” Whew 444 N. Bumby ave., Orlando

ETHOS VEGAN KITCHEN

Orlando Weekly’s Best Vegan Restaurant of ‘08 sports an insanely deep menu, including pizza and brunch offerings.

1235 N. Orange ave., Orlando

FIDDLER’S GREEN

One of Winter Park’s favorite hangouts, with traditional Irish pub fare and live entertainment to match.

544 W. Fairbanks ave., Winter Park

FALAFEL CAFE

Relatively inexpensive Mediterranean radness.

12140 Collegiate Way, Orlando

Deja Vu Vintage Clothing Specializes in vintage looks.

1825 North Orange ave., Orlando 407-898-3609

THE SOCIAL

HIPKAT

WILL’S PUB

Now open! See our Spotlight, one page over.

1040 N. Mills Ave., Orlando 407-898-5070 myspace.com/willspub

Page 34 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

LAZY MOON PIZZA

Pizza by the slice. Cold beer. Cheap combinations of cold beer and pizza by the slice.

12269 University Blvd., Orlando 407-658-2396

STARDUST VIDEO & COFFEE

So much more than a coffee shop. Full menu for vegetarians and carnivores alike.

1842 e. Winter Park Rd., Orlando 407-623-3393

TASTE

Healthy, fusion-y California-style tapas and sometimes live music in College Pk. 717 W. Smith St., Orlando 407-835-0646

THE PITA PIT

Bridges the gap between fast and healthy. Also, they’re open late.

1 South Orange ave., Orlando 12040 Collegiate Way, Orlando

HOTSPOTS: WEARABLES DEJA VU VINTAGE CLOTHING PINK HEART BOUTIQUE

Downtown party spot that does a lot of DJ stuff as well as live bands.

1321 North Mills avenue, Orlando thepeacockroom.com

Pretty much Orlando’s default live indie-rock room, but they do more, too.

54 North Orange ave., Orlando thesocial.org

Most older patrons are here for the beer selection, but the sandwiches are hard to beat, too.

3400 edgewater Dr., Orlando 407-999-8934

This boutique carries some hard-to-find brands, and wholeheartedly supports local music. Check their Myspace page for deals and discounts.

Orlando Fashion Square Mall 3201 e. Colonial Dr., Orlando 407-897-7035 myspace.com/hipkatapparel

Recently featured in Lucky Magazine, this shop offers scads of accessories as well as image consulting.

4825 New Broad St., Orlando 407-228-6013 pinkheartboutique.com

STATIC

Rock ‘n’ roll fashion covering pretty much every inch of the territory that implies.

240 N. Orlando ave., Winter Park 407-478-1083 myspace.com/staticwinterpark

A GUIDE TO ORLANDO & CENTRAL FLORIDA YOU ARE HERE ISSUE 32

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

35

ALBUM SPOTLIGHT: KINGSBURY LIE TO ME (SELF RELEASED)

THOMAS WYNN

& THE BELIEVERS

Words: John Prinzo

T

he first time I was introduced to Thomas Wynn’s music was via a mutual friend who insisted I hear this band. The Wynn Brothers were a family band with southern rock roots that ritualistically began every show with “The Weight;” the influence of The Band was evident in their own sound and vibe, as well. Thomas, equal parts Levon Helm (minus the drums) and Waylon Jennings, had fronted the endeavor since before he was of drinking age, but the demands of real life dissolved the Wynn family band, leaving Thomas thirsty to pursue his vision.

If you spend any time in downtown Orlando, you’ve probably heard him.

Playing anywhere from The Globe to the Cheyenne Saloon, his solo set of classicrock gems blending seamlessly with originals is sure to be echoing off walls and down Orange Avenue. He might be the hardest working musician in Orlando, and it is paying off.

His new band The Believers expands on the classic and southern rock themes of the Wynn Brothers; his music has grown.

It has more weight. Thom Damon’s solid drumming and Showcat Luise’s bass lock down the rhythm section, while Justin Beckler’s lead guitar opens up the sound.

Beckler’s guitar work elevates their presentation with fierce, bluesy chops and southern grace. Wynn’s own guitar work is vastly improved from earlier incarnations, and their music peaks when he intertwines with Beckler’s playing in some of the more thunderous jams and solos that punctuate The Believers’ work.

Wynn is also maturing as a songwriter.

The tunes are brutally honest and heartfelt - every word, every note registers on his pained face. His vocals are starting to sound seasoned and direct. A mix of earnest emotion and practice lends more conviction and power to his voice. Helping Wynn out in the vocal department is his sister Olivia, whose sweet, strong vocal response makes the perfect companion to his yearning banshee cries. Her words give lyrical depth and auditory balance to The Believers’ delivery.

For once, you have a Florida band that is Florida. They look Florida, they sound Florida - with a touch of Molly Hatchett sprinkled on The Band, Neil Young, and The Black Crowes. Not hipster-bullshit transplant Florida, but Florida Florida.

The sum of the parts is one of the strongest live shows in the state. The music is becoming more stately and sweeping, with powerful melodies and hooks, grinding jams with soaring guitars and tight drum work, and a frontman that can carry “the weight.”

February 7, 2009 sees the release of Thomas Wynn and The Believers’ first full-length album The Reason. If they can capture some of the power present in their live shows, The Reason will be a tipping point in Wynn’s career.

The CD release party for The Reason will be at The Social on February 7.

MYSPACE.COM/THOMASWYNNANDTHEBELIEVERS

This EP of six songs, a follow-up to the Orlando act’s Post Records full-length The Compromise, was released for free via download on their website back in November. If you’re a sucker for a mellow band that’s desperately trying to sound original or indie, Kingsbury is definitely for you. The tone of the album is dark and moody, and each song seems to carry the same gloomy, soft vocals and simple piano chords. The guitar also follows the same trend, with long, low riffs barely carrying the melody through each entire song. My favorite song on the album would have to be track four, “Holy War.” I find the tandem vocals of members Mark Freeman and Samantha Christine near the middle of the track to sound particularly eerie, and fitting for the vibe of this group of songs. Think of Kingsbury as a depressed, even suicidal version of Copeland, and maybe a distant third cousin of Radiohead. - Justine Griffin

SPOTLIGHT

Photo: amy Vanschaik

WHERE THERE’S A WILL’S...

T

he Orlando folks already know this, but a ton of people from around the state who lovingly remember making multiple trips to see their favorite bands at this particular little watering hole may not have heard yet, so allow us to spread the good news as far and wide as we’re able: after what seems like years of rumor, speculation, false starts, delays and red tape, THE NEW VERSION OF WILL’S PUB IS OPEN. Will Walker finally got his new location - still on Mills - open back at the end of November, and it’s already making up for lost time and returning to the top of the list of O-Town’s favorite little venues/ hangouts. Good beer, good friends and good entertainment are the house rules;

this month alone, they’ve got shows aplenty on the docket (including perennial faves Gargamel!, Nebraska’s Box Elders, Attachedhands and a Red Gorilla showcase featuring Mumpsy, XOXO and others), as well as art shows and a January 17 Surf Expo party. So if there are any hometown live music fans who haven’t heard the news, make sure you stop in at your earliest opportunity, and those of us from other scenes should already have at least one road trip out to welcome Will’s back from limbo on the calendar.

Will’s Pub is located at 1040 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando. The phone number is 407-8985070.

MYSPACE.COM/WILLSPUB

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • Page 35

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YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO ORLANDO & CENTRAL FLORIDA ISSUE 32

HOTSPOTS: LIFESTYLE BOOM-ART BY ROGERS STUDIO RON JON SURF SHOP Custom pop illustrations that are simultaneously modern and nostalgic; yes, they’ll paint anything - a chair, a door, a bench, whatever.

1821 North Orange ave., Orlando 407-895-0280 rainfall.com/crafts/boom-art/

DRUMS2GO

Everything percussion, and indie to boot.

204 S. Semoran Blvd., Orlando 407-306-0611 drums2go.com

GALACTIC G SKATE SHOP

This downtown skate shop has been around for nearly 12 years, and boasts one of the biggest inventories of gear and peripherals around.

334 e. Harvard St., Orlando 407-895-0410 myspace.com/galacticg

REDEFINE

Sure, the original location long ago graduated from surf touchstone to tourist trap. But at least you know where to get stuff to send to your friends back home.

5160 International Dr., Orlando 407-481-2555 ronjons.com

THE F.I.R.S.T. SCHOOL

The Florida Institute of Recording, Sound and Technology. There you go: educations in recording, film/video, digital media.

3315 Maggie Blvd., Suite 100, Orlando 407-316-8310

VANS SKATEPARK

A sick concrete bowl, along with all the vert, mini-ramps and street-course obstacles you’d expect.

5220 International Dr., Orlando 407-351-3881 vans.com/vans/skateparks

A combination art gallery/clothing boutique that’s a new part of the emerging arts district on downtown Magnolia Ave.

IKEA

Yes, those of us over on the west coast are dying of jealousy. Cheap, neat-looking furniture and a food court? It’s worth it just for the walkaround.

4092 eastgate Dr., Orlando ikea-usa.com

PARK AVE. CDS

They support the local scene, promote shows and even host in-stores.

2916 Corrine Dr., Orlando 407-447-PaRK UCF Student Union, Orlando 407-282-1616 parkavecds.com

WED JANUARY 07 Box elders, Paradise Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Johnny Plastic & The Rubberband, The Vanity Plan BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 7 p.m.

THU JANUARY 08 In Violent Times, Crisis in Hollywood, T13C, Woodworks The Social, Orlando Cost: $5/7 Time: 7 p.m.

Killing Hope AKA Lounge, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

The Herons, empyres BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 7 p.m.

FRI JANUARY 09 Hindu Cowboys Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Madball, LVg, Thick as Blood, Kids Like Us BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $12 Time: 7 p.m.

Your place for vinyl - the round kind that makes noises.

1814 North Orange ave., Orlando 407-896-1952 rock-n-rollheaven.com

THE GUITAR DEN

This place specializes in used and vintage guitars, amps and replacement parts. An impersonal bigbox retailer it ain’t; just check out the info and disclaimers on their website, and you’ll know they’re on it.

5515 S. Orange ave., Orlando 407-855-1333

UBERBOT

An awesome collectible-design shop - art, figures, designer toys, basically Cool Geek Utopia.

480 N. Orlando ave., Winter Park 407-788-UBeR uberbotonline.com

WED JANUARY 14 Donna The Buffalo The Social, Orlando Cost: $15 Time: 8 p.m.

Nicole’s Birthday Bash Feat. Sound Cannon, Maitland, Spinlight City, Not Them, One Fall away The Haven, Orlando Cost: $7 Time: 6 p.m.

She Can’t Breathe, Crisis in Hollywood, Freshman 15, 1994 BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $7/8 Time: 8 p.m.

THU JANUARY 15 Blktop Project The Social, Orlando Cost: $8/10 Time: 9 p.m.

The Spring Standards, The Dealers, Bob On Blond, Vanda BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $6 Time: 7 p.m.

FRI JANUARY 16 amberly Park, I Dream of Zombie, as Light Comes In Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/7 Time: 5:30 p.m.

Wiltown AKA Lounge, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Brett Dennen, erin McCarley The Social, Orlando Cost: $15 Time: 9 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 10

Dish, Token gamblers, The Oakhill Drifters Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Kim, Dani Shay, anyone’s guess, Simone Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 10 p.m.

Red Gorilla Music Fest Feat. Mumpsy, The Beauvilles, XOXO, Poverty Branch Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 8 p.m.

Tea Leaf green, The elmwood Band The Social, Orlando Cost: $10/13 Time: 9 p.m.

SUN JANUARY 11 Heavy & Light Feat. John Foreman (Switchfoot), aaron gillespie (Underoath), Dustin Kensrue (Thrice), anthony Reneri (Bayside), Josh Moore, Zach Williams House of Blues, Orlando Cost: $12 Time: 6:30 p.m.

Irrational, Hydrosonic, The Mulligan Project, Blood on the Dance Floor The Social, Orlando Cost: $5/7 Time: 5 p.m.

Will’s Reggae Revival Feat. DJ Conquering One Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

MON JANUARY 12 School Boy Humor, Select Start, Vega Under Fire The Social, Orlando Cost: $8 Time: 7 p.m.

The Sweet Kings, Royal City Riot, The Void Union Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 6 p.m.

TUE JANUARY 13 Hail archer The Social, Orlando Cost: $8/10 Time: 5 p.m.

Page 36 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

The Year ends In arson, Soldier City Legends, Werewolves in Wysteria, Cities BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $6/7 Time: 7 p.m.

Martin Sexton, Matt MacKelcan The Social, Orlando Cost: $20/22 Time: 8 p.m.

galactic, Trombone Shorty, The Lee Boys House of Blues, Orlando Cost: $17.50-30 Time: 8 p.m.

HOTSPOTS: RETAIL DISCOUNT MUSIC CENTER ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HEAVEN DMC continues to hold off the big-box music-store chains, maybe because it’s so big its damn self.

3301 gardenia ave., Orlando 407-423-4171 discountmusic.com

ORLANDO EVENTS

Funeral For a Friend, The Sleeping, emarosa, This Is Hell (Early Show) The Social, Orlando Cost: $14 Time: 3 p.m.

Surf Expo Party Feat. aSg, Country Slashers, How Dare You, Liquid Limbs BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $8/10 Time: 7 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 17 alejandro escovedo The Social, Orlando Cost: $15 Time: 9 p.m. gargamel!, Black In The Mind, Mr. Bella, afterglow Radio, 7 Blue Skies House of Blues, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 7 p.m.

Surf Expo Day Feat. Freedom Hawk, Hex Tremors Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Surf Expo Party Feat. Hor!zen, Savi Fernandez Band, Mindrise BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $6 Time: 7 p.m.

SUN JANUARY 18 Blitzkid, Big City Bombers, awesome & The asskickers BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $8/10 Time: 7 p.m.

K92 FM All Star Acoustic Jam Hard Rock Live, Orlando Cost: $41/61 Time: 7 p.m.

Smokestack & Foothill Fury, Corduroy Road Copper Rocket, Orlando Time: 5 p.m.

Will’s Reggae Revival Feat. DJ Conquering One Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

A GUIDE TO ORLANDO & CENTRAL FLORIDA YOU ARE HERE ISSUE 32

MON JANUARY 19 go Radio, a Kidnap in Color, Colour academy The Social, Orlando Cost: $8 Time: 7 p.m.

TUE JANUARY 20 Chicago afrobeat Project, DJ BMF, Slack The Social, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 10 p.m.

Obama Inauguration Celebration Feat. gasoline Heart BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 8 p.m.

DubConscious, Savi Fernandez Band The Social, Orlando Cost: $10 Time: 9 p.m.

THU JANUARY 29 Keller Williams The Social, Orlando Cost: $20/25 Time: 8 p.m.

Monster Battle of the Bands BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

Rabbits With glasses Hot Topic, Fashion Square Mall, Orlando Cost: Free Time: 6:30 p.m.

WED JANUARY 21

FRI JANUARY 30

Pop Culture Clash, Jawn Mallon BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $6 Time: 8 p.m.

John gallagher’s Painted Ladies Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Yo Majesty!, Natalie The Social, Orlando Cost: $10 Time: 8 p.m.

THU JANUARY 22 Modern Day escape, These Words Remain AKA Lounge, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

FRI JANUARY 23 empyres, Magadog Copper Rocket, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

JJ grey & Mofro, Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights, Cowboy Mouth House of Blues, Orlando Cost: $15-27 Time: 7 p.m.

JJ grey & Mofro (In-Store Performance) Park Ave. CDs, Orlando Cost: FREE! Lost In Chaos, Fall of envy, Hail Coda The Social, Orlando Cost: $8/10 Time: 9 p.m.

Shak Nasti, Bobby Lee Rodgers (Codetalkers) Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 24 Ballas Hough Band The Social, Orlando Cost: $10/13 Time: 8 p.m.

Contest of arms, Fallen From The Sky, Words Now Heard, Static Radio (Early Show) Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 4 p.m.

Gorillafight, Ulcer, Cethkyn BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $7 Time: 7 p.m.

Libyan Hit Squad, Slippery Slopes Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9:30 Trust Company, Senate, Junkie Rush, Under The Flood, Transmit Now House of Blues, Orlando Cost: $5 Time: 7 p.m.

SUN JANUARY 25 Jon McLaughlin The Social, Orlando Cost: $12 Time: 7:30 p.m.

Semi Precious Weapons, Von Iva, Nico Vega BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $8/10 Time: 7 p.m.

Will’s Reggae Revival Feat. DJ Conquering One Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Monster Battle of the Bands BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $10 Time: 7 p.m.

Orlando Music Awards Showcase Copper Rocket, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Virgos Merlot, Social ghost, 7 Blue Skies The Social, Orlando Cost: $15 Time: 9 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 31 Cori Yarckin, Megaphone, Transmit Now BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $7 Time: 7 p.m.

37

ALBUM SPOTLIGHT: SOUND CANNON LET THE LIGHT IN (TALKING TABS RECORDS)

Sound Cannon, an Orlando-based pop-punk band, released the EP Let the Light In on December 19. Though the six-song EP sounds a little elementary, it’s a great coming of age release for the young band. Each song is catchy, upbeat and it’s honestly just a fun album, a.k.a. the perfect “sing along” CD. Unfortunately, I think this kind of band is a dying breed; the young, punky sounds of bands like Allister, Home Grown, and even Rancid are being replaced by robotic Fall Out Boy acolytes like Cobra Starship and Panic at the Disco. But it’s nice to see a young local band not conforming to an already overdone type of sound, and this introductory EP is well put together. The guitar riffs are quick, the vocals not whiny but rather long and loud, and everything comes together very well. I think you can expect a lot more from Sound Cannon after a solid early EP like this.

- Justine Griffin

Future On Films In Space, attachedhands, The Pauses Will’s Pub, Orlando Time: 9 p.m.

Hand To Hold, Crisis in Hollywood, adeste, The Siren The Social, Orlando Cost: $5/7 Time: 8 p.m.

Second Heat, Unit Shifters Central Station, Orlando Cost: $5/7 Time: 5:30 p.m.

The Wailers Perform exodus, Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds House of Blues, Orlando Cost: $18.25-50.50 Time: 8 p.m.

MON FEBRUARY 02 Southside Johnny & The asbury Jukes Hard Rock Live, Orlando Cost: $35/45 Time: 8 p.m.

Thriving Today BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $12.50/15 Time: 6 p.m.

WED FEBRUARY 04 Cattle Decapitation, Psyopus, Book of Black earth, gigan BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $12/15 Time: 6 p.m.

THU FEBRUARY 05 O Death, Hex Tremors, Token gamblers BackBooth, Orlando Cost: $8/10 Time: 7 p.m.

The ReBirth Brass Band The Social, Orlando Cost: $13/15 Time: 8 p.m.

FRI FEBRUARY 06 andrew Bird, Lonely Dear The Plaza Theatre, Orlando Cost: $20/25 Time: 7:30 p.m.

WED JANUARY 28

Pato Banton, Mystic Roots Band, Hor!zen, DJ Diesel The Social, Orlando Cost: $12/14 Time: 9 p.m.

3 Doors Down Hard Rock Live, Orlando Cost: $45-85 Time: 7:30 p.m.

The B-52s House of Blues, Orlando Cost: $39.50-93 Time: 7:30 p.m.

Dark Star Orchestra House of Blues, Orlando Cost: $19-54 Time: 7 p.m.

Tim & eric’s awesome Show great Job Hard Rock Live, Orlando Cost: $15/25 Time: 8 p.m.

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YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO GAINESVILLE & NORTHEAST FLORIDA ISSUE 32

A LOCAL GUIDE TO GAINESVILLE & NORTH FL HOTSPOTS: VENUES 1982 COMMON GROUNDS All-ages friendly live-music hangout.

919 W. University ave., gainesville myspace.com/1982_bar

G-ville’s premier punk/indie-rock club.

210 S.W. 2nd ave., Ste. a, g-ville commongroundslive.com

THE ATLANTIC

FREEBIRD LIVE

Cozy, eclectic bar and performance space that usually does live music four nights a week.

15 N. Main St., gainesville myspace.com/atlanticnights

BACKSTAGE LOUNGE

Formerly Eddie C’s, the Backstage caters to more mainstream rock and alt-rock tastes than some of the area’s more indie-centric nightspots.

1315 S. Main St., gainesville myspace.com/backstagelounge

EL INDIO

We think yelp.com commenter Kasey S. says all that needs to be said about this G-ville standby: “Burritos are good, food is cheap, sauce is a must.”

407 NW 13th St., gainesville 352-377-5828

FLACO’S CUBAN BAKERY

More of a diner than bakery. Popular with vegetarians, and drunk folks who really want a meaty sandwich after hitting the bars.

200 W. University ave., gainesville 352-371-2000

LEONARDO’S 706

This meeting-and-eating spot is well known for its gourmet pizzas and Sunday brunch.

706 W. University ave., gainesville (352) 378-2001 leonardos706.com

Derf. Until this hipster favorite opens its Orlando outlet store, Gainesville is the only place in Florida north of the Miami area to get all the stuff you’ve seen on all the cool kids lately.

A bit of a drive, but it hosts many touring shows that don’t hit G-ville.

200 N. 1st St., Jacksonville Beach freebirdlive.com

Last minute update: The Orlando store is now open!

15 S.W. 1st ave., gainesville 352-372-2262 americanapparel.net

THE KICKSTAND

GOODWILL INDUSTRIES

This altruistic endeavor - more formally known as The Gainesville Community Bicycle Project - promotes responsible bicycle use and ownership when not hosting the shows that help raise operating funds.

722 S. Main St., gainesville thekickstand.org

HOTSPOTS: EATS DRAGONFLY SUSHI MAUDE’S CLASSIC CAFE Award-winning sushi. Their website alone looks good enough to eat.

201 Se 2nd ave., gainesville 352-371-3359 dragonflysushi.com

HOTSPOTS: WEARABLES PERSONA VINTAGE AMERICAN APPAREL CLOTHING & COSTUMES

Opinions vary wildly, but if you want to see/overhear what the hippies and hipsters in town are wearing/doing, this is the place.

101 S.e. 2nd Pl., gainesville 352-336-9646

REGGAE SHACK

Yup, just what you’d expect everything from jerk chicken and beef patties to curry, Caribbean salads and hell-yes passion fruit smoothies.

619 W. University ave., gainesville 352-377-5464

SAIGON LEGEND

Casual atmosphere, fairly cheap Asian food. People rave about their pho, a Vietnamese soup/staple.

1228 W. University ave., gainesville 352-374-0934

THE TOP

It’s been called the best restaurant in town. Folks are critical of the service, but the full bar seems to help. Another hot brunch spot, as well.

30 N. Main St., gainesville 352-337-1188

Page 38 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

The thrifts in most college towns are usually pretty well picked over, but this is Florida - unintentionally ironic t-shirt heaven.

3520 S.W. 34th St., gainesville 352-376-9041

This joint has a reputation for great threads and kitschy or unusual gifts.

201 S.e. 2nd Pl., gainesville 352-372-0455

STORE 101

Clothes. Art. Books. Comics. Cool.

101 N. Main St., gainesville 352-377-7044 store101.net

WOLFGANG

A more upscale place that carries the kinds of designers not usually found outside of bigger cities.

1127 W. University ave., gainesville 352-505-8123

HOTSPOTS: RETAIL RECYCLED BIKES HEAR AGAIN CDS AND DVDS Rent and roll.

805 W. University ave., gainesville 352-372-4890

The sign says “Gainesville’s largest home of music and movies,” and that sounds about right.

818 W. University ave., gainesville 352-373-1800

HOTSPOTS: LIFESTYLE BODYTECH TATTOO MOTHER EARTH MARKET One of Gainesville’s biggest and most community-conscious body-art enterprises for a decade.

306 W. University ave., gainesville 352-376-4090 bodytechtattoo.com

Organic groceries, holistic supplements, and a schedule of events and lectures held right on the premises.

521 N.W. 13th St., gainesville 352-378-5244

FREERIDE SURF SHOP

MODERN AGE TOBACCO & GIFT SHOP

Named after the classic wave flick.

420 N.W. 13th St., gainesville 352-373-SURF freeridesurfshop.com

Your one-stop shop for things with dancing teddy bears on them.

1035 N.W. 76th Blvd., gainesville 352-332-5100

A GUIDE TO GAINESVILLE & NORTHEAST FLORIDA YOU ARE HERE ISSUE 32

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

39

ALBUM SPOTLIGHT: T13C

WE’VE CREATED A MONSTER (TRUE FALSE RECORDS)

DEAR DAKOTA

Look, not every band can be blindingly original. Young musicians are going to emulate what they like, what’s popular, what’s going to get them on the cool shows and laid. And T13C’s five-song release is at least as good as every other above-average emo-rock disc we’ve all heard from a regional act over the last couple of years - the instrumental performances are tight and punchy, the hooks and angst are palpable, the vocal harmonies are spotless (in point of fact, Joe Loffredo is one hell of a great singer). Shades of The Chase Theory’s taut moodiness and Hot Water Music’s more experimental A Flight And A Crash phase - the riff from Monster’s title track could’ve been lifted from that HWM CD’s namesake tune - even occasionally set T13C apart from their poppier, more generic peers. But not far enough, and not often enough. That this kind of talent is being put to use making sounds that were already choking the scene two years ago, superior as they are, is vaguely depressing. - Scott Harrell

Words & Photo: Joel Mora

A

fter their four-and-a-half-hour drive and six-hour wait it’s Dear Dakota’s turn to hit the stage at The Talent Farm in Pembroke Pines. Drummer Eric Millsaps sets up his kit, which he doesn’t allow anyone else to touch; Zane Bezesky practices his mic swinging, checking the circumference of his twirls and making sure he doesn’t harm any of his bandmates; and James Patrick, Mike Gray, and Tyler Cole tune their guitars and bass.

The Gainesville pop-rock group knows it’s important to have a good show - it’s their first time in South Florida. Before they start, the band put their hands in a circle and say, “Let’s have fun!” They turn around and encounter the dead faces of the 15 people in attendance.

Bezesky, with the energy of an artist in an arena, screams, “We’re Dear Dakota. Let’s ROCK OUT,” and the band dive into their set.

Playing a show in front of 15 people might be familiar to any band that’s been together only 11 months, but Dear Dakota have reached milestones that for most bands require more years and more facial hair. They’ve opened for Motion City Soundtrack, played in front of thousands at Gator Growl, and have clothing and instrument endorsements.

The band credit their successes to their hard work and dedication.

“For Gator Growl we only played ‘Ode to an Ex’, but we practiced it at least 200 times that week,” says Cole.

“Dude, I crack the whip,” adds Patrick.

With their EP, Sink or Swim, coming out in February, the band hope to gain more attention with their self-described “pop for the introspective.” Their melody-driven sound and emotion-dissecting lyrics have created a fanbase stretching from junior high kids - they recently played at a middle school - to the college crowd. Their style grabs from both Anberlin and Journey (“Steve Perry is my hero,” says Bezesky); however, they try to create their own identity with songs like “Summers in FLA.” The show at The Talent Farm is their attempt to gain exposure in South Florida.

But as one starts getting closer to the venue and see the open fields around it, one realizes that a lot of the exposure is going to the horses - literally. Dear Dakota still perform with every mic swing and guitar toss they would’ve included in a larger show. With Bezesky pointing at the audience to join in their fun, Cole starting a handclap and Patrick headbanging, the audience approaches the stage and starts dancing. After the set, they give CDs to a group of girls who sang to most of the songs.

“There are no guarantees in being in a rock band,” says Patrick. “You just got to get nuts, get sweaty.”

Dear Dakota play The Pit in Jacksonville Beach on February 6, and are scheduling a hometown Gainesville gig for February 9; check the band’s myspace page for details.

MYSPACE.COM/DEARDAKOTA

SPOTLIGHT

Photo: Carrie Waite

PUNK-COUNTRY DONE RIGHT

D

riven primarily by the efforts and enthusiasms of former Armchair Martian principal Jon Snodgrass and All singer Chad Price, Fort Collins, Colorado’s Drag The River was among the first wave of projects started by punk rockers with a yen to explore their own raw takes on classic country, folk and Americana influences. Twelve years later, Drag remains among the best, whether it’s just Price and Snodgrass swapping vocals on acoustic guitar or a full band including pedal steel. Rumor has it this show’s gonna be a stripped-down affair, seeing

how Lagwagon/Bad Astronaut/Me First & The Gimme Gimmes cohort Joey Cape will be doing his excellent, understated, Old West-flavored solo thing. And it’s not to be missed, particularly with the addition of the canny, heartfelt twang-rock of Valdosta, Georgia’s Ninja Gun and hometown boys The Takers to the bill. Whiskey-fueled singalongs are mandatory.

Drag The River, Joey Cape, Ninja Gun, The Takers @ Common Grounds, Gainesville; January 10; 9 p.m.; $8

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • Page 39

40

YOU ARE HERE A GUIDE TO GAINESVILLE & NORTHEAST FLORIDA ISSUE 32

GAINESVILLE / NE FL EVENTS WED JANUARY 07 Action Research Show 33 Feat. Kevin Blechdom, Hydrogen arm, Irene Moon, Ironing, Kenesaw Mountain Landis George’s Meet & Produce, Gainesville Cost: $5 Time: 9 p.m. green Room Rockers, alex Baugh & The Crazy Carls, The Neighbourhood Watch 1982, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Pictures of Winter, What Lies Beneath The Tide Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

THU JANUARY 08 Hith, Chrome Yellow, Dubious Vandango Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

FRI JANUARY 09 5 Day Beginning, Secret of Vessia Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

Bobby Rodgers (Codetalkers), Shak Nasti Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $10 Time: 9 p.m.

Chupaskabra, Stevie D & The No Shows, Skuff’d Shoes, assassinate The Scientist 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 10 Diocious, Inca Maya, Juniper Spring Market St. Pub, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Drag The River, Joey Cape (Lagwagon), Ninja gun, The Takers Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $8 Time: 9 p.m.

Long Strange Day, Rock ‘N’ Roll Chrome, Temporary Taboo Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

The Duppies, Royal City Riot, The Void Union The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

Turn Thieves, Stages and Stereos, and Then There Was You, allie Wetzel 1982, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

SUN JANUARY 11 Call It Conflict, Last Resolve, Bent Left, Roberta Sparrow, The Have Nots 1982, Gainesville Time: 6 p.m. galactic, Trombone Shorty Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $20 Time: 8 p.m.

Tea Leaf green, The elmwood Band Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $12/14 Time: 6 p.m.

MON JANUARY 12 alligator, Landlord, We Moderns (ex-True North) 1982, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Freshman 15, Big Boat Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

TUE JANUARY 13 eden, Timbre (mewithoutyou), Camryn 1982, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

WED JANUARY 14 Pine Hill, Broken Trust, awestruck Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Select Start, School Boy Humor, Parting Jets For Jazz Men 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

THU JANUARY 15 Hamell on Trial, Mama Trish Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $8 Time: 9 p.m.

Power Surge, The Rooze Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

FRI JANUARY 16 alejandro escovedo Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $15/20 Time: 8 p.m.

Combichrist, Black Light Burns Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $13/15 Time: 8 p.m.

Mark gaignard & The also Ran Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $7 Time: 9 p.m.

Morningbell, Quadrophones, Lauris Vidal The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

Toy grenades, Dose of Reality, Throne Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 17 Blue Caimans, TJ Kelly Band Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

Blue Chips, Bean$, Neu Breed, C Scott The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 9:30 p.m.

Donna The Buffalo Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $15/20 Time: 8 p.m.

Hal McGee¹s 51st Birthday Party Concert Feat. Don Butler, Homogenized Terrestrials, Hunker Down Roy, Irene Moon, Ironing, Lissajou, Little Fyodor & Babushka, Hal Mcgee, No Limit Cycle, Richard Orlando, Otolathe, Projexorcism, aaron Zarzutzki Story House, Gainesville Cost: $5 Time: 8 p.m.

The Legendary JC’s, Funkatron, The Pull Out Market St. Pub, Gainesville Cost: $7 Umoja Orchestra Common Grounds, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

SUN JANUARY 18 Chicago afrobeat Project Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $8 Time: 6 p.m.

Los Campesinos!, Titus andronicus, Oh Sanders, Oh, Fortuna The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 7 p.m.

T13C, Stella, Olivers ave.

1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

Two Man gentlemen Band, Tobacco Pat Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $8/10 Time: 8 p.m.

MON JANUARY 19 Paint Me Irrational, Benny Cannon Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

TUE JANUARY 20 Bye Bye Bush, Hellobama Feat. Morningbell, Building Rockets Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $5

Page 40 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

FRI JANUARY 30 Trivium, Showdown, Dissonant* Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $15/20 Time: 7 p.m.

THU JANUARY 22 all The Day Holiday, So Long Forgotten Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

JJ grey & Mofro, Jonathan Tyler & Northern Lights Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $17 Time: 9 p.m.

FRI JANUARY 23 Chris McCarty, Miggs, Benjy Davis Project, ernie Halter Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

John McLaughlin Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $10/15 Time: 8 p.m.

Ninja gun, Hawks and Doves, gatorface, Virgins The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 9:30 p.m.

Paleface, Lauris Vidal & His Warm guns, Dish The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 9:30 p.m.

Pato Banton, Mystic Roots, The Duppies, DJ Diesel Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $10 Time: 9 p.m.

Whiplash (Metallica Tribute), Last Will Illuminate Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 31 Boss Lady & The Company Market St. Pub, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Matt Butcher & The Revolvers, The Ones To Blame Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $6 Time: 9 p.m.

The Butterfly Theory, The Manor, Pellets On Target Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

MON FEBRUARY 02

Zac Brown Band Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $15 Time: 8 p.m.

Kings of Pain (Police Tribute), amanda gunnels Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

SAT JANUARY 24

TUE FEBRUARY 03

Electronic SubSouth Show 47 Feat. ars Phoenix, Mad haPPy, Rabbit Punch, Zombies! Organize!!

The Atlantic, Gainesville Cost: $6/8 Time: 9:30 p.m.

Mother/Father, ars Pheonix, Tanks in Series 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

La Dispute, The Sevilles, Long gone Daddys, Funk’s INC. Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Obama Inauguration Jam Feat. Big Ugly, The ghetto g’s, Micah Shalom, The Babylonians Common Grounds, Gainesville Time: 5 p.m.

SUN JANUARY 25 Cowboy Mouth Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $15 Time: 8 p.m.

Keller Williams Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $20 Time: 8 p.m.

Static Radio, Fallen From The Sky, Dirty Money, assassinate The Scientist, Last Resolve 1982, Gainesville Time: 6 p.m.

MON JANUARY 26 Raarfaction, Michael J. Weiss Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

TUE JANUARY 27 allie Wetzel 1982, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Fucked Up, Young Livers, Cutman Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $10 Time: 9 p.m.

THU JANUARY 29 DubConscious, Diocious Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $8 Time: 9 p.m.

The Red Jumpsuit apparatus CD Release Party Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $15/20 Time: 7 p.m.

Soilwork, Darkane, Warbringer, Swallow The Sun Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville Cost: $15/20 Time: 7 p.m.

Thriving Ivory Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $10/12 Time: 8 p.m.

WED FEBRUARY 04 as I Lay Dying, Protest The Hero Freebird Live, Jacksonville Beach Cost: $15/20 Time: 7 p.m.

Corey Smith The Venue, Gainesville Cost: $15/20 Perpetual groove, Juniper Spring Market St. Pub, Gainesville Cost: $12/14 Project H Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Streetlight Manifesto, a Wilhelm Scream, The Swellers, The Stitch-Up Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $14 Time: 7 p.m.

The Love Drags 1982, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

THU FEBRUARY 05 Dar Williams, Joshua Radin, Jesse Harris Common Grounds, Gainesville Cost: $15/17 Time: 7 p.m.

Up The Irons (Iron Maiden Tribute), Last Resolve Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

FRI FEBRUARY 06

KISS army,Trumpswing Backstage Lounge, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

Micah Shalom & The Babylonians The Atlantic, Gainesville Time: 10 p.m.

The Scenic, Sparks The Rescue 1982, Gainesville Time: 8 p.m.

Moodhosa, ampersand, Paxico Via Mexico Common Grounds, Gainesville Time: 9 p.m.

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC Magazine • PAGE 41

REAX INTERVIEWS

PAGE 42 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

JOHN LEGEND Words: Ryan Patrick Hooper • Photo: Courtesy of Columbia Records

J

ohn Legend is Ivy League suave, graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English, a way with words and piano keys and a certain charismatic swagger. His speaking voice is deep and resonant, dripping with the same sort of passion that flows all over his trio of albums. After a few preliminary inquiries, it feels like one is talking to an old friend rather than an international rhythm and blues superstar whose moxy-filled strut and general demeanor lets you know he earned those five Grammy Awards. But even as a character painted upon this comfortable canvas, Legend’s most recent contribution to the music world, Evolver, is a brash reminder that his bank account, his lifestyle and his reality is a far-fetched intangible for those of us submitting to the daily grind of living paycheck to paycheck rather than pursuing our dreams. Evolver encapsulates Legend’s raw talent and turns it into strobe lightfriendly club hits and crisp, heavily produced jams suitable for Legend, but a steep departure from his unprocessed and easily relatable debut, Get Lifted. Evolver walks with a certain charismatic swagger; it doesn’t stumble like the rest of us, and neither does Legend.

drums and sings, my mother sings and my grandmother played the organ at church.

It was everywhere, and I was absolutely surrounded by it.

REAX: Let’s leap back and try to remember John Legend back in college, wandering the dorms with an awkward smile and trying to charm the ladies with his music.

John Legend: I didn’t have as much game and confidence back then, but I wasn’t nearly as successful as I am now. [Laughs] I was young when I got to college. I was sixteen years old, and I was a small town kid. If you ask my friends, they’d say I had a country drawl back then. I don’t have it anymore, but apparently, I had it back then.

Coming from Springfield, Ohio, we’re a little bit country there. I came [to the University of Pennsylvania] as a small town youngster, and it took me a little bit to get acclimated to a big city and a big campus, but I had a good time. Music was always my bridge to people.

REAX: Once your career is built around creating love songs and the mystery of multitracking is no more, do you find that it has a different effect when you hear an emotionally powerful song?

JL: I still haven’t lost my love for music.

There is still music that moves me. I’m probably a bit more picky and scrutinizing than the average listener, but it’s too late. I can’t help it. My mind is already wired that way. I’m kind of a hypercritical person when I listen, so maybe I don’t enjoy music as much as the average person because I’m analyzing it to some extent, and picking it apart. But the best music is the music that you don’t have to think about. It just hits you and you still fall in love with certain things.

REAX: And you were ridiculously involved in music on an academic level, acting as president and musical director for various a capella groups.

JL: I always wanted to be where I am right now, and every musical experience I’ve had has been preparing me for this. I knew when I was a kid that I wanted to be right here.

I just kept finding opportunities to perform and develop myself as an artist, and all those experiences paid off and helped make me who I am. Growing up, my household was immersed in music. My dad plays the

REAX: In college, the ladies weren’t having it, but now the tables have truly turned and those same girls are most likely counting their regrets. What really goes into the art of crafting the perfect love song?

JL: You want to portray the complexities of the relationship and not just always say everything is beautiful and everything is lovely. You want people to feel like it reflects reality because then they connect to it more.

I think “Ordinary People” is a quintessential example of that. It portrayed a relationship that was realistic to people, and people connected with the experience of it.

REAX: Do you translate some of the personal relationships you’ve had into your love songs?

JL: Sometimes. People might be mistaken if they think when listening to the album that it’s an autobiography or memoir of where I’ve been and where I am. More so, it’s a creative aspiration. Sometimes, it references my real life, but other times, I create things and make things up.

REAX: When you enter into the world of celebrity, how does the idea of love, romance and closeness change? When you read the tabloids, they make it seem like such a chaotic, artificial thing.

JL: Well, you know, you’re trying to savor the sense of privacy and normalcy you have, but you realize that certain aspects of your relationship are going to be under the microscope. So you try to reserve as much as you can for your own privacy, but I’ve learned to deal with it. Luckily, I’m not as followed and scrutinized as some of the more popular tabloid darlings like the Lohans

and the Britneys of the world. They can have that. I’m fine right where I am.

REAX: Is there a formula for avoiding such attention?

JL: New York is not as bad as Los Angeles.

I don’t live in Los Angeles full time, but I do spend some time here. Ultimately, I’m in New York more and it’s easier to do your thing. But in Los Angeles, paparazzi are pretty much everywhere. If you go out to lunch, if you go shopping or if you go out to a club, they will find you and scrutinize you.

But even then, they don’t show up at your house. They just might follow you around to different clubs or restaurants. So when you go to those places, you’re just aware that you’re going to be seen. So if you get over it and accept it then it’s all good.

REAX: Let’s switch gears and talk about the art of collaborating. In the media, there is such an egotistical picture painted of Kanye West, but how would you describe your personal experiences with him?

JL: I’ve known him for years, and I think he’s brilliant. I think he’s always ahead of the curve creatively, and he’s also just a good guy. He’s always been very helpful, given me great advice and been really generous when it comes to getting my career off the ground.

REAX: Is the portrait of him being an egotistical maniac fact or fiction?

JL: He sees it, but I think some of it he does on purpose as a way to keep people talking about him, which works, apparently.

Sometimes I feel like maybe I should do some more outrageous things. [Laughs] But honestly, it’s partly his personality, but he also likes to play it up for the press and you guys eat it up.

REAX: When you hit the level of celebrity, it seems as if you’ve got the option to be two people - the person you really are, and the celebrity people expect you to be.

JL: It’s not that easy of a dichotomy.

Sometimes, you play up certain aspects of your personality that are real, but you might play them up more for the cameras.

It doesn’t mean that you’re a whole other person … it just means that you emphasize some [characteristics] more than others.

REAX: Another collaboration I was interested in discussing was your work with Lauryn Hill on her track, “Everything is Everything,” off of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - considering her subsequent retraction from the idea of limelight, celebrity and fame, it would be nice to hear an insider’s point of view.

JL: I’m a fan of hers more than anything. I didn’t collaborate with her a whole lot, but you know, I’m just a fan and as a fan, I miss her. I think she made a lot of people sad and disappointed that she hasn’t made another studio album. We all would love to hear it, but it’s not up to us. It’s up to her and her journey.

REAX: When it comes down to the art of collaborating, is it more of a straightforward process of finishing up a song and walking away when it’s finished, or do you find it to be a true blending of the artists’ personalities as they attempt to create something?

JL: You definitely void your personality in some way or another. Even if the song isn’t autobiographical, you still tell the story in the way that reflects your sensibility and your vocabulary and your way of approaching life. Every artist who writes reflects their personality in the way they put their lyrics together. Even the melodies reflect certain aspects of your personality.

REAX: How have you seen yourself personally develop, and how has the footprint of your personality changed since you first started out?

JL: It’s hard to say, but if you listen to the music I’ve made over the past four or five years - or even music I made ten years ago - you definitely see growth and development and changes and experimentation and all these things. Hopefully, I’ll continue to do that. Every album has been different, and every couple of years, I continue to move on and think what the next thing I should try is.

REAX: Throughout such musical growth spurts, your lyrical approach has remained honest yet intellectual. It’s almost like you’re taking average, day-to-day dialogue from couples, or people in general, and turning into a creature of melody, rhythm and musical form.

JL: I’m trying to reflect real life conversations and situations, and do it in a smart, clever and musical way. Every experience you have informs the way you think, the way you write and everything about your artistry.

John Legend on tour in Florida: Jan. 28 - Bob Carr PAC Orlando Jan. 29 - Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater Jan. 30 - The Fillmore at Jackie Gleason Theater, Miami Beach Feb. 02 - Florida Theatre, Jacksonville

MYSPACE.COM/JOHNLEGEND

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 43

REAX INTERVIEWS

Words: Colin Kincaid • Photo: Courtesy of Volcom Entertainment

N

aw, ASG doesn’t stand for that. (Though it definitely could.) It doesn’t stand for All Systems Go, either. (Though with the buzz the band is building, maybe it should.) In this case, ASG actually stands for Amplification of Self Gratification, which, if one takes a minute to think about it, is a pretty fitting moniker for a group that constantly seems to be saddled with the “stoner rock” tag.

Hey, remember stoner rock? If you were at all sick of the way heavy music was morphing into nu-metal toward the middle of the ‘90s, you do, and fondly: huge, thundering slabs of Sabbath-nodding groove, with just the right amount of Blue Cheer-esque mutated R&B swagger, trance-shattering surprise breakneck double-time tempo revs, and spooky (often harmonized) guitar leads. A few years ago, it seemed the best way to avoid where mainstream metal was headed was to double back to the genre’s origins, and submerge your consciousness in the sounds of a younger, purer, less targetmarketed time.

Well, ASG has all that shit. The guys are

even from a seaside burg - Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, in this case - like so many of the last decade’s stoner-rock faves. But they’ve also got so much more.

“Yes, all the subgenre grouping is silly,” says guitarist/vocalist Jason Shi via e-mail.

“If we had to belong to one, I think we could cope with the stoner rock title. It’s a rather absurd title, and destined for stereotyping, but I am a fan of most of the bands that are given that association. So sure, why not?”

ASG’s fourth album, Win Us Over (out now digitally and dropping physically January 22 on Volcom, home to tons of killer rock acts and hell yes, we’ll pimp a label we believe in), explodes beyond those hallmarks of stoner rock which have also become its limitations. The anthemic chorus to “Dream On” soars like malevolent Queen, and the song ends in a racket of feedback and tribal drums that puts the intro to “For Whom The Bell Tolls” to shame. The deceptively mellow “Coffee Depression Sunshine” turns grunge inside out, revealing the power of downer psychedelia gone horribly right.

“Ballad of Richard K” puts meat on the bones of a gnashing, hooky chord change straight out of the glam-rock playbook. The

PAGE 44 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

group’s southern influences are revealed in the acoustic strains of “A Number to Murder to.” Filtered through ASG’s love of classic tones and inherent penchant for heaviness, it all sounds like it belongs.

Such genre crossbreeding is something of a trademark for the Carolinas’ underground metal scene, and actually always has been.

Before terms like thrash and metalcore were even thought of, bands like Antiseen, The Accused and Corrosion of Conformity - a group, along with the more obscure NC act Weedeater, that Shi cites as a major influence - were gleefully knocking down the walls between rock, punk, and metal.

If the riff was good, it was in, and nobody cared about what part of the aggressivemusic landscape it had come from.

That sort of disdain for differentiating styles could also be seen as characteristic of the larger area of southern music as a whole; the best murder ballads country ever produced sound like punk records, just a generation older and quieter, and most southern rock bands are only a couple of decades and Mesa Boogie amplifiers away from stoner rock themselves. It’s a tradition Shi would like to think includes ASG.

“We are from the south, so there is kind of an underdog camaraderie that seems to circulate amongst southern bands,” he writes. “We love southern rock, and it shines through in our music, so sure, if there is a heavy southern music tradition we would love to be considered part of it.”

They’ve already got another part of the heavy southern music tradition down pat “stoner rock” or no, the men of ASG have always got a few brain cells to sacrifice on the altar of that old Tennessee sour mash: “We usually consume a traditional blend of adult cocktails,” says Chi. “The audience should do the same. So if any promoters are reading this, we’d love a case of domestic beer and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

We’ll take care of the rest.”

ASG on tour in Florida: Jan. 10 – Landshark, Jacksonville Beach Jan. 11 – Chilipepper, Cocoa Beach Jan. 14 – Crowne Plaza, Melbourne Jan. 15 – Beachside Tavern, New Smyrna Jan. 16 – Backbooth, Orlando Jan. 17 – The Garage, St. Petersburg Jan. 18 – Boardriders, Boca Raton Jan. 20 – Keylime House, Lantana Jan. 21 – Corners, Jupiter Jan. 22 – Frank’s Front Row, Daytona Jan. 23 – Latitudes, Panama City Jan. 24 – Coasters, Ft. Walton Beach Jan. 25 – The Break, Pensacola

MYSPACE.COM/ASGMUSIC

REAX INTERVIEWS

FROM THE SOIL OF THE SOUTH:

JJ GREY & MOFRO Words: Scott Harrell • Photo: Tobin Voggesser

All right, let’s go ahead and get it over with right up front: “Swamp,” “Swampy,” “Swamp-rock,” “As sensually sweaty as the muggy swamps of North Florida from whence it came.” Or whatever.

After all, you can’t write a piece about JJ Grey & Mofro without mentioning the dark, wet backwoods, right?

“Really, it don’t bother me none,” replies singer/ songwriter/guitarist/organist/driving force Grey in his engaging drawl, the smile evident in his voice, when asked if he ever gets sick of it.

H

e goes on to expound on the eclecticism of influences such as country legend Jerry Reed, and the subtly swampy sonics (“I don’t know how to put it, those clavinets and things just sound so froggy”) of Stevie Wonder, another personal favorite. A phone conversation with the man is nothing so much as an endlessly interesting tour of the innumerable little depots that line his train of thought. It’s as if Grey - an honest-to-God son of the South born and raised in the rurality outside Jacksonville - can’t bear to examine a certain idea independent of the context of its environment; he’s constantly pulling in related thoughts and making associations, creating a complex yet wholly, naturally logical bigger picture.

Which is actually a pretty good description of his musical endeavors, as well. Mofro, the project Grey started with guitarist Daryl Hance during the mid-’90s, is less about throwing different gritty, groovy styles together than finding the common threads that run through such superficially disparate genres as southern rock, smooth early soul and funky R&B - the rhythms, the sounds, and most importantly, the vibes. There’s nothing experimental or novel about what Grey and his cohorts do. They just realize intuitively that in the end, things just aren’t as different as they appear on the surface, and the resulting sonics are much more cohesive and organic than a list of their varied influences might imply.

“It’s just how it comes out of me,” Grey says. “Those are the roots that influenced me. One of my biggest musical influences is the Muscle Shoals [Rhythm Section], Roger Hawkins and those guys, David Hood.

They played on a lot of those Stax records, and I always looked to the Muscle Shoals thing because they’re funky, they’re nasty, they’re swampy, and at the same time they’ll do “Rainy Night in Georgia,” with the combination of horns and strings, like a lot of the old Nashville recordings. They’ve got a mixture of everything.”

As someone whose first secular record as a kid was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘79 anthology Gold & Platinum, he tends to agree with the notion that some sounds just PAGE 46 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

seem to grow better in the soil of the South: “I think it’s because music comes from the dirt, you know? It comes from the place, at least the music that matters to me. It could be anywhere. It’s no accident that reggae sounds like the islands, or that a dark classical piece might remind you of northern Europe. If you brought aliens to Earth, and you played ‘em some pieces of music and showed ‘em some pictures of different landscapes, they’d almost be able to match ‘em up. Southern music that’s truly connected to the South, the people that made it didn’t purposely try to connect it.

It just sounds a certain way. And I’m not talkin’ about a caricature, some dudes singing about sitting on the front porch, drinking whiskey, that don’t mean anything.

“Unless they’re really doing that, sitting there and jamming and not thinking real hard about it after a hard day’s work,” he adds with a laugh.

That sense of nature, of things coming from the earth, originally drew Grey to surfing, a lifelong passion of his that interrupted recording sessions for last year’s excellent Orange Blossom when the waves near the studio just got too good to ignore. Surfers tend to have a heightened awareness of and respect for the world’s primal forces, and Grey confirms he applied those attitudes to music as well when it called him.

“I’ll add that to me, surfing is music,” he says. “For that matter, everything is musically related, in the sense that everything is based on frequency. Your eyes are looking at frequencies, your ears are detecting frequencies.

When you’re in the ocean catching a wave, the wave isn’t water, it’s a frequency in the water, moving it in intervals. Some powerful force way out there creates it, and it moves through the water, and you ride it, like you ride a beat.”

Grey’s natural knack for sensing a bigger picture has served him and Mofro well through four albums of the raw, throbbing, heartfelt music that certainly has the feel of the swamp in it, as well as much, much more. It’s also lent him refreshing non-careerist perspective of his own aural journey, one that probably helps his music far more than the views of those who sit and think of how to make their own music, and little else.

“I feel like music isn’t my life at all,” he muses. “My life is the life I’m livin’, and will be until it’s over, and music is a by-product of that, you know?”

Mofro in Florida: January 22 - Common Grounds, Gainesville January 23 - Park Ave. CDs, Orlando (In-Store Matinee) January 23 - House of Blues, Orlando January 24 - The Engine Room, Tallahassee

MYSPACE.COM/MOFROBAND

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC Magazine • PAGE 47

REAX INTERVIEWS

vinyl and lyrical wordplay while Oktopus felt more at home in the dingy punk clubs and hardcore atmospheres of out-of-control house parties.

“Oktopus knew about the hip-hop stuff, but stopped listening,” Dälek remembers, “so I was playing him Nas and Mobb Deep while I was being enlightened to Bad Brains and Black Flag.”

Mutually, Dälek and Oktopus began to discover My Bloody Valentine and the Velvet Underground, taking everything they loved from their highly electric catalogs and finally cornering a resourceful, innovative and original take on what music should be.

“The concepts and ideas of what we wanted to do with music started to change,” says the MC. “We realized our ideas were very similar, but we were coming from different sides of the spectrum. It was a total experiment, you know?”

DÄLEK

LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP

Words: Ryan Patrick Hooper • Photo: Alexandra Momin

T

he term “wall of sound” gets tossed around like a bunch of loose bricks scattered about the skeleton frames of soon-to-be suburban homes, getting hurled through windows by the local neighborhood kids who have nothing better to do than carve swastikas into pieces of wood and spill cans of leftover paint. The term originally came about in the colorful ‘60s as Phil Spector began to magically foster lush orchestrations from behind the mixing board. But his mystique was quickly abandoned as he dragged the most infamous rock ‘n’ roll outfits back to his Los Angeles residence and whittled away at his guests’ sanity via copious amounts of drugs, guns and expensive whiskey. Since Spector’s patented methods have become permanent prisoners trapped within the haunted grounds of forgotten legend and technique, writers and journalists have quickly clamped the term to the nipples of any musical act that dares to blend bright, fierce, static-riddled yet awkwardly stable noise to pop melodies, ringing, rough riffs or anything else mildly traditional and tangible. But the term “wall of sound” and Spector were too closely tied together, one tangled with the other, both destined to meet the same overused, irrelevant fate - if it were not for challenging, genre-defying artists like Dälek.

Before Dälek began clenching his creative fist of five chubby fingers decorated with golden rings of thick, cryptic, distorted beats and jagged, political fingernails, he was busy growing up in New Jersey, surrounded by the influence of older musicians bound by more traditional confines of what music should be and what hip-hop should sound like.

“I was born in ’75,” explains Dälek, as he kicks back in his Union City home after hosting some friends from Germany who tied the knot in the middle of Central Park the day before. “Throughout the ‘80s, I was a little kid chilling with the older heads, watching hip-hop as it grew. Back then, the mentality of hip-hop was taking everything around you and turning it into something new, something that was yours. But people lost sight of that, and they think hip-hop is now an isolated, insulated genre that only deals with its own kind of thing.

“But how do you think it became what it is?

It’s about sampling. It’s about influences and listening to different things. To me, what we make is hip-hop in the purest sense in the idea that we take all these different sounds and make something brand new. You can’t say that our music is rock, or that our music is metal, or that our music is noise … or electronic. It’s

PAGE 48 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

elements of all these things, and what comes out is our expression.”

Dälek went down the same road that most passionate musicians follow before he developed the point of view and musical style he is known for today: emulating artists he appreciated and loved, and producing an ultimately generic, traditional sound that only rivaled a fading shadow of those he was trying to pay homage to.

It wasn’t until Dälek got wrapped up in the collegiate burrito that he began to see things differently, working and recording with his current partner-in-crime and fellow producer, Oktopus, who makes up the other half of the group.

“The last [hip-hop] group that I was part of fell apart, and I decided I wanted to do everything on my own,” says Dälek, justifying his need to invent his own beats, produce and emcee his own material. “I had met Oktopus in [college], and he had a recording studio so initially, it was all about recording my stuff.”

The two quickly became friends, long nights of drinking and hanging out transforming into artistic conferences of the cerebellum.

The two students would compare their musical backgrounds, Dälek rising from the concrete jungle within the dark crevices of

Their individual takes on music and collective, cohesive collaboration would lead them to record Dälek’s first album, Negro Necro Nekros. Originally an exclusive for the ears of friends and fellow musicians, the group had no intention of releasing the record until their peers convinced them to do so. Since then, Dälek has put out four albums and a set of rarities, each release a ship exercising within the bay or occasionally dropping anchor in uncharted territory, but never fully setting sail to distant shores and never looking back.

On January 27, Dälek will drop Gutter Tactics, his seventh full-length and an album worthy of being called a “wall of sound” that relentlessly pounds its fists on concrete, shouting declarations rather than subdued observations on socially and politically-minded levels while clumsy, thumping bass lines and ravaging hooks grasp for air under a brash mashing of electronic samples and hip-hop manipulations. And, in the same vein as that sentence, Gutter Tactics carelessly runs on without apologizing for very much at all.

“People seem to have a hard time with that,” says Dälek of blending hefty, lofty lyrical content with crashing waves of music that some could easily view as distraction.

“Like most things in life, there are no easy answers. A lot of times, if you want to hear what someone is saying, you gotta dig through a lot of noise, a lot of struggle and a lot of fight … and that’s what our music tries to convey.”

Dälek returns to Europe in mid-March to support Gutter Tactics, which comes out January 27 on Ipecac.

MYSPACE.COM/DALEK

50

SOAPBOX UPCOMING RELEASES ISSUE 32

UPCOMING RELEASES ARTIST

ARTIST

LABEL

OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ

Chatham County Line Hacienda High On Fire John Peel King Khan and BBQ Show Pole Sabertooth The Ecclesia The Gourds Thee American Revolution Wroom

Chatham County Line Loud is the Night Life at the Contamination Fest John Peel’s Dandelion Records DVD Animal Party Alles Gute 12” Old Days & The Island Birdsong Over the Interior Castle Haymaker!

Buddha Electrostorm North of Forty-Five (LP)

Yep Roc Bomp/Alive Relapse Ozit/ Cargo UK Fat Possum ~scape Arena Rock Arena Rock Yep Roc Empyrean Arena Rock

JANUARY 13

GRIS GRIS LIVE AT THE CREAMERY BIRDMAN

Adam Payne Colossol Yes Franz Nicolay Hunches La Otricina Late of the Pier MV + EE Robert Pollard The Bats A.C. Newman

ODD NOSDAM T.I.M.E. SOUNDTRACK ANTICON.

Organ Charlemange’s Big Thaw Major General Exit Dreams Blood Moon Riders Fantasy Black Channel Drone Trailer Crawling Distance Don’t You Rise 7” Get Guilty

Holy Mountain Ba Da Bing Fistolo Records In The Red Holy Mountain Astralwerks DiChristina Gbv. Inc Slumberland Matador

JANUARY 20

BON IVER BLOOD BANK EP JAGJAGUWAR

OLD MONEY STONES THROW

JOY DIVISION IN THE STUDIO (LP) OZIT/CARGO UK

TITUS ANDRONIC THE AIRING OF

GRIEVANCES (REISSUE) XL

All of Us In Our Night Untitled # Second The Eraser Rmxs

Aethenor American Football Astral Social Club Beastie Boys Brian Wilson Bruce Springsteen Capracara Cotton Jones Dan Deacon/ Adventure Dirty Three Doug Paisley Enon Franz Ferdinand Genghis Tron Goblin Cock Golden Boots Julie Ruin Kid Sister Kylie Minogue Lithops Loney, Dear LSD March Magnetic Morning Man or Astroman Manikari Art Merzbow Mi Ami Nickel Eye Of Montreal Owen Polvo Secret Machines The Bird and The Bee The One Up Downstairs Volcano Suns Volcano Suns Woolfy Yelle

Squarepusher Swervedriver Telefon Tel Aviv

Merriweather Post Pavillion The Crying Light Fur and Gold (deluxe LP) The Last Pale Light in the West The Harvest Floor Lily Perdida Today We Are All Demons You and I Olympic Airways 12” The Blood of Life Love Everlasting 12” The Empyrean Grand Warm in the Shadows 12” All Together Mirror Eye Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Edalaust (vinyl) Numbers Lucent Raise (remastered) Immolate Yourself

PAGE 50 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

Domino Secretly Canadian Manimal Vinyl The Rebel Group Metal Blade Mush Metropolis Frenchkiss Kompakt Fire K Records Adrenaline Music FADER Secretly Canadian Hometapes The Social Registry XL Warp Second Motion Bpitch Control

SOLE AND THE SKYRIDER BAND REMIX ALBUM BLACK CANYON

Faking Gold and Murder American Football EP Octuplex Paul’s Boutique 20th Anniversary Remastered Edition That Lucky Old Sun DVD Working On A Dream King of the Witches 12” Paranoid Cocoon Split 12” She Has No Strings Apollo Doug Paisley High Society (vinyl reissue) Tonight: Franz Ferdinand Dead Mountain Mouth (vinyl version) Come With Me If You Want To Live Winter of our Discotheque Julie Ruin Dream Date Boombox Ye Viols!

Dear John Under Milk Wood A.M. EEVIAC Des Pussieres 13 Japanese Birds Vol. I Echonoecho 12” The Time of Assassins John Brion Remix EP (the ep) Cor-Crane Secret (reissue) Secret Machines (vinyl) Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future The One Up Downstairs 7 “ All Night Lotus Party The Bright Orange Years (In Flagranti Mixes) Oh Missy Ce Jeu EP

VHF Polyvinyl VHF Capitol Capitol Columbia DFA Suicide Squeeze Carpark Touch & Go No Quarter Touch & Go Sony/Epic Lovepump United Robcore Records Park The Van Kill Rock Stars Downtown Astralwerks Thrill Jockey Polyvinyl Important Friend or Faux Touch & Go Conspiracy Important Quarterstick Rykodisc Polyvinyl Polyvinyl Merge TSM Recordings Blue Note Polyvinyl Merge Merge Rong DFA Astralwerks

FEBRUARY 03

HANDSOME FURS FACE CONTROL SUB POP

Animal Collective Antony and the Johnsons Bat For Lashes Ben Nichols Cattle Decapitation Clue to Kalo Combichrist Cut Off Your Hands Foals Jackie O Motherfucker Jeremy Jay John Frusciante Matt and Kim Music Go Music Pattern Is Movement Psychic Ills Sigur Ros

Modern Skirts Bomp/Alive XL

JANUARY 27

JANUARY 06

ONE LITTLE INDIAN

LABEL

JANUARY 20 CONTINUED The Modern Skirts The Telescopes Thom Yorke

ALBUM

BJORK DULL FLAME OF DESIRE

ALBUM

A Day To Remember Ben Kweller Chris Cornell Junior Boys Ladyfinger (NE) Mike Bones Mono My Chemical Romance Phosphorescent Soundtrack of Our Lives Telefon Tel Aviv The Appleseed Cast The Strange Boys Thursday Wavves Zero Boys Zero Boys

YEASAYER ALL HOUR CYMBALS (VINYL RELEASE) WE ARE FREE

Homesick Changing Horses Scream Hazel 12” Dusk A Fool for Everyone One Step More And You Die / New York Soundtracks I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (vinyl) To Willie Communion Immolate Yourself Sagarmatha And Girls Club Waiting (vinyl) Wavvves History Of Vicious Circle

Victory ATO Interscope Domino Saddle Creek The Social Registry Temp. Res. Ltd. Eyeball Records Dead Oceans Yep Roc Bpitch Control The Militia Group In The Red Eyeball Records Destijl Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian

52

SOAPBOX PRODUCT PLACEMENT ISSUE 32

PRODUCT PLACEMENT FOURTRACK iPHONE RECORDING APPLICATION Sonoma Wire Works’ FourTrack turns your iPhone into exactly that a rudimentary on-the-go four-track recorder. Got an idea for a new harmony, or a guitar countermelody that might go with that chord progression you dreamed up at your buddy’s house last week? Plug in a headset microphone or use the phone’s built-in mic, and layer up to four different tracks of sound. The application’s most recent version lets users import recordings directly into Sonoma’s RiffWorks software. And hell, even if you’re not a big tech person, it’ll be fun recording the worst barbershop quartet vocal tracks ever on your lunch hour.

$9.99, SONOMAWIREWORKS.COM

AMERICAN APPAREL DISCO PANT Looks like the ladies are gonna have to get a time machine pretty soon if they want to wear their low-rise jeans in public, or just put ‘em away for 15 years. No, just kidding - low-rise jeans will never go out of style for the figure-appropriate.

But these long, long leg tubes definitely provide the kind of alternative look that the club kids are always looking for. Plus, they keep those extra-long-zipper specialists out of the unemployment line. (Also: shiny!)

$90, AMERICAN APPAREL

PAGE 52 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG DVD If you dig the work of Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly/ Serenity, a million script fixes), you probably already have it. If you think Joss Whedon is a Wall Street investment company that went bust a month or so ago, you probably couldn’t care less. So a compromise is in order: Whedon fans, buy a copy for those non-Whedon fans of yours who appreciate good, smart, zany comedy, then make ‘em buy you beers when they realize how great it is. Conceived, filmed and released online in limited-edition installments during the Hollywood writers’ strike last year, this irreverent, low-budget Neil Patrick Harris-starring musical romp is a collectible gem.

$14.99, AMAZON.COM

ION AUDIO LP 2 CD TURNTABLE Last month, our gift guide pimped a nice USB-equipped turntable. And we still believe in that shit. But those of you who might not live the sort of completely computer-dependent lives we do - or who have aging parents who refuse to bequeath their absolutely amazing vinyl collections - might be more interested in Ion Audio’s analog-to-digital all-in-one. No computer needed to rip vinyl to CDs. The LP 2 CD is also USB’ed up if you want to convert stuff directly to your digital library, but the big sell here is the ability to carry it to somebody else’s place, plug it in, and rip their records without any peripherals at all.

$399.99, IONAUDIO.COM

PRODUCT PLACEMENT SOAPBOX ISSUE 32

THE NETFLIX PLAYER BY ROKU

CANADA DRY SPARKLING GREEN TEA GINGER ALE

This little box, which allows you to browse those Netflix movies available for instant PC-watching and play them on the biggest TV in your house, has been around for a little while now. What’s new is the user-friendly HD makeover, with a nice on-screen navigation platform and correct aspect ratio - no more stretched-out images on your HDTV. It’s still cheap as hell, too, and the list of streamable movies available from Netflix is only going to grow.

Remember when you thought ginger ale couldn’t possibly get any better, and then you discovered diet ginger ale, and it went even better with bourbon or vodka because it wasn’t quite as sweet? Well, the minds behind the greatest soda that isn’t really a soda at all have done it again by adding a splash of green tea to the effervescent goodness. We wouldn’t recommend mixing it with booze, because people who make cocktails with tea are kinda weird, but boy, is it tasty. And antioxidants are good for you, supposedly, or something.

$99.99, ROKU.COM

53

AVAILABLE AT FINER GROCERY AND CONVENIENCE STORES EVERYWHERE

NEIGHBORHOODIES TWO-PACK SHAKUR T/HOODIE It’s part of the artist-helping site’s “Daily Ten” series, which produces 50 designs a week. And we just think it’s funny.

THE CHAMPIOT ULTRA

$24.99, NEIGHBORHOODIES.COM

We don’t go to the gym because it’s stuffy and there are a bunch of other people there and it smells like everybody’s self-esteem issues. But there are tons of nice wide waterfront sidewalks down here in Tampa Bay, and this “rowing machine on wheels” might be just the thing to get some exercise out in the sun while making all those morons actually jogging stop and gape. The company, Ferez Industries, even makes a model for those with lower-body disabilities.

$999, CHAMPIOT.COM KROOKED DAN DREHOBL

“NIGHT OF THE SKATING DEAD” DECK No skater balances burly and graceful quite like Drehobl. He’s old-school yet weirdly tech-y, and his bag of little nothing-looking lip tricks that’ll break your ankle if you try ‘em is freaking bottomless. That this big ol’ 8.12” X 31.75” cruiser has cool graphics AND references one of the greatest films of all time is just a double bonus.

$49.95, SKATEPARKOFTAMPA.COM

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 53

54

SOAPBOX DVD REVIEW ISSUE 32

DEMON HUNTER: 45 DAYS One of the best things about inexpensive digital technology is the opportunity it affords young creatives to express themselves. These days, any fan who thinks he or she might have some filmmaking talent can film and edit a documentary on their favorite band (assuming they can get access, generally a fairly easy thing in the underground-music community). Of course, that’s also the worst thing about inexpensive digital technology every hack with delusions of grandeur can put out a sub-par DVD. 45 Days director Cale Glendening has some talent. His look into the ontour lives of the members of Pacific Northwest Christian metal band Demon Hunter - and more pointedly, the intense adulation of the group’s biggest young fans - has style, from its crisp, classic black-and-white presentation and casually candid point of view to the creepy piano and acoustic guitar pieces that make up the incidental music. Unfortunately for Glendening, the doc has little more going for it than a good look. By making the bold decision to eschew any and all musical footage in favor of a stark behind-the-scenes piece, he leaves out perhaps the most powerful and visceral character in the story, to the detriment of the finished product.

Sure, the guys in Demon Hunter are nice, and honest. Their existence on the road, however, is boring,

PAGE 54 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

and viewers unfamiliar with the monotonous hurry-up-and-wait grind of touring are undoubtedly going to think that of the group as well.

They’re not - a few funny scenes of them mocking kid-centric Christian “extreme lifestyle” cable-show hosts and clowning around at an alligator farm prove it - but 45 Days never shows the rush and release provided by that one hour a day when the band finally gets to do what it was built for.

We sense Glendening’s awareness of the film’s shortcomings, and he wisely focuses more on individual fans spouting their devotion than on musicians sitting on the bus tuning their guitars. But one can only watch so many home-schooled kids with lip rings talk about how the band saved their lives before it turns into a cliche.

And the inclusion of so many friends and relatives of deceased fans talking about how much their son or brother or boyfriend loved Demon Hunter, while meant to be inspiring and emotional, becomes more depressing than anything else.

Glendening ostensibly kept the music out of his film because the DVD’s second disc is all about it, a Nashville show caught by director Carl Diebold in gorgeous stabs of ominously colored light, and boasting nearly perfect sound. But in trying to offer something at the other end of the spectrum from the standard inconcert document, 45 Days comes off as missing something, and the pummeling blast of the accompanying show instantly and authoritatively reveals what that something is.

(SOLID STATE RECORDS) - Scott Harell

MUSIC REVIEWS SOAPBOX ISSUE 32

55

DELICIOUS PRETTY GOOD OK AT BEST UGH INEDIBLE

NEBULA

BBC/PEEL SESSIONS For a decade, Nebula has labored in the shadow of Fu Manchu, the better-known group guitarist Eddie Glass and drummer Reuben Romano left in order to start their own project. And while Nebula’s sound is certainly comparable to that of Glass and Romano’s former bandmates - the term “stoner rock,� after all, doesn’t exactly inspire visions of crazy original ambition - the trio has certainly created a Sabbath-y catalog of grooves worthy of admiration in its own right.

These 11 tracks, culled from three studio sessions done at the BBC’s Radio 1 between 2001 and 2004 (and even featuring the act’s take on a Radio 1 Rock Show theme song), showcase a band with a ďŹ rm grasp of its chosen genre: the vintage wah-wah-drenched pentatonic riffs, dirge-to-gallop tempo shifts, evocatively spoken/sung vocals, and sense of lazy menace are all in bountiful attendance, and deftly rendered. No one’s going to accuse Nebula of trying to reinvent the retro desertrock wheel, but this is a textbook presentation on how to put all the right parts together in all the right ways.

(CARGO/SWEET NOTHING) - Colin Kincaid

FAKE PROBLEMS

IT’S GREAT TO BE ALIVE This Naples foursome became the subject of some punk-scene backlash when a conspicuous change in their style coincided with tour dates with the likes of Against Me! and O Pioneers!!! a while back. And the inuence of Gainesville’s roots-punk sounds is unarguably evident here on the group’s ďŹ rst release for Sideonedummy. But there’s also a wild eclecticism - not to mention an almost hammy sort of character - that belies allegations of coattail riding, and puts Fake Problems on their own turf somewhere between that aforementioned Florida success story and crazier, more overtly entertaining fare like Gogol Bordello or chamber pop’s more schizophrenic practitioners. Not that this CD is up there with any of the superlative bands mentioned; the consistently decent tunes on It’s Great To Be Alive don’t quite overcome their tendency to sacriďŹ ce substance in favor of self-consciously offbeat structures and arrangements. It’s a good effort, though, and there’s more originality in the jaunty rhythms, unexpected horn lines and buried pop hooks than the band has been given credit for.

(SIDEONEDUMMY) - Scott Harrell

VIRGINS

MISCARRIAGE The Virgins is the new project for Sam Johnson of New Mexican Disaster Squad, and is a pretty solid deďŹ nition of punk rock. An aggressive, politically charged and socially conscious three-piece playing fast, sloppy and caustic tunes? Yes, please.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that these guys write some pretty catchy choruses (“Perfect World,â€? “WWZD,â€? “Atheist In Americaâ€?), along with some nice riffs (“Bloodlust,â€? “Burnâ€?) to keep the party rolling along nicely. The Virgins are a hard partying, harder playing band and Miscarriage is their soundtrack to every kickass basement and/or warehouse show you wish you attended. Three point ďŹ ve drunken high-ďŹ ves and stage dives.

(KISS OF DEATH) - Timothy Asher

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VARIOUS ARTISTS

JUST LIKE HEAVEN: A TRIBUTE TO THE CURE

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kind of tough to justify another Cure tribute album, given the fact that an Amazon.com search turns up about a dozen other collections released since â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;95. And yes, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Just Like Heaven,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lovesongâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pictures of Youâ&#x20AC;? are all represented here; so are â&#x20AC;&#x153;Boys Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Cry,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Love Cats,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Friday Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in Love,â&#x20AC;? so you know theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not exactly angling for the obscure/as-yet uncovered angle. The only thing I can ďŹ gure is, since a lot of these bands are obscure or completely unknown - Tanya Donelly and Elk City are the biggest names on a disc that also includes The Submarines, The Rosebuds, Julie Peel, and The Brunettes, among others - itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more a vehicle to get them (and the label) some exposure than a guileless celebration of crazy-ass hair, Roland JC Chorus amps and melancholy Goth love. In step with the times, Just Like Heaven is heavy on both hip, glitchy indie electro-pop and retro-â&#x20AC;&#x2122;80s synth fare, with the occasional, perpetually cool rawedged guitar treatment thrown in for good measure. And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty boring. Not bad, mind you, just â&#x20AC;Ś meh. Some cool sounds, some nice male and female vocal performances, some extremely familiar melodies and lyrics.

Luffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bleak, drugged-out take on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jumping Someone Elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trainâ&#x20AC;? is a major highlight, and Julie Peelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s softly menacing â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Night Like This,â&#x20AC;? Elk Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s downright creepy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Close To Meâ&#x20AC;? and The Poemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;10:15 Saturday Nightâ&#x20AC;? stand way out. But all in all, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just another middle-of-the-road covers disc.

(AMERICAN LAUNDROMAT) - Colin Kincaid

JANUARY 2009 â&#x20AC;˘ REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE â&#x20AC;˘ PAGE 55

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SOAPBOX REVIEWS ISSUE 32

MONIKERS WAKE UP

All the reasons we love punk rock and more, delivered warm and fresh by a quad of young punks from Orlando.

Reminiscent of Jawbreaker, Hot Water Music, and any other melodic punk band with growly vocals. Lyrically, there is nothing to write home about, but plenty to absorb; musically, those same old melodies are a Band-Aid for a safety-pinned heart. When a band can take an old thing and make it their own without sounding like a shit version of the original, it is truly magical. In my snotty one-sided vision of a musical world, there is always room three more chords and the other side of the truth. I would like to conclude by sending a high five out to Skull with Hair, who did the artwork this album - in a land of underappreciated cover art there is a serious void in the owl-bear and hawk-cheetah department, good fuckin’ show man.

(KISS OF DEATH) - Jack Gregory

LONG LIVE THE SMOKING GUN

WE BUILD EMPIRES Right from the getgo, “Justice In A Ghost Town” reaches up and grabs your balls like Pantera used to. “Fortunato And His Amontillado” features a thumping bass line and sludgy guitars reminiscent of Tad, and there is no way you can not sing along to lyrics like “Witches and Deviled Eggs” in “Pure Blood Would Probably Kill You.” Lest you think it’s a pure assault, LLTSG slow it down with the acoustic “Good Men,” but fret not - none of that sadbastard crap permeates We Build Empires.

Think Tim Barry crossed with Muddy Waters with an Everlast flavor to the vocals. Then pick it right back up and slam around to “Ghosts Are Better Left Where They Are,” which takes elements from the oft-ignored Paw. Here’s the neat part - this ripping, angry, restoresyour-faith-in-southern-metal EP was done by only two guys. Imagine what they could do with a full band. Four devil horns thrown with complete abandon.

(1912) - Timothy Asher

INGRID MICHAELSON BE OK

It’s not often you come across the perfect CD for your 12-year-old sister’s birthday that isn’t Jason Mraz. Ingrid Michaelson’s is one of those CDs. Long after the rise and fall of the singer-songwriter movement,

Michaelson is trying to be a millennial Michelle Branch. It’s yet to be seen whether Michaelson will beat out Sarah Bareilles for Norah Jones’ empty throne of meaningless soul-pop. Michaelson’s vocals and song structure are not bad, but this album doesn’t demonstrate much range, and two of the song’s tracks are covers. Michaelson’s hollow ballads have appeared on such content-rich shows as Grey’s Anatomy, Good Morning America, and Live with Regis and Kelly. So if Michaelson’s insincere posturing towards being a chanteuse is too much for your little sister, it might just be saucy enough for your mom.

(ORIGINAL SIGNAL) - Chris Gaughan

RAHIM

LAUGHTER For their second proper full-length, this Long Island quartet have crafted a cleverly taut yet atmospheric collection of melodic indie rock that floats around the fairly big ocean of sound lying between Death Cab for Cutie’s poppy heartwrench and the more angular, experimental work of artists like Chicago’s Kinsella brothers. Horns, synths and interesting percussion touches drift in and out of the mix, but it’s the single-note guitar lines and Michael Friedrich’s expressive vocals that anchor standouts like “Vision” and the awesome, harmony-laden title-track closer. Some songs occasionally veer to close to second-tier indie generica - “Endless Caverns” and “Dark Harbors,” for instance, could be the best two tunes by any rookie act infatuated with the aforementioned Ben Gibbard and company – but overall, Laughter is a great listen.

(PRETTY ACTIVITY) - Scott Harrell

BLACKMARKET

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Is “pop” the equivalent of “Popular,” or is it a sound or the feeling that art gives the beholder? Truth is, it’s all of these things; as we lose our grip on reality, there is still a need to have a groovy little soundtrack to serve as a lighted path to being OK. Blackmarket’s latest album is just that, comfort food for the cheese-rock lover’s tortured soul. The tracks are very well played and put together, but lack any real unique qualities of entertainment. The Arizona-based band is certainly as deserving as any other group of sweaty young boys that set out to kill their heroes and be the subject of a colorful world tour. With this being said, I implore you to remember the first record you bought that all of your friends made fun of you for liking, and also speculate that maybe it was that album which turned you from listener to appreciator. Without something that slides into your ear there is no connection, and without connection it’s just something you heard, not listened to.

(NO OFFICE) - Jack Gregory

PAGE 56 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

SWINGIN’ UTTERS

HATEST GRITS: B-SIDES AND BULLSHIT

After a 20-year career in a street punk band, the B-side record is almost inevitable.

With all the compilations, 7-inch records and splits, you can amass a pretty healthy collection of songs, outtakes and demos. While a lot of folks consider B-sides a “fan only” essential, this compilation may best serve as an introduction for those who’ve never listened to the Utters. It takes you through the evolution of the band, renders their influences highly visible (Cock Sparrer covers, anyone?) and lets you really get a feel for this blue-collar band. The best part is the liner notes, which show the various line-ups, give insight into the songs and generally serve as an oral history. And there may be some stuff not listed on the cover. (Like, maybe six songs hidden in there.) Four stars impaled upon liberty spikes.

(FAT WRECK CHORDS) - Timothy Asher

FUGITIVE KIND

YOU’RE BEING WATCHED A little bit of rock, a little bit of classical composition, and a signature voice can get you pretty far, but not that far. Fugitive Kind’s debut album You’re Being Watched is really good for a freshman full-length CD, but it’s not anything that hasn’t been done.

Lydia Marsala’s vocals take the band to places where it couldn’t get to without her, but the generic nature of the rock-ish tracks on the album yields something that isn’t overwhelmingly unique. Several tracks on the album mark themselves to be distinctive, where Marsala’s voice plays almost like an instrument against the background of the guitar, bass or drums. The album is good for what it is, and the desired effect seems like it would better be portrayed live. I wouldn’t want to miss a show by Fugitive Kind, but in terms of buying the album? Pass.

(CASTOR+POLLUX) - Chris Gaughan

A.C. NEWMAN GET GUILTY

The second solo album from the Canadian pop mastermind behind The New Pornographers and Zumpano is both stately and innately eccentric, like some young dot-com millionaire’s mansion where there are 20 vintage Pachinko machines in the foyer, but you know some century-old whitegloved butler’s still gonna bring your Mello Yello on a silver platter. From the big bells and subtle ‘50s girl-group-ballad vibe of opener

“There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve” through the twisted ‘60s-rock pomp and (strange) circumstance of closer “All Of My Days & All Of My Days Off,” Get Guilty is both steeped in pop-music tradition and wholly original. Timehonored hallmarks like tambourines, piano flourishes and vocal la-la-las are employed liberally, without ever sounding cliched or even ironic; a rock historian could name a dozen bands that lightly lurching midway point “Thunderbolts” sounds a little like, and not one the song sounds a lot like. And that goes for this entire disc, which, more than anything, serves as a breathtaking new look at poprock’s superficially tired landscape through the kaleidoscope of Newman’s singular talent.

(MATADOR) - Scott Harrell

THE SERIOUS GENIUSES

YOU CAN STEAL THE RIFFS...

Nip, the guitarist for Boston’s The Serious Geniuses, refers to their sound as “The usual kind of mid-’90s bullshit.” And there are a lot of Archers of Loaf and Superchunk comparisons going on, both in the record and in print. It’s easy to see why, what with the poppy riffs and highend vocals. But the opening salvo of “Tour Ture” will get you tapping your toes along, and brings some Latterman flavor to the mix.

“Almost Shameless” has a southern-tinged feel, while “Echo Mode” is pretty cheery for a downer song. While not necessarily a groundbreaking or highly original album (unless you missed all the aforementioned bands), it’s still a fun and highly listenable poprock record. Three lighters in the pocket of my warm, worn flannel.

(KISS OF DEATH) - Timothy Asher

THE REFUGEES UNBOUND

The individual session work and songwriting done by Cindy Bullens, Deborah Holland and Wendy Waldman - which includes Animal Logic’s “(There’s A Spy) in the House of Love” and Vanessa Williams’ “Save The Best for Last” - is doubtless better known to contemporary audiences than the ladies’ names or solo records. Here, the talented trio comes together in the name of heightened profiles, and offers a folky collection of their respective tunes. Unbound works best when these three unarguably talented singers all get their harmonies in while avoiding contemporary folk cliches, as they do on “You Planet Your Fields,” “All My Angels” and “Box of Broken Hearts.” Elsewhere, cheeky coffeehouse sass, defanged blues and a distractingly overwrought gospel vibe keep some of the songs from realizing their full potential, though this is certainly a listenable set performed well and sure to endear itself to those modern-day folkies lucky enough to hear the whole thing.

(WABUHO) - Scott Harrell

REVIEWS SOAPBOX ISSUE 32

THE AMERICAN BLACK LUNG

GOOD VIBRATIONS “Peace and good vibrations,” goes the last line of the sweaty, faceslapping opener to this relentless collection of punk rock magic. Armed with three tracks and truth The American Black Lung swagger down the road of righteous and bad behavior.

Every song is fast, loud and ass-shakin’ in the fashion of Detroit legends The MC5, and the beloved Stooges. I would like to personally extend a “high five for connection” to these boys for flying the fuckin’ flag. In a land of hornrim glasses, Cosby sweaters, and funny haircuts, I began to miss my old dirty friend mischief. It‘s just good to know there are likeminded freaks in the world keeping the home fires burning. If you have ever truly been in love with rock ‘n’ roll, do yourself a solid and get your hands on this album.

(1912) - Jack Gregory

DENT MAY

THE GOOD FEELING MUSIC OF DENT MAY & HIS MAGNIFICENT UKELELE Oh, yeah, this is awesome. Luau, lounge, doo-wop and western swing meet to sway to some tunes dripping with melancholy. Some might find it just the slightest bit novel, but May’s masterful full-lineup recordings never become too cheesy, even when the lyrics plant their symbolic tongue firmly and cleverly in cheek. And the performances are just so completely spot on, particularly the vocal harmonies that lend depth and emotion everywhere they’re utilized. This whole record just sounds gorgeous, and gorgeously schmalzy. For fans of everything from Roy Orbison to Tiny Tim to They Might Be Giants.

(PAW TRACKS) - Colin Kincaid

I LOVE YOU

DRONE, DRUGS, AND HARMONY No, not the one from the ‘70s. No, not the one from the early ‘90s, either.

This is a completely different I Love You, an enigmatic outfit from Kansas City, Missouri whose mash-up of dub, psychedelia and angular, arty indie rock is miles more interesting than their done-to-death name. (Though there is some mumbo jumbo on the band’s site about how “I Love You” is just a loose translation of their “real” name, which just means their myspace page is under a name in a different language and thus almost impossible to stumble over.)

All six of the these tracks have their moments

57

of both true brilliance and self-indulgent goingtoo-far-ness; the former is usually in the form of the marvelous rhythms and hypnotic bass lines, while the latter is almost always the result of the singer battling the lead guitarist for the title of Dominant Weirdo. A remix album culling these bass and drum tracks would almost certainly be rad, but as it stands, Yah Tibyah La Blu’s druggier traits need to be refined a bit.

(SELF-RELEASED) - Scott Harrell

PAVEMENT

BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS: NICENE CREEDENCE ED. What do you make of a double-stuffed reissue of an “overlooked” album that all but signaled the beginning of the end for this once-merry bunch of pranksters?

Who knows? Pavement was a funny thing of conflicting course. The singer was ambitious enough to rhyme “cuter” with “interlocutor,” but as evidenced by several of Nicene Creedence Ed.’s charming toss-offs, wouldn’t bother at this stage of the band’s game to flesh out promising B-sides like sleepy synth detour “Cherry Area” or garage rave-ups “Destroy Mater Dei” and “Wanna Mess You Around.”

By record number four, these guys led a bicoastal, rehearsal-starved existence, yet relied on tight-knit guitar duels to launch detuned dream suites (“Fin,” a skeletal working of “The Hexx” entitled “And Then”). Go figure. Brighten The Corners’ expanded 44 tracks could be the fallout from years of building inconsistencies and … hell, no need to reconcile. Let’s just call it a continuation of a theme coined by an early EP: perfect sound forever.

(MATADOR) - Robert J. Hilson

EMERY

www.mojotampa.com | 813.971.9717

2558 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa

Located next the University Mall, in the Neil Young: Liveto at Massey Hall same plaza Chipotle Mexican Grill & Quiznos Classicas Records

The follow-up to the Live at The Fillmore East (featuring Crazy Horse) is an myspace.com/mojobooksandmusic all-acoustic solo outing from January 1971. Only 25 years of age, and with the highs (and lows) of the Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y and three solo albums under his belt, Neil returned home to Canada and delivered an ominus set on either flat-top guitar or piano.

Caetano Veloso: s/t Lilith Records Originally released in 1968, this debut album fused Brazilian music with pop, psychedelia and social awareness, sowing the beginning movement of Tropicalia. Veloso, however, is still firmly rooted in the bossa nova style, although already shining with his own compositions.

WHILE BROKEN HEARTS PREVAIL I really like the current trend toward releasing EPs rather than full-lengths.

It paradoxically implies that artists are looking toward releasing more music, because they’ll spend less time in the studio on one project and be able to get back to more touring and songwriting and, just down the road, another studio session. It also means I don’t have to listen to more than seven songs by cookie-cutter screamo bands like Emery.

The band is admittedly moving toward a more original sound - there are brief moments of maturity and individuality lurking deep within these tunes - but, like too many of their marketing-savvy peers, they’re still unwilling to leave behind the same overdone angst-metal hallmarks that originally struck a chord with all those self-styled high-school outcasts who can’t seem to get the fact that they’re exactly like the other thousand kids at the show.

Well, if they can’t follow up on the occasional glimpses of potential offered here, maybe they can just put out a single next time.

(TOOTH & NAIL) - Colin Kincaid

La Dusseldorf: Viva 4 Men With Beards Records Upon the break-up of legendary Krautrock duo Neu!, drummer Klaus Dinger formed with his brother Thomas and keyboard player Hans Lampe, a gloomy combination of washed-out glam synthesizers and swirling guitars. The pulsing organs and Dinger’s signature sound callages and tangles of hostile rhythms from their 1978 release rival the best of 70s German prog.

Gong: You Get Back Records Wake up in feverish sweats in the middle of the night pondering life’s purpose?

The emptiness too overwhelming? The music contained on the third and most outstanding of the Radio Gnome Trilogy is absolutely guaranteed to fulfill the aching hallowness and shame that transforms every movement of your life into an infinite shuffle of meaninglessness.

Jackie-O Mothefucker: The Blood of Life Fire Records Recorded live in Amsterdam, this release not only contains freeform jazz and sitar drone freakouts but new longer minimal versions of ballads “Hey! Mr. Sky” and “The Grave.” Each piece unfolds and delivers hypnotic percussion in its content in a way completely unique. Most likely will conjure, deep in the belly, warm happiness.

www.mojotampa.com | 813.971.9717

2558 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa

Located next to the University Mall, in the same plaza as Chipotle Mexican Grill & Quiznos

myspace.com/mojobooksandmusic

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 57

58

SOAPBOX VIDEO GAME REVIEWS ISSUE 32

GAME REVIEW LEFT 4 DEAD:

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF DEATH

T

he last few months have undoubtedly been great for gamers. An overwhelming number of A+ titles have graced our consoles lately. Juggernauts like Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Fallout 3, and Call of Duty: World at War topped most of your holiday wish lists. Surprisingly, drowned in the hype of all of these sequels is an exciting new 1P that you may not have anticipated or even heard of at all - Left 4 Dead. Left 4 Dead was the stand-out this holiday season, and arguably, the year.

In L4D there is no real story to be had; it’s left to your imagination as to what has transpired. All you know is something bad has happened to the majority of the population that has turned them in to 28 Days Later-like zombies who want to kill you - so you need to kill them first in order to live to tell the tale. You are immediately cast into the shit as one of four “lucky” survivors. The characters aren’t heroes or space marines - just regular Joes who happen to be immune to whatever has made everyone else “infected.” Zoey is the girl next door, Bill is the surly old war vet, Francis is the bad-ass, and Louis is the token black guy. And because Valve (HalfLife, Portal, Team Fortress, Counter-Strike) has built L4D from the ground up to be a co-op multiplayer experience, working with your small band of survivors is the only way to go - going solo will almost certainly get you dead.

As your Point A-to-Point B romp to safety progresses, you’ll be faced with hundreds of infected zombies trying to tear you into giblets. Along with the common infected, special infected do their best to ruin your day. Smokers pull you away with their long gangly tongues, Boomers vomit all over you and attract the horde, and Hunters pounce on you like ninja cats in heat. There are also two “boss” infected - Witches and Tanks.

Witches incapacitate you instantly with their sharp nails and Tanks are hulk-like behemoths who pound you into puree just because you’re puny. But perhaps the most attention-grabbing enemy never shows its face at all - “The Director” - Valve’s impressive AI program that decides when and where it’s going to hit you with more

zombies. Think of it as the man behind the curtain, always messing with you, pulling the strings and pissing you off. He has a nasty sense of humor and seems to always throw you exactly what you don’t need at the moment you don’t need it.

Aside from an engrossing campaign, Left 4 Dead also boasts a slick versus mode that allows four-on-four matches over Xbox Live.

It’s basically the same as the campaign, except you take turns being the infected. As infected, you and your friends will feel like schoolyard bullies as you harass the other team with never-ending flurries of hurt. As a survivor, working with friends becomes a passionate experience. The pressure and accountability immerses you in your character and your purpose. At times you’ll yell at your pals, get stressed, and curse them under your breath. At other times, they will be the heroes you knew they always were.

Using a simple concept and brilliant execution, Left 4 Dead is a one-of-a-kind game that needs to be played by everyone.

It has something many games lack - pure gameplay goodness, the way it should be.

The more you play L4D, the better it gets.

Much like the old-school arcade games from yesteryear that you couldn’t walk away from, it will linger close to your console for a long time.

REVIEWED ON XBOX 360 - Trevor Roppolo

PAGE 58 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • JANUARY 2009

HANDS ON PRODUCT REVIEW SOAPBOX ISSUE 32

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Dear readers, you know me to be a galloping gourmet of booze, liquor and rock ‘n’ roll, imbibing the succulent fruits of hard-working brewers and single-malt vats in my travels to no less than 3 continents. If I have ever tasted booze aimed at people that hate booze, this is it. It tastes like Juicy Juice, with little or no character, accented by a lingering taste of Bud Light. To prove this to be wholly accurate, I went to the local store, bought a juice box, came back to the bar and mixed the juice with a $2 can of Bud Light. It tasted better than this stuff, but still boring. anheuser-busch.com Depending on which side of the fashion fence you are on, nothing claims more ironic style or total poserdom than a trucker hat. And by this I mean a real one that’s stupid cheap, sweatstained, and has mesh on the back and a solid front above the bill that says “VFW Post 102 - Give Us A Grenade And We Know What To Do,” or something so similarly serious that you can’t fool with it: “Jesus and the Terminator will both be back.” I wish I had gotten the VFW one instead of the Jesus one, but I figured it would get old explaining that I was not, in fact, present for WWII. bigtopfleamarket.com

Want to be the next Shepard Fairey? Have a message and want to subject everyone to it?

Spray paint too mean and vandalicious? Consider yourself an artist that no one pays attention to? Well here’s your cure: Mix 1.5 parts water & 1 part flour / Turn stove to high and boil / Keep whisking it! / It’ll turn clear and goopy / Add .3 parts elmer’s type glue / Turn to low heat / Keep stirring for 20-30 minutes / It should get thinner and clearer Print out whatever you want or hand-paint something, apply the paste to a surface on which you wish to display your art, slap your paper up and there you go. But realize that what starts like this could make you into a criminal if you put this in the wrong place and get caught, or a famous artist if you have the right message and reach. obeygiant.com

With seemingly effortless product placement in films and TV, the Jamba Juice smoothie chain went from what sounds like a punch line, to a foulmouthed fifthgrade joke, to the health-drink stop for the stars. I don’t care if I look like a lunatic dressed like Keith Richards standing in line with a bunch of people in gym clothes and running outfits waiting for my Açaí smoothie, I am hooked. It also cures hangovers, unless, like the writing staff of REAX, you use your smoothie as a mixer for Rum. jambajuice.com

It’s January 2009. It’s the New Year. You are over it already, and worse yet, you have a pile of insane stuff that people bought you at the last minute from a department store, not remembering that you already have a stereo, pots and pans, singing fish plaques, enough socks, and that Best of Hall and Oates CD. Donate this stuff. Charities need the money and, believe it or not, someone out there could use it. Try and find a local community resource that actually gives items or their thrift store profits to the needy … and sorry Aunt Martha, if you read this I did in fact donate that reindeer sweater. metromin.org

JANUARY 2009 • REAX MUSIC MAgAzInE • PAGE 59

thxmgmt

www.thxmgmtlive.com

upcomingevents

january&february ‘09

1.31.09 1.13.09

Thx Mgmt, New Granada & Reax present

The Tape Delay & Special Guests TBA

Magadog, Eyeznpowa & CANDY BARS

@ New World Brewery

@ New World Brewery

* Mogul Street Reserve

* Light Yourself On Fire

9pm | $6 | 21&Up

9pm | $8 | 21&Up

1313 8th Ave E - Ybor City - 813.248.4969

1313 8th Ave E - Ybor City - 813.248.4969

2.13.09

* Reax Pre-Valentines Day 80’s Prom w/ Very Special Guests

The A+ Team Band + Special Guests TBA 9pm | $FREE | 18&Up

@ Crowbar

1812 N 17th Street - Ybor City - 813.241.8600

1.30.09

2.05.09 & 2.06.09

* The Dark Romantics

& Special Guests TBA

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Look Mexico,Auto!Automatic!! & TV Club 9pm | $7 | 21&Up

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2.19.09

* Rachel Goodrich

Poverty Ranch, The JeanMarie 9pm | $7 | 18&Up

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2.20.09 2.06.09

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Tailgunner Joe & The Earls Of Slander, Dish & Lauris Vidal

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9pm | $6 | 18&Up

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15 N. Main Street - Gainesville - 352.264.9844

9pm | $7 | 21&Up

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w/ Special Guests TBA

* Tribal Style & D’visitors 9pm | free | 18&Up

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* The Basiqs (Album Release Party) 9pm | $TBD | 18&Up

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thedigits website & pre-sale tickets: thxmgmtlive.com myspace: myspace.com/thxmgmtlive booking: joe@thxmgmtlive.com